Hero's eyes flickered upward toward the origin of the yowl, his mind flashing back to the fateful morning where Alabaster had been tormented by the rogue groups of the city. "C'mon!" Whiteshadow hissed, his voice thick with worry as the tom started into a jog. Hero was frozen in place for a moment, but he quickly caught up with the black-and-white tom.

"Look! There he is," Hero shouted, turning his head upward to face the top of a stone spiral. A small gray kit was hanging by the tips of his paws, a loud screech spilling out from his open jaw. Whiteshadow's eyes appeared to have had stretched to three times their size.

"Wh - what do we do?" the black and white tom cried.

Hero ignored the AshClan tom, closing his eyes for a brief moment to clear his head. The green-eyed cat then opened them, gaze focusing onto the steep side of the stone spiral. In his head, a white path was traced out. Over these rocks, run across this. Take a jump upwards and hop over here. Hero had followed his mental instructions before he could process the information, and he was now teetered dangerously at the top of the stone spiral. 

He could see into Stormkit's eyes now, and Hero took a small step toward the young cat. "Hold on," he advised, his words lost to the strong winds that threatened to push him off the side of the spiral. Hero repeated his plea, taking another step. The edges of his paws were now over empty space, and blood pounded loudly in his ears. Thump. He held his paw out to Stormkit. Thump. The small cat took it, still wailing like a newborn. Thump. Hero could hear the worry-tainted calls of Whiteshadow below. Thump. He pulled the tom up, swaying as his weight shifted from his back paws.

Before Hero could blink, he was back on the ground, pads slick with sweat and blood still pounding in his ears. "You—you saved me!" squeaked the tiny kit, peering up into the tom's eyes. "Thank you, cat!"

With a small giggle, Stormkit scampered off in the direction of camp. Hero watched him for a moment before turning to Whiteshadow. The black-and-white tom's eye were stretched wide with shock that hardly rivaled the surprise that currently was locking every single one of the green-eyed tom's muscles to the ground. After a moment, the AshClan cat opened his muzzle to speak. "That was amazing!" he exclaimed loudly, jumping up onto four paws. Started, Hero stumbled back before humbly dipping his head and muttering a thanks. 

"We should get back to camp," Hero spoke softly, his mind still haunted by the image of the tiny kit hanging off the edge of the spiral. This picture was accompanied with the ear-piercing scream of Alabaster. "I—I want to see if Stormkit's alright."

Whiteshadow's eyes flashed with comfort. "You saved him," murmured the tom, touching his nose to Hero's cheek. The serious tone disappeared just as quickly as it had entered the AshClan cat's voice. "I guess you really do live up to your name!" Hero had to force out a chuckle.

The toms started walking back to camp, but Whiteshadow seemed to never run out of things to talk about. 'How did you get up there so fast?' was the first, followed by frequent persistence about the experience. The AshClan cat had informed him that even warriors didn't dare to climb the stone spirals because of their height and various dangers, and Stormkit had probably only made it up due to his small stature, only further deflating Hero's ego. He just wanted to lay down and get some rest. The lattice of burns on his pelt was stinging with a phantom pain of his time in the burning plains. 

Finally, the two toms padded under the towering shadows of the Great Oak. A tortoiseshell she-cat rushed up to them, her eyes bright with anticipation. "You must be Hero!" she exclaimed, dipping her head briefly. "I'm Brightwillow! Follow me—Dawnheart would like to meet you." Hero cast a sideways glance at Whiteshadow, who shrugged helplessly and sat down, curling his tail neatly around his paws. With a small sigh, the tom rose to his paws and padded after Brightwillow.

They circled the Great Oak, Hero's eyes on the floor while Brightwillow chattered excitedly. "Oh, you saved poor Stormkit's life! He's going to be hearing that story for the rest of his life, yessir'! Did you know that when they were only three moons old—Stormkit and his brother Greykit, that is—they snuck out of camp and managed to catch a crow? It wasn't any normal crow, though. It was ridden with disease, and the poor kits were sick all night!" she rambled, and Hero smiled politely while she continued to elaborate.

Brightwillow padded into a small den, ducking her head to avoid hitting it on the thorns above. Hero followed her into the opening, his eyes adjusting to the low level of light quickly. In the furthest nest, pressed up against the wall, a gray-and-white tabby was sitting up, her green eyes dark as she spoke quietly to Stormkit. A smaller tom was sitting next to them with a smug expression, and another she-cat was sleeping a nest to the far left.

"I told you, Stormkit!" called the smaller cat, who Hero assumed was Greykit. "You're not s'posed to be sneaking out of camp! Will you ever learn your lesson?"

"Apparently not," huffed the tabby, lightly flicking Stormkit's side with her tail. "This is the fourth time this moon you've gotten out, and now you've given yourself quite the scare! I thought that being stuck in the medicine den for a quarter-moon would be enough to discipline you, but you'll never learn, will you?" Ignoring her son's loud protests, Dawnheart turned toward Hero. "Thank you for saving him," she mewed, the lecturing tone gone from her voice. "Though I wish he'd fallen and knocked some sense into that berry-sized brain of his!"

"Hey!" Stormkit growled, shifting in the nest. "I was just looking for Slatefur! He promised me a giant mouse, and then I got distracted after seeing the stone spirals! They're totally cool, Greykit. You should have come!"

Greykit huffed at his brother. "Stop lying. You told me that you were gonna go find the stone spirals that all the warriors talk about, and Slatefur wasn't even mentioned! You're just an annoying little kit who'll never grow up."

Dawnheart ignored her bickering kits. "Sorry," she apologized. "Well, Stormkit, you better scamper along and say your thanks before you and Thistlestar get to have a nice talk." Sighing for what appeared to be the final time, the gray-and-white tabby laid down in her nest, closing her eyes and circling her fluffy tail around Greykit, who let out a rumbling purr and flopped against the moss as well. 

Stormkit stared at the floor. "Thanks for saving me, kittypet," he muttered, "I guess I really am dumb like Dawnheart says." His voice was so heavy with sorrow that Hero couldn't help but try to comfort him.

"You're not dumb, Stormkit," he meowed gently, touching his nose to the kit's cheek. "You're just eager. I'm like that too. Back in my home, I never like staying in one place for too long. I can't imagine being cooped up in her for months—er, moons on end." Hero added a small chuckle to the end of his statement. "That's why I'm here. . . I got too curious and had to run away."

Stormkit looked more apologetic now. "Sorry for wasting your time," the gray tom mumbled, staring at his paws. 

Brightwillow laughed softly, ending the sorrowful conversation and entering into a more lightened one. "Well, let's get going, Stormkit," the queen meowed, nudging the kit in the direction of the den's exit. "We've got a leader to visit while your mother rests. She's very tired, you know. . ." Brightwillow's voice trailed off as Hero stared at his paws, still taking in the whole situation.

"Can we go hunting?" Whiteshadow asked, his green eyes sparkling with a newfound excitement. His statement earned a loud shush from the half-asleep Dawnheart, and with a stumble in his step, the white-and-black tom sprinted out the den, his fur on end. More wary of creating noise, Hero followed his friend into the clearing. The shadow of the Great Oak loomed above them, and Hero shivered slightly, his short fur offering little protection against the newleaf cold.

Hero considered the tom's suggestion. As soon as possible, he was going to leave and return to his master in the city. But, the AshClan cats had extended their gratitude in order to help an injured cat, and some prey could definitely aid in their survival. Hero didn't like owing favors to anyone, including the vast Clan that has basically saved his life. "Sure," he finally responded, lifting his head and meeting Whiteshadow's eyes. "We can go hunting."

Instantly, the tom perked up. "I'll race you to the edge of the spires!" Whiteshadow purred, dropping into a quick crouch, then exploding in a sprint toward their goal. Amused by the tom's antics, Hero started into a slow jog in the direction where Whiteshadow had went. Instead of exiting through a gap in the bushes, Hero ducked his head and bolted straight through them, earning a lead of a tree-length of two. He tossed a glance over his shoulder, seeing the AshClan tom's amused expression.

Laughing, Hero sped up his run until his legs were just blurs, kicking up dust. The long grass whipped at his pelt. In the end, Whiteshadow managed to sprint ahead of him as Hero gave up to his injured—but swiftly healing—leg. "I won!" shouted the black-and-white tom triumphantly as his paw touched the edge of a stone spire. 

"It's only because I'm hurt," Hero retorted coyly, flicking his friend's side with his tail. "What do you have to hunt around here?"

Whiteshadow shrugged. "There's some mice and stuff like that in the bottoms parts of the spires, but watch out for the snakes. That rainstorm that came 'bout a few suns ago made some of the rocks lose. I'm surprised that nothing fell when we were here earlier!" His tone climbed octaves with amusement, and Hero found it hard to not laugh at the tom's kit-like playfulness.

"Alright," the tom mused, staring into the stone spires. "Let's go hunting." He was about to jog off into the tree-like stone structures, but a sharp mew distracted him. Foxspring was standing only a few mouse-lengths away from Whiteshadow, his expression curled with disdain.

"Jeez, shouldn't you be doing something other than fooling around with your new friend," snarled the warrior, leaning forward to appear menacing. That approach didn't to work, considering Foxspring's minuscule body and high-pitched voice. It was like a kit trying to threaten a warrior. Hero found it difficult to stifle his giggles, and Foxspring sent him a look that could kill.

"We're hunting!" Whiteshadow mewed brightly, not missing a beat. "Sorry if our benefits to AshClan make you uncomfortable. You should go back to sulking behind the spires, though. I think you scared all the prey away with your expression!" He sounded innocent, but Hero knew that his friend intended each of his words to be as a sharp as the knives his master used to carve clocks. For a moment, Hero pictured returning to the city, a ticking time-piece hanging from his jaw, but he couldn't quite finish the image. There was one missing part—he couldn't see himself. There was a floating watch, his master, the roads, and his home, but he wasn't there.

Hero swallowed. He needed to hunt.

<------->

With a grimace of pain on his face, Hero padded back into the camp, a trio of mice hanging from his jaws. He'd often caught mice in the alley behind his workshop, though these seemed smaller in comparison. A new scrape had been opened up from a falling rock, and Hero was exhausted from his long day. He just wanted to find a spot to sleep, then collapse into it until hedgehogs could fly. "Nice catches," commented Dawnheart from her position on a rock, and Hero couldn't help but feel that she was impressed a kittypet could have caught so much. Greykit and Stormkit were playing some game with a ball of moss in front of her, and the camp was much more alive with warriors wandering about than it was during sun high. A few even cast him subtly friendly glances as they passed.

Both of the toms nodded in response as they padded toward the freshkill pile. Hero dropped his mice, turning to Whiteshadow. "Where can I sleep?" he blurted. Before his friend could answer, a deep, resounding voice distracted him.

"Oh, you can sleep in the warrior's den for tonight," Thistlestar mewed, staring at Hero with an expression of amusement in her green eyes. "So, now that you've tried out life as a Clan cat, what do you think?"

Hero cast a sideways glance at Whiteshadow; the tom's eyes were begging for him to stay. Hero recalled his friend's statements. We don't have enough of those in the camp. . . I'm a little sad you aren't staying. . . He's new. He came from the city. Hero could always go back to the city, but he was sure that AshClan wasn't going to give him another chance.

"I've changed my mind," Hero meowed slowly. "I want to stay."

A/N: This chapter was by Rio, and I hope you enjoyed <3 I suck at writing author's notes, so let's take a moment to appreciate Frost's amazing cover. Okay, moment over. Love you all <3 ~Rio