A/N-I have to thank Dewcloud of DuskClan for reviewing…You rock! Please review if you read this, I like some criticism!

Lionblaze-ThunderClan

The mouse was heavy in my jaws as I walked into camp. Sorreltail's eyes flashed over at me accusingly, and Berrynose let out a low growl. I dropped my meager prey in front of the fresh-kill pile, and glanced back at Rosepetal, confused. "What happened?"

She took a deep breath, her eyes closed. "Thrushpaw is dead." Hazeltail let out a wail of pain in the nursery. Thornclaw was beside his mate, looking anguished over his son's death.

I gazed back at her. "How did he die?"

"He was out hunting by himself," Rosepetal whispered. "He ran out in WindClan territory. Emberfoot and Heathertail caught him." Her voice cracked. "You're…You're his mentor. You were supposed to be there, is what Sorreltail and Berrynose think. Hazeltail and Thornclaw don't blame you, but there's a lot in the Clan that agree with Sorreltail."

It shocked me that Sorreltail would be so outspoken against me. I turned to Rosepetal. "You should be in the nursery…Foxleap will be worried about you."

She shook her head stubbornly. "I want to sit vigil. You had better go see Bramblestar. Squirrelflight's in the nursery, so Dustpelt's still deputy. Good luck." She brushed against me reassuringly. I nodded and clambered up the icy rocks. Birchfall let out a hiss when he saw me and ducked into the warriors' den. I sat down on the moss in front of Bramblestar and Dustpelt, who were arguing. They stopped when they saw me. "Lionblaze," Bramblestar meowed, disapproval clear in his voice. "I suppose you know your apprentice is dead?"

I hung my head. "Yes."

"Is it your fault?"

"No!" I snarled. "I was out hunting alone, and I told Thrushpaw to stay in his den. He didn't."

"Why didn't you bring him? The Clan needs food, Lionblaze." Dustpelt sounded doubtful, but less angry than usual.

"I hunted with him at dawn. He was tired, and we went for a training session. We also went hunting later. He went out alone last night? What for?"

"He wasn't alone," Bramblestar corrected. My blood ran cold as he added, "Your daughter, Heronpaw was with him."

"Is she okay?" I demanded.

"Heronpaw is fine. Brightheart found her in time. She's got a few cuts and scratches, that's it." Bramblestar sighed. "Cinderheart is worried out of her mind. I know that you two have…split, I suppose-but your kits are still your kits. She lost a litter in the nursery and has another litter on the way. Your children are ill. Your son, Fogpaw, has greencough. Lionblaze, we've lost more cats this leaf-bare then when we did on the Great Journey. You can't neglect your duties."

"Those cats out there," I mewed hesitantly, "They blame me. But it's not m fault!"

"Lionblaze," Dustpelt murmured quietly, "You need to go sit vigil. Rosepetal is out there, and she barely knew Thrushpaw, and she's got a litter of kits due in less than a quarter moon!" To Bramblestar he mewed, "Our nursery is full, and leaf-bare has just started. We need to send out more hunting patrols, and the way WindClan and ShadowClan are at the moment, we need to do some battle training."

Bramblestar hesitated. "I can start combining the border patrols and the hunting," he offered. "And we need to look for herbs. Send Quietpaw on the next patrol to the old Twoleg nest. But he'll be grieving for his brother. Send him tomorrow. Foxleap, Dovewing, Cherrywhisker, and Sprucefang are still on patrol. Go ahead and send Graystripe, Millie, and Mousewhisker hunting."

Dustpelt nodded and followed me down the Highlegde. "Good luck, Lionblaze," he muttered as he addressed the remaining cats. I approached the body splayed out in the middle of the clearing. Heronpaw, my daughter, was already there, cobwebs plastered to her wounds. Thornclaw and Hazeltail sat in the shadows of the warriors' den, wailing over their son's death. Quietpaw, Jayfeather's new apprentice, sat between Thistlepaw, his sister, and Heronpaw. I curled up next to my former apprentice. Rosepetal crouched beside me, her eyes glittering with sadness. She glanced up as Foxleap and Dovewing raced into the camp without fresh-kill, followed by Cherrywhisker, Poppyfrost's only daughter, and Sprucefang, Brightheart's only son. Sprucefang held a sparrow in his jaws. Foxleap hurried to his mate's side. "Rosepetal! You need to get in the nursery," he fretted.

She shook her cream-colored head and continued her vigil.

As the shadows lengthened and the moon came out, cats came out of the dens. Jayfeather and Quietpaw rubbed herbs onto Thrushpaw's fur as StarClan welcomed his spirit. "May StarClan watch over you, Thrushpaw. You died a warrior's death." Hazeltail let out a cry of pain. I wondered if my apprentice would be welcomed in StarClan, or e Dark Forest. No one said anything, but it was possible. Some of the Dark Forest had retreated.

Night came and went. Briefly I thought of Stripe, and pain filled me as I realized I'd have to stop seeing her. Rosepetal stood stiffly at dawn and stretched, looking agonized. "I'll get Purdy. My father is in no shape to help bury him." She turned to Thistlepaw, whose ragged tortoiseshell pelt was spiked up against the cold. "Are you going to help with the burial?" She nodded and prodded Quietpaw. The black and white tom blinked. "I have to help Jayfeather collect catmint. I'm going on a patrol soon." Thistlepaw and Rosepetal slipped inside the elders' den. Purdy emerged, looking tired, and the three began hauling the body outside the thorn barrier.

Hazeltail watched before slipping inside her den. Thornclaw stopped beside me, and I braced myself for some accusations. "I don't blame you, Lionblaze."

I nodded slightly and he followed his mate. I joined Dustpelt, Heronpaw, Brackenfur, Whitewing, Toadstep, Leafpool, Bumblestripe, and Ivypool. Dustpelt split us up in two groups. I gestured to my patrol-Heronpaw, Leafpool, and Bumblestripe. "We're going hunting at the edge of the territory, near the old badger set. We might be able to talk to some ShadowClan patrols and see how bad it is. Tell them to keep away from the streams, now that they've frozen over."

"I don't think anyone will forget Flametail's death, let alone his own Clan," Bumblestripe meowed irritably. He took off in the forest, weaving between trees. I stopped at the stream's bank, near the ShadowClan border. Smelling a shrew, I crept forward, careful not to disturb the creature. Suddenly a massive paw swept down on it, crushing the animal. I got out of my hunter's crouch and glared at the attacker. He had ShadowClan scent. Ferretclaw. "Get out of our territory!"

"Have I crossed the border?" he demanded. To my shock, the shrew had been killed white on the scent markers. I waited for him to claim the shrew. "You can keep it," he snarled. "We've found a carrion place nearby. We don't need the shrew, but I can tell you do." He eyed my ragged pelt and stepped into his own boundaries. For a moment he seemed sad. To my surprise, his hostility seemed to be dissolving. Leafpool stepped into the clearing.

"Hi, Ferretclaw. How's ShadowClan?" Her voice was polite but reserved.

"Fine," he mewed. "We lost a few kits in the cold, and Scorchfur has whitecough."

"Thrushpaw died," I admitted. Ferretclaw looked at me sympathetically.

"Good luck," he meowed. "Some of the trees are falling in our territory from the frost. One hit my apprentice, and she's got a broken foreleg now." I nodded gratefully. "Bye." He waved his tail in farewell as Leafpool and I made our way back to the badger set.

Bumblestripe had a small chipmunk in his mouth. Heronpaw, who still looked upset over her denmate's death, had a mouthful of herbs. I glanced at Leafpool, who was scooping up moss for Jayfeather. We headed back for the camp.

"I'll feed the elders," Bumblestripe offered. I nodded and headed for the nursery. Cinderheart glanced up. "Is that for us?" her eyes were wary. I nodded. "Take it."

"Lionblaze," she whispered. "Can we start over? Heronpaw and Fogpaw barely know you, and I don't want our other kits to be like that." I hesitated, and nodded, guilt welling up inside me as I thought of Stripe.

A screech came from the clearing, and instantly I slipped outside. Foxleap paced the Highledge. "What's going on?" I demanded.

"Rosepetal's kitting!"

"So soon?" Spiderleg croaked, looking worried about his daughter. "Its several days early." Ill as he was, he shambled over to the medicine cat's den.

I was beginning to realize we had no senior queens, with Ferncloud dead from the Dark Forest attack and Daisy when a branch fell on her while she was outside the camp. Rosepetal let out another screech, and Foxleap slithered down the Highledge. "Let me go in there!" he begged Quietpaw, who was carrying a bundle of herbs to the apprentice den, where Fogpaw was.

Quietpaw put down the herbs. "I can't let you. You'd only cause panic. Rosepetal will be fine." His eyes gave away his fear, and he hurried along with his duties.

I turned to Foxleap. "Go hunting. Do something .He's right, Foxleap."

He looked like he wanted to rush to his mate's aid, but he nodded. "She'll be hungry."

Spiderleg came out of the medicine den. "She's losing blood. Jayfeather's never had something like this happen. We don't know what to do."

"Oh no!" Toadstep exclaimed. "Get Hazeltail! She's the most experienced!" He blundered into the warrior's den and woke the cat. She blinked and walked into the medicine den. After a heartbeat she came out. "The first kit is coming."

A wail of agony split the air, and I saw Squirrelflight looking uneasy. Then a louder wail, so full of agony I had to cover my ears. I turned to see Foxleap padding into the camp, a skinny mouse in his mouth. "How is she?"

"One kit's coming."

He nodded and sat down in the clearing. Spiderleg looked ill. Quietpaw rushed to help the old tomcat. Leafpool stood up.

At sunhigh Hazeltail came out of the den, looking exhausted. "Three kits," she told Foxleap, "all dead."

He let out a wail of anguish and burst into the medicine den. I waited as Jayfeather emerged, looking upset. "How's Rosepetal?"

"Tired, and shocked," he mewed. "She's lost a lot of blood. I don't know what to do." He glanced at Leafpool, who shrugged helplessly. "There are two kits who survived. I didn't know Rosepetal was going to have so many. A tom and a she-cat. She wants to call the tom Beechkit, and the she-cat Milkkit."

Foxleap came out, looking anguished. "Two are alive." He sighed loudly. "I was going to be a father of five. I lost my sons and my daughter." He turned to Jayfeather. "Will she live?"

"She should, if she doesn't get infected by illness. She's very weak, and the two kits are even weaker."

Foxleap nodded. We left him and I joined my littermate. "How's Fogpaw?"

"Your son is getting worse," he admitted. "Not very bad for greencough, but he's not recovering."

I nodded, not pleased by the answer. "I'm going to go hunting later with Icecloud, Thistlepaw, and Moleclaw. Do you want Quietpaw to come?"

"Yes, if you don't care."

I nodded and headed for my den. Amberbreeze glanced up. "How is she?"

"Not good," I growled. "Three of her kits are dead." Amberbreeze shuddered and curled up next to Toadstep.

I blinked as a half moon rose into the sky. I saw Jayfeather talking to Quietpaw, who nodded and left camp on his own. I bounded after him. "Where are you going?"

"Jayfeather wants me to go to the Moonpool alone."

"Who can make you a medicine cat? Isn't there a ceremony?"

"He said that Kestrelflight and Littlecloud know how to conduct it, since they both have apprentices." Quietpaw looked uneasy. "I'm late, Lionblaze." I knew he'd had a long few days, with his brother dead and then Rosepetal's kitting. "Fine," I grunted. "Go. But be careful of WindClan."

He nodded and disappeared.

I wondered how Cinderheart was, and I felt warmth at the thought of us being on good terms now. Then Stripe, who I would have to give up.

A shriek came from camp. What now? I thought resentfully.

Bramblestar looked tired. "Spiderleg is dead."