Chapter One

A she-cat stood alone in a hollow of stone. It surrounded her on all sides, stretching high above her head, too far out of reach to climb. It was dark, with only light from the claw scratch shaped moon to reveal her surroundings. Shadows creeped at the edges of her vision, wavering like waves of black cats prowling around her.

A steady roaring reached her ears, and as she watched, fire erupted in the hollow around her. It spread through the shadows, casting a red hot light on her, crackling like the sound of breaking bones.

The she-cat wailed in terror, her amber eyes reflecting the deadly blaze. Walls of bright, hot flame surrounded her on all sides, trapping her like prey. She glanced over her shoulder, fur standing on end, trying to find a way out.

"StarClan, help me!" She yowled, looking up at the smoky night sky, desperate for her ancestors to save her.

Suddenly, the flames parted, revealing a massive, shadowy figure. It appeared black against the light of the fire, bigger than a lion. As it neared, she was able to see the silhouette of a cat prowling towards her. Its eyes were black and its jaws were parted to reveal sharp, deadly teeth. Then, the cat leapt at her, claws outstretched.

Spiderkit's eyes flew open, her breath coming out in shallow, terrified gasps. The flames had disappeared, replaced by the strong den walls of the ShadowClan nursery. Brambles and hazel branches criss-crossed over her head, providing a sturdy roof to the den and allowing slivers of light from the morning sky to provide light into the dark den. As she recovered from her dream, she felt the fur along her spine begin to lay flat and her racing heart slowed to a more steady beat.

Beside her she could feel the warm pelt of Mistkit, who slumbered peacefully in their shared nest. Spiderkit turned her head to look at her, her eyes taking in the comforting sight of Mistkit's dark red tabby pelt. The freezing air billowed out from Mistkit's muzzle as she snored, and Spiderkit snuggled deeper into her nest to fight the chill. I'd rather be cold than surrounded by those horrible flames, she thought.

"Spiderkit?"

She lifted her head, looking up at the she-cat in the nest beside her and Mistkit. Ivytail was blinking sleepily, apparently just having woken up. Her black-and-white tortoiseshell fur glowed in the dim light, looking at Spiderkit with warm, yellow eyes. "You were whimpering in your sleep. Did you have a bad dream?"

Spiderkit kneaded absently at the moss in her nest, working her thorn sharp claws through it to soften the bedding. "Y-yes. It was just a dream."

Ivytail leaned forward and rasped her tongue over the kit's head. She purred at the warmth in the queen's touch. Spiderkit knew that Ivytail wasn't her real mother; only fostering the kit because Spiderkit's father, Tigerheart, had asked her to. But Ivytail had never complained about feeding and caring for the kit - especially after her two other kits died, leaving Mistkit as the last of her litter.

As the queen groomed her head, Spiderkit glanced around the nursery. The den where the kits and their mothers slept was under a patch of low-hanging brambles and hazel branches. On the opposite side of the nursery, Stoatfur and her kits were still sleeping in their nest.

The tortoiseshell-and-white she-cat lay on her side with her three kits sprawled in the moss beside her. Sparrowkit, Finchkit, and Ravenkit were two moons older than her and nearly twice her size. They would be apprenticed soon and Spiderkit and Mistkit would be the only kits left in the nursery.

Ivytail pulled away and rested her head back in her nest. Spiderkit raised herself to her paws and turned to the she-cat. "Can I go outside?" She mewed.

Ivytail grunted, but didn't open her eyes. "Are your clanmates in the clearing?"

Spiderkit pricked her ears, listening. There was a strange stillness that hung in the clearing outside the den, but as she listened she could hear muffled voices. She recognized the voice of the ShadowClan deputy, Crowfrost, as he called the names of her clanmates.

"Crowfrost is assigning patrols." Spiderkit informed Ivytail.

"Okay. Don't go farther than the clearing."

Within moments, Ivytail's breathing had slowed down as she sunk back into sleep. Spiderkit delicately stepped around Mistkit's sleeping form, careful not to wake her. Quietly, she padded to the entrance of the den and peered out.

Instantly, her eyes flew open in surprise. Past the brambles snaking across the entrance, the clearing of the ShadowClan camp had been turned completely white. A strange, powdery substance covered the ground and, as she wriggled out from between the thorns, she felt freezing crystals embed themselves into her soft paw pads.

Spiderkit let her gaze travel across the camp, taking in how the strange whiteness had changed it. The camp was hollowed gap between the pine trees that arched high overhead, their leaves still in full leaf in the middle of leafbare. A thick wall of brambles encircled the camp, protecting it and keeping it well concealed from the rest of the forest and any predators or enemies that might be out there. The bramble bushes that made up the individual dens were weighed down by blankets of the white stuff, though sharp spindles of thorns poked out. In the center of the camp, the fresh-kill pile was empty, and a group of cats stood near it, their pelts fluffed out against the chill.

She took a tentative step forward, pressing her paw against the white stuff. It was cold and crunched beneath her paws. She gasped as she tried to take another step and the stuff gave out beneath her, tripping her. White powder covered her muzzle and shot up her nose as she fell, causing her to sneeze and shake her head in disgust.

"Good morning, Spiderkit!"

Blinking the freezing crystals from her eyes, Spiderkit looked up to see a pale tortoiseshell she-cat approaching her, a glimmer of amusement and affection in her green gaze. She leaned forward and gently grabbed Spiderkit's scruff in her teeth, lifting her out from the hole she had fallen into and placing her on more secure ground.

"Thanks, Tawnypelt!" She mewed with relief, shaking her pelt out until her fur stuck out at all angles, making her look like a hedgehog.

Tawnypelt purred with amusement, ducking out of the way as freezing crystals cascaded through the air. "You're awake early." She observed.

"Ivytail said I could come into the clearing." Spiderkit explained. She extended a paw and dabbed at the freezing white stuff. "What is it, Tawnypelt? It's cold !"

"Snow." Tawnypelt explained, sweeping away a pile of the snow with her tail, sitting down beside the kit. "It comes in leafbare."

"Where does it come from?" Spiderkit tilted her head to the side, shuffling her paws to try and keep warm. The snow clotted the fur between her toes and she shook her head in disgust, lifting one paw at a time and shaking out the freezing powder.

"The sky. It falls in tiny flakes like rain, and when it's cold enough it sticks to the ground and turns the world white."

As Tawnypelt spoke, Spiderkit felt a wave of affection for the she-cat come over her, warming her pelt in spite of the snow. Tawnypelt was her father's mother and was always kind and loving to the little kit. Spiderkit knew that she had been born in ThunderClan many moons ago, but ultimately chose to live in ShadowClan after her father, Tigerstar, became leader. Tawnypelt leaned down, touching her nose to Spiderkit's, her green eyes reflecting the same affection. With a nod to the kit, she stood up and padded across the clearing to where the other cats stood.

Crowfrost, the ShadowClan deputy, was standing at the front of the crowd, his black and white pelt gleaming in the morning light. His blue eyes were bright as he named several cats for the dawn patrol. "Snowbird, take Grassheart and Owlclaw to patrol the ThunderClan border. There have been more scents than usual close on our side of the stream - I want to make sure not a single ThunderClan cat has put a paw on our land."

Snowbird, a white she-cat with green eyes, nodded and flicked her tail for the other two cats nearby to follow her. Spiderkit watched as they filed out of the camp, squeezing through the tunnel of thorns that created an entrance into the camp. She longed to go with them, her paws itching to be out in the forest, but she knew she couldn't. She wouldn't be apprenticed for three more moons.

"Tigerheart," Crowfrost continued, turning to a dark brown tabby tom with amber eyes, "Lead a hunting patrol. You too, Pinenose. You can choose who you take with you."

At the sound of her father's name, Spiderkit pricked her ears. As Tigerheart turned away from Crowfrost, she bounded across the clearing, skidding to a halt in front of him, snow flying out from under her paws.

"Watch out!" A dark brown tom standing nearby hissed, leaping out of the way to avoid being showered by the snow.

"Easy, Toadfoot." Tigerheart mewed, looking down at his daughter. Like Tawnypelt had done, he leaned down and touched his nose to Spiderkit's. She purred, rubbing her muzzle against his affectionately. When she pulled away, she looked up at Tigerheart, making her eyes as big and round as she possibly could. "Can I come with you? Please ?"

The dark brown tabby shook his head sympathetically. "You know kits aren't allowed outside of the camp, Spiderkit."

"I know but-"

She cut off as Scorchfur, a dark gray tom, bounded to Tigerheart's side. He flicked his tail, working his claws into the snow underpaw. "Hey Tigerheart, can Aspenpaw and I join your hunting patrol?"

"Sure, the more paws the better. I'll wake Dawnpelt and she can join us." Tigerheart turned away from Spiderkit, padding across the camp to the bramble bush that made the warriors den. It was heavily weighed down by the snow and shuddered when Tigerheart shouldered his way inside, calling for the warrior. Dawnpelt emerged from the camp a moment later, yawning.

Spiderkit, crestfallen, stumbled back towards the nursery. Maybe Mistkit would be awake and want to play with her. She pushed her head through the gap in the den, ready to call out to her friend.

"Watch it!" Sparrowkit's annoyed growl surprised her, causing her to leap backwards from the entrance to the nursery. He pushed his way through the thorns, his golden tabby pelt smooth as though he had just groomed it. Spiderkit realized she must look very scruffy in comparison.

Finchkit and Ravenkit followed him out, squealing with delight when they saw the snow covered ground. Finchkit leaped high into the air, sending up a shower of snow as she landed in the middle of the clearing. Flecks of snow matted her cream colored pelt that was still ruffled with sleep. Her sister, Ravenkit, a pure black she-cat, followed more slowly.

"Is Mistkit awake?" Spiderkit asked, tilting her head back to look up at Ravenkit. The black kit blinked down at her, her brilliant blue eyes like pools of water. She shook her head apologetically.

"Come on , Ravenkit." Sparrowkit called to his sister, "Me and Finchkit are going to play Hunt the Frog!"

Spiderkit bounced over to him, intrigued, stepping in the paw prints left by the bigger kits so she wouldn't fall back into a hole in the snow like she did earlier. "Can I play?"

Sparrowkit snorted, shaking his head. "No way! You're too small. Besides, we don't play with kittypets ."

The she-kit gaped at him, feeling her pelt begin to bristle with indignation. This wasn't the first time Sparrowkit had said something like that, but it still hurt. "I'm not a kittypet!" She protested, feeling hot beneath her pelt.

The fact was, she didn't know if she was a kittypet.

Three moons ago, she had been brought to ShadowClan by her father, Tigerheart, when she was just a newborn. The Clan had been shocked by her sudden appearance, and even more shocked when Tigerheart told them that he was her father. Spiderkit had been too young to remember, but Ivytail told her that Tigerheart had never told any cat who her mother was, leading most of the Clan to assume her mother was a kittypet or a rogue from the twolegplace that stood on the outskirts of Clan territory.

Spiderkit had begged her father time and time again to tell her who her mother was, but each time he just shook his head and changed the subject. Her pelt itched with the longing to know who her mother was - or at least where her mother came from.

But she wasn't going to let Sparrowkit get away with calling her a kittypet. Baring her teeth, she growled, "I'm a ShadowClan cat!"

Sparrowkit rolled his eyes dismissively, turning away from her. "Whatever."

He and Finchkit bounded away to the other side of the clearing where a pile of stones stuck out of the snow, racing each other to reach the top first. Ravenkit hesitated before following them. "Sorry." She mewed sympathetically before turning to join her littermates.

Crushed, Spiderkit let her ears and tail droop.

"They make fun of me too." A voice startled her.

Whipping around, she saw that a dark brown tabby tom, Oakpaw, had approached her, obviously having seen what had happened. He blinked at her with understanding in his green eyes, and leaned down to touch noses with her. "Don't let them get to you."

Warmth spread through her as he spoke. She knew that Oakpaw had been born in twolegplace, living as a rogue named Jet during his kithood. A few moons ago, at the end of greenleaf, the rogues of twolegplace had threatened ShadowClan by pressing their borders and attacking patrols. She hadn't been born at the time, but Tigerheart had told her how ThunderClan had joined together with ShadowClan to fight off the rogues.

After the battle, Oakpaw had come to ShadowClan, claiming that he wanted to train to become a warrior and live by the warrior code. The Clan had been distrustful of him and Rowanstar chose to mentor Oakpaw himself.

Spiderkit knew that many cats in the Clan didn't like Oakpaw because of his rogue heritage, but, to her, he seemed no different than any other Clan cats. He had lived in ShadowClan for as long as she could remember, and it was hard to imagine the apprentice living as a rogue among twolegs.

Now, it seemed that they had something in common. Clanmates who taunted them for something they couldn't help.

"They make fun of you?" Spiderkit asked.

Oakpaw nodded, shuffling his paws in the snow, "Aspenpaw says I'll never be a real warrior."

"You are a real warrior, and the other cats are stupid if they think you're not!" Spiderkit protested, earning a purr from the tabby apprentice. He opened his mouth to speak, but was interrupted as a yowl sounded from outside the camp.

Turning to face the entrance, they watched as the dawn patrol pushed their way through the tunnel, fur bristling and claws unsheathed. Snowbird was at the lead, with Grassheart and Owlclaw close behind. The white she-cat stopped in the clearing and lifted her head to yowl, "Rowanstar! Rowanstar!"

A moment later, Rowanstar, a dark ginger tom emerged from a den on the edge of the clearing. His amber eyes were wide with alarm and he bounded across the clearing, kicking up pawfulls of snow.

Snowbird's alarm had roused the rest of the Clan, who burst from their dens, eyes wide and tails lashing. Dawnpelt and Tigerheart, still standing outside of the warriors den, spun around with their fur standing on end. Aspenpaw, a dark red tom, stumbled from the apprentices den, blinking sleep from his eyes. Spiderkit heard the entrance to the nursery rustle behind her and scented Ivytail as the queen peered out. Mistkit tumbled out after her and bounced to Spiderkit's side. Her fur was flat on one side of her face, showing that the she-kit had just woken up. Her green eyes flashed as she mewed, "What's happening?"

Before Spiderkit could respond, another cat shouldered through the thorn tunnel that lead into the camp. He was a massive dark brown tabby, his pelt crisscrossed with old battle scars. Spiderkit squeaked as Ivytail wrapped her tail around the two kits, pulling them close to her body. Two more cats followed the first cat into the clearing, one a large white tom with blue eyes and the other a ginger she-cat.

"Bramblestar." Rowanstar growled, addressing the first cat. He stalked to the center of the clearing, standing his ground as Bramblestar padded up to him, looking much bigger than the ShadowClan leader in comparison.

"That's the leader of ThunderClan!" Mistkit squeaked, her voice muffled by Ivytail's fur, "Why is he here? He's huge !"

"Hush." Ivytail scolded her, drawing the kits closer. Her blue eyes flashed as she gazed at the two leaders before them.

"Greetings, Rowanstar," Bramblestar mewed, dipping his head respectfully to the ShadowClan leader. His two clanmates flanked him on both sides, sending reproachful glances at the ShadowClan cats around them. "I have come to discuss something that concerns both our clans."

Rowanstar narrowed his eyes, hesitating for a moment before he flicked his tail to Crowfrost, signalling for him to join them. The black and white deputy stepped to his leader's side, looking at the ThunderClan cats with suspicion in his gaze. "What is so important that it couldn't wait until the next Gathering?" Rowanstar asked sternly.

Bramblestar gazed at him, flexing his long, hooked claws, "I have come to request that we change the border between our Clans - to follow the stream that leads from the lake to the outskirts of Clan territory."

The words had hardly left his mouth when yowls of disbelief came from the cats around him. Rowanstar looked furious, lashing his tail back and forth and baring his teeth. "The borders were decided long ago, when the Clans first came to the lake. Why should we change them now?" He demanded, his hackles raised along his spine.

One of the cats beside Bramblestar stepped forward, his fur bristling along his spine. "Any cat with a brain could see that the stream should be the border!"

Crowfrost stalked forward, unsheathing his claws as he faced the ThunderClan cat, ready for a fight.

"Get back, Cloudtail." Bramblestar hissed at his clanmate. Cloudtail flashed a furious glance at his leader before he stepped back, hissing at Crowfrost.

"The stream veers sharply into ShadowClan territory as it gets farther from the lake," Rowanstar began, clearly trying to hold back his temper, "Making the stream the boundary would give ThunderClan a great portion of our territory."

"Territory that ThunderClan rightfully deserves." Bramblestar growled back.

"Nonsense!" A skinny ShadowClan elder snarled from where he stood outside of the elders den. "Can ThunderClan not support themselves in their own territory anymore?"

"Be quiet, Smokefoot." Rowanstar growled. He took a step forward, almost nose to nose with Bramblestar. "ShadowClan will not give away our territory. Especially to greedy ThunderClan cats who think they deserve it."

The ThunderClan leader bared his teeth, eyes flashing. For a moment, Spiderkit was afraid that Bramblestar would leap at Rowanstar and slash at him with his massive claws, but he took a deep breath, allowing his fur to lie flat. "Then ThunderClan will be ready to fight for it."

Caterwauls of outrage answered his words, but Bramblestar was unfazed. He gazed at Rowanstar with unblinking eyes, a silent challenge.

"Get off our territory." Rowanstar snarled. "You aren't welcome here."

Bramblestar snorted, his eyes narrowed. "We'll give you until newleaf to keep the land on our side of the stream. When the snow melts, it will be ThunderClan land."

Without another word, Bramblestar whipped around, beckoning for his clanmates to follow him. The three cats filed out of the camp, and a stunned silence fell over the camp. After several moments, Rowanstar jerked his head towards Crowfrost and Tigerheart. "Make sure they leave." He ordered. The two toms nodded and followed the ThunderClan cats out of camp.

"We can't let them take our land!" Snowbird protested, working her claws through the snow as if she were imagining it was a ThunderClan pelt.

"We won't." Rowanstar promised her, "When newleaf comes, we'll be ready to fight for our land."

Once the shock of Bramblestar's demands had worn off, the cats returned to their duties. Spiderkit watched as patrols headed out of camp and the other warriors retreated to the warm shelter of their dens. Mistkit was shivering beside her.

"Are you okay?" Spiderkit asked her as Ivytail uncurled her tail from around them and stalked across the camp to talk to Rowanstar.

"There's going to be a battle!" Mistkit mewed, her eyes wide with fear and excitement. "Maybe we'll get to fight!"

Spiderkit opened her mouth to respond but was cut off as Oakpaw leaned over them. "Rowanstar would never send kits into battle. Anyway, newleaf is a long way off. Hopefully Bramblestar will realize how ridiculous his demands are and no cats will be hurt because of ThunderClan's greed."

As Oakpaw padded away to find join his mentor, who was still speaking to Ivytail, Spiderkit felt the cold pierce her to the bone. Whatever Oakpaw said, she knew a battle was coming - and she hoped she would be apprenticed in time to see it.

I know this chapter was a little boring, but I needed it in order to set the scene for the rest of the fic! I promise the next chapter will be really exciting, so stay tuned for that!

What do you think of the story so far? I'm really eager to hear everyone's feedback, especially since this is my first Warriors fic.

Thanks so much for reading!