Chapter 1

"Pst! Hey! Stormfur! Wake up you lazy lump of fur!"

One dark amber eyes opened as Squirrelpaw raised her paw to prod the RiverClan warrior in the ribs again. Squirrelpaw's eyes rolled towards StarClan as she jumped to her paws. "Finally!"

Stormfur rolled his own eyes as he rolled onto his back to stretch. "The sun isn't even up yet."

"So?" The ThunderClan apprentice's tail-tip was twitching impatiently, her paws working restlessly at the grass beneath her. "Brambleclaw would be cranky if I woke him, and Tawnypelt would sooner rip my pelt off than sacrifice sleep for an early morning hunt."

"You're not wrong," Stormfur chuckled, standing and shaking the grass and dirt from his dark gray pelt. Squirrelpaw's tail curled as he sighed in defeat. "Alright, let's go."

"Yes!" The apprentice bounced away instantly, leaving Stormfur to follow more slowly, glancing back to make sure Feathertail was sleeping soundly before exiting their small hiding spot. Squirrelpaw was waiting for him, her eyes glowing in the pre-dawn light.

"Whoever catches the most wins!"

Stormfur nodded. "Alright, you're on."

Immediately, they split up, and Stormfur felt his spirits lifting as he scanned the field for prey. It wasn't the first time since they had started this journey that the dark ginger she-cat had woken him before the others for an early morning hunt, though the first incident had been purely coincidental. Now it seemed almost routine—though the RiverClan warrior would be lying if he said he didn't enjoy it.

This journey has brought us all closer together… His thoughts trailed off as he caught sight of a plump mouse, sinking into a hunting crouch and approaching it slowly. Once he was close enough, he pounced, ending the creature's life with a solid blow to the neck. As has the knowledge of our Clans' impending doom…

The dark gray warrior shook his head, clearing it so he could focus on the task at paw. Soon, he had a small of fresh-kill that consisted of three mice and sparrow. As the sun broke over the horizon, he brought his catch back to the nests his companions had made, waving his tail at Squirrelpaw in greeting as he realized she was already back.

"Ha!" The ThunderClan apprentice teased, flicking her tail towards her own catch. "I caught more than you!"

Stormfur purred in amusement as he added his own catch to hers. "I guess you win again…" The dark gray warrior was impressed. Squirrelpaw had managed to bring back two mice, a vole, a thrush, and one of the biggest rabbits he had ever seen. There was no denying that the ThunderClan apprentice was a great hunter.

"Want to share?" He flicked his ears towards the rabbit, purring again as Squirrelpaw rolled her eyes.

"Are you kidding?" Her whiskers twitched mischievously. "After we got up early to go hunting for everyone? I'm not about to let those lazy piles of fur eat the best catch." The ginger apprentice invited him over with a wave of her tail, pulling the rabbit into a patch of early dawn sunlight. Stormfur joined her without a moment of hesitation, feeling his fur warming when their pelts brushed. Squirrelpaw didn't shy away, flicking the RiverClan warrior's shoulder with her tail-tip as she took the first bite. Stormfur started working on his share of the rabbit, enjoying the companionable silence that filled the space between them.

"I suppose we'll reach the mountains soon…" Squirrelpaw finally mumbled, swallowing a small bite as she did so. The dark ginger she-cat never could stay quiet for long.

Stormfur nodded, chewing thoughtfully for a moment. "Probably by sunhigh," he meowed, glancing at the sky.

"I'm worried about Tawnypelt…" The apprentice admitted quietly. "The burdock root helped, but… Even from here, the mountains look treacherous."

Stormfur rested his tail across her flank in a small sign of reassurance, though he felt the same unease churning in his stomach. The mountains that had once been only a smudge in the distance now loomed before them, the rising sun highlighting the jagged peaks.

"We've made it this far," Stormfur murmured, standing and giving the apprentice a nudge. "We can make it to the end." We have to…

Squirrelpaw nodded, then jumped to her paws, shaking her pelt as if to read it of water—and her glum thoughts. "We should wake the others. We definitely won't make it there by sunhigh if we don't leave until sunhigh."

Stormfur gave a small nod of agreement, following the ginger she-cat to where their friends still slept.

"Feathertail," Stormfur whispered softly, prodding his sister with his forepaw. "Come on, it's time to get up." As she stirred in her nest beside Crowpaw, Stormfur remembered their apprentice days—when he would wake her in much the same way every morning before training.

"I'm awake," she finally yawned, standing and stretching. She touched Stormfur's nose with her own before turning to wake Crowpaw, and Stormfur joined Brambleclaw as he moved to the fresh-kill pile.

"Been hunting?" The tabby warrior glanced curiously at Stormfur, who nodded. "Great job," he meowed warmly. Stormfur shook his head sheepishly.

"Squirrelpaw did most of it. She's a brilliant hunter."

Brambleclaw's eyes flashed as Stormfur's gaze wandered to the ThunderClan apprentice, but he didn't say anything and Stormfur mentally berated himself. Mouse-brain! Of course Brambleclaw has his eye on Squirrelpaw—any tom in ThunderClan that wouldn't want her for a mate be minnow-brained…!

"I didn't realize how close to the mountains we've gotten," Feathertail's gentle voice broke the tense silence between the toms, and Stormfur sighed.

"If we get moving soon, we can easily make it there by sunhigh," he mewed.

Brambleclaw nodded. "Let's all eat quickly so that we can get moving."

All of the journeying cats nodded, and the four that hadn't eaten yet all tucked into their breakfasts. Stormfur waited quietly, sitting a few tail-lengths away and gazing up at the mountains. The dark gray warrior was surprised when Squirrelpaw joined him.

"Are you ready?"

Stormfur sighed. "As ready as I can be, I suppose… Warrior training never prepared me for this."

"Cheer up," Squirrelpaw turned her bright green eyes towards him. "When you say stuff like that even I feel glum."

Stormfur felt his dark mood dissolve instantly, as if it were a cloud of fog and Squirrelpaw's shining eyes the sun. "Sorry," he stood, realizing the others were almost finished eating. "I'll try to be more optimistic."

The dark ginger she-cat nodded curtly, though her eyes were bright. "Good."

Brambleclaw moved to stand between them, his eyes fixed on the mountains. "I knew they would be big," he exhaled in awe. "But I never could have imagined this…"

Crowpaw joined them, his gray-black fur ruffled. "Are we going to stand here and gawk all day or are we going to do this?"

Brambleclaw sighed. "Right," he glanced back to make sure Tawnypelt and Feathertail had joined them, then flicked his tail towards the sheer cliffs before them. "Let's get going."

The six cats traveled briskly through the last stretch of moorland, Brambleclaw in the lead and Stormfur taking up the rear. Crowpaw and Feathertail traveled side by side, and Squirrelpaw flanked Tawnypelt, keeping a discreet eye on the ShadowClan warrior's wound. Midnight's herbs and the burdock from the forest had cured the infection, but every cat could tell the proud warrior was still in a lot of pain.

As they drew closer and closer to the mountains, Stormfur began to notice the incline of the hill growing ever steeper, and the already sparse moorland grass was giving way to pebbly gray stone. Brambleclaw raised his tail for them to stop just as the sin reached its peak, the mountains now only a mere tail-length away.

"I think we should stop here for a moment," the tabby warrior announced, turning to face his companions. Immediately, Crowpaw's hackles raised.

"And waste even more time?" He spat, his tail lashing.

"And hunt," Brambleclaw ground out, obviously trying to be patient with the prickly WindClan apprentice.

"It won't do any good to start trying to climb these on an empty stomach," Stormfur added. "We'll all need every bit of our strength."

Feathertail nodded. "He's right, Crowpaw. Come on, you can hunt with me."

Stormfur felt his fur beginning to bristle, but his sister and the WindClan apprentice were gone before he could voice his objection. With a defeated sigh, he turned to Squirrelpaw, but Brambleclaw had already approached the dark ginger she-cat, the two ThunderClan cats leaving shortly after they spoke. The dark gray warrior felt his heart drop. I'm better off hunting alone anyways…

As he began to stalk away, he remembered his conversation with Squirrelpaw earlier that day, instantly forcing the bitter thoughts from his mind. You know better than any cat that no good comes from taking a mate from another Clan… She would be much better off with Brambleclaw… My only concern right now is saving my Clan. No—saving all of the Clans… Steeling his resolve, the RiverClan warrior turned his focus back to his hunt. First, I'll catch something for Tawnypelt…

It wasn't long before all of the journeying cats returned to their meeting place. Stormfur had returned first, bringing extra fresh-kill for Tawnypelt, who had taken advantage of the time to rest her shoulder. To Stormfur's surprise, as soon as they returned, Squirrelpaw left Brambleclaw's side to join him, a vole in her jaws. "You don't mind if I join you, do you?"

Stormfur felt his pelt warm, and he shook his head. "Not at all." He hadn't even started his own meal yet (a couple of plump mice) and waited for Squirrelpaw to settle beside him to start eating. Brambleclaw sat with his sister, who had long since devoured the rabbit Stormfur had brought back for her, and Feathertail and Crowpaw were eating quietly only a tail-length away from the ShadowClan warrior.

"So how was the hunting?" Squirrelpaw inquired, pausing to glance at the Riverclan warrior.

"Not bad," Stormfur purred. "I doubt there's going to be this much prey in the mountains though."

The ginger apprentice mumbled an agreement as they both continued eating. She finished first, stretching and rolling onto her back, her pelt now brushing his as she stared at the sky while he finished eating. "I never noticed how much more blue the sky seemed out here…" She murmured softly, and for a moment, Stormfur wondered if he was even meant to hear. But then she sought out his gaze. "Does it seem that way to you?"

The dark gray warrior blinked, surprised by the question, and before he could think of a way to answer, the ThunderClan apprentice had sprung to her paws. "Never mind, I'm sure I'm just being mouse-brained." She flicked his ear with her tail-tip. "Better hurry, only you and Brambleclaw are still eating."

With that, she padded away to join Feathertail, leaving Stormfur to gaze thoughtfully after her. Is the sky really more blue out here, or does it just seem better because we're here together…? The dark gray warrior forcefully shook his head, then polished off the last of his mice, flattening his ears as he tried to rein in his thoughts. No, Stormfur. She already has Brambleclaw. You are only friends.

As he thought about the tabby warrior, he noticed that Brambleclaw had also just finished, and he joined the ThunderClan warrior at the edge of the mountains. "I guess it's time." He meowed, turning his amber gaze up to the broken gray peaks.

Brambleclaw nodded. "It is."

Slowly, their companions joined them, lined up shoulder to shoulder against the challenge before them. As soon as we get through these mountains, we can save our Clans. Stormfur squared his shoulders, lifting his chin and taking a step forward. "Let's go."

Hey! So I've got a loooot of Warriors fics going right now, and to be honest… I just couldn't get this thought out of my mind. So here it is… Depending on how much the readers like this, this story may get priority over the others, and it may not, but either way, I'm really in love with the Storm X Squirrel pairing, and I've been longing to write this for a while so… here it is xD I hope you all enjoy it!