Hi! This is my first ever fan fiction and I am very excited (and nervous) about it! All the characters are original and not based off of anyone else's. However, if I accidentally reused any names (from the books or somewhere else) just let me know in the comments and I will gladly change them. Anyway, enjoy!

Allegiances (present day):

Leader: Pinestar - orange tabby tom

Deputy: Darkclaw - white tom with black feet

Medicine Cat: Pineshadow - dark tortoiseshell tom with golden eyes

Warriors:

Needlewhisker - gray tabby she-cat

Lizardstripe - cream colored tom with a dark brown stripe down his back

Swallowtail - cream colored tom with brown ears

Robinwing - russet she-cat with a cream underbelly

Sprucefur - light gray tom with black feet

Ravenwing - dark gray/almost-black tom with a notch in one ear

Willowbreeze - silver tabby she-cat with blue eyes

Browntail - brown she-cat

Snowfall - white tom with thick, bushy tail

Graynose - gray tom

Shadowchaser - tom with mottled black and gray fur

Duskfeather - copper colored tom with yellow eyes

Apprentice: Toadpaw

Dawncloud - cream colored she-cat with a white muzzle and feet

Apprentice: Risingpaw

Snaketail - light brown tom with a very thin and long tail and black markings

Mapleleaf - dark tortoiseshell she-cat with green eyes

Apprentices:

Toadpaw - brown and cream tom (apprenticed to Duskfeather)

Risingpaw - gold and black tom (apprenticed to Dawncloud)

Queens:

Leaftail - calico she-cat

Shortfern - tortoiseshell she-cat (mostly orange fur) (Moonkit - pure black she-cat with shiny fur, Dapplekit - tortoiseshell she-cat with green eyes, and Frogkit - brown tabby tom)

Mate: Pinestar

Leafpine - white she-cat with a black spot over one eye (Stormkit - light gray tabby tom and Eveningkit - black tom with white chest and underbelly)

Mate: Shadowchaser

Elders:

Chestnutfur - rust colored tom

Nightflower - pure black she-cat with shiny fur

Eagleheart - cream tom with dark brown streaks, lost the use of a leg and ear due to injury

Allegiances (Nightflower's kithood):

Leader: Sparrowstar - brown she-cat with white spots

Deputy: Owlgaze - mottled brown tom

Medicine Cat(s): Birchbark - light silver tom with thick fur

Apprentice: Willowbranch

Warriors:

Mousetail - dark gray tom with a thin and short tail

Apprentice: Spottedpaw

Lightningstrike - dark gray tom with an orange stripe down his back

Iceflame - red she-cat with a white chest and stomach

Duststorm - pale brown tom with one black paw

Beesting - cream and gray she-cat

Longwhiskers - white tom with extremely long whiskers, currently sick

Lilyheart - pretty calico she-cat

Snowfoot - black she-cat with one white foot

Bluesky - light gray she-cat with fluffy fur and blue eyes

Apprentice: Yarrowpaw

Sunfire - yellow tabby tom with amber eyes

Chestnutfur - rust colored tom

Badgerpelt - light gray tabby tom

Apprentices:

Willowbranch - calico she-cat with green eyes (medicine cat apprentice)

Spottedpaw - cream colored tom with black spots (apprenticed to Mousetail)

Yarrowpaw - dark cream colored she-cat with one brown ear and one brown foot (apprenticed to Bluesky)

Queens:

Moonblossom - black she-cat with one silvery-gray ear (Nightkit - pure black she-cat with shiny fur and Daykit - cream tabby she-cat with green eyes)

Mate: Duststorm

Brightthistle - cream tabby she-cat (Burrkit - gray and brown tom and Pinekit - dark tortoiseshell tom with golden eyes)

Mate: Chestnutfur

Elders:

Oakwhisker - dark brown tabby tom

Sweetfur - calico she-cat that is blind in one eye

And... the story begins!

"Come now, darlings," Shortfern mewed softly to her kits, "Stormkit and Eveningkit need to rest now." She twitched her tail towards the two younger kits, who were lying in a heap at their mother's side. "Why don't you go and play outside the nursery for a little while?"

"But that's boring!" Frogkit protested.

"There really isn't anything to do out there," Dapplekit added, defending her brother.

"The warriors don't like having us underfoot," Moonkit explained. She paused for a moment, "We DO tend to get in the way of things."

"Hmmm," Shortfern murmured, "That IS a good point." She thought for a moment, "Say, why don't you go and ask one of the elders to tell you a story?"

"That's a great idea!" Dapplekit grinned, "Come on guys, lets go!"

"Yeah!" Frogkit mewed, "Nightflower and Chestnutfur always have a good story for us."

"But not Eagleheart," Moonkit sighed as she followed her siblings out of the nursery, "He's always grouchy."

"It's because he had to retire early," Frogkit explained importantly, "I heard he was injured in a battle!"

"Yeah," Moonkit rolled her eyes, "And it turned him into a real sourpuss."

Dapplekit was getting into this, "Yeah a real -" she stopped suddenly, her wide eyes focused on the former warrior who had come up behind them. "A... really great cat," she finished lamely.
"Is that me you're talking about?" Eagleheart's eyes twinkled mischievously, "I never realized I was so wonderful."

"We're sorry," Moonkit lowered her head in shame, "We didn't mean it."

"But you are grouchy," Frogkit pointed out.

"Am I?" He seemed distracted, "Huh. Well, you better go over by Nightflower, she has some story she's been dying to tell you. And," he called after them as they scurried away, "You'd do well to show a little respect for your clanmates next time!"

The kits tumbled into the cool shade of the elders' den, one after the other, relieved to have made such a narrow escape.

"Nightflower! Nightflower!" they called out eagerly, "You'll tell us a story, won't you?"

"Yeah," Frogkit mewed, "Eagleheart said you had a good one for us!"

"Oh, that I do!" Nightflower grinned, "Why, would you believe that," she paused suddenly, gazing intently at Moonkit, who was hiding in the shadows. "Moonkit," her voice was gentle, "Come forward a little, would you? A little more…. And there we are, right in that nice patch of sunlight!" Nightflower paused, peering closely at the kit. "Such nice black fur," she muttered. Nightflower began speaking softly to the kits, "I've only ever seen two other cats with that fur. It's mine you know, and my mother's. I was rather disappointed really when it didn't show up in either of my kits, and now here it is popping up in one of my far-off descendants!"

"Wait, we're kin?" Dapplekit was confused. "I mean, I knew that Leafpine was Shortfern's sister, but you're like WAY older than both of them," she paused, "Wait, you're not their mother, are you? Shortfern never mentioned her mother. Her father's Lizardstripe though…"

"No," Nightflower laughed, "I'm not their mother, but if you like, I have a different story I could tell you. One that would explain Moonkit's pelt."

"Ooooh! Tell us!" Moonkit begged, "Please!"

"All right," Nightflower sighed, "It really began with another Moonkit who had the same shiny fur that this one does," she smiled at Moonkit, "But I didn't know her until she was much older, and had her Warrior name, Moonblossom, so we'll start there, with a different black-furred kit. Nightkit."