_{[As Tim takes stock of what Denny has to offer the residents of the archipelago, he'll feel something dart between his feet in the storage area. Yellowfang is hot on the trail of a tiny lizard that has crawled up out of the bog.]}

_{[The lizard zips behind a pile of firewood and leaves Yellowfang crouching at the entrance of its new hidey hole. She shoves a paw in as far as it will go.]}

Catching my dinner.

_{[She withdraws her paw, hops onto the pile, and slinks to the other side in hopes that the lizard hasn't already made a hasty escape out the back.]}

The warmth of this place draws prey out of the marsh--makes for better hunting than I expected.

_{[She watches the edge of the woodpile with round orange eyes but keeps a stumpy ear trained on Tim.]}

That wouldn't do, would it?

_{[This is by far the most casual conversation she's had with a Twolegs. As long as she doesn't think too hard about it, she can imagine him as another cat. A cat that really really needs a nap from the looks of his eyes.]}

If I'm being honest, I'm tempted to move my nest to this part of the forest. I've had my fill of the beach.

_{[Yellowfang lets out a snort which sounds more like a sneeze than anything.]}

I wouldn't trust anything that rabbit says.

_{[She gives up on the lizard for now and turns to look up at Tim. He's one of the most normal-looking Twolegs she's seen. So does that make him unusual then?]}

This is a doomed place, a flood is the least of my worries. For now I will appreciate good hunting.

_{[She sniffs in his direction in attempts to learn more about him. Smoke--but not normal smoke. She's smelled it before, perhaps back at Carrionplace.]}

_{[She notes the head tilting. These people spoke cat moreso than they knew.]}

I am cut off from StarClan here. Every night I have asked them for guidance and the stars stay silent.

_{[TIME TO LEARN ALL ABOUT CAT RELIGION, TIM.]}

StarClan are my ancestors. They give me visions to better guide my own Clan...but I have no Clan here. Perhaps that's why they won't speak to me. I've never heard of StarClan talking to a rogue.

_{[For a long moment she stares into space the way cats do.]}

I saw a horrible thing with the body of a cow and the head of a Twolegs. This place is doomed.

_{[It was Foster. Nobody is surprised.]}

_{[Tim's confirmation of the stars being Wrong got a slow, sad nod from her but that sadness instantly disappeared. Yellowfang stood, tail brushed out, claws digging into the woodpile.]}

Yes! Yes! He spoke nothing but lies and foolishness and knew the name of my Clan's most hated traitor! If I weren't so removed from my home I would think he crawled straight out of the Dark Forest! But even that is worlds away now!

_{[Yellowfang works her claws on the fire log she's perched on, sending little bits of wood to the floor of the Denny.]}

I cannot imagine it was a lucky guess. He said Tigerstar--who I misheard him say as Tigerclaw at first. Tigerstar of Fireclan...there's no such clan! Not unless something terrible happened after I...

Mouse dung...

_{[Yellowfang wrinkles up her already scrunchy face. She eventually stops scratching up the fire wood. Tim seems sensible. If the Clan's worst enemy could go on and change, so could she. She wasn't dead yet. Not here anyway.]}

Perhaps I'm wrong. It isn't this forest that's doomed, but my own. There's nothing I can do about it right now.

I'll keep that in mind.

_{[A somber moment passes.]}

Do me a favor, Twolegs, and give this wood pile a kick. I want to see if that lizard is still hiding inside.

<sub>[Wishing to no longer think of her burning woods and the wretched traitor Tigerclaw--she would never call him Tigerstar-- she leaps down from the woodpile and poises herself to dart after her scaly prey.]

[She waits. And waits.]</sub>

Resilient little mite, isn't it? It doesn't want to die any more than we do.

Your concern is touching, Twolegs.

_{[That gets a weak, raspy little laugh out of her.]}

There are more creatures in a circle of fifty fox-lengths in this marsh than you can imagine.