A/N: I am ALIVE. :D Work is killing me right now. DX Also, I think someone asked how long after TLB this is. As of this chapter, it's been 7.5 moons since the last chapter of TLB, not including the Epilogue. The Epilogue of TLB happened between the Prologue and Chapter 1 of this fanfic. :)

Ice that falls like snow: Yup! Three of Brightface's shows up in this chapter, actually.

Hazel Ashwood: (1) I have honestly never read that story, but it sounds cool. I looked it up but couldn't really get that invested in it. (2) You still haven't met three of them. :3 (3) Yes! Times flies when everything is easy and Foxstar is a part of the Clan. Dustpelt was the best hunter before Cloudtail swept in. I talk a little about the prey problems here, I think. I sort of finished this chapter while a bit tipsy. Could probably do with some last minute edits but I am so DONE with this chapter right now. I waited forever to get it out almost right. Now I'm posting. Yee. (4) Irony. I do love it. Foxy isn't around to help mitigate the damages and Firestar isn't really helping matters either. It's so much fun to work with. (5) Allegiances won't be posted until after the epilogue. Sorry, but it's part of the experience of a blind cat. You'll never see anyone's real color until then, or until they show up in StarClan. But I can list names! :) (6) Oooh, now I'm curious who your fav is. I'm highly competitive and always looking to improve, but if it's down to tastes there's not much I can't do about that. Le sigh. Life is hard. :(

Fala: Nice! He is such a go-getter, even if he is blind. No cat can keep him down! Thank you so much for contributing.

Spiritkit waited inside of the fern tunnel, trying to stay out of the medicine cat's way while staying out of sight from the rest of his Clan. He had no idea where Viperpaw was right now – the black darkness could cover up cats just as easily as it could help make them easier to see. He and Forestpaw had often played together as kits where they just spent the whole day saying who or what was in camp and who wasn't. Spiritkit had an easier time seeing cats like Brambleclaw and Brackenfur even when they were hiding behind a web of black branches.

He scanned the camp for Ravenfeather even though he knew he would still be in SunClan's camp. Was Foxstar really dead? He couldn't imagine the legendary warrior joining their warrior ancestors. There were too many stories of her escaping death, of her defeating overwhelming odds, and of her sneaking into enemy camps only to escape unharmed.

From the feel of the sun on his paws, Spiritkit knew it was midday. Cloudtail padded out of the warrior's den with Thornclaw behind him. He gestured with his tail towards the blackness which was apprentice's den and Thistlepaw hared out with the excitement of a squirrel racing towards the nearest tree. Her tail was straight up and she practically beamed at them both.

Is that her first hunting patrol? Spiritkit wondered, feeling a wave of frustration that only one apprentice was allowed to go with them. His muscles itched so badly to move that he felt like his skin was going to crawl off to find someone or something more interesting.

Two gray spirits and one green spirit emerged out of the darkness; Ravenfeather, Dustpelt, and Forestpaw. Ravenfeather padded towards the leader's den but without the urgency that Spiritkit would have expected if Foxstar had died. Dustpelt and Forestpaw headed towards where Spiritkit smelled the freshkill pile. Eventually, the green spirit headed towards him, his tail low.

"Hey Spiritkit," mewed Forestpaw.

"What happened?"

Forestpaw sat down and clawed the ground like he was batting something away. Spiritkit heard the soft squelch of a mossball rolling across dirt. "Foxstar's fine."

Spiritkit turned to the leader's den, feeling more than a little confused. Ravenfeather emerged, the foggy gray spirit padding straight for the fresh-kill pile.

"Everyone in SunClan is eating well," he mewed surly. "The cornfields are rich with fat mice."

"Don't let anyone else hear you say that," mewed Spiritkit, glancing around for the one cat he did sometimes have trouble seeing. "Ashfall might be around."

Forestpaw looked away dismissively. "Don't worry about him. He's out on patrol with Viperpaw and Fernspots somewhere near the RiverClan border."

"Okay," mewed Spiritkit. "So, what's wrong?"

"What do you mean?" Forestpaw looked a little guilty.

"You're not as cheerful as you usually are."

Forestpaw tried to smile but Spiritkit glared at him until he stopped. "I guess it's just the prey pile. It hasn't been very high."

"You don't know what it looks like when it's high," Spiritkit pointed out.

"Brindleface talked about it with Dustpelt," explained Forestpaw. "Dustpelt talked about it with Foxstar. Something needs to be done about this, Spiritkit, or else the Clan will starve before we even reach leaf-bare."

Leaf-bare was only a few moons away. Spiritkit felt a chill under his fur at the thought of his Clanmates dying of hunger around him while he remained well fed just because he was a kit.

"Firestar should let at least two apprentices hunt with every patrol," mewed Spiritkit. "It doesn't make sense to have two warriors and one apprentice on patrol."

Forestpaw wrinkled his nose. "Not everyone has been trained to hunt yet," he mewed.

Spiritkit growled. "Because everyone is stuck in camp."

"I know," mewed Forestpaw, frustrated. "But we can't do anything about it."

Spiritkit wondered if Firestar was aware of the problems. If he was, why hadn't he tried to fix it yet? Back when Cloudtail was an apprentice, everyone could catch eight prey or more in a hunting assessment. Now they were lucky to catch three. Spiritkit rose to his paws, suddenly feeling like he was going to burst with energy.

"Maybe we can hunt together," Spiritkit mewed, lowering his voice. "Without anyone else knowing. The Clan could use the fresh-kill."

"Maybe," mewed Forestpaw, glancing around. He sighed. "Maybe we could hunt tonight, after Dustpelt is gone."

Spiritkit lashed his tail in excitement. He had already caught one bird and he couldn't wait to catch something else for his Clan. I'll be the greatest hunter of all time! It suddenly didn't matter if he became a medicine cat or a warrior. As long as he could hunt prey for his Clan, he knew he could be a real Clan cat.

"All cats old enough to catch their own prey join here beneath the Highrock for a Clan meeting!"

Spiritkit almost sighed before he remembered that he was old enough to have caught prey. He quickly joined Forestpaw beside the other apprentices, trying to look over the group of gray-white spirits. He could hear his sisters complaining behind him and arguing to join the others, but the camp quickly grew quiet as Firestar started speaking.

The fiery red spirit was like a miniature red sun in the sky, standing on a mountain of darkness. "Some of our youngest warriors are now ready for apprentcies," he began, and Spiritkit felt hope soar in his chest, "and some of our younger apprentices are ready for mentors."

Spiritkit felt his hope plummet and glanced sideways at Forestpaw, who looked as unhappy as Spiritkit felt. Even though it made sense, it hurt knowing that Spiritkit would still have to wait until Forestpaw's and his siblings were made warriors before he could become an apprentice. He would always be one hundred pawsteps behind his brother.

"Harrierflight, Slatefang, and Graystone, step forward," mewed Firestar, as Brindleface's last litter gathered at the base of the Highrock. "Because of your patience, I have decided it is time for you to become mentors. I am sorry that Falconwing will not be joining us today but I am sure she is watching you all from the stars. I know you will honor her memory by being warriors ThunderClan can be proud of." The fiery red spirit turned to the front of the crowd. "Snowpaw, Dewpaw, and Whitepaw, step forward."

Three of Brightface's kits padded forward to stand eagerly at the base of the dark mountain. Forestpaw had once told Spiritkit that all three of them were either white or mostly white-and-gray, which would make them better hunters in the white snow. So, Firestar had decided to delay their training and give Scarletpaw and Amberpaw their mentors first.

"Harrierflight, you will be the mentor of Whitepaw, and I expect you to pass on all you know to him," mewed Firestar.

The powerful warrior dipped his head to touch noses with the fluffy tom.

"Graystone," mewed Firestar, "you will be the mentor of Dewpaw, and I expect you to pass on all you know to him."

The sleek warrior's tail was raised high as he dipped his head to touch noses with the tom.

"Slatefang, you will be the mentor of Snowpaw, and I expect you to pass on all you know to her."

The slender warrior she-cat smiled, revealing her long fangs, as she touched noses with the lean apprentice.

The Clan erupted into cheers. "Snowpaw! Dewpaw! Whitepaw!"

As the Clan rushed to congratulate the three apprentices, Forestpaw nudged Spiritkit's shoulder and led him away to the dirtplace. Spiritkit glanced back to make sure no one else saw them as they snuck out the back of the camp. The darkness of the forest closed around him, and only Forestpaw's bright green spirit helped him figure out the land was flat in front of him. Forestpaw led the way up the ravine, climbing the darkness and making Spiritkit's stomach turn.

I wish I was that brave, he thought, before forcing himself to follow, keeping his whiskers close to the wall and stretching his claws to find every clawhold. He kept up with Forestpaw, memorizing each pawstep as they rose up out of the ravine and entered the forest.

"That way is the treecutplace border," mewed Forestpaw, facing the darkness. He gestured to his left. "That way is the SunClan border."

SunClan, where Foxstar, his mother was. Spiritkit suddenly wanted nothing more than to race across the border and try to find the golden spirit again.

"I'll teach you a few hunting crouches!" Now that they were away from camp and about to start hunting, Forestpaw was practically bouncing on his paws in excitement. He dropped down into a crouch. "This is for mice!"

Spiritkit was pretty sure he knew all of the hunting moves by now but he couldn't help but join in. They stalked around and transitioned between each crouch, giving Spiritkit plenty of time to feel the terrain with his whiskers, paws, and nose.

"Should we hunt separately?" asked Forestpaw, looking at Spiritkit worriedly even as his tail lashed hopefully.

"Yes!" mewed Spiritkit, whiskers twitching in mild annoyance. "I don't need a babysitter."

Forestpaw flinched. "I didn't mean it like that."

"Sorry," mewed Spiritkit, still annoyed.

Forestpaw flattened his ears and Spiritkit felt immediately sorry. He gestured with his tail into the darkness. "I think there's a squirrel over there," he mewed, hoping he'd take the peace offering.

The green spirit padded into the dark, his ears perked forward and nose raised high. His ears seemed to find something and his eyes searched for it, but Spiritkit could tell that the squirrel was out of sight. He crouched anyway, weaving through the invisible black branches until he was behind them, stalking closer and closer towards the smell of squirrel. Spiritkit imagined the brown branches and green leaves from his dream, and wondered what Foxstar would think if she knew he was out here.

I'm hunting for my Clan like a warrior, he thought. She'd be impressed!

It was hard to stay quiet when his tail wanted to lash in excitement. The green spirit disappeared completely into the darkness and Spiritkit smelled the sharp copper tang of blood.

Forestpaw emerged out of the black branches. "Wanna eat?"

"Sure," mewed Spiritkit, stepping towards the small scrap.

"You can take first bite!" Forestpaw mewed. "You are a kit, after all."

Spiritkit jerked back as if bit. He had completely forgot. "Maybe I shouldn't. I'm hunting as a warrior's apprentice. I'll catch my own prey."

Forestpaw flicked an ear back. "But as a warrior's apprentice, you'd be saving the prey for the Clan."

"Exactly!" Spiritkit's fur fluffed out awkwardly. "I'll catch prey for the Clan like a real apprentice. I'm not going to eat a bite."

"But you're still a kit," mewed Forestpaw. "You haven't been made an apprentice yet."

"That doesn't matter!" snapped Spiritkit. "I'm only one moon younger than you! I'm eight moons old! If it wasn't for a lack of mentors, I would be an apprentice!"

"But you're not," mewed Forestpaw, sounding both lost and confused.

Do you really think it's that simple? Spiritkit wanted to shout, but his anger stopped him. It choked in his throat. He let out a short hiss, causing the 'paw to flinch back. "I'm going hunting."

He turned and stormed off, nearly barreling straight into an invisible bush. His whiskers warned him and he carefully went around, hugging the edge.

"I'm sorry!" mewed Forestpaw.

"Don't follow!" he growled back.

Spiritkit pushed through the blackness, trying to lose himself in the sensation of his whiskers brushing against the foliage, his ears pivoting for sounds, and his nose finding every ancient scent on the ground. After he was sure he had put enough distance between them, he glanced back to see the bright green spirit between a mess of twisted bushes. Hopefully, Forestpaw could not see him anymore.

Now I can hunt in peace, he thought, lowering his nose to the ground. I could already bringing his prey back to the Clan to show them all and to show Foxstar what he could really do.

He stopped, shocked at himself. Why did he suddenly think Foxstar was back in camp? He knew Foxstar was in SunClan, so why was he hoping to see her proud face when he saw him come back with his kills?

Was his heart really in ThunderClan?

A strange nervous energy threatened to shake his paws out from under him. He caught a mouse half-buried in the snow and dragged a sleeping squirrel out of its nest, but had to give up because of how quiet and cold it was getting. His fur started to feel weighed down and whenever he brushed up against something, it suddenly flattened to him like it was wet with cold rain.

A twig snapped nearby and Spiritkit's head whipped around, zeroing in on a ghostly silver shape.

"There you are!" The small apprentice emerged, his tail high and eyes bright. "I knew I smelled a stranger nearby."

Spiritkit cautiously sniffed the air and dropped his prey, wondering if he'd accidentally crossed a border somewhere. But it still smelled like ThunderClan forest and this cat has such a strange scent that Spiritkit could only conclude that it was this stranger who had crossed a border somewhere. "Uhm, who are you and what are you doing here?"

"I'm Tigerpaw!" mewed the tom. "The greatest warrior of SunClan!"

Spiritkit's whiskers twitched in amusement. No 'paw could be considered a warrior, let alone the best in a Clan, and this tom was too small to put up a real fight. He started to respond with his own name and stopped, realizing this 'paw probably wouldn't respect him if he were a kit. "I'm Spiritpaw," he mewed cautiously. "Of ThunderClan!"

"A forest cat!" mewed Tigerpaw mewed. "I've heard all about you guys from the senior warriors. My mentor says you're all a bunch of starving prey thieves." It was clear from the amused purr in his voice that he didn't agree. "Want to hunt with me?"

Spiritkit frowned at the tom. "We're on ThunderClan territory."

"So?" Tigerpaw gestured with his tail to where Forestpaw had said SunClan was. "Mine's just over there. We can hunt right next to each other."

"I'm already done hunting," mewed Spiritkit, wondering if this cat would even accept No for an answer. Not like I'm putting up much of a fight, he thought in amusement.

"It's just for a bit!" mewed Tigerpaw. "My mentor isn't going to be around for a while. He's hunting some strange cat-dog scent on our territory. He told me to stay back. So, I'm staying back." The small tom bounced on his paws eagerly. "So I'm gonna hunt all the prey in the whole forest and bring it back to him, just to prove I can do it!"

"You can't hunt by yourself?" asked Spiritkit, wishing Forestpaw was here to scare him off. Forestpaw wasn't really that much bigger than the tom, but he was actually trained to fight if necessary.

"I can," mewed Tigerpaw, suddenly fidgeting in the snow. "But I-I prefer to hunt with other cats. It's more fun."

Spiritkit had a feeling that Tigerpaw wasn't actually as great as he said he was. "Okay," he mewed. His thoughts immediately spun to Foxstar and he started burying his prey in the snow. "We can hunt right on the border together."

"Great!" Relief flooded through the tom. "Maybe you can show me how to catch a squirrel!"

Spiritkit felt a wave of warm amusement. "Squirrels aren't out this season. They're sleeping."

"But you caught one," mewed Tigerpaw, sounding almost disappointed.

Spiritkit purred. "I'll show you where to find them."

Spiritkit showed him the spot and Tigerpaw immediately perked up. "I think I've smelled a few of these in the field, except they're on the ground. I'll be right back."

When Tigerpaw returned, he looked to be holding something. Spiritkit smelled squirrel and purred with pride. "Nice job!"

"This is amazing!" he mewed, dropping the prey. "Foxstar's gonna love this!" He picked it up again. "Thanks, Spiritpaw!"

"No problem!" Spiritkit mewed and felt his insides freeze at the fresh scent of a warrior approached.

"Thanks for what?" snarled a tom. Beside him stood a tom that smelled almost like Firestar, except for the Clan-scent of the cornfields and he had the same silvery fog of everyone else instead of the bright orange fire of Firestar's spirit.

"Wolfclaw! Flamefoot!" mewed Tigerpaw, tail waving in excitement. "Spiritpaw showed me how to find squirrels!"

Wolfclaw snarled. "Thank you, ThunderClan apprentice," spat the tom. "But SunClan can train their own apprentices!"

"I recommend you leave," Flamefoot commanded, an edge of a threat to his voice. He sounded like Firestar, a fiercer Firestar, and like he was used to being obeyed. "And learn to mind your own business."

Worried that they might claw his fur off if he stuck around, Spiritpaw mewed a quick goodbye to a disappointed Tigerpaw and rushed back into ThunderClan territory. He quickly found his prey and pulled it out of the snow. It was cold and wet, but it still smelled fresh.

"Spiritkit!" Forestpaw emerged out of the ground. "Thank StarClan! I thought I checked over here."

"I left prey here," Spiritkit mewed, feeling suddenly drained.

"I thought I smelled squirrel," mewed Forestpaw.

Spiritkit smiled softly and rolled his eyes. "Of course you'd smell it. It's your favorite."

Like Foxstar's, thought Spiritkit.

"And yours," Forestpaw reminded him, lashing his tail. "We can share it when we get back to camp!"

Tigerpaw flashed through his mind and he wondered how different things would be if his and Forestpaw's roles were reversed. He shook the thought aside.

I'm a ThunderClan cat.

"Let's head back to camp," mewed Forestpaw.

Spiritkit picked up his prey and didn't feel annoyed at the order. He had done a good thing, and now he could walk back to camp like an apprentice with their first catch. They padded into the bramble tunnel together.

"Where have you been!?" snarled Dustpelt, his tail lashing. His gaze was on Forestpaw but Spiritkit flinched as if he was being scolded.

"Spiritkit," Ravenfeather mewed, a lot more gently. His tail lashed faintly. "We've been looking all over for you. Both of you."

"We've been out hunting," mewed Spiritkit, but if it was a defense it sounded hollow in his own ears.

"We noticed," growled Dustpelt. "Your mother asked me to take care of you. How can I do that when you wander away from the Clan without permission?"

Forestpaw bristled. "I'm not a kit anymore, Dad! I can take care of myself. We all can, if all of you would just let us!"

"Forestpaw is right!"

Spiritkit looked around for Ashfall but it was Brackenfur who stepped up, leaping onto one of the smaller boulders around Highrock. His spirit blazed. "We need to stop treating our oldest apprentices like kits. They are more than capable of handling themselves out on patrol! We should be taking more of them with us. Remember the days when Sandstorm would take our apprentices out together on one long hunting patrol? Why did that need to change?"

Harrierflight yowled in agreement. "I could take two of the apprentices out with me to hunt right now!"

"Are you saying we should reward them for bad behavior?" asked Graystone.

"As if you know what bad behavior is," Sandstorm bit back, earning a sharp hiss from the younger warrior.

Brackenfur's tail flicked as he nodded in agreement. "On top of that, these restrictions on prey are getting ridiculous. Our Clanmates will starve if we don't find something else to eat soon."

"But we shouldn't eat fish," mewed Willowpelt. "That's RiverClan prey."

"Not if it's in our stream!" yowled Brackenfur. "We hunted rabbits before Firestar became leader and we should hunt them again."

Some of the cats yowled in agreement and Spiritkit realized with shock that he was listening to mutiny. He knew Firestar wasn't that great a leader but he didn't think Firestar was this bad.

"We should attack the other Clans for more territory!" yowled Ashfall.

"Yes, we should!" agreed Brackenfur, to Ashfall's shock. "ThunderClan is strong but it could be stronger. We need more prey if we're to keep every cat alive throughout this harsh leaf-bare."

Murmurs of agreement echoed throughout the camp and Spiritkit was shocked to find that most of the Clan agreed. Only Sandstorm and Ravenfeather stood apart, displeased at the display.

"A few of our apprentices have already proven themselves as capable fighters," Brackenfur went on. "It's only right that they get a chance to test their skills in battle like true warriors."

All of Foxstar's kits yowled in agreement. Spiritkit felt an uncomfortable dread build in his stomach.

"It's time we claimed more territory for ThunderClan," mewed Brackenfur, his voice loud and firm. "I'll organize a battle patrol at once."

"Are we going to attack Sunningrocks?" Spiritkit asked, hopefully.

"No," dismissed Brackenfur. "Graystone, Ashfall, Viperpaw, Oceanpaw, and Forestpaw, you're with me. We're going to attack SunClan."

But Foxstar was your mentor! Spiritkit wanted to yowl. Why are you doing this?

He glanced back and noticed that Sandstorm had already disappeared, and Ravenfeather was headed his way.

"It's time you went back to the nursery," mewed Ravenfeather, his voice almost firm.

Spiritkit couldn't disagree. He shot one look at Forestpaw and felt relieved to see the same misgivings he felt on the older tom's face. Ravenfeather nudged his shoulder and led him back into the nursery where Cinderheart waited, along with his annoyed and annoying sisters.

"Everything is going to be fine," mewed Ravenfeather softly.

I wish you were right. After Brackenfur betrayed his own mentor, Spiritkit wasn't sure what to believe anymore.

To make matters worse, no one had even noticed his catch.

A/N: I've added a list of mates and their kits to the prologue.