Hai guys, Ciara here. This is a new story I've been working on (actually no it just popped into my head and I'm writing this as I go along with absolutely no plan whatsoever - I do that for every story I write though) If you didn't read the summary- This's about a.. oh whatever. I can't be bothered to explain. Read the summary. xD

(Based around the beginning of Sunrise, when Sorreltail, Brackenfur, Firedtar, Brambleclaw and Lionblaze are coming back from their patrol to WindClans' camp, asking them if they saw anything to do with Ashfur's death)

Enjoy!

Chapter One

Natiya felt the rain lash against her back and soak her pelt. The ground was soggy and muddy beneath her paws. But worse then all that was the feeling of pain that made her heart heavy.

She had been driven out of her group for bringing back less then satisfactory prey. Really, she thought that they had just outcasted her so it would be one less belly to fill for the group. With one of the she-cats expecting kits, there would be more members of the Rogue group to feed.

Natiya didn't really know why she was so sad. The rogue group she had been a part of wasn't exactly a nice loving, caring community. It was a sport there to kill any unsuspecting cat that just happened to wander into their territory and the first thing you learnt as a kit was how to use your claws in the right way- extending them to their full length, sharpening them and learning how the best battle move was to hook your claws into the cats stomach and rip. Not nice.

But it was where her sister was and wherever family lived was home.

She wondered about Nala. Her sister had never been the most vicious of cats, but then again she was smart and can this uncanny ability of reading people emotions and thoughts- knowing when they were hesitating to kill or thinking bad thoughts about Slash, the Rogue Clan Leader.

That was why Nala was so important to Slash. He used her to sought out betrayal and hesitation among his group. Natiya shivered, remembering what Slash had used to do to those who Nala had discovered betraying and hesitating. It hasn't been pretty, not in the least.

"Lionblaze!"

Natiya's head shot up. What had that been? She tasted the air and realisation came rushing to her with an unpleasant bump! She had been so caught up on thought that she'd wandered onto another group of cats territory. And by the scent of it, this group was quite big.

She turned to run out of the territory but cat pawsteps thundered towards her and Natiya could tell even if she sprinted she wouldn't be able to get out of sight before the cat those pawsteps belonged to saw her.

Soon, a big muscular golden tabby tom appeared. "Firestar!" He yowled triumphantly. "I told you I scented a rogue in our territory."

Immediately, four cats appeared behind him. A ginger tom with flashing green eyes, a dark brown tom whose amber eyes burned into my pelt, a tortoiseshell and white she-cat and a golden brown tom who stood quite close to the she-cat, indicating that they were either mates or family.

With the golden tabby tom in the lead, all five of them raced towards her.

"Who are you?" The golden tabby tom asked Natiya, almost curiously.

"Natiya," She responded, raising her chin a bit, letting them know she was not to be intimidated.

The ginger tom pushed his way to the front and the golden brown tom stepped aside to let him take centre place, telling her the ginger tom was a cat to be respected. "Tell me Natiya," he mewed. "What is your business on ThunderClan territory?"

ThunderClan. Natiya thought. Weird name. But out loud she said, "My business is my own." She was not about to tell these strangers her backstory.

"I suggest you tell us," the dark brown tabby tom mewed. "We outnumber you five to one."

"Do you think I am a scared little house-cat?" She snarls at them. "I will not give in to your threats."

"Oh it wasn't a threat," the golden tabby tom mewed and without warning he jumped on her, claws unsheathed.

Natiya unsheathed her claws and within an instant they were rolling around, slashing and biting at eachother.

He swiped her nose and she felt wet blood well up there immediately. She retaliated by hooking her claws like she had been taught in the rogue group as a kit and dug them into his shoulders.

He tried to shake her off but she held tight, then using her back legs to batter his stomach, leaving deep scratches. She rolled him so that she was in the top and she was in the bottom. She unhooked her claws from his shoulders and quickly swiped his neck before he could do anything.

She couldn't hook her claws into his shoulders again in time to stop the oncoming strikes from his fore paws so she jumped off him, getting ready to swipe his back from the side. But the golden tabby tom anticipated her jumping off him and was ready.

He stretched out his back leg and she tripped, sprawling unceremoniously onto the forest floor. He then jumped on top of her, restricting all use of her paws, legs and claws. She hissed at him but she knew she was defeated.

"Lionblaze," the ginger tom instructed. "Get off her right now."

The golden tabby tom, Lionblaze, shot her a look then reluctantly jumped off her, retreating to his group where the dark brown tabby tom was giving him a disapproving look.

Natiya quickly jumped up and dusted herself off. Aside from the cut in her nose, which was spewing blood like a boss, she was fine. She smirked at Lionblaze who had cuts and scratches all over, most of all on his stomach. Lionblaze shot her a glare that could probably make flowers wither in heart-beats.

Her gaze switched to the ginger tom who was running his eyes over her, studying her almost. Finally he mewed. "I have a preposition for you Natiya."

I swished my tail. "Yes?"

"How would you like to see ThunderClan camp. We can show you round, teach you our ways and... maybe you'd like to join our Clan."

My eyes shot open and so did Lionblaze's. The she-cats mouth just dropped open and the two other toms, the dark brown tabby and the golden brown one, exchanged glances.

"Are you sure Firestar?" The dark brown tabby asked the ginger tom, uncertainty in his mew.

The ginger tom, Firestar, nodded. "Yes Brambleclaw, you saw how she fought. Lionblaze is one of our best warriors and Natiya nearly bested him!"

Brambleclaw nodded, obviously running it over in his head, but the golden brown tom and the tortoiseshell-and-white she-cat still looked unsure.

Firestar looked at her. "So what do you say Natiya?"

She tried to make out what had just happened. She had just attacked a cat and their leader was just like- Okay. You attacked him and you fought well. Join our Clan!

"Urrr.." She managed.

"We can teach you many battle strategies, how to hunt well and the meaning of the warrior code- the thing that binds us and makes us warriors. We live by it."

The warrior code, Natiya thought. Out of all the benefits Firestar had mentioned, that was the thing she was most interested. What did the warrior code say? What was it like to live by it. Maybe she could join, if only to learn the code.

"Okay," she mewed. "I'll check it out."

Firestar nodded. "Follow us Natiya."

Firestar, Bramblestar, the golden brown tom and the she-cat led the way but Lionblaze walked beside her.

"You fought well," he mewed.

She was surprised. "You're not angry I attacked you?"

"Well to be honest it was me who attacked you," Lionblaze pointed out and Natiya nodded,

"Fair point."

"Hey," Lionblaze laughed. "Don't go puting the blame all on me now."

She grinned. "So what's ThunderClan like?"

"ThunderClan is one of the four Clans around the lake," Lionblaze explained. "We hunt under the trees in the woodland unlike RiverClan, who eat fish, ShadowClan, who hunt beneath the pines, and WindClan, who catch their prey on the moor.

Natiya frowned. "RiverClan..? They eat fish? What, do they swim as well?" Lionblaze nodded and she wrinkled up her nose. "Yuck. Who'd like to swim!?"

Lionblaze nodded. "I'm with you."

"So are your parents in ThunderClan with you?" She asked. Lionblaze immediately closed up. He went quiet for a bit and Natiya frowned. "What? Did I say something wrong?"

He shook his head and tried to take on his bouncy attitude which he'd had before she'd mentioned his parents. "No, it's okay. My parents are Squirrelflight, she's Firestar's daughter, and Brambleclaw, the dark brown tabby up front- he's the deputy."

"Deputy? You mean runner-up to become leader?" Natiya asked.

"Yeah."

"That's weird." She frowned. "In my group we had a Leader and their eldest kit became Leader after they passed."

Lionblaze cocked his head. "Wait, you mean you have a Clan? A group?"

Natiya ducked her head. "HAD a group."

"I'm sorry." And he did truly sound sympathetic.

She shrugged. "It's alright. It's not like it was a comforting place. Definitely not a place to call home. But my sisters there, and It was painful having to leave her."

There was a silence for a while before Lionblaze mewed. "I have litter mates too. Two of them in fact."

"Who?"

"I've got one sister and one brother. Hollyleaf is my sister. She's a warrior like I am. She very loyal to the warrior code and a great hunter. Jayfeather's my brother. He's the Medicine Cat Apprentice. He can be a bit snappy at times but he's true at heart."

"Your littermates sound really nice." Natiya mewed. "My sister Nala and I are," she stopped herself. "-WERE really close. Like, I love her and all, but we hardly got to spend any time together before I got outcasted. She was very close to Slash, our Leader, because of her abilities."

Lionblaze stopped dead. "Abilities?"

She nodded. "Yeah, it's an occasional she-cat thing in our family. Nala can read other cats emotions and thoughts. She was really important to Slash because of it. He used her to find the cats who hesitated to kill and the cats who had bad thoughts about him. What he did to them-"

She shivered, trying to shove the memories of Slash torturing the cats before the whole group out of her head. Lionblaze pressed agasint her. When she'd stopped shivering he asked.

"Your power?" Natiya practically felt the excitement pulsing from him when he asked.

"I haven't discovered mine yet," She shuffled her paws, almost embarrassed.

Lionblaze nodded then mewed. "Just a word of caution, do NOT mention that you have a power when you're here."

Natiya nodded. "Got it. Do you know anyone who has powers here though? Maybe they can help me discover mine."

Lionblaze paused and seemed to be running over things in his head very quickly then mewed. "No. I'm sorry, nobody in ThunderClan has powers."

She sighed. "That's fine."

"Natiya?"

The mew came from up ahead, from Brambleclaw. She padded forwards, Lionblaze still at her side. Brambleclaw guestered to the place in front of her.

Natiya gasped. In front of her was a hollow, milling with cats of every colour. They were all sharing tounges. And the amount of cats- not as many as her group but still lots!

Imagine four clans this size! That would a LOT of cats!

"Welcome, Natiya," Firestar mewed, sounding proud. "To ThunderClan."