"You will not have any trouble with this, right?"

Littlescent looked up at the sky, unable to see the moon from the back entrance of the camp. The bright orange leader looked up at the clear night sky, the search-lights still waving back and forth overhead. In the distance, a fainter siren slowly crept from beyond the Upper Territories.

"Yeah, I've got this," Littlescent responded.

"And the LeafClan patrols?" Yellowstar asked. "You will be able to avoid them, right?"

"I know a route," the warrior responded. "I found it on my way back from my first assignment like this."

"Good," Yellowstar said as she shook the dust from her fur. "All you have to do is tell the pets about our plan and come back here. They may need time to prepare."

Littlescent nodded her head in agreement as she dropped to her side and started rolling around in the dust below. Yellowstar backed away from the small cloud she kicked up.

"Are you sure you do not wish to roll around in plants?" she asked. "Our clan has had some success hiding from wildcats by rolling in the few green patches. It also keeps your coat cleaner."

"I'm fine," Littlescent said. "Panzer says mud is the best way to hide a scent. But this will do, since there's no mud near our camp."

Littlescent stood, her small brown patches almost invisible matched with the dust on her fur. She began to walk away from the BreezeClan leader, looking up at the sky once again, the glow of the crescent moon drowned out by the search-lights.

"May the Stars guide you to safety," Yellowstar shouted. Littlescent turned her head back briefly and kept going on the thunderpath towards the Upper Territories. The wind picked up again, a gust making her scratch at her front paws.

I'll never get used to that, she thought. But at least I am downwind to LeafClan's new borders again.

The distant siren continued and fixed itself in the direction she moved towards. When she reached the intersection of the thunderpath, she glanced towards the Lower Territories. A small plume of smoke rose above the standing nests.

Looks like one of them is on fire again. But at least it's a small fire, so that smoke won't spread too far...

Littlescent looked both directions before crossing the empty thunderpath to the Upper Territories. The monsters with the large thundersticks on their backs were not rolling around, as they usually did after the sky-monsters showed up. Another wind gust lingered across the warrior's path. She picked up the scent of another cat's mark.

That... that's too strong to be any of our cats... I'll have to report this to Longstar when I get back. He should know that LeafClan could be moving their borders in areas they know we don't patrol. And so close to our camp, too. That'll have to change now.

Littlescent made her way across the path and onto the larger one that lead straight into the Upper Territories. From there she could clearly see another cat scurrying across the path in the distance. The dark cat was large and quick. Littlescent slowed her pace to a crawl after seeing for herself that the wildcats might have unknowingly surrounded her.

~ ~

Littlescent stepped around a puddle of thick, black liquid – stuff Panzer told her to avoid – and continued along the edge of the habited Twoleg dens. The lights that towered overhead along the thunderpath were unlit, having their source destroyed by the sky-monster attacks.

She looked around the corner of some steps leading into one of the nests, an alley around the corner. After giving it a long search for hidden wildcats, she leapt across the path in front of it, quickly darting behind the steps on the other side. Her head quickly twitched side to side, she sniffed at the dry and smoky air, and occasionally looked back to check if she was being followed.

Calm down, Littlescent, she told herself. We've done this before. They can't find you, and they usually stick to the large paths. Just get to the abandoned strip of grass where the pets group up. We've been there before... how much easier this would be if there were monsters around to ride on. The wildcats wouldn't think twice of any clan cat hiding on one of those.

Another gust of wind blew through the compact row of Twoleg nests. Littlescent resisted the urge to shake and allow the wind to blow through her fur, and to blow away her cover of dust. She continued along the narrow path.

On her side, no lights could be seen inside the nests. They were still mostly intact, only a few fallen pieces scattered around her path. When she was near them she felt safe, knowing that living creatures were inside of there. It was as close as she could get, even though she was on StoneClan territory.

She looked towards the other side of the path, finding nothing more than the empty out nests from the attacks that once towered over her own camp. The front walls that had blocked vision inside had all but collapsed, revealing the walls that divided the separate dens and completely blocking the half of the thunderpath in front of it.

The charred remains of Twoleg stuff remained within; anything useful to cats had already been taken long ago by Panzer and Fleetheart's patrols. They still gave off a scent like they were freshly burned, making Littlescent curl her nose in revulsion.

Are the Twolegs just going to let this area stay like this? Do they even care that they live next to destroyed nests? Even in them? If they can fight back I'm sure they can rebuild their nests; lazy Twolegs should at least make the ones who aren't fighting do it.

Littlescent looked ahead again and quickly darted behind another set of steps. Two large cats were ahead of her at the intersection of the thunderpaths. She needed to leave the larger path for the smaller one that ran along a large structure. After taking a closer look, she knew the two dark figures were wildcats trying to hide in the shadows at the intersection.

The small warrior looked at her surroundings for a way around them.

Okay, there's two of them at the intersection; I'm only a few nests away from them... the other two paths might be guarded as well... why of all times do they need to stay in that spot... there's a burned-down nest behind one of them, probably more hiding in there. Maybe there's a hunting patrol resting in there.

She watched the wildcats carefully. They were unmoving, each standing at one of the corners of the intersection. She decided to get a little closer, creeping around the steps she was hiding behind and walking down the unlit path towards the cats.

Another wind gust picked up, this one stronger than the others. It pushed at her fur from the side, making her shiver uncomfortably.

With the wind coming at my side, I should be able to get really close before they can scent me. As long as they don't hear me...

As she crept closer to the wildcat guards, she picked up a sour smell from them. She nearly curled her nose at its strength.

One of their marking teams. And they dare to mark our territory.

She began to look over the area for more cats, some of them shifting around.

There will only be three of them. One of them marking and two of them to guard. But if they're this far into our territory, then there should be two, maybe three patrols around them.

Littlescent stalked two nests away from them, as close as she would dare go in fear of them spotting her small figure moving around. She tried to catch their own scents, but could not over the fresh marks.

If I can't smell them over their own markings, then they'll have no chance at finding me being right next to them. A small break... unless they spot me or hear me.

She looked over her surroundings. Directly in front of her, the large thunderpath she was on continued. Knowing she could not risk being exposed while moving, she kept looking. Ahead of the steps she was hiding behind was the large structure that bordered the small path she needed to get to. The nest's wall was almost completely collapsed, and the wildcat was sitting at the highest point of the debris. The cat looked side to side, constantly searching for 'trespassers'.

Littlescent poked her head out from behind the steps again to look at the second cat. The wildcat was lying down, high in a ruined nest right across from the nest the other cat was sitting in. She noticed that this one was not as alert, and was lounging with its head resting in its front paws. Littlescent looked up at the sky as another gust of wind rattled her fur. A few search-lights were still waving back and forth, constantly blocking her view of the crescent moon.

Good thing that lounging cat is the one who'll have the best view of me. If I move quietly through the ruins of the nest I'm close to, I'll be fine. That lazy wildcat would never catch me like that. The other one wouldn't even see me since I'm moving underneath its spot... any cats inside shouldn't see me if I move through them.

Littlescent took a deep breath and waited for the active wildcat to face away from her. A snap sounded down the path they were guarding. It caught the cat's attention, and they looked away from her. She took the opportunity to dart from behind the steps to the side of the structure and cross the thunderpath. She jumped into a hole in the pile of fallen pieces and hid. She waited for a while to see if the others had spotted her.

"Give it up already," shouted the lounging wildcat, a she-cat. "Won't see anything here. You searching probably giving us away."

I guess I'm fine then. Now just to concentrate on finding a path through this mess.

"Looking for stone cats," a tom responded. "Can't have them sneak on us while on their territory."

Littlescent continued to crawl through the fallen nest. The steady breeze through the open holes trapped the bitter scent of the wildcat's marks. She used the light of the moon from the holes to slowly find her way through, without stepping on any stray objects.

"Molepaw, your mark strong," the she-cat said. "Too strong... did you drink that Twoleg water from stone cat's territory or something?"

"With respect, warrior," the tom responded, "shouldn't we guard post in quiet? Wait for little stone cats to show up, ambush them?"

"You new?" she asked. "Probably. Or you know what we actually do all night."

Littlescent moved through a large opening facing the wildcat on the ledge. Certain she was not looking in her direction, she darted past. She looked at her through a smaller hole right next to the opening.

"But... but what about StoneClan?" Molepaw said.

"What about StoneClan." The warrior let out a deep yawn. "Let them run round in their broken territory. They not threat to us. Their cats half our size; their clan less than half our size. Only time we pay attention to them is if they have food."

"So... we attack cats with food but let others go?"

The she-cat on the ledge let out another yawn and stretched her front paws, now looking at the novice Molepaw.

"We scare cats who come this way, maybe chase them and tell others, but not kill. Not worth enough to kill just one stone cat. Not while I see your bones, it's not."

Littlescent left the small hole in the wall and kept climbing through the rubble. She decided to move the closest point to them while the wildcats were well distracted.

"But why not fight? Why not get every cat we can? If we want to hunt their territory, shouldn't we keep them away instead of letting them run to tell others where we are? They not starving, so they not worry about saving energy. Can't they come back with others and kill us?"

"You must be really new if you think group of once-housecats can kill us." The large she-cat flipped over on her back and began pawing at the sky, no longer looking at Molepaw. "They match our numbers, we still kill them. They outnumber, we run long before they get us. Worth energy then."

Littlescent glanced up to try and look at the wildcat apprentice, but could not see past the mess of Twoleg stuff she was walking through. She decided to keep going past his lookout spot, carefully eyeing the careless she-cat. Another gust of wind blew down the alley and replaced the strong wildcat mark with the flat, dry scent of her dust coat.

"Beepelt," Ratpaw asked, "do you hate stone cats?"

The wildcat stopped pawing at the air and looked at the tom. "Well that was random... listen, stone cats kill many of us long ago. We kill many of them, but was not worth. Still isn't. And never will be. Not even for food. Like I always say to young ones, avoid a war and you won't have to hate stone cats."

Littlescent crept through a small opening in the rubble to the other side and quickly darted behind a set of steps. Ratpaw remained vigilant, while Beepelt went back to clawing at the sky. She proudly ran down the path to the next intersection, looking back once more at the wildcats she had walked past.

The long strip of grass should be straight ahead at the end of the next path crossing. I'll find a different way back after that.

Littlescent continued down the small path along the rest of the length of the destroyed nest, occasionally looking down to avoid the sharp, clear pieces of rock used to cover the openings of the nests. Looking up, she found only a few search-lights moving across the sky. The moon, however, was now blocked by the height of the nests around her.

Arriving at the intersection, she looked it over for signs of other cats. There were three; one was sitting in the middle of the intersection, looking around. The other two were sitting on a pile of rubble further behind him along the edge of the large path she needed to cross. The small path was completely unguarded, but the cat sitting right in the middle of the intersection made it a problem.

The warrior looked for an opening, but could not find any. The wildcat sitting in the center of the intersection was difficult to get past since it looked in all directions. There were several small pieces of rubble in the path, but all were too small to hide behind.

Further up the large thunderpath, in the middle of it, was a small monster with one of the active search-lights on it. It continued to watch the skies for enemy monsters, and one lone Twoleg sat on the back of it, twisting and turning parts of it to make the light move around.

The monster blocks enough of the path to stay out of their vision. If I find a way through the nest next to me, I can come out on the other side and sneak past. Panzer says all Twoleg nests have a front and back entrance. This one should be no different.

Another heavy gust of wind blew down the path she was on, coming from behind her this time. Littlescent panicked, searching for steps to hide behind. She could not find any.

The large wildcat sitting in the middle of the path straightened up, sticking its nose in the air to search for the source of the strange scent. Littlescent shook her head and quickly jumped through a broken opening next to the closed entrance of the Twoleg nest. Taking cover behind a piece of rubble when she landed, she stayed quiet as her heartbeat quickened, hoping the wildcats did not see her.

Littlescent looked around the abandoned nest for anything. She saw that the crossed support structure all nests shared was all that was left of the second floor. The rest of it lay in front of her.

Twoleg objects were scattered all over; the stuff useful to cats was nowhere to be found. Large beams of moonlight shining through open holes revealed the dust in the air and all the sharp, loose objects on the floor. Speed was no longer an option.

Calm down, Littlescent. They could've just caught some of that really strong mark from behind me. But those wildcats will question me, torture me, if they find me alone... maybe... I've just got to get to the back entrance and hide behind the monster—

A light ping echoed through the nest. The front entrance began to creek open. Littlescent quickly began jumping up a pile of the fallen structure close to one of the openings. The entrance slammed open against the wall. Littlescent hurled herself over in fear, landing on the sharp objects from the nearby hole. She held in her yelp, but didn't look at the cut on her thigh. Her eyes were fixed on the entrance as it groaned back and forth against the wall.

The shadow of another cat appeared on the pile she once hid behind. The ears were short and the head was wide. She was certain it was the silhouette of a wildcat. A paw stuck out in the open entrance. Littlescent crouched to her stomach, then realizing the moonlight was shining directly on her.

She looked around for another place to hide, but moving around the sharp objects would make too much noise. Littlescent decided to ready herself to pounce on the wildcat if she had to. Before she could think how to ambush him the paw in the entrance rose into the air. It tapped on the opening twice and waited. Then tapped twice again. After waiting a while the paw withdrew, the wildcat entered. It stuck to the sides of the rubble, staying out of the direct moonlight.

Littlescent fixed her eyes on it as it slowly pawed through the loose pieces of sharp objects on the ground. The wildcat looked around as it went deeper into the structures. The small she-cat tensed her body as it got closer to her. She knew that eventually it would look around the corner.

Quietly she braced herself and lifted her hind into the air, ready to pounce on the cat the second she got a chance. Her heartbeat quickened and her claws unsheathed. She knew she would only win if she ambushed it.

The cat walked on the opposite side of the pile she was hiding behind. It would smell her at that distance, despite her scentless body and the stuff in the nest. It was too close.

The wildcat jumped in front of her. His teeth were showing and his paw was already above her. Littlescent lunged at the cat, her vision blurred as she snapped her jaw at where she thought its neck was.

"Wait, stop!"

A familiar voice spoke as the pair tumbled onto an empty part of the ground. Littlescent took a look at the large wildcat she had grappled, releasing her jaws from his leg. Her claws were still near his shoulders.

"And why should I," Littlescent responded.

"Because I don't want to fight."

Littlescent looked around as the tom tapped her belly with his hind paws; his massive claws pinched against her short fur with each tap.

"Rather, I don't want to kill you."

Littlescent tried to appear dangerous, knowing the cat could kill her at any moment.

"And why not?"

"I did not first time we met," the wildcat responded. "You not remember me, Littlescent?"

She quickly hopped away from the dark brown wildcat tom, her energy sinking. Horsepelt got to his feet and walked into the moonlight, his hazel eyes staring right into hers.

"I came close to killing you. Had no idea who you were until I turned corner and saw you. I should have known when I could not find you with scent."

Littlescent looked around, realizing the moonlight was still on her. The pain from her cut lightly stung at her side. She saw a drop of her blood had landed on a broken clear shard, making the whole piece appear red.

She briefly looked away from Horsepelt. "I knew I was