A/N: Behold, reviewers: the allegiances and prologue for Binding Ties. I was sparse in listing the Clan cats other than ThunderClan, but it's waste of my time to think up names of cats I'll never mention. Also, I need votes: since I began writing By the Fire of the Sun before Starlight came out, I made up my own territories. Should I switch to the forest of the real Warriors books, or stick to my own? Majority will rule, so please advise.

;-;-;-;

ThunderClan

Leader: Mudstar: mottled brown tom

Deputy: Sunfire: beautiful golden-red she-cat; green eyes

Medicine Cat: Rootclaw: small brown she-cat

Warriors: Jaywing: thickset blue-gray tom

Quickriver: pale brown she-cat

Badgerclaw: brindled gray tom with a black face and a white stripe up his nose and forehead

Icestorm: handsome tom with medium-long, silver-tipped white fur; deep blue eyes

Raintail: small white she-cat with a long, gray tail; pale blue eyes

Morningcloud: stocky she-cat with very pale gray, almost white, fur --Apprentice, Hailpaw

Rustystripe: dark orange tabby tom

Softsteps: cream-colored she-cat; amber eyes

Fogdrift: thickset dark gray tom

Granitestone: brindled gray tom with black rings around his eyes and white feet –Apprentice, Dapplepaw

Flickerpool: pretty, sleek black she-cat with dark gold throat, chest, and underbelly; bright yellow eyes

Frozenstream: she-cat with deep green eyes and medium-long white fur tipped with silver (dusting of dark gray fur along flanks and forehead)

Firestorm: dark golden-red tom; deep blue eyes

Apprentices: Dapplepaw: tortoiseshell-and-white she-cat with white legs and distinct black paws

Hailpaw: thickset white tom, peppered with many shades of gray

Queens: Yellowflower: yellow she-cat; the oldest nursery queen

Dewdrop: spotted silver tabby she-cat (Kit: Copperkit)

Nightwhisker: long-haired black she-cat (expecting kits)

Elders: Sorrelflower: tortoiseshell-and-white she-cat; the oldest cat in ThunderClan

Treeshadow: dark gray tabby tom, formerly the medicine cat

RiverClan

Leader: Ravenstar: sleek black she-cat

Deputy: Ringthroat: dark gray tabby tom; thick ring of white fur around neck and throat

Medicine Cat: Fastwind: tom, white with brown patches --Apprentice, Thornpaw

Warriors: Acornfur: dark brown tom

Ashstreak: pale gray she-cat with darker streaks --Apprentice, Beechpaw

Dustyflower: pale brown spotted tabby she-cat

Whitewind: swift white she-cat

Rockclaw: long-haired gray tabby tom

Queens: Hollyberry: tortoiseshell-and-white she-cat

ShadowClan:

Leader: Hickorystar: dark brown tom

Deputy: Foxtooth: very dark ginger tom --Apprentice, Mosspaw

Medicine Cat Lightfoot: dark gold she-cat

Warriors: Rosefur: calico she-cat

Prickerfang: brown-gray tom

Whirlwind: tom with mottled gray, black, white, and ginger fur

Racingstream: swift, pale gray she-cat --Apprentice, Chestnutpaw

Queens: Waterspeckle: white she-cat, speckled with silver

WindClan:

Leader: Reedstar: pale creamy-brown tom

Deputy: Streamrush: silver spotted tabby she-cat

Medicine Cat: Onyxstone: black tom

Warriors: Willowstream: long-haired gray she-cat

Glintfur: black she-cat sprinkled with gold --Apprentice, Maplepaw

Owlfeather: lithe, dark brown tom

Queens: Breezeflower: very pale brown tabby she-cat

Cats Outside Clans:

Pinefur: mottled brown-and-gray she-cat; a loner, formerly of RiverClan (Kit: Woodsmoke)

Woodsmoke: light brown spotted tabby tom; about four moons old

Briar: brown spotted tabby tom; Pinefur's mate

Hawkclaw: mottled red-and-brown tom; a rogue formerly of ThunderClan

Bracken That Grows In Moorland (Bracken): golden-brown tom of the Tribe, temporarily living with ThunderClan

;-;-;-;

A nearly full moon hung in the velvet sky, casting its silver glow upon the forest. Thin, ragged clouds drifted across the sky, partially shrouding the moon, dimming its light only slightly. A thin drizzle fell, silver droplets streaming smoothly down the nearly-leafless trees. A crisp chill was carried through the forest on a light breeze.

Two cats raced silently through the forest, one lithe, the other stocky. The slender one, a she-cat, dashed after her companion, her paws skimming over the rain-dampened ground. The tom, ahead of her, had his long, banner-like tail streaming out behind him. He glanced over his shoulder, saw how close his pursuer was, and sped up.

The pair had been sticking to the shadows, but now the tom darted into a wide pool of moonlight. His two-tone fur shimmered with a dazzling light, silver as the stars above. Sensing he was no longer being chased, his ceased running and looked around.

His pursuer had dropped like a stone, and lay hidden in a swath of ferns. Heart pounding with the thrill of the chase, she breathed quickly but silently, her eyes fixed on the white-silver tom. She gazed admiringly at the way the tom's pelt glimmered in the moonlight, but she was not jealous; her own pelt blazed like flame when she stood in full sunlight.

The tom slowly began retracing his steps, his deep blue gaze sweeping the undergrowth. The she-cat tensed, and with hardly a tell-tale rustle, flew out of the ferns and pounced heavily on the tom, bowling him over. The pair tumbled across the pool of moonlight, losing momentum one tail-length away from the shadows. Panting slightly, the she-cat stepped off the tom, waving her tail merrily. The tom rolled to his feet, shaking scraps of moss and dirt from his pelt.

"StarClan above!" he murmured. "I feel like an apprentice again." He looked at his companion. "It's been too long since we ran through the forest together like this, Sunfire."

Sunfire, now grooming her disheveled fur, snorted and said dryly, "Well, Mudstar expects his warriors to act like he does: just going about their duties, never taking a break." She picked a sizeable wad of earth out of her fur, spat it out, and continued, "He's hardly let us sleep since that rogue attack; forget about spending time with our friends, we have to renew the scent markings every ten heartbeats!" She shook herself. "For StarClan's sake, the rogues attacked two moons ago! You'd think he could give it a rest!"

Icestorm shrugged. "He's just doing what he thinks it best." He padded to Sunfire's side and brushed his cheek against hers to calm her. After a moment he said quietly, "You just don't believe he's as good a leader as Lightningstar was."

Sunfire lifted a lip. "I don't agree with the way he leads the Clan. He makes a better deputy than leader."

Icestorm said nothing, only nudged Sunfire gently. "Come on," he mewed. "I bet the lake looks great tonight, even with the clouds and rain." He began to lead the way.

Sunfire followed. "At least Mudstar gave them good warrior names," she said, referring to their children. She swelled with pride at the thought of her kits, who had received their warrior names at sundown yesterday. She would have liked to have mentored one of them herself, but she knew such a thing was rarely done. Besides, the mentors they had received were good: Jaywing for Firestorm, Nightwhisker for Flickerpool, and Rustystripe for Frozenstream.

She took a deep breath of the night air. Despite the chill, the rain dampening her coat, and the mud and soggy moss collecting between her toes, Sunfire was content; this was truly the first real moment of peace she'd gotten in so long.

Reaching the lakeshore, she settled on a clump of dying ferns and, after giving Icestorm a purr and lick on the ear, gazed up at the sky. The rain clouds were thickening, and the drizzle strengthening; Sunfire suspected it could be a full downpour before dawn. Only the faintest glow of the moon was visible now, and the unlit lake surface was ink-black. Ripples caused by raindrops were all over the water, tiny waves that died out within heartbeats.

A flicker of movement near the center of the lake caught Sunfire's eye; turning her head slightly, she squinted against the rain, but all she could discern was a darkish smudge. She glanced at Icestorm to see if he had noticed it too, but he had twisted his neck up and was staring absently at the overcast sky.

Her pulse quickened as the smudge came closer at a rapid pace; in ten heartbeats, she recognized Firestar coming towards her. He trotted lightly across the water, ripples dispersing from where his paws struck the lake. Sunfire tried to look over at Icestorm again, but she had become immobile.

Firestar stopped two tail-lengths from the shore, his emerald eyes glimmering even in the dark. Sunfire tried to speak, but could not even open her jaws. A wave of irritation washed over her; she had not seen Firestar for moons, and when the great leader finally appeared before her, the first thing he did was work some magic of StarClan and render her paralyzed and speechless?

"I am sorry I have not been able to speak to you, Sunfire." His voice, deep and regal, was inside her head, as always. "I have been preoccupied up in Silverpelt. I have been seeing flashes of the future in the gazing-pool, and these glimpses have unsettled me. I have spent much of my time trying to understand them, and if they bode ill or good."

"Why have you come now?" thought Sunfire, beginning to feel unnerved. She had always looked her ancestor in the eye when he spoke to her, but now, meeting his gaze made her neck fur rise with uneasiness. Perhaps it was because she had no choice but to look at him.

His eyes glinted with an intensity that Sunfire had never seen before. He recited what sounded like the words to an old story, one he had told so many times he now spoke the words with a certain rhythm: "A forgotten predator will return. Binding ties will be tested and broken, and the sun may rise only after justice is served." He paused, then said quietly, "Remember that, Sunfire. Now farewell." With a wave of his tail, he vanished instantly.

Sunfire quivered slightly. Firestar's words had sent shivers down her spine, even if she did not know what they meant. A single thing was clear in her mind: another prophecy had risen in the forest, one it seemed she alone knew about.

Up in the sky, a single star twinkled through the clouds.