One Year Later

Amberkit was now known as Amberfur. She was one of the most pwerful cats in the forest and had eyes like a hawk. She watched with regret as WindClan serveded ShadowClan, sickness was gathering wit them. Greencough was coming. Amberfur knew that she could have died in leaf-bare if it hadn't been for RiverClan and ThunderClan. Bother Clans knew about WindClan's absence because of the Gatherings. Amberfur had watched from a distance and relized that Deathfoot had acted just as bewildred as any other cat. That was when Amberfur had entered ThunderClan's territory. The WindClan scent had hung to her fur like glue, never to leave her.

At first she had been attcked by a patrol and almost taken prisioner. But she would not let that happen. She was only a kit then and fought for her life. Normaly no cat would attack a kit, but she looked like an apprentice then. Amberfur remembered it like yesterday. . .

Eleven Moths Ago

Amberpaw leapt over the WindClan and ThunderClan broder. She had been hunting after the Gathering had ended, knowing that she would need strength in order to do what she was about to do. Right as her paws touched ThunderClan territory, did an apprentice come shooting out of the bushes, slamming into her. She guessed they did not know she was of WIndclan because she had disgused herself as a ShadowClan apprentice.

Amberpaw snarled, she was stronger than most apprentices. She easliy through the brown cat off and slung him into the bushes. Fury lashed at her heart and soul as she saw a black cat appear. The image of Blacktail killing her leader flashed through her mind. Without thinking, she leapt, hissing. Her claws caught the warrior on the shoulders and she sunk her teet in. The black warrior put his hind paws on her belly and flung her off.

"Get out of here ShadowClan!" snarled the black cat. Amberfur felt deep cuts in her belly fur. Blood dripped from them and pain made her eyes glaze over. Again her leader's body flashed through her mind. Again death clawed at her heart, but she still fought on the inside. On earth, she lay on the ground, her eyes glazed and she wasn't moving.
The black warrior quickly went towards her, afraid that he had killed the apprentice. ThunderClan were not murderers like ShadowClan.

Amberpaw struggled with deat and it slunk away, beaten for the fifteenth time in one month. She shot up, her claws scoring the black warrior's face. He screamed in pain and pinned her down, snarling. Amberpaw wasn't about to run off and give in. "You're now our knew prisinor!" snarled the black cat, his breath reeked with mouse.

"I am no prisinor to any Clan! I am here to talk to Lightstar only! If you disagree then may StarClan send death to you!" snarled Amberpaw. Unlike any cat on in the Clans, she was the closest to StarClan. She spoke to them often, hoping that her path would unfold. They sometimes gave her what she needed, like food. Sometimes she starved. Like now the forest was covered in a blanket of snow and she had found a rabbit muc to big for her to finish. She had buried it in the snow near her new home and camp.

The black warrior looked terrified and leapt off of her. "What? Are you a medicine cat or apprentice?" he wailed startled. At that moment the apprentice appeared once more, this time he had a beautiful pale gray cat with him.

"Lightstar!" Amberpaw mewed, dipping her head in respect. She was still a Clan cat eeven if she had no Clan, her Clan was still suffering.

"ShadowClan! What has brought you her, apprentice?" hissed Lightstar, her green eyes flashing.

"I have to tell you something that can not be discussed in the open. Espcealiy this close to the ShadowClam border!" AMberpaw looked at the ShadowCLan border, her eyes streaching wide with fear.

Lightstar must have noticed this because she asked, "Are you a rogue apprentice?"
"Something in that sort, but I, unlike others, follow in the paw steps that StarClan have given me. Right now they have told me to tell you this. But I would like it if we went into your den or somthing, that way I can not be heard. Do not worry, I am no threat to you if you are close with StarClan." Amberpaw said, knowing she sounded much older than she really was.

Lightstar nodded and flicked her tail, signling that she should follow. The other two had not spoken, but continued on their patrol. Amberpaw raced after Lightstar who was a good deal ahead of her. StarClan gave her strength to run as fast as the leader and she soon caught up. Before Amberpaw knew it, they were at ThunderClan's camp. She slipped inside, looking around. Amberpaw met one cat's gaze, he was just an apprentice who was waiting for the patrol to return. She looked away, entering Lightstar's den. She knew other warriors were staring at their leader's den in wonder.

Amberpaw was not used to being around this many cats and in uneved her. She had spent a life with StarClan for the last month and it had been a hard one. She had had to teach herself how to hunt and fight. "Okay," started Amberpaw. "I wanted to talk to you about WindClan."

Lightstar nodded, not speaking, but her eyes betrayed her. Amberpaw saw the leader's look of suspicion. "First off, I am not who or what you think I am. I am not a ShadowClan cat, but I couldn't let any other cat know that. They'd ask questions that I can't trust them with. I would be pleased if you share this with your warriors only, do not tell the apprentices. I have never been an apprentice myself, but I know they' blab it out to ShadowClan and I would either be killed or hunted down just as they were.

"I am of WindClan, the only female to survive. Windstar is dead, along with every female. Only the males were left. WindClan was doomed to a life of distruction. They stole our kits, my brothers and sisters. Then they took they remaining males and put them into slavery. Every now and then I see them catching rabbits. I long to speak with them, but there is always a ShadowClan warrior with them. I have to svae my Clan, there are only six left, but with them, we could create anouther WindClan." Amberpaw paused, letting Lightstar say anything she wanted.

"How did they kill all of the females and take all of the kits, but not you?" asked Lightstar.

"I hid under some braken and fur blended in with it so I was hard to see. They attacked us in the dead of the night a month ago, targeting the five females in the warriors' den and killing them first. After they had killed them, one came to the nursery where I was. My mother was protecting me firecly. I was the oldest of the kits. She had her second litter very quickly is what I am told, but I did not ever think Dawnfoot was my mother.

"Anyway, the one cat attacked my mother and that is when I hid. She killed her easliy, not even getting scratched. She took two of the kits and came back with two others. This time though, Windstar was in there with us, prepared to give his life for us. He told me to keep hidden so I did. There was no where he could hide the others so he protected them with his life as I said. Well a black cat rammed into him, slinging him out of the nursery. They then stole the kits and I crept out when they had gone. I went over to Windstar but he wasn't moving. I had never seen death before and saw a trickjle of b-blood on his mouth. I-I t-turned him over and I s-saw a t-thorn s-sticking in h-him!" Amberpaw's voice had become choked with sorrow and her voice had also rose, almost to a shriek.

Lightstar looked shocked and grief clouded her eyes. "Windstar was one of my best friens, it saddens me that he died. I am sorry that you had to be there when this happened. I also want to thank you for telling me this. If you like, you are welcome to stay here for a while." Lightstar offered. Amberpaw excepted her invitation, planning to tell RiverClan when the next Gathering is near.

ShadowClan

"Get moving you lump of mouse-dung!" snarled Shadowcloud, lashing out at one of the slaves. He stumbled and quickly regained his footing and dragged the limb onward. Shadowcloud knew these WindClan cats were dying, but what did she care if they died? After all they were her slaves!

"I-If you k-keep tr-treating us like this, we will all s-surly die, S-Shadowcloud!" the WindClan cat gasped, a trickle of blood running down his mouth from where his gum was cut open. He stumbled on his weak, cut up legs, his eyes not bright like they had once been a year ago, but dull.

Shadowcloud knew tyhat this cat was some what smart for a WindClan cat, but she did not show it, instead she smirked. "I do care if you die, but this will not kill you! You may die today against the battle with ThunderClan, but don't worry, I won't miss you!" she laughed harshly before smacking the black-and- white cat in the face.

WindClan

Amberfur padded into ThunderClan's camp. She was staying here for a few weeks to see if she was tough enough to battle Lightstar yet. She had trained for many moons, but Lightstar remained the most powerful cat in te forest.

Amberfur carried a huge rabbit in her jaws, a WindClan rabbit. Most ThunderClan cats do not get such a wonderful meal and it was acustom for her to bring Lightstar and the elders a rabbit if she ever wanted to stay. Amberfur had two other rabbits back in some brush because she was unable to carry anymore than one. The last rabbit was for the medicine cats who had given her treatment more then once.

Amberfur approached Lightstar's den, the rabbit draging between her paws. She leapt up onto the ridge and and continued to walk along the path until she came to a small cave. Ducking, she darted under the over hanging rocks and dropped the rabbit. Lightstar looked up from speaking with a black cat, Blacksmoke. Blacksmoke was the same cat that Amberfur had mistaken for an enemy when she was a lone apprentice as she called it. Now Amberfur was a lone warrior, in search of vengance. "Why Amberfur, are you wishing to stay here once more? For training, I am guessing?" Lightstar looked pleased, her eyes brimming with happiness.

"Yes Lightstar," answered Amberfur, dippiing her rich brown, almost amber colored head respectfully. She was now a beautiful cat that had shining amber eyes with pointed ears and her fur was waves of rich brown and amber. There was no way Dawnfoot had been her mother . . .no way . . . "I have brought you a rabbit, the elders and Sunfoot and Tigerfang's are outside the camp in some brush. I will go get them if you'll allow me." Amberfur dipped her head once more.

"Oh no, I'll get one of the apprentices to get it, besides the elders are hungry and it's an apprentice's job to feed them. Go and find Lightpaw and tell her. She'll have Bramblepaw with her, they are brother and sister. Newly made apprentices too." Lightstar smiled before continuing, Blacksmoke looking at Amberfur with surprise. The last time he had seen her, she had just been a puny apprentice. She was beautiful now! "They should be out at the apprentices' den."

Amberfur dipped her head and back ed out of the den, glancing st Blacksmoke. He had changed too. He was much stronger and wiser than he had been a year ago. Amberfur shook her head as she left Lightstar's den, why was she so interested in him? She didn't klike him, he looked like her leader's murderer! Turning around with her tail twiching, Amberfur started off towards the apprentices' den.

Sure enough Bramblepaw and Lightpaw were dozing in the sun, their eyes half closed. Amberfur didn't want to wake them, but she extented her paw and shook them slightly. Bramblepaw shot up like a cannon while Lightpaw lifted her head drowsliy and slow.

"What?" she asked, her voice thick with sleep.

"Lightstar wants you to go take the two rabbits from the brush next to Sunningrocks to the elders and medicine cats. Tey are hidden very well so it might take some time to fin them, but don't worry it wont be to hard. And if you do manage to find them in the next thirty mintues, I'm sure Lightstar will share it with you." Amberfur encouraged. After vtwo or three months, she had learned to make her food tricky to find, but that might encourage the two apprentices. Both of them bolted for the camp entrace, their eyes shining.

Amberfur smiled and bounded up towards Lightstar's den. Suddenly she stopped dead in her tracks, she heard Lightstar talking quietly with Blacksmoke. She was whispering so quietly that Amberfur could barly hear her, but she could. Amberfur was at least five feet away from the den so she couldn't be scented or seen.

"ShadowClan is going to attack today, but I don't think we should tell the others. Deathstar spoke with me. He says he knows we are welcoming a WindClan cat into our camp. He doesn't know if it's male or female, but he believes one of the males escaped. No female should have survived because they were the targeted ones. He told me everything, about them being taken captive and put into slavery, about how he had discovered that Windstar was dead an everything that Amberfur told us. He also told us that if we did not give him the WinClan cat, that he would kill every single one of us. I need to know what you think we shouldo." Lightstar said, her voice grave.

Amberfur was not about to hear the answer, she swiftly walked up the rest of the curving ridge and entered the den right as Blacksmoke said, "I think we should-" he looked at Amberur and changed his voice and the topic at top speed. "I think we should order more partols Lightsar, RiverClan has kept an eye on Sunningrocks for many years now."
Amberfur ispalyed no trace of the things she had just heard as shock. Instead she tried to make herself look happy and ready to train with Lihtstar. "I told the apprentices that you would share some of your rabbit with them if they came back in the next thiry minutes. They seemed quite happy about it, seemed to think WIndClan rabbits were better than ThunderClan ones." she laughed, her eyes not giving away anything. Lightstar laughed with her.

"You know just as well as I do, that I favor WindClan caught rabbits." she laughed, glancing at Blacksmoke, his eyes were wide once more and looking at Amberfur. Lightstar wondered if he was surprised at how much Ambertail had changed. She only trained with Amberfur when they were out of camp, never letting the oter cats see her. If anything got out, the apprentices would probably blab everything out at the Gathering, she had only told her warriors. Still, not one of them had seen Amberfur since she had been just an apprentice.