Prologue
The half-moon hung low in the sky, the remnants of the setting sun slowly fading as stars began to take over the darkening atmosphere. What light was able to slip through the trees lit up a variety of overlapped boulders, causing them to look as if they were glowing among the oncoming moonlight.
It was nearly silent, the bugs that usually sang their songs at night had vanished, instead the quiet, whispering sounds of the flowing river and the wind among the trees are what remained. Suddenly, a mixture of bushes moving and water splashing disturbed the serene scene. Eyes flashed through the shadows, belonging to a wide variety of feral cats, all closing in on each other as they began to creep over the boulders, unsheathed claws scratching against the rough surface.
Within a matter of seconds, the two groups of cats let out wails as they began to clash, a brutal scene beginning to unfold.
At the center of the battle remained an open space surrounding two toms, who circled each other with malice in their eyes. One of the two toms, a massive dark-brown tabby, spat at his opponent - a soaking wet bracken-colored tom, "Oakheart," he rasped, amber eyes flashing dangerously, "How dare you bring your cats to hunt in our territory?" he spat, fur bristling and tail lashing behind him, "The Sunningrocks belong to Thunderclan!"
"After tonight, Tigerclaw, the Sunningrocks will just be another RiverClan hunting ground!" the bracken cat retorted, and within seconds the two cats began grappling with each other, hissing and spitting incoherent insults that were drowned out by the cries of battle around them.
Eventually, Tigerclaw had Oakheart pinned down beneath him, the RiverClan cat thrashing as he made feeble attempts to escape. The tabby prepared for a killing blow, however, a shrill, panicked yowl made Tigerclaw cease in his movements.
"Look out! More RiverClan cats are coming!" the panicked voice cried, and Tigerclaw recoiled, eyes scanning the shoreline - sure enough, RiverClan reinforcements slithered onto the shore, not taking the time to shake the water from their pelts before they began to spring into battle.
Tigerclaw slammed a paw against Oakheart's chin, pinning his face to the ground as he lowered his own face and hissed into his ear, "You may swim like otters, but you and your warriors do not belong in this forest!"
He finally released the tom when he heard a familiar voice cry out in pain, and he abandoned the RiverClan deputy on the top of Sunningrocks in time to spot a brown she-cat being pinned down by a thin tom, snapping at the air above her throat in an obvious taunt to frighten the young warrior.
Tigerclaw pushed his way through battling cats and lunged against the side of the RiverClan tom, knocking him off his clanmate, "Quick Mousefur, run!" he mewed urgently, the she-cat scrambling to her paws. Pain flashed in her eyes, and Tigerclaw caught a glimpse of a deep wound on her shoulder before she turned and limped into the cover of the forest.
Relief flooded him momentarily before his attention was brought back to the RiverClan warrior, narrowly avoiding a flurry of paws that nearly caught his side. Tigerclaw hissed at the cat, snapping his jaws and attempting to bite at his hind legs. Pain flared within him suddenly and he let out a cry as claws scraped across his nose, leaving him momentarily blinded.
Despite this, he managed to grab a hold of the warrior's hind leg and sunk his teeth down as hard as he could. The cat squealed in pain and eventually tore his leg free, disappearing into the throes of battle.
He fought to catch his breath, though before he could move to initiate another fight, another cat calling his name distracted him, "Tigerclaw!" his amber eyes came to rest on a calico tom, catching sight of his large, fox-like tail before his gaze came to meet his deputy's own, "This is a useless battle, there are too many RiverClan warriors!"
He felt astonished - was his deputy giving up?
"No, Redtail! ThunderClan will never be beaten," he found himself hissing, pushing his way towards Redtail and brushing past him, circling the tom as if proposing a challenge, "This is our territory! We can't give up," he insisted, blood from the wound on his nose spattering against the ground as he shook his head.
Redtail held his gaze, calmness in his eyes despite the situation at hand, "ThunderClan will honor your courage, Tigerclaw, but we cannot afford to lose anymore warriors," he mewed firmly, "Bluestar would never expect us to fight against this odds. This battle is not yet over, we will have a chance for revenge," he explained, keeping their gazes locked.
Tigerclaw felt a flurry of emotions run through him, but eventually tore his gaze away from Redtail's own, battling against the urge to challenge his deputy. He knew the battle was lost, and the last thing they needed was to have lives lost.
"Thank you," Redtail mewed, tail-tip brushing against the tabby tom's shoulder momentarily before the calico leapt onto a nearby boulder, his following yowls echoing across the clearing, "Retreat, Thunderclan!" a few of the battles ceased as ThunderClan cats began to squirm their way out of battles at the cry of their deputy, "Retreat!" he repeated, the rest of the cats soon backing into the forest as RiverClan looked on, many confused and working to catch their breath.
As the forest cats began to disappear among the trees, Tigerclaw identified the bloody form of Oakheart standing on top of Sunningrocks, the bracken tom releasing a yowl of triumph as ThunderClan retreated. Soon, the rest of RiverClan joined in, though the ThunderClan warrior could still pick out Oakheart's cry among them.
He barely noticed as Redtail began to lead the warriors back to camp, instead, he kept himself trained on the spot. The moment Oakheart's eyes met his, Tigerclaw felt an unidentifiable chill wrack his body. He would forever associate those clear amber eyes with a bloodstained battlefield.
The warrior whipped himself around, disappearing into the trees behind his clanmates.
Gentle footsteps pressed against soft dirt, the cat they belonged to approaching an older grey she-cat who sat vigil in the middle of a clearing, gaze directed toward the clear night sky. The she cat's ear twitched, yet her gaze remained as the approaching cat sat down beside her, moonlight illuminating her tortoiseshell fur.
They remained in silence for several minutes, the grey cat pressing close to the tortoiseshell cat for comfort, a noticeable tiredness in her eyes.
"How is Mousefur?" she mewed softly, turning to face the smaller cat who gave her a gentle look, one that soothed the tired leader.
"Her wounds are deep, Bluestar," she mewed, though before Bluestar could respond she continued speaking, "But she is young, and very strong. She'll recover quickly," she said, paws kneading against the cool grass as she settled herself down, eventually tucking her paws beneath her chest.
"...And the others?" Bluestar mewed, a hint of anxiety in her words.
"They'll recover too," the words were reassuring, but the tortoiseshell cat knew that Bluestar was paranoid - especially as of late - and she would need extra reassurance, "It won't be very long, they're strong as well… even if young age isn't on their side," though her words were quiet, it was obvious they were meant to be a joke, and Bluestar visibly relaxed as quiet, raspy laughter left her throat, showing her fatigue.
Though before too long she spoke again, a serious tone in her voice, "We are lucky to have not lost any warriors in this battle… you're a very gifted medicine cat, Spottedleaf," she purred, the two remaining silent for a few more moments before Bluestar lifted her gaze back towards the sky, "I am… deeply troubled by tonight's defeat. ThunderClan has not been beaten in its own territory since I became leader," she murmured, a mixture of unidentifiable emotions showing in her eyes, "These are difficult times for our clan… the season of newleaf is late and fewer kits are being born. ThunderClan needs more warriors if it is to survive."
Spottedleaf shifted her position so that her head was pressing into her leader's side in a comforting gesture, "The year is only just beginning," she soothed, voice muffled somewhat by Bluestar's fur, "When greenleaf arrives, more kits are sure to be born."
The leader hunched her shoulders slightly, head lowering, but her gaze still remained trained on the sky as she let out a tired exhale, ears twitching as she seemed to draw herself together a bit tightly, making the she-cat appear almost… small.
Eventually, she took another deep breath and drew herself back up to her full height. While her clanmates viewed her as a strong, determined leader, she felt she could let loose around her medicine cat and her deputy… sometimes she needed a break, "Perhaps… but training our warriors takes time. If ThunderClan is to defend its territory, it must have new warriors as soon as possible."
"Are you asking StarClan for answers?"
The question was unexpected, and Bluestar drew herself away from Spottedleaf, meeting the medicine cat's gaze with her own look of curiosity at the sudden question. The tortoiseshell looked a little sheepish, sitting up next to her leader and looking at her expectantly.
"It is at times like this that we need the words of our warrior ancestors to help us," she said, her words a little firm as she looked back up towards the sky, the half-moon now passing its highest point and stars filling the sky. It was breathtaking, yet something she was familiar with… a sight that often comforted her. She knew her warrior ancestors were watching down on her, "Has StarClan spoken to you lately?"
Spottedleaf's own gaze followed Bluestar's and she seemed… solemn, "Not for some ti-" before she could finish speaking, a shooting star blazed through the night sky, and the leader's ears pricked up curiously as the medicine cat's fur bristled, her eyes glazed over.
The two cats remained like that in the clearing for several moments, Spottedleaf's gaze distant and her mouth opening as if she were taking in the scents around her. Eventually, the light returned to her eyes and she looked toward Bluestar, mouth working with no sound as she collected her thoughts.
"It was a message from StarClan," she mewed, though Bluestar couldn't help but notice the confusion in her eyes, "Fire alone can save our clan," she said quietly, a perplexed look on her face.
Bluestar stood up, shock rippling through her followed by an anger that caused the fur on her back to rise, "Fire?!" she hissed, her ears flattening, "But fire is feared by all the clans!" she looked toward the sky as if she expected answers, teeth bared. Must StarClan always speak in such riddles? "How can is save us?" she added, calming herself down as she noticed the disturbed look on Spottedleaf's face. She wasn't angry at the medicine cat - and he knew the Spottedleaf would detect this - but she was… confused, angry. She had too much taken away from her, and she didn't want fire to take even more of it away.
"I don't know," the other she-cat mewed softly, and the spotted cat stood up and brushed against her leader's flank comfortingly, "But this is the message that StarClan has chosen to share with me, and we must have faith in them," she added, and watched as Bluestar calmed down, fatigue settling over the older cat once more.
"You've never been wrong before, Spottedleaf," she murmured, rasping a tongue over the medicine cat's ears as if she were a mother grooming her kit, "If StarClan speaks then it must be true. Fire will save our clan."