Allegiances

ThunderClan

Leader: Ivystar- silver-and-white tabby she-cat with blue eyes

Deputy: Poppyfrost- tortoiseshell she-cat

Medicine Cats: Jayfeather- gray tabby tom with blind blue eyes

Streamflower- brown tabby she-cat with amber eyes

Warriors

Nightcloud- black she-cat with green eyes

Apprentice: Applepaw

Berrynose- cream-colored tom

Lionblaze- golden tabby tom with amber eyes

Rosepetal- dark cream she-cat

Bumblestripe- very pale gray tom with black stripes

Apprentice: Hawkpaw

Blossomfall- tortoiseshell-and-white she-cat

Dovewing- pale gray she-cat with blue eyes

Molewhisker- brown-and-cream tom

Cherryfall- pale ginger she-cat

Lilyheart- tortoiseshell-and-white she-cat

Apprentice: Rosepaw

Snowtail- white, fluffy tom

Tawnyheart- dark brown tabby she-cat

Sunblaze- dark ginger tom

Rowanfur- long-haired cream-colored tom

Apprentice: Thrushpaw

Hazelleaf- ginger tabby she-cat

Apprentice: Brackenpaw

Smoketail- gray-and-white tom with green eyes

Stormpelt- pale gray tabby tom with blue eyes

Dustwhisker- dark cream tom

Apprentice: Goldenpaw

Mapleheart- long-haired cream-colored she-cat

Queens

Swallowflight- black she-cat with green eyes (mother of ''Stormpelt's'' kits: Breezekkit (she-kit), Cloudkit (she-kit), Frogkit (tom), Marshkit (tom); five moons old)

Cinderheart- gray tabby she-cat with blue eyes (mother of Lionblaze's kits: Willowkit (she-kit) and Stonekit (tom); three moons old)

Hollyfrost- gray tabby she-cat (mother of Dustwhisker 's kits: Birchkit (tom) and Silverkit (she-kit); two moons old)

Sorrelcloud- golden tabby she-cat (mother of Smoketail's kits: Owlkit (tom), Scorchkit (tom), and Petalkit (she-kit); one moon old)

Apprentices

Brindlepaw- tortoiseshell-and-white she-cat, blind

Brackenpaw- golden tabby tom

Applepaw- white she-cat with green eyes

Hawkpaw- dark brown tabby tom

Goldenpaw- golden tabby she-cat with green eyes

Thrushpaw- brown tabby tom

Rosepaw- tortoiseshell-and-white she-cat with blue eyes

Elders

Brightheart- white she-cat with ginger patches

Thornclaw- golden-brown tabby tom

Squirrelflight- dark ginger she-cat with green eyes

Mousewhisker- gray-and-white tom

Chapter 1

"You are making the wrong decision!" a tabby tom hissed, lashing his tail furiously.

A black she-cat narrowed her eyes, glaring at her companion. "What am I supposed to do?" she spat. "There are no right decisions!"

The tabby snorted. "Are you really so mouse-brained? I've told you what to do! You're deliberately making the wrong choice!"

"It's not that I don't want to do what you want," the she-cat growled. "It's just not the right time!"

"Not the right time for your whole family to be together? Not the right time for your kits to get to know their father?"

The she-cat looked away quickly. "I got pregnant too quickly. This was never the plan. We were supposed to be together long before I had kits."

The tom shook his head, sighing. "But things changed, I know. But you're hurting Newtclaw and you're hurting your kits by keeping them apart. Is it really your plan to keep lying to the kits about who their father is? They need to know the truth!"

"Stormpelt has been an excellent father to them!" the she-cat argued. "He's loved them as if they were really his."

"But he's not their father, Swallowflight!" the tom snapped. "Newtclaw is! You and Newtclaw should be together, raising your kits together."

Swallowflight flicked her tail. "It's not that I don't want us to be together, Onestar. I do. Unfortunately, it's against the Warrior Code and I haven't figured out how to explain to my Clan how a ShadowClan cat is the father of my kits. I know at one time we were planning on making sure Rowanstar and Bramblestar knew how we felt about the rules and that we were going to be together no matter what they say, but things changed. It was easier just to say that a ThunderClan tom is the father. Stormpelt and Ivystar are the only ones who know the truth, and neither of them are going to say anything."

Onestar raised his eyes. "Ivystar knows? And you haven't been punished for breaking the code?"

"What could she do?" Swallowflight asked. "It's not like she could stop me from having kits and she would never exile a pregnant or nursing queen. I expect there will be some kind of punishment after my kits are made apprentices."

The tabby tom sat down on the cold, dewy grass. "I just want what's best for my daughter," he mewed quietly. "I know what it's like being separated from me family. Whitetail and I got to raise Heathertail together, and that was the happiest experience of my life. When Nightcloud stole you and your littermates from me, I thought my heart would break. I don't want to see you go through the same thing."

Swallowflight sighed. "But what can I do? It's not fair that Newtclaw has not been involved with our kits. I want us to be together, but now is just not the time."

"And you'll split the kits up to make things fair," Onestar whispered. "How is that fair for anyone? You'll lose half your litter, Newtclaw will still miss out on getting to know two of his kits, and your kits will be separated from each other. The Warrior Code is tearing families apart, and the Clans don't even care."

"We'll think of something, Father," Swallowflight mewed. "I promise. This is just how it has to be for right now."

Onestar nodded slowly. "I know. Do something quick, though. Don't allow yourself the pain of losing your children."

"Can't catch me!"

A heavy object crashed on top of Swallowflight, jerking her awake. A fluffy gray kit landed on his mother's side, squealing joyfully as his littermates followed him into the nest.

"My goodness, Frogkit!" the black she-cat exclaimed. "You are getting too big for this!"

The gray kit tumbled down into the mossy nest. "Sorry, Mother!"

A white tom- kit with black-splotches jerked his head in the direction of a golden tabby queen. "Sorrelcloud said we couldn't play outside without your permission."

"Yeah, she said we had to play in here!" a black she-kit squeaked.

Sorrelcloud cast Swallowflight a sheepish look. "You know they're always getting underfoot. They need supervision if they play out in the camp."

"I know," Swallowflight purred, standing up in her nest. Stretching, she mewed, "Alright, you can go play outside now. I'm coming."

Four kits let out excited squeals and turned to race out of the nursery. Not waiting for their mother to catch up, they were out of the den before Swallowflight had even stepped foot out of her nest.

Sorrelcloud curled up around her three young kits, glancing longingly toward the entrance to the den. "Enjoy the sunshine," she mewed. "I can't wait until these three are old enough to go play out there! I would love to feel the sun on my fur again!"

Swallowflight glanced around the den, noticing that Cinderheart and Hollyfrost were gone. "Well, I could always watch your kits for a little bit if you want a break. Or maybe Cinderheart could watch them. Our kits are old enough to amuse themselves for a little while."

"Maybe," Sorrelcloud shrugged. "It seems wrong to leave them when they're only a moon old."

A gray head poked into the den. "Are you coming or not, Mother?"

"I'm coming, I'm coming," Swallowflight mewed. "Have some patience, Frogkit."

The sun was shining brightly, sending hot rays down into the ThunderClan camp. Greenleaf was in full swing, and the air was hot and dry. Grass was a brilliant green, the forest floor was shaded by thick leaves growing from old oak trees, and wildflowers dotted the land with little white buds. The fresh-kill pile was large, and at the moment every cat in ThunderClan was healthy and well-fed. It was the perfect time to let four rambunctious young kits play outside.

Swallowflight sat outside the nursery, underneath the shade of the large gray stones that formed the border of her camp. Her four kits were chasing after an apprentice in a rousing game of tag. She stifled a purr of amusement as one of her daughters bowled the apprentice over, cheering wildly.

Oh Newtclaw, they remind me so much of you, she thought to herself. She could see some of their father in every one of her kits. Breezekit was the most like her mother, however. She was long and lithe, with glossy black fur and shining green eyes. She was over-confident and knew her strengths. She was already the most outgoing of her litter and the most skilled. Breezekit was a quick learner and just from watching the apprentices she'd already master the hunter's crouch. Surprisingly, the kit had already made her first kill when a poor mouse made the mistake of entering the camp one day. There was no doubt that Breezekit would make an excellent warrior.

Frogkit was the spitting image of his father. He had thick, fluffy gray fur and brilliant blue eyes. He was stocky and compact, with broad shoulders and a round head. He was competitive and hated being bested by his sister. Frogkit tried just has hard to learn battle moves and hunting crouches, and was always frustrated when Breezekit showed him up.

Marshkit was built like his brother, but had little of his competitive nature. The white-and-black tom was calm and rational, and he saw no point in even trying to compete with Breezekit. He was determined to learn in his own way and practiced the hunter's crouch over and over again, and yet he did not get discouraged when Breezekit teased him about looking like a lop-sided badger.

Cloudkit was the shyest and gentlest of her littermates. Built like her sister, she was lithe and built for speed, but Swallowflight guessed the kit would never use the strength she'd been given. She was a soft, pale gray color with a white chest and green eyes. Gentle and tender, she preferred watching the younger kits to playing with her littermates. She was the only one of her litter that the other queens would even trust with watching their little ones.

Swallowflight shook her head sadly, watching the kits play. She and Newtclaw and discussed what to do with the kits many moons ago, shortly after they were born. He had wanted to meet them right away and was ready to face Rowanstar and Ivystar and tell them what they could do if they refused to let him and Swallowflight be together. Not wanting to cause more conflict than necessary, Swallowflight had convinced him to wait. The time wasn't right for confronting their leaders about the Warrior Code. They had decided that when the kits reached five moons, two of them would meet their father and go to live with him so at least Newtclaw would get to have part of his family.

They had reached their fifth moon. In two days she would take two of them to live with their father.