Hello fanfiction land! This is that long-ago promised spin-off for my Legacy series. Remember? Nearly a year ago? Feels like it was only yesterday... a very long ago yesterday.

Anyways, this spin-off covers the story of Rainstone returning to the Clans to meet her daughter, Scorch. Who, if you remember, played a large part in saving the Clans after Rainstone left them to wither and wilt under tyranny. This story is a spin-off, it's more for fun than artistic exploration and will be under 10 chapters long, I guarantee it.

I know it's been a long time, but if there are any fans still around, please enjoy!

Chapter 1

Dawn ascended over the land, curving over the distant hills to send light flying over the tops of treetops and cast depressed shadows in contrast with the golden-pink light. The rich greens of the forest mixed with the pink to create a fabulous array of colors.

There were bluebells and foxgloves, tiny red strawberries peeking out of bushes and rich, deep, holly leaves that shed the dew like a waxy pelt. There were white roses and red roses, yellow and pink roses all scattered in pools of sunlight. Fluffy dandelions and prim daisies grew in a scattered fashion throughout the long forest grass. Ferns were almost as plentiful as the trees, glowing in clusters together.

The feverish hurry of birds filled the air and tiny shadows flew and swooped through the forest. The feathered creatures sang to each other and the chatter nearly drowned out the bustling squirrels as they chittered and chattered their way up and down trees.

Down below a long bunny sat, it's soft brown coat glowing softly as it mundanely munched at a blade of grass, not betraying how actively it's ears searched for any sounds of danger. Far off, a fox had caught the scent of the rabbit and was beginning to track it. The fire-red creature stepped delicately among the flowers, its belly rumbling in prospect of its breakfast.

In this same forest three cats slumbered, curled in a soft bed of wildflowers colored orange, yellow, pink, and white. These cats were strangers to these woods and had not slept well, despite the calm and beauty.

One was a senior black she-cat, old, gray scars were scattered over her pelt, though they were easily overlooked with the black fur. Her long legs and finely curved face would have promised beauty in her youth, but that season had long since passed and now she resembled a withered aspen more than a soft willow.

The next cat was a tom, about the same age as the she-cat. His fur was mottled dark red and bronzed orange like a sunset sky. He was not particularly handsome, considering his age, but his fur was clean and he was more proportionately aligned than his black compatriot.

The final member of the trio slept on her back, paws furled above her chest like a kit, despite being only a season or two younger than the other two. Her fur was dark gray with a sheen of blue that the pink light picked out. She was considerably smaller and stouter than her pals and her paws were enormous considering her height, while her head was shapely round and her ears were large and soft-tipped.

The gray she-cat's whiskers twitched and her dark blue-almost black- eyes opened into slits. In a glance those eyes took in the light that filtered through the green leaves and illuminated them from behind, making it look like they were glowing lights on the branches of the smooth ash-brown tree-branches.

Her jaws stretched into a large yawn and she flattened her ears, nose twitching distastefully. Having lived so many moons by the sea, to be among trees again was difficult to get used to. Rainstone was not so eager to travel now as she had been when she was younger.

Rolling onto her paws she gave her pelt a vigorous shake, wincing as the pain in her shoulders and legs. Her endurance wasn't the same as when she'd been younger and she moved stiffly as she gave her pelt a quick grooming. The three of them had been travelling for nearly two moons, though maybe wandering was probably a better name for what they'd been doing.

Ever since they had dispersed the group of rogues terrorizing the forest near their home, they had been moving steadily further north and west, headed towards the Clans. It had been slow going, not one of them seemed especially keen on seeing the Clans again and Rainstone twitched her ears as she remembered her meeting with Jay.

Even though Raven had told her Scorch had somehow survived and returned to the Clans, and then saved the Clans, some part of her refused to believe it. It seemed impossible that the kit who had been swept away one dark and stormy night, who had supposedly died and gone to rest with the stars many moons ago had somehow survived without her ever knowing it.

But Jay had come along, living proof that her own daughter was alive and well. The resemblance between the Jay and herself was uncanny and the fact that Jay had come from the Clans—a fact betrayed to her by the unmistakable ThunderClan scent that lingered-Rainstone knew that no cat but her kin could possess traits from her mountain home in the Clans, considering that Scamp and his kits had both sadly died.

Shaking those somber thoughts from her she moved about in search of prey, pausing to enjoy the freshness of dew on the grass. It was an appreciated refreshment regarding the heavy humidity the forest had been under for the past few days.

A storm was coming, but she wasn't convinced it would strike today. The wind from the sea was sluggish and wet, it hadn't picked up any indication of violence yet so Rainstone knew they still had time before they needed to search for better shelter than a few fern bushes.

She didn't have to search long before she crossed the fresh scent trail of a mouse. It seemed the mouse was as peaceful as the forest, for it never knew she was there despite her clumsy approach. There was a reason why Needlepine did most of the hunting in the forest—her paws were too big and clumsy to take advantage of the undergrowth for stealth.

Sitting down and enjoying her fresh meal, prickles of anxiety returned. Despite her intense struggle to push them away, she couldn't sweep away a deep foreboding feeling at the prospect of meeting her long-lost daughter again.

She had come to terms long ago that all her kits were destined to die as kits, and the legacy of her daring escape from the mountains under the cover of a midnight blizzard would crash into the ferocious sea when she breathed her last.

But Raven had reappeared with a fellow black cat named Amelia to announce to her that her dead daughter was alive and had saved the Clans as part of her post-death accomplishments. The news had been a shock and warmly received, but no amount of reassurances and accurate descriptions had been enough to fully convince her, and she had been happy to live with only the thought of her daughter being alive.

But now she was doing it; she and Needlepine were searching for their daughter. And they were getting close, if they covered good ground today they might reach the Clans by tomorrow. But how would they react? Rainstone and Needlepine had abandoned the Clans in a time of great need and Raven said she was a former enemy of the Clans, even though she had ended up aiding Scorch.

"Rainstone! Are you ready to go?" the voice startled her and a robin which quickly took to flight, flying so closely that she felt the beat of its wings on her whiskers.

Standing up, she kicked some dirt over the remains of her meal. "Yes," she answered, relaxing as she approached Needlepine, his mottled red and orange fur had a sheen of silver that betrayed his age, but his green eyes showed nothing but energy and excitement.

Rainstone touched his nose tenderly. She couldn't have made a better decision than becoming mates with him. He had been a loyal companion throughout her life, always overflowing with energy, always supportive and understanding. He had allowed her to be selfish when she decided to never have kits again after losing Scorch, even though she knew he would have loved to have more.

She rubbed the top of her head along his chin, "Let's go see our kit."

….

The gentle hum of bees sung through the woods and the happy chirping of birds brought the trees alive with noise as the three cats passed beneath the branches of trees that were heavily laden with shady green leaves. The three rarely talked, choosing to enjoy the peace of the forest and pretend that apprehension wasn't rising in each of their stomachs.

"There's a storm coming," Raven commented as they stopped around sun-high, taking a break to fill their bellies and rest their paws.

"The forest seems to need it," Needlepine responded, sniffing around in the dry grass. "I haven't seen water since we left that spring we camped by last night."

Rainstone frowned, the stream that had been following up from the ocean had long since dried up after they passed a couple side streams that had been feeding into it. But there had to be water around here, where there was life there was water and all she had to do was look around at the ferns and oaks and maples to see life.

Though they do look dry…The wood on the trees was dry and dusty and the ferns were curling back, the ends of their green fronds turning brown. "It's not going to kill us to go without a drink, let's find some food and keep moving, we can take another break when we find some water." Her two comrades agreed, and they set out to hunt.

"Let's hunt together," Needlepine mewed trotting over to her with his tail straight up in the air. Rainstone purred, amused by his endless energy. The gray hairs on his muzzle and dull shine of his pelt were the only things that betrayed his age, he still moved and acted like he was six moons old.

"Okay," she conceded, she was better at scaring prey into another hunter rather than catching it herself and her mate knew that very well.

They headed off together, tails linked and pelts brushing, oblivious to the baking sun as they stalked quietly through the crinkly undergrowth. Needlepine halted and lifted his head, ears tilted forward. Rainstone tried to find what he had found but was awkwardly aware that her senses had dulled faster than his and couldn't pick up the same hints of prey.

Needlepine leaned toward her ear, "I'll go around behind that hazel bush, you can scare the rabbit toward me, try not to let it dart in another direction."

Rainstone nodded, finally picking up the smell of rabbit now that she knew what she was looking for. She crouched as Needlepine circled around behind the hazel bush that was besides an oak tree. Rainstone's bones ached, crouching for so long was not comfortable and her breath trembled from both the strain and excitement of the hunt as she slunk nearer to the rabbit, close enough that she could see its whiskers moving as it chomped on a blade of grass. She was disappointed by how lean it looked, it wouldn't be easy on her teeth, though it would fill her belly.

Preparing herself, she saw the flash of Needlepine's tail tip and knew he was ready. Quick as she could, she charged the rabbit. It startled and fled toward the hazel bush, Rainstone slowed her chase- no need to push herself when Needlepine would get it.

But then the rabbit changed direction and darted to the other side of the oak, opposite of the hazel bush. Rainstone's heart pounded as she saw her prey getting away and she resumed her chase, pushing her paws into the ground to give herself as much momentum as possible as she swung around the oak.

"Umph!" she crashed into Needlepine who had hastily changed his position to catch the runaway rabbit. Rainstone, still with all her momentum, bowled Needlepine and the rabbit over and hastily caught the rabbit, still on top of Needlepine.

"Rainstone!" he wheezed, green eyes sparkling as he looked up at her, "You may be lighter than you used to be, but you're still too heavy!"

Rainstone climbed off her mate, the rabbit hanging limply in her jaws. "Sowwy," she mewed, blinking at her mate in concern as he slowly climbed to his paws. What if she had injured him? She had a sneaking suspicion that he felt his age more than he let on.

Needlepine tested his legs one by one, wincing as he used his front left paw but after a moment found it usable. He looked at her with a huff on his face, "I see you were more determined to get that rabbit than I was."

Rainstone purred, "Don't be like that, it's too hot to hunt for very long and I didn't trust that you could move quickly enough at your age."

Needlepine purred in amusement, "You're not much younger than I, but let's go back before Raven thinks we abandoned her," he mewed, "And since you did all the work to catch this rabbit, allow me to carry it back, I know how your aching teeth bother you," he teased as he took the rabbit from her grasp.

Rainstone sniffed, nose in the air and strutted forward, though she knew it looked funny with her limp paw causing her to move more like a duck than a cat. Needlepine joined her and she leaned her head on his shoulder as they padded along, every moment with him was a blessing, but would it change when they found their daughter?

"It looks like you two were having fun," Raven grumbled as they returned to the meeting spot. Her black muzzle speckled with blood and feathers from the finch she was eating. Rainstone looked at her pelt and then at Needlepine's, both of their pelts were rumpled, and bits of dry grass and leaves were caught in their fur.

"This rabbit put up a noble fight," Needlepine mewed, laying their prey down. Rainstone snorted in amusement as Raven rolled her eyes.

"Well, I don't know if the two of you have noticed, but we're really close to Clan territory now," Raven mewed.

Rainstone's ears pricked, she hadn't noticed, but then again, she'd not been near the Clans for many seasons now. Needlepine nodded, though, "I can see the start of ShadowClan's territory, in that direction," he mewed, angling with his tail toward a far-off haze of pines whose tops broke the cover of maples and oaks.

"We can probably make it to Clan territory tonight, though I think we should wait until morning to approach them," Raven mewed, fur prickling along her shoulders.

"Nervous?" Needlepine purred.

"I wasn't always the friendliest rogue to the Clans. Plus, its been a long time, most of the cats we meet won't remember any of us."

Rainstone lowered her eyes to her meal as silence enfolded the three of them. She had lived in RiverClan for a time and she wondered if Willowwater and Flickertail even remembered her if they were still alive. You did abandon them after all, it'd be better if they didn't remember you. Although, they were heading to ThunderClan, maybe they wouldn't ever know she had returned.

She shot a glance at Needlepine, she wondered if he was thinking of his sister. She was the only Clan cat he had ever mused about to her. Honestly, Rainstone didn't remember his sister, only that her name was Thistlebranch and that Raven said she was still alive when she had left.

"Let's go," Needlepine mewed, jumping up and scraping some dirt over the rabbit bones and scraps, his eyes shone with exuberance, "Let's go see the Clans!"

….

They made great time, it was as if something were pulling them toward the Clans and they reached the border just as it started to rain. "I knew it was going to storm," Raven grumbled, shaking the droplets from her whiskers.

The three of them stood on the border of ThunderClan, hesitating to enter and not wanting to leave. Rainstone shifted the weight on her paws, glancing at Needlepine. His eyes still shone brightly, but his thoughts were unreadable. And Raven was no help, glaring at the sky as if she hadn't been complaining about it being too hot not five minutes ago.

"There's still plenty of time to get to their camp before sunset, and I don't see a good place to camp around here," Needlepine mewed, "I think we should go," he looked at the two she-cats for their agreement.

Rainstone nodded slowly, her fur was quickly becoming soaked and even though there was a hard knot in her stomach from all the emotions getting mixed up, she wished to see her daughter. Now that she was so close, she felt she couldn't rest easy until she'd seen her daughter with her own eyes, smelled her scent with her own nose, and touched her fur with her own paws.

"Raven?" Needlepine asked, looking at the miserable looking she-cat. Raven's black fur clung in clumps to her thin sides and her whiskers dripped with rain as she laid her ears flat against her head looking more like a drowned rat than a cat.

"I'm already wet, we may as well," she growled, stepping out into the dripping forest. Rainstone and Needlepine exchanged a glance and caught up to her, padding quickly through the forest, all senses open for signs of cats.

The rain was light under the canopy of leaves, but it quickly turned the dusty trails to mud and the refreshing rain seemed to turn warm. Rainstone felt hot and sticky as twigs, leaves, and mud clung to her fur. I remember why I hated forests so much, she hissed as brambles scraped her side but shook her head when Needlepine gave her a questioning look.

Unfortunately, it seemed no cats were out and about in this weather and none of them knew ThunderClan territory very well, with Needlepine being from ShadowClan and Raven haven spent most of her time in ShadowClan territory as well.

Rainstone twitched as a flash of lighting was quickly followed by a rumble of thunder. Maybe they should find shelter and wait out the storm after all. "Do we want to take shelter?" Rainstone asked Needlepine. The tom pricked his ears and looked at her, his green eyes were bright with excitement, but he seemed willing to wait a bit as he looked over her rumpled and soiled pelt.

"There's some shelter over here," Raven mewed, quickly ducking under a holly bush, amber eyes peering out at them from the safety of the bush like the bright red berries that filled the bush.

Rainstone and Needlepine joined her, shifting together as their wet pelts brushed each other and they tried to get comfortable under the poky leaves. The ground was still muddy under the holly bush, but at least most of the rain was blocked.

"We'll just stay until the thunder passes," Needlepine mewed, curling his paws underneath him and laying down with his eyes closed, oblivious to the mud and the thunder.

Raven growled at the muddy conditions but Rainstone settled down beside Needlepine, leaning against him with their tails intertwined. His deep purr echoed in her ears and she forgot about the storm and the slimy mud on her belly, dozing off as she felt warmth spread throughout her.

It seemed like forever, but not long later she was jerked awake by Raven's mew of alarm. Rainstone jumped to her paws, her lame paw slipping in the mud so that Needlepine had to catch her with his shoulder to keep her from falling face-first in the mud.

Faint light filled the forest and the rain had turned to a light drizzle despite the dark clouds and thunder that continued to rumble ominously in the distance. "Do you smell that?" Needlepine whispered, the fur on his neck beginning to prickle.

Rainstone smelled the air and tasted something acrid, a clear scent despite the rain that should have left the scents of the forest tasting fresh. "What is that?" she asked, wrinkling her nose at the bitter scent.

"Smoke?" Needlepine questioned, looking uncertainly at Raven. The black she-cat nodded tensely.

"Lighting sometimes starts small fires, especially when it was so dry beforehand. But I've never smelled the smoke this close. I can already see it," Raven squinted her eyes at the hazy trails of smoke that hung above the trees.

"Is it in ThunderClan territory?" Needlepine asked, tasting the air as if he would be able to locate the fire.

"Can't tell, it could be outside the territory, but fires spread fast. We'd better head for the lake," Raven mewed jumping to her paws and stepping out into the rain, no longer grumbling about getting wet.

Rainstone's heart was pounding in her chest as she started to follow them, heading in the direction they all knew was vaguely where the lake must lie. A fire! She'd not seen fire in a very long time, she'd forgotten the smell, but she did remember the fear it had instilled. Those bright, licking flames, always hungry for more.

If the fire was in ThunderClan territory, then all the Clan was in danger. "Wait," Rainstone halted, nose to the ground, "This is a main trail used by ThunderClan," she mewed, looking at the trail. It was well trodden, and the cat scent was strong despite the rain and smoke.

"So? We need to get to the lake," Raven mewed, looking around nervously as if she expected flames to burst forth from the shadows.

"I think we should try to follow this to the camp and check on the Clan first, they may be having trouble getting every cat out," Rainstone mewed, her legs trembling. If Scorch was blind, would she be in trouble? Fear thumped heavily inside her, she needed to find her daughter.

"And three elders are going to save an entire Clan?" Raven scowled, "If they have noses and half the sense of a mouse then they're heading to the lake too."

"But some cats might have more trouble than others," Rainstone snapped, she had little appreciation for Raven acting like she was in charge.

Needlepine tasted the air and seemed to be considering. "The scent of smoke isn't that strong, I don't think the fire is nearby."

"But fire spreads quickly, and the wind is picking up," Raven mewed.

"But the wind is coming from the direction of the lake," Rainstone growled, "Try to worry about some cat other than yourself for once." Rainstone turned and started off on the trail, not quite running but moving faster than a walk.

Needlepine joined her a moment later, "We can meet up with Raven at the lake later," he huffed, panting for air as he slowed to match her pace.

Rainstone nodded, narrowing her eyes. The smell of smoke got stronger, but it wasn't overwhelming, and she still couldn't see any flames above the trees. It was like a hidden enemy, haunting the shadows but ready to burst forth any moment. She could understand that Raven didn't want to take chances, but some things were worth taking chances on.

"That's the camp," Rainstone mewed, recognizing the gorse and bramble barrier that was covered in powerful cat scent. The two cats quickly entered and found themselves in a silent clearing.

"It seems they have evacuated," Needlepine murmured, looking around quickly.

Rainstone's fur prickled, coughing a bit as she looked up at the stone cliff. A pale light gleamed at the top of the cliff. "We can probably see where the fire is from up there," she mewed, pointing with her tail, "And maybe the Clan as well."

Needlepine nodded and they both exited the camp, climbing up the hill to reach the top of the cliff. Rainstone pinned her ears back, in the distance she could see a billow of smoke and the burning red fire. It was small, but it was spreading, mostly moving away to the distant hills, but also growing a little larger in their direction in their direction. The wind wasn't strong enough to completely blow it away.

"We should head to the lake, hopefully it'll be put out soon, but we shouldn't take chances," Needlepine mewed, peering up at the dark sky.

Rainstone nodded in agreement and turned to follow him down the cliff. Now that she knew where the fire was and that the Clan was evacuated she felt better, but she still would feel better once she'd found her daughter.

At the entrance they found a strong and fresh ThunderClan scent and decided to follow it since it would probably lead them to the Clan. "Did you hear that?" Needlepine asked after they'd taken a few steps, looking back over his shoulder.

"What is it?" Rainstone asked warily, pressing her gray fur against him. She could only hear the faint drabbling of rain and the breeze rustling the leaves overhead.

"I thought I heard a call," Needlepine mewed, green eyes darkening as he looked back up at the cliff.

"You think there's still a cat around here?" Rainstone asked, she hadn't noticed any scents, but with the camp right next to them along with the smoke it would be easy to miss one scent in all the others.

"We should check, I don't think the fire will reach this far anyways," Needlepine mewed, leading her back up the hill.

Back at the top, Rainstone sniffed around the marigold patch which covered the cliffside. "I don't smell or hear anything," she mewed, pricking her ears.

"No, it's over there," Needlepine mewed, darting off in the direction of the fire.

Rainstone's tail bushed out, was he crazy?! She chased after him, ducking under bushes and squeezing between dripping ferns. "Needlepine! Stop!" she yowled, catching up to him as he looked around.

"It's a kit," he mewed, voice tense.

"There's nothing here—" Rainstone broke off as she heard a faint cry. Needlepine gave her a knowing look and then dashed off in the direction of the cry. Luckily, it wasn't directly toward the fire.

"I smell several cats," Rainstone mewed in disbelief, how could a Clan lose this many cats and not notice?

"Over here," Needlepine mewed, pushing through a bush, but he jerked back, bumping her as a dark paw shot out, claws out, nearly cutting his nose.

"What is it?" Rainstone hissed, peering past him to see frightened blue eyes.

"Get out of here, rogues, or I'll shred you!" the cat hissed.

Rainstone and Needlepine backed away from the cat, but they didn't need to move far, the young cat was tangled in a bramble bush, his dark gray pelt covered in scratches from trying to free himself from the brambles.

Rainstone peered past him, there were two kits huddled, whimpering by him. They weren't stuck, but the brambles in their pelts suggested that they had been. The stuck cat was clearly young, no doubt an apprentice of ThunderClan, he smelled as musky as a mouse.

"Let us help you," Needlepine mewed calmly, moving toward the cat again.

"No, get out of my territory, you're trespassing!"

Rainstone growled, this cat had no manners and was clearly unaware of his situation. "We're not leaving three young cats to die so shut up and let us help you," she growled, moving toward him and ignoring his threats.

He swiped at her ears and she glared at him as she felt blood trickle from the scratched, but she shook her head and dove into the bramble bush, biting off the strands that held tight to his pelt and ignoring the scratches on her muzzle.

Needlepine comforted the kits, soothing their whimpers as Rainstone freed the apprentice. It didn't take long and a couple minutes later Rainstone was licking the salty wounds on her muzzle while the apprentice shook out his pelt that was filled with brambles. "We should get these cats to the lake," Needlepine mewed. They were close enough to hear the distant roar of the fire and the dark smoke made it look almost like night.

"Wait!" the apprentice mewed desperately, looking upward at the tree the bramble bush grew next to. Rainstone followed his gaze and saw a tiny figure clinging to a branch high in the tree.

"You've got to be kidding me, we need to leave now!" Rainstone mewed hopelessly. Her heart was beating faster, they were in far too much danger here.

Rainstone looked at Needlepine but he shook his head, "If I weren't so tired I could probably climb that high, but I don't think I can manage that right now, she's nearly at the top," Needlepine mewed, his green eyes glowing with worry.

Rainstone shifted her paws, she'd never been good with tree climbing, her lame paw made it too dangerous. She was more likely to fall than to rescue the kit. "Can you do it?" she asked, looking at the apprentice.

He looked back at her, blue eyes filled with fear, "I can try," he mewed, his tone trembled, and she could see his thin shoulders shake from the efforts of getting out of the bramble bush. He's hardly more than a kit himself.

"If you're not confident then don't. It's dark and wet, we don't need you falling and breaking your leg right now," Rainstone growled. But what were they to do? Needlepine hadn't climbed a tree in ages, but she knew he would rather put his life at risk than leave the kit to die and there wasn't enough time to get some other cat.

"For stars sake, I'll grab the kit," Rainstone jumped as Raven padded out of the dark bush behind her.

"You're here?" Rainstone mewed wonderingly, looking at the black she-cat with a bit of apology for being short-tempered earlier, she was incredibly relieved to see the lithe black cat.

"When you didn't come to the lake I figured you'd gotten into some trouble," Raven mewed, crouching and launching herself at the tree. In a flash the black she-cat had swarmed up the tree and plucked the tiny and shivering kit from the branches before jumping down from the tree.

"Grab a kit and let's go," Raven grumbled, handing the shivering kit to the apprentice who murmured comforting words to it. Needlepine nodded in thanks to Raven and grabbed one of the kits he'd been comforting while Rainstone grabbed the other, following Raven swiftly toward the lake.

Rainstone's fears alleviated as they left the roaring fire far behind. She hoped the rain would pick up and put it out, but for now they'd better focus on getting these kits to their mother, they must be scared and shocked. As they walked along Needlepine bumped her, giving her a happy look as he looked at the kit in her mouth, it had fallen asleep, exhausted by its escapade.

"You still have a mother's touch," he murmured, "Meanwhile…" he looked down at the kit he was carrying, it was squirming and twisting in his grasp, giving little growls of protest as he was carried.

Rainstone gave a purr of amusement and felt a pang of sadness. She couldn't banish the guilt she felt that she hadn't given Needlepine the family he would have loved. But her heart couldn't take any more sadness. But now, maybe, they'd be able to find their daughter.

"The Clan is just ahead," Raven mewed, slowing down and dropping from the leading position. The apprentice jumped at his chance and raced ahead onto the lakeshore, greeting his Clan with a muffled call, trying not to drop the kit in his mouth which protested shrilly at the rough movements.

Rainstone and Needlepine hung back awkwardly, setting their kits down and letting them run wobbly to their friends and family and she watched dark silhouettes greet the kits lovingly. Rainstone's eyes scanned the dark cluster of cats on the lakeshore desperately, trying to find one out of many.

"The rain is finally here," Needlepine murmured, looking up as the dark clouds that finally broke into a torrential downpour. There were a few cries of surprise from the Clan on the lakeshore, but most were cries of joy. This rain would put out the fire for sure.

Rainstone leaned against Needlepine, claws digging into the ground, "Do you see her?" she whispered. Needlepine didn't answer, every sense focused on the Clan of cats in front of them.

"Excuse me," the two cats jumped at the voice that approached from beside them. They'd been so focused on looking for Scorch, they hadn't noticed him coming toward them. Even in the dark Rainstone could sense power and authority in the gray tom's stance. "Are you two Scorch's parents?" he asked quietly.

Rainstone was numb with shock and it was Needlepine who gave a wary nod.

The gray tom made a slight noise of surprise, "I guess she's never been wrong before," he muttered to himself, then said to them. "I'm happy to meet you, though I wish the circumstances were different. My name is Boulderstar, I'm the leader of ThunderClan."

...

Do you know how long this chapter has been half-written? This is eight months in the making... doesn't live up to the hype, huh?

So, I'm going to try my best to get chapters up in a reasonable time, but life has had very different ideas for me lately. Hopefully with summer coming soon it'll get easier.

I know it's been a long time, so I'm not going to ask for reviews like I usually do. I'm writing this story now and I hope that anyone who wants to read this can enjoy it.