A/N: A while ago I posted a preview for my new fic, Children of the Sun, and here it is! It might seem slow at first but there's action in chapter two and the plot picks up during chapter three. The first couple of chapters are mainly just setting up the plot.
So anyway, this is another one of those 'children of the three' type fics. We have Flamepaw, Snowpaw and Stormpaw, the kits of Lionblaze and Cinderheart, and Petalpaw and Frostpaw, the kits of Dovewing and Bumblestripe. I tried to give them all unique personalities and stuff, but you'll have to let me know how I did. This is just the prologue and the allegiances for now, though. I'll upload chapters one and two straight after this.
There is a cat yowling outside and it sounds like a baby crying...
Disclaimer: I don't own warriors, Erin Hunter does.
Prologue
The black tom stood, firm as a rock, atop a fallen tree, surveying the cats gathered below. They were a motley crew, a band of unlikely figures all gathered together, united by the common goal: survival. He felt a glimmer of satisfaction at the fact that these cats answered to him, admired him, trusted him, feared him. He could taste the sweet scent of their fear on the breeze, and he adored that almost as much as he adored the feel of claws sinking through flesh and the metallic twang of blood.
"Bring forth the prisoner," he commanded, his voice deep and chilling. The crowd of cats cleared a path down the centre, and down that path walked a tabby she-cat. Her fur was criss-crossed with wounds, her pelt ruffled and unclean. Her murky green eyes, which usually sparkled, were dull. She stumbled as a dark grey tom shoved her from behind with a growl. One of his eyes was a milky white, sightless orb, and the other a glittering ice blue.
"Star," the black tom growled when both cats had come to a halt. "That was what your mother named you. Her mate told her stories of cats in the sky, their pelts made from starfire, and she believed him. She was a traveller and left him, but she would have done better to have stayed. She died when you were but three moons old, and I saved your life from the badger that killed her. Is this what you do to repay me?"
"What have I done?" Star rasped, raising her head in defiance. "I have not broken the rules of the band, I have not disobeyed a direct order, I have never once failed you. I cannot see what you hate me for."
He laughed cruelly. "You're expecting kits, my dear," he pointed out, as if it were both the most obvious thing in the world and a crime.
"Yeah, what of it?" she asked defensively, shifting her position so as to shield her stomach. "Last time I checked, it was perfectly legal."
"They're not mine," the black tom growled, cutting her off. Her eyes widened in shock. "I let you become close to me and then you run off with a common scoundrel?"
"He is your son!" she barked menacingly. "We were never mates, Coal- stars, I never thought you thought of me that way!"
"You still betrayed me," he grit out. "Leader's word is law, and I say that if I cannot trust you, the band cannot trust you." He leaped down from the fallen tree's trunk to stand before her, one paw raised slightly from the ground. "You will be marked with the sign of a traitor and left to starve," he snarled at her, and before she could react, raked his claws over her eye.
She howled in pain, stumbling backwards. The grey tom grabbed her by the scruff and began to pull her away from Coal, when a cat yowled in anger. From the crowd leapt Coal's good-for-nothing son, his pelt turned to flame in the light of the sun. "No! Star!" Before Coal or any other cat could react, he bowled over the grey tom, slashing his throat. He hauled Star to her feet and the two began to run.
Several cats began to race after him, but Coal yowled for a halt. "Let them go," he told them darkly. "What goes around, comes around, isn't that what they say? Those two will get their just desserts." He lashed his tail angrily. "Just you wait. Nothing good ever comes to a scarface!"
Allegiances (ThunderClan only)
leader: Bramblestar- dark brown tabby tom with amber eyes
deputy: Squirrelflight- dark ginger she-cat with green eyes
apprentice, Stormpaw
medicine cat: Jayfeather- grey tabby tom with blind blue eyes
apprentice: Winterpaw- black-and-white tom with blue eyes
warriors:
Brackenfur- golden brown tabby tom
apprentice, Redpaw
Cloudtail- long-haired white tom with blue eyes
Brightheart- white she-cat with ginger patches
apprentice, Snowpaw
Millie- white grey tabby she-cat with blue eyes
Thornclaw- golden brown tabby tom
Sorreltail- tortoiseshell-and-white she-cat with amber eyes
Leafpool- light brown tabby she-cat with amber eyes, former medicine cat
Birchfall- light brown tabby tom
apprentice, Beechpaw
Whitewing- white she-cat with green eyes
apprentice, Amberpaw
Berrynose- cream-coloured tom
apprentice, Flamepaw
Hazeltail- small grey-and-white she-cat
Mousewhisker- grey-and-white tom
apprentice, Springpaw
Poppyfrost- tortoiseshell she-cat
apprentice, Smallpaw
Cinderheart- grey tabby she-cat
Lionblaze- golden tabby tom with amber eyes
Foxleap- reddish tabby tom
Icecloud- white she-cat
Toadstep- black-and-white tom
Rosepetal- dark cream she-cat
Briarlight- dark brown she-cat
Blossomfall- tortoiseshell-and-white she-cat
apprentice, Frostpaw
Bumblestripe- very pale grey tom with black stripes
apprentice, Dewpaw
Dovewing- pale grey she-cat with blue eyes
Ivypool- silver-and-white tabby she-cat with dark blue eyes
apprentice, Petalpaw
Cherryflight- ginger she-cat
Molefoot- brown-and-cream tom
Scar- brown tabby she-cat with murky green eyes
Fang- ginger tom with bright blue eyes
Seedheart- very pale ginger she-cat
Lilyfur- dark tabby she-cat with white patches
apprentices:
Dewpaw- grey tom with amber eyes
Amberpaw- grey she-cat with white paws, muzzle, right ear and amber eyes
Redpaw- red tabby tom
Beechpaw- brown tabby she-cat
Smallpaw- small ginger she-cat
Springpaw- grey-and-white she-cat with amber eyes
Flamepaw- golden-furred tom with brown-tipped ears, tail, paws, and amber eyes
Stormpaw- mottled blue-grey tom with blue eyes
Snowpaw- grey she-cat with white paws and amber eyes
Frostpaw- very pale, almost silver, grey tabby tom with white speckles and pale eyes
Petalpaw- dark grey she-cat with a black patch over her eye
queens
Daisy- cream long-furred cat from the horseplace
elders
Greystripe- long-haired grey tom
Dustpelt- dark brown tabby tom
Sandstorm- pale ginger she-cat with green eyes
Spiderleg- long-limbed black tom with brown underbelly and amber eyes
A/N: Also, this story takes place just over a year after TLH. Chapters one & two will be uploaded ASAP.