Chapter Three
DeathClan
Darktail was sent away with a flick of Firestar's tail. The ginger tom turned with Sandstorm, and entered his den quietly. He turned to watch as Darktail made his nest beside High Rock, and as he curled his tail around him, Firestar saw his amber eyes flick to Ferncloud. He hissed warningly, and Darktail flattened himself against his soft, mossy nest in fear.
Firestar walked into his den to find Sandstorm sitting peacefully, looking rather pleased with herself. Firestar smiled slightly, and sat down across from her. "Whats up?" He asked, curling his tail around his paws. Sandstorm took a deep breath, seeming as if she was barely able to restrain herself. "Firestar, I'm having your kits!" She mewed, lashing her tail from side to side. Firestar purred loudly, like the motor of a Thunderpath monster. "Really? Your not kidding?" he asked, kneading his paws in the soft, sandy den floor. "No, I'm not kidding! I saw Cinderpelt about it today!" The ginger she-cat leapt on her mate, covering him with furitive, light licks. Firestar purred into her neck, wrapping his front paws around her.
"Umm, Firestar?"
Cam an uncertain voice from the den mouth. "C-ome in!" he called, wriggling out from under an exstatic Sandstorm. The she-cat then leapt on the deputy, who staggered back under her advancing wieght. "I'm having his kits, Graystripe!" She purred, releasing him and backing away. Graysrtipe lay, winded, on the floor of the den, eyes sparkling. "No way! Oh, thats great, I love kits!" he yowled, leaping on Firestar in return. Sandstorm laughed, but stood up as a fierce yowling echoed through the camp. Firestar's fur bristled and he leapt up, bounding out of the den.
The ThunderClan camp was a place of chaos. The queens where ushering thier kits into the Nursery, while the warriors lined up in front of it, hissing and spitting. Suddenly, Firestar saw what was wrong. Ten rogue cats where leaping out of the gorse and heather, hissing and spitting furiously. The largest, a tortioushell tom, leapt immidiatly upon Runningwind, and the two rolled on the clearin floor, hissing and spitting. Firestar bowled over a tabby she-cat, and sunk his teeth into her ear. "We are here to avenge Scourge, leader of BloodClan!" Firestar yowled as she sunk her teeth into his shoulder. But the ginger leader wasn't about to give up. He scrabbled his claws against her soft stomach, and sent her into the heater with a few wounds to remember him by. He looked up to see Sandstorm, fighting fruitlessly with a huge black tom. Firestar yowled in rage, and leapt onto his back. "Run, Sandstorm!" he yowled, and his mate quickly obeyed. She bit at the tom's ears, and raked his claws across his soft nose. The cat threw him off, and bounded into the bushes. The whole Clan was advancing on the rogues, and more and more of them where fleeing into the brush. The torioushell, who Firestar guess was the leader, leapt away from Runningwind, yowling to his Clan. "Retreat, DeathClan, retreat! We have done enough damage!" he growled. DeathClan left thier opponants, and bounded off into the heather. Each of the warriors stood, some bleeding profusley. Firestar felt a scratch begin to sting on his shoulder, and he looked. With a slight yowl, he saw that it was deep, and bleeding all the way down his leg. Cinderpelt was rushing toward him, and soon she was feverishly pressing cobwebs to his wound.
Soon, all the wounds where attended to. Cinderpelt sat in the middle of the clearing, exhausted, as all the warriors went away to sleep.