Warriors: A World of Gray Full Summary: "The Clans were home to peace and prosperity for a long time, long before the Great Journey, the Battle with BloodClan, or even Bluestar's birth. The four Clans had learned their lesson from a short but deadly war that cost each of them more lives than anyone would like to admit.

In ShadowClan, all was peaceful, until a WindClan border check goes wrong and ends violently. The Clans' delicate peace will be slowly ripped to shreds, throwing them into a war that will test the morality of even the most "pure-hearted" warriors and shedding light onto the darkest of "villains".

In this world of battle, there is no black and white."

Rating: T for violence, sometimes very heavy, and a severe lack of morality in both heroes AND villains.

Authors' Note: This is by far not my first story. I've done NaNoWriMo twice since my first story on here was published, and so I hope that this story fits the fancies of my readers.

A lot of it was inspired by the quote at the end of Hiromu Arakawa's Fullmetal Alchemist, which I found to be very moving, and a lot of the themes from there, and a few from Avatar: The Last Airbender. So if this story seems "different" than other Warriors stories (and I'm not sure that the way it's different is a good thing), then that is why.

Special thanks to my friends and family, you know who you are, to helping me work through this purgatory of a plot, and my beta reader, bunnyrave1.

SPECIAL NOTE: This will also be available for read with supplementary art and notes on a blog I have made for it, warriorsworldofgray (dot) blogspot (dot) com.

ALLEGIANCES

ShadowClan

Leader: Duskstar - light gray tabby tom with green eyes and white paws and chest.

Deputy: Heronfrost - white tom with sparse ginger spots and silvery eyes.

Medicine cat: Quailspots - mottled light brown she-cat with light gold eyes.

Apprentice - Icepaw: pale gray tom with amber eyes

Warriors:

Applefall - light brown tabby and white tom, green eyes.

Apprentice - Daisypaw: creamy brown she-cat with green eyes.

Blackstripe - silver tabby she-cat with distinctly dark stripes, bright yellow eyes.

Sootblaze - dark gray tabby and white tom, aqua blue eyes.

Adderpaw: mottled ginger tom with green eyes.

Blizzardtail - mottled brown and white she-cat with a fluffy white tail and orange eyes.

Eagleflight - dark brown tabby tom with blue eyes.

Sorrelclaw- solid dark ginger tom with yellow eyes.

Heatherstream - pretty light golden tabby she-cat with hazel eyes.

Ashpaw: gray tabby tom with green eyes.

Wrenstripe - pale gray tabby tom with golden eyes.

Ripplestorm - pale tabby tom with blue eyes.

Queens:

Lilytail - black and white she-cat with gold eyes; mother of Eagleflight's kits, Mudkit (brown tabby-and white she-cat with green eyes) and Shadowkit (black tom with amber eyes).

Hawkstorm - long- haired golden tabby she-cat with sharp orange eyes; mother of Sootblaze's kit Sagekit (gray tabby she-cat with blue eyes).

Vinewhisker - pointed blue-gray she-cat with green eyes; mother of Wrenstripe's kits, Willowkit (light gray and white she-cat with darker points, yellow eyes) and Birchkit (gray and white tom with darker points, hazel eyes).

Elders:

Redheart - very old dark ginger tabby tom with sightless yellow eyes.

Snowpelt - elderly white she-cat with blue eyes.

Graveltail - once-handsome brown tabby tom with green eyes.

WindClan

Leader: Whisperstar - silver-and-white she-cat with wide amber eyes.

Deputy: Gustheart - dark brown tabby tom with green eyes.

Medicine cat: Embertail - ginger tom, blue eyes.

Warriors:

Pikepelt - light gray tom, green eyes.

Oakfoot - red-brown tabby she-cat with darker paws, hazel eyes.

Foxflower - ginger tabby-and-white she-cat, blue eyes.

Apprentice: Nightpaw (gray she-cat)

Badgerfrost - huge black and white tom, dark orange eyes.

Silvershine - beautiful silver tabby and white she- cat with hazel eyes.

Queens:

Rosestripe - light ginger tabby she-cat with green eyes, expecting Gustheart's kits.

Sparkfang - tortoiseshell she-cat with orange eyes, mother of Thistlekit (brown tabby tom) and Stonekit (gray-brown tabby tom)

Elders:

Mistflight - silver tabby she-cat.

Tigerfoot - dark brown tabby tom, large paws.

ThunderClan

Leader: Umberstar - solid dark brown tom with golden eyes.

Deputy: Gorseheart - light golden tabby she-cat with green eyes.

Medicine Cat: Lichenwhisker - tortoiseshell she-cat with dark amber eyes.

RiverClan

Leader: Cardinalstar - red tabby she-cat with white paws and chest, green eyes

Deputy: Iristail - light brown she-cat with blue eyes

Medicine Cat: Harefoot - pale brown tabby tom, amber eyes.

Quick Note, "Hazel" refers to an eye color that is green and yellow, sometimes with flecks of orange.

Chapter One: A few antics, for sure.

A scuffle under the moss of the nursery's nests. A giggle from across the den. A kit darted around to get a look at her prey, creeping forward slowly with the hunting crouch that had been taught to her by one of the apprentices, Adderpaw. She smirked, realizing her target was not aware that she was behind her yet; busily chatting away with her brother, as usual. Gathering her strength into her back legs, the kit prepared to make the jump, and-

Someone leaped on Mudkit's tail before she could even hear their paw steps on the mossy nursery floor, landing squarely and making her jump in the air and squeal in shock, before whipping around to see the face of her friend Willowkit. "I just wasn't paying attention that time is all!" She meowed, her tabby striped tail fluffed up in surprise. "I'm still WAY better at stalking and crouching than you!"

"Keep telling yourself that," Her assailant, Willowkit, chuckled. Mudkit gave a little hmph of irritation before hearing her "target" laughing hysterically from where he had been talking to Mudkit's brother, Shadowkit, and Sagekit, a gray tabby kit. Her black-furred brother was laughing as well, but more discreetly and in a small chuckle.

"Shut up, Birchkit," She said, sounding more mopey than she intended. Willowkit's brother was still laughing, though, and she sunk her head into her paws and glared at the younger kit.

"Aw, don't be down, Mudkit," Birchkit said, flicking his gray tail. "We're not even apprentices yet, but when we get there," He sprang up for dramatic effect, startling Sagekit, "I'm going to best ALL of you at everything."

"And since I'm your sister, I'll have to be second best!" Willowkit added. "That kind of stuff runs in the family, you know!"

Sagekit looked up thoughtfully from where she was sitting next to Birchkit. "So does that mean I'm going to be smart like my daddy?" She asked none of the kits in particular.

Birchkit nodded exuberantly and said, "Yeah! And I'll be big and strong like Wrenstripe!"

"If I'm as big as my dad," Shadowkit said, "I'll be much bigger than you, Birchkit." Birchkit snorted, not seeming to take Shadowkit seriously at all. "But it wouldn't matter. I'd still beat you in a heartbeat fighting."

"Oh yeah?" Birchkit challenged playfully, and prepared to leap on Mudkit's brother. Sagekit had given the toms their space. It seemed appropriate; Sagekit was a close friend to Birchkit, and was thus prepared for his antics.

"Oh, grow up a little!" Mudkit sighed. "We'll be apprentices in less than a moon! Can you stand to not spar over every little thing?"

"You're one to talk," Shadowkit snorted, giving her a look through half-open amber eyes. Mudkit grew warm under her fur and looked away.

"Alright, alright," came a gentle voice; it was Lilytail, Mudkit and Shadowkit's mother. She was a pretty black and white she-cat, with soft, sleek fur. Mudkit hoped that her fur would look like her mother's when she grew up. "That's enough. We don't need you all fighting in here; Shadowkit, Willowkit, you two are quite near the size of apprentices!"

Mudkit sighed and padded over to where she could curl up next to her mother and brother. "I want to be an apprentice soon," Shadowkit mewed under his breath as he curled up. "I'm going to be the best I can," he told their mother sincerely. Mudkit nodded earnestly in agreement, and Lilytail smiled at her two kits, licking them on the head each in turn.

"I know you will," she purred, but there was a look in her eyes that confused Mudkit. Her mother almost looked sad. But before she had any time to think on it, an urgent yowl pierced the air around ShadowClan's camp. Hawkstorm, Sagekit's mother, shot up suddenly, and Vinewhisker, Willowkit and Birchkit's mother, brushed her kits back. "Hold on," Lilytail meowed quietly to her kits, whisking up and peering out of the nursery entrance with the other two queens.

The chorus of meows and cries outside the den was louder than usual, perking Mudkit's interest, and she perked her ears. Next to her, Shadowkit began to creep forward, and despite how much Mudkit wanted to as well, she stepped on his sleek black tail firmly. He yelped quietly and turned around. "Mom said to stay here, flea-brain!" Mudkit hissed at her brother. Shadowkit looked like he might argue, however, he just grumbled but did not return to sitting.

All of a sudden, there was an explosion of the noise outside the den, and Hawkstorm gasped, dashing out of the bramble-reinforced thistle den. Mudkit shuddered a bit, letting go of Shadowkit's tail, but her brother didn't dare move when the two heard cries of pain and horror from the warriors outside.

Out of the corner of her eye, she could see Birchkit padding up to the gap bravely, with Willowkit shortly behind. As soon as Sagekit's mother had left, she scampered to the hole in the brambles and stood on her hind paws, trying to see over what Mudkit assumed would be a large crowd. You'd know for sure if you just went and looked for yourself, a voice in her head chided, and she sighed outwardly.

Relenting, Mudkit crept forward, almost afraid that her mother would appear behind her and put her back to the nest. She flicked Shadowkit with her tail, and her brother, looking confused and indignant, followed at her side to the nursery entrance. The queens had apparently stopped caring whether or not the kits were there; they were far too focused on the scene. Lilytail had a look of horror on her face.

The crowd parted as Quailspots fought her way through, giving Mudkit a clear line of sight, and judging by the horrified gasp from Shadowkit, her brother saw, too. Near the center of the clearing, Sootblaze, Sagekit's father, Blizzardtail and her apprentice Adderpaw, and Heronfrost, the deputy, were being inspected; they were all hunched over and bleeding. Wrenstripe, Willowkit and Birchkit's father, rushed over to help out the strained Medicine Cat.

Before anything else could be done, though, a gray blur shot up the tree in the center of the clearing. A moment later, Duskstar, the ShadowClan leader, stood on the Lowbranch overlooking the Clan. "All cats who are old enough to catch their own prey gather underneath the Lowbranch for a Clan meeting!" Duskstar's voice was strained; Mudkit had never heard his meow crack like that before.

Lilytail turned to all the kits and meowed quietly, "We'll be right back. Stay here and stay out of trouble." Mudkit nodded, nervous about what Duskstar would announce. "Good. We'll be back soon."

The moment his mother was out of earshot, Birchkit whispered, "Come on! We've gotta hear what they're saying." Shadow was already crouched by the entrance, and flicked his tail.

"If you get down here and stay quiet, you can hear well," Mudkit's brother affirmed. That makes sense, she thought, and huddled down next to him, pricking her ears forward. To her other side, Willowkit sat upright, looking over the clearing with an interested expression. Mudkit didn't think about it much longer, though, because she was able to hear Duskstar's words faintly now.

"...WindClan becoming hostile..." Was the first thing she heard, and Mudkit couldn't suppress a shiver. Will they attack us? Is that what happened to Sootblaze? "Heronflight, I want you to increase WindClan border patrols..." To keep us safe? That's smart, but what if the patrol gets hurt? She thought. Who would come help them, then?

Mudkit was surprised when suddenly, Willowkit gasped, "I've got it!" and dashed to the back of the den. She exchanged a glance with Shadowkit, who shrugged, and the siblings turned to their friend, who was beckoning them with her tail. Mudkit had rather wanted to hear the end of the meeting, but grudgingly followed the gray she-cat to the back. Once there, Willowkit lowered her head, signaling for the four other kits to do the same. "We should have a border patrol of our own!" the she-kit whispered excitedly.

"You're batty," Sagekit said, and Birchkit nudged her shoulder gently.

"No I'm not! See," Willowkit explained, "Enemy Clans aren't allowed to neglect kits, let alone harm us, so it's not even dangerous!" She lashed her tail in excitement. "And we can be a real patrol and see if WindClan are really being 'hoss-tie-yul' or whatever." She waved the question off. "Not to mention, we could go hunting, and bring something back to the Clan! How impressive would that be?"

Mudkit was equal parts apprehensive and interested. Mom would kill me if we snuck out of camp...but what if we settled things with WindClan? Warriors couldn't hurt kits, and they might tell us why they'd hurt Sagekit's father. "All right, I think we should!" Birchkit exclaimed, jumping up and down excitedly. "You're so smart, sis!" He purred, pressing his face to Willowkit's.

Willowkit pulled away, embarrassed. "All right, yes, I'm a genius. What about the rest of you?" She asked, scanning the three remaining kits. "It'll hardly be a fun patrol if we only have the two of us..."

Mudkit looked at her brother, who looked as excited as she'd ever seen him. "Let's do it!" He whispered to her, and Mudkit nodded in response. There's no way I'm going to miss this! Shadowkit then turned to Sagekit, who was looking thoughtful, and whispered to her, and reluctantly, the little gray tabby nodded. "All right, looks like we're all going!"

"Great!" Willowkit purred. "We should do it tonight, then. It'll let us practice our night vision! And we can figure it all out sooner rather than later. Shadowkit, will you wake us all up?" The black tom nodded self-importantly. "Excellent!"

Mudkit wanted to say how great it was going to be, but first, she heard Duskstar dismiss the Clan meeting. Uh-oh! "The meeting's ending!" she said "Come on, act natural!"

Hawkstorm was the first to enter; Sagekit was picking at her moss nest when her mother ushered her out of the den with her tail. "I'm taking Sagekit to go see Sootblaze," she said to Lilytail. "He was asking for her. I'll be back soon."

Mudkit sat there, not speaking for a moment, until an idea popped into her head. If I ask what the Clan gathering was about, mom will NEVER guess that we have a plan to find out what WindClan's up to! She glanced over to Shadowkit, who donned a confused expression as she looked, before turning her head to face her mother's and asking, "So what was the meeting about, mother?"

Lilytail looked at her kits, a pained expression on her black-and-white face. "Duskstar fears we may go to war with WindClan, my dears," she meowed tightly, wrapping her tail protectively over her kits. "You see, they have a new leader, Whisperstar, and a long time ago, her parents were killed in a brutal battle with ShadowClan. She was very upset, and...it spurred her rise to power."

Mudkit shuddered, and Shadowkit nodded. "Oh..." Her mother nodded absently, and laid her head down. Mudkit gave a heavy sigh and dropped her head to her paws. I'm glad we have a plan to stop this before it starts! She thought. The nursery stayed silent for a while, until she heard Sagekit come back in with her mother, and the two of them stretched out for some sleep as well.

It was dark when Mudkit opened her eyes to a small paw prodding her side. "Come on, sleepy head!" Shadowkit said. "The queens are asleep, and we need to get going!" Her brother's paws were shaking with excitement; she could feel it through her fur. Gently and quietly, Mudkit rose to her paws and backed off of the mossy nest. Shadowkit scampered off to wake Birchkit and Willowkit, and Sagekit was sitting up, looking fully awake.

A few moments later, and not without worry that they would step on queens' tails or accidentally wake someone up, they were a standing outside the entrance to the nursery, with Willowkit in the lead. "All right, how do you guys think we should get out?"

"You mean you don't have a plan?" Sagekit asked. "This is completely insane, Willowkit!" She said as Willowkit shook her head. Mudkit couldn't help but begin to wonder if this was a good idea in the first place.

"Well, do you know a way out, wisdom-whiskers?" Willowkit asked.

Birchkit pricked his ears. "I do! Follow me!" Mudkit crouched down and followed as Birchkit sneaked quietly around the nursery entrance and over to what appeared to be a tear in ShadowClan's bramble walls. "I found this two moons ago when Vinewhisker let me go explore the camp. I saw the break, and figured that if we ever had an attack, we could sneak out here. Neat, right?" With that, he slipped out and into the woods, leaving the four other kits to exit behind him.

"Here we come," Willowkit said, and squeezed out behind her brother. Mudkit pushed herself through the brambles next, squeaking as one of the thorns poked her back, and scrambled out. Shadowkit followed her, barely managing to squeeze through due to his large size, and lastly, Sagekit stepped out, her small body unmarred by the spikes.

Mudkit was trembling with excitement upon finally being in the marshes of ShadowClan's territory. "We're finally here!" said Willowkit. "Now, let's take care of those WindClanners!"

Author's Note: Let it be known that flames are welcome, but they will likely be ignored if they are truly too obnoxious. Reviews and ESPECIALLY constructive criticism is highly appreciated.