ALLEGIANCES:

THUNDERCLAN:

LEADER: BRAMBLESTAR- dark brown tabby tom with amber eyes and long claws

DEPUTY: SQUIRRELFLIGHT- dark ginger she-cat with one white paw and green eyes

MEDICINE CAT: JAYFEATHER- gray tabby tom with a scar down his flank, and blind, pale blue eyes

APPRENTICE, LILYPAW

WARRIORS:

BRACKENFUR- golden-brown tom

SORRELTAIL- tortoiseshell-and-white she-cat

THORNCLAW- golden-brown tabby tom

CLOUDTAIL- white tom with blue eyes

MILLIE- gray tabby she-cat with blue eyes

LEAFPOOL- brown tabby she-cat with a white muzzle, chest, and paws

BIRCHFALL- brown tabby tom with amber eyes

WHITEWING- white she-cat with green eyes

BERRYNOSE- cream tom with amber eyes

HAZELTAIL- gray-and-white she-cat

MOUSEWHISKER- gray-and-white tom

CINDERHEART- gray tabby she-cat

LIONBLAZE- golden tabby tom

FOXLEAP- reddish tabby tom

ICECLOUD- white she-cat

TOADSTEP- black-and-white tom

ROSEPETAL- cream she-cat

BRIARLIGHT- brown she-cat

BLOSSOMFALL- tortoiseshell-and-white she-cat

BUMBLESTRIPE- gray tabby tom

APPRENTICES:

CHERRYPAW- ginger tabby she-cat

MOLEPAW- cream-and-brown tom

SEEDPAW- ginger tabby she-cat

LILYPAW- dark tabby she-cat with white patches (apprentice medicine cat)

QUEENS:

BRIGHTHEART- ginger-and-white she-cat (mother to Dewkit, grey tom, Snowkit, white tom, and Amberkit, grey-and-white she-kit)

POPPYFROST- tortoiseshell-and-white she-cat (mother to Specklekit, mottled grey tabby she-kit, Honeykit, golden tabby she-kit, and Tawnykit, grey tabby tom)

IVYPOOL- silver-and-white tabby she-cat (mother to Skykit, black she-kit)

DOVEWING- gray she-cat (expecting Bumblestripe's kits)

ELDERS:

SPIDERLEG- long-legged black tom with a brown underbelly and amber eyes.

DAISY- cream she-cat

SANDSTORM- pale ginger tabby she-cat

DUSTPELT- brown tabby tom with amber eyes (oldest cat in ThunderClan)

BLOODCLAN:

Leader: Shard- small, dark gray tom with blue eyes

Second in Command: Haze- misty gray she-cat with pale yellow eyes and a scar over one eye

Highest-Ranked Soldier: Shatter- black-and-white tom

Elite Soldiers:

Freeze- huge white tom

Frost- white she-cat with a white mark on her nose

Fleet- dappled gray tom

Snare- dark ginger she-cat

Cobra- black tom with a red flash on his nose

Ghost- misty gray-and-white tom

Under-Level Soldiers:

Pike- ginger tom with long legs

Briar- honey-brown tabby she-cat

Flame- pale ginger tom


PROLOGUE:

The moon hung high in the sky, a luminous orb, bathing ThunderClan territory in its fierce, white light. Silverpelt twinkled, watching down on its predecessors with a curious gaze and shining as pinpricks in the night sky.

Dovewing watched these very stars, finding comfort in their bright hue and lying, content, beside her mate of five moons, Bumblestripe. The tabby-striped tom rested his head on her swollen stomach, sighing blissfully as he slept. The grey queen cast a loving glance at her mate, purring quietly. "Our kits will be beautiful," she murmured, stroking her stomach with a very soft tail-tip.

Bumblestripe rolled over, blinking open his blue eyes sleepily and smiling at the sight of his beloved. "What are you thinking about?" He murmured, licking her cheek.

Dovewing smiled back, blinking. "Our kits," she meowed softly, snuggling up next to her mate and looking back up at Silverpelt.

Bumblestripe followed her gaze, purring. "Our ancestors are watching over us," he commented quietly, butting her affectionately with his head. He rose to his paws, shaking out his sleep-pressed fur. "Would you care to join me on a walk?"

"I would love to," Dovewing purred, rising to her paws. She pressed against Bumblestripe, enjoying the feeling of their fur brushing as they padded leisurely towards the camp entrance.

Mousewhisker nodded to them as they left before turning back towards the territory, his eyes fixed on the forest beyond the thorny entrance.

Icecloud met Dovewing's gaze, winking before turning away. Dovewing blushed, pressing her face into Bumblestripe's pelt.

As they reached the forest, Bumblestripe paused, gazing up at the sky with wide, blue eyes. "The forest is so beautiful at night," he commented, turning to face her. "Just like you."

Dovewing glowed under the compliment and purred loudly. "I am no more beautiful than you are handsome," she praised, twining her tail with his and pressing against him. She sat beside him, gazing out at the lake, which gleamed with the reflection of Silverpelt, and at the island which was no more than a pinprick against the dark water.

"It feels like the Clans have always lived here," Bumblestripe commented, sitting down beside her and wrapping his tabby-striped tail over his paws.

Dovewing glanced over at him, warmth filling her gaze. "And we always will."

Bumblestripe purred, licking her cheek. "Our kits will grow old and have kits of their own, and our blood will be kept by the lake forever." He knocked her over gently with a soft paw so that she lay on the cool earth and gently lay beside her, resting his head on her neck. They remained that way, silent and staring out at the sparkling water, at peace.

Many heartbeats passed and the moon began to sink on the horizon and the sun began to rise, shedding rays out and bathing the tree tops in a powerful red-gold. Dovewing had slipped into a faint slumber when a sudden crunching noise woke her. She raised her head, narrowing her eyes as the sound continued from a few tail-lengths away. She nudged Bumblestripe, hissing into his ear, "Someone's here, we need to hide."

The tom blinked at her, still sleepy, and protested, "Why can we not see who it is first?"

Dovewing hesitated, flicking her tail. "It... Something just doesn't feel right," she meowed, looking over her shoulder at him. "Come on!" She ran over to a nearby tree, a sprawling birch, and paused, looking over at her mate. "Could you give me a boost?"

Bumblestripe nodded, nudging her hindquarters with his head until she was being pushed upwards. Dovewing quickly clambered up onto a low branch before jumping up to the next one.

"Eeech!" She cried out as she swayed, nearly falling to the ground below.

Bumblestripe was at her side in an instant. "Careful," he warned, pressing against her. "Don't go too fast."

"I know how to climb trees!" Dovewing huffed, jumping to the next branch and sending a shower of leaves down onto her mate. "I just did two moons ago when I was helping train Seedpaw!"

Bumblestripe laughed quietly. "But, no offense, you were much lighter then," he meowed in amusement.

Dovewing's whiskers twitched and she rolled her eyes. "You were the one that made this happen, not me." She jumped to the next branch before stopping, looking back at him.

The tabby tom jumped up beside her, looking at her skeptically. "Oh Bumblestripe, Honeykit is so cute! Kits are so adorable! Oh Bumblestripe, we should have kits," he mocked, grinning at her.

Dovewing snorted, turning back to look at the ground. "We should be fine on this branch," she confirmed, crouching with her tail hanging below her.

Bumblestripe nodded in agreement, opening his mouth to speak- but before he could utter a word, a high-pitched squeal erupted from below them.

The two ThunderClan cats looked down to see three cats walking beneath them. A misty grey she-cat, the one whom had made the sound, rounded on a large black-and-white tom. "Look what you did, you idiot!" She gestured to her face, where a long scratch ran over her eye, blood trickling from the fresh wound.

The tom grunted. "Well you should be quiet- you'll scare them away before we get there!"

Dovewing narrowed her eyes.

There? Where is there?

The third cat, a dark grey tom, spun around, his blue eyes gleaming with fury. "Just shut up! You two haven't stopped quarreling since we left!" He sighed heavily, shaking his broad head and muscling his way to the front of the trio. "Just keep your mouths closed and follow me!"

They began to walk again, eyes scanning their surroundings.

Dovewing let out her breath, sighing in relief.

They didn't see us.

Bumblestripe turned to her, relief shining in his eyes as well. "We have to go warn Bramblestar," he decided, bunching his muscles in preparation to jump down.

"Wait!" Dovewing meowed, holding him back with her tail. "If we go on the ground they'll surely see us," she reasoned, her eyes wide.

"Well then, what do you propose we do?" Bumblestripe's gaze was full of disbelief. "We can't just hop from tree to tree like squirrels!" His gaze darkened as Dovewing smirked. "No no no no Dovewing..." he warned, shaking his head rapidly. "We can't..."

"Yes we can," Dovewing grinned from ear to ear. "We did during the Battle of the Stars! Come on!" She crouched, moving forward until she clung to the edge of the branch. She turned back, looking at Bumblestripe. "You coming?" She then jumped, her heart pounding in her chest as she hung in the air for a moment before landing gracefully in the branches of another tree.

Bumblestripe shook his head in disbelief before leaping after her, laughing. "You always were a crazy one!"

The two laughed, leaping from tree to tree, never slipping, until the ThunderClan camp came into view.

"Come on!" Dovewing leapt down from the tree, running towards the camp entrance, Bumblestripe hot on her heels. They skidded to a halt beneath the HighLedge, flanks heaving with the effort.

Squirrelflight looked down at them, surprise lighting her green eyes as she paused, a forepaw still in the air, midway through washing. "Is something the matter?" She quickly re-established a look of superiority, sitting upright and wrapping her fluffy tail over her paws, narrowing her eyes; the ginger she-cat had been trying extremely hard to be the perfect deputy, wanting to impress her leader and recent mate, Bramblestar.

Bumblestripe cleared his throat, shuffling his large paws. "We have seen three cats padding through our territory, looking for something." He paused, drawing in a breath. "A tom appears to be leading, with a she-cat and a large tom. They have... collars."

The ginger deputy snorted, tossing her broad head. "Kittypets." She turned, beginning to pad away.

"Wait!" Dovewing called after the elder she-cat, panic lighting her chest.

She doesn't believe us!

Squirrelflight looked over her shoulder, faint annoyance clouding her gaze. "What?"

The grey queen blinked. "They had... teeth in their collars," she mumbled.

Squirrelflight's reaction was not subtle- her spine stiffened, claws unsheathed, and a look of pure horror lit her eyes. "I will tell Bramblestar immediately," she whispered, whipping around and hurrying into the tabby leader's den.

Dovewing turned to Bumblestripe, sighing. "I wonder-". She stopped as she heard rustling above them, looking up.

Bramblestar stood above them, his eyes gleaming amber in the sunlight. "I need you to tell me everything you saw."


I edited the original chapter because it was really rushed and not very informative. :\

To any new readers, you now cannot see who gets picked until a few chapters in! I will be editing all of the chapters because there are lots of mistakes, grammarwise and plotwise.

~Splash :P