Prologue
It was sundown, a veil of orange & yellow painted across the skies. Usually, cats bustled about, the clearing always full of liveliness. Today however was not the case. A clutter of cats could be seen outside of the nursery. Three kits had been born, but one of them had managed to bring an uneasiness to the clan. "He looks like Nettletail." One warrior mewed, another pitched in. "What if he turns out like him?" There were murmurs within the crowd, a third warrior spoke up. "Like father, Like son." They hissed. "Enough of this, all of you. These kits are a blessing to us." That was Nightstar, the Shadowclan leader. She was a very bold and noble leader. Her icy gaze locked on the queen, nesting with her kittens. "What have you decided to name them, Thornpelt?" The striped, brown tabby purred, nose touching the head of a tortieshell she-cat. "This one is Featherkit… and this— " her tongue rasped over the head of a plain brown tom, save for the darker fur of his ear rims. "Is Weedkit." She announced. "Because the way his fur kinks up, reminds me of weeds that grow around the camp.." Her golden gaze finally lingered on the last kit.
He resembled his father, light grey fur with dark splotches, even white paws. The only difference was that his face had a white splotch over it, resembling a mask. Despite how much his mother had groomed him, his fur continued to spike out around him. He lifted his head and mewled, the proud queen smiling. "I will call this one Thistlekit." She purred. "All fitting names for such beautiful kits, Thornpelt." Nightstar mewed. Some cats still murmured to one another disapprovingly. Nettletail had once been a Shadowclan warrior, but he had been hungry for power and tried to attack Nightstar in hopes that he would forcefully take the clan. He had failed and was banished, right in the middle of Thornpelt's pregnancy. To have a kit that looked just like him so soon, it didn't settle to well with the superstitious cats. "Alright, give them space everyone; back to your dens." The leader announced. As cats cleared away, the medicine cat also took her leave. Both Thornpelt and her kits were healthy, so there was no need for her to stay in the nursery.
Berrystripe entered her own den, checking herbs to ensure that they were in good stock. Tansy was low, and so was the catmint. "I'll have to ask one of the warriors to lend me a paw come morning.." she muttered to herself. The medicine cat climbed into her nest, shifting her shoulders around to get a little more comfortable. Slowly her eyes shut and she began to doze into a light slumber. As darkness swirled around her vision—it suddenly cleared into a new location. She found herself standing in the middle of an empty clearing. What in the name of starclan was this? The medicine cat stood there, pondering the situation for a moment, until something began to sprout from the ground. Thistles? They grew at a rapid pace, twisting and weaving around one another. However another plant was emerging from the opposite end. Weeds… Berrystripe watched as the two plants continued to grow and spurt from the earth until there was no more space left for them. They began to tangle into one another, until it was a mess of green vegetation. "What is this supposed to mean?" she whispered.
Barely a few heartbeats later, blood began to rapidly rush through the plants, gushing into the rest of the bare clearing. As it coated her paws, the medicine cat yowled and turned to run away. However, she was surrounded. The tangles of bleeding plant were all around her and soon she was engulfed in blood. Washing over her in every direction. 'Starclan help me!'. Jolting awake, Berrystripe hustled out of her nest, fur standing on end. A harsh hiss began to echo in her ear.
As Thistles and Weeds clash, one shall become two, and blood will flood the forest.