Chapter one
A swollen belly weighing her down, struggling to surface.
Water so dark and cold,
tiny bodies slipping into darkness
maybe I should stop trying to get to the surface...
she thought
…..no I have to try...if I could save this one...
she briefly glanced at the little black and white kit almost in reach.
…..He looks like he's stalking through the water...
…..I would name him Hunterkit...
she thought then started to kick through the water.
She just got to the kit, her lung's struggling for air.
She snatched the kit from the water and was almost at the surface.
Her conscious was slipping away with every kick through the water.
No I have to stay awake...No I have to stay...awake
…..No...I have to...stay...awake...
she repeated to herself until darkness was closing around her.
…..No...I...have...to...stay...Aw-...
Why...Starclan...why...
Darkness slammed over her.
She was in a dream.
A place with glittering star's,were it was always green-leaf.
She peered through the bushes and saw her kit and another cat with stars in their
fur.
She was still holding her breath until she heard a cat whisper in her head
"It's okay you can breath now"
The starry cat with her kit was whispering
" I give you this life of wonder...hero of the clan's"
Then touched his nose to her kit.
She had a sudden vision,
there was a path through the woods lined with fire,at the end of the path
there was a hill slanting up, on the hill was a silhouette of a cat,
bellow him was a uncountable pair's of eye's.
Word's floated into her head
"Fire will guide the path that the greatest leader walk's down"
she threw her eye's open.
she felt the waves lap at her pelt.
She saw her old mate Rainclaw running towards her.
Burningpelt woke from her moss nest and lay there for a while.
it was just a dream,
just a memory.
Burningpelt got up from her nest and trotted out to the fresh kill pile.
It looked very low.
She decided to ask Hunterstar if she could go hunting.
Burningpelt walked into his den,made out of a tree that had a space under it's roots.
Burningpelt let her fur brush against the bracken and honeysuckle walls.
Hunterstar was in his den grooming himself.
He had just woken up as she saw the fur on one side of his face was flattened.
Burningpelt let out a purr of amusement.
"Hunterstar, can I go hunting?"she asked
"You are the Deputy,but I'll come too" he replied.
They walked out of the bracken tunnel and emerged into the open.
The dawn sun was bright and hot on her back.
"Why didn't tell me I had a brother and sister!" Hunterstar demanded.
"I never thought it mattered!"Burningpelt defended herself.
"They died at birth, I didn't know it mattered so much..." she said.
Please forgive me! She pleaded silently.
" I just wanted to know" Hunterstar said forgiving her.
They hunted very successfully then returned to camp.
Hunterstar caught a crow and two mice and Burningpelt caught
a sparrow and a squirrel.
"Good catch" Burningpelt purred to Hunterstar.
"Now I want a patrol near Iceclan border." Burningpelt said.
"Littleoak will lead, take Skywhisper,Rosedrop,and Oceanwhisker."she continued.
"Scorchleaf's kit's are coming!" a call suddenly came from the nursery.
Jaggedclaw burst from the nursery and repeated "Scorchleaf's kit's are coming!"
Lily that sway's in the wind rushed into the nursery with Jaggedclaw
beside her.
The black-and-orange queen was supposed to give birth a quarter-moon ago.
She waited outside the nursery then peered in.
there was four tiney wet bundles suckling on they're mother.
"they're beautiful, whats they're name's?" Burningpelt asked.
"The silver she is named shimmerkit,the brown Tortoise-shell she is Starlingkit,
the dark brown tabby tom is Lichenkit,and the gray she with white patches is
Dewkit."Scorchleaf replied.
"They're wonderful" Jaggedclaw added.
Burningpelt paded out of the nursery.
The border patrol was just entering the camp with patches of fur missing
and scratches all over their bodies.
"im guessing you got in quite the quarrel." Burningpelt said.
"we wish..."Littleoak replied.
I wonder what Hunterstar was doing in the Starless woods?She wondered briefly.