Rusty

Rusty was a different cat. Where others saw loss, he saw gain. Where others saw weakness, he saw strength. When others saw evil, he saw opportunity. He purred happily to himself as he stood atop his housefolk's fence. The simple creatures were nice enough, feeding him and welcoming him in during the cold, windy nights. But Rusty wanted more. He was a young cat, and he was bored of the safe home with its lazy life. He was fed up with the idiotic housefolk, who stood on two legs and lacked any trace of fur.

The yellow sunlight soaked through him, and his whiskers drooped sleepily. His tail twitched in anticipation as he stared at the forest floor below him. He had never been outside of his garden, but he knew that that would soon change. He loved his vantage point. He slowly turned his head, his green gaze sweeping over the countless other housefolk gardens. There were so many. And he was above them all. It made him feel… powerful. Rusty blinked happily. He liked that feeling.

"Where are you off to Rusty?" Rusty bit back an vicious hiss. Couldn't his fat, lazy neighbor give him a moment of peace?

He sighed, regaining his composure as fast as he had lost it, "Hello, Smudge." Smudge stood a few tail lengths away, balancing awkwardly on the narrow fence. The old cat's pelt was fluffed out with fear.

His idiotic amber eyes were wide, "You're not going in t-the woods are you?!" Rusty imagined how it would feel to rip the buffoon's fur off. But he had to keep him happy. Smudge new a lot of cats. That could come in handy…

So, he had no choice but to allow the pathetic pillow to keep its fur, "Just for a quick look."

"It's, uh, dangerous!" Rusty sighed. Smudge may be four times his age, but he had the guts of a sparrow. The old cat continued, "Henry said he went into the woods once!"

Rusty felt his hackles rising, and he forced them back down, "That fat lump of fur has hardly left his garden after he went to the vet!" Smudge shifted uneasily, and Rusty knew that he had to calm down. He couldn't throw potential tools because of some useless lump of fluff. It wasn't worth it.

Smudge continued, "No, really! He caught a robin in there!" Yah, right. Rusty thought bitterly. Smudge didn't seem to notice the disdain in the younger cat's eyes, "Henry told me there are all sorts of dangerous animals in there! There are even wild cats who sharpen their claws on rabbit bones and eat us civilized cats for snacks!"

Rusty forced a purr into his voice, "Smudge, he was probably joking."

"What do you mean?"

"Maybe Henry was making up a story just to scare you."

"Oh, I didn't think of that." Of course you didn't!

Rusty turned to leave, "I won't be gone long." He leapt down off of the fence, quickly forgetting Smudge. He landed on the course grass, and felt leaves crunch under his paws. He parted his jaws, allowing the scents of the forest to reach the glands at the roof of his mouth. Mouse! Rusty's tail twitched with excitement, and he dropped quickly into a crouch. A few moments later, the furry brown creature stumbled out from the roots of a tree. It scurried on, not noticing Rusty. The young cat smiled. He took one silent pawstep, then another. Suddenly, he tripped up slightly, and the bell on his collar rang through the silent morning air. The bumbling mouse dashed into the cover of its hole with a frightened squeak.

Rusty cursed silently, his whiskers quivering with rage. This stupid collar! He could've gotten that mouse! Suddenly, he heard pawsteps hurtling towards him. Too late, he realized that he was in danger. Then the creature slammed into his side, knocking him to the ground with a screech of rage.

Tigerclaw

"The nerve of those worthless scraps of fox dung!" Redtail crouched quivering next to Tigerclaw, his small tortoiseshell body flattened against the damp leaves. Tigerclaw peered out from behind the log, and got another glance at the Shadowclan cats sitting proudly on the much contested strip of land between Thunderclan and Shadowclan territories. It had always been changing paws for as far as he could remember. Redtail growled angrily again. Tigerclaw was just as furious. These mangy crow food eaters had no right to rub their stinking pelts over his clan's property! He would fight them off! Nobody would ever mess with Thunderclan while he had anything to say about it! The huge brown tabby flexed his unnaturally long claws. He imagined himself sinking them into the pelts of those fox-hearted Shadowclan scum!

Redtail crouched beside him, his tail rose slightly, signaling to his concealed clanmates to prepare to move. Tigerclaw spotted multiple sets of eyes, ready to obey the clan deputy's signals. Despite himself, Tigerclaw couldn't help sneeking a sideways glance at Redtail. There was something about the small tom that made him uneasy. He had become the clan deputy under extremely suspicious circumstances. The look of bloodlust in his eyes made Tigerclaw shudder. He wouldn't put it past Redtail to turn on his own clanmates for a mouse tail.

"THUNDERCLAN, ATTACK!" At Redtail's bloodcurdling call, Tigerclaw charged at the enemy cats, leaping easily over the large log in front of him. He bolted towards a large grey cat that stood a few fox lengths from the tree line. Out of the corner of his eye, he spotted Redtail grappling with Boulder, a powerful Shadowclan warrior. Tigerclaw turned his attention back to his own opponent. He let out a furious yowl, and saw the tom flinch visibly. Tigerstar didn't hesitate, lashing out with his huge claws in a vicious side swipe. The Shadowclan cat dodged the blow easily, and rose onto his hind paws, with both of his front paws ready for attack. Perfect, this was exactly what Tigerclaw wanted. He dropped into a crouch and rolled under his opponent, knocking his hind legs out from under him. The cat landed heavily on his side, and Tigerclaw hissed angrily as he raked his claws along the other warrior's flank. The Shadowclan cat yowled in pain, and retreated back towards the river wailing. Tigerclaw saw that his fellow clanmates were faring well against the trespassers. He spotted his jet black apprentice, Ravenpaw, cornered by two mean looking apprentices. He bounded towards them, a low growl rumbling in his throat. The two young cats took one look at Thunderclan's greatest warrior, and streaked back towards the border, wailing. Tigerclaw turned to the frightened cat.

His young apprentice wasn't ready for this, "Get back to camp, Ravenpaw. I'll be right along." His small black furred apprentice nodded hastily and dashed back into the woods.

Tigerclaw scanned the battlefield. He didn't see any more fighting, and his clanmates were chasing the Shadowclan towards the border. Victory. Suddenly, he heard the sounds of combat from the other side of a clump of brambles, the side closer to the Shadowclan border. He dashed towards the sound, his powerful muscles pumping as fast as they could. Then he saw it. Redtail was locked in combat with Boulder. The huge black cat was trying to pin down the smaller Thunderclan cat, but to no avail. Redtail might be small and untrustworthy, but he was a natural warrior. The broke apart, and began circling. Tigerclaw ground to a halt. Redtail wouldn't forgive him for interrupting his fight. They battling cats didn't notice him. Then Boulder leapt for Redtail. The ginger tailed cat tried to dodge, but he was too slow. Boulder landed on top of his opponent. Then he opened his jaws wide, and tore into Redtail in the throat. The small cat immediately went limp under the fatal blow, the blood pumping from his torn throat. Tigerclaw was shocked. Warriors didn't kill for no reason! That move was no accident! The Shadowclan scum stood up and wiped the blood from his whiskers daintily. The blood was still gushing out of Redtail's throat, staining the green grass red. The deputy of Thunderclan twitched weakly. Suddenly, Redtail, with his last ounce of strength, lashed out, his claws stained red with his own blood. The razor sharp claws caught Boulder in his unprotected throat. The Riverclan deputy stumbled, chocking on his own blood that was clogging his windpipe. He stumbled a few steps towards the thickly wooded border, and collapsed, dead. Redtail let out one last shuddering sigh, and his eyes glazed over. Tigerclaw stared at the bloodstained battlefield, his mind numb. Clan cats didn't kill each other, that was clearly stated in the Warrior Code! Why had this happened?

Bluestar

Bluestar strolled through the undergrowth, weaving through the ferns and trees with practiced ease. She loved the smell of the forest, and the feel of leaves crunching under her paws. Beside her strode Lionheart, his golden fur gleaming in the early morning light. Bluestar was glad she had such noble warriors in her clan. Her clan. She purred silently. It had been difficult, but she had become the leader of Thunderclan. Just as she had always wanted. Under her command, Thunderclan would be the most powerful clan in the forest. All the other clans would learn to respect them.

She tasted the air once more, confirming the direction that Graypaw had gone. The young apprentice was on an assessment, and it was up to his mentor, Lionheart, to test his hunting skills. She had decided to tag along. A good leader always kept an eye on her clan. Suddenly, they heard a yowl of fear. Graypaw! She sprinted towards the origin of the sound, leaping over logs and dodging trees. Lionheart was a pawlength behind her, panting heavily as he dashed through the woods. Graypaw had headed into Twoleg territory! How many times had she told him not to go there?! She slowed to a halt, stopping at the edge of the tree line. Before her, the twoleg nests loomed high above them. She searched for Graypaw, and quickly found him. She breathed a sigh of relief. He was locked in combat with an young orange kittypet, who surprisingly was fighting back with a ferocity born of desperation. Then Graypaw untangled himself from the conflict, and sat a few tail lengths away from the other kitten, calmly licking his paw clean.

Something about the flame-colored pelt of the other kitten sparked a memory inside of her. The Prophecy! Only fire can save the clan! Was this it? She glanced again, and saw something that pleased her even more. There was something in the kittypet's eyes. They were bright and intelligent, like any kit's, but there was something else as well. They were also cold and calculating, he seemed to measure everything with a glance, deciding its usefulness. She could use a cat like this. Now that Redtail would be… disposed of, she would need another cat to help her. This kitten could be that cat. Bluestar sighed, she had made a grave mistake with Redtail. Would this kit be the same? No, he had more intelligence in his eyes than Redtail ever did. This cat wouldn't be a half psychotic killer.

Then Graypaw's ears twitched, and he sniffed the air, his eyes growing wide.

Lionheart twitched his tail, "He smells us. I'm surprised it took him this long."

He made as if he was going to step out from the undergrowth, but Bluestar touched his shoulder with her tail, stopping him, "I'll go first." She stepped out of the trees, Lionheart close behind her. She regarded Graypaw coldly, forcing herself to look stern, "What's going on here?" Graypaw's tail drooped, and out of the corner of her eye she saw the small kittypet studying her.

Lionheart stepped up to his apprentice, his ears flattened against the sides of his head angrily, "You shouldn't be so near to Twolegplace, Graypaw!"

"I know, Lionheart, I'm sorry." The kittypet crouched low, copying Graypaw. But Bluestar could tell that he was not intimidated. She felt her hackles rising, but she forced them back down. There was something about this tiny kit that was unnerving.

She turned to Graypaw, "Who's this?"

"Oh, he's no threat," He mewed nervously, "He's not a clan warrior, just a kittypet." Just a kittypet? I don't think so. Graypaw turned to the kittypet, "This is Bluestar, the leader of our Clan! And this is Lionheart, and he's my mentor, which means he's training me to be a warrior."

"Thank you for the introduction, Graypaw." Mewed Lionheart coolly.

Bluestar turned back to the kittypet, "You fight well for a kittypet. Graypaw is stronger than you, but you used your wits to defend yourself."

Lionheart scoffed, "Bluestar, this is a kittypet! Just send him home." The kittypet flattened his ears angrily, but he bit back whatever retort he had in store.

Then he turned to Bluestar, "Is survival really that hard?"

Bluestar was pleased that this kittypet was curious, "Our territory covers only part of the forest, we have to compete with the other Clans for prey."

"Is your clan very big?"

Bluestar cautiously guarded her answer, "Big enough."

The kit nodded slowly, his eyes shining as if he was stalking a fat mouse, "Are you all warriors?"

This time Lionheart answered for her, "Some are warriors. Some are too young or too old or too busy caring for kits to hunt."

"And you all live and share prey together?" the kittypet asked.

Bluestar took a deep breath, "Perhaps you should find out for yourself. Would you like to join Thunderclan?"