For a couple moments, the two scuffled, dark-colored soil spraying up from beneath their thrashing bodies. Covestripe and Mudnose stepped back with fright.

       Then Lilac dove forward and sank her teeth into the writhing form of Asher. Yanking backwards, she tore him out of the fight and slammed her paws down on his chest, glowering down at him. Owlettail jumped up and heaved, tail lashing.

       "Do not attack our guests," Lilac snarled in a voice scarier than Covestripe thought she could produce. Asher grunted and wriggled out from under her, stood, then shook out his striped coat. He glared at Owlettail before stalking back to the den and slinking inside.

       "Thank you." Owlettail nodded to Lilac with a somewhat-bewildered expression. The loner smiled and sat down, "Of course, he can be such a grump sometimes. I have some prey buried behind the den, let me get you something." She padded away before any of them could protest.

       The three cats sat down to wait. Covestripe realized, with relief, that Owlettail had only lost a few tufts of fur in the tussle. After a short while, Lilac returned, two mice and a blackbird in her jaws. She dropped them and settled onto her belly. Covestripe drew one of the mice forward and crouched to nibble on it; Mudnose copied him, while Owlettail chose the blackbird.

       Once they'd all eaten, Covestripe cleaned his whiskers and looked at Lilac. Her fur pattern puzzled him; it was pale, but similar to his own, in that her face, legs, and tail were noticeably darker. He'd over ever seen it on himself, his brother, and their father.

       "Hey, Lilac?" he asked. The she-cat's eyes brightened and she turned to him. He continued with, "Have you seen a small she-cat with black-and-white fur? She has blue eyes, but they're more green in sunlight. We're- we're looking for her."

       "Oh!" Lilac stood up, "Yes, she came through here early last night - poor scrap, her fur was soaked through, wouldn't stay here though. She went to the woods. Here, I'll show you." She turned and began padding away. Covestripe scrambled up and hurried after her, his companions at his heels.

       For a bit they walked through the grass field, a steady rustling filling the air. Covestripe twitched his whiskers and watched as a small brown bird flit above their heads and disappeared into the meadows. Then they stalked up a low hill and Lilac paused, brightly announcing, "Here we are!"

       Covestripe stared into the territory before them, a land of high trees that appeared to have broad leaves rather than needles. Odd, he thought, and turned to his companions; they both looked somewhat confused, too. But Lilac bounded forward, chirped that it was safe, and they followed behind her.

       As Covestripe entered the woods, Owlettail at his shoulder, he turned to see Mudnose bidding farewell to Lilac. She looked the slightest bit dismayed, but it quickly went away, and she tapped her snout to the tom's forehead, chirruping, "Goodbye, good luck!"

       The three regrouped after that and began into the unfamiliar place. They all froze at a yowl from behind.

       "May I come too?"

       Lilac had scurried up to stand at their tails, gaze hopeful. Owlettail whirled around to speak first.

       "Why?" She said, "You have Asher and your den. You'd be much happier in your safe field than wandering the dangerous world with a bunch of ruffian Clan cats." Her tone was brash, and Lilac shrank back. She swished her pale tail-tip, blinked, then turned and dashed back into the fronds.

       Covestripe thought Owlettail's words had been too harsh, but the tabby had joined them again and they continued on. He realized, with a burst of hope, that some of the weird plants smelled faintly of Onepaw. However, as the three walked, Mudnose halted, and the other two turned to gasp in shock.

       Before them stood a tree. It looked the same as all the others, except its leaves were turning yellow.

       "What in StarClan?" Exclaimed Owlettail, claws unsheathing. Mudnose dared to sniff at the trunk, meowing, "I've never even heard of a yellow tree." Covestripe blinked a couple times, not believing what was in front of him. Pine trees sometimes turned yellow, usually when they were near death; was that happening here?

       The bushes past them rustled, and the Clan cats spun to see a familiar shaded face. "The trees turn yellow and orange every autumn!" Lilac declared matter-of-factly, "And then they all fall off. But they regrow once spring comes, so it's really not that weird, even though you're all acting like it is that weird."

       Covestripe was too puzzled by the odd terms and what she was saying, but Owlettail jumped on the defense instantly. "We don't have these kind of trees where we come from! We have pine trees, and firs, and they don't lose their needles! And- hey, why are you here, anyway? I chased you off!"

       "Well, you don't know anything about this place, so I thought I could help! And I have, see?" Lilac grunted, ears flicking. She seemed rather shocked they weren't aware of these strange tree cycles.

       Mudnose butted in, "Yes, I agree. Owlettail, stop fighting, she's obviously helpful. She can come with us." He smiled at the loner, whom was beaming back. The brown tabby bristled behind him. Covestripe, on the same page as his brother, nodded slightly.

       The Clan cats begrudgingly continued on after that, Lilac close at their tails. Many other oddly-colored trees passed them by, and every so often Mudnose would pause to ask Lilac about a new plant, even if her reply was a little confusing. Through this, Covestripe learned that they were in an oak forest, with scattered birches, and that most of the bushes were known as ferns or brambles. He'd heard of ferns before, but never really seen one - he suspected they'd make good bedding in a pinch.

       By dusk, all four were rather exhausted, and they settled down in a small clearing. The forest seemed oddly dim, and the long shadows of trees slanted across their pelts. Lilac offered to hunt, but Owlettail swiftly stood in for her; after a short quarrel, they both ended up going out.

       Owlettail returned first. She'd caught a raven, and the brothers congratulated her on the kill. Before they could settle to eat, however, Lilac came back.

       Covestripe had to blink a couple times to understand what she was carrying. It was hairy and brown-toned, and he almost thought it was a kitten, except its ears were too round and its tail too fluffy. "What is it?" he asked.

       Lilac stared at him with wide, clear eyes. "You've really never seen a squirrel?" Covestripe shook his head. The she-cat sighed and gibbered something to herself.

       "I'll try it," put in Mudnose, who was walking over. The loner nodded and nudged it over to him. Owlettail, watching from across the clearing, grumbled and sat down to enjoy her magpie - Covestripe trotted over to join her, while Lilac and Mudnose ate the so-called 'squirrel'.

       Once they'd all eaten, Covestripe and Mudnose settled down together, paws entwined as they always did to conserve warmth. Owlettail laid beside the two brothers, her tail draped across their flanks. Lilac decided on a spot a fox-length away and curled up tight.

       Sleep came easy.

--- author's note ---

Some of you may be confused about the squirrel and trees, so here's why: while Covestripe sees trees often, the only ones growing by BrineClan are the pines by the beach and the redwood forest that WoodClan lives in. He's never encountered a deciduous tree before. He also hasn't seen a squirrel because BrineClan don't hunt them, and it's generally rare to see them out of the redwood forest. A WoodClan warrior wouldn't be so confused.

Also, sorry for the sort-of filler chapter! All that's really important is Lilac's introduction to the travelling group, but oh well.