A few days later, Rustfern was up to his full strength, and perhaps more. It turned out that the Redwood gave a cat strength if they digested too much. Rustfern could knock over small boulders and he almost killed Ravenflight in a mock fight.

They left the cave and started to search for the Dynasty of Truth. It was long, enduring, and hard. Amberclaw knew that they had to reach the Dynasty before leaf-bare kicked in, otherwise they would surely freeze to death.

"Hey you!"

Amberclaw spun around to see three cats staring at them. One had a brown tabby pelt and amber eyes, another was a tortoiseshell with green eyes, and the third was a black cat with blue-green eyes.

"Who're you?" Rustfern stepped up. Normally, Amberclaw would've been worried for him, but with his super strength, he could take on any cat and win.

"We've been watching you for a while. You're clearly not from around here," the tortoiseshell mewed in amusement.

"We're not," Dawnmist interjected. "We're looking for the Dynasty of Truth. Have you heard of them? If so, can you direct us to them?"

"Dynasty o' Truth?" the brown tabby echoed. "Yeah, we've heard o' them. Biggest group o' cats 'round here."

The black she-cat nodded quickly. "We can take you there."

"Thank you, yes!" Blackshine mewed eagerly.

"Hold on," Dawnmist flicked her tail. "I must talk to my companions first. Alone."

Alone. Amberclaw shivered. She was always alone.

"I'd suggest you leave us alone for a bit, we might take a while," Amberclaw shot without thinking. The loners replied with displeased looks but allowed them to talk.

"Do we trust them?" Amberclaw growled. "I don't."

"I think we should. They're right, we don't know anything about this place. We could be lost. We could be years away from the Dynasty of Truth," Ravenflight mewed wisely.

"I'm with Amberclaw," Ebonywind inputted.

"I'm with Ravenflight," Blackshine added. "I trust them. They seem friendly."

Seem...

Dawnmist echoed her words. "They seem friendly. I'm not sure."

"I think we should trust them," Rustfern mewed quietly. "They can show us to the Dynasty of Truth in a moon. It would take ten times that to find it by ourselves."

"Alright, I'm with Rustfern, Ravenflight and Blackshine," Dawnmist gave Amberclaw a regretful look. "I trust them, but barely."

Amberclaw growled her annoyance.

"We're outvoted, I guess," Ebonywind sighed. "I trust them only because you guys do."

They returned to the loners. Dawnmist announced they were going to trust them.

"Cool," the brown tabby dipped his head. "I'm John, the tortoiseshell is Lilac, and she's Midnight."

Ravenflight introduced the Clan cats quickly. "How long until we reach the Dynasty of Truth?"

The brown tabby licked his chest fur absent-mindedly. "Maybe a moon or two. Whatcha thinking, guys?"

"A moon," Lilac agreed.

Midnight didn't speak, but merely flicked her tail.

"We'll set out, then?" Dawnmist suggested.

"Yep. We should aim to get there before winter." Lilac responded.

Assuming winter was leaf-bare, they followed the loners into a forest. "Why do we have to go through a forest?" Blackshine complained. It was the first time Amberclaw had seen him unhappy.

"It's the only way, unless you want to freeze to death," Midnight snapped.

Amberclaw rolled her eyes but followed the loners nonetheless.

"Fox!" John yowled from the front.

Amberclaw quickly prepared herself. Two orange foxes leapt out of the undergrowth.

"Rustfern, Dawnmist, Ravenflight, John and Lilac take care of the first one!" Ebonywind yowled. "Midnight, Amberclaw, Blackshine and I will have the second one!"

They split up, facing the fox. Amberclaw found herself closer to Blackshine than she would've liked and edged away discreetly. Ebonywind darted at the fox, scratching one of its furry legs. Amberclaw followed with an attack to its flank on the other side, striking it quickly without even getting touched.

The Clan cats worked together, Midnight kind of drifting through them without helping. The three Clan cats attacked with precision and practiced strikes. Then, another fox lumbered out of the bushes, pouncing on Ebonywind. The she-cat shrieked in pain, and Midnight reacted first. She leapt forward, attacking the fox brutally.

Amberclaw and Blackshine kept their fox occupied, but they were tiring. Dawnmist's group were finishing off the first one and it fled, whining in pain. They quickly surrounded the other two foxes, cornering them.

Midnight, John and Lilac took one fox, working together, while the six Clan cats took the other. It was a little unfair, but they didn't know how to work together.

It worked well, and both the foxes fled after the first one. Amberclaw breathed a sigh of relief. No cat had died, although Ebonywind had some nasty wounds. It looked like they would survive. And it was because of the loners.

That night, John found an abandoned Twoleg settlement to stay in for the night. The Clan cats chatted with the loners, bonding with them quickly.

"You guys aren't so bad after all," Ebonywind mewed sleepily.

"Was that supposed to be offensive?" Lilac joked.

Lilac, Blackshine and Ebonywind had immediately become inseparable. John had formed a friendship with Rustfern and Ravenflight. And it looked like Midnight was going to be best friends with Dawnmist.

Amberclaw had never felt so alone. Even when she was in the middle of a pile of sleeping cats, she couldn't sleep. Anger for the loners rose up in her and she mentally began going through her exercises. She calmed down, but fury still remained in her body.

I don't want to be alone, but what choice do I have?