Alexander's POV

     I woke up the next morning before everyone in the den had. Then I realized John wasn't here. His nest was cold and his scent was stale. He wasn't here last night... Where is he? Angelica sat at the entrance of camp, staring out into the darkened forest. "Did John come by here at all?" I asked, tipping my head to the side. Her eyes widened and she let out a  soft squeal before covering it up with a few coughs.

     "N-no. I didn't see him all evening." She said. "Connor did come in a little late though. He had a fish and the slight scent of John on him, so he might be in the forest somewhere." I dipped my head in thanks and bolted into the forest. I parted my jaws for any trace of his scent. A sudden blast of cold air came from the direction of the river, carrying John's scent with it. I began to run in that direction and spotted John sitting by the river, rubbing his nose.

"John!" I screeched at the top of my lungs. He jumped and whirled around.

"Please don't yell," He whispered hoarsely.

"I'm sorry, you just had me worried. Are you alright?" I asked, fidgeting with my tail.

     "Fine." He said, flashing a smile. He stood up and stretched out his legs before setting a brisk pace towards camp. There was a tense silence between us, but I didn't dare break it. He grabbed a mouse from the prey pile before quickly gulping it down. Cheri sat huddled in the farthest corner of camp while Ross danced around her. She looked unamused and folded her ears back against her head.

     John shook out his fur, which sent a few droplets of water flying about. He blinked at me before beginning to climb up to Washington's den. Cheri immediately stood up and leaped up after him with surprising speed and agility. They exchanged a few words which resulted in John leaping down and going into the den.

     I wanted to ask him what he was doing out there, but he'll tell me when he's ready. Lafayette popped out of the den just as the sun began to rise. I sat patiently at the entrance to camp, waiting for enough cats to be awake to go on patrol.

     John's POV

     I woke up to water splashing my nose. I felt cold from nose to tail and tried to fluff out my fur, but it didn't help. I began rubbing my nose with a paw when I heard someone behind me yell my name. I whipped around and flinched from the memories. Realizing it was Alex, I relaxed slightly. "Please don't yell." I said hoarsely, as though I'd been screaming all night. He nodded awkwardly and he continued to tell me how worried he was. As I wasn't really listening, I simply responded with, "Fine." I flashed him a forced smile to reassure him.

     I stretched my legs and set a brisk pace for camp. I felt Alex wanted to talk to me and I wanted to confide in him more than anything, but I couldn't bring myself to actually tell him about Francis and my siblings. I grabbed a mouse and gulped it down, as I didn't eat any fish from the river. Turning, I decided to ask Washington if I could go on a later patrol today. Just as I arrived at the top, Cheri stopped me and asked if she could speak to Washington first, to which I obliged.

     I leaped down and slunk into the den to get some proper sleep before I go out and patrol.

     Washington's POV

"- And that's how Ross and I ended up here." Cheri finished, wrapping her tail over her paws.

     "Alright," I sighed heavily. "I trust you." Cheri dipped her head in thanks and slipped out of my den. I suppose that explains how the two of them got here... I shook my head and leaped down from my den to the grassy clearing. "Alexander and Hercules," I called. The two cats scrambled from where they sat and stood in front of me.

     "Yes, sir?" Hercules asked, flexing his claws.

     "I need your help assessing Ross and Cheri." I stated.

     "What about Theodosia?" Alexander put in.

     "Don't worry about her, I'll have a special teacher assigned to her soon." I replied, beckoning Ross and Cheri with my tail. "Let's go," We all slipped out of camp and walked towards an open, grassy area where we could assess their skills better. Hercules sat on he side beside Alexander while Ross and Cheri sat in the middle of the grassy area, their ears pricked.

     "You can go first Hercules." I said, nodding to the two she-cats. He padded up to them and poised to spring. Ross nudged Cheri forward and, with an annoyed huff, she stood still, studying Hercules closely. Hercules leaped at her, but Cheri quickly caught hold of his throat and pinned him to the ground, his paws pinned down on either side of him and her fangs bit lightly into his neck. He tried to squirm, but Cheri pressed his paws down harder.

     Just as I was about to order Cheri to let him up, she stood back and began brushing her whiskers with a paw. Maybe she wasn't lying after all... Hercules shook himself and stared at Cheri in shock. Ross looked like she was about to burst with laughter. Cheri turned at shot her a glare before padding next to Ross and nudged her ever so lightly towards Hercules who was tensing himself again. Ross crouched down and mimicked Hercules' movements. Just as Hercules was about to spring, Ross ran towards a tree near the edge of the field.

     Growling in annoyance and frustration, he cornered her against the tree. She look almost amused as he trapped her. She then leaped up the trunk and jumped down onto his back. She pressed a paw to the back of his neck and lightly bit his scruff. After a few moments, she let him go and ran back over to Cheri before settling next to her.

     "Intriguing," Alexander murmured. "I don't really think there's any reason for me to assess this pair. It's quite obvious that they know a lot more than we can teach." I nodded in agreement.

     "And I'll have to speak to Aaron and see if he'll be willing to train Theodosia." I added. I turned to Alexander. "Take a patrol to the top of the border, show them the territory on the way. Choose who want to come with you." I padded back to camp after catching a thrush by surprise. I tossed it on the prey pile and spoke to Aaron before slipping back into my den. How did I ever end up here?

     Alexander's POV

     I turned to Hercules. "I'd like you to stay in camp until the next patrol, I don't want to risk having too many strong cats out of camp." He nodded in understanding and padded towards camp. "You two, stay here until I return." Once I got a nod, I slipped through the thorn and fern barrier and looked around the camp. John sat with Laf, Peggy and Maria, vigorously discussing who knows what. Aaron got up from Madison's side and slowly walked up to me.

     "Hey, Alexander, what's happening?" Aaron asked.

     "I'm taking a patrol to the top of the border, do you want to come?" I asked, not taking my eyes off John. He dipped his head.

     "Yes, but it is my responsibility to teach and train Theodosia, so she'll have to come with me." He said. I nodded.

     "That's fine." I concluded. I padded up to where John and the others were relaxing. "I'm taking a patrol to the top of the border, would any of you like to come?" John stood up and nodded before slipping out of camp.

     "I'll go too," Maria bounced. "I want to see more of the territory."  I nodded and began padding out of camp when Connor followed.

     "Peggy sent me out of camp," He muttered. "She says I need to get out more." He pulled ahead until he reached the field where Cheri and Ross, and now John, were awaiting our arrival. As I was about to ask where Aaron went, he came up from the woods behind me with Theodosia at his heels.

   "Let's go," I said and set a brisk pace for the top of the border.

(Time skip to about five minutes later.)

Cheri and Ross suddenly froze as Aaron was showing Theodosia how to distinguish cat scents from the rest of the forest. "What's wro-" I began, but Ross leapt into a bush before I could begin. Growling under her breath, Cheri followed. I stalked up to the bush irritably. Did they not know anything? Suddenly, a lump of fur was thrown out of the bushes, followed by another. Startled, I took a few paces backwards, tripping over my own paws.

     Ross and Cheri leaped out less than a second later and pinned the lumps of fur. John immediately froze when he set his eyes on the dark tom before stumbling on his paws and collapsing into the dirt. I didn't look back at him though. My eyes were fixed on one of the lumps of fur who began to struggle. "Elizabeth," I hissed, barely keeping the menace from my voice. Connor bristled beside me while Aaron and Theo were helping John. "Shut up, fag." She hissed, but Cheri pushed her muzzle into the dirt. Connor nearly leaped at Elizabeth, but stopped himself. Cheri and Ross let the two cats up and they streaked away towards the border.

     "We'll be back, faggots!" The dark tom taunted over his shoulder. As if we don't know. When I did turn around, I realized John was out cold and Aaron and Maria were trying to carry him with Theodosia steadying them.

"Take him back and give him to Peggy. You guys can stay in camp once you're done, we don't have much more to cover anyway." I said, beckoning to Cheri and Ross. Not waiting for an answer, I turned and sprinted into the wood, Cheri and Ross at my heels.

Peggy's POV

"Alright, Evan, I think we can remove the splint now." I said, calling him over. He bounced on his three usable paws and did a little spin. "But you've got to hold still," He nodded and sat down, holding out his front left paw and and screwed his eyes shut. I removed the leaf wrapping the stick and the stick fell to the ground. "Done." I chirped. He gingerly put it to the ground a few times and walked a little.

"Thank you, Peggy!" He exclaimed. "You're the best." He immediately bounced out of camp. I shook my head in an attempt to stifle my laughs and slipped back into my den. Curling up into my moss-and-feather nest, I attempted to sleep. After what seemed to be a few seconds, Angelica prodded me in the side.

     "Aaron, Maria, and Theodosia brought John back," She said urgently. "He's unconscious." At that I leaped up and ran outside. Aaron and Maria were carrying him on their backs while Theodosia kept adjusting him so he wouldn't fall.

     "Bring him here." I said, dragging some spare moss out of my den and made a nest on the ground. They carefully laid him onto it and I began examining him. "So, what happened?" I asked, pressing an ear to John's chest.

     "We were out in the forest patrolling," Aaron began.

     "And John passed out while Cheri and Ross were holding some cats from the other side down." Maria finished. I removed my ear from his chest and felt him over for any swellings or cuts. When I found none, I came to a conclusion.

     "He most likely fainted due to shock. He must've seen something that surprised him so much that he passed out." I concluded. "Did he stare at anything with extreme fright or surprise." This time, Theodosia answered.

     "He seemed to be afraid of a darker cat who was with the one Alexander called 'Elizabeth'." She said, shifting her paws self-consciously.

     "Probably someone he knew from before he came here. Someone he doesn't like very much." I sighed. "Alright, you guys can go, he should wake up soon enough." Theodosia and Aaron left, but Maria stayed.

     "I'm not letting you watch over John right now, you look tired." She said, staring me right in the face. I wanted to protest, but I knew she was right. "I'll watch him while you nap and I'll let you know if anything changes."

     "Thank you," I murmured quietly, going back inside and flopping back onto my nest. What'd I do to deserve all these people.

     Um, hi guys. I'm so sorry I've been absent this entire month. I've just been trying to find a good device I can write on without rousing suspicion. Thanks for reading! -S