Hey again. I'm glad to be back, thrilled with the reviews, you guys are amazing!! And I'm glad to finally get to this chapter, because this is where all the setting-up can wrap up, and we finally get to meet our real main characters... ;P

PS Anycase u wonder, this chapter is set six moons after the fifth chapter... all good? (:

Disclaimer: Characters belong to me, but warriors belongs to good old Erin :D

Chapter Six: Six Moons

Outside, it was warm with the gentle breath of summer. There was no trace of dark clouds in the deep blue sky stretched above the jungle, which was a good sign; for the past six moons, the cold season of winter had attacked the jungle, and though the Clans had heard of snow before, there wasn't really any snow around their world. But it had been bitterly cold for once.

And it had given time for all the Clans to try and relax after the furious discovery of Blackscar's affair.

Blackscar lay alone in the large warrior's den. He sighed deeply, shivering, though the air was warm and comfortable. The loss of Littlecloud had been moons past, but he still missed her with an aching heart. And clearly he was not the only warrior missing the WaterClan queen: Meadowstar was still rival to LightningClan, and Torntail was none the friendlier. The threat of war may have been moons ago, but Brightkit's sixth moon was just days away, and that meant Snowstar had just days to either destroy his promises and get rid of the cub, or face WaterClan's threats.

But the problems outside the Clan did not match the problems running alive within LightningClan: despite every warrior's doubts, Bluefur had nursed Brightkit so that he was growing well, almost as big as his cousins-
Snowstar's and Bluefur's children. But his life was not exactly celebrated- although the first bitter feelings of keeping the cross-Clan child and living with Blackscar had melted, he felt like a stranger in his Clan, and knew his son would grow up the same way.

It's not fair.

Blackscar felt grief prick his heart. He knew it sounded silly for a warrior to say it, but the words were achingly true: none of this confusing, terrible situation was fair. And it had all been because of love.

So what did that mean? Was love not as pure as everyone thought; and instead, was two-faced, in a way?

Mind swirling with dark thoughts, Blackscar heard a sudden voice calling him.

"Blackscar!" It was Grasstail, one of his Clanmates. He was sticking his pale face into the shady den, eyes gleaming. "Snowstar wants to see you in his den."

"Oh, right. Thanks," Blackscar said hastily, but got no response; Grasstail had already gone. Feeling that old emptiness in his heart, Blackscar sighed again and trudged his way through the busy clearing. Lions were hunting, on patrols, sharing tongues, laughing; everyone seemed to be happier than he.

Then again, he had a horrible burden in his heart that would never, ever lift. A burden that all the other LightningClan warriors were blessed not to have.

The blazing sun was mid-way in the bright blue sky, and Blackscar felt it shine hotly onto his dark fur coat. He shook his matted mane, and the skinny lion stalked uncertainly towards the dark, damp cave of his leader.

Slowly he pushed his face into the cave, and blinked, eyes adjusting to the darkness. "Snowstar? Hello?"

There was a silence, and then a low rumble. "Come in, Blackscar."

The lion hesitated, then stepped further into the darkness. His eyes narrowed, and he saw rocks piled all around the quiet cave. But as his eyes adjusted, he realized those weren't rocks- it was his brother, shadowed by the darkness, laying down motionlessly. As Blackscar approached, the leader shifted, and two amber eyes glowed in the dark.

"Grasstail told me you wanted to talk?" Blackscar mumbled.

Snowstar nodded, sitting up and coming closer to his smaller brother. Streaks of flaming light managed to hit the leader, making his mane glow. "It's about your son, Brightkit."

Blackscar froze. He hadn't expected this.

"He is days away from his sixth moon, and the Code says he must be apprenticed." Snowstar paused, eyes flickering as he read Blackscar's face. "He has shown strength," he admitted. "I never thought the runt would reach this moon. But he has, and I must face the problem of his apprenticeship."

"Problem?" Blackscar repeated, flattening his ears. "Why is it a problem? It's a blessing!"

Snowstar chuckled sadly, shaking his head. "No, brother. Think- I must be careful about his mentor. And what about the others- and WaterClan? If he goes to his first Gathering as an apprentice, he will be in danger. And so will you." His eyes narrowed.

Blackscar dipped his head. "I know that, but please..." He hesitated, thinking about his next words. He had wanted to ask Snowstar this for a long time; as he had frequently visited the nursery and watched his son grow, he knew there was only one thing he truly wanted right now. "Let me mentor Brightkit."

Snowstar blinked, and frowned. Blackscar's hopes instantly plummeted. "I am sorry, Blackscar," he finally rumbled. "But you know as well as I do that it can't be done. A traitor mentoring a half-Clan cub?" His voice was light, and Blackscar knew he wasn't being mean; yet the words still hurt. "It wouldn't be fair to Brightkit. I know you love him, but he deserves a chance at a true mentor."

"But who?"

"I will decide that. But first, I want to ask you: are you sure you want Brightkit to be an apprentice? I have no true guarantee he will become a warrior; who knows what WaterClan will try to do when they discover I let him live?"
Blackscar swallowed hard. He knew how much Snowstar was putting at stake, and felt the old hunger return: why was Snowstar doing it in the first place? He had mentioned some sort of sign several times, but Blackscar knew his brother well enough to be sure there was more to that story.

"Please, Snowstar- you told the Clans of a sign StarClan sent you, something that convinced you to raise Brightkit. I- I would like to know what it was. What it really was," he added quietly, paws shifting.

Snowstar was surprised, and flicked an ear. He was quiet, thoughtful, and finally came to a decision. "You are his father, and I know I can trust you with the truth. You deserve to know." He nodded, and Blackscar's eyed brightened as he anxiously flicked his tail. Would the truth be good or bad for Brightkit's future?

"The night you came to the Clan with him, the day Littlecloud died, I had a dream; a vision." Snowstar's voice was deep and quiet, and Blackscar felt overwhelmed with honor that his leader was sharing such personal information with him even before his deputy. "I was in the jungle, and I found our Clan camp. But it was different, and I did not recognize any of the lions there." He paused, eyes swirling with memory. "The lions began to roar, and I looked up at the High Rock, and I saw-" Snowstar met Blackscar's gaze steadily. "I saw a golden-furred warrior with stripes being hailed as Brightstar."

Blackscar's jaw dropped. "What?"

"StarClan told me that it was just a shadow of what might be; that it was truly up to me to decide the future. And I knew that if I let Brightkit die, he may never have a chance to become that legend."

"Are you saying... my son will be Clan leader one day?"

Snowstar shook his head, eyes distant. "I do not know anything for sure, brother. StarClan warned me that what I saw was not certain; anything could happen to change that."

Blackscar's mind was reeling, tail quivering in excitement. "But if there was no chance, they wouldn't have showed it to you."

Snowstar nodded deeply, whiskers twitching. They were silent for a moment, each reveling in their own thoughts.

"Now go," Snowstar rumbled after a moment. "I need time to think about mentors. But tonight, I shall apprentice Brightkit; and my three cubs." His concern about his vision suddenly vanished as a little glow of pride brightened
Snowstar's amber eyes.

For the first time in moons, Blackscar felt no scrap of envy towards his great leader, and instead, his heart was glowing with admiration and pride of his brother. He felt a rusty purr shake his throat, and he touched his tail to
Snowstar's flank. "Thank you for everything, Snowstar. I... I swear not to tell anybody about your vision," he told his brother honestly.

Snowstar straightened up, and nodded curtly, though his eyes sparkled. "I know you won't," he said quietly, and flicked an ear, dismissing Blackscar.

Feeling his burden much lighter, Blackscar trotted from his leader's den, eyes bright, ears pricked. Was Brightkit destined for greatness after all?

* * *
"Let all lions old enough to catch their own prey join here beneath Highrock for a Clan meeting!"

It was sunset. Blackscar swiped his tongue around his muzzle, licking away the last tastes of the warthog he had just shared with Curlclaw, and lifted his head as Snowstar's call rang around the quiet clearing.

"Snowstar's performing an apprentice ceremony tonight," Curlclaw meowed as he rasped a tongue over one large paw, pricking his ears towards the High Rock. Blackscar glanced at his Clan mate. Curlclaw was one of
LightningClan's senior warriors, and he had gotten his name from his long, curved, gleaming claws that slipped from his large paws.

"He is." Blackscar shook himself, anxious to see Brightkit.

Curlclaw, looking interested as Bluefur and Foxsong led their cubs from the nursery, with Icetail looking on fondly at the cubs, her own stomach swollen with soon-to-come cubs, twitched his whiskers and began padding
towards the High Rock, where Snowstar awaited, his pale fur gleaming in the fiery lights of the setting sun. Wondering if Curlclaw had been asked to take on an apprentice, Blackscar stalked after the tawny-furred lion.

Elders peering from the large, collapsed log they slept in, and Pebbleheart, the medicine-cat, padding over excitedly, Blackscar felt a bitter stroke of unease bite his heart. Brightkit was to be apprenticed, and no one but Snowstar and himself knew about the vision; the others wouldn't understand why Snowstar wanted to give the cub a chance. Would they be negative when he received his apprentice name?

He sighed, and padded over to sit next to a pretty lioness named Rainheart, who was sitting beside Ivytooth and a pale brown lion named Dustleg. Rainheart glanced dismissively at Blackscar as he sat down, and he flicked
his tail away, eyes dropping to the ground. He would never be accepted again, not after Littlecloud. Oh, Littlecloud... are you watching our son right now?

Finally, all the cubs ready for apprenticeship had gathered under the High Rock. Snowstar's muscles trembled as he leapt easily down to his warriors.

Blackscar's gaze traveled over all the cubs. There were six in all, quite a lot for an apprentice ceremony, but no one could deny the Clan was in desperate need of apprentices, as the only apprentice they had right now was
Buzzardpaw, and the poor cub had to do all the apprentice duties alone. Well, one thing was for sure: after today, he'd be overwhelmed with free time, while the other new apprentices worked.

Bluefur, her pale green eyes glowing with pride, nudged her three cubs along towards Snowstar. Next, Foxsong, her red-brown fur gleaming, helped her cubs follow Bluefur's. She only had two: a little female with white-
tipped fur, and a male with dark red-brown fur.

Feeling anxious, Blackscar strained his neck, and was delighted to see Brightkit hopping along after the five other cubs. There were mutters from the lions around him, and Blackscar felt like spitting at them all, praying his
son didn't noticed the dampened expressions these lions shot him. His fur was painfully different, a flaming orange and gold with hints of brown, but the most obvious difference was his black stripes: faint for now, with his fluffy fur, but when he was older, Blackscar knew those stripes would settle in darker.

Shaking his head, quiet finally came over LightningClan, and Snowstar spoke.

"We are here today to celebrate the thriving gifts of LightningClan. Here we have six cubs that will be taken into LightningClan as our future." He caught Blackscar's eyes when he said this, and Blackscar swallowed hard, reminded of the vision as he gazed at his little son.

Snowstar glanced down at Foxsong's cubs, and beckoned them over to him, eyes shining with encouragement to them. The female's eyes were sparkling, and the male looked more restrained, trying to be mature, but his eyes looked like stars as he gazed up at Snowstar.

He lifted his face and called, "I call upon my warrior ancestors to look down upon these cubs. They would like to become a warrior of LightningClan, but must first become apprentices.

From this day forth, until you have earned your warrior name, you will be known as Frostpaw," Snowstar spoke to the female first. He lifted his head, and beckoned Curlclaw. The great warrior proudly, quietly, padded over to Frostpaw.

Sure enough, Blackscar thought with a smile. Curlclaw looked pleased as he looked at Snowstar. "Curlclaw," Snowstar spoke firmly to his friend, "You are ready to take on an apprentice. Your strength and wisdom has proved to be helpful to our clan, and I hope that your skills will pass through you onto your new apprentice."

Curlclaw purred as he bent down and touched noses with Frostpaw, and the little female, bursting with excitement, followed her new mentor to sit with the other warriors.

Snowstar blinked fondly, and then turned to her brother. He continued his speech, eyes bright. "From this day forth, until you have earned your warrior name, you will be known as Rowanpaw," he rumbled. Rowanpaw's whiskers shivered in delight, and Redflower gracefully padded over, smiling at Rowanpaw "Redflower,youare ready to take on an apprentice. Your strength has proved to be helpful to our clan, and I hope that your skill will pass through you onto your new apprentice."

"Certainly," Redflower purred as she bent to nose noses with her new apprentice.

Blackscar watched with growing apprehension as Snowstar proudly named his two daughters, Amberpaw and Cricketpaw, and their mentors became, surprisingly, Pebbleheart- as she had felt Amberpaw would make an excellent new medicine-lion- and Sunpelt as Cricketpaw's mentor.

Finally, Snowstar seemed to swell with pride as he reached his son, Lionkit. Blackscar had not spent much time with the golden-furred son of the great leader, but his amber eyes and pricked ears reminded Blackscar very much of his own brother. Wondering who Snowstar would give his son's apprenticeship to, he was surprised by Snowstar speech.

" From this day forth, until you have earned your warrior name, you will be known as Lionpaw," Snowstar rumbled, eyes glowing. Lionpaw shivered excitedly as he awaited his new mentor. "And I have decided that I will take over your training, young Lionpaw."

Lionpaw let out a squeak, and there was a pleased murmur that spread through the Clan: Snowstar hadn't mentored a cub in some moons, and it was curious he chose to take on his own son. And although it was a great honor to have the Clan leader as your mentor, Blackscar doubted the young apprentice knew quite yet that his leader, mentor, and father were all the same lion.

Lion. And why had they chosen "Lion" as his name? Blackscar blinked thoughtfully as Snowstar bent to touch noses with his apprentice. He was already a lion; it was a unique choice as a name. Shrugging and deciding he had bigger things to worry about, Blackscar's stomach dropped as he realized Brightkit was next.

Who had Snowstar chosen as his mentor?

Body trembling as Lionpaw padded happily over to join his sisters and the other apprentices, Brightkit slowly padded forward, and a great hush came over all the lions in LightningClan.

Bluefur looked proud of the little cross-Clan child, and though she wasn't his mother, Blackscar knew she had come to care for him as one. And yet her sparkling eyes were alone; Foxsong looked away as Brightkit walked excitedly up to Snowstar, and no lion said a word.

He probably has no idea he's different, Blackscar realized, wondering if Snowstar and Bluefur had pointedly not done it to let Blackscar do it one day.

Snowstar took a deep breath before beginning, " I call upon my warrior ancestors to look down upon this cub. He would like to become a warrior of LightningClan, but must first become an apprentice. From this day forth, until you have earned your warrior name, you will be known as Brightpaw."

Brightpaw. Despite his worries, a flicker of pride stirred in Blackscar's chest. His son was an apprentice. It was more than he could have ever dreamed of.

There was an uneasy silence as the lions glanced among each other, wondering who had been chosen as Brightpaw's mentor. A few lions looked at Blackscar, but he kept his gaze carefully focused on his son. And he couldn't help but notice Dustleg, sitting just opposite Rainheart, sitting quietly, gazing at the ground.

Snowstar looked at the warrior. " Dustleg," he said quietly, face neutral. There came surprised murmurs from the lions around him. "Youare ready to take on an apprentice. Your cunning and power has proved to be helpful to our clan, and I hope that your skill will pass through you onto your new apprentice."

Dustleg heavily stood up, shaking his mane, and padded over towards the cross-Clan cub, eyes swirling, expression unfathomable, as the Clan stayed dead silent. "I will, Snowstar," he murmured before bending to touch noses with Brightpaw.

Well then- that was huge. Snowstar's children and Blackscar's cross-Clan cub are finally apprenticed, as well as Foxsong's cubs. And so now Blackscar knows about Brightpaw's possible future... I wonder what will happen now? :) Thanks so much for reading, I really love this story, and I can't wait to keep writing on it. Tell me what you think, reviews very welcome!! haha 3