Proulouge
Silence blanketed the forest, broken only by the whispering leave and the rushing of the river. Lithe shapes swarmed over smooth boulders, other glaring at them from below. A tortoiseshell tom raised his red tail and flicked it. The cats surged at each other and the peaceful clearing writhed with screeching cats.
Near the center of the clearing, a sleek black and grey tabby pinned a silver tabby she-cat. "Swiftriver!" He growled. "Why are you and your RiverClan flea-bags hunting on ThunderClan territory?"
"After tonight, Darkstripe, Sunningrocks will just be RiverClan hunting grounds, as they always have been!" Swiftriver hissed.
"Look out!" Willowpelt yowled. "More RiverClan warriors!" The ThunderClan she-cat's voice was shrill with anxiety.
Darkstripe turned, watching sleek shapes leap out of the river. They plunged into the fight, water streaming from their pelts. Darkstripe turned back to Swiftriver. "You don't belong in the forest! Stay in your precious river!" He spat.
Darkstripe lifted his claws to rake them down Swiftriver's belly when a she-cat yowled. Darkstripe recognized the yowl and released the RiverClan deputy. He crashed into the tom attacking his clanmate. "Quick, Mousefur! Run!" Darkstripe hissed.
The dusky brown she-cat scrambled to her paws awkwardly. Blood flowed from a gash in her shoulder. Mousefur hared into the undergrowth and Darkstripe turned on her attacker. With a few deft blows of his paws, the RiverClan cat was sent squealing like a kit into the river.
"Darkstripe! This is absolutely useless!" Yowled the tortoiseshell tom with the tail as red as fox fur. "There are far too many RiverClan warriors!"
"No! ThunderClan will never be beaten, Redtail!" Darkstripe leaped to his side.
"ThunderClan will honor your courage, Darkstripe." Rumbled a massive dark brown tabby tom. He shook his head crossly to rid himself of the blood on his nose. "We can't afford to lose any warriors. Not in these times." He sent a Riverclan tom flying and growled, "Mousefur is down—" he broke off as a light tabby raced past, squealing like a kit. "—and looks like Runningwind is down too. Add two warriors down plus us not getting reinforcements… We are really badly outnumbered."
Redtail sent a RiverClan she-cat squealing into the river and turned back to his clanmates. "Tigerclaw is right. Thistlestar would never expect his warriors to fight such impossible odds." Redtail urged, gazing at Darkstripe steadily.
Darkstripe fought off another warrior as he grudgingly admitted they were right. Redtail leaped onto one of the boulders and yowled, "Retreat, ThunderClan! Retreat!"
Instantly, the ThunderClan warriors broke from their opponents and hared into the undergrowth. Jubilant yowls rose from the RiverClan cats.
Darkstripe went last. He hesitated, shooting a glare at the RiverClan cats. "This isn't over." He growled under his breath. He turned with a sigh and raced after his clanmates.
Moonlight shone down on a clearing. In the center, a big grey and silver tabby tom was gazing at the stars. Around him, he could hear the stirrings of his clanmates as they slept. Mewls came from the direction of the nursery.
A small dark tortoiseshell she-cat emerged from a fern tunnel. She padded over to the tom, her paw steps quick and soundless. The tom dipped his head to her as she sat next to him. "How is Mousefur?" He rumbled.
"Her wounds are deep but she'll survive. She's young and strong, and will heal quickly." The she-cat replied.
"The others?"
"Everyone will recover, Thistlestar."
Thistlestar let out a great sigh. "We are fortunate not to have lost any warriors tonight. You are a great medicine cat, Spottedleaf. Featherwhisker would be very proud of you."
Spottedleaf purred. "I'm sure he would be."
"These are troubled times for ThunderClan." Thistlestar sighed. "Newleaf is late… we have a great number of kits, but none are apprentice aged. We need more warriors… and soon."
"You're asking StarClan for answers." Spottedleaf guessed.
"We need the words of our ancestors in times like these." Thistlestar agreed. "Has StarClan given you signs or spoken to you?"
"Not for a while, Thistlestar. Perhaps we should go to the Moon—" Spottedleaf broke off with a gasp as she watched a shooting star blaze over head.
Her tail fluffed, her spine fur bristled and her eyes went distant. Thistlestar flicked his tail and watched her silently. Eventually, Spottedleaf let out a shaky breath and looked at her leader. "That was a message from StarClan." She paused as the distant look returned. "Only a rose can save the clan."
"A rose?" Thistlestar demanded incredulously. "How can a flower help us? Roses have no medicinal properties, correct?"
"Not that I know of." Spottedleaf shrugged. "There was something else." The distant look returned. "StarClan also said the smallest cat would help the rose."
"The smallest cat and a flower will save the clan?" Thistlestar meowed incredulously, his voice shrill in disbelief. "StarClan must be desperate." He added jokingly. "But, you have never been wrong before, Spottedleaf. So unlike Goosefeather." He rolled his eyes at the last comment. Turning serious, he brought his gaze to the stars again. "The clan will be saved by the smallest cat and a rose."