I know my summary is close to the canon one, but the other ones are too. If you look at a majority of the fanfics on this site dealing with secrets and whatnot you'll find similar summaries, I'm sure. I'm sorry if this isn't "creative" enough of me but I don't really have the time to think up another summary when I already spent a lot of time trying to find a way to make this one's different without it being spoilers. I've got too much to work on and this story is the easiest for me to write.

I'm perfectly fine at making summaries for my stories – but these ones need to be that generic in order to hide the trove of changes that lie within. Sorry.

I have thought through the backstories and whatnot for the changed characters and I know what's going to happen to the characters who didn't exist in canon. My only issue right now is figuring out Fernkit and Ashkit's genders and whether or not they ought to be changed; but that requires me to figure out if I'm going past the Original Series with this AU.

I know what you mean by the previous two books not having many real changes other than little things, but this one is definitely going to deviate – in obvious and not-so-obvious ways. The lack of changes wasn't something I could really help, since adding stuff like that would completely jack up the pacing and progress – so I just added a bit more character development to certain characters and made relationships flow a bit better.

This AU isn't a huge drastic AU like Blood of the Tiger is – I picked a point where things could have really turned on their heads with that one and rolled with it. Here I'm just rewriting the series in my own way to incorporate changes that I (and others in the fandom) wanted to see.

On the topic of BoT, however, good news! The next, subtitled Storm Front, will be released later this week!

Chapter 7

Tinyclaw made for the warrior's den, confused and incredibly unhappy. Yet when he reached the den, he stopped – he had no desire to deal with Darkstripe or Longtail, nor share tongues with his friends. He turned his paws away.

Unconsciously, his paws took him across the clearing and towards Yellowfang's den. He reached the ferny tunnel when Brackenpaw limped out. The two of them would have collided if Brackenpaw hadn't let out a warning hiss.

"Whoa!" Brackenpaw mewed, "Feeling all right, Tinyclaw?"

Tinyclaw lifted his head at the sound of his former apprentice's voice. Brackenpaw's eys were full of concern, and Tinyclaw breathed a sigh. For the first time since his accident on the Thunderpath, Brackenpaw looked and sounded like his old self – polite, with sleek fur and even eyes. Only his mangled leg damaged the picture.

You'd be coming out of the apprentice's den if it weren't for Bluefur, he thought, and now Tigerstar won't hear another word because I got too cocky…

"Did you hear me?" Brackenpaw wondered. "Are you feeling all right, Tinyclaw?"

Tinyclaw blinked out of his thoughts. "Sorry," he meowed. "A lot on my mind."

"Not sick, I hope?"

"No," Tinyclaw assured him. There was at least one part of him that felt fine. Tinyclaw saw Brackenpaw's paws twitch, and he asked, "What's the hurry?"

"Yellowfang wanted me to go looking for some herbs," Brackenpaw told him. "Her stocks are getting low, with so many cats coming in for one sneeze or another. She wanted me to see if there might be anything growing beneath all that snow."

"Is that possible?" Tinyclaw wondered. He thought the frosts killed all life in the forest.

Brackenpaw shrugged and meowed, "Yellowfang says that with the thaw being inevitably on its way, there ought to be something green poking up somewhere. 'Warmer weather's on the way,' she says, 'I can feel it in my fur.' So off I go."

"You mind if I tag along?" Tinyclaw asked. His paws needed something warrior-worthy to do, according to Tigerstar. Helping out Yellowfang was worthy, Tinyclaw figured.

"Not at all," Brackenpaw purred. His eyes sparkled, and Tinyclaw felt warm for the first time since coming out of Tigerstar's den.

Brackenpaw waved his tail and led the way through the slush towards the thorn tunnel. Tinyclaw followed, conscious of his pace. Brackenpaw might have been outgrowing his rather short mentor, but even with his spindly legs Brackenpaw still had to compensate for his injury. If Brackenpaw minded, though, he didn't show it.

The small voices of kits stopped the two of them just before they reached the tunnel. They both turned to look at the nursery as Brindleface stepped out, stretched, and sat herself down. Behind her came her three charges – Ashkit and Fernkit, her two by birth, and Cloudkit, her adopted daughter.

"Don't get into too much trouble!" Brindleface called. She settled herself down and began grooming. "And if you get cold, come back!"

"We will!" called Cloudkit.

Tinyclaw watched in admiration as his niece trotted confidently across the clearing, her foster littermates flanking her on either side. Her white, fluffy tail was stuck high in the air.

Admiration turned to worry, however, as the kits headed for Brokentail. The rogue had been given a nest just outside the elder's den, out of sight of the rest of the camp but within watch of the warrior's den – not that the villain could see anything, anyway. He had lived there since Tigerstar had given the order to detain him, and had a constant warrior watch.

It was Longtail who was guarding the wretch today, and he looked positively bored of it, with eyes closed. One eye opened, however, when the kits approached. Longtail did nothing but watch as Cloudkit led her siblings around Brokentail.

"Look at him!" hissed Ashkit.

"So scary!" chuckled Fernkit.

Cloudkit's whiskers twitched, and she leaned close to Brokentail. "Rogue!" she spat. "Traitor!"

Brokentail's head shot up, and he bared his teeth, swinging his head around to try and pinpoint the kits. Tinyclaw watched uncomfortably as the kits began to giggle and jeer at Brokentail. Then Cloudkit jabbed out with a paw, smacking Brokentail in the ribs. The old cat groaned.

Tinyclaw glanced at Brackenpaw, feeling a stab of pity. Brokentail had done terrible damage to all the Clans, but he was nowhere near the fearsome warrior he had been then – now he looked twice his age, with patchy, rumpled fur and a face horribly scarred by Yellowfang's claws. Most cats figured he deserved to suffer – Tinyclaw among them – but this was just wrong. Tinyclaw signaled for Brackenpaw to wait and headed over.

On the way, he saw Cloudkit's eyes sparkle. She leaped onto Brokentail's bent tail, and Tinyclaw saw the shimmer of teeth as she bit down. Brokentail yelped and rose, turning on the kit. Tinyclaw's heart started and he began to rush – but Longtail was there first.

"Touch that kit and I'll flay you into strips!" Longtail hissed.

Tinyclaw was too angry to speak. He lunged forward, grabbed Cloudkit by her scruff, and pulled her off of Brokentail. Ashkit and Fernkit, their fur fluffed out in alarm, followed.

"Stop it!" she protested. StarClan, was she heavy now! "That hurts!"

When she was a safe distance from Brokentail, Tinyclaw spat Cloudkit onto the ground. The patched kit shook out her fur and hissed, "What was that for?"

"For being a -"

"Oh, leave the kit alone," hissed Longtail. "She's not doing any harm!"

Tinyclaw narrowed his eyes at Longtail, hoping the pale tabby could see just how much this was not Longtail's business. Longtail seemed to get the message, lashing his tail and turning away. He made sure to spit a good "Kittypet!" over his shoulder before fleeing.

Forcing back the urge to rip Longtail's other ear to shreds, Tinyclaw turned his attention back to the kits. "Go to Brindleface," he urged. "Now."

Ashkit and Fernkit voiced no protest. The two slunk away, but when Cloudkit tried to shimmy out, Tinyclaw stopped her with one paw.

"Not you," he growled. "Not yet."

Cloudkit sighed and sat down on her haunches.

"What were you thinking?" Tinyclaw wondered. Concern bubbled up in him. "Brokentail could have clawed you! Don't you have better games to play?"

Cloudkit met his eyes and meowed, "We have to keep quiet and play light now that Bluefur's kits are here. They're too little and the nursery is too cramped for proper playing. Besides, Brokentail can't hurt us! He's guarded day and night and he's a bad cat so -"

"So that gives you the right to attack him?" Tinyclaw interjected. "Needle him with your teeth? Claw his fur? It only takes one good strike to hurt a cat as small as you, Cloudkit, and Brokentail is well-practiced in doing just that."

Cloudkit's ears flattened. For a moment, Tinyclaw wondered if he'd been too harsh on her – but she mumbled, "I'm sorry."

Tinyclaw nodded and meowed, "Good. Now -"

"What's a kittypet?"

Tinyclaw looked down at the kit. She was looking up at his, blue eyes wide with curiosity. It was as if her reprimand had simply been a fly on her tail – just a flick, and her remorse was gone. But, Tinyclaw supposed, that was how kits were.

"Why?" Tinyclaw wondered.

"I hear it a lot," Cloudkit admitted. "I just wondered what it meant."

Suddenly Tinyclaw was reminded – like a blow to the head – that Cloudkit had no idea of her origins, nor what they meant to the Clan. No doubt she'd heard cats calling Tinyclaw a kittypet, but when the insult was directed at her it must have made things confusing.

"Well…" Tinyclaw took a deep breath. Oh, how to broach this subject lightly? "A kittypet is a cat who lives with Twolegs. Some Clan cats believe that kittypets can't be good warriors – since we were born in the Twolegplace before coming here, those cats think that -"

"Wait a minute," Cloudkit mewled. Her eyes were wide. "I was born here, not in some smelly Twolegplace!"

Tinyclaw swallowed. "No, you weren't," he told her. It was too late to back out now – she needed to know. "Your mother was a kittypet named Fiona, and your father was my half-brother Rusty. They both live in Twoleg nests, and they both decided to give you to me when you were very young, so you could be a warrior."

"Why didn't you tell me?" Cloudkit wailed. Her fur was bristling all over, and her eyes were shining with misery. Tinyclaw's heart ached at the way she fumbled her paws into the slush.

"I was going to wait until you were a little older," Tinyclaw admitted, flicking his tail awkwardly. "Brindleface and I were going to tell you together. I'm so sorry, Cloudkit…"

Cloudkit took a few steps back and spent a little time staring at her paws before lifting her head again. Instead of shock in her eyes, Tinyclaw saw a cold, icy understanding. She spat, "So that's why cats treat me different? Because I wasn't born in this… this dump of a forest? That's so stupid!"

Tinyclaw flinched at her cold tone. Worry enveloped him – what if Cloudkit wanted to go back to her mother and father? What if everything Fiona and Rusty had hoped for fell through? What if Tinyclaw had just made a horrible mistake?

He struggled for words, but he managed, "I know it's stupid. Believe me – I understand." He took a deep breath and then went on more patiently, "Warriors like Darkstripe and Longtail think being a kittypet makes you weak. That means it's up to us to work twice as hard to prove we're just as good as they are – if not better. Where you were born is nothing to be ashamed of, and cats that judge you based on things you can't control aren't worth worrying about."

Cloudkit's eyes burned like blue flames. "I'm going to be the best warrior in the Clan," she vowed. She got to her paws and raised her tail. "I'll fight any cat who thinks I'm weak, and I'll be strong enough to kill nasty rogues like Brokentail in one swipe!" For measure, she made sure to claw at the snowy earth.

Tinyclaw chuckled. He bent and licked her between the ears. "There's more to being a warrior than fighting or killing, Cloudkit," he told her. "A true warrior isn't cruel or mean, and they don't claw an enemy that can't fight back. Where's the honor in that?"

He watched Cloudkit turn and look at Brokentail. Her fur flattened, and her tail lowered to a less arrogant level. Tinyclaw followed her gaze, wondering if she was thinking of what it would mean to strike down Brokentail, who seemed to have already given up.

Brackenpaw was over by the old tom, sniffing at his tail. The young cat looked up and reported, "There's no damage."

That's good, Tinyclaw thought. Cloudkit's getting big – her bites are going to start meaning something real soon.

Brokentail didn't seem to notice them – at least, he was putting a lot of effort into ignoring their presence. Tinyclaw nudged Cloudkit away and meowed, "Let's get you back to Brindleface."

Cloudkit said nothing as they turned away from Brokentail and headed for the nursery. She kept her eyes on her paws, as if she were still thinking. Tinyclaw kept one eye on her, but eventually he looked at Brackenpaw and meowed, "Sorry."

"It's all right," Brackenpaw meowed. "There was no rush on those herbs anyway, and we still have time to go -"

"Herbs?" Cloudkit mewled suddenly. Her head shot up, blue eyes sparkling. "Where are you going? Can I come?"

Tinyclaw opened his jaws, but Brackenpaw filled them. "Yes, you can," he meowed. Tinyclaw shut his jaws and looked at the apprentice as Cloudkit let out a squeal of joy. Brackenpaw rolled his eyes and meowed, "Let her come, Tinyclaw – she's going to be cooped up again, no doubt, and seeing a bit of the forest would be good for her."

"I suppose I can't argue," Tinyclaw sighed. Not without crushing Cloudkit's hopes.

Cloudkit was purring, an enormous roar compared to the size of her body. She was looking at Tinyclaw with triumph.

"Put a paw wrong and you're back in the nursery, understand?" he told her.

Cloudkit nodded. "Yes!" she mewed. "Of course!"

Brackenpaw led the way out of camp and up the ravine. Along the way, Tinyclaw was answering ceaseless questions from Cloudkit. By the time they reached the outskirts of the training hollow, Tinyclaw's throat was raw from answering questions about trees, dirt, grass, snow, prey, and everything in between.

Eventually Cloudkit got the hint and shut her mouth. She began bounding between snow piles, tossing up dead leaves and stalking imaginary prey. Tinyclaw kept her within sight, using the flashes of her ginger splotches to track her.

"What exactly are you looking for?" Tinyclaw wondered.

"Berries, mostly," Brackenpaw answered. "Juniper, Yellowfang says, for bellyaches. Broom for sprains and wounds, and alder bark for toothaches."

"Berries?" quipped Cloudkit. She shot out of the snow. "I'll find you tons of berries!"

She dashed away before Tinyclaw could say a thing. Beside him, Brackenpaw was chuckling. "She's real keen," he purred. "When she's apprenticed, she'll learn quickly!"

"If she doesn't run into too much trouble before then," Tinyclaw sighed. "Tigerstar might just see fit to postpone her apprenticeship permanently if she gets into any more trouble."

"Tigerstar's a softie," Brackenpaw told him. His eyes softened, and he meowed, "She reminds me of Cinderpaw."

Tinyclaw stiffened, recalling just how much Brackenpaw had sacrificed to save his sister from being killed on the Thunderpath. The incident had scarred them both terribly – physically and emotionally. For some time Cinderpaw had believed she ought to have died to spare Brackenpaw from his current fate… but Brackenpaw would have it no other way.

"If she's my apprentice, she'll have to start listening," Tinyclaw decided. He tried not to let his emotions get in his voice, but it was impossible.

Brackenpaw sighed and meowed, "Yes… because you're such a harsh mentor, Tinyclaw!"

"You never used to talk back," Tinyclaw meowed, "that's Yellowfang's doing."

Brackenpaw's eyes were sparkling with laughter. "Perhaps," he purred. "She always tells me to lighten up, or to bend my spine a little. Says I'm stiff, like an elder."

"Brackenpaw!" called Cloudkit. "I found some berries!"

Brackenpaw's ears pricked. "Let's see them," he decided.

Tinyclaw got to his paws and followed Brackenpaw. Cloudkit was bouncing before a large, dark-leaved bush full of ripe red berries. Tinyclaw felt almost hypnotized by their color and roundness – they looked very juicy, and there were plenty.

"Stay clear," Brackenpaw meowed. Tinyclaw and Cloudkit looked at the young apprentice, whose hackles were bristling. "Don't touch them."

"Why not?" Cloudkit wondered. Her eyes were round. "They look tasty!"

Quicker than Tinyclaw thought he could manage, Brackenpaw thrust himself between Cloudkit and the berries. He hissed, eyes burning, "These are deathberries! Eat so much as one and you'll be seeing StarClan!"

Cloudkit backed up, bristling in horror.

Brackenpaw unbent his spine. "S-Sorry," he meowed. "Didn't mean to scare you. Yellowfang was just really insistent that we watch out for these. We don't keep them in camp but she said they grow a lot in our territory."

"Remember what these look like, Cloudkit," Tinyclaw offered to the little kit. "You can tell your littermates, and keep an eye out for them when you go for walks. Dark bush, red berries. Remember?"

Cloudkit nodded, still startled.

"Another way to tell is by how many berries are on the bush to begin with," Brackenpaw pointed out. "See how many there are? If they were safe to eat, animals like squirrels or birds would be taking them – but most animals know to stay away, so there are always lots of them."

Cloudkit nodded. She swallowed, and meowed, "I-I get it."

"You can keep looking for berries, then," Brackenpaw offered. "Juniper berries are purple. You know what purple looks like?"

"K-Kinda?" replied Cloudkit.

"Go on, then," Brackenpaw offered, "and don't eat anything you find. Tell me and Tinyclaw first."

Cloudkit nodded and trotted off. Her pace was slower and more subdued – Brackenpaw had thoroughly scared her about deathberries, that was for sure.

"It's a good thing," Tinyclaw sighed, when Cloudkit was out of earshot. "You've learned a lot from Yellowfang."

"She's… a good teacher," Brackenpaw admitted. "Certainly a lot to say, that's for sure."

The two began plodding out of the training hollow, heading after Cloudkit. Going up the hill it was clear that Tinyclaw had to slow himself drastically to keep pace with Brackenpaw, whose injury made it difficult for him to balance right on the slushy slope. This time, Brackenpaw did notice.

When they were out of the hollow he sighed, "Yellowfang says my leg is as healed as it's ever going to be."

"I know," Tinyclaw sighed. He'd heard this news before, from Yellowfang. "What do you think you'll do?"

"Tigerstar and Yellowfang had a talk with me before the Gathering," Brackenpaw said. "It's not like I don't know my options… but I don't know. Would you really want a crippled cat as your apprentice?"

"You know you're always welcome to be my apprentice," Tinyclaw assured him. He didn't know how to work around Brackenpaw's injury, but there had to be some way. Deadfoot of WindClan's paw was twisted, and he was a Clan deputy! "Did Yellowfang…?"

"Ask me to be her apprentice?" Brackenpaw guessed. "No, not formally. She posed it as an option, though – said I was learning a lot, and good with patients. She told me that some medicine cat apprentices freak out when they face their first queen giving birth… but I did well."

He sighed. "I have options, but I don't know what to do."

Tinyclaw frowned. "I can't help you," he reminded the young cat. "This choice is yours."

Brackenpaw frowned. "I just don't want to feel like my injury has pigeonholed me into a role I didn't want," he meowed. "I want to be a warrior, Tinyclaw, but… I owe Yellowfang so much, and I won't lie when I say that the herb lore is fascinating… I just don't know what to do."

"It'll come to you," Tinyclaw assured him. "StarClan will show you the way."

"I hope so."

"Brackenpaw!" came a cry. "Come see what I've found!"

Brackenpaw's ears pricked. "I wonder what it is?" he mumbled. "Hopefully not nightshade…" The young cat limped faster, heading for Cloudkit.

Tinyclaw followed, keeping his pace purposefully slow. Tigerstar was a great leader, and Tinyclaw knew that he would do his best to accept Brackenpaw in whatever he chose. There was a place for everyone within the Clan, and Tigerstar meant those words. He truly cared.

Yet… knowing that made things more confusing. Tigerstar had reacted so virulently when Tinyclaw had talked about Goldenflower and her kits. Why? He had been so angry that he was closing his eyes to Bluefur and the danger she posed to those he lived to protect.

There's something there, definitely, Tinyclaw thought as he padded on. But what is it? Could a mystery possibly be buried so deep that no one could unearth it?