ALLEGIANCES

THUNDERCLAN

LEADER LONGSTAR- long-legged tabby tom.

DEPUTY BRINDLETAIL- dark tortoiseshell she-cat, black stripes along her tail.

MEDICINE CAT PINEFROST- small brown-tabby tom.

WARRIORS (toms, and she-cats without kits)

MOLECLAW- black-and-white tabby tom.

RAINPELT- dappled gray tom.

FOXSTEP- dark ginger-tabby she-cat, darker flecks.
APPRENTICE, STEAMPAW

ICEBREATH- snowy white tom, blue eyes.
APPRENTICE, WHITEPAW

OWLWING- mottled brown tom.

ALOENOSE- tortoiseshell-and-white she-cat.

GRAYLEAF- dark gray-and-white tom.

MORNINGSKY- small golden-tabby she-cat.

HONEYFOOT- golden-brown she-cat.

BLACKBIRD- black tom with a white underbelly.

APPRENTICES (more than six moons old, in training to become warriors)

STEAMPAW- thin light gray tom.

WHITEPAW- pure white tom.

QUEENS (she-cats nursing or expecting kits)

DEWTAIL- dark ginger-tabby she-cat, pale green eyes.

ELDERS (former warriors and queens, now retired)

REEDFUR- skinny golden tom, former medicine cat and the oldest
ThunderClan cat.

TORNTAIL- pale brown she-cat, oldest she-cat in ThunderClan, missing
fur on her tail.

LIONSTRIPE- golden-brown tabby tom.

WILLOWSHADE- once-pretty dark gray she-cat, yellow eyes.

SHADOWCLAN

LEADER FROSTSTAR- shaggy white tom.

DEPUTY FLAMECLAW- dark ginger-tabby tom with large, white hindpaws.

MEDICINE CAT SMOKEFUR- dark gray tom, blue eyes.

WARRIORS PEAKFANG- black tom with a twisted jaw and broken teeth.

FLINTFACE- black-and-white tom.

ROBINFLIGHT- scrawny ginger tom.

CLOUDFUR- small white she-cat.
APPRENTICE, DEERPAW

SNOWTAIL- pale gray tom with a white tail.

MURKYPOOL- dark cream tom, formerly a rouge cat.

APPRENTICES DEERPAW- large brown tom.

QUEENS PETALBLOOM- brown-and-white she-cat.

WINDCLAN

LEADER OAKSTAR- big brown tom.

DEPUTY HAWKBREEZE- mottled black tom.

MEDICINE CAT BEETLEFUR- thin tabby tom.

WARRIORS SHADEWING- black tom, yellow eyes.

ADDERCLAW- long-legged brown tom.

BRACKENTAIL- speckled gray tom.

BRAMBLEHEART- dark ginger tom, feathered ears.

SNOWFOOT- white she-cat, silver forepaws.
APPRENTICE, SILENTPAW

MUMBLE- brown-tabby tom with a white underbelly, formerly a rouge cat.

APPRENTICES SILENTPAW- small gray-and-white tom.

QUEENS DARKPOOL- gray-tabby she-cat.

DAWNLIGHT- golden she-cat, blue eyes.

ELDERS SQUIRRELPELT- cream-furred tom.

RIVERCLAN

LEADER DOVESTAR- small cream she-cat.
APPRENTICE, TOADPAW

DEPUTY CLAWEYE- massive brown-tabby tom.

MEDICINE CAT GRASSCLAW- small dark gray tom.

WARRIORS RAVENWING- large black tom.

THISTLEFUR- dark gray tom with sharp claws.
APPRENTICE, FEATHERPAW

PEBBLETAIL- dark tortoiseshell she-cat, white forepaws.

HOLLYTHORN- silver-gray tabby she-cat.

BLACKSTONE- black-and-gray tabby tom.
APPRENTICE, BARKPAW

APPRENTICES FEATHERPAW- small gray-and-white she-cat.

BARKPAW- mottled brown tabby tom.

QUEENS ASHPOPPY- tortoiseshell-and-gray she-cat.

CATS OUTSIDE THE CLANS

CRICKET- very pale gray tom that lives in an old barn outside the lake.

PATCH- small tortoiseshell with deep blue eyes, kittypet.

PUZZLE- tortoiseshell tom, lives with Patch.

SNOW- pretty white she-cat who lives in the old barn with Cricket.

FLOWER- tabby-and-white she-cat, Snow's first-born daughter.

NIXON- white tom, Snow's first-born son.

PROLOGUE
~

Lightning flashed ahead of the river. Steady rain drops began to fall, forming immense puddles on the ground.

Four cats slipped over the grass and huddled beside of a rock. They each shook their wet pelts and shivered. A large brown-tabby tom slinked around the corner, his eyes locked onto the forest. He turned and flicked his tail at the three others.

They nodded silently and followed the tomcat through the drenched grass. Each pawstep they took was quieter than the last.

A small golden-tabby she-cat felt a cold rain drop roll down her pelt. She flicked her ear and groaned. "Claweye, are we almost there? We're going to catch Greencough if we don't hurry." the cat groaned.

Claweye bristled, his eyes slit and uninviting. "Quiet, Morningsky. You need to quit complaining and think of what will happen as soon as we get to the old Horseplace," he grunted.

"Sorry," Morningsky murmered. The tom led the three cats into an open moor. Pine trees surrounded the field in a circle, and on the other side, stood a large, broken down barn.

"There's where we need to go." Claweye chuckled, slinking through the grass. Morningsky turned to a black tom and shook her head. Then, they followed the RiverClan deputy.

Thunder loomed behind the cats, as a bright streak of lightning flashed in the sky. The black tom flinched. "Er . . . Claweye, could you have picked another time to do this?" he asked, ruffling his chest fur.

Claweye flicked his tail in annoyment. "Could I have picked different cat, instead of you?" he replied. "Listen, Shadewing, I chose you, Morningsky, and Flintface to accompany me, because I know if there's trouble, you can fight. I've seen you do it."

Shadewing was silent. He looked at the ground and shifted his paws. Morningsky bumped into the black tom and smiled.

"Hey," she said. "He just called you an excellent fighter." Shadewing blinked and half-smiled. "I'm surprised he called me one. I've never injured or killed a cat." Morningsky admitted.

Claweye halted. "We're here," he whispered. "Flintface, I need you to go infront of me and scout the surrounding area where the pines are. Make sure there are no Clan cats, because I know that ThunderClan sometimes hunts here."

A black-and-white tom padded up beside of the tabby and nodded. He walked towards the barn, then disappeared behind it. Claweye turned to Morningsky and Shadewing. "You two, come with me."

The golden she-cat gulped and slunk behind the RiverClan tom. Shadewing sighed and followed Morningsky. Claweye lead them to the barn's window, where he climbed onto a bail of hay and began to make his way up onto the ledge.

"Urg," he grunted. "The Twolegs closed off the entrance with a clear stone."

The tom looked around and spotted a splintery hole on the bottom of the barn. Claweye chuckled and leaped down from the hay. "Over there," he whispered. "We can get in, that way. Morningsky, you're smaller than Shadewing and I. Why don't you go first."

Shuddering, Morningsky walked over to the hole. She looked back at Claweye, who's gaze urged her to go inside. The she-cat squeezed her body through the wood, tiny splinters sticking into her pelt. "I'm in," she said.

"Go, Shadewing," the tabby commanded, pushing the black tom foward. Shadewing forced himself under and finally made it in with Morningsky. Claweye came next.

He pulled through the wall, clawing at the ground. Shadewing and Morningsky helped him with the rest of his body. "You two need to be extra quiet," Claweye said. The three walked through the the middle of the barn. Smells of musty, molding hay and wood swirled around their noses, making each cat recoil.

Suddenly, Claweye stopped, flicking his ear. "Who's there?" he growled. Morningsky sniffed the air.

"I don't smell any-" She was cut off by a dark figure standing infront of Claweye. The shadow stepped foward, its teeth glistening whenever lightning flashed.

"Why are you in my barn?" it demanded.

The RiverClan deputy straightened. "Cricket, do you not remember me? And you know, you're not as peaceful as your name intends."

The figure lunged at Claweye, but stopped mid-center. Morningsky and Shadewing could get a closer view now, and they saw a once-handsome gray-tabby tom.

"Claw?" Cricket asked, cocking his head. "What are you doing here?"

"I am no longer 'Claw.'" the brown tabby said. "I'm Claweye, deputy of RiverClan, and I have come with a question that will change the fate of you and your family. How would you like to feel blood on your claws again?"