AN: Hello everyone! This is Hawkshadow a.k.a. Valkyrie-Chan666. If you've read my profile then you would guess that I am a BIG Warriors fan! :3 Truthfully, I have written and rewritten this story so many times, I don't even know what to write anymore. This is also another remake. The first time I used Erin Hunter's cats and Clans, then I rewrote it again so I could not plagiarize. Now, this is the third or fourth rewrite (because I wrote the original when I was roughly between 13-15, now I'm 18 and my writing is MUCH better now. I was so embarrassed with my childish writing! So many mistakes! D: I was never happy with it. Still not.).

ANYWAY! I hope that you all will enjoy this and please remember that I will be tweaking a LOT of it. I might change my new plot, too, if I think of something more original. Please review! It makes me feel better when you do :3

-Hawkshadow, out.

Prologue

Moonlight bathes the forest in faint white light. The snow glitters on the ground. The night is peaceful and quiet, tranquil even. A gentle crunching sound can be heard along the snow-covered path as two cats, a tom and a she-cat, walk into the forest depths. Light snowflakes decend to the earth occasionally. The she-cat lifts her muzzle and tastes the air. She looks to her mate, who is carrying two small newborns.

"Are you sure about this? What if the stories are true?" She frets. The tom dips his head, mouth full of fur and unable to respond. His mate paws the snow, hesitating. He finds a shallow spot in the snow and digs a small hole, placing his kits down.

"I know you're worried, but this is for the best. Yes, the forest cats are vicious. Yes, they eat rabbits and birds. No, they do not eat cats." He shakes his head, "My grandfather would tell me stories of his days in the forest. He told me that he use to be one of the wild cats." The she-cat shot her mate an anxious glance. He continued, "My grandfather told me about the code that these cats made and followed. They are honorable, despite their violence." The tom looked down at the two sleeping kits. Only a day old, not even named.

"...If what your grandfather said is true, then our kits have this wild blood in them?" She asked. He nodded, "They will blend right in." He promised. The she-cat looked back where they came from, deep in thought and considering options. Without another word, she picked up her kits and they continued walking.

The gray she-cat peered around at her patrol. A ginger tom, a white tom, and a black tom were with her. "Redfur, has the patrol gathered?" She asked the ginger tom. He dipped his head, "Yes, Moonstar. Everyone is here for the night patrol." Moonstar flicked her tail, "Excellent. Now, you mentioned scenting unfamiliar cat scents in our territory?"

"Yes. They are not Clan scents, however they do not smell like a threat. From what I could tell, our intruders haven't stolen any prey, so food is not what they're after." Redfur reported. Moonstar thought for a moment then, with a swish of her tail, she motioned for her party to move out.

Each cat in turn brushed past the holly bush that blocked the entrance to their camp. Once outside, the white tom turned to his leader, "Moonstar, if these cats aren't a threat, I suggest that we split up and see if we can track them down one on one. If they see a group of us, they might be startled and try to fight us." The she-cat twitched her ear. "That sounds like a sound plan, Skycloud. In that case, since the scents were detected all over our territory, Skycloud will head for the DawnClan border. Blacksky will go to the DayClan border. Redfur will check the area near the Clearing, and I shall make my way to the river." With their destinations assigned, the Clan cats split up.

The black tom squirmed sleepily in his mother's grasp. Trying to get comfortable but not waking up, he settled for nudging his gray sister's back. The kits' mother purred softly to her kits, lulling them back to a deeper sleep. The tom, who was ahead of his mate, stopped abruptly, startling the she-cat. He tasted the air all around them. What was that smell...?

In a slight panic, he whirled around and motioned for the she-cat to put down their kits. Fear sparked in the she-cat's eyes. She didn't want to give up her kits! The tom sweeped his tail in the general direction of where the scent was coming from. Begrudgingly, she set the newborns down. They mewled pitifully against the cold snow on their thin, fluffy pelts. "It's better off this way." He mewed softly to his mate. Her head hanging low, she did not respond. With final goodbyes to their only children, the two cats bounded away and back from whence they came. The kits' squealed and mewled for them to come back. They were alone in the cold snowy forest.

Moonstar stalked through the snow-covered bushes, following a stale scent that was only two days old. This scent was a tom, and judging from the trail she followed he knew exactly where he was going. This worried the Clan leader some. 'It wouldn't do to have rogues know our territory as well as we do.' Moonstar thought. Still quite a ways from the river, she heard a faint noise. Stopping, she perked her ears and focused on the sound. '...It sounds like kits.' She thought. A cold wind blew against her for a moment and she shivered, fluffing her fur up to battle the leafbare chill. 'Kits won't survive in this cold for long.' With that thought, Moonstar dashed through the snow towards the sound.

Getting closer, the crying got louder. Scanning the snow all around her, she had to come to a screeching halt suddenly. There were two kits right in front of her. Both were wriggling in their little snow hole, curling and uncurling trying to get warm. Moonstar blinked.

'I can smell fresh scent from the rogues. They were just here! Did they leave these kits behind?' She thought. Without coming up with an answer, Moonstar picked up the tom and she-kit. 'Either way, I can't let kits freeze to death. Clanborn or not!' Stubbornly, she turned around and bounded back to the camp entrance.

When Moonstar entered the camp alone (the two kits she was carrying fell back to sleep), she noticed a few things. One, her patrol was still out searching and two, Duskpelt was coming out of the nursery with two small bodies in her mouth. Moonstar padded up to the medicine cat and put the kits down, "Greetings, Duskpelt. What are you doing up? It's almost moonhigh."

The black and white she-cat turned and fixed Moonstar with a mournful gaze. "Hello Moonstar. Rosefoot called for me. She had her kits just a moment ago."

"Really? That's wonderful to hear."

The medicine cat shook her head, "I wish I could say the same, however, they were both stillborns..." She flicked her tail to the two lifeless bodies behind her. Moonstar's ears flattened. "Oh, my, that's bad." Then an idea hit. "Duskpelt, is Rosefoot still awake?"

"I would think so, why?"

Moonstar looked down at her paws, where the black tom and gray she-kit lay sleeping between her paws. Duskpelt's eyes followed Moonstar's, and her blue eyes widened. "Moonstar! Wh-Where did these two come from?"

Moonstar slapped her gray tail across the medicine cat's muzzle, "Not so loud Duskpelt! I found these two while out on patrol. I need to speak with Rosefoot." Removing her tail from her Clanmate's mouth, the black she-cat nodded slowly. "One moment, then." Duskpelt entered the nursery once more and a couple heartbeats later she was accompanied by a white she-cat.

"Moonstar? How may I help you at this time of night?" the white queen asked wearily. She was still grieving over her two dead kits and refused to look at their corpses lying a foxlength away from her. "Rosefoot, I know you are going through a difficult time, but I need to ask you a favor." Rosefoot tilted her head, waiting for her to continue. The Clan leader moved her tail aside and revealed the kits. Rosefoot's eyes widened. "Wha-?"

"Rosefoot. I want to ask you to raise these two kits as your own. I know they're not replacements for the kits you just lost, but I know they will grow well with you."

Both Rosefoot and Duskpelt looked at their leader with suprise. "Moonstar, are you saying you want me to lie to the Clan? Lie to Ebonynight?" Rosefoot mewed.

Moonstar shook her head, "Tomorrow we shall talk to Ebonynight, but I wish to keep these kits' origins a secret. It's the middle of leafbare, the Clan will not take well to foreign mouths to feed. However! If we raise them to be warriors, it will strengthen NightClan."

The two she-cats shared an uneasy look. Duskpelt looked back at the sleeping kits. "Where did these two come from?"

Moonstar was silent for a heartbeat, "...I will explain all tomorrow, once we speak to Ebonynight."

Rosefoot glanced from the kits to Moonstar, then back again. "...Very well. I will agree to take care of these kits." Moonstar nodded, dipping her head to hide how releaved she really was. She had a soft spot for kits. "Thank you, Rosefoot. I knew I made the right decision when I chose you."

Moonstar and Duskpelt helped Rosefoot move the kits into her nest. As soon as the two were laid next to Rosefoot's belly, they nestled up next to her and purred contently in their sleep. Rosefoot looked up at Moonstar and mewed, "Do they have names?" Moonstar shook her head. "Then I guess I'll wait til tomorrow and name them with Ebonynight." Rosefoot concluded.

Moonstar and Duskpelt left the nursery just as Redfur was returning with the patrol. "Moonstar, there you are! You suddenly disappeared and we couldn't find you." Redfur mewed. The leader dipped her head, "My apologies, Redfur. I had some business to tend to." Blacksky and Skycloud looked at each other, but said nothing. Moonstar's deputy bowed, "Very well. We searched the whole area and found no signs of the intruders."

"I found old scents but nothing more. I suppose they have moved on?" Moonstar offered, clearly hiding her findings.

Redfur took the bait, "I would think so."

"Very well then. Good night, Redfur."

"You too, Moonstar."

The three warriors went back into the warriors den and Moonstar walked with Duskpelt to the medicine cat's den. "Moonstar," Duskpelt started, "About those two kits...How long do you plan on keeping their identities a secret?" The medicine cat couldn't help but wonder why her leader was so willing to accept an outsiders kits into NightClan. Moonstar dismissed the question with a wave of her tail. "Not long, I can assure you."

"StarClan might get angry with us harboring two k-"

"Need I remind you," Moonstar interjected, an icyness lacing her mew, "The warrior code says to assist kits from any Clan. I'm sure that StarClan would be more angry with NightClan if we were to leave these kits to die in the leafbare snow."

Startled, the she-cat dipped her head. "Y-Yes, of course, you're right Moonstar. It is our duty to help all kits, no matter their origins."

"Of course." Moonstar turned to Duskpelt as they approached the medicine cat's den, "Sleep well, Duskpelt."

"You too, Moonstar."