The next day...

"Come on Mousewhisker! Hurry up!" Berrynose shouted. Mousewhisker looked up from the bush he was staring at. He, Berrynose, Dustpelt, and Ivypool were on a patrol.

"Sorry, it's just I thought I heard something." He said. Trotting up to them.

Berrynose snickered. "Are you sure you just didn't get enough sleep last night?" he said smirking.

Mousewhisker cuffed him over the ear. "Shut up! I'm serious! I thought I heard something!"

"I hear something too!" Ivypool said, "I think it's coming from that way!" She darted through the brush, and the rest of the patrol followed. As she lead them, the sound got louder and louder. It was the sound of mewling kits! They came upon a strub that had some kind of two-leg thing stuck in it. It was like thick spider webbing formed in the shape of a box. As the got closer they saw three kits shivering inside it. Two tiny toms and a she-cat.

"They're kits!" Dustpelt shouted.

"Who would just leave them here like this?" Mousewhisker asked.

"I'm guessing it was two-legs by the stench!" Berrynose said crinkling his nose. "He guys? Have you ever seen a cat with those markings?" he asked. The three kits did indeed have odd markings, ones that no clan cat had ever seen before. Their pelts were an orange-red color with cream colored under bellies. Their spots ranged from tiny dots to large "O" shaped marks. They didn't have their eyes open yet, but they were fairly large for kits only a week or so old. The cage they were in's door was bent open.

"What should we do?" Mousewhisker asked, "I mean we can't just leave them here."

"We'll just have to take them back to camp." Dustpelt said, "Hopefully one of the queens will be willing to take care of them."

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At Thunder Clan...

Jayfeather had been on edge all day. He was worried about the prophecy, but he hadn't told Bramblestar yet. He contemplated telling him, but he decided against putting more stress on the new leader. The first leaf bare since the Great Battle was finally over, and the clan was just beginning to recover again. Brightheart had given birth to a kit recently; a small white she cat with an orange tail and a big spot over her left eye. Her name was Leafkit.

He was on such a high alert for trouble, he nearly jumped when he herd paw steps beating towards the camp. 'Were they attacked by something?' he thought, 'Was it the monster?!'

As the paw steps got closer, he smelled a different sent than his clan mates. It smelled mostly like two legs, but there was a different scent underneath. One that was slightly different to cat scent, a bit more like wood and water. The patrol burst though the clan entrance. All eyes turned towards the new arrivals.

"Mama? What do they have in their mouths?" Seedkit asked. That caught Jayfeather's attention! He peeked his head out of the den to hear what was going on better. Other cats started coming out of their dens to see what was going on as well.

"Bramblestar!" Dustpelt called.

The leader came out of his den and jumped down from the ledge, and down the stepping. Stones that lead up the stone wall. "What is it Dustpelt? Is something wrong?" he asked curiously.

The other three cats on the patrol came forward and placed the small kits in front of their leader. "We found these kits near the edge of our borders. They were stuck in what we believed to be some sort of two-leg trap." Dustpelt said, "We don't know how they got there, but they are hurt and won't last long if they don't have someone to take care of them."

"And you propose that we take in these kits that we know nothing about?" Bramblestar replied, "for all we know they have a mother that is looking for them right now."

"We didn't smell any other cat scent around, fresh or stale." Ivypool stated.

"Thunder Clan will need more warriors in the future...and they will need a home..." he contemplated. "Very well. They can stay." he said. A few of the cats on patrol gave a relieved look. Several of the other clan cats looked pleased as well, but Jayfeather couldn't help but feel a bit apprehensive about the new additions to the clan.

"But who's going to take care of them? They don't even have their eyes open yet!" Bumblestripe said from they crowd. There were a few worried murmurs of agreement.

"I'm sure one of the queens will be willing to take care of the kits." Bramblestar stated. "Brightheart?" he called. She looked up in attention and nodded. "Seeing as your kit also still needs milk as these do, will you be willing to take care of them?" he asked.

"I would be glad to." she said with a smile. Her mate cloudtail nodded in agreement. The patrol brought the three kits over to her and placed them at her belly, they began nursing immediately. The crowd of cats dispanded.

Leafkit looked over her mother curiously. "Dose this mean I'm a big sister now?" she asked excitedly.

Brightheart chuckled. "In a way." She said. The excited kit began bouncing around happily.

"What should we name them?" Cloudtail asked, standing next to her.

"The she-cat can be Stormkit." she said pointing to the smallest of the three with her nose, "and that one can be Leopardkit." she pointed to the lighter colored of the two toms. "You can name the last one." she said to her mate.

Cloudtail thought for a second and then smiled. "How about Sunkit?" Bright heart smiled and nodded.

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In the medicne cat's den….

After the three new kits had been fed, they were brought to jayfeather to be treated. He didn't know why, but these three kits made him anxious. He was just finishing up cleaning Leopardkit's cuts, when he had a sudden, but quick flash of sight. He saw Leopardkit and his two siblings and a stench wafted through the air. It smelled like the place from his dream the other night. he blinked quickly and the stench, and his sight, were gone again. After the kits had been returned to brightheart, jayfeather went to bed. 'Did these kits have something to do with the creature? ...or maybe they were the creatures!' he thought. A shiver went up his spine at the thought of the danger living within Thunder Clan itself.

"You ok Jayfeather?" Briarlight asked.

"Yeah, I'm fine… " he lied. But actuality, that was the last thing he was.

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to be continued…..