PROLOGUE:

"What do you mean you can't make it?!" The woman paced back and forth across her clean white rub, agitated, "We've been planing this for months, Jeremy! Holly has really been looking forward to seeing her father!"

A. orange tomcat ear twitched as he listened in on his housefolk's conversation. The lady housefolk Sarah was upset over something. I wonder what got her fur rubbed the wrong way, he thought as he yawned and stretched.

She continued to holler into the Loud Stick housefolk use to communicate with each other through as Fireheart walked over to his food bowl and looked around inside. Nothing. He looked over his shoulder and meowed at Sarah. She wasn't paying him any attention. Why did he even bother? He walked through his cat door and embraced the sunlight, letting it flow over his pelt. This was nice.

He loved the sunlight, the heat of it warming his back. He wished he didn't have to go back inside. His stomach growled and a quick peek inside proved that Sarah hadn't filled his bowl yet. Forget it, he thought, flipping his tail, I'll just catch myself something to eat.

His jaws parted as he took in the scents nearby him. Mouse, grasshopper, cat, dog - he hissed the word, and bird. He'd go for the bird. Quickly, he scaled the tree and crouched on the branch. It hadn't sensed him yet. Slowly he crept forward, haunches back. 1... 2… 3! Fireheart launched himself at the the bird and tackled the brown fluff of feathers, killing it with a quick snip to it's neck. He'd just been about to drag it to the ground when a voice called his name.

"Fireheart!" a grey long-furred tom puffed as he jumped over his fence into the red tom's yard, "Did you hear?"

Fireheart dropped his prey from the tree and then followed in suit, "Hear what?"

"Apparently the Trason housefolk got a new cat."

"Really?" Fireheart's head turned to look at the yard next to his, "I thought they weren't gonna after what happened to Spottedleaf..." he trailed off, ears lowered as he thought of the love of his life.

Spottedleaf had been an clanmate (agent) too. And a damn good one. She had been healing one of their fallen during an awfully brutal fight with The Fangz, just one of the terrible dog packs out to rule the world, when a mini doberman by the name of Retch snuck up behind her attacked. Help couldn't get to her in time and Fireheart never got over it.

A caterwaul from the fence had Graystripe and Fireheart looking up, "Hey guys, what's going on?" The dainty jet-black tom jumped down and trotted over to his friends, "Was there an announcement I missed?"

Greystripe snorted and stretched, "Not really a announcement, more like information."

Ravenpaw bounced on his paws, "Ooh Ooh, the one about the cat moving in next door t-to Fireheart?!"

"Yup," Greystripe nodded as he sat back down.

Fireheart swiped his tongue over his paw and ran it over his face a few times, "I wonder why the sudden interest to get a new cat now is…"

"I bet- I bet it's a new spy!" Ravenpaw meowed, his amber eyes sparkling.

"No Raven," Fireheart chuckled and pushed a paw into the black tom's shoulder, "They would have told us if we were getting a new clanmate."

"Aww," the skinny tom hunched over, distraught, his white tail tip twitching, "It would have been fun to have someone to fill in for…" He trailed off. No one could replace Spottedleaf.

The sound of a Thunderbeast's cry meant a housefolk was about to leave and Greystripe's head whipped up. "I gotta go, you guys!" He scrambled up the fence and hopped down the other side, "Talk to you when I get back!"

Ravenpaw and the ginger tom watched him go before getting up themselves, "See you later, Fireheart."

"Same to you," Fireheart dipped his head to his friend as Ravenpaw bounded up and away along the fence, waving his tail.