The massive tom's green eyes glisten with pleasure. He flicks his tail and the other toms surround Dapple and Stone.

"Well, well! Who's that I see?" The tom starts,"It looks like a certain someone that I've been dying to talk to!"

"You're not welcome here, Wind!" Stone's voice shakes a bit.

Wind approaches the old tom,"That's where you're wrong. I'm welcome here whenever I want! You owe us, considering you haven't apologized for that awful wound you gave Mountain a couple of moons ago."

"I beat all three of you last time. This doesn't have to get ugly. You can leave right now."

Wind chortles darkly,"Do you really think that we're just going to run away?"

Without warning, Wind leaps at Stone, his claws outstretched.

Stone dodges the blow and in an instant, the other cats join into the fray.

Stone claws Wind's flank, resulting in a yowl of pain from the large tom. In response to this, Wind grabs Stone by his scruff and shakes him.

The older tom wriggles, trying to free himself, but with no luck.

Stone's vision begins to blur, and his ears ring. Thinking quickly, he goes limp. Wind lets him go, assuming that Stone is dead.

The giant tom puffs out his chest and struts about, yowling with pride.

Dapple's eyes are wide with horror at the sight of his best friend dead until he notices one of Stone's ears twitch.

When Wind saunters towards the supposedly dead tom, he is pushed back by Stone's surprise attack.

The fighting resumes for a short time before the three toms retreat, lightly wounded.

Stone and Dapple triumphantly watch them scurry away.

Dapple looks towards Stone, purring contentedly,"You had me going there for a bit. Don't scare me like that next time."

Stone isn't nearly as jovial,"I wish there wasn't going to be a next time. We can't keep fighting like that. One of us could be killed."

"You don't really think that," Dapple turns to Stone, grave,"Do you?"

"Sooner or later, I'm going to die. I hope that it is later and not from these useless conflicts."

The toms stand in silence for a few heartbeats.

"Come on. It's getting late. You can sleep at my cave tonight, Dapple."

The younger tom's eyes glisten with gratitude,"Thank you, Stone."

They make their way to the hidden den. Once they arrive at the cave, Stone nods his guest to the spare nest that he keeps for those caught outside in the cold night.

Dapple quickly falls asleep. Only a short time after he drifts off, Stone's ear fur tickles from a small sound.

He walks out of his nest, trying to find the source of the whispering sound. The whispers grow as he nears a small crevice that he had not noticed before.