Full summary:

Leopardpaw has never been special, even she knows that. The only thing she has going for her is her talent to get into trouble. All the time. So what happens when she's apprenticed to ThunderClan's deputy, Stormflight? Leopardpaw's always been curious and when she learns that Stormflight has a dark secret, obviously she wants to find out what it is . . . but her mentor has so many walls for her to try and break through.

Runningpaw has never fit in. He's just too wild, too free. All he lives for in live is the thrills, the adrenaline rushes. Unfortunately, that means he happens to not take orders very well (or at all). That's before he encounters Sootpaw.

Sootpaw was always different, whether it was her increased about of empathy for others or her terrifying nightmares about the destruction of the Clans. Then she meets Runningpaw, the perfect tom to help her get to the Moonstone where the answers to all her questions await.

Bravepaw hasn't really cared for anything else in life but his sister, Brookpaw. When the young she-cat gets pushed off the gorge and ends up permanently crippling herself, all Bravepaw has is his hatred from Leopardpaw—the she-cat he blames for the accident.

All four of these cats come from different Clans with different stories. But when the Dark Forest rises, this time with the help of Leopardpaw's own brother, Gingerpaw, was is StarClan to do? Especially when the Four destined to save the Clans have no idea how important they really are.

If you notice some names under "apprentices" and they're in italics it means they aren't apprentices yet but soon will be. I put it that way so I don't need to do an extra allegiances after the kits become apprentices. THIS STORY TAKES PLACE IN THE OLD FOREST, BEFORE THE FIRST BOOK.

Disclaimer: I do not own the WARRIORS series, Erin Hunter does. However, all characters and plot are mine.

Allegiances

ThunderClan:

Leader: Swiftstar – lean black she-cat with white paws

Deputy: Stormflight – muscular blue-gray tom with dark blue eyes and a scar, blinding his right eye partially (apprentice, Leopardpaw)

Medicine Cat: Redfeather – dark ginger tom

Warriors: (Toms and She-cats without kits)

Finchfeather – light ginger tom with amber eyes and two crooked claws that form an X on his right front paw (apprentice, Cloudypaw)

Silverfern – silver she-cat with green eyes (apprentice, Dovepaw)

Firepelt – orange tom (apprentice, Wolfpaw)

Leafshade – brown tabby she-cat with one ripped ear (apprentice, Gingerpaw)

Poolmist – white and gray she-cat with blue eyes (apprentice, Morningpaw)

Meadowlark – small brown and white tom with green eyes and severe scars on shoulders

Thornwhisker – muscular dark brown tom (apprentice, Hawkpaw)

Swanfeather – graceful white she-cat with blue eyes

Frostpelt – very pale tom with blue eyes

Brambleleg – light brown tom with light amber eyes

Brightflame - ginger and white she-cat

Apprentices: (Warriors in training)

Dovepaw - fluffy gray she-cat with pale blue-green eyes

Morningpaw - tortoiseshell she-cat

Hawkpaw - muscular tabby tom with blue eyes

(Leopardpaw - pale gray she-cat with leopard spots and emerald green eyes with gold flecks)

(Gingerpaw – light ginger tom with a white throat, tail-tip, and underbelly with all white paws except for one and pale hazel eyes)

(Wolfkit – handsome dark gray tom with black mixed into his fur and blue eyes)

(Cloudypaw - white she-cat with blue eyes)

Queens: (She-cats expecting or nursing kits)

Shimmermask – glossy black she-cat, nursing Firepelt's kits (Hollykit - black and white she-cat. Shadekit - dark gray tom with amber eyes. Nightkit - black tom.)

Elders: (Warriors now retired)

Dewleaf – gray she-cat with blue eyes and a permanently twisted hind leg

Whitewhisker – white tom with pale green eyes

Russetpelt - dark ginger she-cat

Thrushflight - tortoiseshell she-cat with yellow eyes

Blackberry - black tom with amber eyes

RiverClan:

Leader: Spiderstar – black and brown tom with long legs (apprentice, Bravepaw)

Deputy: Icefang – silver and white she-cat with blue eyes (apprentice, Brookpaw)

Medicine Cat: Skata – black and white she-cat, former rogue, mother to Crowtalon's kits [see description above in ThunderClan] (apprentice, Nightsky)

Warriors: (Toms and she-cat's without kits)

Bluewhisker – gray-blue she-cat

Cinderclaw – ash gray tom with amber eyes (apprentice, Rockpaw)

Sunheart – ginger tom

Tawnyfur – calico she-cat with green eyes

Honeypelt – sandy she-cat with blue eyes (apprentice, Dapplepaw)

Rainstorm – dark gray tom

Adderclaw – brawny brown tom with single black stripe down back

Winterstorm – white she-cat with blue eyes (apprentice, Rosepaw)

Apprentices: (Warriors in training)

Dapplepaw – gray she-cat with black flecks

Rockpaw – black tom

Rosepaw – cream furred she-cat with green eyes

(Bravepaw – silver tom with black stripes)

(Brookpaw - brown she-cat with blue eyes)

Queens: (She-cats expecting or nursing kits)

Currently there are no queens

Elders: (Warriors now retired)

Cherryfoot – ancient ginger she-cat with white muzzle

Ashcloud - dark gray tom

WindClan:

Leader: Willowstar – cream furred she-cat with green eyes

Deputy: Shadowmask – dark gray tom with black paws (apprentice, Maplepaw)

Medicine Cat: Spottedpelt – light ginger she-cat with black spots all over body

Warriors: (Toms and she-cats without kits)

Breezeheart – brown and white patched tom

Pebblesplash – light gray she-cat with blue eyes (apprentice, Lightningpaw)

Sandfoot – ginger she-cat with amber eyes

Patchpelt – black tom with white marking on chest, belly, and paws

Loudstep – brown tom

Tinyfoot – pale brown she-cat with one crooked front paw

Crowtalon – jet black tom with amber eyes

Owlsong– tawny colored she-cat (apprentice, Runningpaw)

Apprentices: (Warriors in training)

Runningpaw – fluffy white tom black ears

Lightningpaw – black and white tom with dark blue eyes

Maplepaw – light ginger she-cat

Queens: (She-cats expecting or nursing kits)

Mothflight – white and ginger she-cat, nursing Loudstep's kit. (Windykit – gray tom with blue eyes)

Elders: (Warriors now retired)

Blazestripe - ginger tom with darker stripes

Squirrelfang - small dusky brown she-cat

ShadowClan:

Leader: Goldenstar – golden tom with yellow eyes

Deputy: Blindeye – white she-cat with black paws and white eyes (blind)

Medicine Cat: Foxwhisker – reddish brown she-cat with light green eyes

Warriors: (Toms and she-cats without kits)

Robinfeather – red she-cat

Seabreeze – blue-gray tom with blue eyes

Shallowfern – brown she-cat with green eyes (apprentice, Sootpaw)

Dawncloud – pretty dapple she-cat

Scarpelt – dark brown tom with lighter stripes (apprentice, Branchpaw)

Lionclaw – gold tom with amber eyes

Frogleap – ash gray tom

Coldheart – white and gray tom with blue eyes

Apprentices: (Warriors in training)

Branchpaw – brown tom

(Sootpaw – light gray she-cat with black paws, tail-tip, and ears and amber eyes)

Queens: (She-cats expecting or nursing kits)

Scarletdust – dark ginger she-cat with darker flecks, nursing Lionclaw's kits (Starlingkit – light ginger she-cat. Brackenkit – dark ginger tom with amber eyes. Brightkit – white she-cat. Graykit – fluffy gray tom.)

Whitefrost – sleek white she-cat with blue eyes, nursing Frogleap's kit (Creekkit – gray and black tom with blue eyes. Thistlekit – dark brown tom with green eyes.)

Elders: (Warriors now retired)

Scorchfoot – orange tom with white paws and amber eyes

"You have to be at your strongest when you're feeling at your weakest . . ."

-Ritu Ghatourey

Chapter 1: Introduction

My name is Leopardkit. Before they come face-to-face with me many assume that I am fast and powerful just because I'm named after one of the big cats who roamed the forest before the Clan cats came.

But I am not strong or powerful, I am untalented and a very hopeless dreamer. I pitied the poor cat who got stuck with mentoring me. I'm too slow and clumsy to hunt and too uncoordinated to fight. Honestly all I can do is breathe and stare at someone when they'd try to teach me how to do something. That always earned me an eye roll and a loud huff before the cat leaves me by myself.

Not that many expect me to be talented anyways, not after they learned of my bloodline and family history. My mother was a former rogue that joined the Clans and became the medicine cat apprentice of RiverClan. My father is a former ShadowClan warrior who abandoned his Clan to join WindClan. Through hard work and patience he managed to work his way up to being deputy. Basically both of my parents are outsiders amongst their Clan.

So by now you must be wondering which of the two Clans my brothers and I resided in. Well, the answer is neither.

The day we were born my mother was forced to flee RiverClan and leave us behind to grow up as warriors. But my mother being of her rogue blood was very strong-willed and escaped RiverClan with her kits. I couldn't imagine how much it hurt her to leave, being driven out by her friends, her family, and leaving behind her new life of healing herbs.

I remembered her swimming across the river, struggling to stay afloat as she carried her three children. Then her breath picked up as she started to run, escaping the cold grasp of the river and we began dipping up and down through the uneven ground as she pounded through the forest.

Faintly I recalled being set on the ground and then hearing my mother's voice, talking to someone, "My name is Skata; former medicine cat apprentice of RiverClan. These are my kits: Gingerkit, Wolfkit, and Leopardkit."

I dozed off after that and awoke to my mother's voice what seemed like moments later. "I must go now, sweetheart. I'm afraid we won't be seeing each other again for a long time, but I will always be watching," she whispered, her warm breath tickling my ear.

It seems that even though she was welcome to take shelter in ThunderClan she wasn't allowed to stay. The ThunderClan leader, Swiftstar, feared that RiverClan would become aggressive if they discovered ThunderClan was sheltering their former outcast.

I let out a quiet wail and reached out with my paw to touch her with it. She chuckled softly, "I love you, Leopardkit. It doesn't matter what happens in the future but just please be strong, even if you think you can't be. I'll always be watching you, even if you don't see me." She nuzzled me and looked straight into my eyes, her emerald green into my green-and-gold flecked ones. I received a quick lick on the cheek before she started to walk away.

I got to my paws and let out a little whimper. She didn't turn around, just kept walking. I wailed louder and my mother stopped but she didn't turn.

It must have broken her heart as she walked away from me, her daughter. It must have broken her heart as she left her children and home behind. She'd lost her mate, her Clan, her kits, and her new life in one day.

That was how I remembered my mother, Skata. She was strong. And I longed to be as strong as her.

My father was a different matter though. I never saw him but I've heard plenty stories about him from the bored elders. His name was Crowtalon, a huge brawny tom with a dark pelt blacker than night and eyes of a chilling amber. After being revealed of his disloyalty to the warrior code by taking a medicine cat from a different Clan as his mate my father was stripped of his title as deputy and back into being a regular warrior.

When I was younger I would sit in the entrance of the den and yowl for my mother until finally I was quieted by a grouchy queen.

I use to stare out at the stars of Silverpelt and close my eyes, crinkle my nose, and wish silently for my mother to come back.

It has been two days since my mother abandoned us. Recently I have been sick, the medicine cat says it's something called blackcough. I was taken to a quiet fern tunnel, away from Gingerkit and Wolfkit. A blood red tom watched me and gave me nasty plants and roots to eat over and over again. He had hard yellow eyes that watched me with both curiosity and worry.

I respected him though because each time I would spit out a disgusting herb he would snap at me with his yellow teeth and shove it down my throat once more.

I watched him sort through a pile of berries, constantly looking at dark ruby red berries sitting all alone at one side of the den. They were almost the same color as his pelt and they glistened as if they held a secret. A lean black she-cat entered the den every so often and each time she did I seemed to get weaker.

She would talk to the red tom in such low voices I couldn't hear over my coughing. I managed to pick up some of their conversation's bits and pieces:

"Have her eat the berries, you'll put her out of her misery!" the black she-cat with white paws growled.

"She's just a kit, it would be murder!" this was the red tom speaking.

The black she-cat let out a snort, "Sunset. That's how long you have."

Then she was gone and the red tom seemed to sigh. I whispered to him in a quiet voice, "What's your name?"

His ears flicked back at me to catch my words, "Redfeather, medicine cat of ThunderClan." He turned to face me and his yellow eyes, once hard, where now softened in what looked like pity. He took the red berries and started to dig a deep hole. After it was a tail-length deep he dropped the red berries inside the hole and covered the dirt over top of it before patting it down in a small mound.

I stared at him before starting to close my eyes in exhaustion, "My name is Leopardkit. And I am strong," I say feebly because I believe that if I think I'm strong I can be.

My ear rests against the ground, allowing me to feel the vibrations around me. Redfeather shifting the weight of his paws, paws pounding across camp—probably chasing a moss ball, and weakest of all I can feel my heartbeat thumping in my ears: thump . . . thump . . . . . . . . thump . . . . . . . . . . . . . . silence.

Panic swept through my body. My heart has stopped beating and I can no longer hear my uneven breathing. I sat up and looked around the den in fear. Redfeather was staring at me with sadness in his eyes but his gaze didn't quite reach mine, instead it looked past me. I turned around and saw the cause of this; my limp body laid in the dirt, not moving or twitching. I jumped in front of Redfeather, "What's going on?" I asked fearfully.

He didn't reply and I had to wonder if he's in shock or just ignoring me. I leapt at him to try and bump him back into reality but instead of our bodies connecting I passed through him and landed on the other side. "Hey!?" I exclaimed in confusion and fear.

"Allow me to explain," a starry silver she-cat requested and I turned around at the voice, taking a few steps back because I know she wasn't there a second before. "Don't be afraid, I haven't come to harm you but to take you to StarClan," she said sincerely.

"StarClan?" I questioned and stared at her paws, refusing to meet her gaze.

The silver she-cat nodded and started to leave the den which made me want to follow her out of curiosity. "It's a place where good cats like you and me go once we leave this world," she explained, sweeping her tail in the direction of the ThunderClan cats as she reached the entrance to the fern tunnel. She took a huge leap and I waited for her to hit the ground but instead she stood on the air, floating above me and every other cat in the clearing (who are oblivious to both our presences).

"Come, let me show you StarClan," she gave me a kind smile and nodded towards the direction of the stars. I was shocked for three reasons: one; its night already, two; because this she-cat was asking me to leave ThunderClan after I had only been there for a few days, and three; because the ThunderClan members have formed in a circle around a small gray body in the middle of the clearing. Me, I thought to myself.

I didn't follow her because I decided that if I do I'll be considered brave and I'm nowhere near being brave, but I am strong. And being strong means I have to stay here, in ThunderClan, because my mother said she would always watch me and if I went to the stars she wouldn't be able to watch me from down here. "I'm sorry, but I have to stay here," I said timidly to the starry cat.

She looked shocked, "But why?" she asked.

I frowned, "Because that's what has to happen," I said firmly.

The silver cat looked confused, "You're dead, there's no going back."

But she's wrong because I could hear a familiar thumping in my ears and shallow breathing hummed through the ground. Just as fast as she had come, the StarClan she-cat was gone and I was enfolded in darkness. Then murmuring voices filled the air and my senses returned to me as I caught the fishy scent of my brothers and the woodsy tang of ThunderClan in the air. Wind snaked through my fur and blew in my face, allowing my eyes to flutter open.

Around me stood almost every member of ThunderClan: I recognized Redfeather and the black she-cat with white paws that was in the den earlier, my brothers staring joyfully at me with beaming faces, and other unfamiliar faces are among them. No one said a word to me, just watched as if waiting for something.

Finally the black she-cat with white paws—Swiftstar—steps forward, "Leopardkit, cat from the grave."