Moving had proved a little easier for her now. Littlescent no longer fought the urge to scratch at her once annoying cuts, nor did she feel as if she would give out under her own weight. But she could still feel her right flank ache from the burn.

Mousetail did well to heal me, she thought as she walked along the warm, cracked thunderpath. I just sorry I never got to thank her for treating me so well.

She curled her nose with every breath she took of the foul, ash-laden air. The four wildcats that surrounded her seemed to ignore it. They resiliently padded down the thunderpath towards an alley, silent.

The once mighty structures that the group walked near lay in ruins. But the thunderpath was clear, as they had collapsed into themselves instead. Littlescent tried to look up at the sky, to take her mind off the strong burning scent, but sky was coated with a thick layer of smoke flowing tightly in the wind.

Her wildcat escorts were tall, each of them more than twice the small warrior's size. She knew it was unnecessary, but they would have it no other way. She could barely see her surroundings past any of them, assuming it another necessity to them.

A shame. This would've been such a refreshing wind. I get out of the musty area under the bridge only to go down a thunderpath where the Twoleg nests are probably still burning.

The wildcat in front of Littlescent, who she learned was Pineheart before she left, flicked the tip of his tail down twice. She looked around, trying to make sense of the motion, watching Pineheart turn around as the other wildcats stopped moving. One of them pinned Littlescent's long tail to the ground to prevent her from moving. She winced at the pain as the other three cats just glared at her.

Pineheart kept moving towards some of the rubble. He stopped in front of a pile of large stone. Littlescent, able to see in front of her, tried to peek at what he was up to. Pineheart sniffed around the area for a while and then shoved all his weight into the stone, trying to move it away from something.

The wildcat behind her stepped even herder on Littlescent's tail.

"Ouch, hey! It's not like I can run or anything—"

The wildcat to her left shoved his paw into Littlescent's face and pushed her away, making her tail hurt even more.

"Hey, stop—"

The cat to her right smacked her in the jaw. The one to her left shoved her face away again and hissed. Littlescent kept herself from fighting back, knowing she would lose and, worse yet, jeopardize her and Horsepelt's plans for peace talks. She remained silent, just barely flinching as the wildcat behind her kept his weight on her tail.

Pineheart had finally moved the stone a tail's length away from where it was. He padded into a now open clearing, sniffing at a heap of black fur. He grabbed it by its neck and dragged it back towards the group.

That collar... it's one of the pets. It must have been among those who left me during the firestorm. Poor thing got lost and ended up all the way over here. Littlescent felt a numbing in her stomach that made her ignore the pain her tail was in.

Pineheart dropped the dead cat nearby. Its eyes lay open, glazed over with dry blood. They blankly stared at Littlescent. She cringed at the sight of it, looking away and trying to keep her mind on her situation.

The wildcat to Littlescent's left walked up to the dead cat, helping Pineheart wrestle the collar from its neck. It was a large, brown strip with a silver ball at the end. Littlescent thought of the collection of collars she had heard about from other cats. She thought they were just trying to add another.

The two finally wrenched the collar free of the dead mass. Pineheart stared straight at Littlescent. His small, green eyes narrowed even further at the sight of hers. He moved his tail into her view and slapped it on the ground. The wildcat at Littlescent's right stomped hard on her paw. She yowled as she tried to free it.

The one behind her forced his weight on her rear. Her legs quickly gave out under him.

"Hey," Littlescent shouted. "Eaglestar said not to hurt me. I heard him before he left!"

The wildcats ignored her. The one to her left took his weight off Littlescent's paw and wrapped his jaws around her neck. Littlescent stopped struggling, holding as still as she could. The wildcat did not bite down, but held her close enough that she could feel his jagged teeth and hot breath.

The wildcat behind reared up, resting his front paws on Littlescent's lower back. She flinched enough for the other wildcat's teeth to scratch at her neck. They had her completely pinned. She could barely look up meet Pineheart's gaze as the other cat continued to fidget with the collar.

"Pineheart," Littlescent started. "I couldn't run, I couldn't fight, now I can barely move!" She felt the wildcat at her neck nibble, teasing a killing bite. "What's the point?"

A warm wind gust blew down the thunderpath, bringing specks of ash along with it. Littlescent could barely smell it with the strong scent of the wildcats so close to her. The senior carefully put his paw on Littlescent's head. She tried to fight back whimpers as the wildcat on her flank moved around, agitating her wound once again.

"I hate kittypets," he finally said, motioning to the dead cat. "I despise them. They help Mousetail's prophecy become truth. You nothing more than kin of pets. Scavengers, rouges, thieves. Your whole clan is scourge of this land."

Pineheart pointed his tail behind him, and the other wildcat with the collar forced it under Littlescent's head to her neck. Pineheart slammed her chin as hard as he could on the ground. Sharp pain ran all the way down her neck and her vision became clouded with small, white dots.

He kept pressure on her head, leaving her completely still, unable to make a sound aside from painful mumbling. Littlescent could feel a trickle of blood forming in her mouth from where a fang had been knocked out.

"Little stone cat," Pineheart continued. "Be thankful I can't kill you. You would've been first ever cat I tortured. You would have more pain than Place of No Stars could inflict... but I have orders."

Pineheart whisked his tail up. The wildcat holding Littlescent's neck let go but quickly bit into her left shoulder. She muttered in pain, taking the moment to squeeze the fang and blood from her mouth. Pineheart and the wildcat next to him began wrestling with the collar again, trying to get it around her neck.

"I never planned to do this," he started again. "But Eaglestar should understand extra measures. Will probably be more of them than us this time. Can't have you running off and them with you, can we?"

The cats got the collar around her neck as tightly as it would go. Littlescent could feel the silver ball at the end of it press into her neck as Pineheart continued to force her into the ground.

"Assuming your clan surrenders," he continued, "you have that off tonight. So be good kitty at meeting and don't cause trouble." He moved his paw from the top of her head to under her chin and forced her head up.

He motioned to the wildcat at his side. He moved over and began swatting at the small silver ball around Littlescent's neck until a clink sounded. As Pineheart let her head snap back to its normal position, the ball jingled around. It was easily loud enough for any animal to pick up without even seeing her.

"There," Pineheart said. "Now you look how kittypets before you did as they fought. Stupid things get them killed so often I've lost count."

He stared at her for a moment more, defenseless and completely at his mercy. He hissed and smacked her across the nose, causing the wildcat around her shoulder to flinch and bite down.

"Gah! Get off me!" Littlescent nearly lost herself and started thrashing, but quickly stopped when the cat sitting on her flank drew his claws.

"I told you not to make trouble. You do it before we even get to meeting. Eaglestar would find it easy to believe you were killed trying escape. Please, tempt me."

Littlescent forced herself calm. She took a deep breath and relaxed her muscles. With that, she felt the weight of the two wildcats holding her down leave.

She left herself on the ground for a moment, legs outstretched, her face in pain, and bite marks around her neck and shoulder. And the dirty, blood-stained collar of a dead pet around her neck; it felt worse to her than the new wounds.

Littlescent slowly rose to her paws, the four wildcats resuming their blocking positions around her.

To be humiliated like that. By a bunch of savage... by a group of wildcats. A group with both good and bad reasons to hate me... I must remember what Horsepelt said. They don't like pets, they didn't like Bonbon, and they certainly don't like us any more now than they did then.

Littlescent was about to shake her fur when Pineheart roughly brushed his tail across her face.

"No shaking for you," he said. "Now you look like a real captive. Walk!"

He flicked his tail forward and began walking. The other cats, boxing Littlescent in even closer than before, followed.

The wind resumed its warm gusts of air fouled by the ashes of nearby fires. The stone-covered thunderpath felt even rougher than it had before. Littlescent hated what she just went through, but tried to concentrate on what she wanted to do.

Just hold it together, Littlescent, she thought. You've been through worse. They have every reason to hate us. Just focus on Horsepelt's words. 'They're hungry.' That should be enough...

~~

Littlescent noticed the usual meeting spot took much longer to get to from LeafClan's camp. And all the longer journey did was remind her how much pain she was really in.

The wind gusts began tormenting her once more, as if all the work Mousetail had done was being undone, and worse, by what the wildcats did to her. Bite marks in her right shoulder and scruff were exposed by her thinning fur. She knew they were not bleeding anymore, but they still stung.

"Keep going," Pineheart said. "And stay silent."

Pineheart hopped over the snake-monster paths first, looking for signs of other cats. The other three around Littlescent forced her from the cool rocks beneath her onto the snake-monster's path as Pineheart waited for his signal.

I can see it better from here, Littlescent thought. Looking down the path, she saw the crossing her clan would normally go through to get to the meeting spot. There are still fires going on. It's been nearly four nights and they haven't stopped yet? It seems like there's nothing left to burn.

Pineheart flicked his tail in the direction of the wind; as usual with the wildcats she found herself downwind from the clearing. But no matter how hard she tried, she was unable to detect the faintest hint of her clanmates.

He motioned the three others to drag her across the path. Littlescent struggled to keep her balance with the three shoving and pulling at her legs and sides. Her new collar continued to jingle in the wind — the cats in the clearing having certainly heard it.

I still can't see any stars from here. The smoke's still in the way... I hope StarClan can see through it, though. I really need them here with me this time. No, more than any other time I've asked them to be with me. This is most important for all of us.

Littlescent felt her head begin to pound with every step she took towards the grove of trees in the center of the circular thunderpath. She could see the small, white dots threaten to cloud her vision again. Her injuries from four moons ago threatened her to stop. If not for the wildcats pushing and pulling her, she would have given into her body and passed out.

Pineheart broke from the group and sprinted into the nearby trees, leaping into the raised greenery. Along the edges of the snake-monster path, new silverthorn followed as far down as she could see. She was glad that, at least, they took her around and not under it.

Littlescent saw one of the bushes under the tree rustle twice. The three wildcats surrounding her shoved her towards them.

Got to shake this off. I need to be strong for my clan. I need to help Horsepelt make peace.

The group made their way to the bushes, dragging Littlescent up into the bushes. Through the trees she saw the large rock that served as the meeting place. The three wildcats left her side and began circling the rock, leaving her alone to find a way up the rock.

"Here she is now," said the familiar voice of the former LeafClan deputy. Eaglestar looked over the edge to find Littlescent rearing up to jump onto the rock. She jumped, but only her front paws made it. Eaglestar bit down on her collar, dragging her up the rest of the way.

As she was dropped onto the hard surface of the rock, Littlescent's eyes immediately went to a grey and white form staring back at her with wide, bright blue eyes.

"Littlescent!" Fleetheart tried running to her friend, but Pineheart stepped in her way.

"Get out of my way," she responded. "She's hurt! I need to check her right now."

Littlescent – her vision returning to normal – saw the black-striped body of her leader sitting behind where Fleetheart was standing. She picked herself off the rock and sat as straight as she could manage next to Eaglestar, ears flattened.

"You said that she was fine." Longstar sat on the far side of the rock. Near him were Wolfgang, Heavyclaw, and Shortpaw. "And why is there a pet collar around her neck... she didn't leave camp like this."

"Extra measures were taken," Eaglestar responded. "More of you than us here. She small, easily slip away from large wildcat... she dies if you try anything."

Eaglestar began whispering to Pineheart. "What is meaning of this..."

On the far side of the rock sat Whitetail; Littlescent was glad to see that he seemed uninjured from the firestorm. Behind him sat Yellowstar, who was looking away from the scene, somewhere far off towards the sky. The shoulder Panzer had bit her on was now furless, leaving the bite wound visible and exposed to the dirty wind gusts.

Rather than Blueclaw, as she would normally see, Littlescent found a grey and brown-spotted she-cat about her side. Christa's orange eyes showed her sympathy and fear, just as Littlescent expected. Next to Christa, to Littlescent's surprise, was the small, grey tom that seemed so reluctant to come along. Regardless, Flaum stood proud.

"Well?" Whitetail asked. Littlescent returned her attention. "What is the purpose of holding Littlescent hostage?"

Pineheart looked at Whitetail in confusion. "Why isn't fluffy golden one talking? Why let your second speak for you?"

"Did Stars tell her she's too good to speak to us living cats," Eaglestar mocked. "Or did her precious Stars not protect her from fire-fallers that night like she thought they would?"

"How dare you mock Yellowstar and the name of our ancestors! Speech like that is sure to make you forgotten quickly—"

Yellowstar rested her paw on his back. She still refused to look at Whitetail and kept her eyes off in the distance. He took a deep breath before speaking again.

"I... apologize for my tone. But please, do not take the presence of the Stars so lightly. It is a belief we all hold dear."

Eaglestar took a relaxed posture, curling his tail around his legs and letting out a long yawn. "Stars, Stars... they let me down since my birth. Worse yet, they let down my clan. When Wolfstar needed their guidance most, they left us."

A large, brown wildcat hopped onto the rock and sat next to Littlescent. She noticed he smelled a little different, like he had been digging.

"Sorry I late," Horsepelt said. "I found dead prey on my way over and had to find patrolling cat to take them back."

"Acceptable, Horsepelt," Eaglestar responded. He then looked directly at the two former pets, trying to hold back his scorn. "For those who not know this is new LeafClan deputy, Horsepelt. One of our finest hunters."

The breeze blew over the clearing. Even through the ash and soot flowed in it, Eaglestar noticed it carried the scent of StoneClan's reinforcements. They were hiding behind one of the tall trees that blocked off the clearing; a few were hiding amongst its branches, covering themselves in the leaves to avoid notice. But there was no hiding properly from a wildcat.

"I guess it's time to explain," Eaglestar said. Whitetail looked over at Littlescent out of concern, but kept his pose. Longstar glanced at Yellowstar, who was still sitting behind her deputy, still staring blankly in the distance. "Horsepelt."

The deputy sat up straighter. "Our clan been unable to find food for many nights now. Not news to you, but it worse now. Death of Wolfstar has shaken our clan. But he would rather see us save our clan than mourn to Stars.

"Even after that fire-faller attack, your territory has prey. Lots of mice and rats... some of our patrols even resorted to eating dead Twoleg flesh. There is little nourishment and good chance of sickness. Desperation your clan manage to avoid still."

The BreezeClan cats cringed at the statement, especially Christa and Flaum. They had lived with the Twolegs for so long; they could hardly imagine eating them in return for their care.

"Yes that's right, little kittypets," Eaglestar said. "Their charred bodies don't make food. Only the strongest of us can keep it down. Even then, not good enough... continue, Horsepelt."

Horsepelt nodded. "Our territory useless now. Your clan moved too close to borders. What prey was left, gone quickly. Your clan has hunted border regions empty. And while prey still scurries in your Lower Territories, un-hunted, we still search for nothing."

Heavyclaw shook his head. "We can't go back to our old camp. We've told you plenty of times that it was completely destroyed. The area's on fire, again, to make things worse."

"I'm aware of state of your Lower Territory," Horsepelt responded. "But now, life or death for us. Not enough hunting territory left for our clan. For every one stone cat we have four... your clan numbers greatly fell with that firestorm. More than half, right?"

Littlescent watched Horsepelt arguing his point, confused as to when he was going to make his move at peace. She tried to keep her head clear just for that moment, but fatigue was starting to get to her. She got a glance from Fleetheart, who had never taken her attention away from the warrior.

Come on, Littlescent, she thought. Stay strong for the clan... just for Fleetheart if anything.

Horsepelt shook his fur before continuing, brushing against a drifting Littlescent to keep her alert. "Our points valid. Proof is all around. Wildcats here, and below us, are fed. Fed so they can catch prey for the rest of clan. We can't show up empty again. Not when wildcats start dying."

He brushed against Littlescent again. "What your clan went through was great tragedy. But now, we must avoid tragedy. With that, by order of Stars, Eaglestar, Wolfstar, and majority of LeafClan, you are to give full access to your territory, Upper and Lower. Any resistance, destruction of your clan. Just like SapClan and Foxclan long before you... stay out of our way and you stay safe. I promise."

Littlescent could not believe what Horsepelt had just said. Her heart began racing and her