Hi, everyone! Welcome to my first fanfic! I really hope you enjoy this.

Prologue:

Storm:

Stormsky slowly lifted her head, then rose proudly to her paws before shaking out her thick gray fur. As she felt energy course through her body, Stormsky had never before looked more like a leader. No... her name was Stormstar, now. Dawnstar and Snaketail had gone to hunt with StarClan very recently, and she was now the new leader of ShadowClan. She stepped away from the Moonstone, her eyes still drawn to the blinding light, but she tore her gaze away to look at the cat beside her: the medicine cat, Redshadow.

The dark red she-cat simply dipped her head politely and elegantly to Stormstar. "Congratulations, Stormstar. You seem to be a strong leader for ShadowClan."

"I will do my best to fulfill that hope," Stormstar replied smoothly, weaving around her medicine cat and padding alongside her to head out of the Mothermouth caverns. "I will carry on what Dawnstar had started, and I will do whatever I can to serve ShadowClan."

Redshadow dipped her head, and the two of them padded out of the Mothermouth in silence. Stormstar lifted her head to see a claw-moon floating across the night sky, and she fell into step beside her medicine cat.

"Do you miss him?"

Redshadow's question took Stormstar by surprise. "Miss whom?"

The dark red she-cat stopped, so the ShadowClan leader paused in her step, as well. "Cloudstar." Stormstar's eyes clouded in thought. She had always been a close friend of Cloudstar, even across borders, and the white-furred tom had led SkyClan away from the forest because of Twolegs, not even a moon ago. "Stormstar, I know that you're his friend. Did you think I wouldn't notice?"

"And I expect you're telling me to stop missing him!" Stormstar spat, her eyes glazing with fury as she turned to the ShadowClan medicine cat.

Redshadow looked slightly taken aback by Stormstar's sudden change in tone, then shook her head meaningfully from side to side. "No! That's not it, at all! I wanted to remind you... now, you're ShadowClan's leader. You can't keep thinking about a friend who probably won't ever come back; you have to lead your clan."

"Cloudstar was one of my closest friends," Stormstar reflected, quietly. "Even though we weren't in the same clan, we were almost like littermates. You have no idea how it feels... I don't even know if Cloudstar's alive or not!"

Redshadow's tail drooped, and she stared at Stormstar, an unhappy cloud in her green eyes. "No," she said softly, "I don't. But I can imagine."

"How?" Stormstar challenged.

The medicine cat looked away for a long heartbeat, before turning back to the thick-furred, gray she-cat. "You weren't kitted when this happened... but I had a sister." Stormstar shot Redshadow a questioning glance. "Her name was Rosepaw, and the two of us were closer than you could ever imagine. We were both training as warriors, then, but Rosepaw died of greencough. That's why I chose to become a medicine cat."

"You became Molepelt's apprentice," Stormstar mewed softly. She paused, bounding along, for a long while before continuing to speak. "But it isn't the same. You could always see Rosepaw in your dreams. At the half-moon."

Sighing, Redshadow shook her head, then bounded ahead, not even slowing for Stormstar to catch up. She didn't turn her head as she spoke. "We're back at camp. You must name your new deputy."

Stormstar raced through the entrance, which was an archway created by the simultaneous of two pines. Ravenpaw, a jet-black she-cat, bounded up to Stormstar eagerly. "Did you see StarClan? Are you going to be ShadowClan's leader now?"

"I did," Stormstar mewed, amusement lacing her voice. "And..." She didn't quite know how to answer the second question. She was officially ShadowClan's leader... but was it possible for her to be a leader if she thought so much about Cloudstar?

She drew away, abruptly. "I have to go. I'm naming my deputy."

Quickly, Stormstar pondered over the very thought. Who would be her deputy? She had gone early in the day to the Moonstone; Dawnstar had joined StarClan the previous day. It would be moonhigh, soon, though.

"Let all cats old enough to catch frogs gather beneath the Boulder for a clan meeting!" she yowled, summoning ShadowClan together in the camp clearing. Redshadow made way for her to jump onto the large, smooth boulder at the edge of camp.

Whitefoot's a good choice... but I can't see him becoming the next leader. Stormstar shook her head in frustration. But I think Brightslash has too much ambition. She could lead the clan into battle, but not into peace.

"I have received nine lives from StarClan, and I have been granted leadership over ShadowClan." Stormstar chose her words carefully. Maybe... Lightpetal would be a good choice? She's a good fighter, but she prefers peace.

"And now," Stormstar continued, "it is time for me to name a new deputy. I say these words before StarClan, so that the spirits of my warrior ancestors will hear and approve of my choice. Lightpetal will be the new deputy of ShadowClan."

Lightpetal, a pale silver-gray she-cat, had blue eyes that hold an expression of pure shock and amazement. However, she stepped forward, and dipped her head. "I will do my best to serve ShadowClan, Stormstar."

StarClan, was she the right choice? "Thank you, Lightpetal. You are a brave and loyal warrior, and I know you will be a wonderful deputy." Stormstar smiled gently at Lightpetal, before leaping down from the large, smooth Boulder. "The meeting is over."

That night, Stormstar's dreams were perturbed.

There was first a blurry image in her mind, and she couldn't tell what it was. Gradually, however, the shape became clearer - it started as a mere patch of white, and slowly formed into the shape of a cat's head. Clear blue eyes blinked at Stormstar, and slowly, she recognized to whom the head belonged.

But something was wrong. The familiar blue eyes were glazed with horror, as though they were watching something that Stormstar couldn't quite see. Before Stormstar could say anything, or call out, the white cat bounded away, towards the shape of some other cat, one whom Stormstar did not recognize.

Stormstar opened her jaws to warn the white tom, but no sound came out. Mist surrounded the area, but Stormstar could tell that there was a cliff ahead. And the white cat was headed blindly toward it, into the mist. Stormstar hurried closer, and the terrified wail of the white tom rung in her ears as he stumbled over the edge.

"Cloudstar!"

Stormstar jerked awake, her eyes wild, her fur ruffled. Panting, she sat up, looking about her. The dream had seemed so real... and now, she knew that Cloudstar and the rest of SkyClan were in danger.

It was midnight, now, and the camp was eerily silent. Stormstar sighed. She knew what she had to do, now... and it had to be done. Cloudstar was in danger, and she wasn't going to stand by and let SkyClan die out.

Stealthily, Stormstar bounded into Redshadow's den, probably for the last time. Her heart was filled with foreboding as she whispered into the ShadowClan medicine cat's ear. "Redshadow... Cloudstar's in trouble. I'm leaving."

Redshadow's ear twitched slightly. "Stormstar?" she mumbled groggily.

"I'm leaving," Stormstar repeated, grimly. "So goodbye, and good luck."

"But Stormstar-"

"Cloudstar and SkyClan are in danger. I probably will not return. You may tell ShadowClan what has happened, and tell Lightpetal that I wish her well on her leadership of ShadowClan." Stormstar dipped her head, touching noses to Redshadow, who stood up, seeming stunned.

"Stormstar, you can't just leave!" No doubt that Redshadow was fully awake now.

Stormstar shook her head. "I'll miss you, Redshadow."

"I won't let you!"

"ShadowClan is well and thriving, and I know that Lightpetal will lead you well. SkyClan, on the other hand, is stranded on the border between life and death. I believe that SkyClan needs my help more than ShadowClan does."

"But... but you're our leader!" Redshadow protested.

"SkyClan is more important, for now. I don't know if they'll ever stop needing help, ever since they were sent away from the forest."

Redshadow lowered her head in defeat. "I never thought you would actually leave."

"Neither did I," Stormstar mewed simply. "But... I wish you luck. You were one of my closest advisors, and I will never forget that." Her tail brushed against the dark red she-cat's flank, and she sighed softly.

"Good luck, Stormstar," Redshadow mewed, though her voice remained hollow, and defeated. Without another word, Stormstar turned, and vanished into the night. Her mind was set, now, and she had to find Cloudstar.

Redshadow would announce the reason for her absence... and who knew how ShadowClan might react?

Ash:

An elderly, but strong, she-cat sat at the edge of the clearing, seeming lost in her own thoughts. "Stormstar, where are you? You had a whole life ahead of you, here, as leader of ShadowClan - a whole nine lives, in fact - and you can't just disappear!" The words were barely to herself.

"Listen!" The voice came from the Boulder, and the black-and-white she-cat looked up to see that Redshadow was speaking. Her whiskers quivered with interest. "Gather here, please. All of you."

Slowly, the distressed clan - for everyone had been searching for Stormstar - clumped together in the clearing, while Lightpetal stood, stepping forward. "We could not find Stormstar, Redshadow. What do you think has happened to her?"

The black-and-white she-cat, Swiftheart, pricked her ears; this was the very same question to which she wanted the answer. She was Stormstar's mother, a senior warrior of ShadowClan, and now, she was worried for her gray-furred daughter, the clan leader.

"Stormstar has left." Redshadow's words rang across the clearing, chilling the listeners into silence. Swiftheart shuddered. This couldn't be possible, could it? "She went to find SkyClan, and to join it for the rest of her life."

The clearing was silent, deathly silent. Finally, a yowl rang out. "Traitor!"

"She betrayed ShadowClan!"

"Stormstar was a leader!"

"How could she do such a thing?"

Many more yowls rang out, and Redshadow seemed powerless, and sad. Swiftheart shook her head. Stormstar couldn't do that, could she? What did she want with SkyClan? She was a clan leader; she shouldn't have been involved in the issues of another clan - not to mention, one that barely existed.

"Lightpetal... you must lead ShadowClan on." Lightpetal, the she-cat who had been named deputy just a day before, stepped forward in silence, then dipped her head calmly. Her eyes blazed with a challenge.

"I will lead ShadowClan better than a traitor ever could." Swiftheart flinched visibly as the deputy spoke those words. She had always thought Lightpetal to be a friend of Stormstar, but perhaps this news was too much for even her.

"Then... that is all." Redshadow bent her head in a nod, but no cat moved for a few long heartbeats. Every cat was shocked into silence. Finally, a cat moved, then another, and another. The clan dispersed slowly, but Swiftheart stayed motionless.

Redshadow bounded over to Swiftheart, sniffing her closely. "Are you all right?"

"No. I've just found out that my daughter has left ShadowClan, and now, every cat in the clan thinks she is a traitor. Do you think I'm all right?" Swiftheart mewed, rather sharply, as she addressed the dark red medicine cat.

Redshadow rested a tail on Swiftheart's shoulders, sniffing the black-and-white she-cat again. Her eyes grew sharp with interest, but softened again as she spoke. "Swiftheart, it was for the best. Stormstar is an intelligent cat; she can take care of herself."

"I know, Redshadow," Swiftheart mewed. "But I, as her mother, can't help but worry."

Redshadow nodded. "Oh, and one more thing, Swiftheart..."

"What is it?"

"You're expecting kits... again." And Stormstar might never get to meet her littermates, nor know that they existed. Sighing softly, Swiftheart padded away from Redshadow, touching her tail to her belly for a brief moment.

These kits were, perhaps, all she had left of Stormstar, the ashes. So... one kit would be Ashkit.

I hope you liked that! It was just the prologue, so it'll get better, soon. I hope you figured out that the italicized words after some of the linebreaks were the prefixes of cats. The second part, Ash, didn't really focus on Ashkit, because she wasn't born yet, but it will from now on. Please keep reading this story; I would really appreciate it!

And... could you leave a review, while you're at it? :)

~ Rivers of Silver Fire