Okay guys, here's the latest addition to DiY. : ) Sorry it took me a while to upload it...But anywho, enjoy Chappie 1!

Chapter 1

Shadepool's eyes blinked open to the bright morning sunlight. Birds were twittering in the trees. She jerked her gaze in the direction of a sudden sound, and saw a startled kit barrel up a tree trunk, causing an uproar among the feathered creatures. Shadepool shook her head as its mother helped it down and purred in amusement.

She slowly rose to her paws, flinching as her stiff legs unfurled. She had stayed in the same crouching position since she had gotten back from the Starcave to now; the sun was fully raised in the sky. Sparrowpelt's cold body had lain next to her the whole time as she mourned the lost life of her beloved mentor. But now the elders were starting to wake up, and she knew it was their job to take all dead bodies to the burial grounds.

I pity them, she thought as she imagined tugging a heavyweight body through the forest, and then digging a hole big enough to place it in. But at the same time, she envied them; they got to spend the very last moments with the passed souls, and this was her mentor; she and Sparrowpelt had practically been like family. Perhaps I'll help them.

The old cats emerged from their den, their fur ruffled from sleep. They paused to look around the camp for nothing in particular, then rested their gazes upon the bloodied mound of fur in the center of the hollow. Their paws carried them over to the still Sparrowpelt—and the Clan's new healing warrior.

"Congratulations, Shadepool," Mistfur rasped. "You're the new LeafClan medicine cat." She smiled, but it was gone in a flash; Mistfur was infamous for being the grumpiest of all the elders, so smiling wasn't exactly her "thing".

Shadepool dipped her head respectfully. "Thank you Mistfur, but it's a bit hard to be excited when Sparrowpelt's gone."

Mistfur's eyes didn't meet hers. Sparrowpelt had been the old she-cat's son, but she had always been ashamed of him choosing the path of herbs rather than the path of a Clan warrior.

"Yes," she meowed dryly. "We'll all miss him. It's too bad he couldn't die a warrior with honor and justice."

"Put a mouse in it, Mistfur!" One-ear snapped. "You should be proud of your son for dedicating his life to healing his Clanmates." She walked up to Shadepool and grinned. "If that's not serving your Clan well, then I don't know what is."

Shadepool purred. "Well all right, if we're about finished," she mewed jokingly.

"Come on, Loosefoot!" Mistfur called to a black-and-white tom sniffing at a plump mouse. "We haven't got all day."

Loosefoot limped over to them, the dead paw on his front leg dangling above the ground like it always did when he walked—well, teetered. The tom just gave a curt nod; he rarely spoke.

The three elders each grabbed a hold of Sparrowpelt's fur. He didn't look anything like the cat he had been when he was alive; his pelt was much darker, still coated with dried blood, and his once-pretty eyes were blank and glazed over now that the soul that had inhabited his body had left.

"Wait!" Shadepool meowed as the cats began to walk toward the camp entrance. They looked back at her. "Could I help you bury him?"

Mistfur and the two others exchanged looks. They carefully set Sparrowpelt back down. "I suppose," the gray she-cat replied, shrugging. "It would certainly help to have one more assisting us." She jerked her head in the direction of the entrance. "So come on."

Shadepool nodded and bounded over, grabbing her mentor's scruff and lifting him up off the ground with the others. Then they inched sideways toward the leafy tunnel, stopping several times so Loosefoot could regain his balance. It took a while to reach the burial grounds, but then they finally set Sparrowpelt on the soil and sat down to rest.

Shadepool looked around. The place was eerie, with mist circling around stones that marked different cats' burial sites. The wind made the thin, scraggly tree branches rattle together like bones, as if symbolizing what these grounds were for. A crow called out from somewhere among the trees, and a tiny voice told her to run for her life. But this wasn't a place of danger; it was a peaceful place, where the bodies of the LeafClan cats that had risen to StarClan could rest forever more. And this was where Sparrowpelt's body would rest, too.

At the thought of the old medicine cat, Shadepool turned her head to him. She wondered what it was like being in StarClan; what it was like to be dead, and know what had become of you...

"Shadepool."

Mistfur's annoyed growl made her snap back to the present.

"Oh...y-yes...Mistfur?" she stammered, blinking rapidly and turning to the old she-cat.

Mistfur looked impatient. "I said we have to bury Sparrowpelt now. What is it with you and dead bodies? They seem to fascinate you." Her top lip quivered in disgust, as if she found it wrong to be intrigued by rotting flesh—but that wasn't the case at all.

Shadepool sighed, though she didn't respond; she knew better than to argue with Mistfur. Instead, she just helped them pick the lifeless tom up again and place him in a deep hole. Then they all said a brief prayer for him, and kicked dirt into the gouge until it was filled.

As the others walked off, pausing to wait for her, Shadepool stared down at her old mentor's grave. A tear emanated from her eye, but she shook it away before it rolled down her face.

"I'll see you in my dreams, Sparrowpelt," she whispered. Then she waited a moment, and finally whirled around to head back to camp with the elders. She flicked her tail-tip in final farewell to her teacher, her protector...and her best friend.

As they arrived back at camp, Shadepool noticed right away that something wasn't right. The Clan were murmuring to each other, and they all seemed to be a little nervous—no, more than a little. Everyone was scurrying around, bumping into each other and mewling worriedly like kits.

She and the elders parted, and Shadepool instantly raced over to Mudstar. He was sitting atop the Tallboulder with the deputy, Falcontooth, looking paranoid and working a patch of moss with his paws.

"Mudstar, what's going on?!" she yowled. She leapt up onto the large rock and stopped abruptly, bristling beside him. "Everyone's so scared!"

Mudstar seemed to not have heard her. He was staring straight ahead at the camp wall, still kneading the moss.

"Mudstar!" Shadepool repeated insistently.

The dark tabby whipped his head to the side, his olive eyes wide with shock. Falcontooth glanced at his leader, and after a moment he stepped forward to speak for the frozen tom.

Mudstar blew out loudly and jerked his gaze over to the deputy.

"Night—"

"Thank you Falcontooth, but I should tell her," he hissed, cutting the other cat off.

Looking slightly offended, Falcontooth growled and stepped back to sit where he had been before.

Mudstar turned back to her. "NightClan have raided our training hollow close to their border," he explained hurriedly. "I can only send a patrol of five to fight, because there has to be enough warriors here in case they attack the camp, but there's eight of them out there!"

Falcontooth hissed and took a step forward again. "What are you afraid of, Mudstar, that more than five warriors will scare away the mice?" he asked scornfully. "I say, take the risk and defend LeafClan any way we can! We shouldn't let those flea-bitten rats—"

Shadepool bared her fangs at him. "Who's the leader here Falcontooth, you or him?!" she spat, cutting him off for the second time. She unsheathed her claws in readiness.

Mudstar thrust his way between the bristling cats. "Letting chaos unleash among you and your Clanmates only shows that we're letting NightClan have power over us, and I will not have LeafClan appear weak to those cats!" he meowed sternly.

Shadepool let her fur lie flat again. "Mudstar's right," she said. "Let's just think and decide what's best for the Clan. That's what really matters, after all; thinking of the Clan before our own issues."

Falcontooth didn't agree with her, but to Shadepool's relief he didn't protest either. He just remained quiet as she and Mudstar both closed their eyes and attempted to conjure up a legitimate plan.

Shadepool snapped her eyes open. "What about if we send a patrol around the back skirts of our territory?" she suggested. "Then we'll come up from behind the training hollow and give NightClan a bit of a surprise."

Mudstar looked thoughtful. "That could work," he answered quietly, still contemplating different plans, however.

"And how do you suppose we get into the hollow?" Falcontooth snapped.

Shadepool shot him a glare. "There's an entrance at the back some fox made a while back when I was just beginning my medicine cat training," she told him coolly

After a moment, Mudstar nodded his head. "Yes, that'll work fine," he finally agreed. He got up from his sitting position and yowled to the Clan. "All right, we're going to send a patrol to the back of the territory, and then they'll go behind the training hollow!" he told the cats. "I will lead, of course. Goldenleaf, you must stay at Shadepool's side at all times. She doesn't know as much about fighting as the warriors, but she'll need to be there to tend to our cats' wounds."

Shadepool stepped to her leader's side and growled in protest. "Just because I'm a medicine cat, doesn't mean I can't fight as well as any other member of LeafClan!" But a sharp look from Mudstar silenced her and she sat back down, dipping her head to accept the tom's orders.

"Okay," Mudstar went on. "We need five warriors to go on the patrol, not counting Falcontooth; he needs to be there. Bluecloud, you and Frogpaw will go. Smoketail, Brackenstream, and Iceclaw; you will go, too." He jumped off the Tallboulder, ending the meeting, and quickly trotted over to the entrance. He signaled Falcontooth and Shadepool with a flick of his tail. The two cats leaped off the rock and bounded over to their leader.

Shadepool unsheathed her claws. "I'll fight if I need to, Mudstar!" she promised.

Mudstar blinked in gratitude. "You are just as strong and brave as any warrior, Shadepool," he meowed. "But you can help your Clan in this battle by healing the wounds they will receive—I can guarantee you'll have some work to do at the training hollow."

Shadepool nodded curtly, then looked behind her. The other cats of the patrol were already there with them, and at Mudstar's signal they raced out of the clearing.

"Stay safe!" she called over her shoulder to the Clan before running out after the others.

Shadepool's heart pounded as the patrol neared the training hollow. She could already hear the vicious yowls of the NightClan cats as they tore apart the walls. If they want it as their own—or at least I'm pretty sure that's it—why would they be destroying it? she thought to herself. The mousebrains...

Mudstar signaled for the cats behind him to stop. They were right next to the fox-entrance, and Shadepool could feel Goldenleaf shaking beside her. The poor golden tabby was a young warrior, and she had only been in a few battles. And NightClan was known to be violent and vicious. Shadepool's heart suddenly froze as she thought for the first time of the damage the aggressive Clan could do to them. LeafClan were always the first to suggest peace, and they were quite generous; always wanting to help out others. What if NightClan saw them as weak and never gave up on stealing parts of their turf? Well, they obviously already thought they were weak, or else they wouldn't be here on their territory attacking LeafClan's training area at this very moment.

"Goldenleaf," she whispered to the trembling she-cat. "You don't have to keep an eye on me; I can take care of myself, don't worry. Just go fight for your Clan." She gave a quick smile as Goldenleaf nodded, not speaking one word.

Mudstar's tail was puffed out, as were the rest of the cats'. He swallowed hard, clearly trying to stay calm for his Clan. Then he rose his voice to a furious yowl, and his tail shot up. That was the signal. Almost upon instance, the patrol barreled into the grassy hollow, each leaping onto the first cat they could get their claws on.

Shadepool scurried off to a corner, where hopefully no enemy cats would notice her while they were caught up in the heat of battle. She began frantically sorting herbs, preparing to heal anything her Clanmates received. She put the poppy seeds—she had brought lots of 'em—in a clean little mound, and stacked all the leaves in different piles, each herb in its own neatly put together heap. She was amazed that she was able to do this in such a hectic time, but she managed enough.

"Wait a minute," she said aloud. She rummaged through the herbs in a panic, quickly transitioning the tidy stacks into a jumbled mess. "Where are the dock leaves?" She looked harder, but the dock was just not there. How can I tend to their wounds if I don't have the main herb for scratches?! she spat internally. She quickly scanned the hollow to see if she had dropped the leaves somewhere—and sure enough, there they were in the center of the chaotic battle. "Just my luck," Shadepool grumbled.

She carefully set one paw in front of her, then another, and another. She soon found herself walking into the midst of the fight with ease, nearing the dock pawstep by pawstep. It was a miracle from StarClan that the leaves hadn't already been trampled, but she made to move faster at the thought that they might be any moment.

"Watch out!" a voice yowled from the other side of the hollow.

Shadepool whipped her head to the side just in time to see a huge tabby tom springing from the ground right at her. She screeched in terror and tried to move out of the way, but she seemed to be frozen to the ground.

Suddenly, something rammed into her side. She was bowled over onto the grass, falling with a painful thud on her shoulder. She just lay there for a moment, dazed. But when her mind finally found its home again and she blinked her eyes, she leaped to her paws and looked around in fear. Who had that been?!

"Hey, you mousebrain, didn't you notice how she smells of herbs?!" a dark ginger tom was snarling at the muscular tabby. "You can't attack a medicine cat!"

"Eh, whatever," the tabby growled back. He turned and raced away to leap on another cat.

Shadepool stalked in front of the red tom, her top lip curling back to reveal sharp white teeth. Her tail hung low, the tip twitching in agitation.

"You hurt me!" she snapped. "You terrified me, nearly dislocated my shoulder, and...and..." She paused, putting her head to one side as she stared at the green-eyed tom. "And saved my life. Thank you."

The cat grinned and blinked his eyes. "Ah, it was nothing," he meowed. "Although, it might've been something, considering it was for a LeafClanner." His voice was tinged with wry amusement, and he smirked.

Shadepool narrowed her eyes at him. "Yes..." she replied slowly. "For a LeafClanner." She hesitated to ask the next question. "What's your name?"

"Name's Redclaw, kitten." He looked her up and down, a purr rumbling from him. "And you?"

For a second, Shadepool wondered if she should tell him. After all, he was a NightClan cat, and LeafClan and NightClan had never been cozy friends. But she decided that if this Redclaw had been nice enough to save her from that tabby warrior's claws, it was okay.

"I-I'm Shadepool," she stammered, looking down at her paws uncomfortably. "I just became the new Clan medicine cat...because Sparrowpelt passed away." She didn't meet the tom's eyes as she spoke of her dead mentor.

Redclaw lifted his head. "Well, nice to meet ya, Shadepool. I'm sorry about Sparrowpelt."

"Yes, nice to meet you too." Shadepool nodded in acknowledgment at Redclaw's comment about Sparrowpelt. Studying her paws again, she realized suddenly that they were draped with leaves; she had managed somehow to hook some of the dock with her claw when the ginger warrior had tackled her. But they were crumpled and useless now. She sighed in disappointment.

"What's wrong?" Redclaw asked, ducking his head so he could see her face.

Still not meeting his gaze, Shadepool replied, "Oh, I've ruined my dock leaves. I need dock for the Clan's scratches..."

Redclaw was silent for a moment, looking thoughtful. "Well, I know a place in NightClan territory where there's loads of dock," he told her. "I could get you some if you'd like."

Shadepool looked to the side, only just remembering that they were right at the edge of a battle as she saw the flying fur and claws. She turned back and continued to stare at the ground.

"Do you have a neck problem, kitten?" Redclaw asked, his voice pricking with amusement.

Shadepool suppressed a laugh and forced her smile away. "Um...no," she replied in a cracking whisper. "I just..."

Redclaw purred. "I understand," he meowed. "I can go get you that dock now, if you really need some."

For the first time, she looked up at the tom's face without hesitance. "Yes, that would be kind," she answered him. "Shall I come with you?"

"No, it'd probably be best if you stayed here." Redclaw glanced over at where the NightClan leader, Graystar, was giving Mudstar a blow to the shoulder. Mudstar returned the blow by scoring his claws across his rival's face and bowling him over to the ground. Shadepool rolled her eyes at the fighting toms; so unnecessarily competitive with one another. "If you were caught on our land, Graystar would have your tail—and mine too, most likely," the red warrior finished.

She turned back to Redclaw. "All right, I'll wait here and restack the other herbs I brought. There's an entrance at the back of the hollow you can sneak out of." She pointed with her nose at where she and the rest of her patrol had attacked from.

Redclaw nodded. "Oh, and no offense, but I'll be back to shred the fur off your Clanmates." With an amused smirk, he raced over to the fox-entrance and bolted out. She could hear his large paws crashing through the leaf-litter as he bounded in the direction of NightClan territory.

Shadepool suddenly wondered if she shouldn't have told him about the back entrance; he could tell Graystar, and the ambitious leader could use it to his advantage. But even after talking to him for only a few moments, she couldn't imagine Redclaw doing that to her Clan. However, no cat could ever trust a NightClan warrior. I guess all I have to rely on now is luck, she thought to herself. She shrugged and quickly padded over to the mess of herbs, beginning to stack them again as she awaited the tom's return with the dock.

Redclaw came back after many, many moments. His jaws were filled with dock leaves. He looked around the hollow, which was still alive with battling cats and loud hisses and snarls. All the warriors were beginning to get tired, but they continued fighting without complaint.

Redclaw sprinted over to Shadepool through the fox-entrance and dropped the dock at her paws. "Here you go," he panted, nudging the herbs closer to her.

Shadepool's eyes brightened. "That's much more than I needed!" she cried in delight. "Thank you Redclaw, this was fill a whole dip in the medicine den." She picked up the leaves and stacked them next to her other herbs.

Just then, a LeafClan warrior limped wearily over to her. The small tom's white fur was stained with blood, and his ears were drooping. His amber eyes were wide with exhilaration. It was Snowcloud, who had only been in a couple battles before this one.

"Wow," he breathed. "I never knew I could fight like that." His fur bristled with embarrassment as he realized he had just bragged a little.

Shadepool purred. "Yes, you're a fantastic warrior, Snowcloud." She came to his side, guiding him to the piles of herbs and instructing him to lay down. "Where are you wounded?"

Snowcloud looked up at her, barely lifting his head out of exhaustion. "I have a gash on my flank, and I have a lot of scratches." He let his head rest on the cool grass again, not even flinching as Shadepool began to chew the dock slowly, being careful not to swallow any, and rubbed them on the young tom's wounds with gentle force.

Redclaw came up behind her, watching over the black she-cat's shoulder as she applied the herbs. "You have steady paws," he remarked.

Shadepool felt her face become hot with embarrassment. "T-thank you, Redclaw," she stuttered quicker than the twitch of a cat's whiskers. She hated it when cats complimented her; it made her so uneasy. Then she continued to rub the herbs on Snowcloud's scratches. As the white warrior mewed, she realized with a jolt of worry for the tom that she was rubbing too hard. "Oh, I'm sorry Snowcloud," she said quietly.

He blinked. "That's okay. I need to get back into the fight anyway. Thanks for the dock, Shadepool." He got up and shook himself, wincing as the cobwebs tugged at his wounds when they flew off him.

Shadepool brushed his non-wounded shoulder with her tail in farewell as Snowcloud raced back into the whirlwind of battle. But just as he started fighting again, Graystar pulled himself away from Mudstar, ruffled and defeated yet still holding his head high; he was the proudest cat you'd ever meet. "Retreat NightClan, retreat!" he yowled urgently.

The NightClan warriors immediately stopped fighting as they heard their leader's call, and raced away to stand with the large gray tomcat. Graystar turned around and swept his light yellow gaze defiantly over the LeafClan cats. The cold, hate-filled stare finally rested on Mudstar.

"You may have won the battle LeafClan, but you haven't yet won the war," he snarled, his eyes wild with anger. "NightClan will not be defeated so easily. Expect to see more of us, dear, sweet brother." His voice dripped with sarcasm like an adder's venom.

Confused murmuring broke out among all the cats. Graystar had just called Mudstar his brother! They looked nothing alike, and had extremely different personalities as well.

Maybe that's why they're arch enemies now, Shadepool thought to herself. Something must have happened, considering they're from different Clans now...

Mudstar's face was hard and expressionless. He didn't say a word to the other leader, just raised his chin and stared straight at him.

Graystar seemed discouraged, for his whiskers began quivering in the first beginnings of a snarl. But he must've seen no point in saying anything else, because he flicked his tail and led his patrol out of the blood-stained training hollow. The LeafClan warriors watched them go, making sure they crossed the border back into their own territory.

Once they were gone, Shadepool sighed in relief and turned around. She nearly jumped into the sky as she saw that Redclaw was still with her.

"Redclaw!" she yowled a little louder than she had meant to. She quieted her tone. "What are you still doing here? Mudstar will have your tail if you don't go after your Clan right now!"

Redclaw grinned. "Just wanted to stay and make sure you'd be fine," he replied truthfully.

"Make sure I'd be fine...?"

"Yeah," he purred. "This whole time you've been acting like you're in shock or something."

Shadepool shuffled her paws nervously. "No, I've just always been terrified of fighting cats. I don't want to get in the middle of it. And today, I did...Thanks again for saving me from that warrior."

Redclaw gave a curt nod, a half smile flashing quickly across his maw. "That was Oakpelt." He rolled his eyes. "He's always looking for the tiniest chance he gets to fight. Sometimes he scares the fresh-kill out of me with how much he enjoys clawing through enemy flesh."

Shadepool winced as she imagined it in her head. She shook it away and sighed. "Well, I'll be okay," she said firmly. "Now go back to your Clan! Graystar's always a bit touchy, and I don't want him suddenly coming up with the theory that you're more loyal to us than them."

"Yeah, that's Graystar for ya," he growled. "He's just a ray of sunshine."

Shadepool held back another burst of laughter; the fact that Graystar was the complete opposite of nice and cheerful made the tomcat's sarcastic remark humorous.

"Well then, I guess it's good-bye for now, Shadepool."

Shadepool nodded vigorously. "Good-bye, Redclaw," she called as the ginger warrior turned and started bounding toward the hollow's entrance.

"See ya later, kitten!"

Shadepool's eyes were round and shining as she watched his tail disappear into the forest. No one else had seemed to notice a NightClan cat had only just left; they were all too busy discussing the battle and resting their tired limbs. She spent another moment staring after the tom, then blinked her eyes and headed over to the small LeafClan patrol to examine the wounds they had received.

Awwww. Shadepool met Redclaw, after all that waiting! Well actually, you only had to read through the Prologue, but the people who already read the Prologue had to wait for the next installment. x3 I love how Redclaw calls Shadey "kitten", and I'm so proud of myself for coming up with that. lol. It was originally "sweetie", but I wanted something less creep-ish and more cat-related. Haha! So anyway, I hope you enjoyed Chapter 1, and please review! (Remember, I want critique, but no criticism. Just be nice, people! And yes; I'm going to remind you after every chapter. Muahaha. You will sufferrrrrr! Oo)

--Poison Rain