Hey guys! Here is Chapter 1 of Bring the Thunder and I hope you all enjoy it! In response to a couple of reviews, thank you for complimenting on my story!

Nickel2011: I'm so glad I was able to use your cats! I'm so glad I portrayed like you imagined! I hope I can continue to portray them like you want me to!

Lily Mackenzie: I'm glad you liked my story! And in response to your suggestion, I PMed you!

ScourgexScarlet: I am glad that you enjoyed the prologue! I PMed you too in response to your question!

Chapter 1:

The sun beat down on Sparksong's dark tabby fur, warming it as she sat. The trees swayed with the gentle breeze of the wind and she sat observing it all. As a warrior.

Sparksong never knew she would make it this far. She never knew if ThunderClan would even make her an apprentice. She never knew if ThunderClan would even keep her. The scents of the forest calmed her and she opened her mouth wide. She could smell the scents of prey, rich, juicy, meaty, plentiful prey. This was were she belonged, and no one could make her know differently.

Sparksong felt the ground shake with the padding of paws, she heard the gentle pawpads as they hit the ground, she smelled the cat as it approached. She immediatly knew who it was.

"Hello, Daisywater," she said looking up to meet the face of a golden she-cat. Daisywater, unlike most cats in ThunderClan, was her friend. She had become a warrior a couple moons before Sparksong and was usually a very cheerful, optimistic cat.

"Hello, Sparksong," she said cheerfully, "I think you can get up now, your vigil's over." Daisywater's long tail lashed playfully. "We can go over to the fresh-kill pile and share something." Sparksong nodded and raised herself to her paws.

"Daisywater," Sparksong asked, "how was the gathering last night?" Daisywater blinked in surprise. She must have forgotten I wasn't there. Sparksong thought.

"Fine, fine," she answered, "the Clans seemed a little on edge, but that's normal." She hurried up to match Sparksong's big strides. "It was weird, though," Daisywater retorted.

Sparksong and Daisywater reached into the fresh-kill pile and plucked out a large, juicy vole. They both padded over to a sunlit spot and started to eat the vole. Sparksong thought it was a little stringy, but didn't say anything. I shouldn't be complaining, she thought, I'm lucky that I'm even here. She passed it over to Daisywater. "I'm not hungry," she said, "you can have it." Daisywater blinked at Sparksong gratefully and ate the rest of the vole quickly.

They started to share tongues as their pelts grew hot with the sun. "So," said Sparksong continuing their previous conversation, "why was the gathering weird?" They groomed each other in silence.

"Well, you weren't there!" she meowed. "C'mon, Sparksong, you've been to like every gathering since you were old enough to go!" She meowed quietly, "I should think that...you should be next in line for deputy."

Sparksong got a distant look in her eyes. Now that she was a warrior, she knew that many cats expected her to be deputy. Why wouldn't I want to be? She couldn't help thinking. Sparksong looked around the clearing. There were many cats who deserved to be deputy more than she did. There is Mapleleaf, she thought, thinking of the dark brown tabby that would deserve to be deputy so much more than she would.

"You make me laugh, Daisywater," Sparksong said lashing her tail. "There are three reasons why I won't become deputy." Daisywater listened intently with her blue eyes staring at Sparksong. "One, I haven't mentored an apprentice," she said, "two, I am still a young warrior. Three, many cats deserve to be deputy more than I do." Sparksong knew there was a forth reason, but she didn't want to speak of it. Being herself, Sparksong wanted nothing to do with her past, or any haunting memory from it.

Daisywater sighed. "I guess you could be right," she said licking Sparksong's pelt down, "but you still have an amazing talent for it." Sparksong could see the sparkle in Daisywater's blue eyes as she thought of what a great deputy Sparksong would make.

Daisywater spotted Wolfgrowl first. "Oh dear," she said tail whipping, "Wolfgrowl's heading this way."

Sparksong understood her concern. Wolfgrowl was the ThunderClan deputy, and to be perfectly honest, not the nicest cat ever. Sparksong's ice blue eyes stared coldly into Wolfgrowl's ice blue eyes. She could see Daisywater shiver with their eyes colliding, making the place feel like a cold, leafbare's day.

"Sparksong," he said coldly, "what a...pleasure to see you." His blue-grey pelt reflected in the sun.

Daisywater leaned over and whispered in her ear, "Don't worry, Sparksong, he's just jealous that you'll be the next deputy if he dies." Wolfgrowl shot Daisywater a cold glance. Sparksong's pelt prickled in embarrassment. It was dead obvious he had heard Daisywater's statement.

"Well, since the both of you of busy lying around all day, why don't you come on Mapleleaf's patrol? I'm sure the two of you can do better than relax all day," he exclaimed. Daisywater's neck fur rose and she drew her lips back in a hiss. Wolfgrowl walked away and if he saw Daisywater's anger, he took no notice of it.

Both of them got up and started to pad towards Mapleleaf. He was busy organizing his patrol. Sparksong felt pitty for him. He was already to be a father of Rockbelly's kits, and he was busy doing deputy duties as well. Sparksong started to wonder why Wolfgrowl was calling them lazy when he hadn't been doing much to help patrols at all.

Daisywater must have been reading Sparksong's mind because as they reached Mapleleaf she said, "Just who does he think he is?"

"Simple," Sparksong said, her ice blue eyes as calm as the lake when it was frozen, "Deputy."

Sapphirepaw's POV

Mapleleaf's patrol started the same as most patrols those days. Mapleleaf padded along confidently in the lead, while Sapphirepaw, the only apprentice on the patrol, stood in the back of everyone. Sapphirepaw's eyes scanned the cats that were on the patrol.

Her mentor Mapleleaf was in the lead, followed by Sparksong, Daisywater, Redleaf, and herself. They had finished marking their territory around ShadowClan and were heading toward the WindClan border.

Mapleleaf would stop her every so often and ask her what she could smell. Sapphirepaw would do the same thing, she would open her jaw and take in the scents of the forest. This time she was confused.

"I smell a mouse," she said, "and a thrush. There is also some WindClan scent." Redleaf, another warrior, rolled his eyes.

"That's because we're at the WindClan border, mousebrain," Her sapphire eyes gleamed with fury as Mapleleaf gestured his tail for Redleaf to be silent. His expression clearly said, let's see what she has to say!

Sapphirepaw took a deep breath, "there are hints of RiverClan too." Mapleleaf blinked in surprise and sniffed the air for himself.

Before Mapleleaf could speak, however, Sparksong and Daisywater came padding along. They had gone ahead and had started to mark their territory. "She's right, Mapleleaf," said Sparksong. Sapphirepaw gazed at Sparksong with respect and fear. She knew it wasn't right to fear Sparksong, but she felt as if her ice blue eyes were always reading her mind, knowing all her thoughts and secrets.

Mapleleaf nodded solemnly. "From the way I see it," he said, "it looks as if RiverClan is attacking WindClan!" Sapphirepaw stood there in shock while the other warriors around her nodded in understanding.

"WhAt?" she cried.

"Well," said Redleaf, "I'm going to check out the border one more time and be sure." Daisywater, Sparksong, and Mapleleaf all nodded in acknowledgement.

Mapleleaf turned to Sapphirepaw. "Sapphirepaw I want you to stay here while the rest of the warriors go check out the border," he retorted. His tail whipped back and forth impatiently, waiting for an answer.

Sapphirepaw's silver pelt prickled with embarassment. "But, Mapleleaf!" she said, "I'm well trained, I can fight!" She unsheathed her claws challenging anyone to argue. Just because she was an apprentice didn't mean she couldn't fight like a warrior.

Mapleleaf looked at her with discouragment. "I didn't say we were fighting," he said padding off. Sapphirepaw wanted to argue, but her mentor had already hurried off towards the border.

Sapphirepaw's eyes blazed with fury. Why can't I fight? She thought. If WindClan really needs our help, who are we to ignore this battle? Sapphirepaw sat and argued with herself.

Then, she heard the cry of her mother. Sapphirepaw stood up hairs on end. "Mother?" she called, "I thought you were dead." She waited for an answer, but no response came. Sapphirepaw told herself she had just imagined it. Your mother's dead and it's your fault, she thought. She remembered the day of the battle and how she could have saved her. What if there are innocent cats like my mother in WindClan? She thought. Am I going to ignore the fact that they need help and cause another death? No, she couldn't face that again.

Her silver fur prickled with intensity as she made her decision. She couldn't let another life fall into the clutches of death because of her. Making her descision, she ran to the border and across, only feeling two things. One, the heat of the warriors' eyes boring into her with shock, and the wind ruffling her pelt as she raced along moorland. She stopped in mid leap when she heard her mentor's voice.

"Sapphirepaw," called Mapleleaf in shock, "what are you doing?" Sapphirepaw raked her claws against the ground.

"I'm going to help with the battle!" she exclaimed.

Mapleleaf gazed in horror. "This is not our battle to fight! Come back here right now!"

Sapphirepaw was too late. She whipped around just in time to see RiverClan fleeing. She gasped in horror. They were heading towards her.

The golden she-cat Daisywater called out to her, "Run Sapphirepaw, run!" Sapphirepaw's sapphire colored eyes gazed around the moor for any chance of escape. Before she could act, the RiverClan cats were on top of her. She spotted the RiverClan deputy, Streamshine, just before she was toppled over by a light, ginger she-cat.

She heard Mapleleaf's yowl of battle as he joined in to save his apprentice. Sapphirepaw also heard the rest of the patrol following. Their footsteps like thunder on the ground.

She used her hind legs to spring the ginger cat off of her and leaped up. The ginger cat was just as fast. The cat was up in no time and Sapphirepaw guessed that the cat must be a warrior. When the cat leapt at her again she dodged quickly and clawed at the warrior's shoulder. The warrior howled with pain as new blood welled from the wound. Sapphirepaw took her chance and sank her fangs into the warrior's leg. The warrior fell down and Sapphirepaw looked around.

They were winning. She saw her mentor battling the RiverClan deputy, Streamshine and their moves matched eachother perfectly. None of them had any wounds from eachother. She saw Redleaf taking on two apprentices and Sparksong and Daisywater winning against a number of warriors.

Streamshine looked around and saw that they were badly losing. Her eyes welled with grief as she saw another warrior, Snowshine, her sister, bleeding badly. "Retreat RiverClan!" she called, "retreat!" The rest of the RiverClan patrol fled with her, running away from the ThunderClan warriors.

Sapphirepaw, with her many scratches, hurried along hastily and across the border. "What were you thinking?" asked Mapleleaf sternly when they were safe in there own territory.

Sapphirepaw hung her head down in shame. What had she been thinking? She couldn't answer. She had caused this battle. At least this time, no one was badly hurt.