Chapter 1

She could feel the warmth of her sister's fur pressed against her as she slept. The brambles that surrounded the nursery rattled – a cat had just come in to check on the kits. She opened her eyes to see Dustpelt nuzzling Ferncloud affectionately. The two cats were watching their two moon old kits carefully – they had just opened their eyes, and curiosity was beginning to get the better of them. Daisy was watching them as well, keeping one eye opened as she pretended to sleep. Cinderheart was still fast asleep, oblivious to the purring noises that filled the air.

"Stripekit, are you awake?" Ravenkit prodded her sister's side with her paw, hoping that she wasn't the only one awake.

"Let all cats old enough gather around the Highledge for a Clan meeting!" Ravenkit's tail fluffed up with excitement when she heard Firestar's greeting call. Cinderheart was jolted awake from the noise, while Stripekit merely blinked away the sleep from her eyes. Ravenkit stared at her sister in annoyance before bounding off into the clearing. Ravenkit knew which cats were becoming warriors – Foxpaw and Icepaw had just had their assessments the previous night, and it was only a matter of time before their ceremony took off. "These apprentices have learned as much as they can, and they are ready to become warriors. Squirrelflight, Whitewing, do you believe your apprentices are ready?

Ravenkit peered through the brambles to see that the whole Clan had gathered to watch. Dustpelt stood behind her, tail lashing as he tried to get past. Spiderleg and Birchfall were sitting together, while Mousefur and Longtail sat by the elders' den. Sandstorm watched proudly beside Cloudtail and Brightheart. Ravenkit's tail curled in amusement when she saw Squirrelflight and Whitewing exchange looks.

"We do," they replied.

"Then I, Firestar, leader of ThunderClan, call upon my warrior ancestors so that they may look down upon these apprentices. They had trained hard to understand the ways of your noble code, and I commend them to you as warriors in their turn. Foxpaw, Icepaw, do you promise to uphold the warrior code, and defend this Clan, even at the cost of your lives?"

"I do," Foxpaw replied.

"I do." Icepaw's mew was quieter as she looked down at her paws.

"Then by the powers of StarClan, I give you your warrior names. Foxpaw, from this moment on you will be known as Foxleap. StarClan honors you for your courage and fighting skills, and we welcome you as a full warrior of ThunderClan."

Firestar leaped from the Highledge and landed gracefully down below. Ravenkit felt the slightest hint of jealousy as he pressed his muzzle against his forehead. Foxleap gave his shoulder a lick in return, like every new warrior did.

"Icepaw, from this moment on you will be known as Icecloud." Firestar's eyes glittered as he chose her name. Ravenkit looked over her shoulder to see that Ferncloud had been listening –her gaze was filled with happiness when she realized who Icecloud had been named after. The same exchange had been made between Firestar and Icecloud as he pressed his muzzle against her forehead.

"Foxleap! Icecloud!" The Clan chanted their names as the meeting drew to an end. Ravenkit joined in as she felt welcomed for watching the ceremony.

"At least it's not Foxcatcher," a warrior grumbled.

Ravenkit saw that Thornclaw had said that. The golden warrior's whiskers twitched in amusement when Foxleap's ears flattened in embarrassment. The two new warriors situated themselves by the camp's entrance as the meeting broke apart. Patrols were sent out, while one returned with prey in their jaws. Lionblaze was leading the patrol, looking proud as he dropped a thrush on the fresh-kill pile. The golden tabby met Ravenkit's gaze, but seemed oblivious to her curiosity as he joined Brackenfur and Sorreltail by the warriors' den.

He doesn't have to act so stoic all the time, Ravenkit thought angrily. He'd been acting that way ever since Cinderheart announced that she was expecting kits. She'd refused to say who the father was and her behavior had changed dramatically since then. Ravenkit knew that queens didn't have to mention who the father of her kits was, but she was also aware that it could have something to do with the warrior code.

"Cinderheart wouldn't do anything to betray the Clan!" Ravenkit winced when she heard her sister speak. She turned around to see Stripekit watching her carefully. She was well aware that the two of them often thought of the same thing. Ravenkit had once thought of eating a sparrow, and in turn Stripekit had picked a sparrow from the fresh-kill pile the following day. "Besides, she cares a lot about the Clan…she couldn't have done anything wrong."

"I'm not saying she did," Ravenkit mewed. "I just…I wish I knew who our father was. Maybe then I could understand why he abandoned us the way he did." She felt Stripekit nuzzle her affectionately as she closed her eyes. The longing feeling had refused to leave since Cinderheart told them that their father had died a few moons before they were born. Ravenkit had never questioned who he was of which Clan he was from. Cinderheart's voice had been filled with pain when she told them about him. "Don't worry about it Stripekit," Ravenkit added when she saw her sister's ears flattened in disapproval. "We have better things to do then mope around camp all day."

"Then let's play a game!" Stripekit bounced a little at the thought of chasing a mouse around all day. "We could play who's the leader," she suggested.

"Hm…I got tired of that game," Ravenkit muttered crossly. "You always get to be the leader while I'm your loyal warrior. Bumblepaw and his siblings were usually the deputy."

"That's only because Bumblepaw likes me…." Stripekit looked down at her paws sheepishly. "I'll let you be the leader this time! You can be Ravenstar, and I'll be…Stripefur!"

"Okay." Ravenkit dropped into a hunter's crouch as her lips curled in a snarl. "I won't let you get away with your prey-stealing, Stripefur," she hissed. "You've spent too much time in ShadowClan, they've changed you."

Stripekit's eyes widened in mock surprise. "But…but I didn't do anything!" she protested.

Ravenkit pounced forward; her paws were curled as she clamped them against Stripekit's chest. 'Is that so? I've seen you around the border. You've been meeting with Blackstar and Russetfur. They know all of our secrets!"

"N-no," Stripekit stammered. Her blue eyes gleamed with mock anger as she pushed Ravenkit off with a mighty kick. Ravenkit rolled across the clearing, sending dust into the air. She gasped for breath and tried to recover, but Stripekit was quick on her paws. She leaped forward and nipped at Ravenkit's paws. "I did no such thing!"

"Kits!" Both sisters stopped their game when Cinderheart called them. "That's enough. Look at what you did to the fresh-kill pile." Her eyes moved towards the fresh-kill pile. Ravenkit's tail drooped when she saw that pieces of prey had been tossed in different directions. The thrush that Lionblaze caught was covered in dust, while a mouse looked stiff and old.

"Sorry Cinderheart," both kits mewed together.

"'Sorry' isn't going to fix this mess," she murmured gently. "Now go back to your nests before someone else punishes you."

Ravenkit's ears flattened at the thought of getting caught. She knew that fresh-kill was precious, especially this late in leafbare. The Clan needed every bit of prey they could get. She shook her head in disappointment before she followed Stripekit into the nursery. She made a promise after that – when she became an apprentice she would restock the fresh-kill pile with whatever she caught. Nothing would stand in her way if she put her mind to it.

A/N: So there's chapter one. I'm surprised how many reviews this got already. Next chapter coming later today :)