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"His name is Hawk," Russetsky murmured to Swiftdapple as they pushed through a wired fence. Rain poured down on them, bouncing off the ground. "He is fierce and kills any cat that trespasses because he cares more about his own survival."

"What a nice and sweet cat that Hawk tom is!" Swiftdapple answered sarcastically. "I've seen his gang and spoke to a member once. They weren't exactly horrible, just a bit defensive."

"But what makes you so sure Hawk would combine his group with the Pine?" Russetsky questioned with uncertainty. He seems content with staying in his alleyway and I doubt he'd change his mind."

"You know a lot about him compared to the rest of our campmates," Swiftdapple observed. Russetsky paused, seemingly stiffened himself onto the spot. She then stopped and turned around. "There isn't anything you're hiding from your deputy, is there?"

Russetsky gulped and then shook his head. "Of course not," he replied. "Let's just get a move on before nightfall. It's dangerous around here during nightfall and I want to be back at the Pine before it comes."

''Strange. ''"Is that it over there?" Swiftdapple then asked, flicking her tail over to a dark alley. A pair of blue eyes flashed up ahead and began approaching them. A faint outline of black fur headed towards them, rising slightly.

"That's one of Hawk's guards," Russetsky whispered. "Usually there are two, but there seems to be only one so far. . . His guards usually protect the alley. His closest cats usually sit with him and get the best prey you could get there."

"Russet?" the cat called, his ears flicking upwards.

"Russet?" Swiftdapple echoed with confusion. "Wait--"

"Russet! You came back here!" Excitement filled the cat's voice and eventually he stood in front of them, his eyes wide. "But Hawk said you got eaten by a dog for being careless in the Twolegplace!"

"Um, sorry? I've never seen you before. . ."

Swiftdapple's eyes narrowed. "You know this cat, Russetsky?"

"Russetsky?" The black tom blinked, only just acknowledging Swiftdapple's presence as if Russetsky had been so important to him. His gaze rested onto the russet-furred tom, who shifted his paws. "You're with the forest cats now?"

"Yes," Russetsky sighed. "My name is no longer Russet, Kestrel. It's Russetsky. I'm a Pine fighter now, and I always will be."

"So you lied about being born in the Pine all along," Swiftdapple meowed. "No cat seemed to have known you were part of Hawk's gang. . . So that's the reason you knew a lot about them."

"I'm sorry, Swiftdapple. I should have told cats sooner, but I didn't want my origins to be questioned. I used to be a loner before joining Hawk and then I ended up leaving. I joined the Pine and no cat seemed to notice I was an outsider."

<p align="CENTER">''What else have my campmates been hiding from me? ''Swiftdapple wondered, feeling slightly saddened at how Russetsky didn't even trust her with his origins. "So you were born a loner, and then you joined Hawk. . ." she murmured to herself.

<p align="CENTER">"How is Hawk?" Russetsky then asked Kestrel, ignoring Swiftdapple. "I haven't seen or heard of him in moons and seasons."

<p align="CENTER">Kestrel's ear twitched slightly. "Good," he then replied. "Rat almost got his tail bitten off for trying to 'fend off the dog' when it looked like he was offering to prey to leave us." His whiskers twitched with amusement. "I think that scared his fur off!"

<p align="CENTER">Russetsky let out a slight mrrow of laughter. "That's typical of Rat, thinking he is funny when really he almost got his tail taken. Hawk must've been so annoyed!"

<p align="CENTER">"He was, but I think he was more worried about Rat's safety than his stupidity."