Hello everyone! Before I say anything else, I would like to think everyone that has viewed or gave any sort of feedback on this story so far. Even though I've only written the prologue, it feels so great to know that people are reading this and like it. I'm definitely going to keep going, but make sure to keep letting me know what feedback you have! Here is chapter one for you! Enjoy!

Chapter One – Quailstar.

Two Moons Later

Leaf-bare was finally upon Thunderclan. After seasons of warmth and sunbathing, it was about time for the cold to start kicking in. For a bit the cats could deal with the rain, snow, and freezing temperatures looming over them, but before long it got unbearable and instead of sunbathing outside, every cat would be cuddling up in their nests. This seemed the ideal time for seasons to change, however, because Thunderclan had been changing in more ways than just seasons since Quailstar lost her last life a couple of moons ago. It may have been a couple moons ago, but the leader's death had every cat meowing.

Although no cat had ever been very fond of the old leader, Quailstar's death seemed to change the whole clan. Some cats grieved for her, while others weren't too sure how to react. No matter what they did, though, all of them knew that Thunderclan wouldn't be the same without her, despite how she treated them.

Because a cat by the name of Brindlefoot had been Quailstar's deputy of choice, although it wasn't much of a choice and just more of a random selection, it was his job to step up to the leader position to run the clan. Of course, Brindlefoot never was interested in being a leader, much less a deputy, so when the opportunity for him to receive "star" at the end of his name came up he wasn't very interested but was forced to take though Brindlestar, as he is now called, never had his heart set on becoming the leader of Thunderclan, he made sure to make a promise to every cat that he would not treat the position as Quailstar had and would treat the clan in the best way that he could. At only twenty-five moons of age he was still very young as well, which only meant that he would be around for a while.

As for the other cats, Brindlestar chose Yellowdust, a young little she-cat, to take the position of deputy. As time passed, the other warriors became used to these new changes, but it was apparent that the days of living with Quailstar as a leader were gone, and somehow this was saddening. Quailstar had led the clan for over twenty moons. No matter how she had ever treated them, there was no doubting the fact that it was at least a bit depressing to not see her around anymore. Shortstare was especially having a hard time, despite how she treated him.

On the topic of Shortstare, this incredibly cold and rainy day was the perfect one for him to sit in his nest and think about the leader and what she had done. When he was younger, Shortstare used to be best friends with the she-cat. Yet, he never got the real answer as to why she started blocking him and the rest of the clan out. He knew he should have been harsher with her, because she certainly wasn't being the nicest to him, but he always waited, put it off, and said that he would do it later. But now it was too late. The last time that the tom had spoken to her was when she sneaked out of the camp that night and he followed her. That was the one time that he tried to ask her the question he had always been longing to ask, but he never got an answer. Now he never would, when that had been his wish for a good ten or fifteen moons.

"Shortstare! SHORTSTARE!" A familiar voice suddenly snapped him out of his thoughts, causing him to jump out of his nest in fright, messing it up as he did so. When he saw that it was just his almost-friend Raggedpelt, his fears quickly diminished.

"Sorry." He mumbled in reply, standing up and giving himself a quick cleaning.

Raggedpelt was another cat who he had grown up with, and although they used to despise each other, it seemed like this rough time was allowing them to bond only because of what they had in common.

"Wanna share a squirrel? I just got back from a hunting patrol, so it's nice and warm." Raggedpelt meowed back, pawing at a squirrel by his paws.

"Sure." Shortstare responded, not wasting his words. He didn't feel up to a conversation with anyone at the moment, but sharing some fresh kill wouldn't hurt him.

Raggedpelt smiled and pushed the squirrel over to him, coming over to sit down. They ate in silence for only a few moments before Raggedpelt spoke.

"Thinking about Quailstar?" He questioned Shortstare in mumbles through the food in his mouth. As much as Shortstare wanted to say that he wasn't, it would be obvious that he was lying.

"I guess." He mumbled back after a while.

"It's weird without her here, isn't it?" Raggedpelt meowed sadly.

"Yeah. I guess it still hasn't really hit me that she's never going to be back." Shortstare sighed, shaking his head. It had been two full moons and the thought of Quailstar still wasn't leaving his mind.

"Well, we're living a new life now. A better one, too. Even though she may be gone, Brindlestar is making a great leader and providing us a happier life than Quailstar ever would." Raggedpelt replied. He had never been as close to Quailstar as Shortstare had.

"It's just… That last night I talked to her as I followed her out of camp – I really think that I might have been about to convince her to be herself again and not this evil clone that she has been using to cover her true personality up." Shortstare meowed in disappointment. He thought that he could have actually done it. Maybe if she was still alive today she would have taken his advice.

Before Raggedpelt could reply again or Shortstare could process another thought about his leader, the two cats suddenly heard a voice coming from outside.

"EVERYONE COME OUTSIDE! WE HAVE A VISITOR!"

Who carried that voice was something Shortstare couldn't tell, but he knew that he had no choice whether or not to stay inside. If there was a visitor to the clan, he was going to see who it was, and not one cat would let him do otherwise. Raggedpelt quickly jumped to his feet and ran out of the den in excitement – he always was a fan of new cats making appearances in the clan – but it took Shortstare a few extra seconds to get himself standing and walking again.

As he set paw outside, the ground immediately felt cold on them. It was gloomy, but the rain had stopped pouring and faded to a small drizzle. At first glance, the cat saw nothing but his clanmates sitting in a huge circle around the camp. Then he realized that was where the visitor must be.

"Come on, Shortstare! Come sit with the group and don't be a loner!" A voice meowed into his ear, gesturing him over with its tail. It was too cold! It was too rainy! It was too dark! Couldn't the cat just go inside and meet whoever this newcomer was later? Nope, he couldn't.

So with the angry thoughts swirling in his mind, he reluctantly padded over to where the other cats sat. Brindlestar sat in the middle of the circle, with Yellowdust sitting not far behind him. However, the looks on their faces and all of the other cats' that Shortstare could see in front of him signaled that something was wrong. He could hear murmuring and harsh whispers through the crowd but couldn't make out what anyone was saying. Why did they all look so shocked? He couldn't figure it out for the life of him.

Not until suddenly all eyes flicked to him.

Cats around him quickly stepped away to make a path for him.

Brindlestar and Yellowdust looked over to him in fear, rushing out of the middle to be near the others.

Then, before he knew it, he was alone.

And a few tail-lengths in front of him stood a cat.

A kit.

But not just any kit.

Shortstare looked straight ahead into its eyes.

Onto its matted fur.

Around its long tail.

And what he saw in front of him

was a cat that looked like some cat he knew.

No. It looked identical to some cat he knew.

Then it hit him.

Quailstar.

Wow, very dramatic ending to this chapter, haha! I'm horrible at dramatic endings, but I tried my best on this one. Trust me, this is juuuuust the beginning; big things are coming soon. Even though it's slow so far, I really hope that you all are enjoying. If so, leave a comment, a review, or anything else to let me know what you think! What do you think Shortstare's reaction will be to this new kit who looks just like Quailstar? I want to hear your thoughts!

Until the next chapter,

~ Moosie