Prologue

"There," a gray tom with piercing blue eyes said, "the third and last one, Cinderheart. I'll leave you to discuss the names with Lionblaze."
"Thank you so much Jayfeather!" A golden tom exclaimed, entering the enclosed space.
"Anything for my brother" Jayfeather said.
The golden tom approached his mate and sat next to her; they both gazed lovingly at their newborn kits. One was a silver she-cat like no other cat in the clan, one was a rusty gold tabby much like his father, and the last one, the most outstanding flaming red she-cat you would see.
"What shall we name them Lionblaze?" Cinderheart asked. He hesitated for a moment
"The silver she-cat should be named, Silverkit." Lionblaze murmured.
"Very original," Cinderheart said nudging her mate, "and following your path, the golden tom will be called Goldenkit!" Lionblaze playfully swiped her ears. The both giggled for a moment then turned their attention to the last kit. Her bright red fur contrasted against her mother's pale grey fur.
"Rubykit." Cinderheart murmured. At the sound of her new name the kit squirmed then settled down in the heat of her siblings.
"Perfect." Lionblaze said just as Cinderheart laid her head on his shoulder, and gazed continuously at their kits until they both drifted off to sleep.

Chapter 1

I woke up at the sound of voices and ruffling about, the heat of Silverkit and Goldenkit was gone. I snuggled closer to my mother enjoying her heat, as she slowly started cleaning my head. Then I felt a paw prodding my stomach. I tried to avoid it but it didn't leave.
"Come on Rubykit! Why won't you hurry up and open your eyes? Mom said we can't leave the nursery without you!" Silverkit whinnied. At the sound of going to the camp my eyes shot open and I jumped straight to my paws. I lost balance and fell on my butt. Silver kit laughed and looked at me. Her jaw fell open as if I was some weird cat.
"Your eyes... Wow..." She said so softly. I jumped up again and stumbled all the way to the closest puddle and looked at myself. I had a flaming red pelt, but my eyes were the deepest blue, they were beautiful!
I ran back to Silverkit and Goldenkit. I looked at them expectantly and walked towards the entrance of the nursery. They didn't move.
"Hey, I thought we were going to explore the camp! Don't tell me I opened my eyes for nothing!" I said sarcastically. Realization dawned in their eyes, they go up and we all ran out of it excited about meeting all the warriors. As I stepped into the sun I stopped to enjoy the heat for a moment, then it was gone. My eyes flew open to see what was blocking my sun. A huge cat was looking down at the three of us. His pelt was grey and his blue eyes looked at me, but they seemed dull, as if he couldn't see.
"Jayfeather!" I heard Lionblaze exclaim, "I see you met my kits!"
"Lionblaze, I helped them come to life, how could I forget your kits?" Jayfeather said turning to look at Lionblaze. Silverkit was looking at him with awe.
"You helped us come to life? Wow..." She said almost like she was hypnotized by him. He laughed a little then returned to his den. As soon as he left we all ran to the biggest den. It was huge! Then a huge white tom stepped out of the den. His paws almost made the ground shake. As he came closer and closer I thought he didn't see I and he would squish me like a bug.
"Stop!" I yelled, hoping he heard me. He looked down at me and smiled. He crouched down so he could see me clearly.
"You must be Rubykit!" He exclaimed, I nodded, "I'm Cloudtail." Oh. My. God! I was talking to a real warrior! I started jumping up and down, circling him, and jumping on top of him before asking my question: "Can you show me some battle moves?" He laughed as Goldenkit joined my pleading,
"Not now, but instead I'll show you around okay?" He said getting back of his paws. We all nodded eagerly. He pointed at the huge den, "that's the warriors den, and the one next to it is the apprentices den." I ran to go see the apprentices and a ginger she cat stepped out. She was as big as the warriors but she was quite big! Then a cream and brown tom came out. He smiled when he saw me.
"Ah! The newborn kits! Judging by your pelt, you must be Rubykit and you Goldenkit, unless your parents are crazy. Hey, where's Silverkit?" At the sound of Silverkit's name, I realized she had disappeared ever since we saw Jayfeather. I turned to look over near the medicine cats den to see Jayfeather explaining some boring stuff about herbs to her, and she seemed very interested. I wondered if she would want to be a medicine cat. I turned back to see that the apprentices were gone. Goldenkit too. I slowly walked back to the nursery and saw all the queens surrounding Dovewing. Sorreltail turned to me
"Quick! Get Jayfeather! Dovewings kits are coming!" She said urgently. I didn't get why they needed Jayfeather but Dovewing was crying and yelling so I thought it may be kind of important. I ran quickly to the medicine cats den but bumped into a pale gray tom with black stripes.
"Hey! I'm Bumblestripe, what's the big hurry?" He asked.
"Dovewings kits are coming, I don't know why but they need Jayfeather!" I answered getting back on my paws
"WHAT?! Oh my god! My kits! Dovewing! Don't panic! I have to go see Dovewing! No worries! Everything will be fine!" He said so fast to himself I couldn't even understand. He ran as fast as he could towards the nursery stumbling and tripping over and over again.
"Just like Graystripe..." Cloudtail murmured as he watched Bumblestripe leave. I ran to the medicine cats den.
"Oh hey Rubykit!" Silverkit exclaimed, "Jayfeather was just showing me some herbs, it's really cool!" Jayfeather narrowed his blind eyes on me.
"What's the hurry?" He asked suspiciously
"Dovewing...kits...coming... help...fast" I said between pants. Jayfeather jumped to his feet grabbed a stick nudged Silverkit.
"You want to help?" He asked. She nodded eagerly as they both raced to the nursery leaving me to slowly follow behind. In front of the nursery Bumblestripe was prancing around in circles mumbling to him. I walked into the nursery to see the last kit arrive. I squirmed through and sat next to the others. There were four kits, three toms and one she-cat.

"There, it's over" Jayfeather said calmly, "You can come in Bumblestripe!" Bumblestripe raced in and stopped to look at the kits. He got all teary eyed at the sight of them.

"They're so beautiful." He said licking Dovewings head. Honestly I thought they looked like mice. I hope I didn't look like that when I was born. Everyone left to do their own things, but I stayed to hear their names. There was a brown tabby tom, a white tom, a black tom with a single white stripe, and a gray tabby she-cat.

"I think the white tom should be called Snowkit, and the gray tabby she-cat should be…" Dovewing started then hesitated for the name. Bumblestripe also didn't have an idea for the name.

"That's easy, Stormkit." I said hoping they would agree. They looked at the she cat then at each other. I thought the name suited her well. They both smiled

"Yes…Stormkit fits her perfectly." Bumblestripe announced, "now for the black tom…Lightningkit." Dovewing nodded and they look at the last kit. I looked at him. He was the biggest and he looked like neither his parents nor his siblings. His brown fur stood out from his siblings. I closed my eyes to find inspiration. I saw an eagle soaring.

"That's it!" I exclaimed, "Eaglekit!" Dovewing smiled, Bumblestripe nodded.

"Perfect" they both murmured.

I was so jealous! Today was Lilykit's and Seedkit's apprentice ceremony. I was only three moons so I have to wait three more moons before becoming one step closer to be the leader of the clan! Or at least the deputy.

"Let all cats old enough to catch their own prey join beneath the highledge for a Clan meeting." Bramblestar yowled. Everyone gathered around as Lilykit and Seedkit, all groomed walked to the front of the crowd.

"Lilykit, you have reached the age of six moons, and it's time for you to be apprenticed. From this day on, until you receive your warrior name, you will be known as Lilypaw. Your mentor will be Toadstep. I hope Toadstep will pass down all he knows on to you." Bramblestar said. Lilypaw turned around to look at the ginger tom that approached them, all proud. Bramblestar continued, "Toadstep, you are ready to take on an apprentice. You had received excellent training from Cloudtail, and you have shown to be smart and kind. You will be the mentor of Lilypaw and I expect you to pass all you know to Lilypaw." Both apprentice and mentor touched noses and moved to the side of crowd.

"Seedkit, you have reached the age of six moons, and it's time for you to be apprenticed. From this day on, until you receive your warrior name, you will be known as Seedpaw. Your mentor will be Icecloud. I hope Icecloud will pass down all she knows on to you." Icecloud was surprised to be chosen and shuffled to the front of the crowd. "Icecloud, you are ready to take on an apprentice. You had received excellent training from Whitewing, and you have shown to be vigilant and courageous. You will be the mentor of Seedpaw and I expect you to pass all you know to Seedpaw." They touched noses and everyone started cheering. I joined in yowling

"Seedpaw, Lilypaw!" As the cheering died out they went off to do their first apprentice duty. I watched them go wishing it was me going to explore the forest. I went back into the nursery with Goldenkit as Silverkit bounced off to help Jayfeather. As I entered something landed on my back and pinned me on the ground. I turned to see Stormkit smiling proudly as if I was a piece of prey.

"Gotcha!" she said.

"Not yet!" I playfully hissed. I pushed her off of me with my hind paws and immediately got up on my paws. I dashed at her, and as she jumped. I moved to the side and shoved her and she lost balance and fell to the floor. I pinned her to the floor, smirking.

"You never learn…" I said shaking my head. Something pushed me into the air. I landed fairly on my paws and turned to face my opponent.

"Grrrr! I'm Tigerstar and I'm going to kill you Firestar!" I said sounding the most menacing I could be. Eaglekit lunged towards me and quick as a real eagle, I slithered on the ground and threw him into the air. I flipped around to see him lying motionless on the floor. I rushed towards him.

"Eaglekit? Are you okay? Tell me you're not dead? Did I hurt you?" I said panicked. His eyes shot open and he bowled me over pinning me down.

"Surprise is always a warrior's best technique." He said smugly.

"Oh no! Firestar beware! I will haunt you forever! No! I can't die! No! Not now! NO! Beware Firestar!" I yowled mimicking what I thought was Tigerstar. Then I faked dead. They all cheered for Eaglekit and I sat back up, cleaning my pelt. I eyed him "Next time I'm Firestar okay?" I growled.

"Of course Rubykit!" he said licking my head. I squirmed away, and playful batted him with my paw. "Oh! You want to be beaten again?" he said opening one of his eyes bigger that the other.

"No thank you!" I said as we settled next to each other, with Stormkit, Goldenkit, Lightningkit, and Snowkit. I leaned on Eaglekits shoulder and thought about who I wanted for a mentor. Cloudtail seemed nice, but Sandstorm was quite fast. Then I found it, Bumblestripe may be a little clumsy but I got to really know him and he is really talented. I would love him as a mentor. I drifted off to sleep imagining my apprenticeship.

I woke up as a paw started prodding my side. I opened my eyes and groaned as I saw Stormkit was looking and me expectantly. What does she want now? I thought.

"What?" I grumbled. She nudged and glared at me

"Be quiet!" she said. She got up and silently crept out of the nursery. She looked at me, realizing I didn't want to come. She pouted at me doing the cutest face she could. I sighed and got up to follow her.

"What are we doing?" I asked.

"We're going exploring!" she whispered. My excitement bubbled at the sound of leaving camp. We went out by a small tunnel at the back of the warriors den. I grinned at the smell of the forest.

"Last one to the lake is a mouse-brain!" I yowled! I put in all my speed into my running. As soon as the lake was in sight I gave in one more push and I arrived at least a few seconds before Stormkit. She splashed me and I ran after her. This went on for a while. As we saw the sun had started rising we panicked. We had to hurry, this time, no race; it was fun and trouble or hurry and safety. The forest passed by me then a flash of orange ran next to me.

"Foxleap?" I asked as I stopped. Then I saw the beast clearly, "FOX! Stormkit run!" she ran and I tried to distract it. I slithered in the grass and jumped up in the air I landed on his back and I dug my claws deep in his back. The fox yowled and threw me off. I fell on the ground and stayed there for a moment. The fox lunged and bit my leg. Pain shot up my leg. I yowled and turned and scratched the fox's nose. He whimpered and started to run away. I slowly got up and licked my would for a bit. I limped towards the camp. Stormkit was waiting for me. She gasped at the sight of my bloody leg. She forced me to lie down and she went into the camp. She came back after a moment with, for a moment thought was Jayfeather. But as the two cats approached I realized it was Silverkit. She sniffed my leg, and then ran off into the forest. Stormkit settled by my side and slowly licked the blood of my leg. Silverkit arrived with some herbs, but I was already drifting off to sleep. Silverkit nudged me and shook her head. God. I wasn't allowed to sleep! I looked at a ladybug in the grass and didn't pay any attention to the two cats fussing over my leg. As soon as they were finished I slowly got up and limped into the camp with Silverkit and Stormkit each by my side. I slumped down with them and sighed.

"That was some exploration!" I said sleepily, they nodded. I laid my head in my paws and fell asleep.

I woke up it was sunhigh. The nursery was empty. I walked out to ask where the other kits were but the clan was gone. My leg wasn't hurting as much as before. Then a shimmering blue gray cat stepped out. A fire ginger cat followed her and lastly a ragged dark gray cat followed.

"Bluestar?" I asked, she nodded, "Firestar?" he nodded, "Yellowfang" she also nodded. Yellowfang stepped up and rubbed her nose against my leg. The skin covered the bite mark, and my leg looked good as new. "What are you all doing here?" I questioned them. I still couldn't believe Starclan was visiting me in my dreams!

"You are vital to the clan, you have a special destiny." Bluestar meowed.

"The ruby will shine but not alone," Firestar said as his eyes started to glimmer.

"The lion, the dove, and the jay will help," Bluestar continued.

"Until the grass turns red." Yellowfang finished. Then they all started to fade.

"What? I don't understand! What do I have to do?" I yowled as the last piece of their pelt dissolved into the air.

"I…I don't understand." I mumbled, staring at the ground.

"Neither do I…" a trembling voice said behind me. Jayfeather stood behind me. Confusion swirled in his eyes. "It's time to wake up Rubykit." Then the whole camp was gone. I was just in pure black. I opened my eyes to see the whole nursery crowed around me. I quickly got up and gave myself a few licks.

"You were yelling in your sleep." Eaglekit pointed out. I must have yelled out the last sentences in the real world! I looked down at my paws.

"Bad dream I guess…" I mumbled. He shrugged and everyone spread out to their own corner. Silverkit narrowed her eyes at me, shrugged, and trotted away, probably to Jayfeather. I looked over at my leg. It was completely healed! I heard a giant thud, and then Jayfeather ran into the nursery, almost out of breath.

"Rubykit, I need to see you now." He said. I had no idea why but I still followed him to the medicine den. He turned to look at me.

"That dream… the only reason Starclan came to you was to give a prophecy, a prophecy about the three, and you." Jayfeather said, "I need to call the others."

He went out for a moment. I looked around the den. I don't see what Silverkit thought was so cool about being a medicine cat. Sure you saved lives but all the responsibilities… I wouldn't be able to handle it. Jayfeather came back with Lionblaze and Dovewing.

"Look, you know about our powers right." Dovewing asked. I nodded, who didn't? They did after all have the power of the stars in their paws.

"Somehow you will join that prophecy. In your dream Firestar wasn't as complete as the others. It must be because part of him is still on the earth." Jayfeather contested.

"You must somehow join in, like a fifth cat…" Lionblaze said under his breath. I looked at each of them; they seemed to be pleading me to help them.

"I'll help you, but do I tell anyone?" I asked.

"NO!" They all yelled, "This information is too vague, no one should know until we are extremely sure of it." Jayfeather whispered.

I was so bored. I reached my fifth moon. Well actually my fifth and a half. I have nothing to do. Silverkit is always with Jayfeather, The toms are all so immature, and Stormkit has no good ideas, like me. We sat next to each other sharing a delicious thrush, when a limping Lilypaw and Foxleap walking into the clearing. We both went to them.

"What happened? Was it Shadowclan? Was it a badger?" Everyone bombarded them with questions, they just shook their heads.

"Fox." Toadstep plainly said before bringing Lilypaw to the medicine cats den. I exchange a worried look with Stormkit. Two moons ago we encountered the fox, probably the same one. We escaped unseen, but we thought it had run away. I sighed. Why was life so boring? I wish my apprentice ceremony was today, not in 6 sunrises. I wish time would just speed up.

Finally! Today was my apprentice ceremony. I'm so excited! I groomed my pelt so well it shone like I was a Starclan cat.

"Let all cats old enough to catch their own prey join beneath the highledge for a Clan meeting." Bramblestar yowled. I stepped up to the front of the crowd with my friends and siblings. Lionblaze and Cinderheart looked proudly towards us. I smiled, and then turned to look at Bramble star. "Goldenkit, you have reached the age of six moons, and it's time for you to be apprenticed. From this day on, until you receive your warrior name, you will be known as Goldenpaw. Your mentor will be Brackenfur. I hope Brackenfur will pass down all he knows to you." Bramblestar said, "Brackenfur, you are ready to take on an apprentice. You had received excellent training from Graystripe, and you have shown yourself to be courageous and determined. You will be the mentor of Goldenpaw, and I expect you to pass down all you know to Goldenpaw." They both touched noses and moved to the side.

"Rubykit, you have reached the age of six moons, and it's time for you to be apprenticed. From this day on, until you receive your warrior name, you will be known as Rubypaw. Your mentor will be Bumblestripe. I hope Bumblestripe will pass down all he knows to you." Bramblestar said passing on to me, "Bumblestripe, you are ready to take on an apprentice. You had received excellent training from Mousewhisker, and you have shown yourself to be kind and dependable. You will be the mentor of Rubypaw, and I expect you to pass down all you know to Rubypaw." Bramblestar finished. I trotted towards Bumblestripe and lifted my nose to meet his. We let them touch for a few seconds then moved to the side of the crowd where Goldenpaw was.

"Stormkit, you have reached the age of six moons, and it's time for you to be apprenticed. From this day on, until you receive your warrior name, you will be known as Stormpaw. Your mentor will be Sorreltail. I hope Sorreltail will pass down all he knows to you." Bramblestar started again, "Sorreltail, you are ready to take on an apprentice. You had received excellent training from Sandstorm, and you have shown yourself to be courageous and clever. You will be the mentor of Stormpaw, and I expect you to pass down all you know to Stormpaw." Bramblestar finished, they touched noses and joined us. He finished the ceremony for Snowpaw, Eaglepaw, and Lightningpaw. Then the time for Silverkit came. Jayfeather came forward.

"Cats of Thunderclan, as you know, I will not be around forever. So it's time I took and apprentice. I have chosen a cat that has shown compassion and determination. Your next medicine cat will be Silverpaw." Jayfeather said. Bramblestar looked over at Silverpaw.

"Silverpaw, do you accept the post of apprentice to Jayfeather?" He asked

"I do" Silverpaw replied proudly.

"Then at the half-moon, you must travel to the Moonpool to be accepted by Starclan before the other medicine cats." Jayfeather said smiling slightly.

"The good wishes of Thunderclan will go with you." Bramblestar said happily. The whole clan started cheering

"Goldenpaw, Rubypaw, Stormpaw, Snowpaw, Eaglepaw, Lightningpaw, Silverpaw!" We all grinned happily at the clan. I was so happy to finally be useful to the clan in some way. I turned to Bumblestripe.

"So! Are we going to explore the territory? Are we going to train? Are we going…?" I started until he cut me off and glared at me.

"If you continue like that, you're going to be searching the elders for ticks!" He growled, then his eyes lightened up, "We'll go explore the territory, but I'm pretty sure you and Stormpaw know it quite well" he said narrowing his eyes. We exchanged a glace of pure fear. "Don't worry," he said, "I won't tell Bramblestar". We decided to go explore the territory with Eaglepaw, and Stormpaw, and with our mentors Bumblestripe, Sorreltail, and Brightheart. Eaglepaw was Brighthearts first apprentice so she was bubbling with excitement.

"I'm so happy I got Brightheart," Eaglepaw rambled, "that way I'll learn cool moves that she only knows, and she'll teach me awesome new tricks! And…" he went on for hours until the mentors glared at him. He immediately shut his blabbermouth. Eaglepaw is nice and cute, but once he talks about something he never stops! I thought, wait… Did I just think Eaglepaw was cute? I turned to look at Eaglepaw, then saw his amber eyes looking straight at me. I quickly looked at the ground. I felt my face growing hot. I shook my head I looked over at the mentors. They stopped in front of a river. I opened my jaw to smell the air. I had smelt this smell before, and trust me I did not like it.

"This is the Windclan border," Bumblestripe said.

"Windclan like the open space, and they are quite fast." Sorreltail continued.

"Their main preys are rabbits, since they've got the speed to catch them." Brightheart said, looking over at the border.

"All I know is that they stink!" Stormpaw whispered. Both Eaglepaw and I snorted. I looked across the border to see a patrol of cats racing towards us.

"Hey, aren't those Windclan cats?" I asked. Bumblestripe nodded. They stood their ground as the cats approached. The first cat, a gray tom, which really looked like Jayfeather, stopped at the sight of us.

"Hello Crowfeather, Heathertail…" Bumblestripe said then stopped at the third cat, a small black she-cat.

"This is Windpaw, my first apprentice." Heathertail exclaimed.

"And these young cats are…" Crowfeather said pointing at us.

"This is Rubypaw, my apprentice, and Lionblaze's daughter." Bumblestripe said putting emphasis on the daughter part. I wonder why… I thought then I remembered that Crowfeather was Lionblaze's father. So in other words, He's my grandfather!

"And this is Stormpaw and Eaglepaw, my kits." Bumblestripe said proudly. Stormpaw rolled her eyes, but Eaglepaw stood proudly as if it was an accomplishment. Toms… I said looking to the sky.

"Oh well, I hate to say this is goodbye" Sorreltail said, narrowing her eyes at the Windclan cats. Crowfeather dipped his head, and the group of cats headed upstream in their territory. Bumblestripe stretched his back, and walked towards the forest. The other mentors followed him, with us trailing behind. We walked deeper into the forest until Bumblestripe raised his tail to stop us.

"Do you smell that?" Sorreltail whispered. I opened my jaws only to smell a very familiar smell. Mouse a voice inside my head told me.

"Mouse?" I asked hesitantly. Bumblestripe nodded.

"Why don't you try and get it?" he told me. My eyes widened, but I shook my stress away and nodded. I slowly got down on my hunters crouch. Raise your tail a little higher; the mouse will hear you before it see's you. The same voice told me. I did what it said and raised my tail a little. Now step a little lighter on your paws. It continued, I stepped a little lighter on my paws, and a few tail lengths before the mouse the voice yelled: Jump! I jumped and landed straight on it. I killed it in one stoke and brought it back towards the mentors. The five cats were looking open jawed at me. Good job, the voice told me. I thanked it and looked at the others,

"So, are we going to stay here admiring my awesome skills or explore the territory?" I teased. Bumblestripe shook his head and looked at my mouse,

"A fat mouse, it sure will feed the clan!" He exclaimed. As the mentors padded away I overheard them talking. Talking about me. I strained my ears to listen. I only heard that I had some skills! I proudly marched on, towards the Shadowclan border.

We were already on our way back to the camp; I had caught my mouse, a vole, and a robin! Stormpaw and Eaglepaw both caught a vole, and then mentors each caught about two or three pieces of prey. We all passed through the tunnel and padded into the clearing. I dropped my robin and vole, and took my mouse to Purdy. I walked into the elders den and Purdy looked up at me.

"Did you catch that?!" He exclaimed looking at my fat mouse. I nodded proudly and put it down next to him. He took a bite and smiled at me. I grinned back at him and walked out to the clearing. The sun was slowly setting and the dirt walls slowly turned from orange a brown. Eaglepaw beckoned me over; he was sitting with all the other apprentices, and Silverpaw. I took a thrush and sat next to them.

"So Silverpaw," I asked, "How was your first day of being a medicine cat apprentice?" She turned to me,

"Great! I learned even more about herbs! I'm going to the Moonpool tonight!" She said beaming, and then narrowed her eyes playfully, "But I heard that you've got some hunting skills…" Eaglepaw and Stormpaw nodded,

"You should have seen her! She looked like she knew how to hunt at birth!" Stormpaw exclaimed. I gave my pelt a few licks. Snowpaw had his eyes open in wonder.

"You have to teach me!" He said! Jayfeather padded up towards us, said a few words to Silverpaw and turned back to the medicine den. She turned to us apologetically,

"We have to go now, if we want to arrive at the Moonpool at midnight." She said while getting up, she trotted away towards Jayfeather who was waiting for her at the entrance of the camp. As she started entering the tunnel I yelled,

"Tell me how it is!" She turned to me and nodded, winked and ran after Jayfeather. I yawned and looked at Bumblestripe, asking him telepathically if I could go sleep. He nodded; I smiled and padded towards the apprentice den. Eaglepaw dragged himself to the den and we both settled on our nests. I slowly fell asleep, I closed my eyes and I saw green eyes staring at me. You did well… the voice told me, the eyes looked at me lovingly, and I slowly fell into my dream.

I opened my eyes and looked around. I was in Windclan territory! I saw Silverpaw and Jayfeather walking towards me. I trotted towards them, but they just walked pass me, Jayfeather stopped and looked straight at me with his blind eyes. He shook his head and walked on. They can't see you, the voice told me. I shrugged and decided to follow them. AS we approached the Moonpool, three cats were already waiting for us. A small tabby tom spoke

"What took you so long?" He asked,

"More importantly, who's this young cat," A gray tom asked. The gray tabby she-cat rolled her eyes.

"Yes I wonder, she possibly couldn't be his apprentice, Kestrelflight." She said ironically. Jayfeather snorted.

"Willowshine," he said nodding towards the gray tabby, "Kestrelflight," The gray tom was still looking at his paws in embarrassment, "Littlecloud" He said turning towards to the small tom, who had his eyes so narrowed they were only slits, he shook his head and looked at Jayfeather, "This is Silverpaw, my apprentice." Silverpaw grinned and went to touch noses with the other medicine cats. They slowly walked away. I trotted after them, and saw Littlecloud looking straight at me. He turned to Jayfeather

"Something is watching us, I can feel it." He muttered, Jayfeather nodded

"Me too, and I can feel it's not a Starclan cat…" He said shaking his head. They may not see you but they do sense your presence.

"Why can't they sense you?" I asked it. I may be a Starclan cat but right now I'm a part of you, so technically I am you. Oh and by the way, Eaglepaw seems to pay some interest in you. I knew my face must have become extremely red. The voice snickered and became quiet. I shook my head, and ran towards the Moonpool, no way was I going to miss my sisters ceremony. But then something stopped me, like an invisible force. I saw the same green eyes staring at me. The voice growled. As much as you want to see this I must stop you.

"Why?" I whined. This is medicine cat stuff. A warrior like you should not know about things that happen at the Moonpool, unless you become a leader. I glared at the empty space that was holding me back. I slowly walked away from the Moonpool, taking one last look at my sister's ceremony.

I woke up, the sun was almost up. I saw Silverpaw and Jayfeather walking through the bramble tunnel. He nudged her towards the den and turned and walked towards me. I stood up and slowly crept out of the den. He narrowed his eyes.

"It was you right? You were the one at the Moonpool." He whispered, careful not to wake anyone. Uh oh! You're caught! Said the voice, failing at sounding worried. I shook my head.

"How did you know?" I asked. He looked at me

"You're special." He said before walking away. I groaned and slumped down on the dirt. Disappointed! The voice said surprised, any other cat would give a paw to have a special destiny!

"But I don't want to be different…" I murmured, "I just want to be the best warrior I can be!" I could feel The Voice shaking his head. She cats… he whispered. I mentally tried to slap him, but he was untouchable. I took one last look at Jayfeather, who had his blind gaze locked on me. Squirrelflight slowly stretched out into the light from the rising sun. I trotted over to her.

"Can I go on an early hunt?" I asked her. She looked over her shoulder to look for a warrior to go with me. We saw Dustpelt walking out of the warriors den stretching his broad shoulders.

"Hey Dustpelt! Do you mind taking Rubypaw on a hunting patrol?" Squirrelflight called over to the dark brown tom. He thought for a while then nodded

"Why not." he answered. I smiled and bounded towards him. He smiled softly but he turned away and I saw his smile leave his face. I looked down at my paws, wondering if he disliked me. Don't worry he's been depressed every since Ferncloud died. The Voice said his voice full of pity. Ferncloud? Who was that? His mate… she died in the final battle. Oh.

"I should probably try to cheer him up…" I murmured. I felt The Voice nod. That would be a good idea he said. Dustpelt turned over and looked at me and flicked his tail towards a mouse that was crunching on a few seeds. I lifted my head to sense the wind. Your down-wind genius! The voice said as if I was a kit. I growled and got straight into my hunters crouch. Watch out! There's a twig don't step on it! The Voice warned. I nodded and stepped over the twig. The mouse was a fox-length away. I leaped into the air. I landed squarely on the mouse. It squirmed in my paws. I bit down on its spinal cord. I had a shock, and then lay unmovable on the floor. I dug the floor and buried the mouse. I turned to see Dustpelt looking at me wide-eyed.

"H-h-o-how did you do that?" He exclaimed. Me, of course, The Voice said smugly. I rolled my eyes and looked back at Dustpelt

"Instinct, I guess…" I mumbled. He smiled and nudged my side.

"Bumblestripe is lucky to have you as an apprentice." He said. I beamed, and we both walked away to catch more prey.

Dustpelt and I walked into the camp with six pieces of prey. Squirrelflight was talking with Bumblestripe.

"Ah you guys are-" She stopped as she saw all our prey "Wow! That will definitely feed the clan!" She exclaimed. I beamed proudly. I heard The Voice purring next to me. Bumblestripe smiled proudly and came to help us carry our prey. We added it to the currently empty fresh kill pile. Bumblestripe nudged me.

"Rest for a little while, and then we'll go do some battle training." He said. I nodded and slumped myself on a little patch of sun. I closed my eyes and let my imagination wander. When I opened my eyes, I saw green eyes looking at me, and a soft outline of a cat's body. The cat was quite slim, and had broad shoulders.

"The Voice?" I asked. He smiled and nodded.

"You can actually see me in your dreams. And just call me…Voi." He said, or should I say, Voi said. I smiled, happy to have found an agreement.

"Where are we Voi?" I asked. He raised an eyebrow.

"Starclan dummy!" he teased. I nudged him and we trotted over to cats who were sharing some prey.

"Hello!" I said. They looked at me, gasped, and ran away.

"I didn't realize you were that scary!" Voi whispered. I glared at him. Then my vision started to blur. It's time to go Voi said. Ugh right at the moment where I didn't understand anything. The kind green eyes blurred away.

I actually opened my eyes to see Eaglepaw prodding my side.

"Hey lazy paws! Time for battle training!" he said. I groaned and got up on my paws.

"How long was I asleep?" I asked him.

"It's almost sundown." He answered. I gasped I had slept for half the day! No wonder you're a lazy paws! Voi said snickering. Shut up Voi I thought. She cats… I heard him say before being quiet. I trotted with Eaglepaw to Bumblestripe and Brightheart. Bumblestripe smiled and we padded off to the training hollow.

At the training hollow I sat next to Eaglepaw as the mentors discussed something we, apprentices weren't allowed to hear. I felt Eaglepaw nudge me with his paw.

"Could you help me with my hunters crouch?" He asked. I didn't hesitate to nod. He got in it and stalked an imaginary piece of prey. His tail is too low and his ears are too high. Voi said like a pro. I rolled my eyes and turned to Eaglepaw.

"Your tail is too low, it would brush the leaves and the prey would run away. And your ears are too high, the prey would see them." I told him.

"She's right!" Brightheart said, as the mentors strode towards us. Eaglepaw tried what we told him. Not bad, for an amateur. Voi said smugly. Hey, mind my business, not his! I felt his head shake, and he turned around and faded away from my head.

"Perfect!" I said. He turned his tabby head towards us and beamed. I smiled back, and then turned towards the mentors.

"We're going to do a little battle training." Bumblestripe said switching his focus point regularly on Eaglepaw and me. "Rubypaw, come at me." He said flexing his legs. Then it went black. I saw Voi showing me different moves to use. I saw Bumblestripe in the dark. I lunged towards him. It came all like a reflex. I jumped in the air, twisting around and landing behind Bumblestripe. I swiped my paw, and tripped him. He landed on the sand. I pinned him on the ground. My claws hadn't come out yet. As they slowly slithered out of my paws, something yelled. Stop! I snapped out of my battle mood. I shook my head and got off of Bumblestripe. He got up and everyone looked at me with wide yes.

"That was amazing!" Bumblestripe exclaimed, "All you need to do now is control our claws! I really thought you were going to kill me!" I licked my chest a few times. I watched attentively as they taught me moves I didn't know, but weirdly felt familiar with.

After a while of battle training, we left to the camp again. I had accidently scratched Bumblestripes nose but he said it didn't hurt. I don't believe him. Well Voi surely helped during this training! He showed me tons of new moves that apparently Bumblestripe learnt in the middle of his apprenticeship. I sat down and rested my head on my paws. I saw a big fat vole be dropped in front of me. I looked up to see Eaglepaw looking at me expectantly.

"Do you mind Rubystar?" He teased. I smiled and shook my head. He settled down and we shared the delicious thrush. As he settled by me, a pain soared in my leg. I tried to howl but everything went black, and this time Starclan didn't come. I looked up at Voi who looked equally worried. But I noticed something. Voi looked a little more like a cat then just a simple outline. His fur, which was a transparent ginger for the moment, was starting to appear.

"What's happening Voi?" I asked him.

"I sincerely have no idea…" he said shaking his head. Then thunder crashed. Lightning stuck. I huddled close to the ground covering my ears. Voi stood next to me, as if he was protecting me. Then a ruby came out of nowhere. Thunder followed it, but it seemed so safe near the bright shining jewel. You have a special destiny, Rubypaw. And Voi will remember his past life slowly, but you must have achieved your quest by then… Another voice said, roaming around the dark space. Then it actually went completely black.

I groaned. I tried to roll over but a pain in my hind leg soared the moment I tried to move it. My tail softly brushed it, and pain flew through my body like an electric shock. My eyes flew open and I yowled in pain. Silverpaw rushed by my side and gave me comforting licks.

"It'll be okay Rubypaw, just relax and let Jayfeather do his magic." She soothed. Jayfeather walked towards us with herbs in his mouth. He avoided my tail and settled next to Silverpaw.

"I don't know what happened…" He started slowly applying a weird gooey thing on my leg, "You seemed to have been bitten by something, and it's not a cat." He said. He looked at me with his piercing blue eyes and narrowed them. "It seems to me like a fox bite." I looked down at my paws and bit my lip. Good job Rubypaw… I rolled my eyes and looked at Jayfeather.

"Long story short, I got bit by a fox." I mumbled. Jayfeather looked at me, shrugged and paid more attention to my leg.

"The scab will be there for at least a moon." He said examining my wound.

"What?" I exclaimed, "No! That's not good! The gathering is only in a few sunrises! I have to go!" I started fretting around, I tried to get on my paws several times but Jayfeather pinned me down.

"You'll be able to go to the gathering as long as you don't get hurt again." He said obviously getting annoyed at me. He walked away, tail swishing. I sighed and lay my head on my paws. This was going to be long. Trust me; I'm not overjoyed either Voi said, obviously hating what Jayfeather just had told me. My eyes slowly closed but I didn't sleep. I could feel Silverpaw licking away on my leg. Something nudged me. I opened my eyes to see a few seeds. I slowly ate them up. I shuddered. They didn't taste good. With the help of those weird seeds I slowly drifted off to sleep. No nightmares this time.

I woke up to the sound a cat fretting around. I opened one eye to see Bumblestripe running in circles, as if he wanted to catch his tail. I groaned and got up to my paws. I licked my leg. It was already started to slowly heal. The cobwebs had hardened on my wound, preventing any dangerous things to enter my skin. I limped towards Jayfeather and Bumblestripe.

"I'm telling you she's just fine!" Jayfeather yelled, obviously annoyed at Bumblestripe, "Look can't you she's not on the brink of death!" Bumblestripe looked at me and nuzzled me like crazy. His purr was the only sound to my ears. I stepped away and shook my head.

"I'm hungry," I mumbled, "Can I go get a piece of prey?" I asked Jayfeather.

"No need, look whose coming" Eaglepaw was trotting over with a fat hare. I licked my lips and limped over to him. He put it down and we settled side by side, fur brushing. He stated to clean my fur while I was eating.

"I'm so glad you aren't hurt, I was so worried!" He purred. I turned to look at him

"As worried as Bumblestripe?" I said teasingly. He nudged me.

"No! Everyone was disappointed of losing our new great hunter, but he was just going berserk…" He laughed. Once we finished our hare, the sun was slowly setting. We shared tongues, and then decided to get some sleep. I leaned on his shoulder as we walked towards the apprentice den.

"Rubypaw! You aren't sleeping there just yet!" Silverpaw called from the medicine den. I cursed her under my breath and looked up at Eaglepaw apologetically. He shrugged and trotted over into the den. I slowly dragged myself to the medicine den, my leg was slowly healing, and I was able to put a little weight on it. I settled in my nest and played with a few twigs sticking out. Silver settled next to me and gave my head a comforting lick.

"Go to sleep, the gathering is in a two sunrises, and I know you don't want to miss it!" she said smiling softly. At the sound of the gathering my excitement bubbled up. Hey! I don't want to miss my first gathering either! Voi growled. I rolled my eyes. I lay my head on my paws and slowly fell to a deep sleep.

I woke up, it was dark. I yawned and got to my paws. I slowly padded out of medicine den, making sure I didn't wake up either of the cats. I settled in a patch of moonlight and looked up at it. It was almost full; you could only see a single line of dark moon. I started cleaning myself when a cat approached behind me. I whipped my head to see Bramblestar padding towards me. He sat next to me and looked up. I followed his gaze to the moon.

"It sure is beautiful…" He said so softly I could barely hear him. I nodded and looked at Bramblestar. His tabby coat gleamed in the moonlight. His amber eyes reflected the almost full moon. He turned to me and smiled.

"You should get some rest; after all you don't want to miss your first gathering!" He said. I got to my paws and started to rush to the medicine den. I turned back right at the entrance and gave Bramblestar my biggest grin. He was letting me go to the gathering! He chuckled and padded over to the highledge and jumped up to his den. I trotted into the medicine den, only to see Silverpaw waking up. I quickly settled next to her. She looked at my sleepily, groaned, and then fell back asleep. I smiled. Her silver coat gleamed even in the darkness of medicine den. I lay my head on my paws and looked at the clearing through the entrance. My eyes slowly closed themselves. I smiled in the darkness of my dreams. I could be anywhere I wanted. Voi stood next to me. We raced into the darkness. His flaming red pelt was dancing in the darkness. His white paws barely touching the ground. I raced after him. I felt like I had the speed of Starclan. That's all I remember from my dream.

I jerked awake from my dream, gasping for air. I took deep breaths and tried to calm my heart down. My fur was wet with sweat and my heart was beating extremely fast. I slowly dragged myself out into the scorching sun. Every cat in my way looked at me suspiciously. Stormpaw trotted over towards me. She looked at me from claw to ear.

"You sure are sweaty…" she snickered. I glared at her.

"Let's just go to the lake, I need some fresh air" I said, trotting towards the entrance without her approval. I heard her sigh and she trotted behind me. As we exited the camp she turned to me,

"Hey… um I need to go do something, go ahead without me." She said awkwardly. I shrugged and she turned and ran away from the dirt place. I narrowed my eyes. I crept up a tree and silently followed her in the trees. Why is she going towards the two-leg place? Voi asked. I shrugged again. She slowed to a small trot as she approached the wall. I gasped as she jumped on the wall. You don't think she's been getting food from the two legs, do you? Voi said, voice trembling.

"I sure hope not." I whispered, I could feel tears threatening to fall but I shook them away and paid attention to Stormpaw. A slick, beautiful white spotted tom came out of the two-leg nest and stretched. He looked at Stormpaw and something lit up in his eyes. He raced towards the wall and jumped up on it. Both of them licked each other. They both jumped down on the forest floor. Their tails slowly intertwined, and they walked off following the wall. My jaw dropped down without me noticing it. Well… at least she's not… Well… Actually, I think this is worse. Voi said. I nodded in agreement. I could feel anger boiling up on me. I jumped down from the tree, not afraid of Stormpaw hearing me. But she didn't care; she was too busy with her… kittypet! I hissed at them, my back arching. I must have looked like a porcupine, but I didn't care.

"How dare you Stormpaw!" I yowled. Both cats jumped to their feet, and flipped around to look at me with eyes full of fear. The kittypet leaned over towards Stormpaw. Stormpaw nodded and looked embarrassed. I didn't care.

"Do you even know what you're doing? This is a kittypet! A stupid cat that can't defend himself!" I growled the kittypet looked taken aback; I didn't care "He eats rabbit pellets! Do you realize what you're doing, choosing him? Are you completely mouse brained?" I couldn't continue, the kittypet had lunged on me, claws outstretched. I was shocked by the impact, as he pinned me to the ground. Anger filled my mind, I didn't even think. Voi ran besides me as my claws shot out and I poured all my anger on this stupid kittypet.

"Frost! Rubypaw! Stop, please!" Stormpaw pleaded. I backed away from the kittypet. His white fur stained with blood. Stormpaw raced over to him and licked his wounds. I snarled. I had a gash on my shoulder, and I licked the blood away. Then I turned to Stormpaw who was walking towards me. She was avoiding all eye contact with me. I looked at her confused.

"Why him, when you could choose any Thunderclan cat?" I asked my voice all of a sudden low. She raised her head and looked at me for the first time.

"Because I love him."