Sandra padded out of Firestar's den with the ThunderClan leader right behind her. She saw Brambleclaw, Brackenfur, Graystripe and Sandstorm come into camp leading her friends in behind them. Sandra smiled and ran down to them with Firestar on her tail. She tackled Kyoya to the ground, who had his back turned to her. "Gotcha!" she exclaimed.
"Hey! Let me up!" Kyoya growled.
"Fine," Sandra let him up and flicked his ears with her tail.
"Good to see you're all doing well," Tsubasa meowed.
"We lost a lot of cats sicne you've been away," Brackenfur pointed out. "but we also gained a lot of new ones."
"Who'd you lose?" Madoka asked.
"Cinderpelt, Longtail, Frostfur, Goldenflower, Ashfur, Willowpelt, One-eye, Smallear, Dappletail, Speckletail, Sootfur and Rainwhisker from the cats that you knew," Graystripe answered, bowing his head.
Masemune tilted his head. "Ashfur? Sootfur? Rainwhisker?"
"Ashfur used to be Ashpaw. And Sootfur and Ranwhisker were both kits when you knew them. They were littermates and Sorreltail is their sister," Sandstorm explained.
"We're all sorry for your losses," Alex mewed.
"It's ok," Graystripe replied. "They're all up in StarClan now, watching over us."
"A lot of stuff has happened in the other Clans too," Brambleclaw added.
"Like what?" Kenta asked.
"Blackfoot became leader of ShadowClan not long after you left and is now Blackstar along with his deputy Rowanclaw," Brambleclaw explained.
"Didn't he kill a cat? Along with that traitor, Darkstripe?" Kyoya growled.
"Yes, but he has done his best to rebuild his Clan, and that's why we respect him," Firestar meowed.
"And RiverClan also has a new leader. Mistyfoot is now Mistystar, the newest Clan leader," Graystripe meowed.
"And Onewhisker of WindClan is now Onestar," Sandstorm added.
"Though he used to be our friend, he changed when he became leader," Graystripe meowed, sadly. "WindClan's peaceful relationship with ThunderClan all but vanished when Tallstar died."
"Has anything bad happened lately?" Benkei questioned.
"ThunderClan had to fight off some badgers soon after we arrived at the lake, but we chased them off with the help of WindClan," Firestar explained. "Sootfur died in that fight. So did Cinderpelt."
Brambleclaw looked away as if he were holding something back. Sandra blinked and padded to his side. "What's wrong, Brambleclaw?"
"I...I killed a cat," he admitted.
"What?!" Masemune exclaimed. "Why would you do that? Why are you even deputy of ThunderClan?"
"Leave him alone, Masemune!" Sandra snarled, shooting him a look that said back off. She turned her gaze back to Brambleclaw, resting her tail comfortingly on his shoulder. "Tell us what happened."
"Well, is had a half-brother. Hawkfrost. He was part of RiverClan, and his sister, Mothwing still is," Brambleclaw began. "One day, we met near the ShadowClan border to talk, only to hear a screeching sound. We rushed to see who it was, and we found Firestar caught it a fox-trap. It was tight around his neck. I was about to save him when Hawkfrost knocked me back. He told me to kill Firestar so I could be leader, since I had recently become the deputy. I was frozen, not knowing what to do. Hawkfrost was furious that it was taking me so long to choose between my leader and my ambition. I could hear my father yelling in my ear to do it. I chose to save Firestar instead of listening to my kin. Firestar was my mentor and accepted me despite what my father had done. I owed it to him." He glanced at the ThunderClan leader before continuing. "Hawkfrost was furious that I didn't kill Firestar. He attacked me, saying that it had been a test to see how much I wanted to be leader. He said it was Tigerstar's idea. He told me that my father and him had big plans for the Clans, and that I could've been apart of them, but since I chose my leader over them, I had to be killed. Once I was dead, Hawkfrost would take over all the Clans, and make Tigerstar's dream come true. I couldn't let that happen. If he killed me I knew that he'd kill Firestar too. So, I grabbed the sharp stick that was part of the fox-trap. Just as Hawkfrost lunged down I pulled the stick up and it went right through his throat. He collapsed on me and pushed him off, thinking he was dead. But then he got up again. He told me that I would pay for betraying him, that he didn't do it alone. I knew he wasn't talking about Tigerstar, so I tried to get him to tell me who it was. He said that I wasn't safe in my own Clan, implying that a ThunderClan warrior had lured Firestar into the trap. Before I could get an answer out of him he collapsed dead at the edge of the lake. His blood spread throughout the lake, turning the water red. I didn't want to kill him! I had to though! If I didn't he'd come back and kill off the whole Clan, just as Tigerstar wanted."
Firestar nodded. "And ever since that day he's been a loyal deputy. I couldn't ask for more loyalty."
Brambleclaw lifted his head and and smiled, gratefully, at his Clan leader. "Thank you, Firestar."
"Well, we'd best get back to our duties," Firestar meowed, rising to his paws. "I'll have some of the other warriors show you all around the territory soon. You can get to know some of the younger cats that way."
"That'd be great," Gingka meowed with a smile.
"I'll go send out a hunting patrol," Brambleclaw meowed. "We'll need more fresh-kill."
"When we're being shown around the territory we'll hunt as well," Tsubasa meowed.
"Yeah! It's be awhile since we've hunted for prey!" Yu piped up.
Firestar smiled. "It's good to have you guys back," he mewed before heading back to his den. The others walked off as well. Brambleclaw went and gathered some cats they didn't know and came back over to them.
"These are the cats who'll be showing you around," he meowed. "They are Lionblaze, Dovewing, Ivypool, Hollyleaf, Bumblestripe, Blossomfall, Foxleap, Icecloud, Rosepetal, and Cinderheart." Turning to the warriors, he added, "They are Gingka, Masemune, Kenta, Yu, Tsubasa, Madoka, Alex, Benkei, Kyoya and Sandra. They are old friends of ThunderClan. Please show them around the territory and hunt while you're out." The warriors dipped their heads as the deputy padded off.
"So, who's going with who?" Yu asked.
"Do you want to go with me?" Cinderheart asked.
"Ok!" Yu answered, following Cinderheart out of camp.
"How about you come with me?" Rosepelt suggested, looking at Kenta.
Kenta nodded. "Sounds good. See you guys later!" he called as the two headed out of camp.
"Can I go with you, Icecloud?" Madoka asked.
"Of course," Icecloud replied, smiling. The two headed out of camp together.
"Who wants to go with me?" Foxleap asked.
"I'll go with you," Gingka volunteered. Foxleap nodded and led him out of camp.
"You can come with me," Blossomfall meowed, signaling for Alex to follow her. Alex shrugged and did as she was told.
Bumblestripe sighed. "Sorry if she seems a little...bossy. Blossomfall is my sister," he apologized.
"It's alright," Benkei assured him. "Why don't you show me around the territory?"
"Sure!" Bumblestripe agreed, brightening up as he raced out of camp with Benkei on his heels.
"Which one's Masemune?" Ivypool asked. Masemune raised his tail. "You can come with me." Masemune growled a little but didn't argue as he followed her out of camp.
"I'll go with Dovewing," Tsubasa volunteered. Dovewing nodded and led him away, leaving Sandra, Kyoya, Lionblaze and Hollyleaf.
"You can go with Lionblaze, Kyoya. I'll go with Hollyleaf," Sandra meowed.
Kyoya nodded, clearly looking satisfied. The four left and split into their groups.
"So, where are we going first?" Sandra asked.
"The WindClan border," Hollyleaf stated simply. She seemed a little tense.
Sandra smiled. "You know, you don't need to act so tense. You can trust me."
"Alright," Hollyleaf meowed, smiling. "So, what's your name?"
"Sandra," Sandra replied. "Can you tell me a little about yourself?"
"Well, I have two brothers, Lionblaze and Jayfeather. Jayfeather is our medicine cat. I always follow the warrior code strictly, but it's hard since I'm half-Clan. My mother is ThunderClan while my father is WindClan," Hollyleaf explained.
"Who are your parents?" Sandra questioned.
"Leafpool and Crowfeather," Hollyleaf replied. "Leafpool used to be our medicine cat but we found out that she broke the medicine cat code and she had to quit being ThunderClan's medicine cat. At first I couldn't accept it because my birth along with my brothers' had been a lie. We always thought we were Squirrelflight and Brambleclaw's kits. I was really mad at Leafpool for lying to me, and Squirrelflight too, but now I know that they did all this for the best."
Sandra smiled. "I'm sure Squirrelflight and Brambleclaw love you as if you were their kits."
Hollyleaf smiled. "I hope." She looked at Sandra. "You know, you're not what I expected. You sure know what to say."
"Well, I actually know Brambleclaw pretty well. He was a good friend when he was an apprentice," Sandra explained. "I think I'd know what he'd feeling."
Hollyleaf smiled. "Come on! We've got to get around the whole territory and hunt before the sun sets."
Sandra smiled and nodded. "Right." She followed Hollyleaf through the trees.