Allegiances (Note: As of right now I only have FireClan.)

FireClan

Leader: Cloudedstar—long-furred grayish-white blue-eyed tom

Deputy: Lilywind—gray tabby she-cat (apprentice, Darkpaw)

Medicine Cat: Blackwing—black she-cat with dark blue eyes (apprentice, Rosepaw)

Warriors:

Goldenheart—large golden-brown tabby tom

Cinderstreak—dark gray slender she-cat with amber eyes (apprentice, Ashpaw)

Thornpelt—dark brown tabby tom

Eagleclaw—sturdy tom with a light gray pelt (apprentice, Spottedpaw)

Smokeswirl—gray-black green-eyed she-cat

Thistletail—thin tom with black fur (apprentice, Echopaw)

Hazelbrook—brown tabby-and-white patched she-cat

Blackstripe—dark tabby tom with yellow eyes

Mossfur—green-eyed she-cat with a dusky brown pelt

Apprentices:

Darkpaw—dark brown tabby tom

Echopaw—small white she-cat with pale blue eyes

Ashpaw—pale gray speckled tom

Spottedpaw—tortoiseshell green-eyed she-cat

Rosepaw—gingery-golden she-cat with hazel eyes

Queens:

Flowerheart—dappled tortoiseshell she-cat

Sandwing—pale ginger she-cat with amber eyes, mother of Thornpelt's kits

Elders:

Graywhisker—pale gray wiry tom

Chapter One

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Spottedpaw woke with a start. She sat up slowly and stretched, digging her claws into the floor of the apprentice den. Then she padded out.

Her mentor, Eagleclaw, was waiting just outside the den. "Come on," he meowed. "We're on dawn patrol."

Spottedpaw blinked, still half-asleep. "Okay, coming."

The other cats were waiting for them at the edge of camp—Cinderstreak and Blackstripe were also coming. The four of them set out into the thin, scrubby trees that made FireClan's territory.

They were going to head to the PineClan border. Lately, PineClan had been the Clan to cause them the most trouble, but in the last quarter-moon they had been very quiet. FireClan's leader—Cloudedstar—wanted them to check out the border and see if there was anything abnormal going on.

Spottedpaw suddenly heard a rustle in the bracken several fox-lengths away, next to the stream that made the border. Not wanting any other cat to know, she meowed to Eagleclaw, "I think I saw a mouse over there, and I haven't eaten since yesterday morning. Is it okay if I go get it and catch up with you guys further up on the border?"

Eagleclaw hesitated, then nodded. "Sure. See you up there, okay?"

Spottedpaw dipped her head and padded off.

She hadn't really seen a mouse, only a rustle in the bracken. But surely that was what it would be, and hunting patrols would be out later anyway. There was no harm in taking one piece of prey for herself, was there?

Spottedpaw began creeping through the undergrowth—then stopped dead. The creature that had rustled the bracken hadn't been a mouse.

It was a cat.

The dark brown tom had his back to Spottedpaw, running silently down the edge of the stream. Slipping into the open, Spottedpaw began to follow him.

"Who are you?" she called, realizing that it was a cat from PineClan. The tom whipped around, eyes wide, and then ran faster.

Frustration welled up inside Spottedpaw. "I just want to talk to you!" she yowled.

Finally, the tom turned. "My name is Talonpaw," he meowed, eyes cold. "I--"

"You were stealing prey, weren't you?"

Talonpaw bristled. "No! I would never steal prey, mouse-brain!"

Spottedpaw scraped her claws on the ground. "What were you doing on FireClan territory, then, if you weren't?"

A guarded look came over the dark tom, and he meowed, "That's none of your--"

He yelped as, suddenly, the ground began to crumble beneath him. Spottedpaw lunged forward, but she was too late.

Talonpaw tumbled into the churning stream.