AN: Welcome to my random story! I was considering a crossover but, I had absolutely no idea what kind of crossover I'd be willing to do, until I just came up with this story. Yeah. This is boring. Thank you for making it this far and I hope you enjoy the story! xD

Oh, yeah, now I know what I was going to say… So, I may or may not be switching POV's in this story. I'm leaning a little more towards having multiple points of view just because that'd be more entertaining, you know, seeing what it's like in the other clans and back at home. You let me know what you think and if there are any cats you would like to see their POV and I'll be sure to consider it. I might need kit names and such later in the story, but we'll deal with that when we come to it. Thanks! And please, please, please, review; I love reviews.

Chapter One

Acornclaw's ears pounded, blood roaring in his ears as he battled his opponent. He wrestled with another warrior, neither of them at fault, but both wishing the other was dead. His unsheathed claws raked her belly, giving him time to pin her down as she whimpered in pain. "I'm so sorry…" he murmured sorrowfully, his chest tight, as he slashed open the she-cat's throat, the life draining from her eyes quickly, a pool of warm blood flooding around her and soaking his fur.

The sun rose above him, and he could see clearly who his opponent truly was: Fernwhisker, his best friend, his playmate, the one he'd shared everything with since birth…. Before him, lying dead, was his sister. And he was her killer.

The air was filled with a horrible wail, cut off only when Acornclaw could do nothing but sob, his body shaking with emotion.

"Hey, furball! Wake up!" Acornclaw opened his clouded eyes to see his sister, healthy, and looking slightly irritated. "You were kicking me and making noises in your sleep." Noticing the haunted look in his eyes, she softened, "hey, what's wrong? Another nightmare?" She sat up, curling her tail around her paws as watched him with concern, her head tilting to the side in confusion. Acornclaw nodded.

"Well, that's understandable… considering what today is"–Fernwhisker paused a moment in hesitation, as if she was unsure if she should continue-"I'm scared, Acornclaw." Her big, green eyes widened with fear. "I know we're not in the drawing too many times, but still… we've had to take care of dad, a-and Comfreyfur, and…" She trailed off, knowing that her brother was well aware of the problems in their life. He stood up, licking her gently on the forehead.

"We'll be alright, Fernwhisker. We always have been." He let a moment of silence pass before setting his emotion aside. "Come on. We'd better go hunting for them before the ceremony. We haven't got much time." With those words, he exited the den, the sky orange from the dawn light.

Many cats had already left their dens, making use of themselves instead of attempting to regain sleep. Acornclaw felt like there was no point to that; he wasn't going to waste time when his family needed him; his family was first, always. He blinked the sleep out of his eyes as his sister followed, and they entered the woods together.

Everyone was allowed to hunt. That was a clear fact that even most kits knew. Most warriors hunted for their families, but they could never help the rest of the clan; there wasn't enough to go around, and like everyone always said: "Family comes first." It was the saying of the clans, ThunderClan included, one that had begun soon after the Leaf-Bare tradition began.

Leaf-Bare was always difficult for every clan, and eventually, it became too much; many would starve, and other's would be killed by sickness. The leaders of the four clans came together, hoping to find a solution, and, in their eyes, they had. There were too many cats in each clan, and not enough prey to be spread among them. An idea was suggested, a plan to keep the population under control in the cruelest season. It was then that the Bare Branches Battle tradition had been born.

The leaders feared abandonment; they feared that no cat would see it from their point of view and that many would leave. That was when they made a new law in the warrior code: no cat should betray or abandon their clan and their family.

Warriors hunted for just that: their families. Those who could no longer care for themselves, but were still loved. Most of them were queens with kits, or elders.

Becoming an elder or having children wasn't so bad in the clan, however, for if you were a queen with kits younger than six moons, expecting, or older than eighty moons, you were ineligible for the competition. Even so, you would hope that you had kin in the clan. Without courtesy from friends, it was easy to starve to death. The only other option in that case was asking the Medicine Cat for deathberries, and even those were in low stock; for some, receiving the berry was a celebration.

Some families wanted their kits to begin training before they turned six moons, that way, they could have the mother and her kits hunting for their kin. Everything seemed to be the family's choice, and yet, the dens were still as they always had been: separated by status.

Most warriors had apprentices as well, them being the only ones outside of blood that they cared for. It was one of the responsibilities warriors still had other than required patrols.

Many warriors were ambitious, selfish even. They wanted to become leader, not only for power, but for safety. Leaders didn't have to go to the Bare Branches Battle. Deputies sometimes even attempted murder of their leader, the punishment being more entries in the battle and warrior status; exile was now something cats wished for.

Acornclaw raised his mouth to the air, when the scent of a mouse hit him. His mouth watered; he hadn't eaten in two days; there was only enough for his sister, his father, and Comfreyfur, the mother of his mother, who had died in the battle years before when he and Fernwhisker had just become apprentices.

He crept forward and soon spotted the small grey creature. With a small smile curled onto his lips, he leaped. A head smacked into his own as he landed, the mouse in the other cat's jaws as he rose, trying to blink the stars out of his vision. "Hey, that's my mouse! I had it first!" He reached for the prey when the other cat held it up out of reach.

"Uh, no. This is my mouse. Can't you tell? It's in my mouth. I killed it. It's mine." A grey she-cat claimed, her golden eyes challenging him. She was hardly older than him it seemed.

"No you didn't! It died when we landed! I crushed it under my paws!" He said, nipping the molly lightly to distract her so he could grab it.

"Would you stop that? I crushed it, alright, mousebrain. Besides, I'm going to need it to get herbs from Beecloud after you bumped me on the head."

Acornclaw let out a chuckle, and the she-cat grew irritated. "Hey! What's so funny?!" She stared him down, her eyes as sharp as claws.

He paused his laughter for a moment to respond, a bright smile still on his face despite the situation and the day. "You're not going to get any herbs for a crushed mouse. Especially not when leaf-bare is beginning. There are too many cats needing herbs for a crushed mouse to matter." The she-cat rolled her eyes.

"Whatever. I'll just give it to my mother then. She'll be grateful for a crushed mouse…" The molly let out a sigh and set the mouse down. "Just take it. I'll catch another one, anyway."

Acornclaw eyes widened before softening and he shook his head. "I can't that. You keep it." He wrapped his tail around his paws, and felt sorry for the she-cat; times were hard for everyone. "Who's your mother?"

"Palefoot; she's expecting and I worry so much. If something goes wrong and I need herbs, I…" She looked up a moment, making eye contact with Acornclaw just for a moment, before glancing back down. "Listen, I'm sorry. I really shouldn't have bumped into you and stuff. I shouldn't wasting your time either. I need to be hunting… I'll just be going."

The grey warrior left, leaving the small mouse by Acornclaw's paws. He turned to call for her, to tell her what she had left behind, but she was already gone. With a sigh, he picked up the mouse and continued walking, hoping to catch something else before the ceremony. He felt a small jolt as he realized he had forgotten to tell her his name; he felt an even bigger one when he realized that he didn't know hers.

AN: I was thinking about making this the prologue, considering how much exposition it has but I decided against it. Palefoot is kinda newly pregnant, but you can start making suggestions if you want. She's pale grey, and the father is going to be black and white I think… so yeah. I might add the allegiances, I might not, so let me know if you want me to. If I do, then I'll still just be adding the characters on to it and stuff like that as we go along. You can actually give me names (like even your OC names) and personalities at any time, because I did say that the population is massive, and I have to fill out four clans, with five cats from each clan for the Bare Branches Battle (what a tongue twister XD) Please forgive me if I mess up at all with genetics and stuff like that here. I mean, the Erins did/do and they're selling books lol. I can't make any promises as to when I upload new chapters cuz I get busy, but reviews do motivate me so please write 'em c: