Chapter 1: Stars Align
"Squirrelflight, I don't want to do this anymore," Bramblestar meows sadly as he pads up to his mate. She twisted her head away from her tough shrew, and decides to stuff it back in the freshkill pile.
"What's wrong, Bramblestar? What don't you want to do anymore?" She licks his ear contently as he sits down beside her.
"This. Being a leader. Always trying to organize a clan, keeping the cats that rely and look up to me alive. I don't want to do it anymore."
Squirrelflight gasps quietly, and lays her tail across his shoulders. "Bramblestar, Firestar appointed you as his deputy because you were best warrior in the clan. You were as formidable, brave, smart, and caring as a member of Tigerclan. You've never steered us wrong before, so why are you doubting yourself now?"
He shakes his head quietly. "I wish there was something I could do." He suddenly looks much older, his responsibilities crashing down on him. Something changed in his eyes, and Squirrelflight jerks up in shock.
"How many lives do you have?" She whispers. Bramblestar doesn't answer.
"HOW MANY LIVES DO YOU HAVE?" She all but yells. Heads turn to look at them, and Bramblestar finally caves.
"One."
Gasps go up from every cat in the clan, and whispers passed quickly, their voices carried on the wind. Fear scent rose up from the hollow, and a gust of wind whips through the hollow, carrying red Leaf-fall leaves scattered through the air. It's like the world has suddenly gotten colder, and clouds block the mid-day sun, casting shadow over the forest canopy.
"Bramblestar, what happened?" She asks, her voice barely more than a whisper.
"I – " He begins, but Jayfeather coughs from behind him. Bramblestar shuts his mouth. "Nothing."
The other cats begin to scatter, but Squirrelflight stays firmly planted in place, her paw resting gently but firmly on Bramblestar's tail. "Bramblestar, what happened?" she demands.
Ignoring Jayfeather, who has now launched into a coughing fit, he tells her. "A disease. I don't know what it is, and neither does Jayfeather. But it's killing me, Squirrelflight. This might be my last moon."
A sob rises in Squirrelflight's throat, but she forces it down. "I have to go organize afternoon patrols," She chokes out, and dashes away. Once she was out of earshot, she lets herself cry and lets out a bloodcurdling wail, a scream at Starclan's injustice.
Meanwhile, at Riverclan…
"Jadestar! Jadestar!" A cat yells. The Riverclan leader opens one eye, and looks up at the caller with drowsy eyes, still half-dozing in the mid-day sun.
"Jadestar!" Duskfur, her deputy, caterwauls. "A Thunderclan patrol has been trespassing on our territory!"
Jadestar's ears immediately perked up. She sat up straighter and licked her paw self-consciously. "What? Who was in that patrol? Did you see them? Or did you only catch their scent?"
Duskfur chuckled. "Slow down, Jadestar. You're still barely a kit, and you're actually talking faster than me!" Jadestar snickered and batted at her with her paw, "anyways, we caught the patrol straying off course into our territory, and we warned them off."
Jadestar nodded. "Next time, crush them. Devour them. Make them fear Riverclan."
"But that's not the news. Here it is: Bramblestar only has one more life."
Jadestar jumped at least a foot in the air. "What? What happened?" She asked, her nose scrunched up in worry, her nose twitching.
"I don't know, but the patrol was talking about it. Do you think he'll mention it at the gathering tonight?"
As her heart finally calmed down, Jadestar lay back down and took a deep breath. "I don't think so. But let's hope that rumors stay rumors, because I don't want the second most influential cat in the clans to die."