A/N: If anyone ever wanted the book Midnight but through the point of view of Stormfur, well, here it is. Except now it's rated M. And there's an incestuous pairing. You have been warned. This first chapter, however, is G, but the next chapter earns its M. Slow-burn, eventual smut.

RiverClan was his home.

Or so he thought, anyhow. It had been many, many moons since the blood-filled battle between the briefly formed LionClan and BloodClan; a victory had only been snatched due to the heroics of the youngest leader, Firestar. Stormfur could only feel a cold rush of resentment as he thought about his own leader – Leopardstar – during these events.

And although the battle itself had been terrifying in the we are fighting cats who have no code and do not care about killing others in battle sense, the gray tom could recall it without his fur spiking up instantly. What scared him the most was the united TigerClan, which was a combination between ShadowClan and his own. He couldn't believe his eyes when he watched his leader, the proud yet careful Leopardstar, readily accept Tigerstar's leadership over hers.

It was easier to believe once Tigerstar's new rhetoric of half-clan hatred washed over the newly formed clan, and him and his sister Feathertail, along with their mentors – Stonefur and Mistyfoot – were imprisoned together. The truth was hard to swallow, even as he watched it unfold. Stonefur was the RiverClan deputy, for StarClan's sake! How could Leopardstar let this happen?

Back then, he wasn't even a warrior; he was Stormpaw, and his sister Featherpaw was similarly small and young. Stonefur and Mistyfoot had tried their best to calm the apprentices the best they could seeing as they were also prisoners, and reflecting on it now, Stormfur felt a pang of admiration for their courage. He and Feathertail had considered that they might be killed under Tigerstar's leadership. His mentor, Stonefur, appearing strong despite starving had quietly reassured them: "I won't let anything happen to you. I'll fight until my last breath." That was the last day he saw his mentor; he had kept his promise until the end.

Stormfur gritted his teeth at the memories, shutting his eyes tight as to try to contain the emotion. While they briefly received refuge in ThunderClan, the death of Tigerstar and the victory over BloodClan resolved the chaos within the clans – for the most part. Stormfur and Feathertail decided to return to RiverClan, despite what had happened; it was their home after all, and they had lost many cats in the battle. Mistyfoot, too, was resolute as she returned to her clan. Before the great battle, Leopardstar offered her the position of deputy – and the blue she-cat was determined to bring justice to her brother's memory.

Stormfur appreciated that Leopardstar had attempted to make amends and not push it aside completely, at the very least. Feathertail was a lot more forgiving, saying, "it wasn't her who hated half-clan cats, you know," to which Stormfur could only bite his tongue in an attempt to hold his retort but she let it happen anyway.

But that was his sister for you: bright and warm like the sun, and ever so gentle and calm, like the rivers that their clan was named after. The light gray tabby was so beautiful and full of life, Stormfur felt his heart ache at the thought of it being snatched away from her for something neither of them could have changed. It was then that the tom decided he would protect her always.

Stormfur shook his head, moving to stretch from his position beside the river. He had intended to go hunting alone to clear his head, but it seemed that he just got lost in thought instead. The sun began to fall, and thus the land was dyed in an orange light. There were birds singing in the nearby forest. The rushing of the water, however, nearly drowned out the sound.

"Stormfur!"

The muscular tom spun around at the call, brought out of his thoughtful state. He visibly relaxed when he saw the familiar form of his sister approaching, a warm expression on his face as he regarded her. "Hey," he murmured.

The she-cat had stopped beside him, nudging him softly in greeting. "Where have you been?" Her bushy tail wrapped around her lithe form, returning his gaze. "You usually don't take so long to hunt…" She paused for a moment, looking around briefly, "…though, you haven't been, huh?"

He shrugged in response, feeling a little guilty seeing Feathertail's concerned eyes. He looked towards the river, brushing his tail lightly against her. "I know it's been moons since it happened but… don't you ever think about it?"

Feathertail needed no further explanation of what he had been talking about. She softened, moving closer to press her warm fur against his. "Of course I do," she soothed, nuzzling against his cheek. "But everything's okay now – in fact, things have never felt so peaceful."

But Stormfur couldn't be so sure. He had always been cautious, especially after nearly losing Feathertail. He had a looming feeling of something bad that he couldn't brush off, but the weight he felt eased slightly with the pretty she-cat nearby. He offered her a half-smile in response, nosing her ear affectionately.

They sat for awhile as the sun set, watching the orange light disappear. Night had settled over the land, clear skies giving a magnificent view of the bright stars. It was the most relaxed Stormfur felt for a long time.

"There you are!" A female voice called, and the two cats were broken out of their reverie once more. Stonefur turned to watch the approaching figure of Mistyfoot, the current clan deputy. "You know you shouldn't be out here after dusk," she chided, although she hadn't the heart to scold them harshly.

Mistyfoot was a dignified and proper deputy, and was not usually afraid to scold unruly cats. However, she had a soft spot for Stormfur and especially Feathertail, considering she had mentored her. In fact, she almost shook with emotion as she watched their warrior ceremony. That ceremony meant more for them: it meant that Stonefur's sacrifice was not in vain. They were alive.

"Sorry, Mistyfoot," Feathertail apologized for the both of them. Stormfur stood up with a brisk lick to his chest; it was about time they headed back to camp. He had been here nearly all day!

"It's alright," Mistyfoot touched her muzzle to Feathertail's shoulder affectionately, "I just don't want anything happening to you two."

The blue-gray she-cat turned away, padding away towards camp in obvious expectation that the younger warriors would follow. She had eyed Stormfur for a moment, but apparently did not expect an explanation from the tom for his lack of prey after all this time.

The three cats made it back to the RiverClan camp, greeted by any clanmates who were still awake. Mistyfoot waved her tail in goodbye at the two cats, then went on her way to speak with Leopardstar.

Stormfur and Feathertail returned to the warrior's den, laying down in their nests that were practically beside each other. It was currently leaf-fall, so there was a chill that settled in during the night. It was mostly silent, other than the quiet snores coming from the sleeping cats nearby.

Feathertail snuggled closer to the gray tom, her blue eyes bright in the dark of the den. "If you ever need to talk, I'm here," she murmured softly. "I don't like it when you go off alone." He knew she didn't intend to make him feel worse, but he couldn't help but feel bad for worrying her. She was the light of his life.

Stormfur gave his sister a few licks at the top of her head, purring quietly as he wrapped his tail around her. "Don't worry about me, Feathertail," he meowed quietly, his amber eyes warmer than ever as he pressed close to her.

"Thank you for always taking care of me," the gray tabby replied sleepily, closing her eyes and snuggling comfortably against her brother. "But I want to be there for you, too."

Maybe if he had better foresight, he would have known at that moment that he was truly screwed.

Stormfur awoke in a daze, blinking blearily as he felt sleepiness still weighing down his limbs. Was it already morning…? After a moment, he realized that the dark cover of night still enveloped the camp although the sun was rising in the distance, and he yawned as he prepared to go right back to sleep.

That was, until, he felt a movement beside him. "Feathertail?" he whispered quietly, glancing at his sister. He got no response, however, as he looked at the sleeping form of his sister, who appeared to be having fitful dreams.

He was no stranger to those, and it was more often that Feathertail was the one woken from his nightmares (he guiltily realized that while she lost sleep for it, he usually never realized. She would snuggle close to him and speak quietly in an attempt to soothe him without waking him up, a fact he only knew because he did wake up, once).

He moved to curl around the smaller cat, purring gently as he groomed her fur while she slept. The gray tom did this until he felt sleep once again close his eyelids, letting his mind drift into dreams.

The tom woke up once again, this time in the bright light of day. However, he instantly felt a chill as he noticed that there was a presence missing. He sat on his haunches, moving to arch his back to stretch with a yawn. He frowned as he looked around, confirming what he thought: Feathertail wasn't here.

He knew she was on the afternoon patrol with him today, so there wouldn't have been an urgent reason for her to wake up early. Besides, she usually made a point to say good morning or wake him up if it was late.

His ears perked as a fellow warrior and his own foster-mother, Mosspelt, poked her head in the den. "Oh, Stormfur, you're awake!" she meowed, "It's nearly sunhigh, you know. I know you were out late, but that's no excuse for sleeping in!"

The gray cat made a huff of amusement, moving to the entrance of the den as Mosspelt moved aside to let him through. "Well, thanks for your concern." She was telling the truth; the sun was nearly at the highest point in the sky, and the RiverClan camp was illuminated brightly by the light.

"You obviously take after your lazy father, unlike Feathertail! She was up bright and early, and she was up as late as you were," The tortoiseshell she-cat nudged him good-naturedly. Stormfur rolled his eyes; he knew Mosspelt was just joking, otherwise he might have gotten annoyed.

"Yeah, yeah, we can't all be perfect," he shrugged dramatically.

The she-cat grinned in response, before mellowing out a little. "Ah, anyway, I just came to tell you that we're going on patrol soon: you, your sister, and Hawkfrost. And me! You might want to eat something, but be ready." And with that, the tortoiseshell left him alone.

Stormfur paused for a moment, scanning the camp for his littermate. He could see Mudfur and Mothwing outside the medicine den, with Mudclaw apparently testing Mothwing on her knowledge of herbs. Dawnflower, currently the only RiverClan queen, sat in the clearing, watching her kits play in the warmth of the sun. There were many other cats out and about, but not the one he was looking for.

A moment later, Stormfur stood up as he saw Feathertail pad into camp. He went over to her, his brows furrowed as he approached. "Where did you go?"

The light grey-tabby she-cat looked absolutely radiant as she sat in the sun, water glinting on her coat. "Oh! Just for a swim," she meowed, and to any other cat, nothing would have looked amiss. But Stormfur could see the worry in her eyes, however much she tried to hide it.

He nosed her shoulder affectionately. "You can tell me anything," he mewed earnestly, reflecting her earlier words.

Feathertail just looked away for a moment, shaking her head. "Everything's fine, Stormfur, really," she replied. It was obvious that she didn't want to talk about it, which worried the tom; they never kept secrets from each other.

"Are you two ready to go, then?" Mosspelt called, approaching the two cats. Hawkfrost was beside her, his features as expressive as never, although Stormfur was sure he was impatient by the way he was kneading at the ground.

With one last glance at Feathertail who was still avoiding his gaze, Stormfur tilted his broad head in affirmation. "Yeah, let's go."

By the time the four cats finished their patrol, the sun was beginning to set. And while Stormfur had tried to distract himself with his hunting during the patrol, he couldn't help but notice that Feathertail missed catching a fish – and she was a fantastic hunter, normally. He could tell that her mind was elsewhere, and it only made him more concerned.

Stormfur watched as Hawkfrost proudly placed his three catches down on the fresh-kill pile, making sure Leopardstar saw his achievements. He padded over to place his one fish down, while Feathertail distractedly placed her shrew down. Both of them could do better, but they were both distracted in their own way, it seemed.

He noted that Feathertail had gone over to rest on the side of the clearing afterwards, apparently forgetting to even eat. The gray tom snatched up one of the larger fish, taking it over to the she-cat. "I can't force you to talk to me if you don't want to," Stormfur started, "but could you at least eat something?" He nudged the silver fish towards her, about to return to the pile to get his own meal.

Blue eyes met his, and he felt his heart pang. "You can eat with me," she offered with an unsure smile. "Unless…"

"Of course I will," the gray tom settled down beside her, taking a bite of the fish, the savoury flavors satisfying his hunger. He couldn't help but notice that she hardly ate, but at least she had something.

They had shared tongues in silence after, and soon the moon was high, night falling over the clans once more. When he had suggested that they go sleep, Feathertail had agreed quietly and they made their way to the warriors den. Perhaps whatever mood she was in would improve by a good night's sleep.

His hopes seemed to be for naught, though, as he had a hard time falling asleep when he could feel Feathertail constantly shifting beside him. After a while, the she-cat seemed to give up and stood up, padding quietly away in the dim light of the moon.

"Feathertail?" Stormfur murmured, a question in his tone, but the grey tabby did not stop to answer. He crept after her, careful not to wake any of his clanmates who were resting. "Hey," he meowed softly, brushing his shoulder against hers as he approached. "What's the matter?"

The flecked she-cat took a deep breath, burying her face in Stormfur's chest. His heart ached to see her like this. "I-I had a dream," she finally confessed, her voice shaky. "Oakheart spoke to me. He said trouble is coming to the forest…" Stormfur licked her ear in reassurance, but it didn't seem like she was finished. "He told me to meet with three other cats at the new moon, to hear what midnight tells us."

"And…?"

She glanced away briefly. "Well, the new moon is tonight, so… I think I should go to Fourtrees. Just in case." She looked at him guiltily, "Please don't be mad."

"Don't you think we should speak to Leopardstar-" He started, but she interrupted him.

"No!" She mewed in a hushed tone. "I-I know it sounds bad… but I have this feeling that I shouldn't tell any other cat. At least for now," she added hastily after seeing his incredulous expression. "I'll have to go right away, it's already dark. I'll be fine." She touched her nose to his.

"I know you'll be fine. I'm coming with you," he replied firmly, amber eyes gazing at her.

She looked relieved, and the tom knew she wouldn't refuse. "Come on, then," she said with bright eyes, her tail brushing over his back as they headed towards Fourtrees. A new journey had begun.