AN: Long chapter alert! And it's an important one as well! There will likely be twenty to twenty-one chapters in this story depending on how much time I have. And thanks to everyone who reviewed, it helps to know who's enjoying this!


Chapter 3

Still rigid with shock after the news Leafpelt shared with her, Stormsong's muscles made little movement. Why wasn't her belly huge like Squirreltail or Sorreltail's? None of what Leafpelt had said made sense to her. If what Leafpelt had said was true, than why wasn't she eating more like any normal queen?

Her head began to spin as she imagined what the kits would look like. One would look like Hawkfrost - dark brown fur with those same broad shoulders. Maybe it would have a white underbelly, and ice-blue eyes like their father. The second kit would look more like Ravenheart if she had more than one.

Those thoughts continued haunting her until she bumped into someone. Stormsong felt irritable almost immediately. Her fur bristled when she glared up at Ashfur. His dark blue eyes glowed in the darkness when he realized who had bumped into him.

"Stormsong, I was wondering where you'd wandered off to," he meowed in a calming voice.

"I was speaking with Leafpelt," she retorted. "Now if you'll excuse me, I have patrols to organize." She snorted and was about to leave when Ashfur blocked her way. Determination gleamed within his blue eyes when he continued staring at her. Unease began to creep over Stormsong.

"I think we should go hunting tonight," he purred.

"No," she hissed. "I have patrols to-" Ashfur cut her off and glared.

"Or I will tell the Clan about your kits," he countered.

Dismay swept over Stormsong. She gaped at him before glancing around for help. Most cats were in their nests already or had left for the moonhigh patrol. She couldn't escape this time.

"How did you know?" she demanded.

"Sharp ears," he growled.

Her eyes narrowed into tiny slits. She was about to say something in response when Firestar emerged from his den. Ashfur opened his mouth but was stopped from speaking when Firestar approached. The flame colored leader gave Ashfur a cold look before looking back at Stormsong.

"I need to speak with you in my den," Firestar meowed.

Stormsong dipped her head in relief when she followed him. She stuck her tongue out at Ashfur before slipping inside. Anger gleamed within his blue eyes, along with something else. She knew that this was far from over.

Firestar held her gaze for a few heartbeats before flicking his tail.

"You and Ashfur seem to be getting along," he said when silence passed between them. Stormsong remained icily silent and glared. Firestar purred at her reaction and gave her a sympathetic look. "I understand why you are angry. But you should learn to get along with your Clanmates."

"He's difficult to work with," she hissed irritably. "All he ever does is... demand things from me." She wanted to say that he mooned over her, but that sounded kit-like.

"As deputy you need to learn what is going on around camp," he told her with a shrug. "Now the real reason I have asked you here is because there will be a Gathering tomorrow night."

Stormsong felt her stomach drop when he mentioned the Gathering. She realized that this would be her first Gathering as ThunderClan's deputy. The very idea sent thrills of excitement through her. Yet she was worried about how the Clans would react when they found out she was deputy.

"What should I do while we are at Fourtrees?" she asked.

"Just remain calm throughout the Gathering," he explained. "If anyone asks what happened to Graystripe, tell them he died bravely in battle. No one needs to know the entire truth." She nodded and thought that was reasonable enough. "You will be taking Larchpaw for the first time, so make sure she doesn't say anything that could give away secrets."

Again Stormsong nodded. Those all sounded reasonable, and she could understand why Firestar wouldn't want the Clans to know what had happened to Graystripe. Guilt clawed at her belly when she remembered what she had to do.

I killed Graystripe, she thought sadly. He is dead because of, and yet Firestar chose me as his deputy.

"And there is something else I wanted to tell you," Firestar suddenly said when she stood up. She turned to look at him, green eyes narrowed in confusion. "Graystripe told me that he wanted you to become the next deputy," he whispered. "He said before Frostwind came that you were the best choice. I questioned him as to why but he didn't explain. So I only did what he wished for."

Confusion gleamed within Stormsong's eyes before she nodded. Graystripe had actually said those words? The very idea sounded mousebrained to her, but Firestar didn't say anything else. Instead he asked for her to leave, flicking his tail so that Sandstorm could sleep with him.

Sandstorm dipped her head respectfully, and Stormsong's fur ruffled in embarrassment. She wasn't used to the kind of respect Sandstorm showed her. Any other cat would just glare at her and accuse her of cheating her way into deputyship.

Stormsong tried not to think about it as she returned to the warrior's den. Thankfully Ashfur was asleep when she returned. His fur rose and fell softly like the others around him. Anger rose in Stormsong's chest and she chose to sleep as far away from him as possible.

Once curled up she relaxed and found herself fast asleep.

OoOo

Her eyes snapped open when she heard the wails of kits crying in the distance. Panic gripped at Stormsong's heart, and she leaped to her paws. She realized that she wasn't in the warrior's den. Instead she was in the middle of the forest.

She didn't know why she had started running. The sounds of kits wailing in the distance had unnerved her. Suddenly their cries had stopped, and her heart nearly skipped a beat.

Where are you? she tried to choke out. She found that she couldn't speak. Her throat felt dry and unused.

The stench of blood hit her lungs when she opened her mouth in a soundless cry. Horror surged through Stormsong when she realized that she was too late. She came to a halt when she reached a hollowed out tree.

Hiding within the tree were a couple of kits. Their bodies were completely still. Blood was splattered across the wood and the nest of pine they had slept in. Stormsong felt the world spinning around her when she realized that they could not be saved.

She closed her eyes and willed StarClan to end this nightmare. When her wish didn't come true she opened her eyes again.

Surprise flared within Stormsong's chest when she saw that one of the three kits was still alive. It was a tiny black kit. It let out a wail and struggled to get away from it's dead siblings. Pity swelled within her as she watched.

"I can't save you little one," she whispered.

"Yes you can." Stormsong nearly leaped out of her fur when a familiar voice sounded from nearby. She whipped around to see a long-legged black tom staring at her sadly. "This is a vision. StarClan wanted you to see this so that these kits would be saved."

"Spiderfang..." Her heart felt heavy with sorrow when she looked at the StarClan cat. Spiderfang had died in the battle between Frostwind and her rogues. He had saved her life when she was just a kit. She missed him so much. "I... I don't know if the Clan will accept them."

"The Clan accepted you," he countered. "And they will accept these kits."

His image began to fade away. Stormsong felt even more confused than ever. Did she really want to save these kits? How would the future of the Clans be altered? She shook her head and tried not to think about it as the vision faded as well.

OoOo

When her eyes opened again she found herself in the warrior's den once more. Dawn was barely approaching, and most cats were fast asleep.

She decided to wake up Whiteleaf. The white-furred she-cat would be more sympathetic towards the kits once they were found. If all of them survived, Stormsong reminded herself. Only one had survived in her vision.

"Huh, what?" Whiteleaf opened her eyes and blinked away sleep when Stormsong poked her.

"I need you to come with me," she explained.

She padded out of the den and waited impatiently for Whiteleaf to join her. Heartbeats passed before Whiteleaf emerged from the den. Her green eyes were dark with sleep when she blinked at Stormsong.

"What's going on?" she demanded.

"I'll explain later, we just have to hurry!" Stormsong didn't bother waiting.

Rainstorm was on guard duty, but he didn't question where they were going. Stormsong was relieved when she bounded through the forest. She followed the path that her dream had led her, avoiding rocks or ferns that stood in the way.

One tree had stood out amongst the others. Near the bottom was a hollowed out log. Already she could hear the kits mewling for their mother's milk. She didn't bother asking where the mother had gone. These kits had been abandoned in the hollow.

"Can you please tell me what this is about?" Whiteleaf demanded after she managed to catch up.

"I had a dream," Stormsong explained. "They told me that there are kits hidden in that tree. They need help." She searched Whiteleaf desperately for any kind of help. The white-furred she-cat was about to reply when a snarl sounded from nearby.

A dark russet-red muzzle poked through the bushes. Stormsong's hackles rose when she realized that it was a fox. It's teeth were bared, gleaming frosty white. She stood rigid beside Whiteleaf, whose body began to tremble with fear.

"StarClan help us!" Whiteleaf screeched.

Stormsong didn't bother responding. Instead she felt heat rising from beneath her paws. Hatred for the fox burned deeply within as she stalked forward. The fox snarled again and glared at her with it's beady black eyes.

Without warning she lunged forward. The fox opened it's jaws, ready for the attack. What it wasn't ready for was the fire that burned from her claws. She dug her claws into the large creature's muzzle. It let out a howl of pain when the fur along it's muzzle singed.

Even if she was expecting kits she was willing to put them at risk to defend the territory. A fox was bad news for any Clan.

It tried desperately to shake her off, but she held on for dear life. She didn't let go until it tried scratching at it's burned muzzle. She leaped out of the way and landed on her paws. The fox snarled, but it cried out in pain when the burn marks became too much.

She spat at the fox and allowed smoke to fume from her claws. Fear gleamed within the fox's eyes before it retreated back into the forest. Stormsong gave a satisfied nod when she was sure that the fox was gone.

"What in StarClan's name was that about?" Whiteleaf growled when she padded forward. "And why were your claws on fire?"

"It's a long story," Stormsong sighed. "We need to get these kits to safety."

She peered into the hollow to see that there were two kits rather than three. Confusion swept over Stormsong. She wondered where the third kit could have gone.

Then her heart nearly stopped. The third kit had been hers.

A black kit, she thought.

"Grab one," she ordered.

Whiteleaf thankfully didn't argue. The kits were dark gray and lighter gray in color. They reminded Stormsong of Rainstorm and Sootpelt. Whoever their mother was had abandoned them when they were born. They needed the attention of a mother now.

Silence fell upon them as they returned to camp. The kits were too weak to mewl now. Instead the dark gray one wriggled helplessly in Stormsong's jaws. She felt pity once more and wondered how their mother could have left them like this. They would have been dead had it not been for her.

No, they would have been dead had it not been for StarClan, she reminded herself.

"What are you doing with those kits?" Rainstorm's question made Stormsong freeze in mid-step. She met his gaze and dropped the kit as gently as she could.

"The warrior code says that we cannot abandon them," she replied. "A fox was going to kill them."

Rainstorm eyed her cautiously. Whiteleaf pushed her way past him and ignored his annoyed look. Stormsong followed her after picking up the dark gray kit.

By now the sun had almost fully risen. Cats were awake and questioning where the kits had come from. Stormsong didn't answer. Instead she headed straight for Leafpelt's den. Inside the medicine cat was sorting through the herbs she must have collected during the night.

She looked up in surprise when she heard the kits mewling.

"Where did they come from?" she asked when she gave Whiteleaf's kit a curious sniff.

"We found them abandoned in the forest," Whiteleaf explained. "A fox was going to attack them, but Stormsong chased it away."

Leafpelt's eyes narrowed when she glanced at Stormsong's kit.

"I see... they will need a mother to look after them," the tabby mewed. "I'm not sure if the Clan will accept them since they are rogue-born kits."

We don't know that for sure, Stormsong wanted to wail. She kept her mouth shut just the same. If she tried to defend the kits Leafpelt might believe they were hers.

"Have you thought of names for them?" Whiteleaf asked when they reached the nursery. Leafpelt had told them to let Squirreltail nurse the kits. Her three kits might be a couple of days older than them, but that wouldn't matter.

Stormsong didn't answer until they entered the den. Squirreltail was nursing her kits while Sorreltail's played with a leaf. Brambleclaw was sitting beside Squirreltail, a proud look gleaming within his amber eyes.

"They will be called Frozenkit and Echokit." The names had come so suddenly, but she liked the way they sounded.

Whiteleaf gave her a quizzical look, but she nodded just the same.

"Are you sure you can handle all five of them?" Stormsong asked.

"If Sorreltail can handle four than I can handle five," Squirreltail replied.

Stormsong purred and thanked her friend before leaving. Thank you StarClan, she thought silently. And welcome to the Clan, little ones.


AN: Don't worry, this chapter was split-up for a reason. It would have been close to five thousand words had I kept going.