"Once a kittypet, always a kittypet!"

Tigerstar had woken up at the crack of dawn, Tangleburr waking him and informing him that Russetfur, Blackfoot and Leopardstar had allowed two kittypets into camp. Russetfur suppressed a snarl.

"Sasha is pregnant!" she spat, "A warrior must help kits in danger, born or not!"

"The blue-furred one isn't!"

Shnuky unsheathed her claws, flattening her ears though making no noise.

"Tigerstar," Blackfoot muttered, "More paws means we can catch more prey. It's leaf-bare, the clan needs it."

Tigerstar sneered, "I doubt that kittypet can hunt," he turned back to Russetfur, "Fine. You take her and Skyheart and prove she can hunt."

Russetfur nodded, anxiously looking back as Sasha, still asleep. Dawncloud trotted out from the gathered crowd, ducking into the den without acknowledging Tigerstar's angered glance. Russetfur nodded at the two, leading them off, not without a bitter stare at Tigerstar. Tigerstar flicked his ear to Blackfoot and Leopardstar, sitting next to eachother beside him.

"Follow them."

The two nodded, Leopardstar looking almost guilty. Out of earshot of camp and on their trail, Blackfoot shook his head.

"Shadowclan is full of rogues and loners and half-clan-blooded cats. My own father was a loner." he shook his head again, catching Leopardstar's eye, "If we were strong after Brokenstar we never would've accepted Tigerstar as leader. If we knew he was so biased to half-clans cats we never would've accepted Tigerstar as leader."

Leopardstar nodded. Blackfoot couldn't tell what she was thinking. She then crossed his path, heading toward the river.

"Well I'm not following them. I have no doubt Russetfur and Skyheart can teach Shnuky just fine."

Blackfoot smiled, nodding.

"I do wonder why she wears that thing," Leopardstar muttered, "And what it has on it."

"It's called a sweater," Blackfoot meowed, skipping forward to meet her pace, "Russetfur told me, before Sasha came to camp, it says 'it's lit' and has what Shnuky calls a menorah."

Leopardstar stared at him, her eyes bright and curious, "What's a menorah? Another one of Shnuky's weird twoleg words?"

Blackfoot shrugged, "Apparently it's a thing that holds candles, like, fire twigs, for eight nights in observance of Hanukkah."

"That's a word Shnuky said last night. What is it?"

Blackfoot shrugged again, shaking his head. "Shnuky wasn't really the cat Russetfur visited, and Sasha didn't share her believes."

Leopardstar shrugged, trotting up a small hill and crouching, straightening her ears. Blackfoot watched from a tail-length back, as not to interrupt her. She was staring at a dove, but whenever she leaped, the dove noticed and flew away. Leopardstar landed awkwardly, flipping over off the hill, splashing into the river.

Blackfoot yowled, sliding down against the snow, praying the river wasn't frozen over and Leopardstar hadn't broken anything. The hill was hardly a fox-length-and-a-half and Blackfoot knew he was over worrying, and he also knew that he never worried more than he should, He caught glimpse of Leopardstar, disoriented, but overall doing fine.

Blinded my anxiety, Blackfoot jumped in, forcing himself to open his eyes, his lungs straining. He shoved himself under leopardstar, eyes covered with her thick belly fur, though he forced himself to shove her up. Leopardstar let out a noise of distress, getting off of him and making her way toward the shore, uncomfortably dragging Blackfoot along.

She angrily grabbed his scruff and forced him to stand, dizzy.

"You minnow-brain!" she yowled, "You could've died! I have nine lives and I'm in Riverclan!"

"I had to save you!" Blackfoot retorted, sitting so he wouldn't wobble, "I'm your deputy."

"You are Shadowclan's deputy, Blackfoot."

Blackfoot shook his head, trying to lodge out the water he could feel in his ears. "Well, Leopardstar, maybe I don't want to see you die in front of me when I can stop it. I like you alot, you know."

All anger in Leopardstar's face flooded, replaced by confusion. "...what?"

Blackfoot couldn't look at her. He should've expected that, really. The deputy of a different clan falling in love with her, go figure.

She shook her head, "Let's get warmed up. It's too cold down here."

Blackfoot nodded, letting her lead him, several steps behind. He suppressed a sigh. Leopardstar. A small, sturdy, very well-muscled, very fluffy she-cat. She's golden-pelted and her pelt glows like sunlight. Her eyes are amber and light-blue green, a beautiful shade of amber, and the other dazzling against the rest of her gold and orange. She's managed to rise herself to deputy and leader status at fairly young age, and she's clearly earned it. He'd never met Whiteclaw himself, though from what other cats said about him, Leopardstar was a wonderful mentor. Calm and encouraging, but feisty as a fox and willing to claw your throat out should you speak wrong about her or any of her warriors.

Blackfoot didn't think he had anything going for him that she'd be impressed with. He was the deputy to a leader who killed three-moon-old kits and never said a word about it- the worst leader in the history of the clans- and now was deputy again to a leader quickly coming up to that title.

"So you meant like that."

Leopardstar's voice broke him from his thoughts. He hadn't realized he'd been staring straight at her. Blackfoot shamefully nodded.

Leopardstar's eyes cycled through three emotions- confusion, happiness, fear… She closed her eyes and shook her head.

"...okay," she muttered after a very strained silence, "I'll… I'll get back to you on that one. I'm going to go hunting."

Blackfoot nodded, letting her wander off. He sighed.

I'm sure I never even had a shot, he thought, Would falling in love with a different clan's leader make me just as bad of a leader as Tigerstar and Brokenstar?

He shook off the thought, briskly trotting after her, just in case. Suddenly, he couldn't keep himself walking. He started heaving, fur standing on end.

He saw him. Stonefur. Bruised and battered and bleeding out. His eyes had just enough light in them to stare at Blackfoot furiously. His body became outlined in white, drifting slowly upward, a bundle of stars from the huge tear in his throat. Then, in a blink, it was all gone.

Blackfoot shook his head and gulped. But before he could completely come back to his senses, he heard Stonefur's voice in one ear and Tigerstar's in the other.

"Soon."