Tickedpelt shuffled out of the Knights' den, nervously flicking his gaze over to Covetail whom had been laying asleep in the nest next to Tickedpelt. Being that Tickedpelt had slept by the entrance of the Knights' den yet again, Covetail offered to sleep next to him to keep him from getting cold from the light gusts of the Newleaf breeze through the entrance of the den. The dark blue-grey tom had quickly flopped into the nest before Tickedpelt could protest, therefore the ticked tom decided to weave out of the den earlier than he had anticipated.

He hastily stumbled out of the den, whipping his tail behind him to catch himself. Large ears perking, he glanced around the camp. It seemed empty; the guards had not come out to guard the camp yet since the night was still young, except for the knight who was already guarding the entrance already. Taking a few more strides out into the clearing, he tried to peer through the entrance of camp to see who was guarding that night until-

"Tickedpelt!"

The sharp whisper caught Tickedpelt off guard, his ruddy brown fur rising. He swiveled his head around to see Minkspeck. His sister stood there, her claws impatiently picking at the blade of grass beneath her. Tickedpelt let her fur relax, however, the look of paranoia had not left his green eyes. Minkspeck's attitude had changed for the past half-moon and Tickedpelt never thought much of it and more or less complained about it to himself, however, now he could understand why the scarred she-cat acted more gruff lately.

"Come on, Tickedpelt," Minkspeck muttered, brushing softly past her brother and trotting towards the camp entrance, "Wren's guarding tonight. He always lets me out during the night."

Tickedpelt didn't say anything and just padded after her, knowing that she'd most likely scold him if he said anything stupid. Back when they were apprentices it would always be Tickedpelt leading Minkspeck around. But now, this was Minkspeck's world, and he was going to let her lead him.

"You two are early," Wren murmured as Minkspeck led him through the camp entrance. Him and the grey-brown guard held eye contact before Minkspeck interrupted the short silence.

"Is that a bad thing?" Minkspeck's voice had an edge to it, and Tickedpelt observed her pupils flicking side to side. Minkspeck's caution made him slightly worried, his almond-shaped eyes narrowing as he pulled his gaze away from Wren and into the forest.

Tickedpelt's ear twitched when he heard Wren heave a sigh. "No, it's good," he responded, "I was just getting nervous that Deadtail was going to take Gustpaw out to guard early."

"Thanks Wren," Minkspeck murmured, flicking her tail to beckon Tickedpelt to follow her again. Tickedpelt looked back at Wren, giving the guard a simple nod as he slid past him.

"Wait a moment," Wren interrupted, glancing over his shoulder at the camp behind him. The tom's sharp yellow eyes flashed in the dark, his nicked ears flattened against his skull.

Minkspeck halted, her tail slowly swaying behind her, "what is it, Wren?"

"Don't come back until the sun starts to rise," he meowed, "I convinced Goldenshadow to give me guard duty then as well. The other guards will be waiting to be assigned a patrol then."

"I assumed that," Minkspeck huffed, beginning to pad away again, "bye Wren."

Tickedpelt made eye contact with the tom, noticing the slight glimmer of hurt in the depths of his eyes. Tickedpelt gave him a tight smile as a small apology for his sister before turning and leaping away into the undergrowth after Minkspeck.

Tickedpelt stalked after the feline, the soft padding of mossed under his paws not helping to calm the slight pounding of his heart. Tickedpelt had never been out at night, and he doubted anyone else besides a few guards and Minkspeck had been either. The luscious and captivating forest of the day seemed to transform into something a lot more ominous just by the mere rising and setting of the sun.

The forest was quiet. Absolutely and thoroughly silent. The noiseless atmosphere hung around Tickedpelt like a dense fog and seemed to suffocate him.

"Why is it so quiet?" It seemed like forever since Tickedpelt made a sound in the hushed forest. He was so used to the birdsong and the rustling of the thick undergrowth during the day.

Minkspeck paused in front of him, glancing back at him with her copper eyes narrowed. Though Tickedpelt hated to admit it, the shadows overcasting the she-cat's scarred face seemed to make her and the entire forest even scarier.

"I'm going to be honest, Tickedpelt," she whispered, turning and beginning to pad again, "the forest is usually quiet at night, but it has never been this silent before."

This just made Tickedpelt even more uneasy, however, the knight raised his head and looked around as if he was challenging anything that could be hiding in the bushes. As he stared off with narrow eyes, he meowed, "do you think this is a sign? A sign we shouldn't be doing this?"

"A sign," Minkspeck echoed him with annoyance, "Tickedpelt, we're doing this to help the Kingdoms, not doom them."

"How long until we get there?"

"Patience is a virtue, Tickedpelt."

◦♕◦

      After what seemed like moons, the shrubbery began to seemingly grow around them. The ancient trees stretched taller, taller than Tickedpelt could even see. Stones also began to jut out of the ground, sharp and pointed, threatening to reach out at the two Kingdom cats and shred their pelts.

      Tickedpelt had never seen this part of the forest before. He was a knight so he was only familiar with the areas around the borders they shared with the Kingdom of Crying Werewolves and the Kingdom of Faded Wisps.

      Tickedpelt stopped beside Minkspeck, staring ahead of him with wide eyes as Minkspeck meowed proudly, "we're here."

      Before Tickedpelt's very own paws stretched out crumbled stones and ruins of a structure that seemed to had been huge. Bigger than the trees that towered into the sky. However, the ruins were old, moss and lichen already making their way onto the fragments of what was left.

      Minkspeck side-glanced at Tickedpelt, her torn lips spreading into a grin. "Isn't it astounding? This is what remains of the magnificent castle that once stood in the middle of all the territories."

      "I thought the castle was just an old nursery tale," Tickedpelt breathed, his eyes shimmering in the shadows. He felt energy spark in his paws, wanting to bound into the battlefield of stones and explore where the Kingdoms had first originated.

      "That's not all. The castle isn't whats going to help us in the war, though it's a nice addition. No cats know about this castle besides the leaders, healers, me, and-" Minkspeck broke off, eyeing Tickedpelt excitedly, "I'll just have to show you."

      Tickedpelt followed Minkspeck more slowly, taking his time as he observed his surroundings. He lifted his long tail and ran it lightly over one of the stones, pulling it away at the bumpy texture. He glanced back at the ruddy brown she-cat and sped up his pace after her, already detecting the unfamiliar scents wafting in the air.

      Minkspeck wiggled through a gap in some kind of wall of stones, Tickedpelt struggling to fit through. His muscular shape send a few loose pieces of small rock breaking off of the gap.

      As he stumbled through, he gazed around curiously. Minkspeck had led him into some kind of room, plant growth parting through the cracks in the walls and ground. It was beautiful, though the air was a bit tight, and Tickedpelt couldn't even imagine what it looked like when it was still in tact.

      However, the thing that took Tickedpelt's full attention was the group of cats sitting at the center of the room.

      All cats, particularly all she-cats, sat proudly, their eyes all resting on him and following his movements as he slowly creeped into the room more cautiously.

      Minkspeck trotted quickly up to the group of she-cats, turning and standing in front of them, facing her brother. She flicked her tail excitedly and purred with content.

      "We are the Peace-Dealers," Minkspeck meowed loudly, her voice echoing off the walls of the magnificent stone building.

      "Welcome, Tickedpelt," a cream-furred feline spoke up. When she stood up, she stood taller than Minkspeck. Her icy blue and green-flecked eyes were welcoming, yet a slight warning pricked in their depths.

      Tickedpelt nodded slowly to the she-cat, his lips pursed slightly. "Hello," he responded, holding back from sitting down with them. His eyes drifted over the group, counting five cats, including his sister. They all wore different expressions upon their faces, clearly sharing major differences with each other, yet they all came together for a similar cause; to stop the war.

      "Sit with us," the same cream she-cat meowed, sitting back down on her haunches. Tickedpelt took the stranger's invite, picking his way over and sitting beside Minkspeck.

      Tickedpelt tensed slightly when Minkspeck leaned in closer to him, angling her muzzle to his ear. "That's Heatherfreeze," she whispered to him, "she's from the Kingdom of Faded Wisps."

      Tickedpelt hummed quietly in acknowledgment to his copper-eyed sister, looking back at Heatherfreeze. Her short and well-groomed fur looked sleek in the shadows of the room. Heatherfreeze sat next to a white and black-freckled she-cat.

       "I'm Heatherfreeze," Heatherfreeze meowed, clearly not hearing Minkspeck tell him who she was.

      "Mottledrain," a voice abruptly cut through the conversation. Tickedpelt's gaze snapped over to the calico she-cat that sat towards the side of the group. The young cat's piercing amber eyes met Tickedpelt's, her ear flicking in a short apology. "I'm Mottledrain."

      "Since we're introducing ourselves," a ginger she-cat cleared her voice from a little bit away from beside Mottledrain, "I'm Cardinalflight. This is Sloegorse." Cardinalflight flicked her tail in the direction of the white and black she-cat beside Heatherfreeze.

      Sloegorse's eyes slitted a tad bit when Cardinalflight introduced her for her, but she said nothing, glancing at Tickedpelt and giving the tom a nervous smile.

      "Nice-" he glanced beside him at Minkspeck, blinking hesitantly, "nice to meet you all."

      Minkspeck turned to Tickedpelt, her ears flicking as her copper eyes shone in the dim light. "You know Tickedpelt, we were debating whether to let a tom in since so many are for the war but, of course, I convinced them to let-"

      "I'm sorry to interrupt, Minkspeck, I really am, but unfortunately we can not spend all night introducing Tickedpelt to everyone," Sloegorse spoke up, her whiskers twitching apologetically, the feline slightly awkward about cutting Minkspeck off.

      Minkspeck clamped her jaws shut, eyeing Sloegorse. However, the hunter's gaze lightened and she nodded slowly. "What's so important?" Minkspeck's voice was firm, laced with an obvious concern. Tickedpelt looked back at Sloegorse, determining why Minkspeck seemed concerned- Sloegorse did not seem or act like a cat that would rudely interrupt someone else.

      Sloegorse's eyes drifted over all the cats and Tickedpelt could notice the tiny shuffling of her black-dipped paws. The freckled feline meowed slowly, her green eyes resting solemnly on Tickedpelt and Minkspeck.

"Lavastar is planning an attack on the borders of The Kingdom of Fire-Spewing Dragons."