CHAPTER ONE

"All cats old enough to catch their own prey gather beneath the Tallrock for a Clan meeting," meowed a gray she-cat. The cat stood on the leader's structure, tail flicking anxiously. Second Gathering since Ravenstar's death, she thought uneasily. "The cats that will be attending are Emberclaw, Dappleleaf, Robinclaw, Irispetal, Lionclaw, Bluepaw, and Whitepaw. The rest of the cats are to stay in camp and protect." She nodded and the cats disappeared into the undergrowth.

Cinderstar, leading the way, slowed to let her deputy catch up. The ginger tom trotted at her quick pace and meowed, "What do you think Eclipsestar's going to say tonight, Cinderstar?"

The gray cat frowned. "I'm not sure, Emberclaw," she replied. "Probably going to demand more territory for ShadowClan. WindClan isn't fairing too well, either, I believe. The cats are awfully skinny."

"Yes, but they're always skinny," Emberclaw pointed out.

Cinderstar shook her head. "Not this skinny," she meowed. "Their ribs are visible, at least, the warriors', deputy's, and Graystar's are."

Cinderstar stopped at the lip of the valley that four great oaks sat in. I wonder if this is what Fourtrees looked like, she pondered. Indeed, this territory in the mountains was quite like the one of the old Clans.

She flicked her tail, telling the Clan she was ready, though she knew in her heart that she wasn't at all. The RiverClanners poured into the valley and began to converse among the other Clan cats.

Cinderstar just leapt up onto the newest Great Rock and gazed around. No WindClan cats had shown up yet, nor ShadowClan, though the ShadowClannerswere justboundinginto the valley a moment after she thought it.

But where's WindClan? Cinderstar wondered worriedly.

The skinny shapes finally filed down into the valley, only four cats coming. The four were extremely malnourished and usually stumbled every few steps.

Graystar especially was in a horrible condition. The fur on her flanks revealed protruding ribs, ones that showed worse than any other cat's. The she-cat scrambled up onto the Great Rock nonetheless, and sat down, watching the Clan cats with interest.

A huge black tom leapt up onto the rock. The whole right side of his face was white, curving like a crescent moon. A scar stretched down his face, cutting the white into two unequal halves. His gray gaze rested on all of the cats as he yowled, "Silence!" hisvoice echoing across the valley.

"ShadowClan aren't faring as well as we're used to," the leader admitted, "but we're getting better." Cinderstar noticed Graystar's fur bristle at the tom's words. "More kits have helped show that StarClan is indeed here to bless us. Our apprentices are learning quickly and the warriors are becoming stronger." Indeed, his black and white pelt looked glossy and his ribs were not to be seen, and it was the same with every other ShadowClan cat, the same lithe, healthy form. He dipped his head and stepped back, letting Midnightstar take his place.

The black and gray tabby tom dipped his head to the other tom and began, "ThunderClan is faring well. Our warriors are strong, our camp in good condition, kits growing, and the forest is full of prey." He nodded and stepped down, letting Cinderstar take his place.

Cinderstar looked at all of the cats, encouraging looks coming from most. "RiverClan is full of life," she began, "and we thrive. We have a new medicine cat apprentice, Bluepaw, apprentice of Irispetal." Bluepaw looked extremely embarrassed and small against all of the Clan cats' gazes. "The river is full of fish, the forest around us is full of prey, and everything is very good right now. StarClan have blessed us." She dipped her head to allow Graystar to take her place.

The light gray tabby she-cat stumbled forward, almost falling off of the Great Rock. She finally regained her composure, and meowed in a croak, "WindClan is faring horribly. We are extremely low on apprentices, as our kits keep dying." A few ShadowClan warriors shuffled their paws uneasily. "Our warriors grow weaker everyday, and we have a fight for survival everyday." Her cold gaze turned to Eclipsestar. "And ShadowClan have been stealing our prey."

Suspenseful, no? . You have to read the next chapter to find out what's gonna happen.

REVIEWS:

Luxpaw: Pretty good, so far

Me: Eh, it'll get better. That was only the prologue you read, remember. ) Just keep reading a reviewing, everyone! All reviews help!

Stormeh