Please note that the characters list is not intended to be complete.
FEVER
CHARACTERS
ThunderClan
Leader: Bramblestar—dark brown tabby tom with amber eyes
Deputy: Toadstep—black-and-white tom
Medicine Cat: Jayfeather—gray tabby tom with blind blue eyes
Warriors: Cloudtail—long-haired white tom with blue eyes
Brightheart—white she-cat with ginger patches (Apprentice, Blackpaw)
Millie—striped gray tabby she-cat with blue eyes
Birchfall—light brown tabby tom
Berrynose—cream-colored tom
Hazeltail—small gray-and-white she-cat
Mousewhisker—gray-and-white tom
Cinderheart—gray tabby she-cat
Lionblaze—golden tabby tom with amber eyes
Foxleap—reddish tabby tom
Bumblestripe—very pale gray tom with black stripes (Apprentice, Gopherpaw)
Dovewing—pale gray she-cat with blue eyes
Ivypool—silver-and-white tabby she-cat with dark blue eyes
Cherryclaw—ginger she-cat
Molepelt—brown-and-cream tom
Lilytail—dark tabby she-cat with white patches
Seedfur—pale ginger she-cat
Dewfur—gray tom with
Ambereyes—gray she-cat with amber eyes
Snowtail—white tom
Pebblefur—gray she-cat
Owlfur—brown tom (Apprentice, Cerisepaw)
Apprentices: Cerisepaw—reddish tabby she-cat with blue eyes
Gopherpaw—brown tom with green eyes
Blackpaw—black she-cat with one blind eye
Queens: Rosepetal—dark cream she-cat; mother of Bumblestripe's kits: Frogkit (gray striped tom), Wingkit (dark cream tom), and Vinekit (black she-cat)
Blossomfall—tortoiseshell and white she-cat; mother of Mousewhisker's kits: Kitekit (dark gray she-cat) and Harekit (brown tom)
Elders: Dustpelt—dark brown tabby tom
Sandstorm—pale ginger she-cat with green eyes
Brackenfur—golden brown tabby tom
ShadowClan
Leader: Blackstar—white tom with white forepaws
Deputy: Starlingwing—ginger tom
Medicine Cat: Larkfur—golden-furred she-cat
Warriors: Ivytail—black, white, and tortoiseshell she-cat
Ferretclaw—cream-and-gray tom
WindClan
Leader: Onestar—brown tabby tom
Deputy: Emberfoot—gray tom with two dark paws
Medicine Cat: Kestrelflight—mottled gray tom (Apprentice, Ospreyflight)
Warriors: Sedgewhisker—light brown tabby she-cat
Apprentices: Ospreyflight—light gray she-cat with green eyes
RiverClan
Leader: Mistystar—gray she-cat with blue eyes
Deputy: Mallownose—light brown tabby tom
Medicine Cat: Willowshine—gray tabby she-cat (Apprentice, Picklepaw)
Warriors: Mossyfoot—brown-and-white she-cat
Apprentices: Picklepaw—fluffy gray-black she-cat with green eyes
The Tribe of Rushing Water
Healer: Teller of the Pointed Stones (Stoneteller)—dark gray tom
Prey-hunters: Wing Shadow Over Water (Wing)—gray-and-white she-cat
Stormfur—dark gray tom with amber eyes (formerly RiverClan)
Brook Where Small Fish Swim (Brook)—brown tabby she-cat
Screech of Angry Owl (Screech)—black tom
Splash When Fish Leaps (Splash)—light brown tabby she-cat
Dark Shadow on Water (Dark)—black tom
Pine that Clings to Rock (Pine)—light brown tom
Sun that Shines on Ice (Sun)—light brown tabby she-cat
Hawk that Flies in Clouds (Hawk)—dark gray tom
Vine that Crawls up Cliffside (Vine)—black she-cat
Stream of Bubbling Water (Stream)—gray tom
Cave-guards: Sheer Path Beside Waterfall (Sheer)—dark brown tabby tom
Night of No Stars (Night)—black she-cat
Pebble that Rolls Down Mountain (Pebble)—gray she-cat
Snow Falling on Stones (Snow)—white she-cat
Rain that Passes Quickly (Rain)—gray speckled she-cat
Chill of Misty Morning (Chill)—pale gray she-cat
Pool of Murky Water (Pool)—black tom
Owl that Flies Under Moon (Owl)—brown tom
To-bes: Spark of Distant Fire (Spark)—brown tom; cave-guard
Hare Leaping Through Snow (Hare)—gray she-cat; prey-hunter
Moss on Cave Wall (Moss)—gray tom; prey-hunter
Kit-mothers: Flight of Startled Heron (Flight)—brown tabby she-cat; mother of Screech's kits: Branch of Shriveled Tree (Branch) (brown tom) and Eagle Swooping Through Clouds (Eagle) (brown tom)
Lark that Sings at Dawn (Lark)—pale tabby she-cat; expecting Dark's kits
Elders: Gray Sky Before Dawn (Gray)—pale gray tabby tom
CHAPTER ONE
"Bramblestar, come back!" the ginger she-cat moaned, delusional. Her mate leaned over her, biting his lip in fear.
"I'm here, Squirrelflight. I'm not going anywhere," he whispered. He looked up at the medicine cat, eyes wide. "Jayfeather... will she live?"
The gray tabby's voice was heavy as he replied, "I don't know, Bramblestar. She was always one of the stronger ones, but if she's hallucinating at only the third day, I don't think so."
Suddenly, the she-cat's green eyes snapped open. "Brambleclaw!"
The dark tabby flinched at hearing his warrior name. "Yes, dear?"
She lifted a paw weakly. "T-tell Jayfeather... I was never his mother. And... and Lionblaze. Hollylea..." She trailed off, her eyes glazing over.
Jayfeather, the blind gray tabby tom, seemed to stare at her intently. "Bramblestar... she's... she's dead."
Bramblestar's mouth was open in horror. "No!" he wailed, a kit in the nursery again. "No! Not Squirrelflight!"
Suddenly, the ginger she-cat snapped upright. Her eyes stared in death far, far beyond the cats around her. All the same, even in death, she rasped with an all-too-familiar voice, "The fever is coming. The fever is coming. Nothing will be the same. Vengeance will be served. The fever is coming..."
The two toms stared in open-mouthed horror as the cat they knew and loved spoke prophecies in the voice of one traitor they had long thought dead.
"Thornclaw..."
Jayfeather walked out of the medicine den, mind whirling. He tentatively sent his mind-claws out to Bramblestar, and was surprised to see how strong the grief radiating from him was. It bit his entire body and engulfed his mind into a bottomless pit of true despair.
Shaking, he withdrew himself from the leader. He surveyed the camp, mulling over Squirrelflight's last words.
"The fever is coming. The fever is coming."
Well, he knew that. Half a moon ago, Leafpool had come tottering into the medicine den. At first, Jayfeather was only mildly concerned—fever came and went, usually it didn't mean much. He had put her in the corner of the medicine den and fed her feverfew, thinking that she would be fine in a day or two.
But Leafpool's fever had only steadily grown worse, and no one seemed to know why.
He kept feeding her feverfew, but if anything, that had worsened her condition instead of lessening it. She was hallucinating by the third day, crying out to Crowfeather. In her last breath, she had told Jayfeather that she would always love him, thinking he was the WindClan warrior. She was the first to take ill.
Later, Graystripe, one of the older elders, had caught the fever. Then it was Sandstorm, and now Squirrelflight. Sandstorm was still alive, but Graystripe had died, and Jayfeather had thought it very suspicious that Firestar's friends and family were the first to catch this fever. But sickness was sickness, and how could any cat wield it?
"Nothing will be the same. Vengeance will be served."
That was what shook Jayfeather so. Nothing will be the same? It sounded familiar, too familiar—but why?
"Thinking about the prophecy, Jayfeather?" Bramblestar asked. He sounded confident, but Jayfeather could tell that he was deeply shaken by his mate's death.
"Yes." Jayfeather's answer was flat.
"Nothing will be the same. That sounds like my prophecy," the dark tabby said, mulling over the words.
Jayfeather nodded, trying not to show his fear. Then his ears perked. "Your prophecy?" he asked, interested.
Bramblestar shrugged one of his massive shoulders. "You know, the one where I had to lead the Great Journey?"
Jayfeather tilted his head. "And why does this remind you of that? Squirrelflight's last wor... I mean, the prophecy is about a fever, not having to journey to another place."
"It's the wording. Mine said, Nothing will be as it is now, nor as it has been before."
Jayfeather shrugged. "It just means that nothing will be the same after this. I don't think they have a connection."
He felt a disturbance in the air as Bramblestar nodded his huge head. "Let's hope not." The amber-eyed tom bunched up his muscles and leapt up to the Highledge to address the Clan.
"All cats old enough to catch their own prey, join me here beneath the Highledge for a Clan meeting!"
As the Clan gathered, he felt their unease prickling in his pelt. Unless the Clan was in danger or it was time for a ceremony, Bramblestar usually avoided Clan meetings, calling them frivolous.
When ThunderClan was gathered, Jayfeather found himself seated beside the most annoying apprentice in the Clan—the deep ginger Cerisepaw. She leaned in close to him and whispered,
"What's this meeting about, Jayfeather? Is something wrong? Are there going to be new apprentices?"
He glared at her, a trick that from a blind cat usually shut cats up. Not Cerisepaw.
"No, really—"
She was thankfully cut off by Bramblestar's hollow mew. "Squirrelflight is dead."
A ripple of surprise and sorrow spread throughout the Clan. After they had recovered from their shock of her betrayal of the medicine cat code, ThunderClan had accepted her back into their ranks. She had been a good deputy and a good cat, and was well-loved by her Clan.
"She was killed by the same fever as Leafpool and Graystripe." He took a deep breath. "I say these words before StarClan, that the spirits of our warrior ancestors may hear and approve of my choice. The new deputy of ThunderClan will be Lionblaze."
Jayfeather nodded, not entirely surprised. The golden warrior was a popular choice and would make a good deputy.
However, he was surprised when his brother leapt to his feet and said in a shaking voice, "No! I'm sorry, Bramblestar, but I will not be your deputy."
Please note that 'cerise' is a very dark red. I've always hated it when people use uncommon words in warrior names and don't explain why, so I didn't want to do that here.
Also, you may have noticed the absences of Daisy, Spiderleg, and Briarlight in ThunderClan's allegiances. Daisy was killed by greencough sometime previous to this story, Spiderleg was killed in battle, and Briarlight finally succumbed to her cough and died. I would have worked this information into the story, but the opportunity never presented itself.