Pebblepaw and Crowpaw were walking home from a successful hunt. Pebblepaw was carrying a large fish, and Crowpaw a very small seagull. When they entered SeaClan camp they were greeted by Rainfur, the deputy, and Summerfeet, a senior warrior of the clan.

"Take your fresh-kill to the elders right away," Rainfur meowed, "and then come with us on our dusk-patrol," Pebblepaw looked excited at Crowpaw, and rushed towards the elders den, where he asked Foamfoot, a light brown tom and Stormfur, a very old grey tabby she-cat to share his catch, as he was going on patrol. Crowpaw was hardly as enthusiastic, but he, too, ran to the elders den, where he gave his seagull to Flameeye, the last of the elders in SeaClan.

Flameeye asked if he should reward Crowpaw with a story, but Crowpaw told him that he was going on patrol, so Flameeye send him away with a flick with his tail.

"Can you tell me what you can scent?" Rainfur asked Pebblepaw. Pebblepaw thought for a while, with his mouth wide open to lap in all the scents, "CaveClan patrols on the other side of the river," he exclaimed with a joyful nod. Rainfur showed that he was pleased with his apprentice, and then asked Crowpaw "What other scents can you make out of the air?"

Crowpaw was standing still for a long time before he answered. "A seagull eating seagull-food and a mouse nearby." and Rainfur smiled at him.

After they had checked up on the borders in the CaveClan direction, and Summerfeet had caught the mouse Crowpaw had been talking about, they turned their noses towards home.

When they returned, they saw that the fresh-kill pile had grown a bit since they left, and Summerfeet asked Crowpaw to take the mouse to the medicine cats' den, where Spottedback, the medicine cat, and his apprentice Mossface would enjoy it.

When Crowpaw and Summerfeet were out of sight, Rainfur turned to Pebblepaw and said that he was thinking about talking to Otterstar about him. "Why?" Pebblepaw asked nervously.

"Because I think that you are ready to be a warrior," Rainfur meowed. Rainfur didn't quite get an expected expression from his apprentice. Pebblepaw turned around and looked after Crowpaw and asked: "But I have trained alongside Crowpaw, is he not going to be a warrior together with me?"

Rainfur studied Pebblepaw's face, and let out a sigh, "I could wait until Stonepelt himself recommends Crowpaw too, but you know that it'll take a long time. Stonepelt isn't the most flattering kind of tom,"

Pebblepaw looked at his feet, of course he wanted to be a warrior, and he could hardly wait for his own ceremony, but it would never be the same without Crowpaw and him together.

"I would like for you to wait, Rainfur," he said and walked towards the apprentice den.

Rainfur watched him go, and thought to himself, "How I wonder what great adventures that youngster will experience..."

The next morning, just after dawn, Pebblepaw woke up from the loud cries of pain coming from the nursery. He recognized the voice as his mother's, and ran straight towards the nursery where he had been born, to soon be taken away from in fear.

When he came in, he saw Wavetail lying and twitching in pain, and he barely saw that Spottedback and Mossface were with her. "What is happening?" he asked the two medicine cats.

Mossface looked into Pebblepaw's face, and in Mossface's eyes, Pebblepaw saw nothing but fear.

"Wavetail is having a miscarriage, we have to hurry if we shall be able to save the kits," Spottedback's calm voice said. Pebblepaw stared at him with fury, "save the kits? They are the reason she is in pain, you should try to save her!" he yelled.

Coming into the nursery, Pebblepaw spotted Stonepelt, and hadn't it been for the circumstances, Pebblepaw would have asked Stonepelt to consider making Crowpaw a warrior. "What in StarClan's name is happening?" Stonepelt asked. Pebblepaw was faster than Spottedback to answer. "Wavetail is miscarrying, and either she'll die, or your kits will." Spottedback looked into Pebblepaw's eyes with anger, "Noone decides who'll live except for StarClan, and if you'd be so kind, I'd like the two of you to go away," and with a flick of his tail, he send Pebblepaw and Stonepelt out. When the two cats were out, they could hear Spottedback ask Mossface to fetch something in the medicine cats' den.

When the two toms were sitting outside the nursery and listening to the sound of the she-cat they both loved, Pebblepaw couldn't help to think what would happen if the kits were to die, or even worse if his mother was to die.

Stonepelt made no sound, and Pebblepaw looked at him. His grey fur was standing on edges from fear that Wavetail and the kits might die, and Pebblepaw felt sympathy for him, completely forgetting his own fears.

After what seemed an eternity Otterstar turned up in the camp entrance with a scared expression. The leader had a close relationship to Wavetail, and he also had his own reasons to fear for the life of the kits.

Only a few months ago one of his own kits had died from green-cough, so the fact that the clan was growing smaller was nagging in the back of his mind.

"I came as soon as I could," he yelled to Spottedback who was walking slowly out of the nursery, "How is Wavetail?" Stonepelt asked with a voice way too small for his muscular body.

The white and brown medicine cat let out a half relieved sigh, "Wavetail is surviving..." he said, and Stonepelt's, Pebblepaw's and Otterstar's faces turned bright with relief, "...but," Spottedback continued darkly, "The kits are not,"

Stonepelt's and Otterstar's faces turned dark with grief, and so did Pebblepaw's, even though he had thought that he cared not for the kits.

Otterstar suddenly let out a dark summon to a clan gathering, "May all cats old enough to catch their own prey gather under StarRock!"

When the cats of the clan had gotten the sleepiness out of their heads, Otterstar began to talk.

"Wavetail and Stonepelt were waiting two strong kits, but grave things have happened," the clan began to mumble with fear for what Otterstar was about to reveal, and several sounded as if they had already guessed, "The two kits were born dead, and even though Spottedback and Mossface tried their best to help them into the world, they didn't make it. The two kits will nonetheless get their kit names, so that when they join with StarClan, they can find their ancestors."

The clan grew silent with sorrow for Wavetail and Stonepelt, but a single young warrior, Wintertail, asked loudly: "How is Wavetail? Is she going to die?"

Otterstar looked at Wintertail and shook his head. "Wavetail is getting better the moment we speak," he said, to the clan's relief.

"StarClan, hear my plea, take these kits to you under the names of Deadkit, and Lostkit," Otterstar said, ending the meeting.

Many cats chanted the names, but Stonepelt was just sitting near the nursery with grief painted over his face.

Returning to his den, Otterstar looked into the sky, where the clouds and newly risen sun had hidden Silverpelt. "Why have you forsaken us?" he asked under his breath, and went into his den without waiting for an answer.