Iceslide awoke to a paw prodding his shoulder. He blinked up and saw Bone Shred standing over him, looking down at him through the empty eye sockets of the skull. "It's dawn," He meowed. "Shall we leave now?"

With a start, he remembered the events of last night. I told Bone Shred's cats that I'd take them to a patch of woodland outside RiverClan territory. He yawned and arched his back as he stretched. "Yes, of course."

Many cats were already standing near the door, waiting for them. The three kits were bouncing around their mother's legs excitedly.

"I can't wait!" Skipper squeaked excitedly. "What do you think it'll be like?"

"It'll be awesome!" Scrappy exclaimed.

Iceslide purred and got to his paws, and he and Bone Shred padded over to the others. The kits will be much happier there.

"Is everyone here?" Bone Shred scanned the group with his empty gaze.

Iceslide glanced behind him. The room looked empty. He suddenly noticed that the elderly tom was still laying against the wall, his bony flank heaving as he breathed. He looked back at Bone Shred. "What about him?"

The rogue leader paused, glancing back at him. "He's going to die, remember? He'd never make the journey anyway."

I guess... Iceslide watched the old cat sadly. He shouldn't be left here to die alone... But What can I do about it? With a sigh, he turned away. "Alright... Let's go."

***

The sun was rising as they traveled through twolegplace along the sidewalk. Iceslide was leading the group with Bone Shred alongside him. So far, the journey was going well, and every cat was keeping up well, even the kits.

"How far is it?" Bone Shred asked.

"Not too far," Iceslide meowed. "But it'll take some time to get there. We'll have to go around the clan territories." The cats paused as they prepared to cross a road.

Poisoned Sap padded to Iceslide's side. "I can't wait to taste some juicy forest prey." She licked her lips, and her amber eyes gleamed. "You're very generous to help us, Iceslide."

"I'm happy to help," Iceslide replied warmly. "I think you'll like it there."

"I'm sure we will." Poisoned Sap waved her tail.

They were almost at the outskirts of twolegplace when three cats appeared from around the corner of a fence. Bone Shred hissed and arched his back, and several others did the same. 

Juicy, Violet, and Parrot looked alarmed, and Iceslide looked at Bone Shred anxiously. "No, it's okay! I know them."

"Iceslide?" Violet stared at him, then looked past him at the bristling strangers. "W-who are they?"

Parrot gulped and lowered himself to the ground, his eyes wide and afraid. "That's a skull!" Beside him, Juicy looked frozen.

"There's nothing to be afraid of," Iceslide promised his friends and looked at Bone Shred. The black tom's fur was slowly flattening. "This is Bone Shred. I'm taking he and his cats to a new place to live."

"Greetings," Bone Shred rumbled. "We're just passing through."

The kittypets didn't respond, looking nervous. At last, Parrot broke the silence. "Why are you hanging out with such a shady group?"

Some of the cats took offense to that and hissed, while others lashed their tails. Bone Shred looked over his shoulder and growled a warning, and they quieted.

"These cats are fine," Iceslide insisted. "Bone Shred wears the skull to frighten off enemies. He won't harm you, and neither will any of the others."

"Iceslide, I'm sorry to interrupt, but we should get moving," Bone Shred meowed quietly.

"Of course." Iceslide nodded agreement. He needed to get back to RiverClan as soon as possible. "I'm sorry, we need to go now." He blinked warmly at the kittypets. "See you." His gaze rested on Violet, and she returned it, though she looked uneasy. 

Juicy and Parrot hurried away, but Violet hesitantly stepped forward. "May I travel with you for a bit?"

Bone Shred flicked his ear and said nothing. Iceslide stepped forward. "Of course," He meowed happily. I want to spend time with Violet every chance I get. "Let's go."

As the cats continued down the sidewalk, Iceslide padded ahead of the group, and Violet fell in beside him. "What are you doing?" She whispered.

Iceslide blinked at her. "I'm helping these cats. They're starving."

"But..." Violet's blue eyes were clouded with unease. "I think you're making a mistake, Iceslide... Those cats are trouble. Just look at the one with the skull..."

He turned his head and gently licked her ear. "There's nothing to be afraid of," He promised. "They're just cats like you and I."

Violet looked down. "I suppose so... Just... Be careful." She touched her nose to his. "I'll get going now. Take care, Iceslide." She looked at him for a moment longer, then turned and ran toward her twoleg nest.

***

It was sunhigh when they reached the area just outside of RiverClan territory. Iceslide led them through the snowy grass and looked over his shoulder. A few cats were getting tired, particularly the kits. 

"Glitter, are we there yet?" Skipper asked his mother.

"Yeah, my paws are sore!" Sunny complained, her little orange tail dragging behind her.

Glitter looked down at them sympathetically. "It won't be much longer, I hope."

Bone Shred looked at Iceslide, who quickly assured him. "Not far now." He looked ahead at the trees in the distance. "Just over there."

It wasn't long before they reached the patch of woodland. Iceslide sat down by the edge of a small clearing, watching as the cats padded in and looked around. Bone Shred was at the head of the group, studying their surroundings.

"Wow, look at the trees!" Skipper exclaimed, and he and his siblings raced over to one of them. "Come on!"

"This is a great place," Howl meowed as he looked around. "There's bound to be lots of prey around here."

Crimson Ice let out a purr. "Mice, squirrels, birds." He turned to Bone Shred. "This is perfect."

"Yes," Bone Shred agreed, looking around a moment longer before turning to Iceslide. "We'll make ourselves a fine home here. We can't thank you enough, Iceslide."

Iceslide dipped his head. I've done a great thing here. These cats will thrive and never have to go hungry again.

"Hey, Iceslide?" Oil Tail padded up to him, his blue eyes gleaming. "We don't know much about hunting here. Would you show us some techniques, teach us how to tackle hunting among trees?"

"I'd be happy to," He replied, though his paws itched to get back to camp. Some cat will realize I'm gone. I need to hurry.

Bone Shred nodded. "Good idea. Poisoned Sap and Shredded Ivy can join you two."

Overhearing this, Poisoned Sap padded over, followed by a dark tabby she-cat that Iceslide didn't recognize. Her dark green eyes rested on him. "Hello," She purred.

"I don't believe you've met my daughter," Bone Shred meowed, nodding to her. "This is Shredded Ivy."

Iceslide dipped his head. "It's nice to meet you."

"The pleasure is all mine," Shredded Ivy purred, her eyes gleaming at him.

"Right." Oil Tail twitched his skinny black tail. "Let's go."

***

Iceslide took the three cats further into the woods and sniffed around. This will be a great place for them. He confirmed. "There'll be much more prey here in new-leaf." He turned to the others. "But there's bound to be a squirrel or a mouse around here."

"Yes." Oil Tail studied their surroundings. He suddenly raced forward, and Iceslide watched as the cream and black tom caught a mouse and returned with it. 

"Good catch!" Iceslide purred. "See, you'll get on fine here."

Poisoned Sap narrowed her eyes. "Do twolegs come around here?"

"Not that I know of," Iceslide meowed. "I'm sure it's safe. You might need to watch out for foxes and badgers though."

"Nothing we can't handle." Shredded Ivy walked by and swept her tail under his chin. "Every cat will thrive here, and it's all thanks to you, Iceslide." Her dark eyes glittered as she leaned closer to him. "We owe you a lot."

Iceslide shifted away uncomfortably. "Err it's nothing," He meowed. Sorry, but I've only got eyes for Violet. You don't even know me.

He went on showing them how to catch squirrels and mice, and keep downwind of the prey. It had taken a while for them to understand that when stalking, they needed to watch for leaves and twigs that might alert their prey. In twolegplace, this wasn't an issue.

But eventually, they seemed to understand, and did very well for their first hunting session in the forest. They returned with three mice, a bird, and a squirrel. Bone Shred watched as they deposited the prey in the middle of the clearing, starting a fresh kill pile. 

"There really is a lot of prey here," Bone Shred sounded pleased. "Perfect."

Iceslide didn't want to be rude, but knew that he needed to get back to camp. "I'm sorry, but I need to get going," He meowed. "My clan will be upset."

"Of course," The leader dipped his head. "Thank you for all your help, Iceslide." He turned and looked at his cats as they settled in the clearing, beginning to build nests of moss. "You've done us a great favor."

***

The sun was high when Iceslide returned to camp. This time, he'd been smart and caught a couple mice first. If he came home empty pawed, cats would question him for sure. He hoped that no cat had noticed his absence. But he'd been gone all night and half the day. He nervously padded into the camp.

Divetail and Cherryberry were sharing a trout by the side of the clearing. Frozenripple was speaking to Dipfoot, and Sunripple crouched by the fresh kill pile.

Here it goes... He went to the fresh kill pile and dropped his mice on it. Sunripple glanced up, his eyes flashing. "Where have you been?" He whispered.

Iceslide hesitated. "Twolegplace," He murmured, crouching beside him. "Did anyone notice I was gone?"

"Frostedcloud wanted you for the dawn patrol," Sunripple meowed quietly. "I told him the two of us had gone fishing during the night because we couldn't sleep, and you were tired. I think he bought it, and no cat checked if you were in the den or not."

Thank StarClan! He relaxed. "Thanks." He looked around the camp. "Did I miss anything?"

Sunripple hesitated. "Not really. Petalfin's kits were apprenticed. That's about it." He looked at him seriously. "You shouldn't stay away so long. It's risky."

"I know, it won't happen again." Iceslide stood up. 

"Iceslide!" Winterlight ran over to them, purring a greeting. "Do you want to go fishing with me?"

Now? He was exhausted, but couldn't say no. His sister had been devastated when Ravenfeather ended their relationship, and she was finally back to her regular cheerful self. He had to spend time with her. "Of course," He meowed warmly. "Let's go."

As they headed out of camp, Iceslide couldn't help but feel good about himself. I helped a lot of cats today. Maybe the warrior code wouldn't agree with it, but it doesn't matter if I've saved so many cats from starvation.