The air was damp and it reeked of mold. There was barely any light coming in from holes high above the ground. The constant sound of water dripping into puddles below was the loudest.

Littlescent opened her eyes. She sat up slowly, trying to avoid the revived pain in her burned right flank. Her legs ached; she remembered landing on her feet on a soft pile of rubble. But in her condition, it was not enough. She checked her body. It was covered in small scratches which had stopped bleeding while she was out.

The area around her was covered in shiny brown-colored objects. They twisted and bent in all different directions along the stone walls. They all led to a large, silver container in the left corner of the large room. The container groaned and creaked back at Littlescent. She could barely look up.

She glanced at her right. There was a massive open area, just like the one in her clan's camp. Only this one was much larger. It went further than she could see, and the roof there was higher than where she was sitting. There was a large hole in the back that let light in.

She tried to stand up, realizing she was in a pile of mud. Looking behind her, she could see the dried streaks leading to the entrance she had been dragged though. She could see the clearing outside, the sun barely shining through the clouds; it was the brightest it had been since before that night.

I was certain they would kill me... then again, Eaglestar wanted no killing.

Her feet wobbled under her own weight. But she kept herself balanced and walked to the open entrance. Two wildcats quickly blocked her. Both looked famished, but they still towered over her.

"Where you think you going?" one of them asked.

"I... I want to see Eaglestar," Littlescent responded.

"His orders. We keep you here. You not going anywhere."

Littlescent's head was light. She hadn't eaten or drank anything since before she left. And she could barely keep her vision focused. Her fur began spiking as her stomach growled.

"I demand to see Eaglestar," she growled.

"Little stone cat, you shouldn't speak like that here," the other wildcat responded. "I just might eat you out of hunger."

"Why am I here?" she responded. "I demand you return me to my camp."

The two wildcats looked at each other briefly. They bore their fangs and growled at Littlescent and walked back to the sides of the entrance.

"You walk out here before we tell you, you die."

Littlescent breathed deep, calming herself down. She knew, even starving, she was no match for the much larger wildcats.

The gleam of silver steps caught her attention. They were the same ones she failed to climb the previous night.

I'm underneath that stone bridge, Littlescent thought as she stared down the low-lit chamber before her. The silver thing is still running, but I don't see any Twolegs. The whole structure must be abandoned. Then the wildcats must've searched and claimed every structure around here for sleeping. Hard to believe there's barley any mice or rats in a place like this.

Littlescent shook the dried flakes of mud from her fur as best she could. She had almost grown used to how uncomfortable a dirty pelt was. Her bald spots, however, only made it worse.

She looked back out the entrance leading to the steps. The wildcats were certainly there, but they stayed out of site.

Taking slow steps to keep her aching body in check, she crept deeper into the massive room. The moldy smell quickly grew stronger and the cool, stone ground was wet beneath her paws.

She kept going towards the light from the large hole. Just as she expected, the special path for the snake-monsters led under the bridge and beyond her line of vision. A tunnel that she could sneak out of.

Those brown water-carrying things must've been damaged since the Twolegs left, with nothing to fix them. They've leaked out for a while and created all this moss... it will be perfect to hide in. It's even better cover than the smoke. If I can just get to the end—

"Going somewhere?"

Mouse dung!

"Can't escape that way, anyway," the deep voice echoed. "It just lead you to another thunderpath, which we control."

Littlescent shook the dizziness from her head and tried to focus on the large wildcat walking towards her. She recognized his dark pelt and his bright, hazel eyes.

"Horsepelt." Her vision came clear, the last of her anger and pain fading for a moment.

"I was sent by Eaglestar," he continued. "I'm here to answer questions I'm allowed to. Ask away, Littlescent."

She looked around the room for any other cats. Among the twisting silver objects and loose stones, there was no one else. As expected, not even rats scurrying about.

"What happened after I fell?" she said, scratching one of her paws.

"You inside massive stone bridge, center of our camp," the LeafClan warrior answered. "Normally many cats come and go through here, easily undetected. Above you are dens of Eaglestar and other honored cats, except for medicine den. After you fell, warriors dragged you here. I instructed them not to claw you, so they dragged you along jagged rocks nearby... sorry."

Littlescent shook her head. "I've been worse, and still am. But, more importantly, what was all that talk from last night? What are you going to do to our clan?"

Horsepelt lowered his head and turned his back to the StoneClan warrior. He motioned her to follow him deeper into the large tunnel. She followed next to him.

"I try to warn them," he started. "To keep them away from this path. I failed."

Littlescent tried to comfort him. "You didn't fail. Those violent wildcats just didn't listen to reason. Flyfoot got to them."

"She got to them in ways they understand." Horsepelt looked around the large room. "Wildcats hate stone cats. No doubt. Most still bitter from war, and she right. I was not alive during war. I can't understand their hatred of StoneClan."

Littlescent shook her head again "She spoke out against StarClan. Mousetail predicted that we couldn't live together, that we'd all be destroyed. But, with Yellowstar's help, we proved them wrong. We've been just fine together for a long time. Since I've been born. Since you and Flyfoot were born."

"Not that simple." Horsepelt stopped walking.

The two were at the deepest point in the tunnel. Littlescent finally saw that the massive exit that would normally be on the other side was completely blocked by rubble. It still held a charred scent, making her believe it had fallen recently.

Horsepelt was staring out of one of the holes in the pile, large enough for even him to comfortably fit through.

"Since my birth, I hear all these bad things about StoneClan. Never thought them true. I deny them. I keep denying them until right before I became apprentice warrior, and I left camp for first time.

"Wolfstar himself took our group to where we bury dead cats. He told us to dig. Didn't take long to find bones... so many of them. You could scratch dirt and find one. And many still had skin and fur on them. All rotted from time underground, but still there."

The wildcat tom turned and looked Littlescent right in the eye.

"Wolfstar said those were bodies of warriors we were replacing. The ones that died during rise of StoneClan. Who had sharp things and stones dropped on them from above. Who jumped into holes to find spikes and claws in ambush. And who were lured into range of anxious Twoleg warriors, having lightning thrown at them. All done under Bonbon. And she was just first leader."

Littlescent cringed at the thought of Bonbon's brutal tactics. The very same tactics Sharptooth had been preparing the clan to use again.

"That day we got reminder of prophecy Mousetail told us while we were kits. Wolfstar told us we lost that war. And that any who say otherwise is wrong. We lost because we ignored StarClan's warning; we let other clans rise. Even when we killed so many, we failed. Even how you were captured; you spy on us again. It frightened them learning one tactic of hers was already used by Longstar. They see past again. But I understand."

Horsepelt shook his head and parted stares with Littlescent. He walked forward on top of rock as Littlescent sat to stave off her lightheadedness. He took a deep breath of the thick, damp air before he spoke again.

"I haven't abandoned peace, if that what you thinking now. I never want to abandon peace. But can't help thinking what would've happened had she failed. Had Bonbon not created army of loyal clan members. How different things would be, how many more of us still be living."

Littlescent almost could not believe what she was hearing. It was the first time she had ever heard a wildcat open up about their past. And about the reasons they would have for hating StoneClan.

She put her paw on her head, trying to deal with Horsepelt's words through her own fatigue.

"You're tired," he said, leaving his position on the rock. "You should see Mousetail about injuries. It not what you used to. 'Grass and dirt', Panzer calls it. But she can and will heal you."

The large tom began walking deeper into the tunnel, back where he came from. Littlescent snapped from her thoughts.

"Who is the deputy," she asked. "I was never able to figure that out from the meeting."

"I am," he responded.

She had a feeling it was him, though.

"If you need anything else, ask guards at entrance to send for me. And Littlescent... I'm sorry. About all this. If I could have it another way—"

"Don't worry," she interrupted. "It wasn't your fault that I was captured. It was mine for staying longer than I should have. Thanks for clearing things up for me, though."

Horsepelt nodded his head and padded off into the darkness towards an entrance she had not seen before. She knew it must have lead up some steps to the top of the bridge.

Littlescent walked slowly back to where she woke up, thinking about the wildcat tom's words the whole time.

They had a reason for hating us the whole time. A reason none of us would've known unless we walked straight into LeafClan's camp and asked them. Well here I am, right in the middle of it. Getting parts of it straight from a LeafClan deputy.

I always assumed that Bonbon's tactics were just different for theirs, not frightening. If only I could get this information to Longstar, we could start talking with them about it. And about their prophecy. If we've lived without destroying each other since Horsepelt and I were born, I'm sure we can keep doing it, no matter what StarClan says.

She arrived in her spot, a round imprint of her body still set in the thick mud. The twisting, rumbling brown objects nearby were leaking water. She knew it was from the absence of Twolegs to maintain them.

He probably would've never told me why I was here and not dead. It can't be for anything good... nothing good for me, at least.