Leave me alone. I don't need anyone.

Ryan walked beside her fairly quietly as she padded to the edge of the woods towards Riverclan territory.

"So what's the plan?" he asked, his complete strangeness that had been there earlier, gone.

Mapleshade flicked her tail in frustration.

"I don't know," she admitted.

"Tell me your story, and maybe I can help," he said, genuine curiostity, and empathy showing in his eyes.

Mapleshade looked away angrily. The last time someone had looked at her like that, it had led to disaster.

She reluctantly sat down and began her story, from her perspective.

Ryan nodded in all the right places.

"Hey, you're okay now," he said, brushing his tail along her back. Mapleshade hadn't realized she'd been crying. She shrugged him off, and started towards Riverclan territory again.

"Why are we going this way?" Ryan asked.

Mapleshade stopped for a moment, then remembered her initial plan.

"We're going to the river, to work  our way over to Shadowclan territory. They might take us in for now," she said.

After walking in the river for a while, without running into any other cat, they came across the tunnel into Shadowclan territory.

Low moans were coming from the tunnel.

Mapleshade signaled with her tail to Ryan to stay behind her and get down. She silently approached the tunnel, and pounced on...

A small, underfed, scrawny kit. He had gray and white fur, and his amber eyes were full of fear. His fur was messy, and he had a deep bite on his hind leg.

"Don't eat me!" he squeaked.

Five pairs of eyes peeked out of the darkness behind him. Two where higher than the others.

"Kittypet!" said one of them.

A pair of leaf green eyes stepped into the light. The cat was the same age as the kit, presumably his littermate. She had pale gray fur that was coming off in different places. Her face was that of pure curiosity.

"My name's Ash!" she squeaked.

"Don't talk to them!" a deeper, gruffer voice growled. "We don't know them!"

He stepped into the light. He was a tom with scraggly white fur and dark amber eyes.

"I'm sure these cats mean no harm, Blizzard, but sweety, get away from him, he's infected." said a strained female voice to Ash, who was trying to console the other kit. A black she-cat with navy blue eyes stepped out.

"I'm Twilight," she said, "and these are my other two kits, Gravel, and Shadow." she glanced over at Ryan who was bending over and licking the kit's wound, and applying some nearby leaves to his wound.

"What are you doing?" growled Blizzard before Twilight could say anything.

"I'm helping him. What do you think?" he meowed.

The kit was now purring in sleep.

"How do you know what you're doing won't hurt him?" Blizzard hissed.

Ryan cocked his head.

"I don't," he said simply. Blizzard lunged for him, but Twilight held him back. "You let your kit get infected."

"You're staying here until he's okay!" Blizzard's voice rumbled threateningly in his throat.

Ryan shrugged, sitting down. Mapleshade growled something under her breath, but sat down. A few hours later, the sun went down, and the kit awoke. He got up and stretched, and ran over to one of his siblings, a black-furred one, and tackled her to the ground.

Twilight was holding back tears.

"Thank you!" she choked out. "We'll do anything to repay you!"

Mapleshade didn't hesitate with her answer.

"You can join me,"