Yay! Chapter one! Hey, you guys, don't you think the name Spiritwind is cool?:) (I'm not cocky at all...)

Disclaimer: This is an original story based off the ideas of Erin Hunter(s). Teehee!

Chapter 1

The cats woke to their leader's meeting call. They all gathered to the middle of their camp to see what was so important that they had to be woken up. Many of the cats were mourning for family and loved ones they had lost in the battle they had the previous night. A large black and orange tabby stood in the center of the camp.

"All of us have lost at least one loved one," he yowled. "I for one have lost my brother, Lightfire, and the heir to take my place as leader when I go to join our ancestors in the sky. I now have a dilemma. I must pick a new heir before my passing. I have until the next new moon to make my choice. After that, I might pass. Now go hunt for our breakfast. We needent starve."

The cats began to break off into groups, muttering among themselves. A plump, light, cream colored she-cat slowly walked up to her leader. As she approached, she bowed her head respectfully.

"Darkfire, what is to become of my kits?" she mewed cautiously. "They are almost here and I fear for their safety from WolfTribe. What if they attack?"

The leader chose his words carefully and kindly, for he could sense her fear.

"We will protect all she-cats expecting kits as best we can," he replied. He touched his nose affectionately to his sister's silky fur. "You'll be alright, Whitefire. As always," he purred into her ear. Then, with a flick of his tail, dismissed her. Whitefire slowly walked back to the nursery. Darkfire stared after her until she was safely back inside. Then he padded back to his den to think about who would be the new heir to his position as leader.

The next day, Darkfire woke to one of the other cat's loud meowing.

"Darkfire! Wake up! Quick!"

Darkfire looked up, his eyes still half closed from his sleep. It was his good friend One-eye, one of the elders.

"What's the rush?" Darkfire grunted sleepily as he sat up, his mouth parting in a yawn. He looked unbinking into the only eye on his friend's face.

"Whitefire-! Oh, there's no time to explain. Come on! Hurry!"

At his sister's name and the urgent tone in his friends voice, Darkfire immediately stood up.

"Show the way," he ordered.

The two cats raced across the camp to the nursery. Once at the entrance they slowed and entered quietly, Darkfire still frantic with fear. When he saw what was going on, he immediately calmed down, for right before their eyes was Whitefire. Not only was she in perfect health, but right beside her were four adorable kits, cuddled and mewling softly by their mother's belly. When Darkfire and One-eye entered, she looked up, purred a greeting, and went back to licking and nudging her new kits affectionately.

"I tried to get you here in time to see them being born," One-eye meowed playfully. "But you wouldn't get up!"

Darkfire batted at One-eye's face playfully with his paw. One-eye dodged it.

"I got to sleep late last night!" he growled, but showed no sign of aggressiveness.

"No fighting in front of the kits," Whitefire purred.

"But they can't see yet!" One-eye meowed in protest.

"But they can hear you," Whitefire hissed.

"Okay, okay!" One-eye crouched in surrender.

Whitefire proudly flicked her tail and went back to grooming her mewling kits.

"You have got to fix her attitude. She's had her kits, but she's still her grouchy self," One-eye hissed to Darkfire under his breath.

"I heard that," Whitefire growled in between licks.

One-eye growled as he turned to leave. "Have fun." He disappeared through the narrow hole in the wall.

"You two seem to be getting along well," purred Darkfire sarcastically. He walked over to his sister and licked her between the ears reassuringly.

Whitefire sighed. "I miss Lightfire."

Darkfire stared sadly as his sister flumped onto her side. Her eyes were glazed with grief. "I wish he could have been here to see the kits. He was so exited."

"It's alright," he purred. "At least he did not die in vain. He protected our territory. He even protected you and your kits. He is watching us now from the sky. He can see them."

The two cats rubbed heads.

"So," meowed Darkfire, changing the subject, "What did you name them?" He nodded towards the kits.

"Well, I like to name my kits well, so it took a little while, but I've got them now," she purred. "This is Silverpaw." She jerked her head towards a gray tabby. "This is Sunpaw." She nodded towards an orange-yellow she-cat. "This is Rainbowpaw." She flicked her tail in the direction of a curious Calico she-cat. "And this," she dropped her head sadly, "Is Foxpaw." Darkfire saw an undersize red-orange kit with a white tipped tail. "He is the youngest, and the runt. He might not survive." She bent her head to lick the kit. Darkfire looked on sadly.

"It'll be okay," he reassured her. "Not many kits die because of the way they're born. I'm sure he'll be fine."

Whitefire purred her thanks.

Before Darkfire left, he picked up Rainbowkit, who was trying to have an adventure, and brought her over to Whitefire. He gave all the kits and Whitefire a lick and walked proudly out of the nursery to let other cats have a chance to see the new born kits. He found One-eye waiting for him.

"So, did you talk to her about her attitude?" the gray and white tabby meowed.

"No."

"Why not?"

"She was upset about Lightfire. She really misses him."

"Well she can't mourn forever." One-eye flicked his tail impatiently. "He must've passed by now. He can see her!"

Darkfire sighed. Though he did not show it, he missed his brother too.

"I guess," he mewed.

One-eye must have seen the sorrow in Darkfire's eyes because he purred, "Don't worry about it! Soon you will pass and join him in the sky. After that Whitefire will join you. You will all be together again."

"Well, that's reassuring," the leader remarked.

One-eye touched his nose to his friend's flank affectionately, then walked away to give Darkfire some time.

Darkfire padded towards his den to think more about who he would appoint to be the new heir to be the leader. He thought until moonrise. Then it hit him. Real heirs would do perfectly. Whitefire's new kits would do perfectly! He just had to figure out which one. There was a week left until the full moon, so he had some time. He would observe the kits every day from sunrise until moonrise. He would pick the one he thought would do best as leader and that would be that. Problem was, the kits might not understand what to do as leader, so he decided he would make Whitefire the leader and the future leader's private tutor. When the kit was old and knowledgeable enough, it would become leader instead of Whitefire. Hopefully the kits would all be alright when the time came to make the announcement. There wasn't enough time for him to choose again. Lost in thought, Darkfire curled up, closed his eyes, and went to sleep.

The next morning, Darkfire woke to the damp smell of leaves. It had rained the night before, and his green den wasn't complete shelter to the rain. Leftover rain droplets fell from the leaves onto his damp, sleek coat. Darkfire stood slowly, stretched, yawned, and went into the light. The heat of the sun felt good on his coat and he closed his eyes and relaxed to absorb the heat. Then he remembered. He would have to make the announcement about training the kits to see who he would pick to be leader. He tore his eyes open and jogged to the middle of the camp to call the meeting. Cats slowly emerged from their dens and gathered in front of their leader.

"Wake up and good morning!" he yowled. "I have a very important announcement to make. I hope you can hear me Whitefire! I might have to say this very loud! Yowl if you can hear me!"

A muffled yowl came from the nursery.

"Good," Darkfire meowed. "As you know, my sister, Whitefire, has had her kits. I hope you have seen them. They're adorable! Anyway, I have decided to make one of the kits the leader, but I have not decided which one yet. I will observe and train them every day from sunrise until moonrise. Then I will pick which one I think will do best as leader. If I pass before the kits are old enough, Whitefire will be the leader and our future leader's tutor until it is old enough and knowledgeable enough to be leader. Now, warriors go train the apprentices so we will have more warriors. Those of you that have not had breakfast, knock yourselves out!" A few cats nodded in agreement. Darkfire purred with humor and with a flick of his tail, dismissed them. He then rushed over to the nursery. He entered the narrow stone entrance into the shady and cool room. The soft dirt floor felt good under his paws as he made his way over to Whitefire.

"So, did you hear me?" Darkfire meowed as he stopped in front of her.

"Yes," Whitefire purred. "And I am very honored. Do you really trust me that much?"

"Of course!" Darkfire touched his nose to Whitefire's. "I couldn't trust anyone more! Now about the kits... Where are they?" Darkfire squinted in the dim light and looked around. He spotted Rainbowpaw sniffing the air. The kits had opened their eyes by now, but still couldn't see well.

Darkfire watched as the curious kit smelled around until her nose hit the wall and she fell on her haunches. She shook her head to clear it and sneezed. Whitefire and her brother purred in amusement as they sat and watched the kit bump into the wall again, never getting tired. It was as if she was trying to walk through the wall.

Just then, the other three kits emerged from the room on the other side of the wall, Silverpaw in the front and Sunpaw and Foxpaw at his flanks like bodyguards. Rainbowpaw immediately stopped ramming her head into the wall and started towards her three siblings. She then pounced on them and the four kits became four tumbling balls of fluff.

"They're playing!" Whitefire purred happily.

"This will also help them in their future," Darkfire meowed seriously.

"As a mother I should know that!" Whitefire hissed, insulted.

"No, I mean this could help me choose which would be leader. I need to know which one fights the best..."

"You're talking about them like they're some sort of prey and you're choosing which one to eat!" Whitefire spat angrily. "You will find out in their own time! Not yours!" Whitefire pulled back her lip and growled. "I sure hope you don't find the leader and eat all the other kits!"

Darkfire's eyes widened with surprise. He had never heard his sister talk like that. Him eat her kits? It was outrageous!

"You should feel ashamed of yourself!" he finally hissed. "Me eat your kits! Why would I ever do such a thing! I would be going againsed my own law! We don't even eat the wolves we kill! Why would I kill one of my own kind! Especially my blood!"

Darkfire spat and went back to watching the kits. He figured he should get comfortable since he was going to be there until moonrise, so he lay down and put his head on his paws.

As he observed the kits, he noticed Silverpaw was mostly making noises that sounded like he was egging the other kits on. Also, he noticed if any of the kits started to get rough with Silverpaw, the kit would be flung off and hissed at. Silverpaw acted like their leader. Darkfire narrowed his eyes in concentration as he watched the kits tumble and be knocked away from Silverpaw. Eventually, the gray kit gave in and started tumbling with the other kits. They will all be good fighters Darkfire thought.

The sun had already set by the time Darkfire left the nursery. He hadn't talked to Whitefire since their fight, though it seemed ages ago. He knew Whitefire was just being a regular moody mother, so he gave her time to cool off now. The quarrel would soon be forgotten.

The smell that seeped into Darkfire's nose when he was completely out of the nursery made his stomach growl. The warm scent of fresh kill was coming from a big pile in the middle of the camp. Darkfire padded over to the pile, his mouth watering. He hadn't eaten all day. He chose a very fat mouse and went just outside his den to eat. He devoured the mouse, bones and all, and began to groom himself. As he washed, he thought of the angry expression on his sister's face and shivered. He thought about what she said. For some reason, he was still mad at her for thinking he would do that. He could never even imagine any cat eating another! The wolves maybe, they were savages. But the cats were perfectly civilized. Well, perhaps they would work it out. Darkfire did look forward to watching and training the kits. He had to admit they were adorable. He sighed. Maybe a good night sleep would clear his head. He stood up and trotted into his den. He walked in circles, lied down, and went to sleep.

Darkfire had been watching the kits every day, like he had said he would. The kits were all very good warriors. Well, that is, they would be when they were old enough. He had also started to train them. He had taken them around the camp and introduced them to everybody. He had even shown them a little bit of the territory and taught them how to hunt mice. It was their first taste of meat, and Darkfire wasn't sure they were allowed to eat it yet, but they fell in love with it. They had grown to love Darkfire, and Darkfire became attached to them.

Darkfire and Whitefire had stopped fighting. She had said sorry and that she had over reacted. Darkfire had felt a pang of pity when he realized she was just being protective over her new born kits. She loved them so much. If anything happened to them, she would be scarred for life. She would sacrifice herself for them.

It was the day before Darkfire would have to make his decision on which kit would be leader. He had to decide quickly, for he only had till sunrise, and it was almost sunset. He was positive which kit would be leader, but what about the new heir? When the kit became leader, Darkfire would be dead and there would be no heir. He made his way to his den to concentrate. He thought for a moment, but went to sleep.

Darkfire woke to the sound of birds chirping. He was kind of exited to make the announcement. He jumped up to his feet and tidied his fur. Then he bounded out into the dim light. It was almost sunrise. The sky was filled with pinks, blues, and oranges. He still had time. Darkfire looked around to see One-eye approaching him. Darkfire flicked his ears in greeting as his friend stopped in front of him.

"Good morning!" One-eye meowed cheerily.

"You're in a good mood." Darkfire placed his forepaws on his friend's back.

"I'm excited to hear who you have chosen. When will you make the announcement?"

"At sunrise. I've told you that twice already. You need to work on your memory!"

"Hey, I'm old! Give me a break, will ya!"

Just at that moment, Darkfire noticed the sun had peeked out from behind the trees. He slipped his paws off One-eye's back and padded towards the middle of the camp. He yowled the meeting call and all the cats began to crowd around him. Some cats poked their heads into other dens to wake others up. When most of the cats were around the meeting place, he began to speak.

"You all know I must make my decision for the new leader now. I have made up my mind. The leader will be-"

Darkfire was interrupted midspeach, for sprinting towards the cats was Whitefire, a look of pure horror on her face. All heads turned to face her when she yowled, "The kits are gone!"

A/N: AHHH!! Cliffhanger! Well, you'll just have to read more, won't you? Please R and R! I need to know if I should continue. I love you guys! -Spiritwind