PROLOUGE

One moon after the defeat of Hawkfrost…

"Let all cats old enough to catch their own prey gather beneath the Highledge for a Clan meeting!" The cry from their leader, Firestar, brought the ThunderClan cats out of their dens, murmuring sleepily. Berrypaw noticed Birchpaw sitting a couple fox-lengths away, fur noticeably neater than normal.

Of course! It must be his Warrior ceremony! Lucky furball! He thought. He spotted his mentor, Brambleclaw, sitting near the Highledge, an unreadable look in his eyes.

"Birchpaw, step forward." The Apprentice trotted forward eagerly, tail swishing from side to side.

"StarClan, I ask you to look down on this apprentice. He has trained well to learn your ways, and I present him to you as a warrior in turn. Birchpaw, do you promise to protect your Clan and uphold the Warrior Code, even at the cost of your life?"

"I do." Birchpaw's steady meow echoed through the stone hollow.

"Then by the powers of StarClan, I give you your Warrior name. Birchpaw, from this moment you will be known as Birchtail. StarClan honors your spirit and courage, and we welcome you as a full warrior of ThunderClan."

Before the Clan could start cheering, Firestar raised his tail. "Before we go, there are three cats who need to make an important decision." He turned to a creamy brown queen, and meowed, "Daisy, your kits have chosen Clan ways. Your choice is your own. Will you stay, or return to life as a loner?"

The she-cat glanced nervously around. "I wish to return to the horseplace. But please, if it is okay, I ask your permission to come by whenever I want." Daisy dipped her head to the flame-colored leader, awaiting his response.

"Of course. You are a welcome visitor, no matter when. I look forward to seeing you again soon."

The cream colored loner turned around and padded out of the entrance. Firestar watched her go for a minute before turning back to the Clan.

"Stormfur, Brook. You have lived with us for little more than a moon. Do you wish to return to your Tribe?"

A/N: The next part is mostly explanation stuff. If you have any questions, ask them in a review.

Stormfur stepped forward to the front of the clan. He sat at the base of the Highledge, and faced the clan.

"You probably wonder why Brook and I came to ThunderClan in the first place." Whispers broke out among the clan at this. Stormfur raised his tail, and the clan quieted down again.

"Well now I shall tell you!"

"Almost a moon after I had joined the Tribe, I was out hunting, and I came across a sight I would never forget. Falcon, who was a to-be when you stopped by, you never met him, he's Falcon that Flies with Clouds, was standing over a body which I recognized to be Stoneteller. He had a triumphant gleam in his eyes, and I knew instantly that he had killed him. Falcon came back later and said that he had witnessed Stoneteller being murdered by a rouge, and that he himself had killed the rouge. The Tribe thought he was a hero, and voted him their new leader. After being made leader, he decided to exile me, because I'm not Tribe-born. I lived by a riverbed for about three days, before Brook came."

The brown tabby nodded, before continuing on, "I thought I could adjust to life without him. After all, I'd pretty much lived my whole life without him. Soon after he left, though, I began to feel lost. I knew Stormfur had already told Talon, Crag, and some other cats about Falcon's treachery. We decided to form a band of rebels, but we were hopelessly outnumbered."

"Wait! There weren't that many cats when we were there! How could you be outnumbered?" Cloudtail interrupted, tail swishing back and forth.

"You didn't meet the whole Tribe when you stopped by. About half were out on a long dangerous journey, and returned after you left. All of them, and some cats you met, are Falcon's supporters, because they had no idea what happened. I ran away with Stormfur, hoping you'd take us in."

Stormfur pressed comfortingly against her, before raising his head. "We know Falcon will probably send out a group of cats to come looking for us. Talon and the rebels will try to hold him off as long as possible. But…soon, we might have no choice but to fight."

Firestar looked down among the clan. "When the time comes, we will fight by your side."

"So that's that?" Ashfur stood up, fur bristling. "You're taking in another half-clan?"

Berrypaw looked around. Most of the cats looked like they wanted to claw Ashfur's fur off. Others, Spiderleg, for example, looked like they actually might agree.

Firestar gave the young warrior a hard stare, before leaping off the Highledge to land neatly in front of the Clan. The gray warrior held his gaze for a heartbeat, before turning neatly around and disappearing into the Warrior's den.

Berrypaw knew that, once again, Firestar had won. He couldn't help but think, however, that no matter what they said, more trouble was coming for the Clans.

And Ashfur was involved.

OOHH...Ashfur's a bad kitty! Sorry all Ashfur fans, but I don't like him, and I needed a villain in ThunderClan.

R&R as always!