Disclaimer: I do not own warriors. Erin Hunter does.
Hi everybody! This chapter is dedicated to Skysong-Brooksilver for getting me started on fanfiction, so I made her submitted character join Fireclan this chapter. This chapter is also dedicated to my dove, Pepercorn, who escaped, and I hope has the same fate living in the wild as the dove in this chapter.

Chapter five

"Palmtail!" Ricepaw mewed. "Yes?" replied Palmtail sleepily.

He stepped out of his nest, stretching before sitting next to her. "I just received a prophecy from StarClan!" she meowed excitedly. "Really? Here, we must tell Nightstar. Mintpaw will be all right for a few minuets."
He gestured to the dark gray apprentice curled up in the corner of the den.
Mintpaw had suffered an enormous amount of injuries from the mysterious attack and was in the paws of StarClan. Palmtail bounded across the center of camp and towards Nightstars den. Ricepaw followed him, she noticed that Silverpelt was shining brightly; two more warriors would be joining it tonight. The bodies of Irisheart and Thornheart were still laid out in the clearing, awaiting their dawn burial.

"Nightstar?" Palmtail meowed. "Come in."came Nightstars voice from inside the den.

Ricepaw and her mentor entered. Ricepaw hoped she could remember the prophecy, but found she needn't try; the words were already engraved in her mind. "Starclan has shared a prophecy with Ricepaw," he said.

"I met Firestar and he told me that a dark power was coming." mewed Ricepaw. "And only one cat might have the power to stop it. Then the rest of the cats began to chant; The sun must rise silver to save the clan from the hammers blow."

"Is that all?" asked Nightstar. "Yes." replied the apprentice.

"Then we must not tell the clan, there is no need to worry them until the prophecy has been interpeted. For now, just us three will know about it." meowed the leader.

Ricepaw welcomed the warmth of the medicine cat den as she entered , Palmtail had stayed to talk to Nightstar, so she decided to go back to sleep. "I better check on Mintpaw, maybe she'll be up." Ricepaw thought. Darkhawk, Mintpaws mentor, would be glad to hear that. Now days he spent most of his time being a gloomy shadow near the battered apprentice. But Mintpaw was still sleeping, her dark gray side heaved with each breath. Ricepaw began to circle around in her moss bed and finally drifted of to sleep.

The next morning Ricepaw woke up late. Most of Fireclan were already out on warrior dutys, so she was left alone to do what ever she wanted. Sunshine was breaking through the cover of budding branches and warmed the ground. The apprentice decided that a walk in the woods would be nice and she could restock the fresh-kill pile while at it. Ricepaw followed the twoleg path down to the lakes edge, it was safe, for it was too early in the year for the path to be used by twolegs.

A scuttling in the undergrowth caugh Ricepaws attention. She mechanically dropped into a hunting crouch and pinpointed were the sound was coming from.

It was a dove, it's tawny feathers the color of dusk. It hadn't noticed that it was being stalked, perhaps too busy looking for food. Suddenly a noise behind Ricepaw alerted the bird. It raised its head, saw the apprentice, and took of for the shelter of the tree tops, spreading its wings to soar away."You just ruined the best catch I'll have today!" Ricepaw cried angerly, not paying attention to who or what she was talking to.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to." came the reply. Ricepaw lifted her gaze. Out of the bracken stepped a she-cat, about five or six moons old. Her pelt swirled silver, blue, and gray, matching her dark blue eyes. "I'm Storm, whats your name?" she said in a low meow.
"I'm Ricepaw of Fireclan, were do you come from?" Ricepaw asked Storm.

"I'm a rouge, I guess. My mother was a kittypet, but right before she had her litter of kits, she wandered away and got lost. My brothers became kittypets, but I stayed alone, traveling from place to place, until I came here."

"Are you going to stay here, on our territory?" Ricepaw asked. " "I don't know, maybe I should just find a Twoleg to take me in." Storm answered. A spark caught fire in Ricepaws mind. "Storm, you could stay with Fireclan!"
"Really? Wouln't your clanmates care if I'm not clan born?" Storm asked. "Well a few might, but Nightstar will welcome you, I'm sure." "Ok, then I'll come with you." meowed Storm. The two cats made for Fireclan camp.

"I smell an intruder!" Rabbitkit peaked out of the nursery entance. "Mama, look, Ricepaw brought a rouge into camp!" the spunky kit called to her mother. "Ricepaw?" Cheetaspot questioned. "I can explain in a minute, Cheetaspot. First I have to find Nightstar, do you know were she is?" said Ricepaw. "Last time I saw her she was in her den." the spotted queen told the apprentice. "Thats Cheetaspot, she has Silverkit, Rabbitkit, and Cloudkit. There really cute, but you'll meet them later." Ricepaw mewed to Storm under her breath. The silvery blue gray she-cat nodded, accepting her surroundings.

"Who is this Ricepaw?" a voice meowed behind her.
Nightstar gazzed at Storm for a moment. "This is Storm, Nightstar. She is a rouge, but I brought her here to live with the clan." Ricepaw mewed. "I can hunt and fight, and Ricepaw told me all about Fireclan on the walk here. It would be an honer to be a clan cat." Storm added.

"Wildnose, Birchfall! Come here!" the leader sumonded her only elder and senior warrior. "Do you think Storm should live with the clan?" Nightstar asked them. "I think it wise to have as many cats as possible around here." said Birchfall. "Deffinably after what happend to Thornheart, Irisheart, and Mintpaw." Wildnose concluded. "Then it is decided."

"All cats old enougth to catch their own prey gather under Highstump for a clan meeting!" The black furred leader called to her clan. "Today we come here to welcome a new cat into our clan as an apprentice. Storm, from this moment on you will be know as Stormpaw. Eagleheart, you were a exelent mentor for Quailpelt. It is time for you to prove your skills to the clan again. You will mentor Stormpaw." As Ricepaw had told her friend before hand, Storm touched noses with Eagleheart.
"Stormpaw! Stormpaw!" The clan greeted it's newest apprentice as was custom, yowling her name to Starclan. Ricepaw gave her friends ear a friendly lick.

"Come on, I'll show you the apprentice den. You must be tired." mewed Ricepaw. "I am a bit sleepy." Stormpaw addmitted. Ricepaw quickly gave Stormpaw a tour of the den, a space under a large lean-to of ferns. "Do you sleep here too? a curiouse Stormpaw asked. "Some times I do, but when a cat is sick I sleep in the medicine cat den." Ricepaw anwsered, flicking her tail towards the place.
"As a matter of fact, I have to go there now."
"Okay, see you later." mewed Stormpaw, already curled up in a tight ball.

"Ricepaw?" a faint mew alerted Ricepaw. "Mintpaw? Are you awake?" Ricepaw had been dozing in the medicine cat den only for a while, but the sky was already dark. But Mintpaw was awake! "Mintpaw, can I get you anything?" "No, but I need to tell you something, about our patrol." Mintpaw mewed urgrntly.

"We were renewing the scent markings when Thornheart yowled a warning. Immeadatly he seemed fighting warrors made of shadow, huge dark tabbys, but I could see through their fur.
Irisheart flung herself into the tangle of fighting cats, but they were too strong for her. I was too horror struck too help them, maybe is I had they would't have died. After a few minutes Thornheart was down.

Irisheart meowed for me too run for help, but just then a pelt caught my eye. I had thought just shadow warriors attacked us but I was wrong. There was one cat that I knew fighting our patrol. He had a tabby coat just like the cats he was helping fight." "Who was it?" Ricepaw asked the weakning apprentice, but she already half knew the anwser. A dark, looming shadow broke the still air of the medicine cat den, ice blue eyes deadly somber.

"Hammerclaw."
Mintpaw uttered her last word as her eyes drifted across who was entering the cave.

Oh, do I love suspence!