BrackenClan

Leader:

Brightstar, an aging tom with a yellow pelt.

Deputy:

Riverdapple: A queen with a blue-gray coats flecked with light brown, now nursing her two kits, Applekit and Brushkit. Rainwhisker is deputy in her absence.

Rainwhisker: A senior warrior with a dark gray pelt and a personality like a raincloud. Deputy while Riverdapple is nursing.

Medicine Cats

Larkheart: A gray-brown tom with a white chest.

Foxpaw: A russet colored young tom with black paws. He is the medicine cat apprentice and has a penchant for getting into mischief.

Warriors:

Lightfoot: A tom with a light brown coat and white paws.

Apprentice, Duskpaw

Needlefur: A she-cat with unruly light gray fur that is always sticking out in spikes and points.

Lynxspring: A tom with a yellow pelt and blue eyes.

Apprentice, Rosepaw

Tasslepelt: A she cat with long, brown and black fur and dark eyes.

Yellowstripe: A young tom with a yellow and orange striped pelt.

Apprentice, Granitepaw

Railweed: A young tom with a brown striped pelt and blue eyes. [a rail is a type of ground-loving bird, fyi]

Wreneye: A senior tom with a light brown pelt and golden eyes.

Goldentail: A she-cat with soft golden fur and green eyes.

Apprentice, Lilypaw

Silverstripe: A she cat with a light gray coat with silvery eyes and stripes down her sides.

Queens:

Honeytail: A nursing she-cat with an amber-colored coat, mother to Applekit and Brushkit.

Ravencloud: A she cat with a black coat, mother to Dovekit.

Riverdapple: A queen with gray-blue fur and brown specks on her coat, mother to Dewkit and Bluekit.

Elders:

Shrewscruff: The oldest cat in the Clan, a tom with a brown coat and yellow eyes.

Ragtail: An old, long-furred gray tom.

Prologue

Brightstar gratefully set his weary rump down on firm, promising ground. As the leader of BrackenClan, it was the first time he had allowed himself true rest in over a moon. His Clan had completed the arduous trek to a new, prey-rich territory, leaving behind their old, abused forest and its melange of threats.

Brightstar's heart still throbbed as he remembered the lifestyle he and his Clan had been forced to leave behind. Thankfully, this new forest seemed to hold ample prey to support a clan several times larger than his, and appeared completely devoid of hidden dangers. However, from past experiences in roughing it with his dutiful Clan, Brightstar knew that this forest must hold its share of yet-to-be-discovered secrets. On top of that, leaf-bare was fast approaching.

Well, Brightstar thought, I'll worry about leaf-bare when leaf-bare comes. Stretching his jaws and forelimbs out in front of him in a colossal yawn, Brightstar settled down, surveying his new territory; a new, pristine world.

***

Chapter 1: A Jagged Gorgeous Winter

Brr, Duskpaw thought, as he and his mentor, Lightfoot, stalked through the snow-covered forest, it never was this cold in our old territory. Of course, he only remembered leaf-bare as a thin chill, insulated as he was in the nursery that he had left behind. Suddenly, Duskpaw bumped into his mentor, startling him out of him reverie.

Lightfoot twisted around and gave Duskpaw the scathing look that only he could. Lightfoot probably practices that in front of the brook, Duskpaw inwardly smirked. He knew that it was all an act, though. After two moons of getting used to life as an apprentice, Duskpaw knew his mentor better than he knew any other cat in the Clan, except for his friend Granitepaw.

Scenting the barren forest, Duskpaw picked up the enticing, earthy scent of vole. Lightfoot nodded to him, giving him the go-ahead. Eagerly, Duskpaw scented again and stalked up to the base of a nearby dead beech tree surrounded with the scent of vole. A V-shaped hole broke the bottom of the trunk, big enough for a large vole, but certainly not for a BrackenClan apprentice. He looked back at Lightfoot, asking for a hint as how to flush out his quarry. Lightfoot, rather expectedly, simply fixed him up with an exasperated stare. If I didn't have such an apathetic mentor, Duskpaw thought, maybe my Clan wouldn't be starving right now!

Swishing his tail vindictively, Duskpaw suddenly had an idea. Sneaking around to the back of the dead tree, and with a wink at Lightfoot, Duskpaw began pounding the base of the tree with flailing paws. Dead wood flew in splinters around him, dotting the snow.

Within seconds, three voles shot out of the tiny opening at the other side of the trunk, scared out by Duskpaw's battering. Racing around to pounce on his prey, Duskpaw saw Lightfoot snatch one, while at the same time chasing the other two towards him. Ambushing the two voles, Duskpaw managed to trap both beneath his paws. He quickly dispatched them, giving thanks to StarClan for his kills, especially in a leaf-bare as cold as this was.

"Nice catch, Duskpaw," purred Lightfoot. Duskpaw felt a flash of gratitude towards his mentor. Compliments never came easy from Lightfoot, and when they did they were as precious as prey in leaf-bare.

"Lets try over by the brook, next," meowed Lightfoot. Duskpaw's gratitude vanished instantly. "What? We've been out hunting for the whole morning! My pelt is so frozen I look like Needlefur!" Duskpaw complained. Lightfoot's whiskers twitched, but he trod on, forging a cat-sized path through the snow.

After an unsuccessful hunting expedition that whiled away what remained of the morning, Duskpaw and Lightfoot began to trek back to the dead beech where the three voles were hidden underneath the snow. Duskpaw thought he had never disliked a cat so much as he did Lightfoot right now, especially since he, as a smaller cat, had a tougher time pushing through rapidly-icing snow than Lightfoot did.

As they reached the tree, Duskpaw spotted a thrush, pecking away at several grubs that he had upturned earlier that morning while bashing away at the rotten trunk. Without pausing for Lightfoot to say anything, Duskpaw streaked straight for the thrush, snow flying wildly beneath his paws. Catching the thrush with a massive leap, Duskpaw killed it as quickly as he had the voles.

Lightfoot had already begun unearthing the voles. He gave two to Duskpaw, picked up one himself, and turned towards the camp. Duskpaw sighed and awkwardly picked up his two voles by the tail and the thrush by a wing, dragging it across the snow. Just how long do I have to wait before I become a warrior, again?

Well, that's the prologue and chapter one of the first fan fic I've ever written, and I'm insanely proud of it...But criticism is totally welcome!! Please review!!!