"The Narons' Pack! You know, the one near the northern border! They left! All of them!"

Arrow shook her head quickly to make it clear. Silkey flinched at her threatening mother's quick movement.

The reddish catamount growled.

"Miss Jones?" Petal asked.

Her mother's tail kept wagging from left to right, then she then raised her head and shouted. "Okay! Petal, you gather some other members and travel with them to the territories around the one that used to be the Narons'! Ask the packs everything they know about these wolves that left! Their names, amount of members, and maybe their motives! Just interrogate them until they give some useful answers! Tell them it is an order by the second-in-command!"

Petal saluted the catamount. "Yes, ma'am!" she shouted, after which she bolted off.

Silkey followed the vixen with her eyes while her mother gave more orders.

"Myac, you go get the message out to the scouts and to all other members of the Clan that we won't approve of them leaving once they've joined us! This has to be clear as can be!

And I will tell Saedin of this news, wherever he might be."

"I will!" Myac blurted out, after which she also saluted Arrow and left.

Arrow looked at Silkey for a second, but then flicked her gaze to the Main Base outside of the cave.

You care more for you second-in-command position than me, don't you? Then why don't you just abandon me and leave to do your job? Go and ask them where Saedin is. Go and order them around. Just go.

Silkey waited, and felt like screaming in victory when her mother finally abandoned her and ran into the clearing.

The cougar seemed really agitated, shouting as many orders as she possibly could at the top of her lungs.

She waited until her mother was done ordering and left with a few other members of the Clan, presumably to go and find Saedin.

She smiled and then ran off into the clearing. The animals were behaving differently, talking to each other hastily. Silkey knew that this had never happened before-- where anyone just left the Clan. I do wonder why? Maybe because of Mom constantly barking orders at everyone. Heh.

Silkey grinned. She returned to the spot where she'd last seen One-eye, but he was gone. She sighed as she remembered the severe encounter he and her mother had had before they'd gone into the cave. He must be even more traumatized by Mom than he already was. Poor guy.

She sniffed around on the spot for a while, then started to track his scent. This might be the final time I ever get to talk to him...I've got to take any chance I get.

***

One-eye sighed. Even Silkey. His life had been so terrible so far. He'd lost many of his siblings, his parents, his eye, and now even his only true friend. What's next? My leg or something? He blinked away the tears falling from his eye and empty socket.

He heard some sudden sounds behind him. Arrow? Did she know of me? Did she track me down per scent? No...that's not like her. She'd probably send a scout to do it for her! Or Brad! What if we couldn't trust him after all? He knows of this pace! Or she brainwashed Silkey into thinking—

His thoughts were interrupted when he saw Silkey's spiky-haired head pop out from between the huge amount of bare branches. "Hey," she said, in an exceptionally soft voice. She didn't look happy, either. Or even totally angry, for that matter.

One-eye nodded a "hello" to her. She didn't seem like she betrayed him. "Are you okay? Arrow went totally crazy!" he then said, worried.

Silkey climbed on the usual thick branches they sat on and looked at her toes. "Yes...she was," she said meekly.

One-eye looked at his friend. "I... Is there something I can do to help you?"

She shook her head. "Nah... It's just...ugh. Mom wants me to be exactly like her. But I'm not! I like to play and be free and have friends.... Mom doesn't know what fun is. She never plays with me...she doesn't want me to have friends. She just wants me to be exactly like her and only focus on becoming a deputy!"

"One'd almost say that she didn't really care for you..." One-eye said carefully, as he was afraid he might offend Silkey by it. But, as he expected, she agreed.

"Of course she doesn't! She sees me as a tool to continue her oh-so-great second-in-command legacy! Dad at least knows what it's like to be a parent...but Mom..." She bitterly dug her talons into the branch.

"I know the story. My Dad was the same as Arrow...kinda." He quickly closed his mouth. He knew that Arrow had strictly forbidden him to talk about his past life to anyone. Then he suddenly realized something. "You're not supposed to be here! If Arrow finds out..."

"She won't," Silkey insisted.

"Really?"

"She left the clearing with tons of other animals because there was some controversy. A pack left the Clan. But, anyways, what's up with your father?"

One-eye looked at his friend. She seemed to have forgotten about her sadness and was eager to hear more.

I trust your word, he decided, and then continued. "Well, he only cared about my siblings...who were...normal. He never acknowledged me as his son, because...you know..." With a sigh, he pointed at his hump with his deformed paw. "I'm a Frick."

Silkey carefully lay down on the thick branches, using her long tail for balance. "Life really sucks, doesn't it?"

"Yep..." replied One-eye.

There was an uncomfortable silence for a moment. Then Silkey broke the quiet. "M-maybe we should just do some more training? To distract us from our miserableness. If that doesn't work, that cliff of yours is starting to feel much more appealing now."

One-eye nodded grimly. "Oh...okay. Uhm...I've been working on that new tree dashing move you taught me. Want me to show it?"

Silkey smiled a slight bit. "Sure! I know you can nail it!"

She got up and quickly went down.

One-eye smiled. Silkey always helped him feel lucky, and that was even the case in such dark times. I don't want our friendship to end...ever.

***