The waves of sadness crashing through the deputy nearly knocked her off her paws. She was a fox length away when she finally collapsed. Her body was trembling, trembling with the force of her grief. It felt like her heart had been ripped out of her.

All was silent behind her. The cats of RiverClan had stopped their mournful lament. Quietly, quietly, heads bowed, every cat walked forward, and then sat at Mistyfoot's back. Mistyfoot's blue eyes filled with a new level of grief when she realized why; she was the leader of RiverClan now. She had to lead them to their dead leader, guide them through their grieving, and show strength for their sake.

A tail was suddenly rested on her shoulder. Her eyes flicked over to see Reedwhisker, ever faithful, reminding her of her duty. Her blue eyes met his amber ones, and she nodded before standing. Reedwhisker backed away, and together the Clan advanced toward their fallen leader.

Leopardstar's body was wet and mangled. Dirt was coated in the dappled fur, and a few stray twigs as well. Her claws were unsheathed, and on her face was an expression of pure defiance. Mistyfoot's body tingled. Her brave leader had gone down fighting.

A dappled golden she-cat slipped past, and began to examine Leopardstar. Stepping back, Mistyfoot sat with her Clan while Mothwing examined the body, confirming the leader's death. Willowpaw appeared at her side shortly, her own eyes struck with grief. But her grief was nothing compared to the expression slowly forming on Mothwing's face.

The RiverClan medicine cat's face was twisted with shock. Her amber eyes were alit with the fire of pain, and the even hotter fire of fury. Mistyfoot was instantly alarmed. What had happened to their leader that surprised Mothwing so much?

Willowpaw, too, had noticed her mentor's surprise. She padded forward and began examining the body herself. A similar look of shock flooded over her face, and a surprised meow laced with fury came through her suddenly gritted teeth. Quickly, Mistyfoot advanced, bending so that the smaller Willowpaw could whisper in her ear.

Not even bothering to keep her voice down, Willowpaw snarled "Our leader was murdered!"

The brown tabby apprentice turned and lifted Leopardstar's head gently. And there, unmistakably clear and matted with blood, was a throat slashed open purposely by a cat's claws.

It was nighttime in the forest. The bronze colored tom bound easily through the ruined undergrowth. His muscled legs made it easy for him to jump from debris pile to the next. He was hardly panting as he halted in the clearing he knew the Clans had called Fourtrees. Well, those trees were gone now. The only thing remaining were four round, perfect stones. They were within easy reach, and were positioned exactly where the great oaks had been.

It was perfect. The Clan gathering place had been protected once more. Happiness briefly trilled through the warrior tom, but it didn't last for long. His ears picked up the slightest of sound, and in one fluid movement he turned and four cats that were jumping towards him as easily as he could move.

"Flame! We were looking all over for you!" meowed a black she-cat. Her dark olive-green eyes were locked on Flame's own, holding them to her intensely. She never looked away, Flame knew, and so he chose to break the gaze and look out at his three other companions.

It was Saber who spoke next. "Flame. A mountain-water has come and taken away the Clan's home. How will we ever become Clan cats now?". The dark gray tabby's words were layered with resignation and despair. It had long since been the ambition of Flame's group to join the Clans, but then three of them left. RiverClan had probably just been wiped out. Hopes for joining the Clan were at an all time low.

"I don't know, Saber," meowed Flame. His voice echoed with a hint of the sadness Saber felt, but he was better at hiding his emotions - and therefore, a better leader.

The black she-cat spoke again. "Flame, we must join somehow. It has been our goal for too long,".

Flame sighed. "I know, Shadow. But we have to take into account that RiverClan probably aren't the most welcoming to newcomers right now. Prey must be scarce. Speaking of the Clan - Wolf, where are they currently?".

The light brown tom who spoke was lean and agile. "They are traveling in our direction. In fact.....". He broke off, his nose tingling. "They're coming!" he hissed. As one, the group of cats turned and raced away up the slope and into WindClan's old territory. Flame glanced back, and then raised his tail. They were safe. All the cats broke off, hardly panting, and leaned over to watch the RiverClan warriors.

The gray tabby she-cat with light blue eyes was directing the Clan. Eventually, each cat had their space, and everyone was sleeping. Flame sighed with longing. He was tired of the life of a loner. He and his friends knew the warrior code as well as a Clan warrior, and each knew the boundaries, names, and histories of the Clans. There had once been a snappy she-cat with yellow eyes who had come upon Flame's mother Dark, and the two had become friends. It was how Flame knew about the Clans. Later, he learned, the she-cat had become ThunderClan's medicine cat, making her an oddity.

"That was close," came a murmur from a dark orange tom. His black legs blended with the night perfectly. "True, Fox," meowed Flame, and then turned back to his companions.

"We'll find a way to enter the Clans," he meowed confidently. The group looked at him doubtfully. He raised his head higher and was about to say something when suddenly he crouched down, and his claws slid out. Instantly the other cats copied him.

An unusually spotted golden tabby she-cat had appeared. She hobbled along, water logged and weak. The cats instantly recognized her as Leopardstar - but there was something else. A black tom who blended with the night perfectly was creeping up behind the leader. His stride was smooth and boasted the silence of the expert hunter. Flame hissed. "Night!".

The group of five bolted for the RiverClan leader, but it was too late. Night had leaped onto the she-cat's back, and had expertly taken her down. His paw slapped against her throat, constricting the air so she was silent, and in one swift motion his teeth dug in to Leopardstar's throat. Then, quickly, he released and tore away. He had seen them coming, and couldn't win a fight against so many adversaries.

"Wolf, Saber, after him!" commanded Flame. The two he named instantly separated, hoping to cut off the enemy tom's escape route. Flame's mind refocused on the fallen leader. He skidded to a halt in front of her body, and snarled hatred at Night. Then, miraculously, one of Leopardstar's eyes opened. Her eyes were already fading, as her soul was dissolved into StarClan. But the ast words the leader meowed brought hope to Flame; the she-cat meowed "You will have your wish,", and then joined the ranks of StarClan barely a second after.

Flame meowed in despair, and hesitated. Shadow had come and was supporting his slightly sagging body, while Fox was on the lookout for commotion from RiverClan. Flame calmed his breathing, took comfort in Shadow's presence, and meowed "We can't tell RiverClan. They will assume we did it. We will get into the Clan, though,". A look crossed his face, one of ingenuity.

"We will prove who killed Leopardstar. And then they'll HAVE to let us in!".

His joyous meow was echoed by his companions. As one, they quietly honored Leopardstar by swearing vengeance on her StarClan-forbidden killer.