CHAPTER 1

"The border patrol this morning is going to be Redpelt, Dawnbreeze, and Blackwing," ShadowClan's deputy, Tigerlily, rattled off. "First hunting patrol leaves directly after. Spottedflower, I'm leaving the contents of that one up to you."

Spottedflower's face lit up at these words. Being the most recent cat to become a warrior, having control of an entire patrol was a high honor. "Th-thank you, Tigerlily! I will take Icestorm, Poppyfire, and Ivystep."

"Umm…Ivystep is in the nursery helping Grayshade with her kits," Spiderfoot, a gray she-cat with a kind face, mewed apologetically. "Hunting patrol?!" exclaimed Lightningpaw, Icestorm's apprentice. "I thought you said we'd do battle training with Eaglepaw and Featherpaw!"

Spottedflower's fur ruffled up not in indignation, as it should have to be addressed that way by an apprentice, but in alarm. My first patrol, and look what a mess of it I've made!

"I believe whom Spottedflower meant to say she'd have on her patrol is myself, as well as you, oh deputy?" asked Dappleface, bowing in mock flattery to Tigerlily.

"Yes, of course!" replied Spottedflower, her fur flattening again. Dappleface was her littermate, and one of the more soft-spoken and helpful warriors in the Clan.

"I would be honored to follow you," Tigerlily replied, and inclined her head towards the young she-cat. Spottedflower purred and rubbed up against her Clanmate and former mentor. "You apologize, Lightningpaw! That is no way to talk to a warrior!" Icestorm growled sharply. The young and headstrong pale golden apprentice merely gave Spottedflower a rough nod and rushed off toward battle training with Eaglepaw, Featherpaw, and their mentors, Ripplefrost and Spiderfoot. Icestorm shot her an apologetic look, then merely rolled his piercing blue eyes and padded off after the others.

Tigerlily shook her head. "That apprentice is out of control. I certainly hope Icestorm manages to teach him some respect during their time together." Spottedflower merely shook her head and stalked off toward the dirtplace while the border patrol crept off towards the ThunderClan border near the trees. Maybe she could erase her earlier failures before she had to, StarClan forbid, lead the patrol.

"Goldenpaw, bring me more tansy!" snarled Skylark as Bramblelight moaned with pain. The small black she-cat felt along the queen's ribs. "There are two kits in here, and if they aren't out by sundown, I am holding you personally responsible!" The handsome golden tabby merely nodded to his mentor and ran off towards the medicine cat den. He knew that Skylark only acted so harshly if she was deathly scared.

"Get…Ripplefrost…" Bramblelight barely managed to make out before falling unconscious. Ivystep stood before being asked. "I'll find him."

"What's wrong with Bramblelight, Grayshade?" asked Bluekit, a blue-gray tom barely a moon old. "Nothing, little one," the smoky-colored queen crooned back. "She's going to give you and your sisters some friends soon."

"That sounds great!" exclaimed Mintkit, a light brown tabby. "Sweetkit and I can make them nests and teach them how to pounce!" She leaped right into Bramblelight's stomach by accident in her eagerness to show off to her mother. The effect was immediate. Skylark hissed angrily as her black fur stood straight on end. "Useless kits!" Bramblelight's mouth, meanwhile, began to foam…

"Nice move, Eaglepaw!" exclaimed Ripplefrost in triumph, as the dark golden striped apprentice knocked his opponent, the golden tabby she-cat Featherpaw, onto the hard earth from behind. Risingstar watched his only daughter warmly as she tussled affectionately with her friend, congratulating him as well. How she resembled the queen she'd been named for, he thought. The mood in the air chilled almost instantly as he recognized Ivystep's fear-scent. The younger cats noticed it too, and all were waiting anxiously when the brown-and-white queen made it, panting, into the training field. "Ripplefrost, come quickly!" she yowled. "Something's wrong with Bramblelight and the kits!"

All training forgotten, Ripplefrost raced towards the nursery, his messenger and apprentice barely on his heels. Nothing mattered now besides his beautiful mate, the kits they'd created together. He entered, barely out of breath, knowing that StarClan had given him the strength to return to them so quickly. "How is she, Skylark?" he mewed plaintively. He knew his littermate would not hesitate to tell him exactly what was going on. But even the sharp-tongued medicine cat's eyes were dimmed by…grief? Defeat?

"It's her or the kits, Ripplefrost. I'm so sorry. There is no way to save both." A contrite Mintkit pounced next to her and wailed, "It's all my fault! I jumped on her stomach and killed her!"

"No, my sweet kit," Skylark murmured, uncharacteristically affectionate. "The fault is mine." Goldenpaw, who had since returned with the now useless tansy, rubbed his face against his mentor's muzzle in comfort. Surely only the quiet, levelheaded tom would dare, thought Ripplefrost in sick amusement. "Save the kits. That's what she would have wanted." His voice broke and he could say no more, crumpling to the ground in grief. Mintkit, whimpering, trotted over to join the distraught warrior and began licking his ear.

"Goldenpaw, get ready," meowed Skylark roughly, her brief fit of grieving gone. Risingstar appeared in the doorway, having left Icestorm in charge of training the apprentices. "How can I help?"

"This nursery is crowded enough as it is," grumbled the medicine cat. "Sit at Bramblelight's head. Lick her, talk to her, let her know you are here and see if she will respond." The hapless leader nodded and made his way over to the unresponsive orange queen, meowing in the same sad, soft tones he had when he dragged his mother off the battlefield and tried to wake her, so many moons ago. They all knew this was hopeless.

Goldenpaw crouched at Bramblelight's tail, ready to take the kits and lick them to warm them up. Skylark moved her paws readily around the queen's stomach until eventually, the first kit popped out. Mewling pitifully, he thrashed his light yellow limbs every which way until Goldenpaw managed to calm him down with soft, careful licks. "Ripplefrost, your son…what is he called?" The dark brown striped tom did not even give a sign that he'd heard the question. Mintkit lay equally still. "Okay…we'll just name him later." Grayshade crept over and took the tom in her mouth. "I will feed you, little one," she mewed, and, purring affectionately, set him on the ground beside her, continuing to lick the unnamed kit's light fur and warm him.

"The next kit…" Skylark whispered. "It was the one that killed Bramblelight. It crushed some of her internal organs, you can tell by feeling its placement in her underside." At this, Ripplefrost rose. "My kit…killed my Bramblelight?" His voice sounded hoarse with shock and hurt. Skylark shook her head. "Kits are innocent, Ripplefrost. You have to understand. This was Bramblelight's time." Goldenpaw finally took the smaller, mostly black kit from the still queen's abdomen. "You have a daughter, Ripplefrost. Will you name her?"

This elicited the first emotional response from the tom since he'd told his sister to save the kits and not his mate. Fur standing on end, he began to screech as only a grieving tom could."She is not my daughter! She killed my mate! I will take my son. But I will never, StarClan forbid, call that one kin!" With that, he stalked out of the cave and into the warriors' den. Young Mintkit, raising her head, rushed to her mother and began licking the head of her new adoptive brother as well. "Grayshade," she whimpered, "did Ripplefrost really mean what he said?"

"I hope not, Mintkit," replied her mother. "The poor little ones don't even have names." Risingstar, sensing that poor Bramblelight was no longer breathing, bowed his head and sent up a quick prayer to StarClan for her soul. Then he walked over to where Skylark was frantically licking the darker kitten. Something about her struck him as he remembered a few seasons ago when Yellowfeather visited him in his dreams…

One to represent the day…and one the night…

AN: Yep, that's where I'm leaving it! Let me know what you thought of this chapter in reviews, please. I'm not a very experienced fanfic writer. Thank you, by the way, to my very first reviewer. I will use your OC since you included her, but in the future, I'd really just prefer name ideas instead of actual characters. I will make their purposes my own.