"Dad!" Wingpaw yowled as he burst in to the camp. Brambleclaw's name seemed too long for the winded cat to say. Cats in camp stopped to look up, his fear scent catching their attention. Not to mention Brightheart had come back moments before with a bleeding apprentice. The deputy came from Firestar's den with the leader himself. They bounded over to him as he gasped for breath. "Icecloud and Foxleap are fighting Lionblaze and Cinderheart!"

"Graystripe, Dustpelt, Ravensong, come with me and Brambleclaw. Sandstorm, don't let any cat leave!"

Lionblaze leapt away from the she cat his eyes blazing. He longed to dig his claws in to her pelt but he was loyal to his clan. He refused to harm the confused cat. Echopaw sat off to the side unsure what to do while Foxleap was held down. Firestar ran in to the training area with a patrol of cats, their eyes all on fire with disbelief.

"What is going on?" Firestar asked. Icecloud's hostility evaporated and Foxleap went limp. Graystripe nodded and Cinderheart stepped away, Ashpaw following. "Speak!"

Cinderheart launched in to an explanation and then fell silent. Firestar eyed them all with equal measure and then sat. He brought his tail over his paws and sighed heavily.

"We can not have inner clan fighting. The easiest way to bring down a clan is from the outside in." A haunted look crept briefly in to his eyes and in the eyes of the cats beside him. "If you trust anyone, you trust your clan mates. I will not tolerate this sort of behavior."

"Icecloud, Foxleap, apprentice duties for a moon. Someone will take over teaching Dewpaw and Owlpaw. You will get them back if I see fit. Lionblaze," The leader paused noticing all the scratches the golden tabby bore and how, though ruffled and dirty, Icecloud's fur was unmarked. It was no secret he was one of the clans best fighters and could have taught Icecloud a lesson easily. "You hunt for the elders for two days, feeding them before yourself. Cinderheart, you did well. Get those scratches taken care as soon as you get to camp with Lionblaze. Wingpaw and Ashpaw, I'm very proud of the way you two handled things. Echopaw, we must talk."

"What happened?"

"Nothing, it was an accident, it won't happen again."

"That wound was no accident." The ginger leader sat and watched patiently, his eyes never leaving the young cat. Soon Echopaw stood and began to pace anxiously. He kept shooting frantic glances at Firestar. "Did Owlpaw say something to you?"

"What he said was a lie!" He snapped forgetting in a sudden rage that he spoke too his leader. "They are loyal cats and will make great warriors! Just because they look like Hawkfrost and Tigerstar doesn't mean anything! They didn't even know those traitors and it was seasons ago. No need to hover it over our heads. That's like saying Lionblaze isn't loyal because his parents broke the warrior code in the worst possible ways."

"Echopaw, I understand your frustration. I ask you not to harm your clan mates anymore. No matter what they say. I want to tell you a secret." They sat side by side. Ginger pelts glowing. Echopaw's amber eyes widened in surprise as Firestar confessed his old mistrust in the cat he took on to apprentice. The cat that later on became his deputy, a cat that happened to be the father of the young cat next to him. "Echopaw, the clan respected Brambleclaw even more then they would have if he was a regular warrior. He dealt with a lot and his paws stayed true."

"I understand what you're trying to tell me. I'm sorry Firestar."

"It's fine. Let's go and explain some things in camp."

"Hey, Ashpaw." Moonpaw said as she sat down with a squirrel. The brown tabby meowed a greeting to the black she cat. "Want to share?"

Surprise sparked in Ashpaw and he knew it showed. It was just the clan didn't trust him. Even though he helped Cinderheart, they didn't trust him. Now Echopaw was thrust in to the hateful circle as well. Moonpaw pushed the squirrel closer to him.

"They don't spend as much time with you as the other apprentices. I've been here for almost a moon now." She turned her gray eyes to look him in his. "I trust you."

"You take the first bit." He managed through his heavy purr. Those words, spoken loud for all the cats in the clearing to hear, meant more to him then anything. If he could win his den mates trust he'd win over the clan. All it would take is time.

Skypaw was staring at the back of the den. Jayfeather had gone to give herbs to Longtail. She was trying to figure out a dream she had the night before. All she had seen was darkness. She shook her fur and turned. A startled meow escaped her lips as she found herself face to face with a cat. It wasn't a cat she had met before. The tom had a ginger tail.

"Skypaw, I need you're help." She could see the stars linger softly on the tips of his fur.

"Who are you?"

"I am Redtail. I'm the former deputy of Thunderclan. The one when Firestar first arrived to our camp as Rusty." He said. "You must watch the kits of Brambleclaw."

"They are loyal!" She hissed. A sudden anger toward the Starclan cat rushed through her. The former deputy shook his head desperately.

"I do not doubt it! Firestar trained Brambleclaw well and it has passed to his kits. What I fear is the influencing of the Dark Forest. Their strength is growing. Do not let his kin forget where their true loyalty is. They are destined to run with Starclan but things are forever changing."

"I don't understand."

"A battle is coming. A battle like never before." The starry cat disappeared and left Skypaw calling out to him,

"Redtail! Redtail, I don't know what you mean!" She hissed out through clenched teeth. Her fur was on end with fear. She noticed a car in the entrance sitting wide-eyed. "Oh! Graystripe I'm sorry. I didn't see you. Is that a thorn in your pad?"

"Yes." The gray warrior said calmly. "Did you mean to say Redtail?"

"Oh, he stopped by to say hello!" She said sarcastically. "Please, it's medicine cat things, don't say anything."

"I wont. As long as you tell me one thing."

"What?" She said cautiously even though the older warrior's eyes shinned warmly. "Have you spoken to Lionheart?"

A soft breeze blew over her. A whisper in the air filled her with happiness. She was allowed to answer this one. The fear from Redtail's visit evaporated as she passed on the news.

"Yes. He says he's proud of you and he's watching over you as well of your kits." Graystripe's purr was one of the loudest she'd heard even though it was short. He left with his mood lifted even though his paw was wrapped in cobwebs. Something's about being a medicine cat meant the world!