Hello, so this is my first. Please no harsh reviews, but criticism is accepted. Enjoy.

Prologue

A brown tabby tom yawned, and stretched his broad muscular arms. Tonight, he had the midnight patrol and he was right on time. The tom gathered his haunches, and made his way outside to the dark camp. The full moon was barely visible against the gray clouds, and the stars couldn't be seen. The dens to each cats' own area was silent and full of the soft snoring that echoed off the rocky walls surrounding the camp; accept a sudden movement that stirred in the apprentice's den.

The brown tabby's apprentice, Orangepaw, and small brown tom with stripped fur, zipped outside his den and up to his mentor. He was named Orangepaw because of his bright orange eyes.

"Hey, Redclaw!" Orangepaw greeted him, respectfully dipping his head.

"Hello, Orangepaw. Are you ready for your first midnight patrol?" Redclaw asked.

"You bet! Lets go!" Orangepaw exclaimed.

"Woah, woah! Not so fast, we still have to wait for Brackensnap and Birdpaw," Redclaw reminded him.

"Aww, those two are never on time..." Orangepaw muttered.

"What was that?" There came a firm mew from behind.

Orangepaw whipped his head around to see a black she-cat with white paws and tail tip paddling towards Orangepaw with an annoyed look on her face. A tortoiseshell tom followed the apprentice.

"Err, well, about that-"

"Yeah, that's what I thought you said," Birdpaw snapped.

"Anyway," Brackensnap interrupted their quarrel. "Time's awaiting. Let's be off!"

The cats began to make their way to the entrance of the camp, passing a warrior on guard, and went into the forest. Just like the camp, the forest was just as dark. But that was no problem for them, they could see quite well anyway. The cats began to move across their first shred of territory along the ShadowClan border. Redclaw sprayed against a tree, while Brackensnap started on a fern.

"Don't just stand there you two," Brackensnap meowed to the apprentices who made no movement. "Start marking."

The two apprentices nodded and clawed at the trees together. After quite some process, Orangepaw had finished clawing at his tree.

"Hey, Redclaw? May I go a little further?" Oragepaw asked.

"Well... Just as long as you don't go too far," Redclaw instructed.

"Yeah, you might find yourself in a badger's den!" Birdpaw sneered.

"Shut up..." Orangepaw hissed while roaming along farther through the bramble bushes.

As time went by, and Birdpaw, Redclaw, and Brackensnap finished with their marking, they waiting for Orangepaw so they could go deeper. The only problem was that Orangepaw wasn't showing up.

"What's taking that tom so long?!" Birdpaw growled drowning out the silence.

"Be quiet, Birdpaw! You'll scare every inch of prey we have into ShadowClan!" Brackensnap meowed an annoyance.

"She's right though, Orangepaw hasn't shown up for awhile..." Redclaw meowed.

"Do you think he's alright?" Birdpaw asked, beginning to worry for her Clanmate.

The trio jumped as a thorny bush began to rattle and hiss. Redclaw stood up, and unsheathed his claws, preparing for a battle. Brackensnap copied Redclaw's movements and unsheathed his claws too. Birdpaw only watched in silence. A small brown head popped out suddenly, followed by a body covered in leaves and thorns. It was Orangepaw, he had finally come back. But Orangepaw's now mangled pelt wasn't what shocked the others, it was what he had brought back with him.

A tiny kit hung weakly in Orangepaw's jaws. The kit's pelt was coated in a light gray, with white paws that the dirt covered. It's breaths were shallow and so tiny, they could hardly be heard.

"W-What is this?" Redclaw demanded.

Orangepaw dropped the kit and spoke, "I found the kit while spraying some bushes."

Birdpaw wrinkled her nose in disgust and hissed, "Ugh, it smells like dung and rats!"

"The thing must have been abanded by it's parents... I feel sorry for it but-" Redclaw started but Orangepaw interrupted him.

"You're not going to just keep it here are you? It needs to be cared for!" Orangepaw pointed out.

"I know that. But ShadowClan is not too far from here, it might be their kit. Not ours," Redclaw protested.

"But it's in our territory," Birdpaw joined in.

"That's true, but-"

"Please, Redclaw! Give the kit a chance!" Orangepaw begged.

"Well... Alright, but, Rainstar will have to see the kit first," Redclaw reminded them.

As the cats made their way back to the ThunderClan camp, Redclaw began to yowl, "Emergency! Emergency!"

The whole camp suddenly awoke and began to meow in worry. Rainstar made his way outside his den full awake and alert.

"What's going on?!" Rainstar demanded.

"Rainstar, it's this..." Redclaw meowed pointing to the kit that laid on the ground.

"A kit? Where did you find it?" Rainstar asked.

Orangepaw stepped up. "I found it near the ShadowClan border."

"ShadowClan? Doesn't that mean it belongs to them?" Rainstar questioned.

"Well, it didn't smell of ShadowClan," Orangepaw pointed out respectfully.

"That's right. It was also in our territory," Birdpaw spoke.

"You both have a point... Well, I guess caring for the kit wouldn't be a problem," Rainstar meowed as he began to think.

"I don't think we should keep the kit!" A meow called out.

Rainstar turned his head towards the cat who had spoke, a fluffy white tom with forest green eyes.

"Why is that, Mosswhisker?" Rainstar asked.

"If we take the kit in, it'll only increase our hostility with ShadowClan," Mosswhisker meowed.

The crowd of cats murmured in agreement to Mosswhisker's words. It was true, Thunder and ShadowClan were both hostile towards each other because of a mere quarrel on the ThunderClan cat's border. Giving the Shadowclanners a thought of stealing one of their kits would make them furious.

"Yes, but how do you know it is Shadow Clan's?" Orangepaw tried to object.

"I don't know, but the that thing is trouble. You should just put it back were it came from," Mosswhisker mewed twitching his tail.

"And leave it to die? No way!" Orangepaw growled, shielding the kit with his body.

"Okay, listen you-"

"Enough!" Rainstar hissed. "There is no need for pointless fights. We will keep the kit. And once she is old enough, we'll take her to the next gathering to ask ShadowClan if it is theirs."

"Well... Fine," Mosswhisker muttered.

Orangepaw grinned happily at the kit.

"But we need a queen to care for it, who will mother this kit?" Rainstar asked, looking in the direction of the queens.

"Humph, will don't look at me. I'd never care for something so smelly..." A ginger queen snorted.

"Me either," a brown tabby queen with black ear tips meowed.

Orangepaw shifted uneasily. Someone had to care for it!

"I'll do it," a creamy brown she-cat offered. "It may stink, but I'd never let a kit die like that."

"Many thanks, Sorrelheart," Rainstar purred.

Sorrelheart nodded gruffly.

"I'll help care for it too," ThuderClan's medicine cat, Dewstem, a patchy brown she-cat called.

"Thank you, Dewstem," Rainstar meowed gratefully.

Orangepaw looked down at the tiny she-kit, and picked it up again in his jaws.

Don't worry, kit. I'll watch over you.