Thornclaw's face lit up with surprise. Swiftstar was happy at the modesty of his uncle.

"Thornclaw! Thornclaw!" came joyous meows.

"The Clan meeting is over," Swiftstar meowed. Swiftstar jumped off of the Highrock and decided to go see if Hollyleaf wanted to go hunting.

WWW

It was a quarter moon since Swiftstar had become leader. He decided to see how Hollyleaf was doing in the nursery.

Hollyleaf's belly was swelled with his kits. "Hello, Hollyleaf," Swiftstar meowed.

"Hi," she murmured drowsily.

"Jayfeather," Swiftstar began, "how long until they're born?"

"A few days at most," Jayfeather replied.

"Okay. Thanks!" Swiftstar meowed.

"See you later," Hollyleaf meowed as sleep clutched her.

"Goodnight." Swiftstar padded out of the nursery and jumped onto the Highledge.

"Cats of ThunderClan, Sandstorm, Millie, Graystripe, Thornclaw, Foxcatcher, Toadpaw, and Rosepaw will be going to the Gathering," Swiftstar meowed.

WWW

Swiftstar crossed the tree-bridge after the rest of the cats had crossed.

"Let's go," he meowed, his tail giving a signal. The rest of the cats raced alongside him into the clearing. Thornclaw took his seat at the base of the tree with Bluefire, Ashfoot, and…Tawnypelt?

Swiftstar leaped onto the tree and sat next to Mistystar. She then gave a commanding yowl.

"Cats of all Clans," she began, "we meet under the watchful eyes of StarClan! Blackstar, will you begin?"

"Sure," he replied. "Our deputy, Russetfur, has died. Tawnypelt is now our deputy. Others dead are Smokefoot and Ivytail." He then stood back and nodded his head to Onestar.

"Nightcloud has died as well," he meowed.

"There is nothing to report in Riverclan," Mistystar meowed.

"ThunderClan has terrible news," Swiftstar meowed. "Firestar is dead."

Many shocked, grief-filled faces began to wail.

"How did this happen?" a WindClan cat mewed.

"A quarter moon ago, Ashfur was exiled from ThunderClan because he and I had a fight. A day later, Ashfur, Russetfur, Ivytail, Nightcloud, and Smokefoot attacked our Clan. Ashfur killed Firestar before I killed Ashfur," Swiftstar meowed. "All who attacked us were killed. On a lighter note, Hollyleaf is expecting my kits and Princess is expecting Ravenwing's kits. Thornclaw is now deputy and the father of Thundercloud's kits. Their names are Timberkit, Redkit, and Mosskit. The Gathering is over!"

WWW

"You're doing fine, Hollyleaf," Jayfeather meowed. Three kits were already crying sadly for their mother.

"How many more?" Hollyleaf growled through gritted teeth.

"Just one," Swiftstar meowed. He began licking the only tom, his eyes glazed with pride.

"Here it comes…it's here! Well done, Hollyleaf!" Jayfeather meowed. "Eat the borage so that your milk comes."

"Hollyleaf, we have three she-cats and a tom," Swiftstar meowed happily. One of his kits, an orange she-cat with black paws, was bouncing happily. The tom, which was a tabby with green eyes, was sleeping with his sisters. One was pale orange had a bushy tail, and the other was brown.

"What shall we name them?" Hollyleaf inquired.

"The tom should be Emeraldkit. The one with the bushy tail should be Bushkit. The brown kit should be Treekit. And the orange she-cat with black paws should be Emberkit."

"Okay. Emeraldkit, Bushkit, Treekit, and Emberkit." Hollyleaf then closed her eyes and fell asleep. Swiftstar gave her ear a quick lick, then padded out of the nursery.

Thornclaw was busy organizing patrols. Honeyfern was sharing tongues with Berrrynose. All was peaceful.

A sudden meow broke the silence. Swiftstar swerved around to see Squirrelflight angrily storm through the tunnel. Her fur was ruffled the wrong way, and there was a gash in her left ear.

"What's the matter?" Swifstar meowed hesitantly.

"Those foxhearted ShadowClan warriors, that's who! They crossed the border and began to fight with Graystripe and Brackenfur! I came back to get more warriors!" she hastily replied.

"Okay, stay here. I'll take Lionblaze, Cloudtail, Dustpelt, and Birchfall. Guard the nursery," Swiftstar meowed, anxious about Hollyleaf.

WWW

"Bring it on, foxdung!" Birchfall snarled as he leaped onto Blackstar.

"Birchfall, you mousebrain!" Swiftstar hissed. "Let's see if we can talk it out." Swiftstar felt Molepaw's life kicking in; without it, he'd already be on Blackstar's pelt.

"What is it that you want, Blackstar?" Swiftstar meowed, dipping his head.

"Your clan of kittypets has irritated me for too long," Blackstar snarled. "I suggest you stop taking in riffraff before ShadowClan takes care of the problem."

"KittypetClan," Toadfoot sneered.

"What?!" came an indignant shriek from Cloudtail.

"Blackstar, I suggest that in the future you keep your nose in your own Clan's business and stop telling me how to run Thunderclan," Swiftstar meowed icily.

"Swiftstar! Swiftstar!" came the ThunderClan warriors' cry.

"Make me," Blackstar hissed.

"Birchfall," Swiftstar mewed quietly, "you may…"

"Attack!" Dustpelt cried. He leaped onto Kinkfur's back, and the border exploded with screeching cats.

Swiftstar jumped on Oakfur's back and raked his claws on either side of Oakfur's back. Oakfur screeched in pain and fled.

"Foolish kit," Swiftstar meowed. He saw Lionblaze and Graystripe biting at Toadfoot's hind legs. He only snarled and battled harder.

"Out of my way!" Cloudtail cried. He clawed at Toadfoot's muzzle. Blood spattered from the wound.

"Retreat!" Blackstar meowed. The ShadowClan cats began to flee. "This isn't the end, Swiftstar," he panted. "We'll be back."

"Oh, really? Well, before you do, tell your pure clan how you were beaten by 'KittypetClan'. Now get off our land," Swiftstar hissed. shadowClan disappeared into the undergrowth.

"ThunderClan! ThunderClan!" came the cry from the battle-wounded cats. Swiftstar's heart swelled with pride. These were truly loyal cats.