Hey guys! Sorry Chapter 1 took so long; I'll try to update more often from now on. Please review and tell me what you think about the story and/or you think the story is going or even suggestions for the story itself!

(BTW, do cats sweat? I think they do it through their pads but I'm not really sure.)

Peace! ;D

-Silverstripe689

Chapter 2

Strikekit lazily opened his amber eyes. He groaned at the stuffiness of the den. Lilystripe was so close to kitting; her stomach took up half of the den! Mosssplash had also moved in a quarter moon ago expecting Pinesweep's kits, so the den was overfull. Slashkit was snoring in the nest, pressed up to Shiverfawn, fur and pads moist with sweat.

Strikekit, now two moons old, dropped into a crouch, bunching his hind leg muscles. He paused for a heartbeat before launching himself into the air, soaring over Shiverfawn and landing with a thud on the ground outside the den.

The air outside wasn't much better. Most cats were in their dens, out of the sun. Duskstar was lounging on a branch in the middle pine, her tail swaying above the ground. As he landed, she pricked her ears and locked her gaze with his. Her ice blue gaze was weighed heavily with disinterest, the only emotion she ever seemed to wear.

No, take that back. He had seen her anger. It was bright, blue, and frightening. The day he opened his eyes, he had seen it.

It was the day her brother, Appletooth, died. Tigerstripe, Swallowleap, Hawktail, and Snowspring had come into camp with huge, bloody wounds he didn't get to see until the next day, patched up though. He took Tabbypaw's word for it. Hawktail was dragging a limp Appletooth with him, while Swallowleap was leaning on Tigerstripe and the both of them were carrying Snowspring. The medicine cat, Stonestripe, had come running at the first call. Appletooth had dropped and Snowspring was unconscious. Duskstar had demanded what had happened, and only Tigerstripe was in any condition to respond.

"We were met at the border by a ThunderClan patrol, they were itching for a fight. Appletooth was snarling and then the cat he just…he just…leaped on him! Teeth to throat I mean, not claws to flank like normal skirmishes go. Snowspring leaped over to help Appletooth while Hawktail, Swallowleap, and I attacked the others. We fought hard but…but they chased us back and held us down. Snowspring…they…they grabbed her neck and Appletooth was bleeding from the mouth…"

And then Tigerstripe fell unconscious.

There was a long period of Stonestripe working around the shocked clanmates before pushing himself away from Appletooth, pain shining in his eyes.

Ivycoil, Appletooth's aunt and the cat that raised him and Duskstar, lunged forward to what was as good as her son.

"He's dead, oh great StarClan, he's dead!"

Strikekit had come out later that night for the clan ritual of sending the spirit to StarClan. As he was walking forward, he caught Duskstar's eyes.

They were smoldering, flaming blue, rage pulsating behind the thin film that seemed to burst and overflow to the fur around it. They were blue fire in the dim, gray-green night. I had scared Strikekit so much; he could barely lean down to lick the now-cold fur of Appletooth.

Now he stood staring at her in the musky day. She flipped her head, and flattened it against the branch, beginning to take a nap.

I wonder what it would be like to be leader.

Strikekit headed for the corner of the camp before slipping in between the ferns. His fur was sticky from sweat from his pads, the moss, Slashkit, and Shiverfawn. He tottered a ways until he came to a small pond. Fur burning and heart racing with the thought of being discovered out of camp, but his sticky fur pushing him forward, he dove into the pond.

The cool water washed over him and he sighed with delight. Many ShadowClan cats would look at him crazily if they found out his obsession with water. He had been going back and forth from this puddle when he discovered it with Slashkit a moon ago. (This did not go over well with Wildblaze)

Shaking off his fur, he jumped out and headed back to camp, his fur already dry with the heat. He peered through the ferns before slipping fully into camp. All was as he left it, cats hiding and the leader asleep on the branch.

Suddenly, Wildblaze slipped out into the heat, his thick fur giving away the reason for the misery in his eyes. He quickly sent out three patrols. One hunting, two borders, with Breezefang, Sparrowcall, and Dovesoar leading.

Wildblaze smiled weakly as Strikekit padded towards him.

"Hey there scout, what are you doing on this horribly hot day?"

"Keeping out of the nursery, where it's even hotter."

"I don't blame you. Say, what happened to your fur? It looks like you got rained on, it dried, and you slept on it."

Frog-dung!

"I…uh…sweat."

Wildblaze sniffed the air. "It doesn't smell like sweat."

"Because I wiped it off on a leaf."

Wildblaze still looked suspicious but let it go. He leaned down and picked up the kit before placing him under a coiling root on the pine where it was still a little moist from the constant shade.

"Wildblaze, why are the roots like this?"

"Hmmm. Well, a long time ago, before even Ivycoil was born, there was a huge storm and devastating flood here. The lake swallowed ShadowClan camp. It killed the current leader, leaving Rowanstar without his nine lives for a spell. When the water finally went down the cats returned here, the tree had been slightly pulled out of the ground and hollowed. The other cats gave the den to Rowanstar and hung lichen by the opening."

"Wow. So there was a huge flood?"

"Yes. All the clans were cut off from each other. This bugged the ThunderClan leader Bramblestar, as ThunderClan can never be content with only ruling it's own. He made the soft, ridiculous rule that the clans have to help each other during turmoil, when really, the only way a clan will survive is if they stand on their own. Survival of the fittest, I say. Luckily, he didn't last long and the rule died with him. He always ran straight into the thick of battle, trying, vying, to be the hero. He lost all his nine lives within 12 moons. Squirrelstar ruled for a bit, a bit old though, and then one of the best ThunderClan rulers I've seen for a while Ivystar took over. Now, about three generations later, it's Snowstar. He's decent, but a little bloodthirsty."

Suddenly a howl echoed through the clearing.

Wildblaze jumped to his paws and Breezefang's patrol flooded in.

"We were attacked! By ThunderClan! Border! Marking! Hidden…"

Tangleclaw sunk to the ground, going into shock.

"Stonestripe!" Duskstar snapped as she leapt down. Pinesweep, eyes glazed laid Breezefang down in front of her. The black tom choked, "He's dead…he's dead."

Lilystripe rushed over, "NO! No! No! Please, no! Stonestripe, don't let him be dead, he'll never meet his kits…"

She suddenly whirled around, teeth bared. "Who did it?" she screeched.

"I'm so sorry!"

Gasps echoed as Fernfrost stepped forward, "I…he…jumped in to take my killing blow."

Lilystripe howled, "My mate is dead, the father of my kits is dead, because you can't fight!?"

Lilystripe howled and lunged at the mottled warrior but Hawktail yanked her back by her scruff.

Strikekit noticed how fretful Stonestripe looked. He slipped over and asked, "Can I help?"

Shock pulsed through the medicine cat's eyes before giving way to relief. "Yes, please go fetch me some off the little black seeds and yellow petals okay?"

"Okay."

"Wildblaze, senior warriors, and…Fernfrost, meet me in my den."

The copper-black leader disappeared followed by a pawful of senior warriors, Wildblaze, and a dejected looking Fernfrost.

Strikekit helped Stonestripe until the clearing was bathed in dark and only a sliver of the moon showed. Shiverfawn came to fetch him for bed, and he was thanked profusely for his help by the medicine cat.

As he walked back next to Shiverfawn, he saw the huge, muscular back of Breezefang in the clearing, Lilystripe weeping at his side.

His white fur shone in the dark, splotched with star shine silver. Fireflies gathered around him, and a silver wisp seemed to collect around them and flit away as the cats came forward for the vigil.

Strikekit sat in his nest, Slashkit at his side, watching the fireflies as he fell asleep to the weeping sound of Lilystripe mourning in the dark.