Summary: After her adventurous neighbor, Rusty, returns home and shares secrets of the Forest Cats, Gold's own curiosity sparks and she too ventures into the trees behind her Towleg's home. But when she ends up getting tangled in a mess with one of the 'apprentices' the cats clans, something triggers and awakens the forest cat inside her.

Fire Will Save the Clan

By. Hidding-In-Shadows

Chapter 1

ThunderClan

Leader: Bluestar- blue-gray she-cat with silver tinged muzzle and piercing blue eyes with a scar on shoulder

Deputy: Redtail- small tortoiseshell tom with bright ginger tail and amber eyes (Apprentice: Dustpaw)

Medicine Cat: Spottedleaf- beautiful dark tortoiseshell she-cat with dappled pelt and amber eyes

Warriors:

Lionheart- large golden tom with thick fur like a lion and green eyes (Apprentice: Graypaw)

Tigerclaw- big dark brown tabby tom with long front claws and pale amber eyes (Apprentice: Ravenpaw)

Whitestorm- big white tom with amber eyes (Apprentice: Sandpaw)

Darkstripe- sleek black-and-gray tabby tom with amber eyes

Longtail- pale tabby tom with dark black stripes and blue eyes

Runningwild- swift, slender brown tabby tom with green eyes

Willowpelt- pale gray she-cat with usual blue eyes

Mousefur- dusky brown she-cat with amber eyes

Apprentices:

Dustpaw- dark brown tabby tom with amber eyes

Graypaw- solid gray tom with darker stripe down back an yellow eyes

Ravenpaw- small, skiny black tom with dash of white on chest and white tail tip with green eyes

Sandpaw- pale ginger she-cat with slightly noticeable stripes and pale green eyes

Queens:

Frostfur- beautiful white coated she-cat with blue eyes (Mother to: Brightkit, Brackenkit, Thornkit, and Cinderkit)

Brindleface- pretty gray dappled tabby she-cat with green eyes (Mother To: Ashkit and Fernkit)

Goldenflower- sleek, pale ginger she-cat with yellow eyes

Speckletail- pale tabby she-cat with amber eyes

Elders:

Halftail- big, dark brown tabby tom with part of his tail missing and amber eyes

Smallear- gray tom with small ears and amber eyes

Patchpelt- small black-and-white tom with amber eyes

One-eye- pale gray she-cat that is virtually deaf and blind in one eyes, amber eyes

Dappletail- tortoiseshell-and-white dapple she-cat with graying muzzle and blue eyes

Kits:

Brightkit- white-and-ginger she-kit with blue eyes

Brackenkit- golden-brown tabby tom with blue eyes

Thornkit- golden-brown tabby tom with amber eyes

Cinderkit- dark gray fluffy she-kit with blue eyes

Ashkit- dark gray tom

Fernkit- pale gray she-cat with darker flecks

Cats Outside Of Clans:

Yellowfang- old, gray she-cat with broad flattened face and orange eyes

Smudge- plump, friendly black-and-white kitten with green eyes

Barley- black-and-white tom with amber eyes

Gold- golden ginger tabby she-cat with pale eyes

Small dots of sunlight scattered across the dirt, the sun shinning through a bunch of leaves that hung off of the tree that sat in the fenced in area. Small patches of browning grass sat here and there in the yard. A few insects flew in the air, the buzz of their wings echoing in the silent space. A few dandelions sprouted from the crack of where the fence met the ground, covering a small hole that lead in the woods. The stalks shook as the wind tickled them, the yellow of their petals brighter then ever. The warm light from the sun heated the air to a nice warmth and a few lizards sat out on the dusty earth, embracing it.

They scattered a few moments later as the heard the sound of something large slide open and the tinkle of a bell begin as a small cat trotted out of the home that the yard belonged to. Her pale green eyes looked around the outdoors area, bright with curiosity as the door closed behind her. She flicked her tail as her whiskers twitched, her pink nose up in the air as she scented the area around her. She rolled her shoulder, before stretching out and her mouth opening in a yawn. Her pink tongue curled as her pointed white teeth glistened in the sunlight. The tabby's ears twitched as she heard a bell similar to the one around her neck ding from next door.

She looked up at the fence that connected to two yards to see a fiery ginger tabby sitting up there. With a smile, she trotted to the edge of the fence and crouched down before leaping up gracefully and landing on the fence, her tail high as she tried to balance herself.

"Nice landing." the tom said, a joking look in his eyes.

"Oh hush up Rusty." she snapped, sitting down and licking at the fur on her chest that stuck up.

The ginger tom snickered before sitting also, his tail wrapping its way around his small paws. "I'm guessing you wanted to know how it went, Gold. That is why you wanted to talk to me, right?"

"Of course it is!" Gold's pelt heated up slightly with embarrassment. "What else would it be?" the tom's green eyes help a teasing look before Gold rolled her own green eyes. "Well come on, spit it out. What happened? You didn't get that nicked ear for nothing." Gold's pale tail flicked forward, pointing to the tom's ear that had a tear in it.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah." he grumbled, swiping at the ear with his paw. "Is still itches sometimes. When my Twoleg's found out, they made weird noises. Anyways, when I first got out there, I met this Forest Cat named Graypaw. He said he was an apprentice or something. Then these other three cats came out, this one silver one and a white one, and I forgot the other one, but they lead me back to their camp! It was huge Gold, there were so many cats! Then, suddenly, this one tom named Longtail, he challenged me to a fight! And none of them did anything! I fled right after, it was awful. I'm still sore and that was a few days ago."

Gold's eyes were bright as she listened to his short story. "That, that sounds so . . . so . . ."

"Terrifying, frightening, awful?" Rusty snorted, his torn ear twitching.

"Cool!" Gold stood up, her tail flicking rapidly in the air. "You got to go to a camp, and see new cats! And you got in a fight! Longtail, what did he look like? Like one of the Forest Cats Smudge is always talking about? Was he huge and have long teeth and even longer claws? Was his pelt stained with blood? Tell me, tell me, tell me!" Gold was practically jumping out of her pelt, looking to the other cat with large eyes.

"Hey, calm down there Gold." Rusty's eyes had grown as the she-cat went on with questions. "And Smudge was lying, they're just like us. And Longtail, he was skinny, skinnier then any cat I've seen. And his tail, it was almost as long as his body!"

Gold turned her head, her ears twitching as she looked out at the forest, her pale green eyes searching the ground for a glimpse of the Forest Cats. She'd never seen one before, but the stories Smudge had told her when she was just a kit when she lived next door to him fascinated her. Her mother even told her of the time she went in the forest with Gold's father before they became mates. They saw the Forest Cats and were instantly thrown out of the forest. Gold herself had even ventured out a few times, but she never went farther then three tail lengths away from the fence.

"I'm going to go out there." she mewed suddenly, leaping from the fence and into her yard. The bell on her light pink collar tinkled lightly and Rusty hissed.

"What, are you crazy? Gold, what if they attack you?"

"I can defend myself." she humphed, walking to the dandelions and sniffing at them for a moment before pushing them to the side with her noise, smiling at the hole in the fence. "I think I've proved that enough when we fight." she looked up to Rusty who returned the look to her, only his eyes filled with concern. "Calm down mouse-brain, I'll be back before sundown. Promise."

She then turned and crouched down, squeezing through the hole in the fence and stretching out to the other side, her claws digging into the soft soil to help herself pull out of the small crook. With one final pull, she tugged her way out of the yard and into the forest, only leaving a few small tuffs of fur behind. She shook out her pelt and looked up at the forest, her eyes scanning the tops of the tall trees in front of her.

"Gold, don't go." a frantic voice meowed behind her. She looked over her shoulder at Rusty who now had fright in his eyes. "It's dangerous, please stay here."

"Don't get your whiskers in a knot. I'll be back before you know it Rusty." she then turned and trotted into the forest, leaving the tom behind.

As she walked into the forest, it seemed to become dimmer from the lack of sunlight shining through the trees. Gold's eyes adjusted quickly though and she trotted through the trees with ease, her paws light on the ground. The golden bell on her collar made a ting ting ting sound with every step she took. She topped and sat for a moment, just taking in her surroundings. The soil was soft under her paws and bushes were scattered everywhere. Trees stood taller then she could ever imagine, and the sound of birds chirping filled the air. Their songs drifted past her, echoing in her ears as she looked around in amazement.

Her ear twitched as she heard a snap of a twig and she turned sharply, looking over her shoulder. Behind her, a bush quivered and she turned sharply, her eyes wide as she looked at the shaking bush. It stopped for a moment and Gold turned all the way around, facing it fully, her claws out and eyes scanning the vegetation. A moment later, a small, brown mouse scampered out and Gold sighed, her claws retracting back in.

"Silly mouse." she chuckled, her fur lying flat as she sat and watched the creature with a tilted head. It looked up at the sky, it's small pink nose twitching as it's long whiskers danced in the air. It sat and wiped its face clean and Gold thought to herself, Why isn't it running away?

She was answered as small breeze blew in her direction, carrying the scent of the mouse to her. Gold suddenly got any idea and crouched down, her bell making a small noise. The mouse suddenly looked up and turned, it's beady black eyes locking onto her. Gold blinked her green eyes as her claws slid out. With a squeal, the mouse turned and darted off, Gold chasing after it.

She could easily see it's brown pelt against the grass of the forest floor, but would lose the rodent occasionally when it scampered over a patch of dirt. She turned sharply as the mouse darted to the side, squeaking in fright. She licked her jaws as she caught up to it and leaned down, snapping her teeth around it's tail.

"Not so fast." she growled, picking it up. She tasted blood on her tongue as the mouse hung from her jaws, squealing in pain and fright. It twisted it's body, it's small claws scratching her nose in the process. Gold hissed and swiped at her blood pricked nose, dropping the mouse in the process. She sat back and grumbled as she rubbed her sore nose, glaring at the direction the mouse scampered off to.

"Stupid mice . . ." she hissed, standing back up and shaking her pelt. She looked up to see the sun high in the hair. Mid-day. She thought she should be heading back and turned, opening her mouth to catch the scent of her Twoleg's home. Instead, she caught the scent of something else. Something wild. Before she knew it, claws dug into the back of her shoulders as she was tackled from behind. With a yowl, Gold and her attacker tumbled over the dirt floor, sending dust up as the rolled round. Gold hissed as she felt a pair of jaws wrap their way around her scruff. With a growl, she flipped herself over, knocking the attacker off her back. She turned around, glaring at the creature, only to see a mass of dark brown fur jumping at her. Two paws landed on either of her shoulders, pinning her back down to the ground.

"Ouch!" she hissed sharply, closing her eyes tight before looking up to whoever pinned her. She looked up to see a pair of hard amber eyes looking down at her. A dark brown tabby tom pinned her to the ground. He was larger then her, maybe a little older, and his claws pricked at her skin.

"What are you doing on ThunderClan territory? And hunting none the less." he snarled.

"T-ThunderClan? What do you mean?" Gold asked, her heart racing. "Wait . . . you're one of the Forest Cats, aren't you!"

"Forest Cat?" he asked, taken back.

"Yeah! You go around hunting and killing other cats, right? And you live in the darkness of the forest, stalking your pray."

The tom snorted and released the pressure he had on her, seeing that she wasn't much of a threat. "No way, I'm not from ShadowClan. I'm-"

"Dustpaw!" a voice boomed from the forest and both of the young cats turned and saw as three other trotted out from the forest. One was the same age as Gold, a pale, sandy ginger tabby she-cat who looked at them with narrowed eyes, and the two others were older. A calico male with a long, fluffy red tail and a large white tom with striking yellow eyes.

"Redtail, Whitestorm, I found a trespasser. She was hunting on our territory." the brown tabby, Dustpaw, growled, looking back to Gold.

"I was just exploring, rat breath." Gold hissed, glaring at the tom.

"Dustpaw, get off of the kittypet and come here." the calico, Redtail meowed deeply, looking to the young tom with hard eyes.

"Bu-" Dustpaw began to protest but was cut off by the white tom, Whitestorm Gold believed his name was.

"Do as your mentor says Dustpaw." he looked to the tom with his yellow eyes and Gold shivered. Dustpaw grumbled and looked to Gold before hissing and climbing off her.

"You're lucky kittypet." he grumbled as he went and stood by the other cat their age. She looked to Dustpaw with an affectionate smile and Dustpaw just sat down, licking his pelt. "Great, now I'm going to smell like a kittypet for two suns."

"Hush down Dustpaw, it's nothing to worry about." a fourth voice came from the bushes and with a tremble of leave, a gray she-cat walked out, the pale scar on her shoulder rippling as she walked over to the others, her blue eyes drifting to Gold once she sat down. "It will come off as you clean the elder's den tonight."

"B-Bluestar! I, ah, um-" Dustpaw stuttered, only to be hushed at the she-cat flicked her tail, telling him to be silent. Her gaze traveled over Gold as the young, ginger cat stood up, shaking her pelt out and free of dust.

"And your name?" Bluestar asked, narrowing her eyes slightly. Gold looked up with slightly widened eyes.

"My name? I'm Gold." Gold stated quickly before standing and hissing slightly in pain. She looked to her shoulder were blood clotted her fur and licked the wound lightly. "Oh rats, I'd forgotten about that." she hissed, licking the wound once more.

"You're injured?" Redtail asked, stepping forward to Gold and sniffing at her wound.

"Yes. It's fine, if I head back now, my Twoleg's will take care of it." she said, starting to walk off.

"Nonsense, our camp is near by, our Medicine Cat can take of of that." Bluestar said, standing up and flicking her tail, Whitestorm and the two younger cats standing also.

"I wouldn't want to disturb you and your, er, group." Gold said nervously. Bluestar flicked her tail once again and Redtail leaned up next to Gold.

"Here, I'll help you. It may be close, but we don't want you falling and getting dirt in that wound, it could get infected." he told her reassuringly. Gold nodded and leaned into his fluffy shoulder for for a moment before sighing as pressure was released from her wounds. She felt glares on her and looked over her shoulder to see Dustpaw looking at her and the ginger she-cat whispering in his ear. Gold felt her pelt warm up with embarrassment and she turned back around, trotting next to Redtail as they went to the camp.

They arrived soon and Bluestar and Whitestorm slipped into a few bushed and disappeared. "It's just on the other side." Redtail claimed, slipping through the bushes. Gold when to follow, but was pushed out of the way by the ginger she-cat.

"Kittypet's go last." she hissed lightly, glaring to Gold with hatred. Gold stepped back as the ginger walked forward, entering the bushes. Gold looked to Dustpaw who stood there, waiting for her to go through.

"Well are you going or what?" she grumbled to him. "I go last."

Dustpaw blinked at her and nodded to the entrance. "You're injured, just go first."

Gold blinked at him for a moment, but didn't challenge his words and walked to the bushes. She blinked the leave out of her eyes and was quickly transported to a large opening. Redtail was off talking to a she-cat who had a calico pelt much like his. Whitestorm and the ginger she-cat had walked off somewhere in the camp, and Dustpaw appeared next to Gold. Gold looked around and watched as a gray tom walked out of a bush, a den, and stretched, yawning. Two others walked out of a different den, chatting as they walked to a pile that sat in the camp. Bird, squirrel, mice, vole, and other creatures laid limply in the pile and the two grabbed a bird, sitting down and sharing it. Gold heard two laughs and turned to see two kits playing outside a third den, a gray she-cat purring as she watched over them.

"This is our Clan, ThunderClan." Bluestar said, walking to the young kittypet. "That's the nursery, and over there is the apprentices den, next to it the warriors den and then that's the elders den." she spoke softly, flicking her tail to each den, explaining what they were. "Over there, that rock formation, that's my den. And that den next to it, that's the Medicine Cats den. I'll take you there first. Dustpaw?" Bluestar's crystal eyes flicked to the brown tom and he looked up at her.

"Yes Bluestar?"

"Go rest. I'll have someone call you for when your den cleaning starts." she nodded to the tom who nodded back and Gold realized suddenly how tired her looked. His pelt was matted in areas and his eyes didn't have a sparkle of life like all the other cats. He turned with his tail dragging and trotted to the den where the young gray tom stood. They spoke for a short moment before the brown tom walked into the den, disappearing.

"This way Gold." Bluestar rested her tail on the young she-cats shoulder lightly, trying not to disturb her wounds, and turned, walking to the den that was next to the rock formation, where Redtail was speaking with the calico she-cat. She looked to Gold with pale, clear amber eyes and gave her a warm look.

"You must be the kittypet Redtail was telling me about. Gold was it?"

Gold nodded and the she-cat flicked her tail. "Come with me, I can help those wounds of yours." The she-cat turned and walked into the den, Gold following behind her with Bluestar and Redtail. Gold sat as the calico flicked her tail to a nest of grass and moss. The bell on her collar made more noise and she looked down to it, forgetting it was there. She looked to see Bluestar and Redtail whispering to each other in hushed voices before the gray she-cat looked to Gold.

"Spottedleaf will bring you to us once she's done healing you. For now, we must go. Spottedleaf, Gold." Bluestar nodded to the two and they nodded back as the two cats walked out. Spottedleaf trotted over to Gold with a few leaves in her mouth and set them down. Gold looked at the with curiosity as Spottedleaf cleaned her wounds out.

"What are those?" Gold asked, flicking her tail to the leaves.

"Those? Just some simple healing herbs to help your wound. Nothing you need to worry about." Spottedleaf meowed before picking up the herbs and chewing them thoroughly, applying them to Gold's wounds. "How do that feel?"

Gold rolled her shoulders with a sigh. "Much better, thank you Spottedleaf." Gold stood and nodded to the she-cat. Spottedleaf smiled and then twitched her tail.

"Come on, let's get you to Bluestar and Redtail." the calico walked out of the den and looked around before walking to the rock formation, Gold behind her. Spottedleaf crouched before leaping up on the rock, small pebbles falling as her claws scratched the surface. Gold did the same, her bell making a loud noise and all the cats in the camp looking up at her. She felt her pelt heat with embarrassment once more that day and followed Spottedleaf into the opening of the den.

"Bluestar?" the she-cat called.

"Come in." Bluestar answered from the den. The two she-cats walked in and Bluestar looked over to them with Redtail. Whitestorm had joined them, the sandy she-cat that hissed at Gold no longer by his side. "Your wounds, how are they?" Bluestar asked.

"Better, Spottedleaf helped me. I'm sure I'll be fine in no time." Gold said.

"Right. Thank you Spottedleaf, you may go now." Bluestar nodded to the she-cat and Spottedleaf turned, leaving the four of them. Gold watched her and then looked back to Bluestar. She gray she-cat stood and looked to Gold. "You'll be leaving our camp with an escort. We've been having issues with another Clan, RiverClan, about some territory, and the area we have to pass to bring you home is along the border we share with them."

"Other Clan? You mean there are more then one!" Gold exclaimed, her eyes widening.

"Yes. In fact, there are four of us all together. RiverClan, ShadowClan, WindClan, and this Clan, ThunderClan." Whitestorm answered. "We all live in harmony with each other by our Code."

"ShadowClan, Dustpaw mentioned them while we were fighting." Gold murmured to herself.

"Come along now, we don't have much time until sun fall." Redtail said, standing. He walked out of the den, Gold and Whitestorm following. Redtail hopped down off the rocks, Gold following suit. Whitestorm sat up on the rocks, Bluestar joining him as they talked quietly.

"Tigerclaw, Mousefurl. I need your assistance." Redtail said as he walked over to the pile of dead prey, the two cats from earlier sitting there and chatting among themselves. The female, a small and thin dull brown cat with amber eyes stood and nodded. The tom, a dark brown tabby with a scar covering the bridge of his nose looked to Redtail with narrowed eyes and then looked to Gold, a look of disgust forming on his face.

"What do you need us for, exactly Redtail?" the tom asked, his voice deep and threatening.

"We're taking this kittypet back home. If you could please go get Ravenpaw, then we'll be on our way."

Tigerclaw, the male, looked to Gold with a hard look before nodding sharply and stood, walking to the den Dustpaw walked into before. A moment later, he walked back out with a thin, black tom who had a dash of white on his chest. Gold blinked as the tom looked up to Tigerclaw, a frightened look in his eyes. The two walked over and Redtail nodded. The five of them left the camp quickly and walked deep into the forest. Gold's ears twitched as she heard the babbling water of a river near by. Soon, they came across it and walked along the bank in silence. As they came near a large formation of rocks that lay in the sun, Gold could see the tops of the Twoleg homes not too far away.

"We're almost there. We'll leave you on the Twoleg territory and then leave." Redtail said, looking over his shoulder. As they jumped up onto the rocks, the sun was beginning to dip down behind the horizon. "It's getting late, we should hurry."

Gold nodded to the calico. "Thank you for bringing me back." Redtail told her it was no trouble as they began to leave the rocks.

Mousefur's ears pricked up and she turned to the river, her lips drawn up in a snarl. "RiverClan." was all she growled. The group turned, facing the opposite shore, seven cats standing there. The lead, a stocky, brown tabby tom, looked at them with hard amber eyes.

"Oakheart, what brings you and your group out here at this time?" Redtail asked, stepping forward slightly.

"Just a standard hunting patrol Redtail." the brown tom answered. "I see you have a kittypet with you." Oakheart's eyes drifted to Gold, who simply blinked at him.

"Yes. She stumbled onto our territory." Redtail's eyes flicked to Gold before looking back to the other tom. "We're just bringing her back home."

Gold's ears twitched at she saw Tigerclaw lean in closer to Mousefur out of the corner of her eyes, the tabby growling something in her ear. "That patrol looks far to large for hunting."

Redtail must have heard him, because a moment later, his ginger tail flicked up and Tigerclaw closed his mouth, silencing himself with a glare to the calico. "This is a matter between deputies Tigerstar." Redtail said over his shoulder. "Nothing you are to be worried about."

Tigerclaw growled. "But it is an odd amount to go hunting with, they were probably trying to steal back Sunningrocks, maybe even steal our prey."

Redtail gave the warrior a hard looked and snapped at him. "This is no place to be making assumptions like that Tigerclaw. We're on a job."

Tigerclaw took a step forward, a snarl on his lips. "They're lying, they want a battle and we'll give them one."

Redtail's fur bristled with anger and before he could speak, Oakheart let out a low growl. "If it's a battle you want, then you'll get it. RiverClan, attack!"

Before Gold knew what was happening, the seven cats surged forward, breaking through the river with superb swimming skills and were upon the ThunderClan cats and Gold. The cats growled for a battle as they attacked one another. A silver tabby she-cat tackled Gold, the two tumbling off. Gold hissed in pain as claws dug into her shoulders, tearing the herbs off and opening her previous wound again. She felt teeth clench around her neck and, with instinct, kicked out, her claws digging into the cat's belly and pushing her off. Gold heard a small ripping noise and watched as her collar flew from the she-cats mouth and landed on the ground with a last ding before becoming silent. Gold stood, panting slightly as her eyes flicked to where the collar lay, torn in half. She looked back to the silver cat who was standing up, blood dripping from her under belly. The she-cat hissed as she ran at Gold. Gold dodged her, remembering Rusty had tried a similar move when they played once. Gold's paw thrashed out, her claws catching the silver cats shoulder, cutting it deeply. The she-cat yowled and retreated back to the river with defeat.

Gold looked about and saw Mousefur fighting off two cats. One was significantly larger then her. Gold, thinking quickly, ran over and jumped on the large toms back, her claws digging into his shoulders and her teeth sinking into his scruff. The tom growled and turned around, getting off of Mousefur and pulling Gold off, throwing her to the ground. Gold let out a gasp and then opened her eyes to see the tom raising a paw to bring down and slice open her belly. She then felt someone grab her scruff and tug her away, pulling her out of the battle. She looked up to see Redtail, blood trailing from a cut by his eye. He let her go and looked up, anger in his eyes and ran back into the battle.

"ThunderClan, retreat!" he yowled.

Gold blinked and watched as Mousefur and Ravenpaw ran to her. Mousefur nosed her up to her paws. "Come on Gold, let's get going." the she-cat said frantically.

Gold looked over her shoulder to see Redtail and Oakheart in a heated fight, Tigerclaw chasing off on of the last warriors from RiverClan. She then turned and followed Mousefur, the two running off. Her wounds burned and blood clotted her fur more with every stride she took. Her body ached from all the running and fighting she had taken part in.

Mousefur would occasionally look over her shoulder to check on Gold, making sure the young she-cat was keeping up.

They soon arrived at the camp, bursting through the entrance. Mousefur immediately bounded off to Bluestar's den, calling out for the gray she-cat. Gold looked about the camp, her heart pounding in her chest and her blood running. Cats looked at her with wide eyes, surprised by the sudden entrance Gold spotted Dustpaw and the ginger she-cat sitting by the kill, sharing a bird. Dustpaw stood up, looking at Gold with wide eyes, Whitestorm started over to Gold and Dustpaw saw him, following the white tom, despite the she-cat calling after him.

"Gold, what happened?" Whitestorm asked gruffly.

"I-I don't really know." she stuttered.

"Where's Tigerclaw and Redtail?" Dustpaw asked, looking over her shoulder, expecting the two toms to burst through the camp entrance at any moment. Gold opened her mouth to speak, but was cut off by a yowl. The three cats looked to the tunnel as Ravenpaw sprinted through and into the camp, his eyes wide and frightened. Blood matted his pelt and Whitestorm stepped forward.

"Ravenpaw, what's wrong?"

Ravenpaw looked to the white tom and spoke with a shaking voice.

"Redtail. He's dead."