Disclaimer: I don't own Warrior Cats, only the characters in this story and the plot.

Hopefully this chapter is okay, but please don't hesitate to tell me if you don't like it.

Chapter One

~ The Calm before the Storm ~

"Hey, Razorkit, come and play!" Sandykit called from where she was wrestling with her brother, Spotkit, just outside the WindClan nursery.

Razorkit opened an eye and stretched, accidentally kicking his mother, Hazelmist, in the stomach.

"Oof," the pale brown queen gasped. "Be careful, Razorkit!" she growled.

Razorkit sat up and blinked, his fur sticking up everywhere and his eyes wide and apologetic. "Sorry, Hazelmist," he mewed sincerely.

Hazelmist smiled at him fondly, her earlier anger forgotten. "That's okay, it didn't hurt. I can tell you're going to be a strong warrior one day, though," she told him proudly. Razorkit puffed out his chest and was about to reply when a flying ball of golden-brown fur knocked into him.

"Not as strong as me!" Dazekit, his brother, boasted, pinning Razorkit to the ground. Razorkit pushed Dazekit away easily.

"You wish," Razorkit replied playfully.

"Razorkit, come and play," Sandykit whined. "Hollowkit and Spotkit won't play fair!"

"Okay, I'm coming!" Razorkit promised his denmate a little too loudly.

"Urgh, Razorkit, can't you be a bit quieter?" Razorkit's sister, Leafkit, mumbled sleepily. She rolled over in the nest.

"Oh, sorry," Razorkit whispered to her.

"'S okay," Leafkit murmured.

Razorkit and Dazekit ran out into the clearing with the watchful gaze of their mother following them, but Hazelmist didn't want to move for fear of disturbing Leafkit.

When they emerged from the nursery, Razorkit saw Hollowkit and Spotkit pinning Sandykit to the ground. With twin yowls, he and Dazekit pelted across the clearing towards the three kits, Razorkit bundling into Hollowkit and Spotkit, freeing Sandykit who joined him in the attack. Dazekit threw himself at Sandykit, pulling her off Hollowkit and soon all five kits were a writing mass on the ground, each of them enjoying themselves immensely.

Finally though, Razorkit and Sandykit gained the upper paw as they pinned down Dazekit and Spotkit. Hollowkit backed away when Sandykit lifted her head and growled playfully at him.

"Victory!" Sandykit announced triumphantly, letting Spotkit up. Several warriors that were lazily sharing tongues nearby purred in amusement at the kit's antics.

"Well done Razorkit! You'll make a fine warrior," called Suncloud.

"Thanks Suncloud!" Razorkit grinned, jumping off Dazekit.

"Hey, Razorkit, catch," Sandykit called as a moment later a mouse flew through the air and landed with a thud at Razorkit's paws. He glanced down at the mouse and then up at Sandykit.

"I don't need to catch if you throw if like that," he teased.

"Don't play with your prey," Heathermist, Hollowkit's mother, scolded gently but she didn't sound annoyed. Hollowkit was sitting next to her, a scowl on his face, and Razorkit padded up to him.

"Are you okay Hollowkit? Do you want to come and eat with us?" Razorkit offered brightly.

Hollowkit looked up at the older kit and for a moment he smiled. "Yes please," he mewed happily, standing up ready to follow Razorkit over to the others, but then Sandykit trotted over, interrupting them.

"Hurry up Razorkit, I'm starving," she meowed, and then came to a halt when she noticed Hollowkit. "Don't you sleep around sunhigh?" she asked him quizzically.

Hollowkit blinked. "I'm not that young!" he squeaked in protest.

Sandykit just shrugged. "Well I'm hungry anyway, come on Razorkit," she dragged him away to the fresh kill pile leaving Hollowkit staring after them in hurt and anger as his mother washed herself, oblivious.

Razorkit felt bad for Hollowkit. It wasn't his fault he was the youngest kit at four moons old in the nursery. He had just decided to go and eat with him anyway when he heard some other cat call his name. He turned round to see Rushstar standing at the entrance to her den, beckoning him over.

"I wonder what she wants?" Sandykit whispered in his ear. He glanced at her in amusement; her blue eyes were sparkling and her sandy fur was fluffed up with excitement. "It must be important if the leader wants to talk to you!"

"Yeah, I'll be right back," Razorkit nodded and trotted over to Rushstar, staring up at his leader expectantly, but she just lead him inside her den. Razorkit gazed around him in wonder. He had never been in here before and was surprised to see it was a hollow in the ground with moss scattered over the otherwise dirt floor to make it more comfortable. Rushstar's nest was at the back and she sat down next to it, nodding to Razorkit to copy her.

"Am I in trouble?" he asked as politely as he could. His mother had always taught him to be polite when dealing with cats of a higher rank than he was.

To Razorkit's surprise, Rushstar gave an amused purr. "No, Razorkit. You are five moons, am I correct?"

Taken by surprise at the question, Razorkit nodded dumbly.

"Good. In a moon, you will become an apprentice along with Dazekit and Leafkit."

Razorkit tipped his head on one side. He knew this already, so where was Rushstar going with it?

"Now, as you know..." Rushstar hesitated, her warm green gaze fixed on the kit before her. "Hazelmist chose not to tell the Clan who your father is," she meowed at last. Razorkit just nodded. "It is, of course, a queen's choice to let the Clan know who the father of her kits is of if she wishes it to remain a secret, but I don't suppose she told you who your father is?"

Razorkit's eyes widened. Was Rushstar asking him to betray his mother? He swallowed hard. Luckily for him at that moment, Hazelmist had not told him or his littermates who their father was, because if she had he would have been stuck between loyalty to his mother or loyalty to his Clan leader. "No, I'm sorry," he mewed truthfully.

Rushstar sighed. "Very well. I would not ask if it wasn't important, Razorkit, otherwise I would not ask you to betray your mother."

Razorkit stared at her, his heart speeding up. Was she accusing him of lying? "It's true, she never told us," he meowed quickly and to his relief the reddish-brown she-cat did not press the issue.

"I have called you in here because I have seen you grow since you were born, and a stronger, kinder, more compassionate kit would be hard to find. I saw you win the play fight with your denmates earlier and it was two against three – without proper training the three should have won but instead you and Sandykit beat them. And then later, you invited Hollowkit to join you when Sandykit made it clear she would rather not eat with him," Rushstar told the young tom, watching him carefully.

Razorkit was taken aback. "Thank you, Rushstar," he meowed in shock, "but Sandykit helped me fight Spotkit, Dazekit and Hollowkit, I couldn't have done it by myself. And I still had to go and eat with Sandykit and the others after Sandykit told Hollowkit to go back to the nursery. I should have gone after him, but I didn't," he said.

Rushstar shook her head. "So modest. Those were just a couple of examples. You always let Hollowkit join in your games even when the others are not perhaps as accepting of him, and it is clear you will be a great warrior with the right training. I would like you to be my apprentice," she told him simply.

"What? I mean, but don't leaders only mentor the kits of deputies?" Razorkit gasped half in surprise and half in amazement.

Rushstar nodded. "Since Emberclaw is a she-cat, I know you are not her kit, but it would be useful to know if one of the more senior, respected toms in the Clan fathered you. WindClan is a Clan of tradition and I fear the elders will not be happy if I take you on as an apprentice regarding your uncertain parentage, but that cannot be helped."

Now that her words had sunk in, Razorkit was trembling with excitement. His Clan leader wanted to mentor him! "You... really want to mentor me?" he asked, just to be sure.

Rushstar dipped her head. "You show a lot of promise, and I want to be able to guide along the right path. Now, you had better go and find your denmates before they eat the whole fresh kill pile," she meowed.

Razorkit understood this was a dismissal and rose to his paws, but before he could leave Rushstar called to him once more. "Razorkit, don't tell anyone about this, will you?"

"I won't," he promised and then scampered out into the clearing.

Rushstar watched him go with a sigh. He was so intelligent for one so young. Ambersky had told her that StarClan had given a new prophecy and a warning, part of which was that 'a kit is a Clan's greatest treasure'. She could not help feeling that somehow Razorkit was involved.

Rushstar lay down in her nest. Razorkit was the perfect kit. He was strong and fast already, not as fast as the apprentices, of course, but the fastest kit in the Clan even though Sandykit and Spotkit were older. He was bold but also sweet and compassionate. When the older kits were excluding Hollowkit from their games, Razorkit would always invite him to join in and none of the other kits complained. The whole Clan adored him and she knew he would grow up into the best warrior WindClan had ever known. Maybe even a leader someday. But not if StarClan's prophecy involved Razorkit...

Rushstar had, of course, posted guards to be on the alert for the attack Ambersky had told her to be wary of, but she had an extremely bad feeling in her stomach. Something bad was going to happen, and she could only hope she could do her best to prevent it from happening.

"We're under attack!" a piercing scream sliced through Rushstar's dreams and she shot to her paws, bounding out into the camp. What she saw filled her heart with dread.

Author's Note: I know I made Razorkit into a Gary Stue character but there is a reason for that, and he won't remain so perfect.

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