"Once a MoonClanner, always a MoonClanner. You never really do leave the hivemind," she said softly, a sigh. Mapletail's own anxieties mirrored Hiddenstrike's. Her siblings- all fifty million of them. Would she be welcomed back?

"When should we leave?" she said, the words a challenge sent to the wind. In the background of the scene, a banjo began playing. Adventure music.

Mapletail's face went sour as she thought of the clan- she'd been unhappy there, but she missed her family, and the entire mess of emotions was jumbled and confusing, like a maze of pine trees. She looked up at Hiddenstrike, now unable to look away out of intrigue.

"They must not know what that cat's done, then. What cat sends assassins out? What did you even do to deserve it?" she said with a lash of her tail. In her anger, her coat rippled, and she winced as the simple motion sent pain from the cleft of her belly.

At the mention of his name, whether he heard it or not, Hiddenstrike appeared through the under brush. Most of the minor wounds had healed, but his face had been dealt a great deal of damage. He'd gone to the creek not too far from their little den area and stared at his reflection for a while. He wondered what his siblings would say if they saw him. Would they recoil in disgust? It didn't occur to him about much his appearance bothered him until now. He looked like a monster straight out of a queens horror story. His single yellow eye focused on Mapletail, relief flooding his body at the sight of the she-cat awake. She looked worse for wear, but that's to be expected after almost dying and being unconscious for five days.

"Glad to see you're up." He rumbled, the sound vibrating his chest. "How do you feel?" He tried to ignore the way Shelly looked at him when he approach, willing away the odd pressure in his chest.

Shelly stared at Hiddenstrike for a moment longer as his face etched into her memory. She realized it was simply wounds causing her distortion of his character and she nodded. "You'll need medical attention- so will she. I know somebody. Her den is nearby. Do you know where it is?" she asked, beginning to stuff leaves at the wound that leaked blood in Mapletail's belly.

The black furred tom-cat had no time to realize what had happened- one moment Hawk was above him and the next he was staring up at the sky. Disorientated and confused, Hiddenstrike staggered to his paws and turned his head in order to see what was going on. It seemed he missed the rest of the fight, Hawk and his buddy were now bleeding out onto the forest floor. The wound on his face would surely scare any cat in sight.

"Are you two already?" The large tom stepped forward, stumbling slightly over his own feet. A growl erupted from his chest- anger clouding his singular yellow eye. Starclan- couldn't they have taken one of my legs!?

Mapletail didn’t have a chance to congratulate or be shocked at Hiddenstrike’s killing of the gang cat; she was too busy saving her own tail. Mapletail was a small cat, with cream fur that darkened to chocolate red at the points. A black half of her face. Piercing blue eyes. Black claws. All beauty, few brains, and mediocre in everything she did except exist. She fought for her life, her training not preparing her in the slightest, as the loner scratched a gash on her shoulder, another on her brow. Mapletail dodged a bite to the neck- barely, a chunk of her fur went flying. She rode back on her haunches, trying to give the tomcat an open place to attack on her underbelly so she could surprise him. Only she wasn’t quick enough to spring her trap. The tomcat was quicker than she thought.

His claws ripped open the cavity in her belly, spilling pleghm and clots over the golden leaves. In the scene of red, nothing was more startling, and Mapletail fell to her side. Her tail went limp. Shock filled her gaze. Her opposer stood over her as the bodies of his two friends fell around him. Mapletail’s mind boiled- she’d never wanted to die. She was a free spirit. She ran from responsibility, from ties, anything concrete she could attach herself to. Her paws twitched as her guts threatened to spill onto the leaf-litter. Desparation clawed at her brain- everything told her to run. She couldn’t.

Mapletail couldn’t run from death.

Mapletail dropped out of her tree like an owl, deadly precise but not deadly in intent. Her claws scraped the flank of a large black tom who brought up the rear of the trio, and the small tabby who was the pseudo-leader turned when he heard his friend scream, leaving the first cat to run towards Hiddenstrike. Mapletail hissed as fur ripped through her claws, but no flesh, and then saw herself facing two opponents. Her blue eyes flashed with defiance.

“I see what you mean now,” the tabby spoke, “She does smell ugly.” “Looks ugly too. What’s wrong with your face, blue-eyes? Dipped in ash as a kitten?” the black one said as he struck out with a paw towards the small she-cat. They were trying to intimidate her- a fact that Mapletail caught onto quickly. Her pride was wounded at their words, though, being quite vain in all she did.

She reached out towards the small one, sensing a lingering weakness, and was greeted with gnashing teeth and claws as the black one intercepted her, the tabby clinging to her back. The three cats began to rip into each-other, unsure of which would get the upper hand. Mapletail was determined to keep them from Shelly.

Hiddenstrike slipped out from their hide out, a plan already formulating in his head. He didn't want any more cats getting hurt and if that meant killing again- he'd do it. The three idiots who were currently on his tail would regret ever crossing paths with him.

"I wonder how stupid you have to be to walk right past your target." He shouted, a small grin capturing his face. He forgot how fun it was to mock them. They were all a bit dull- the only smart being Jupiter himself. "The reason I was the favorite was cause I could do the job quicker- seems to be taking you all years to catch me." He stated, watching Hawk scramble through the bushes with an angered expression on his face. And with that, Hiddenstrike was off and racing toward the tree Mapletail was hiding in.

“I’ve plenty of experience,” Mapletail said with a shaking memory. “I fought Diesel-*****, I can fight anybody,” she said, youthful and cocky. If she were a human, she’d have tribal tattoos with no clue what they meant. She snuck off before Hiddenstrike could say anything, her red coat blending in perfectly with the leaf-litter, though her half-colored face was cause for concern.

Wait! She thought as she climbed to get into position, Did he say he was taking on two at once?!

Their targets moved.

“Wait- there’s two scents. Another she-cat!”

“She smells ugly.”

“How does a cat smell ugly?”

At the mention of kits, his gaze darkened. Those murderers would jump at the thought of getting their paws on children. Hiddenstrike huffed out a frustrated breath, before moving to stand in front of her. "If you can climb up into that tree- lowest branch as possible- I'll lead them this way. You can knock one off my trail. I can battle two at once, but three...." He trailed, his determination lighting a fire within his chest. "Can you do this Mapletail? They aren't the best fighters, but they play dirty."

Mapletail looked at Hiddenstrike in panic, “There’s a ravine- two leagues due north. But that’s very close to Shelly- she has kittens there. That’s who they’re going towards. Hiddenstrike, we can’t let them get close,” she said, those blue eyes wide and glowing with panic. Mapletail was a good fighter, but a nervous one, with a spirit that yearned for adventure but shut down at the slightest bit fo excitement.

One of the cats sniffed the air- "Trail ends here- where's that rat-****** now?"

Hiddenstrike, as soon as he picked up their scents, grabbed Mapletail and ducked into a nearby thicket. He thanked Starclan for their easily camouflaged pelts. His piercing yellow orbs focused on the trio, barring his teeth. He'd done his best to disappear- the skill actually being his specialty- but it seemed he underestimated the loner group's tracking ability. He nudged Mapletail toward the opposite side of the their hide out just as the the three disappeared into some bushes. "We can win this if we ambush them- funny thing about them- they're afraid of heights." Hiddenstrike's eyes sparkled with barely contained excitement. Unlike his siblings back home, he was a fighter and loved the thrill of a good fight. They could use the trees to their advantage- what he failed to notice was the smell of a queen and her kits.

Mapletail’s blue eyes flicked behind Hiddenstrike, towards the entrance, as if on cue, three dark pelts flitted by the leaf-fall-colored forest floor. She quieted, lowered her head on instinct, and her eyes darted towards Hiddenstrike. “Them?” she mouthed.

She could catch bits and pieces of their conversation.

“Smell something?” “She-cat.”

“I smell kittens.” “Jupiter would be pleased- if we brought back a little extra, in addition to that **** body?”

“Focus, Hawk”

“Don’t you want another toy?”

“Focus, Hawk.”

Mapletail gulped. Shelly and her kits!

The thick-furred tom-cat was taken aback by her enthusiasm. Most cats were never this excited to see him, unless he counted Stormblaze. At her words, he grumbled a bit. "I wasn't hiding." He huffed, yellow eyes falling to the ground at his paws. Hiddenstrike did his best to avoid the clans, he didn't want his siblings chasing after him, but it seemed he couldn't avoid it for long.

"I needed to leave camp for a while. Clan life wasn't for me.. I'm not sure it ever will be." He liked to be on his own, it's part of the reason why he left. He had to admit though, he did miss his siblings.

He managed to get most of the annoying twigs and leaves from his fur, but some still remained in harder to reach places. It was times like these that he missed sharing tongues with his siblings. A sigh fell from his lips before he looked back at the she-cat. "I appreciate your hospitality." It wouldn't hurt to stay the night, it's not like it would ruin his head start. "Mind giving me a name. Mine's-" He paused, wondering if he should even dole out that kind of information. The gang he'd been apart of knew him only by his made up name. He shrugged, it couldn't hurt. "Hiddenstrike."

"Things are friendly around here. You can relax, you know. So long as you don't eat all the mice, you can spend the night before you move along," she invited cordially. If she was nice, it'd give him less of a reason to kill any of the neighborhood's residents. She still held fast to her ideology that he could attack at any moment, but a feeling in her gut told her he wouldn't, and that her being nice might even prevent it.

Hiddenstrike, messy fur and all, gazed at the newcomer like she had three heads. Her scent was so familiar to him that he had to do a double take. He couldn’t pinpoint where he’d seen her face from or why he felt it in his gut that he knew her. She smelled like home, but it was faint. Her name was on the tip of his tongue yet it was far away, as if to torture him.

The large tom-cat made no move to speak, piercing eyes observing her thin and lean form. She seemed on edge and she had good reason to be. One wrong move and Hiddenstrike would show her no mercy. After what seemed like days, he finally spoke up.

“Just passing through, no need to get your fur in a twist.” Since his days with the rogue group, he still hadn’t lost his sharp-tongue. Fortunately for him, he wouldn’t get tortured for using it here.

Brambles and small twigs stuck out from his dark coat, a fresh wound glowed bright pink on his shoulder. His appearance was anything but friendly. He’d already been a scary cat, but now with all his battle scars and resting b**** face no one seemed to want to stick around and get to know him.

Mapletail was slowly journeying back to her hollow, a fallen log overshadowing a dip in the warmly welcoming earth. Her nest within the recess was newly woven from moss, a testament to Woodleaf's skill. Even better, a mouse with earth scraped over it was nearby, cold but still appetizing. A gift from Vee. But Mapletail could not concentrate to eat- a strange scent hung over her den, just odd enough to set her on edge. A strange cat wandering through wasn't unusual in LonerClan's territory, but this one was different- it smelled virile, and fearful, and Mapletail's duty proclaimed her to track it, to ensure the tom to which it belonged did not harm her neighborhood.

She slunk down, hearing a slight noise after a few moments of pacing, and spotted a pelt through the dense trees. Above, a warbler rang its warning call, and Mapletail's blue eyes peered from behind a fern as she aimed to get a better look. She saw an intimidating cat, much larger than she, with pitch for fur and suns for eyes. Mapletail shivered- she didn't know if she could take him, on her own. But something about his scent still set her on edge- familiar, somehow, but long lost. She did not recognize him, regardless, but she'd always had an issue remembering faces. A black tom was nothing too rare.

She snuck up further, small feet on moist grass making her silent, until she traced him from ten foxlengths, a recoverable distance. Power sprang in her hindlimbs, quiet as an assassin, before she leapt to confront him. Not a yowl of battle nor fury escaped her, but a question, as she skidded on the yellow leaves in front of him.

"State your business," she growled.

The large tom-cat let himself be dragged away from the gang leader, muscles screaming at him in protest. He hadn't been prepared for the scrawny cat's strength. Tigermask ran beside rust, hoping that the safety of Eclipseclan's territory would scare off their attackers. (Skip to Eclipseclan camp?)

The white queen paused slightly, looking back as Tigermask took back off towards the camp, secretly wishing he'd be okay and would follow after them soon. She turned towards Raven and Hydrantpaw, thinking for a second. "I think he meant back to their camp." She meowed softly, having put the kit gently on the ground for just a second.

Lavender was still shaking, nervously glancing back towards the camp every now and then, worrying about Rust. She hoped he was okay, but Jupiter was ruthless and she was terrified that her mate wouldn't be strong enough to fight him off alone.

Jupiter hissed, turning just enough to claw at rust's face. He managed to claw a chunk for fur and skin from his cheek. He ripped himself away from the loner, licking his lips before he dove into the fight again. This time, he rammed into his side and pinned him to the floor. His hind legs dug into the flank of the loner and his teeth sunk into his neck.

----

Tigermask had gotten them far enough away so that they were out of sight of the building. He turned his yellowish green gaze on Hydrantpaw, "You can lead them back, I'll be meet you at the border." And with that, Tigermask dashed back toward the gang building.

Tigermask brushed past the snowy white queen, heading down the steps in order to show the group of cats where to go. He was still angry from the nights events and as soon as he got these queens and kits to safety, he fully intended to head back inside the building to fight. He leapt up onto the cabinet. "This way."

----

The scrawny tom-cat smiled at Rust's comment, wishing to be torturing the queens right now. They'd given him so many loyal fighters, he didn't want to risk losing that to some clan cats. "It's quite fun, you should try it sometime." Jupiter bolted forward, faking right and then swiping left. His claws dug into the loner's chest fur, green eye glowing.

Rust wasn't a tom who'd give up, not after all he'd been through growing up in the city. The larger tom felt claws scrape against his fur when he leaped, but still, he remained stoic when landing on all four paws. "Is that all? You sure have a lot of power when killing defenceless and weak-willed kits, don't you?" He asked with sarcasm as his cold face stared into the devious eyes of Jupiter

Jupiter ducked under the oncoming claws, grinning all the while. He managed to get underneath Rust before he landed on the ground, raking his claws along the bigger feline's belly fur. His shoulder stung from his own wounds, but the scrawny gang leader turned to face his opponent once again. He wasn't afraid of a few claw marks, they'd just add to the gallery he already harbored on his flank.

Rust barely heard Tigermask's growl in the back of his head, the city rouge, however, not daring to take his looming gaze of blue-grey off of Juniper. They were both rouges, to say the least, with scars and bruises of their own. Pain was of the inevitable, this Rust knew, but he had been through so much within his life and so far nothing had hurt more than the feel of his burning flesh. This would not change. The tom staggered forward with quick, unassuming movements, just as he caught the end of Juniper's words, then aimed to press his claws deep into the tom's shoulders and weigh him down into a pin.

This should be interesting. The Havana brown feline watched his opponent closely, a wicked grin spreading across his scarred features. It had been some time since he actually got to kill something that fought back. Kits were fun to kill, mainly because their mother's pain satiated the thin tom-cats need for pain. He couldn't wait to watch the life drain from this cat's eyes. "It was real fun to taking that kit's life away. I think I might go after lavender next." He sneered.

----

Tigermask was frozen, gaze still lingering on the tiny cat who had managed to knock him back a few paw steps away. The look in Jupiter's eyes had sent chills down his spine, something about the gang leader not sitting well with the warrior. The presence of the white she-cat barely pulled him from his daze. "Down the stares, above one of the cabinets is a boarded up window, a little corner is open. We can slip through there." He stayed where he was, confusion spreading across his face when none of the guards intervened. This doesn't feel right. "Rust, you better not get yourself killed." He growled.

Rust nearly jumped out of his pelt just as he was going to tell Lavender that it was him, for the loud squeal of the apprentice easily gave away their spot now. "****." The city cat leaped out from behind the couch, his ragged pelt bristling with anger, but he found his way to his mate quickly. "We don' have time to talk much mys love...You must go with the large tom now and promise mes that yous won' look back." Rust meowed with a hoarse, heartbroken meow that rumbled through his voice. He caressed Lavender's cheek with his mangled tail then gave her an affectionate kiss on her forehead and turned to head straight into Juniper with a long leap. "You ****'n rat of a gang cat, I don' care who yous are, but yous took mys mate and killed mys son and so many other kits...I will claw your throat out until there is nothing left of yous." The city rouge clearly was not going to be merciful.

Raven's heartbeat quickened. There were strange cats here helping them escape. And of course she wanted to get out, but what would she do after? She had been alone her whole life, until she met her mate, but now that he was gone and she was expecting kits, she didn't know what she should do. Nonetheless, she stood up, ready followed the strangers.

Hydrantpaw didn't need to be told twice and scooped up a kit and followed her mentor exuberantly after greeting him with the appropriate high-pitched squeal- almost blowing their cover. She crept to follow.

"Thank you for coming," she said softly to him as she rubbed against his strong shoulders. Her puppy love for him knew no bounds.

Frecklemask looked with shame and fear at Tigermask, recognizing him as an EclipseClan tom. Her crimes to his clan were not few and they were not mundane- if he recognized her- which he inevitably would, if he was around during her sins - she feared for the lives of her kits. But, then again, she feared even more if Jupiter got his ugly paws on them. She stood, silently, and took up the rear next to Snow, nodding. "You and me can get the rest of Lavender's litter," she whispered anxiously.

Snow blushed softly when she realized he was staring and she nudged Hydrantpaw towards the huge warrior. "Here, take your apprentice, she'd been looking for you anyway. And take Lavender as well, I'm sure she wants to get back to her mate, considering what just happened. I'll go last, to make sure you get all the queens first, Tigermask." She whispered, icy gaze following Tigermask's to rest on Jupiter.

Snow glanced up slightly at the feeling of someone's eyes on her, fur along her back prickling at the feeling. Her icy eyes scanned the camp silently, eventually landing on a large dark mass that was hiding behind one of the chairs in the room. Yellow=green eyes flashed in the darkness, and her heart skipped a beat; there was another cat here, one who wasn't a guard. She wondered if this was the mentor that Hydrantpaw had spoken of, and she reached out towards the apprentice with her tail to get her attention.

"Little one, come here. I need to ask you something." She whispered, not wanting to gain the attention of Jupiter. If this was the young cat's mentor, she didn't want to ruin any chances of him rescuing them.

The havana brown cat turned his back to the queens, knowing they wouldn't try anything funny. His guards were still outside searching for the intruders and he was starting to lose his patience.

----

Tigermask crept around the corner, hiding behind a fallen chair. He was surprised that no guards had stayed inside, leaving a scrawny looking tom-cat all by himself to watch over the queens. He realized that it was the cat who had killed rust's kit. His blood boiled again, barring his teeth. His attention was averted, however, when the queens spoke again.

Flash of white caught his attention, yellowish-green eyes landing on a snowy white she-cat. for a minute, he couldn't breath, distracted by her beauty. The moment ended when he noticed Hydrantpaw's coat beside her. That flea-brain is in for it when we get back camp.

Raven watched Lavender, frozen in fear. When she finally came to her senses, she shakily walked back into the queen's den, and sat down near Lavender. She didn't say anything for a few moments, just siting there, thinking about what has just happened. "I'm sorry" she said quietly. "I really am, it must have been so awful to see that." Her heart ached for her new friend. She couldn't imagine the pain of watching her own kit being killed in front of your eyes.

Snow lead Lavender over to the queen's den slowly, wrapping her tail around the she-cat's back to encourage her to follow. She helped Lavender settle into a nest, curling next to her to continue to comfort her. The snowy white she-cat could tell that something was about to happen, and didn't want the distraught queen caught in the middle of it.

Snow continued to comfort Lavender, feeling horrible for the poor queen, especially since she'd had to watch her kit get killed. "There now, it'll be alright dear. Shhh, I'm here, I promise." She murmured, pressing closer and wrapping her thick tail around the smaller lavender-coloured queen. Her ears pricked up at the noise of the guards going after whoever it was outside of the camp, but tried to keep her focus on Lavender and the other queens inside the camp to keep them calm.

Rust rolled his cold eyes with a scowl after Tigermask spoke. A quiet growl rumbled in his throat as he then answered the clan cat. "Mys life is not a concern of yours, mys Lavender is the one needing t' be saved and yous friend too, remember that." It was clear that the city cat didn't worry about what would happen to him, Rust just wanted his beautiful mate to be safe and at his side, even if that meant death to him. Finally, the door slid open just enough for the two toms to get through. The ginger and white tom studied the darkness of the opening for a brief moment, before he spoke quietly. "Nobody's been down there for a long time that's for sure."

Rust shot a glare at Tigermask once they reached the bushes. Perhaps the tom was right, splitting up would certainly be an easier way to be killed, but the city cat was used to working alone and refused to admit such a thing. "The next time yous push me, I migh' just shove yous into t' guards myself..." He growled with a lash of his mangled tail, only slight hint of sarcasm residing in his hoarse voice. The scraggly tom's claws scratched against a piece wood, however he found hat it was hollow on he inside, so Rust looked down with curious eyes to find what appeared to be an old door that looked as though it hadn't been used in many years. Moss tugged at the sides and it held a musty scent from being in the rain. "It's an entrance? Let's give that a try then.." Rust meowed with a quiet voice, not wasting any time as he began to claw at the moss.

The way the situation was playing out, splitting up didn't seem like their best option. He could feel Rust's rage, and knew that the loner wasn't thinking straight. Tigermask wanted to grab Hydrantpaw and give her an ear full for getting them into this situation. /She finds trouble anywhere./ A growl erupted from his throat, claws digging into the ground and ripping up dirt. What very annoying situation this was.

"We cannot split up and you can't go after that fox-heart by yourself!" Tigermask followed after the loner.

The large Tom-cat pushed Rust into some bushes, two guards running past their hiding spot. /What idiots./ he inspected their hiding spot, discovering a way inside the building.

It seemed battle would be the only choice today. Tigermask roughly dragged Rust away from the window, jumping down off of the roof and landing in the grass below. A fight had been what he wanted, but with so many guards around, there would be no chance for him to beat all of them and come out victorious. Especially because he wanted the leader of the group dead.

"Hurry up you idiot. You gave our position away." He realized his words might be insensitive, seeing as the ginger Tom had just witnessed the murder of his own child. He shook at from his mind, doing his best to remain stoic.

----

Jupiter's eyes shot up toward the window, ears perked and lips drawn back in a snarl. He knew that voice, it reminded him of the Tom-cat who refused to join him ages ago. His singular green eye glanced at lavender, claws digging into the table top.

"Find them and kill them! We can't afford them bringing back reinforcements." He shouted, voice carrying throughout the room.

Lavender collapsed onto the ground in tears, the sobs racking her body as she watched her youngest get killed, and Snow, seeing from across the camp, bounded over to her, crouching next to her to try and comfort her. The lavender queen buried her face in Snow's fur, losing herself to her emotions.

The fluffy white queen pressed closer to Lavender, continuing to lick her forehead to try and sooth her. Her ears pricked up at the sound of the hiss from outside, but tried to ignore it so as not to alert the guards.

Rust's blue-grey eyes widened at the sound of Lavender's cry. "That's Lavender! My mate had kits!? And-and mys kit... Is in the jaws of that piece of ****!" His hoarse voice crumbled into a loud hiss while his pelt bristled with pure anger. He couldn't believe his eyes that he had just let such a thing happen, it felt as though reality had came crashing down and ran into his face. Rust, not only wanted to get his mate back to him, but now a new mission came into his head. The city cat wanted the leader of the gang destroyed in his pointed claws. The sound of his dangerously, angered voice found the attraction of the guards.

Lavender shook her head slightly, looking up again. "No, it's alright. Hopefully my mate will find a way to rescue us and I'll see them again." She sat up again, smiling at Raven softly before going to get a mouse for herself. Her ears pricked up at the mention of her name, and she turned, seeing Jupiter muttering to one of the guards. She gasped when she saw him padding over to where her kits were, immediately realizing what was about to happen. "W-Wait, no! Please, not my kits!" She cried, helpless to do anything but watch.

Rust shook his head slowly as the scent of blood had grown near. "That rat..." A low murmur approached his voice. "There's at least three mothers, mys mate Lavender, I'm not sure how many kits...A lot have been killed now, and you's friend." The tom could just barely make out the voices through the cracked window. He didn't know that his lovely molly had kits when she was trapped. His cold gaze turned onto Tigermask again. "Wes don't have time to plan much, the guard'll catch our scents soon, if they haven't already."

Tigermask settled down beside Rust, the abandoned building reminding him somewhat of Eclipseclan's camp. The first thing he noticed, were the two guards posted out front of the obvious entrance inside the crumbling cabin. His ears perked in the direction of Rust's voice while his yellowish-green eyes were focused on the scene before him. "Do you know how many hostages?" The tiger like warrior questioned, trying to figure out if they could pull off a huge rescue mission.

----

For some reason unknown to Jupiter, the queens decided that this was a social gathering. He sat atop what could have been a table and stared down at them all with his singular green eye. The things he had seen in his younger days created the malicious and sadistic cat he is today. Jupiter's chocolate brown pelt was littered with scars, all thanks to his struggles at the bottom of the food chain. He worked hard to be where he was now, his fight against a doberman gained him many followers. His eye was missing because of that dog, too bad the dog lost it's life in return. Eye for a life, only seems fair.

He rose to his full, rather unimpressive height and leapt off the counter, gracefully landing on all fours. He focused his attention on Lavender and Snow, un-amused by there efforts in comforting the small apprentice. The havana brown cat despised the fact that Snow was so defiant, he'd wanted to kill her immediately, but she was the only queen who had given birth to mostly tom-cats so far. She was a necessity to the cause.

"I think it's time for another kill." He leaned over to one of his top tier guards, smile forming at his lips. "Grab one of Lavender's kittens."

Her eyes widened and a pained expression grew on her face, "Oh my goodness, I'm so sorry" she said. She hadn't even met her kits yet, and she couldn't stand the thought of being away from them. She looked to the ground, "My mate, he died a few sunrises after we first joined this group. It was the day I found out i was expecting." Raven explained. She had only just met this other cat, but she felt like she could trust her. Maybe they could even become friends, she needed one of those right now.

She nodded slightly, completely understanding how the other she-cat was feeling. "It's alright, I understand that. I feel the same. My kits were taken from me, I haven't seen them since I got here." She murmured, eyes becoming unfocused as she stared at the ground.

The Siamese she-cat giggled softly, shaking her head slightly as she padded out to the pile of fresh-kill, taking a plumpish mouse from it and returning to the den, placing it in front of the other queen. "Here, sweetheart. What's your name? Mine's Lavender."

Snow led her to the area near the den the queens usually stayed in, turning around to start soothing Hydrantpaw by licking her head gently. "Shhhh, little one. It's alright. What is your name, dear?" She asked softly between licks, trying to calm down the she-cat. Snow could tell that the smaller cat was still close to being a kit, not much older than one, and knew that this place must terrify her. "Who's your mentor, little one..? Why were you both out so far in our territory?" If there were more cats in what Jupiter called his territory, she didn't want to risk anyone else getting caught and brought here.

Hydrantpaw cowered, hearing the squeal of the kit and the cry of the queen, and even bitterly she observed the camp in shock. Why were all these she-cats here? Why did that tom kill that kit? Hydrantpaw was shocked into a heavy silence as she followed the first friendly face she saw. Hydrantpaw was still very much a kit and she found the queen's spotted pelt more comforting than the blood that the tom licked from his abberative paws. She hid her face.

"I want to go home- I-I just came to find my mentor," she whimpered, "H-he left and I wanted to show him I could help him, but then those two cats found me and . . . StarClan, I wanna go home. I want my mama."

Frecklemask observed Hydrantpaw's sniffles with a bemused sort of smirk, interested yet aloof as she knew any sort of agitation would result in the guards doing something sadistic. She already was less than a favorite of most of them. She used to fight back harshly, decided sometimes to anyway, and yet they always managed to find her again- drag her back, beat her harder.

Her mind was alight with theories- who was Hydrantpaw and why did she look so much like a certain pale yellow tabby who led a certain city clan? Her origin held no mystery- she was EclipseClan. But the way she cried for her mother, Frecklemask could've laughed. Fencerunner, I didn't think it was possible for your kits to have less of a backbone than you.

She saw the kits that Snow had abandoned and nodded to the queen, slipping next to them, soothing them with calculated licks. Frecklemask had never been a mothering type, but here it was essential. She'd already had a litter- she didn't know what became of them, they had been taken away so quickly after their birth. She hadn't even known she could get pregnant. She wanted to know she could trust these queens to help her when her next one came, as she would them.

She soothed the crying kits, sliding the carcass of the dead one over so they wouldn't see it anymore.

Samson, the guard cat who had been integral to bringing Hydrantpaw home, answered Jupiter. "We found her sniffing around in the urbanary streets- real obvious, too. Asked her if she needed help, she said she was just looking for a cat- some other city cat. She was alone, so we jumped her. Thought there was a 50/50 chance she might turn pretty once she's out of that awkward youth phase, ya know?"

Snow dug her claws into the ground more, her heart aching for the mother as she sobbed over her kit, but also turned at the scent of Clan cats, eyes widening slightly as she saw the small cat. She trotted over to the apprentice, looking her over to make sure she wasn't too badly hurt and stepping in front of her and the other guards. "Are you okay, little one..? Here, come with me." She led the smaller cat over to the den with the other queens, her mother instincts kicking in.