Hello! I have recently adopted this story from a good friend of mine; Snap. I will be continuing the story so I hope you enjoy. :)
ShadowClan
Leader:
Brightstar - long-haired golden tabby tom with soft white paws; blue eyes
Deputy:
Stonestrike - dark silver tabby she-cat with a black mask around her eyes; pale green eyes
Apprentice: Russetpaw
Medicine Cat:
Streamtail - light brown tabby she-cat with long whiskers; pale amber eyes
Apprentice: Cherrypaw
Warriors:
Mossnose - short-furred white tom with dark gray splotches; emerald eyes
Dewyfang - lanky she-cat with short blue-gray fur and a rounded kitten-like face; bright green eyes
Leafheart - short-legged fluffy white she-cat; dark brown eyes
Apprentice: Slitherpaw
Branchtail - large, thick-furred dark brown tom; green eyes
Juniperleaf - white she-cat with patches of blue-gray fur; large blue eyes
Apprentice: Featherpaw
Spottedclaw - long-legged golden-brown tom with black spots; sharp amber eyes
Quickbreeze - fluffy, long-furred silver-gray-and-white tabby tom; delicate dark blue eyes
Hawkfeather - spiky black-and-tortoiseshell tom with a scar on left flank; dark amber eyes
Apprentice: Sorrelpaw
Fallenstorm - light brown she-cat with white paws; pale blue-gray eyes
Flintclaw - rugged dark gray tom with a white muzzle; orange-amber eyes
Bramblesky - lean tortoiseshell-and-white she-cat; light yellow eyes
Dawnmist - fluffy brown tortoiseshell she-cat with a plumy tail; very dark brown eyes
Owlfeather - brown-and-white patched-fur; blue eyes
Apprentices:
Featherpaw - light gray she-cat with a white plumy tail; blue eyes
Sorrelpaw - brown-and-cream tabby tom; yellow eyes
Russetpaw - ginger tabby tom with a plumy tail; green eyes
Cherrypaw - ginger-and-white she-cat; yellow eyes
Driftpaw - lean, slicked-furred black tom; yellow eyes
Queens:
Ravenwing - long-legged black-and-gray queen; yellow eyes
Mother to Hawkfeather's kits: Rosekit - black-and-white she-kit with a white splotch on right ear; green eyes. Crowkit - black-and-gray tom with white paws; dark blue eyes. Snowkit - white tom with pale gray paws; amber eyes
Fernstorm - brown-and-white tabby; leaf-green eyes
Mother to Branchtail's kits: Barkkit - dark brown tabby she-kit; green eyes. Minnowkit - brown-and-white tom; yellow eyes.
Robinfeather - pale ginger tabby queen with a white muzzle; green eyes
Mother to Spottedclaw's kits: Sparrowkit - golden-brown tom; green eyes. Rowankit - lean, reddish brown tabby she-kit with a white tail-tip; green eyes
Elders:
Doveclaw - ginger-and-white tom with brown frontpaws; green eyes
Berryfeather - black she-cat with a white tail-tip and chest dash; blue eyes
Rabbitheart - ginger tom with brown stripes and white arches above eyes; green eyes
Morningstreak - brown tom with a darker stripe down back and a white chest dash; amber eyes
ThunderClan
Leader:
Brackenstar - gray-and-white tom with silver swirls; dark blue eyes
Deputy:
Iceclaws - black she-cat with a white zigzag on her chest; blue eyes
Apprentice: Moonpaw
Medicine Cat:
Misttail - black she-cat with lighter patches on her belly and chest; large luminous green eyes
Apprentice: Seedpaw
Warriors:
Redwing - long-furred dark red tom with a lighter belly and chest; dark green eyes
Swiftleap - white she-cat with brown tabby patches; light green eyes
Flowerheart - pale tortoiseshell-and-white she-cat with black paws; round amber eyes
Apprentice: Squirrelpaw
Dappleblossom - pale ginger tabby she-cat with a white chest dash; blue eyes
Cloudstorm - black tom with white spots along spine; sky-blue eyes
Apprentice: Jaypaw
Newttail - black-and-gray tabby tom with silver-tipped fur on chest; amber eyes
Shrewnose - skinny, spiky pale brown tom with tabby stripes on legs; hazel eyes
Rookwing - skinny dark gray-and-white she-cat with black socks; very dark blue eyes
Apprentices:
Squirrelpaw - sturdy pale gray tom with white-tipped fur and a white tail-tip; blue eyes
Jaypaw - lean blue-gray tom with a white muzzle and tail-tip; blue eyes
Seedpaw - white she-cat with an orange tail and paws; green eyes
Moonpaw - small, skinny white tabby tom with dark gray patches on hips; blue eyes
Queens:
Nettlefoot - sharp ginger-and-brown tabby queen; amber eyes
Mother to Brackenstar's kit: Pinekit - ginger-brown tabby with three black paws and one white paw; dark blue eyes
Bluewing - slender silver-blue-and-white tabby queen; large soulful silver-blue eyes
Mother to Cloudstorm's kits: Brookkit - silver-and-white she-kit with delicate black stripes; blue eyes. Birdkit - scrawny black tom with brown ear fur; round amber eyes. Swallowkit - black she-cat with white toes; silver-blue eyes. Sunkit - ginger tabby tom with white stripes; sky-blue eyes
Elders:
Amberdawn - wiry tortoiseshell tom with missing ears; amber eyes
Sandblossom - young tan she-cat with a twisted hindleg; hazel eyes
Scarface - old, patchy brown-furred tom; scarred blind eyes
RiverClan
Leader:
Rosestar - white she-cat with dark gray tabby patches and a gray tail; green eyes
Deputy:
Darksoul - black tom with a white muzzle, tail-tip, and paws; amber eyes
Apprentice: Rainpaw - silver-and-white she-cat with thick black swirls; blue eyes
Medicine Cat:
Smokewing - silver she-cat with a white belly, throat, and dark gray tail; dark green eyes
WindClan
Leader:
Viperstar - white tom with ginger spots on hindquarters, a ginger tail and ears; blue eyes
Deputy:
Silverwing - white she-cat with faint silver stripes down spine; pale green eyes
Medicine Cat:
Cedardash - black tom with a white dash on forehead; dark green eyes
Apprentice: Mothtail - light brown-and-white tom with white paws; amber eyes
Cats Outside of the Clans
Gypsy - golden tabby queen with a white throat and belly; green eyes
Mother to: Nigel - dark gray-and-white tom with a black underbelly and paws; dark blue eyes. Delia - skinny brown tortoiseshell with dark-tipped fur; green eyes. Stefan - golden-brown tabby tom with white paws; light blue eyes.
Spirit Raven - black she-cat with white spots on hindquarters and a halfmoon on forehead; blue eyes
Mango - cream tom with gray stripes, white belly and throat; amber eyes
Swiss - dark blue-gray tom with a black mask, lighter belly and throat; green eyes
PROLOGUE
The black she-cat set her paws down lightly, careful to not crush any dry leaf-fall leaves under paw. The mouse was tantalizingly close, its whiskers twitching as it searched for seeds. The she-cat's own whiskers twitched, anticipating a fleshy dinner.
She shifted her rump, tightened the muscles in her hind legs, and prepared to pounce. A sharp jab sent the queen off balance. Her tail brushed a clump of crabgrass and she uttered a couple of colorful words. The mouse froze in place, sensing a predator nearby. The warrior lost patience and dove out of the undergrowth, claws outstretched, at the petrified mouse. The dinner-to-be regained its wit at the last moment and flung itself into a closely knit briar bush. The she-cat pulled up short, not wanting to become entangled in the briars.
Suddenly, she felt nauseous and weak. She glanced down at her shadowy paws and realized that she could see the leaves through them...
"Your Majestic Deputy-ness! His Great Majesty-ship Leader Brackenstar and Her Holy Star-ness Priest Misttail have requested your awesome presence to delight their brilliant minds!"
Iceclaws mentally groaned. There was only a few cats in ThunderClan who spoke like that. It seemed Brackenstar had sent the apprentices to awaken her again. She warily opened one eye. A wet muzzle was stuck in her face. It was coated in short grey fur and-were those short whiskers? Oh, no. Not only had Brackenstar sent the apprentices to get her up, he had sent the worst one in particular.
"Yes, Squirrelpaw?" Iceclaws meowed sweetly, heaving herself into an upright position.
Squirrelpaw backed away, one paw still raised to jab her again. Iceclaws noted that weak sunlight was filtering through the branches of the willow den, meaning that it might be around midday. Great. Just how late had she slept in exactly?
"Brackenstar and Misttail are in the medicine den. They are waiting for you." It was Iceclaws' own apprentice, Moonpaw, who answered. His white head fur stuck up in the semi-mo-hawk that he had worn since his apprentice ceremony.
He was the only apprentice in ThunderClan who didn't use that horrible slang. Iceclaws liked to think that it was because of her strict mentoring program and the fact that she shared her opinions and beliefs with the eight month old tomcat.
"Thank you, Moonpaw. Now how about you two go tag onto a patrol?"
"But I don't wanna!" Squirrelpaw whined pathetically. Moonpaw silently sunk his teeth into Squirrelpaw's scruff and dragged the complaining apprentice out of the warriors' den.
Iceclaws stepped out of her nest and slid into a luxurious stretch. Then she started with her paws and ended up having groomed her whole body at least twice. She didn't bother with removing tufts of fur that had snagged onto the twigs in her nest because it was Nettlefoot's turn this week. Some of the younger warriors and the medicine cat apprentice thought it was adorable when Pinekit swaggered out of the den with a large clump of fur in his tiny jaws like he had yesterday.
Emerging into the camp clearing, Iceclaws shielded her eyes from the sunlight with one black paw. Turning out of the direct path of the sun rays, Iceclaws padded across the dry and dusty ground to the heap of prey in the center of the encampment. Selecting a plump mouse like the one in her dream, she settled down to devour her late breakfast.
Gulping the last bite down, she drew her paws over her whiskers to knock off any extra morsels that may have gotten caught there. Iceclaws tuned her ears to the midday conversation as she strode over to the compost heap to throw away the remains of the mouse and its skeleton.
"WindClan's new leader seems sensible. Maybe the border war will finally disperse."
"I don't think so. Some of the younger warriors are extremely driven."
"One...two...three..."
"Pinekit! Stay in the nursery until Nettlefoot gets back!"
"Shrewnose! Rookwing! Can you join Dappleblossom on a border patrol?"
"Four...five...six..."
"Blah. Blah. Blah. I'm not listening!"
"Seven...eight...nine..."
"Squirrelpaw! Never, ever swear at me again! Why can't you be more like Moonpaw?"
"TEN! Ready or not, here I come!"
Iceclaws lifted her paws as a kitten raced by, then continued over to the medicine den. As she neared the den, she spotted Seedpaw, the medicine cat's apprentice, by the young she-cat was slouched over, a dark scowl on her white face. She was tracing curlicues in the dirt with a pinkish-orange paw.
"What's wrong?" asked Iceclaws, padding up to her. Seedpaw jumped, then turned and gave Iceclaws a heavy dose of death glare.
"Nothing," she simpered, nose stuck in the air. "Now leave me alone." She turned and snottily swaggered off towards a small cluster of young male warriors. Iceclaws watched her pad off with concern, mildly wondering when Misttail was going to explain the medicine cat code to her apprentice.
Muted voices greeted Iceclaws as she stepped across the threshold of the medicine den. Brackenstar and Misttail were deeply involved in a heated debate, from the choice words her ears were picking up.
"Excuse me," Iceclaws meowed as she seated herself just inside the entrance. Scrabbling in the storage cave could be heard and Iceclaws briefly wondered if she was interrupting anything important.
"You can come in now!" The speaker was undeniably Misttail. The ThunderClan medicine cat had an unbelievably loud voice for such a small cat. Sometimes rival Clans mistook her for a tomcat (it had happened once or twice at Gatherings).
"Okay!" Iceclaws called as she rose to her paws and padded around stacks of herbs to the storage cave. A thin stream of rainwater had gathered in a plant-stuffed alcove and was dripping to the floor below. Iceclaws noted with interest that a curved strip of bark had been placed directly underneath the alcove to catch the falling drops.
The entrance to the storage cave was narrow. Iceclaws had to stoop and crawl along with her belly pressed to the stone to be able to fit. How had Brackenstar ever managed to get through this? He wasn't exactly a small cat.
"There you are! What took you so long? I sent Seedpaw to fetch you about half an hour ago!" Misttail sounded confused and possibly a slight bit annoyed.
Iceclaws slipped a paws in front of her face to hide her smirk. Knowing Seedpaw, she had probably attempted a long and completely unnecessary trek to avoid the simple task of waking the Clan deputy.
"Anyway, to business!" Misttail perked up immediately, her smile stretching from ear to ear. Sometimes it was freaky how she could switch attitude so quickly.
"Yeah, to business," Both she-cats jumped. They had completely forgotten about Brackenstar in the corner. He appeared positively bored. "Misttail wants to tell you about her dream. We think it might be an omen from StarClan."
