Golden Dawn: Lost Sunrise

by Lightflame The Warrior

"I wonder if the wind has regrets. Can it pierce my heart, even now, and find the echoes of who I once was?" Long ago, the Three fought and died to protect the Clans. Now, war is coming, and sleeping foes have risen. For any hope of survival to exist, sworn enemies must unite to overcome both the darkness in the Clans and within themselves. The stars will tremble in their wake.

2. Chapter 1 Leafkit

Thanks for all the reviews and views I received! I'm happy that my prologue was well received, and I'm grateful that several people read it. It makes me happy to know that people are enjoying the stories I work hard on. Sorry for the long wait for an update. I was on vacation until July 8th, and the rest of the wait was my laziness mixed with the amount of time it took to write this long chapter. I introduce quite a few characters, so I hope you get to know some of them

Chapter 1

Leafkit rolled out of the way of her opponent's quick paws, panting after yet another near miss. Tired from dodging so many attacks, Leafkit stopped for a moment to catch her breath and recover her guard. Unexpectedly, her opponent lunged forward, a gleam in his eyes. Despite her growing exhaustion, Leafkit was able to see the blow coming. She slid backwards, aided by the ground that was still slick from the morning's rain. Leafkit rolled to the side, aiming to move far enough from her opponent to have some time to compose her thoughts.

Leafkit's opponent sneered at her and advanced lazily, yet with enough speed to catch Leafkit's sluggish movements. A bead of sweat rolled through Leafkit's fur, it's foul stench further reinforcing Leafkit's weakness. He knows how tired I am, thought Leafkit. He's faster than me, and he has much more stamina. I'm stronger than him, but he's too fast for me to catch him when I'm worn out like this. I have to find a way to get him off guard.

Caught up in her thoughts, Leafkit failed to notice how close her opponent had come until he was standing right in front of her. Dazed, Leafkit tried to dodge his next attack, but her opponent's speed was too great, and he bit down hard on her front leg. Her opponent held her right leg in a hard grip, and pain shot through Leafkit. Staring at her opponent, Leafkit saw a look of triumph flash through his eyes. I won't let you beat me, thought Leafkit. I'm going to be the greatest warrior the Clans have ever known. Leafkit swatted at his muzzle with her left paw, and her surprised opponent released her leg for a moment. Making use of the little speed she did have, Leafkit slid out of his grip and got all four of her paws back on the ground. Angry at her dirty move, Leafkit's opponent lunged forward, aiming for Leafkit's side. Leafkit clumsily avoided him and rolled a few tail-lengths away.

Leafkit still felt the sharp pain in her leg. Even though her opponent had not broken skin, her leg still ached from his strong grip. I can't keep this up for long, Leafkit realized. If I stay on the defensive, my leg will give out and he'll win. If I go on the offensive, he'll take advantage of how tired I am and beat me senseless. I need to use my superior strength to end this now. Suddenly a plan formed in Leafkit's mind, one born of the tales she had often heard in the elder's den. It was risky, but it offered more hope of success than any alternative. Leafkit slowed down to catch her breath, as if her fatigue had completely overtaken her.

"Is that all you have?" taunted her opponent as her rushed towards her. "You don't have any chance of becoming Clan leader if you can't even defeat me!"

Determination flowed through Leafkit, and she braced herself as her opponent rushed forward. Leafkit's change in demeanour caused her opponent to hesitate, but his belated attempt to stop only left him vulnerable. Leafkit slammed into him with her shoulder, and then tried to hit him with her paws. Leafkit fumbled her attack and missed her opponent by a whole tail-length. I shouldn't have missed that, thought Leafkit. This is my last shot. I have to end this now. While Leafkit's opponent was still off balance, Leafkit gathered all her strength and readied her hind legs. Then she sprung forward and hit her opponent with her head, knocking him to the ground. Leafkit leaped on top of him, pinning him to the damp earth.

"I win again," declared Leafkit. "Seeing as I'm the best at fighting, I get to be Clan leader when we become warriors."

Below her, her brother Gustkit groaned at the pain as he pulled himself to his paws. Shaking himself to try to dislodge any dirt in his fur, Gustkit continued groaning. Seeing all the dirt that was still in his fur, Gustkit began to groom his ginger pelt. Gustkit's red fur had come from Leafkit's father, Galeflight, and it was very long and messy. No matter how often Gustkit and his mother Dovesong groomed Gustkit's fur, he always appeared to have walked right out of a fierce storm. Around Gustkit's chin his fur stretched down and nearly touched the ground, having the appearance of a small, bushy tail stuck to Gustkit's chin. Between Gustkit's ears, his fur clumped together into spikes, almost like a field of grass on his head. Gustkit's whiskers drooped, making him appear serious, despite his upbeat tempo.

"You're really strong, Leafkit," Gustkit told his sister. "But you're always too rough with me and it seems to take moons for the pain to go away."

"Don't be like that," Leafkit teased as she brushed her brother with the tip of her tail. "You're too soft. What will you do when you're an apprentice and you have to fight ThunderClan cats without me to protect you?"

The thought of ThunderClan made Gustkit freeze up. Every WindClan kit had heard the stories of ThunderClan, the fearless Clan to the north whose fierce spirit led them to fight with strength akin to the power of LionClan and TigerClan. Gustkit seemed contemplative, but then his eyes lit up again. "Maybe I can just become Snowcloud's apprentice," he suggested. "Then I can be medicine cat while you're leader, and I won't have to do any fighting."

"You working with herbs, Gustkit?" asked a newcomer. "I think I'd move to RiverClan if I had to rely on your judgement. I'm pretty sure there was one time were you said that deathberries were for rat bites." Her words were harsh, but her teasing tone and her gentle blue eyes suggested kindness beneath her taunts.

Gustkit swiped playfully at the she-cat, but she avoided his attack with the grace of Leafkit's mother. "Hawkkit, I thought we agreed to not mention that moment!" complained Gustkit.

"Oh, I'm not saying you can't be a medicine cat," teased Leafkit's sister. "I just don't want you to be our medicine cat. Go be Nightheart's apprentice. Then you can kill all sorts of RiverClan cats without even fighting them."

Wait, I'm pretty sure Snowcloud said that Nightheart had an apprentice, thought Leafkit. She decided it didn't matter. Hawkkit was only teasing after all; there was no way she wanted Gustkit to become a RiverClan cat.

Gustkit swiped at Hawkkit again, but she stepped to the side, avoiding Gustkit's paws. Hawkkit leaped at Gustkit, and Leafkit's two littermates grabbed each other, rolling on the ground as they playfully pawed at each other. Hawkkit's neat brown fur became uncharacteristically messy, but as soon as she rolled away from Gustkit's grip it seemed to fall back into place. Across Hawkkit's fur, a pawful of black stripes replaced the short brown hair, including a long stripe that ran up her tail. Hawkkit licked her fur, then propelled herself towards Gustkit once more.

"Stop!" Leafkit called out to her siblings. "As future Clan leader, I command you to cease your fighting."

Hawkkit was able to stop her movement in time, and she turned her head to face her sister. Gustkit wasn't so lucky. Unable to control his speed, Gustkit slid wildly across the damp ground and fell face-first into the earth. He let out a moan of pain as he pulled himself to his paws and wiped bits of earth from his face.

Hawkkit twitched her tail; she was obviously amused by Leafkit's words. "You can't be Clan leader," Hawkkit declared. "Out of the three of us, I'm the fastest. Speed is the most important thing for a WindClan cat. I'll be Clan leader." Hawkkit met Leafkit's eyes as if daring her sister to challenge her. Leafkit sighed and stared back at her.

"I'm going to be the greatest WindClan warrior ever!" Leafkit exclaimed. "I'll lead my Clan to glory and kill all the bad cats!"

Hawkkit smirked at Leafkit. In response, Leafkit straightened her back and stood taller, trusting her determination to fill her with strength. Then a loud growl came from Leafkit's stomach, and she felt the hunger she had been avoiding. "After all this fighting, I'm starving," Leafkit complained. "Let's go see if the hunting patrol has come back." Hawkkit and Gustkit nodded in approval, and the kits padded over to the fresh-kill pile.

As if they had sensed Leafkit's hunger, the hunting patrol entered into the camp as soon as the kits arrived at the pile. The young tom Boulderpaw was dragging a fat rabbit along the ground, while his mentor Fieldstone held a squirrel between her jaws. As well, Oakfur had brought the Clan a vole, while Brambletail was carrying two sparrows in her mouth. The patrol dropped the prey in the fresh-kill pile, then flicked their eyes around the camp uneasily, as if expecting to be punished, despite their great catch.

The WindClan cats who had been hanging around the camp, whether they were having important discussions, boasting about recent victories, or simply enjoying the Newleaf breeze, all began to gravitate towards the fresh-kill pile. Thistlepelt, Dovesong's brother from a younger litter, was the first to reach the pile. "That looks great," he congratulated the hunting patrol. "You should all be proud of yourselves. My sister Rabbitfoot is still in Snowcloud's den having her injured leg treated, so I thought I'd take this sparrow and share it with her."

Thistlepelt tried to reach for the smaller of the birds, but Brambletail forced the larger sparrow into his paws. Embarrassed, she bowed her head, and Thistlepelt's fur flushed as he offered a hasty thanks. Brambletail eyed the squirrel, then turned her eyes to Fieldstone, looking to her senior from approval. Fieldstone nodded, and Brambletail took the squirrel from the pile.

Leafkit felt saliva dripping from her mouth as she scanned the fresh-kill pile for something to eat. She didn't want to take too much, but she needed to satisfy the hunger in her stomach. "You don't often see squirrels in the moor," Leafkit observed. "At least, that's what the results of the hunting patrols seem to imply." Leafkit couldn't actually remember ever venturing outside WindClan's camp, although she was told that Dovesong had unexpectedly kitted near ThunderClan's border.

Brambletail pondered her meal for a moment, then beamed at the three kits. "You've never had squirrel before, right?" she asked Leafkit and her littermates. "Why don't you three come and share my squirrel? There's enough for all of us." Her friendly green eyes gave an inviting look.

"Sure!" squealed Hawkkit, who seemed eager to taste the exotic prey. Hawkkit and Gustkit rushed over to the squirrel and tore off hunks of meat, which they quickly gobbled up.

Leafkit wasn't so hasty. "Thank you for the offer," she said to Brambletail. "It looks delicious." Leafkit padded down and took a pre-emptive sniff of the squirrel before she took a bite of the meat. The squirrel was tangy, unlike rabbit, which tasted almost sweet. However, it also had a rich flavour to it unlike that found in rabbits, and Leafkit savoured every bite.

"We could have caught even more if not for those rogues and the RiverClan prey-stealers," complained Oakfur as the cats enjoyed their meal. His fur stuck up in the air, showing his anger at the cats who dared to take his food.

We're WindClan, greatest Clan of all! reflected Leafkit. How did we lose prey to those mangy rogues and the fish-eating RiverClan? Leafkit scanned her Clanmates. They didn't seem to be suffering any ill effects from the actions of RiverClan and the rogues. Most of the cats of the Clan were somewhat plump, which seemed odd for cats with such wiry frames. Ashfall, one of the sole cats who was still skinny was quite old, and had only be able to avoid moving to the elder's den due to her loud and frequent insistence that she was as strong as any warrior. We have lots of prey this Newleaf. There's probably enough of it to share with the other Clans. But still, what RiverClan is doing is wrong. They should be punished!

"Why hasn't Ravenstar done anything about RiverClan stealing our prey?" asked Leafkit. "If I was Clan leader, I would fight RiverClan, and I would teach them not to set foot on our territory again!"

Fieldstone twitched her tail, amused at Leafkit's outburst. "I want to fight RiverClan as well," she remarked. "They should be punished for their arrogance. But despite what I ask, Ravenstar still wants to resolve the situation with words. He still hasn't learned that RiverClan warriors only speak with their claws."

"There's a lot more to being leader than just winning all the fights you know," commented a voice.

Leafkit sighed. Her father Galeflight dreamed of leading WindClan as well, and Leafkit often had to listen to him ramble on about WindClan's future. Leafkit's squirrel was finished, so she tried to excuse herself after nodding her thanks to Brambletail. Galeflight noticed Leafkit shuffling away, so he used his tail to impede her progress.

"You will stay here, my daughter," he said. "If you really want to become the greatest WindClan warrior ever like you've said, then you'll need to listen to what I have to say." Leafkit sighed and began looking around the camp, hoping to find something that would capture her interest as Galeflight repeated his long-winded speech. "Clan leaders must be wise enough to pick their battles," Galeflight rambled on. "Even if what the other Clans are doing is against the code, sometimes the Clan leader has to consider both sides of the story. In the end, the wisest choice is peace. No warriors will have to die because of pointless squabbles between the Clans. Instead, a solution can be found that benefits all the Clans. Although we are gifted with claws, we need to use words to understand each other. The elders may tell stories of villains like Tigerstar and Hawkfrost, but there is no such thing as pure evil. Everyone has a reason for what they do, and understanding what drives them is the key to moving forward."

Leafkit yawned as her father carried on. He seemed oblivious to the cats around him, as long as they didn't try to leave before he finished his rant. Leafkit flicked her tail, gesturing to her father's apprentice Harepaw, who was enjoying part of a rabbit as Leafkit listened to her father. "How goes the training?" she asked.

"It's great!" replied Harepaw, his light brown fur waving in the wind as he bounded over to Leafkit. "I met my first rogue today." Leafkit gasped with a mixture of admiration and jealousy. That rogue is lucky that I wasn't there, or I would have shredded them. Seeing that he had captured Leafkit's interest, Harepaw launched into his tale. "Wolfpaw and I were practicing our fighting moves, and Graynose had just taught me this neat rolling claw move," Harepaw explained. "A white she-cat tried to attack us, but I used my new move to fight her."

"You were pretty brave fighting that rogue all by yourself," Leafkit gushed. "I wish I could have been there with you, but I'm still only four moons old."

"Oh no, I wasn't all alone fighting her," Harepaw explained, while he modestly rubbed the back of his head. "Graynose and Galeflight did most of the fighting for me. Despite how your dad is always give those lectures, he still is really strong."

Leafkit felt a pang of sympathy for Harepaw. She knew full well how boring Galeflight's speeches could be. "How often does he give them to you?" asked Leafkit.

"Every day," Harepaw sighed. "He's great at teaching me stuff, but his speeches are enough to make me wish I had a different mentor."

Leafkit touched his flank sympathetically. I wonder who will mentor me. It could be anyone. Maybe even Ravenstar himself!

Meanwhile, Galeflight was still rambling on. "And a leader needs to be just and kind!" he declared. The sound of an approaching warrior's pawsteps caused him to turn his head.

Leafkit turned as well, and she saw that Woodfur, the Clan deputy, had come to the fresh-kill pile. "Ah Woodfur," her father greeted the tom. "To what do I owe this pleasure?"

The black, muscular tom nodded to both Galeflight and Fieldstone. "Galeflight, Fieldstone, Ravenstar wishes to speak to you," he announced. "The two of you have been very active in the debate over whether to go to battle with RiverClan, and Ravenstar wanted to talk about tonight's gathering."

"Alright," Galeflight nodded. "Don't go anywhere until I get back," he said to nobody in particular.

Fieldstone quickly licked her mouth and paws clean, then turned to her apprentice. "Boulderpaw, you're dismissed for now," she told him. "You'll be expected on the Dusk Patrol, and after that, Ravenstar wishes for you attend the gathering." After making sure her apprentice heard her, Fieldstone followed Woodfur to Ravenstar's den.

"Alright!" exclaimed Boulderpaw. "If I meet any of those rogues on the Dusk Patrol, I'll show them the power of WindClan's mighty apprentice, Boulderpaw!" He ran off, most likely to brag to some unsuspecting cat.

Hawkkit smirked. "Mighty apprentice?" she sarcastically echoed. "Who does he think he's fooling?" Hawkkit examined her brown fur for any lingering dirt. However, she didn't need to worry, as her self-cleaning pelt was perfect, as always.

Leafkit turned her gaze back to Harepaw and opened her mouth to speak, but suddenly Harepaw's fur shot up. "Agh!" he shouted. "I forgot that I was going to practice with Emberfoot today! I'll have to see you later, Leafkit." Nodding goodbye, Harepaw darted off before Leafkit could say anything.

Hawkkit grinned. "Harepaw's been in the apprentice den for a moon," she whispered smugly. "I wonder if it's true that he's sharing a nest with Wolfpaw."

Leafkit felt her pelt grow hot with jealousy. "That's a lie!" she shouted. "Take it back." Leafkit tried to swing her paw at Hawkkit, but her sister was as elegant and acrobatic as ever. Hawkkit ducked out of the way of Leafkit's attack, then gracefully left the area. "She's so annoying!" Leafkit shouted. "Seriously, are Hawkkit and I actually sisters?"

Gustkit moved to comfort her. "Don't worry," he reassured her. "You'll be a strong warrior, so you'll have plenty of toms padding after you."

It took a moment for what he had said to register. "Hey!" Leafkit yelled at her brother, who snickered at his own remark. Still, Harepaw wouldn't sleep in the same nest as Wolfpaw, right?

Suddenly, Gustkit stopped his movement and held up his paw, warning Leafkit not to do anything. Leafkit looked down to see what had caught his attention, and she saw a pretty blue flower growing in the ground. "Applepaw will love this," said Gustkit, who carefully plucked the flower from the ground. "It will look great with her gray fur and blue eyes." Holding the delicate flower carefully, Gustkit trotted off towards the apprentice den.

"Medicine cats can't have mates!" Leafkit called after Gustkit.

After Gustkit left, Leafkit was the only kit by the fresh-kill pile. The other warriors sat around sharing tongues, but Leafkit had no desire to join them.

She looked around the camp. WindClan camp was located on top of a hill within a vast moor. A tall ring of rock surrounded it, protecting it from attacks by larger creatures and enemy Clans. Gaps within the rock were used as dens, although some WindClan warriors preferred to sleep beneath the stars. Leafkit turned her eyes to the den where she resided. Long, leafy vines stretched out across the entrance to the nursery, and inside queens made their dens with amid the earth. The nursery was filled with the sweet scent of milk, mixed with the earthy ground. It was home. I still have plenty of time to hang around the camp. I don't need to go back yet. Leafkit turned her attention to a majestic cave, which was situated above an elevated rock where announcements were made to the Clan. The leader's den. That's where I'm going to sleep one day.

Suddenly a smaller cat slammed into Leafkit, knocking her breath away. She fell to the ground, then took small breaths as she tried to recover.

"I finally got you, Leafkit!" Eaglekit declared. The gold and white tom bounced up and down. He was thrilled to have finally taken Leafkit by surprise, even if it had only been because Leafkit was distracted. Still, Eaglekit had been silent enough to sneak up on her, so she supposed it counted for something.

"It looks like you got the best of me," Leafkit admitted. "Congratulations."

"Wow he actually did it," mewed a she-cat. "And here I was, thinking that he would forever fail at his mission to surprise you, Leafkit." It was Silverkit, Eaglekit's sister, who was named for her silver fur. Silverkit and Eaglekit were three moons old, making them one moon younger than Leafkit and her littermates. Leafkit considered them both good friends.

"Hey, Harepaw says that he fought a rogue today," Leafkit said, remembering her conversation only a few minutes earlier.

At the mention of Harepaw, Eaglekit grumbled. "Who cares about Harepaw?" he asked. "My father Moorwhisker is leading a patrol to take care of the rogues on our territory as we speak!"

Leafkit was intrigued. As everyone cat in WindClan knew, a few moons earlier, a ShadowClan tom named Bonetail had tried to steal power from the ShadowClan leader Duskstar. When Bonetail's plan failed, he and several cats from each Clan had fled, becoming a band of rogues who stole food and attacked innocent Clan cats.

"That's great!" Leafkit replied. "I can't wait to hear the story of what happens."

Leafkit's interest seemed to fill Eaglekit with pride. "My dad's awesome," he said. "I bet he'll come back with Bonetail's corpse!" Eaglekit turned his eyes expectantly to Leafkit, hoping for a response.

"That probably won't happen," Silverkit cut in. "The mission is to capture Bonetail, not kill him." Eaglekit sighed, although he didn't lose any of his enthusiasm.

"So, we're still going to go and look around the territory tomorrow, right?" Leafkit asked. She wanted to know what the territory looked like before she became an apprentice. Eaglekit had seemed even more excited for this plan than he usually did, which was something Leafkit still found hard to believe.

"Yes!" Eaglekit agreed. "We'll be able to explore all we want!"

"What's this about sneaking out of camp unsupervised?" asked Galeflight.

"We're going to look around the territory and see all the different places around WindClan!" Eaglekit exclaimed. Suddenly it dawned on him that blurting out the entire plan to a responsible warrior might not have been the best idea.

"I'm sorry!" Leafkit quickly apologized. "We just wanted to go and see the territory for ourselves. We're going to get punished now, aren't we?"

Galeflight let out a knowing look. "Punished? For planning?" he asked. "I was sneaking out of camp when I was half your age, Leafkit. If you wanted to see the territory, you could have just asked. I'll take you three out to see the territory tomorrow, so long as it's okay if Harepaw tags along."

Leafkit was ecstatic, but Eaglekit seemed to have been made somewhat miserable by the announcement. "Harepaw," he muttered. "I hate that guy. Why does he have to get in the way of everything?" Leafkit had never understood why Eaglekit disliked Harepaw so much. Harepaw was quite friendly, even if he was brooding sometimes, and he had never acted unkindly towards Eaglekit. Leafkit supposed that it was just some instinct toms had that forced them to be rivals with each other.

"Oh, and one more thing," Galeflight added. "Next time you have a secret, irresponsible plan, try not to be so loud that the whole Clan can hear you." With that, Leafkit's father departed to do something that was most likely important and boring.

As Eaglekit pouted about Harepaw's inclusion on the expedition, Silverkit shot Leafkit a knowing smile. Leafkit returned it with a confused glance; she failed to understand what Silverkit meant.

"I wonder if we'll see any rogues?" Leafkit mused.

With Leafkit's comment, Eaglekit perked up again. "If they try to hurt you tomorrow, I'll shred them!" he declared. "Then I'll shred them a second time just to be sure I got them." He made a demonstrative motion with his paws, acting as if Leafkit didn't understand the concept of shredding.

Suddenly Leafkit realized that she had forgotten something. "I need to go visit Flamefur," she said.

Silverkit snorted. "The elder?" she inquired. "Why are you always going to visit him anyways?"

"He's the only elder in the elder's den," Leafkit explained. "It must be awfully lonely, so I go to visit him and give him some company."

Silverkit sighed. "Why doesn't Ashfall just swallow her pride and move to the elder's den?" she asked.

An object went flying at Silverkit, but she used the speed all WindClan cats were blessed with to avoid it. "I heard that, young'un!" shouted Ashfall.

"I'm sure you did!" Silverkit shouted in reply. Ashfall gave an irritated grunt and padded off to the Warrior's Den.

"I'll be seeing you soon then," said Leafkit to her friends, and she headed off to the Elder's Den.

As she was on her way, she padded by the Medicine Den. Outside, Thistlepelt and Rabbitfoot were engaged in conversation with Brambletail. Brambletail waved to Leafkit with her tail, but Leafkit shook her head in response. She was going to see Flamefur. After that, she would have time to talk with Brambletail.

"Leafkit! Where are going with fur like that?" Leafkit turned to see Snowcloud emerging from the Medicine Den. Her creamy white fur waved in the wind as she rushed over to Leafkit. "You have to look presentable sometimes, my young friend," Snowcloud declared. She began to lick down Leafkit's glossy silver fur. Leafkit was a silver tabby, and her thick fur kept her warm, even when the nights were bitterly cold.

"I'm only going to see Flamefur," Leafkit told Snowcloud. "You don't have to be so concerned."

Snowcloud grinned at Leafkit. "I've been told that Flamefur likes it when she-cats are properly groomed on occasion."

"Why does it matter?" Leafkit retorted. "It's not like I want him for my mate."

"Not your type?" teased Snowcloud. "Ah well. You have green eyes like me. The toms love those."

Leafkit remembered the question she had wanted to ask Snowcloud. "Does Nightheart have an apprentice?" she asked.

"Why yes," replied Snowcloud. "Although I don't how it concerns you. If memory serves me correctly, she's a gray tabby of nine moons, and her name is Rainpaw. She's quite cute. You two would make a nice couple if you were older and a tom and- as a matter of fact, forget that. It was a bad analogy."

"Thank you," said Leafkit. "Now I think you've groomed my fur enough. I should get going to see Flamefur now."

Snowcloud nodded, and Leafkit headed to the Elder's Den. On her way, she sighed. Snowcloud was always there for Leafkit, whether she wanted it or not. Hmm, Rainpaw. I wonder if Gustkit will meet her if he becomes the medicine apprentice.

Leafkit finally reached the Elder's Den and stepped inside. "Hey Flamefur," she greeted the scraggly, ginger tom. "Sorry I'm late."

Flamefur purred. "Don't be so concerned with time, little one," he reassured Leafkit. "As long as someone still cares enough to visit me, I'm happy."

Leafkit sighed. "Snowcloud's so overprotective of me," she complained. "From the way she behaves, you would think she was my mother."

"Don't be so hard on Snowcloud," said Flamefur. "She's still young and somewhat inexperienced. Losing her mentor so early in her apprenticeship was hard on her. But she worries about you. You were a sickly kit when you were younger, and Snowcloud doesn't want it to come back."

"Alright," Leafkit grudgingly agreed. "I'll apologize to Snowcloud when I next see her."

"That's good," Flamefur said. "Now do you want to hear the tale of Firestar the hero and the Three with the power of the stars in their paws?"

"Of course!" exclaimed Leafkit. "That's the best story!"

Flamefur told the tale magnificently. It was an epic story of the battle between good and evil. A vile cat named Tigerstar, along with other villains named Brokenstar, Mapleshade, Hawkfrost, and Thistleclaw walked in the dreams of innocent Clan cats, compelling them to turn against their Clans. However, a brave she-cat named Ivypool volunteered to infiltrate the Dark Forest were these villains resided. She brought back information to three cats: Jayfeather, Dovewing and Lionblaze. With the information they gained, the three were able to make a plan for a counterattack. Meanwhile, Ivypool worked within the Dark Forest to save the cats tempted by Tigerstar's lies. She even met RiverClan's legendary leader Hollowstar, although he was called Hollowflight back then. There were many other cats the heroes met along the way, such as the trickster Sol, or the hero Hollyleaf, who sacrificed her life so that the Clans would have a future. It was said that in doing so, she became the warrior code, guiding the Clans for generations to come. It was a long, beautiful tale, and by the time Flamefur had finished reciting it, the sky was dark and the full moon hung in the sky.

"Thank you for telling me that story!" Leafkit told Flamefur after he had finished his tale.

"No, thank you, little one," replied Flamefur. "It warms my heart that a young cat like you would come here so diligently to keep an elder like me company. Now, it's gotten late. You should head back to the nursery."

"Alright!" agreed Leafkit. "I'll see you tomorrow."

Leafkit headed out into the camp. The night air was cool, and she could hear the songs of distant birds. Leafkit wondered how the singing birds would taste.

Just then, Moorwhisker's patrol came into the camp. Following Moorwhisker were Tigertail, Badgerclaw, Heatherpelt, and several other cats. They were all covered with wounds, but they seemed to be in high spirits, if only for the moment.

"Welcome back to camp, my brave warriors," Ravenstar greeted them. "How did it go?"

"Did you win?" asked Wolfpaw.

"Did you kill them?" Emberfoot called out.

Snowcloud stared at the injuries the cats had. "Do you need any herbs?" she asked. Other cats added their questions, and soon WindClan's camp was filled with the voices of many cats, all speaking at once.

"Please, calm down!" Moorwhisker called to the crowd. "I have a report to give. It should explain what happened." This caused the crowd to quiet down considerably. As he was speaking, the Dusk Patrol returned, joining the group of cats watching Moorwhisker's patrol.

"We managed to handle the rogue problem, but things didn't go exactly as planned," Moorwhisker explained. "We found Bonetail's group of rogues easily, but the rogues were quite strong, and they nearly overpowered us. As it was, we were only able to chase them off, and we would have been killed if not for the injuries most of the rogues had."

"The rogues were injured?" Ravenstar inquired. "Were they fighting amongst themselves?"

Moorwhisker shook his head. "Apparently they were attacked," he explained. "Some cat who called themself 'Ace, the Rogue Hunter' had assaulted their hideout before my patrol reached them. Whoever this cat was, they were able to injure the rogues enough for us to defeat them, and for that I am grateful. Even if we may come into conflict with this cat, I believe that they will be much more willing to talk things out that the rogues."

Ravenstar nodded. "What an interesting discovery," he murmured. "Cats of WindClan, please keep an eye out for the one calling themself 'Ace, the Rogue Hunter'."

Moorwhisker continued with his report. "As well, we were able to drive some cats off of WindClan territory before Bonetail gave the order to flee," he explained. "I don't think that Bonetail will welcome back traitors, so these rogues will most likely be forced to leave the territory of the Clans. Among these rogues forced away was Frost, Bonetail's second-in-command. This is all I have to report."

"Thank you for your services, my warriors," replied Ravenstar. "Now we can all sleep easily. Please, let Snowcloud check up on your injuries."

"I'd be glad to, Ravenstar," said WindClan's medicine cat. Moorwhisker's patrol followed her to the Medicine Den, while Leafkit went to talk with her siblings.

Hawkkit was with Boulderpaw and Applepaw. Leafkit noticed that Applepaw was wearing Gustkit's flower behind her ear, and she felt glad.

"So, Boulderpaw," Hawkkit smirked. "How did WindClan's mighty apprentice gain this wound?" Hawkkit gestured to a large wound on Boulderpaw's nose.

Boulderpaw stuttered nervously. Flicking his eyes back and forth around the camp, he gave in and sighed, "It was a wound received in a fierce battle."

"Fierce battle, Boulderpaw?" asked Applepaw. Turning to Hawkkit, she said, "Don't believe him. RiverClan's medicine apprentice was picking herbs by the border. Boulderpaw was harassing her, so she swiped him on the nose."

"Ah," nodded Hawkkit. "A truly fierce battle indeed. Tell me Boulderpaw, what was this she-cat like? Did she have glowing red eyes and fangs the size of mountains?"

Boulderpaw scowled. "Oh shut up," he snapped. "One thing is for certain. I will get my revenge on that she-cat."

Just then, Ravenstar emerged from his den. "It's time for us to go to the gathering!" he called to his cats. "WindClan, let's head out."

The cats who were lucky enough to go to the gathering arranged themselves in an orderly line. Leafkit ran up to her father, Galeflight. "Please," she begged him. "Let me go to the gathering!"

Galeflight rubbed Leafkit's head. "There, there, little one," he said. "You have to stay here with your mother, but I'll tell you everything tomorrow. And not only that, but you'll be able to see the territory with your friends."

"Alright father," Leafkit agreed. "But when I'm bigger, you have to promise to take me with you to a gathering."

"I promise," replied Galeflight. "I'll take you with me."

With that, the WindClan cats headed off to the island, where they would meet with the other Clans and share news. Leafkit headed back to the nursery, where her mother was waiting for her. Hawkkit and Gustkit were already curled up in Dovesong's nest, dreaming of things to come on later days.

"It seems like you had a big day," mused Dovesong.

"And I have an even bigger one to come tomorrow!" explained Leafkit. "I just wish becoming an apprentice wouldn't take so long. Father promised to take me to a gathering when I get bigger."

Dovesong gently licked her daughter. "You're growing so fast, Leafkit," she whispered. "And you know that your father has never broken a promise."

"I know," whispered Leafkit as she climbed into the nest. "One day, I want to reach out and grab the stars in my paws."

"I'm sure you will, little one," replied her mother. "Good night."

"I'm not tired!" protested Leafkit. But despite this, her drowsiness caught up with her. Soon, she had fallen into a blissful dream.

A shining star awaited her.

To be continued…

Ace is sort of like Batman, no? Or maybe that's just me. Notice how I'm not using gendered pronouns for Ace? Also, Gustkit has a beard, it's just hard to describe in cat language.

Thanks for reading my first chapter. I hope you enjoyed it. In the next chapter, we'll get to meet our next hero. Leafkit is a more developed version of Sparrowkit, a character from my dead fic "Chasing the Stars". The next character is completely original to Golden Dawn, and I hope you'll like her. Also, please look forward to seeing more of Bonetail and his rogues in the coming chapters.

Seeing as I've introduced a bunch of characters, I'd be grateful if you could share which ones you like and don't like, as well as any shippings that you've already decided to support. I like to know which elements of my story are hit or miss among my readers.

Again, thank you for reading my fanfic. I'm incredibly grateful, and hope that I've managed to make it worth however long it took to read this. See you next time!