Prologue

Waterkit dove into a small pile of crunchy leaves, sending them flying in all directions. Eagletalon's kits laughed behind him as the pale gray tomkit skidded on the dusty ground. Waterkit stood up, shaking his fluffy pelt, then turned without warning and bowled straight into Redkit. The rusty-furred she-kit squealed in surprise and struggled to shove Waterkit off. Stonekit and Shadowkit leaped on top of Waterkit and he lost his grip on Redkit's back, who wriggled out from under him. The pale kit was lost under their three bodies.

Remembering a move he'd seen Fishpaw using, he let himself go limp under their paws. He tried to copy the way the reddish-brown apprentice had slipped from his mentor's grip, wriggling out like a fish. Then Waterkit turned on his denmates again, teeth bared.

Waterkit couldn't imagine anything better than being a member of SkyClan. He was almost an apprentice, too. He wondered who Badgerstar would choose as his mentor.

Waterkit sighed, wishing his mother could be there. She'd died when he was very young, and he only had vague memories of her. He had no littermates; Eagletalon's litter were around half a moon younger than he was. They were fun enough to play with, but Eagletalon wasn't his mother. At least he had his father, Mudtail. The tabby tom was there now, watching the kits play.

The kit was now pinned down once again by Shadowkit, Redkit, and Stonekit. Ears back, he turned on Shadowkit, trapping the dark gray she-kit under himself and her littermates, who immediately changed course and went for Shadowkit. The she-kit struggled underneath them, but couldn't wriggle free.

"Alright, that's enough," Mudtail called from where he sat watching a fox-length away. "Don't hurt her. Let's find something else to do."

All four kits groaned. "But it's fun!"

"I'm sure it's not the only fun thing you could possibly do," Eagletalon put in from where she lay on a rock nearby. "Be creative!"

Waterkit was glad to have mostly a family. He had a father, a mother, and three siblings, even if they weren't all biological.

"I don't want to be creative. I want to hear a story."

"A story." Eagletalon gazed at Shadowkit. "Does anyone else want to hear a story?"

"Yeah!" Waterkit was the first to agree. Eagletalon's stories were the best. Stonekit and Redkit were both nodding in consensus.

"All right, then. This is a true story, so listen closely.

"Many seasons back, SkyClan lived in a forest many miles downstream from here. But they were not the only Clan. There was another, called ThunderClan, and both Clans followed the same warrior code we follow now. The two Clans lived in peace, occasionally having skirmishes and border fights, everything that a cat can expect from the life of a Clan.

"Until one day, the Twolegs came. They pressed on SkyClan's borders, closing in until there was no territory left. The members of SkyClan tried to ask ThunderClan for help, but they had none to offer. SkyClan was forced to leave the forest, and try to find a new place to live.

"They made it to the gorge, and tried to make their home here. The territory suited them well, but they were no longer a true Clan. Their leader had given up faith in StarClan after being driven out of the forest. And when the rats came, they weren't strong enough to defend themselves against them. I've told you about the rats that attacked us again many seasons later, right? They were the same rats. And they were not easily defeated.

"SkyClan lost the battle. The rats were ruthless, and killed many cats that night. The surviving warriors broke apart, becoming rogues or even kittypets.

"SkyClan died. They were even less of a Clan than they had been, giving up on not only StarClan but on their own Clanmates. And so they stayed that way, for too many seasons to count. The remnants of the Clan died, and their kits forgot who they were. ThunderClan had forgotten they ever existed.

"Until one day, StarClan called on the current leader of ThunderClan. His name was Firestar. StarClan told him the story of SkyClan, and begged him for help to reassemble the lost Clan. And Firestar made the journey of many miles to help him.

"Firestar's job wasn't easy. The descendants of the Clan didn't know who they were. They were just kittypets with very strong haunches. But he managed to get them together. He told them about the warrior code. Some of the cats decided to be a part of the Clan; others didn't. But the ones that did, learned quickly. Firestar taught them what they needed to know, all about the honor and selflessness of being part of a Clan.

"Firestar couldn't stay forever. He had a life back in the forest where he came from. But before he left, he appointed Leafstar, our Clan's very first leader after being reunited here in the gorge. Her name will always be remembered. But not so much as Firestar's, the cat who saved our Clan."

"Wow," Waterkit breathed as Eagletalon finished her story. He'd always thought SkyClan was the only Clan. Now that he knew there was another, he wondered about them. What were they like? Did StarClan watch them, too? What was the forest like, where they lived?

But Waterkit didn't ask any of these questions. Instead, he asked, "What happened to ThunderClan? Are they still there?"

Eagletalon rested her muzzle on Waterkit's head. "I don't know, dear. I don't know."