A breeze ruffled Robinear's fur, and she shivered.

Her claws sank into the soft, loose dirt of the moor, and her body was pressed flat against the ground in a shallow dip Thrushnose had found.

They couldn't risk being seen.

The sun began its slow descent, its dying rays painting the sky with more shades of red and orange than Robinear could count. It framed the forest beyond, and she couldn't help thinking that such a beautiful thing shouldn't exist in this world... a world without Yellowkit.

Thrushnose breathed, slow and even, next to her. She was pressed low to the earth as well, and her fur was flattened as low as it could be.

Of course, realistically, there wasn't much of a risk of a Fighter coming out and spotting them here. And after all, it wasn't forbidden to come out here. Just no one bothered too.

Still, hiding in a dip in the moor while they waited for an alleged rebellion wasn't the most innocent-seeming scene.

"Do you think they're really coming?" mewed Thrushnose worriedly. "After all, we just have that rogue's and Greyfur's words. And no offense, Robinear, but I think he's gone mad."

I can't argue with that... "He's just a bit reckless, that's all. I'm sure any Servant would jump at the chance to join."

"If you say so," mewed Thrushnose, flicking her tail before remembering that they were trying not to be seen. "Still, I'm worried. How long have you been waiting here?"

"Ever since my son became a Fighter trainee," said Robinear. She winced as Whitekit's ceremony came to mind, his name changing to Eaglepaw and his reality shifting in an instant. No longer was he a young, innocent kitten, but wrapped up in the insanity that was FloraClan. "So... a moon?"

"A moon? See, Robinear, this is why I'm worried! If they even exist, why aren't they coming? Don't they want more members?"

Robinear flicked her ears back in confusion. "I...I don't know. Maybe they're testing us."

"They're sure testing my patience," muttered Thrushnose under her breath. "Sun and Moon above, if they don't get here in the next quarter moon, we're giving up. Clearly, Greyfur has gone mad."

A breeze suddenly whistled through the moor, Robinear's and Thrushnose's fur bushing up instinctively to keep out the dirt and dust. Thrushnose realized a second later, though, that her white fur was easily visible against the dull greens and browns of the moor and pressed it back, shivering.

Thankfully, the breeze had been from the front, their scents blown away from FloraClan territory. Unless someone had left before them and was still out, there was no way they could be spotted.

The grass swayed back and forth, the rustles it caused slowly fading away as the breeze died and the air was still once more. Yet still, Robinear still heard a peculiar noise...

"Do you hear that?" she hissed to Thrushnose, who shook her head, confused. Of course... I have the better hearing, after all. "Smell anything?"

Thrushnose inhaled deeply, her mouth dropping open to scent better. Her ears perked up and Robinear could tell she was having trouble keeping her fur flat. "Cat," she hissed quietly. She inhaled again, then clarified, "Two cats, actually."

The terror that had seized Robinear's body ebbed for a moment. If a Fighter did patrol this area, it was never more than one at once. Maybe, just maybe, this is the rebellion.

Still, Robinear pressed her fur so tightly to the ground she could feel her bones beneath her flesh, and she had to fight hard to keep her fur from bushing up. Peering through the grass fronds, she saw two cat's head appear above the grass. 

A brown tom and a light grey she-cat.

Her breath evened as she quickly concluded that she knew neither of the cats' names. They were rogues.

Of course... her breath caught in her throat, we have no way of knowing that they're actually part of the rebellion.

The breeze suddenly switched directions, and Robinear winced as it forced her fur up and blew their scent directly towards the newcomers. 

The light grey she-cat's head whipped up suddenly, her mouth dropping open as she drank in the scent. "They're here," Robinear heard her mutter in excitement.

The brown tom sighed. "We don't know that, Amber," he sighed. "Could be anyone. Now, do you remember the call?"

The she-cat, Amber (though Robinear couldn't guess why it was her name), wrinkled her nose in concentration. Her eyes suddenly lit up. "Yeah, I got it."

"Awesome," mewed the brown tom with no emotion. "Now, why don't you ask the cats hiding in that dip in the moor?"

Now, Robinear knew that they were part of the rebellion. Greyfur had given her a response to a password when she'd first told him she wished to join the rebellion. 

Amber cleared her throat and raised her voice. "The world alight with a single strike..." Her voice trailed off as if she wasn't certain she'd gotten it right. 

Robinear hesitated for half a second before standing up from her place in the dip and shaking the dust off her fur. "And the forest burns to the ground."

Amber's fur spiked up to see the cats appear so close to her, but she dipped her head in respect. "Robin," she mewed, her eyes alight with curiosity. "Greyfur has told us much about you."

Of course, he did, snorted Robinear internally. "Indeed," she mewed. "Although it's Robinear."

The brown tom rolled his yellow eyes. "She ditches the suffix of every Clan name. Says it's too formal. Volethroat, by the way."

Robinear inclined her head. "A pleasure to meet you." A strange feeling of familiarity washed over her, and she could've sworn that he looked familiar. 

Amber suddenly frowned. "Isn't there another with you? I swear I scented two cats..."

"You did," nodded Robinear. "Thrushnose? They're part of the rebellion."

Thrushnose rose quickly from the dip, shaking the dust and dirt out of her fur as she did so. "It's about time," she muttered. "I thought you'd never come."

Amber snorted. "So that's why you stayed in hiding, then?"

"Shut up!"

Volethroat sighed. "Amber. Don't you remember Lightning's orders?"

"Don't scare them away?" guessed Amber.

"Yes. And that is exactly what you're doing right now. So shut up. You're just as old as me and acting like a newborn kit."

"Am not!"

"Are too!"

"Am not!"

"Are too--!"

"Whatever you say, Volesy," sighed Amber.

Volethroat bristled. "Don't... call... me... Volesy."

"Why not? Embarrassed?"

"NO! I just... that's what Squirrelpaw called me."

Suddenly, everything fell into place. Volethroat looked remarkably similar to the very, very young elder that had occasionally visited Robinear and her siblings when they were kits. She'd been moved there when her hearing had suddenly plummeted after being hit on the head by a falling tree branch.

"Is Squirreltail your... sister?" asked Robinear hesitantly. 

Volethroat brightened. "She's Squirreltail now?"

Robinear nodded. "Yes... but weren't you there? She got her full member name after she lost most of her hearing."

"What?!" Volethroat's expression crumpled. "No, I didn't know that... I left when I was a new trainee and gave myself my full member name..."

"Oh," mewed Robinear awkwardly. "Uh... sorry."

Amber lay a sympathetic tail on the brown tom's shoulders, but he quickly swatted it off. "Don't touch me," he hissed in annoyance.

Thrushnose cleared her throat. "Look, I know you all had some family bonding and relationship problems to get through, but can we go see the rebellion? Robinear here has been waiting for over a moon."

"Oh, right." Volethroat shuffled his feet awkwardly and puffed out his chest. "Follow me," he mewed.

Robinear's feet padded on the slowly cooling soil, its heat shocking her paw pads as she lifted them back into the cool night air. Suddenly, the FloraClan scent increased ever so slightly, and Robinear realized they were at the border.

Amber and Volethroat crossed without hesitation, not even seeming to have noticed that the border was there. Amber glanced back impatiently, only to see them staring at the invisible line of scent. She paused, then mewed, "It's just a scent, for the star's sake!"

Volethroat rolled his eyes. "Amber, it's more than that to them."

Thrushnose was the first to place her paw over it, her claws sinking into the ground as she left FloraClan for the first time. Her eyes widened slightly, and she jerked her head around, seemingly checking for witnesses.

"Welcome to rogue territory, where the grass is the exact same as the other side of the pointless scent line," mewed Amber sarcastically. Thrushnose blinked, then gestured with her tail for Robinear to come over.

The silver tabby hesitated, one paw crossing the border then stopping, hesitant.

Amber huffed impatiently. "Get on with it!"

Robinear suddenly darted across the border, and perhaps it was her imagination, but she felt like the air was fresher, less suffocating here. It was illogical, that was for sure, but it didn't make the feeling seem any less real.

They only walked a little while before the came to a dip in the moor, and Robinear gasped loudly at a number of cats quietly going about their lives.

"Welcome," mewed Volethroat, "to the Fire."

Ayy! Yeah, I updated! Can you believe it?

Uh, if you've been wondering why this book has been dead for a while, that's because Blossom is getting published. Yep, I'm self publishing it! In case you are wondering, yes, my family and I looked up the copyright laws, and no, we can't be sued.

Now, maybe, just maybe, you remember that form that I posted when Blossom got 1K views so long ago...or maybe you weren't here. Anyway, I am indeed including those characters, as you've probably seen so far! I just gave them backstories and families (ad changed the names of some invalid characters). Crazy, huh?

So, here are the characters so far and their creators!

Pebble- cheritey

Amber- (This person would like their username to be kept secret, but their character was previously Ambershade)

Volethroat- YearlyAquariAce

Anyway, I'm sorry for the slow updates! Sadly, I don't know when normal updating will begin, but hopefully soon! Thank you for bearing with me :)

Dedicated to Featherfrost_ for editing this for me!

~Ember