Disclaimer: I don't own the Warriors series!

Title: Deep Dive

Summary: In a world where ThunderClan absorbed ShadowClan seasons ago, young warrior Weaselface is tasked to rebuild the fourth Clan and take her place as leader. But how can she betray all she's ever known and loved, all on the word of one ghost with a grudge?

Chapter Title: Is that flirting? In my family dynamic? Gross.

...

"You see what I mean? Dad is-"

"Shh! You'll wake mom!"

She cracked open her eyes. Weaselstar had yet to fall asleep; she'd spent most of her night hunting and only recently stumbled into her nest. Dawn patrol would be going out soon. Weaselstar took a deep sigh and crawled back out of bed, every muscle aching. The kits scattered as she neared- all except for Elmkit, who stared her down with her tail bushed out.

Weaselstar crouched down next to the nursery entrance. "Why're we stalking dad?"

"Shh!" Elmkit reprimanded, shoving a tiny paw into her maw. "Look!"

Bemused, Weaselstar looked out into the clearing. The usual early morning activities were in full swing. Hootpaw and Ashpaw were practicing battle moves with Ratfoot in the corner. Pinethroat had attempted to get up with the warriors but had fallen asleep mid-groom outside her den. Ted blinked sluggishly at his robin while Ice Cube prattled on, the latter more of a morning warrior than the former. And Adderpelt was retrieving a vole from the fresh-kill pile for Partridge.

The brown tabby swooned as he set it at her paws. "Aww, Adder. Did you catch this for little ol' me?"

Adderpelt licked his chest fur in embarrassment. "Ah, no. Fogfur caught this, actually."

"What a shame." She pulled it closer, eyes twinkling deviously. "You can be so skilled with your claws."

Elmkit scoffed in disgust, throwing a paw out. "See?" she demanded. "They're being all... gross."

"I think it's sweet," Larkkit chimed in.

"You wouldn't if he was your dad!"

"He is my dad!"

"Not by blood!"

For once, Weaselstar hardly noticed the jab. She watched as the two warriors settled in together to eat. Partridge was practically laying on him. But he's... The sharp pinprick of claws in her forearm brought Weaselstar back to reality. She dug them in deep and shook it off. No. Don't be selfish. You should be supporting this.

"Elmkit," she meowed firmly. "Your father is allowed to love anyone he wants, and he's as much your father as he is Larkkit's."

Larkkit stuck her tongue out at the kit as she blanched. "But he's your mate, isn't he? He should be in love with you!"

"He's not-" Weaselstar cut herself off with a sigh. "Elmkit, Adderpelt is one of my closest friends, and I love him very much, but we aren't mates."

Elmkit stared at her, shattered. "Then- then why did you even have us?"

"Oh, sweetie..." Pulling the kit closer, she laved her over with licks while Weaselstar tried to think of what to do in this situation. Mudcloud had died before she even opened her eyes, and Dew had never shown any affection for any Clan cats that she knew of. "Your father and I wanted you five more than anything in the entire world. You're the light of our lives, and no one will ever change that."

"But she already has!" Elmkit cried, scuttling away with her fur floofed. Her tail was still slightly twig-like when she did that.

She stood and went to follow. "Elmkit, it's not like that-"

"Weaselstar! It's time for patrol!"

Sighing long and loud, she turned to meet Bumblestorm with a quick- "We'll talk about this later-" over her shoulder.

"Stars," Ratfoot swore under his breath, tail lashing. "They've pushed it back again."

Weaselstar brushed by the young warrior, tasting the air. The border, once just past the Thunderpath (which was still too far) had creeped its way several fox-lengths further and into the brush. She dug her claws into the grass and tried to calm herself. "It's like they're trying to reabsorb us all over again."

Fogfur's nose crinkled as she took a good whiff. "Man, did we really use to smell like that? Gross."

Weaselstar was inclined to agree. ThunderClan had always felt so natural before- the heat of sunshine and sap- but after moons of the cooler flavor of pines and water it was downright suffocating.

Ice Cube nudged her shoulder. "Soooo, stupid question. Where was it originally?"

She nodded towards the trees across the Thunderpath.

"Oh, wow. That uh- that really traveled far, huh?"

"It's just a power play. No one actually wants to cross a road to hunt on a strip of land so small even a badger wouldn't den themselves in it." Despite that, the frustration was starting to get to Weaselstar. She wanted to fight back. Wanted to remind Spiderstar that this land wasn't theirs anymore. But the Clan was still too small for that.

Soon, she promised herself. Before the kits are 'paws.

"Does it really matter?" Ratfoot meowed. "This shouldn't be allowed to get away with this."

"They shouldn't," she agreed wearily. "But we aren't ready to-"

"Intruders!"

The treeline across the Thunderpath rustled, and a ThunderClan patrol appeared, running over the road with their pelts bristled. Weaselstar clocked Brackenpelt, Bubblestone, Melonfrost, and two strangers.

Brackenpelt- the one who'd rang the alarm- shoved her nose into Weaselstar's face. "What are you doing so close to ThunderClan territory, huh?"

"Oh, keep your fur on," Fogfur meowed, rolling her eyes. "We're just on border patrol."

"Some border," one of the strangers- a bright red tom- hissed. He was double Weaselstar's size, with enough scars to fill a moon's worth of stories. "You're all too scared to fight for it."

Weaselstar forced her features to remain flat. "Have I met you?"

"Brickfang," he grunted. "You better remember it."

"Oooh, quite the edgelord I see," Ice Cube said, inserting himself between Weaselstar and the tom. "Well, you oughta know that the code says we keep to our own borders. Unless ThunderClan forgot their own rules, of course."

"We remember," Bubblestone rasped. The gray tom had been silent throughout the whole ordeal, and shrank down when attention was turned towards him. "If- if anything, you all are the ones breaking the code."

"That's right," Brickfang added unnecessarily. "You traitors better walk on home- before we teach you a lesson."

The last straggler- a tiny black and white tom- rubbed comfortably under Brickfang's belly. "Bricky, what did we say about threats?"

Brickfang broke into a snaggle-toothed grin. "Save 'em for the Gathering, and let our claws do the talkin'."

Weaselstar felt herself begin to tremble. She really, truly had no clue what to do about any of this. Leaving would make ShadowClan look vulnerable- but staying could cost them much more than some scratches. The patrol was made almost entirely of ex-loners, and she knew they would play for keeps.

But she wanted to fight. Stars, did she want to fight.

But she had to be a leader.

"Melon?"

The air of tension seemed to shift as Ice Cube, bored of the hissing, finally noticed the creamy yellow elephant in the room. He took a step towards her but was quickly barred by Brickfang, who glared at him suspiciously. Melonfrost had stayed in the very back, ears flat, but she startled as she was finally addressed, eyes meeting Ice Cube's with wary intent. Weaselstar noticed there was nothing soft in them.

"My name is Melonfrost," she corrected tersely. "What are you even doing here, Ice Cube? I thought you had more class than to side with traitors."

"Classy enough to ditch a trash can for some good friends and a good leader," he rebuffed. "Pringles is here too, you know."

Melonfrost's tail lashed. "Then Pringles is an idiot too."

"That's your brother!" Ice Cube balked. "And what about the kits? You just left them on our doorstep one day and-"

"I never wanted them," she meowed, so casual it was as if she was talking about the weather. "I wanted adventure. I wanted a warm place to sleep. ThunderClan gave me that. Gave me what you and those kits never could." Melonfrost levelled him one last glare. "Come near ThunderClan again and I'll make you regret it."

She gave the patrol a commanding flick of the ear and they were off. Brickfang glowered one last time before vanishing. Brackenpelt was grumbling under her breath. Bubblestone sprinted away with vigor, fear-scent coming off him in waves. The black and white tom stayed, blinking at them curiously.

"You're all so... dramatic," he said.

Brickfang's bellow came from beyond the trees. "Come on, Doug!"

Doug shrugged and scrambled after them.

Weaselstar fell back on her haunches, shaking like a newborn fawn. She didn't know whether to be grateful or not. That could've gone a lot worse. She glanced at Ice Cube, who was looking like the world was falling at his paws. But it could've been a lot better.

She reached out a paw to comfort him, but Ice Cube moved away. "I- I need to talk to Pringles about this. Alone," he murmured. "Don't tell the kits about any of this. Please."

Weaselstar dipped her head. She knew what it was like to have family secrets. "What could I possibly say? We saw some prickly jerks at the border. Nothing special."

He flashed her a grateful look.

"I should've talked about this with you," Adderpelt admitted sheepishly. The warrior had been hurt and sad by how Elmkit had wriggled away from his daily grooming, and so Weaselstar had been the one to quietly explain the morning's events. "It's not- I mean, I barely even know her. I don't know why she's so persistent."

Weaselstar sighed, rubbing her muzzle. "Partridge joined because she wanted kits, and you adopted the entire nursery. I think it's kind of obvious."

"Oh." He looked at his paws contemplatively, then her. "Would you... be upset if I went for it?"

Yes, something inside her howled, but Weaselstar squashed that down. Adderpelt was her friend. It would be cruel to ruin his chance at a relationship. "I think the kits are a bit upset, but they'll live. Partridge is a nice molly. I think you could be a great couple."

"Oh, I dunno about couple," Adderpelt hastened to say. "But I would like to have my own kits. I love our babies so, so much, and having ones related to me wouldn't negate that, but..."

Weaselstar shoved his shoulder. "Hey. You don't have to explain anything, alright? To anyone."

"Not even the leader of ShadowClan?" he teased, eyes glinting.

"Oh, especially her. I hear she's a bit of a numbskull."

Adderpelt chuckled into her scruff. They'd become quite accustomed to sleeping together by now, and his favorite headrest had become her shoulder blades. "I heard about the patrol. Sounds rough."

"Territorial idiots being territorial idiots," she reported. Weaselstar tried not to think about Melonfrost- about someone so willing to shove her family aside for the next shiny thing to cross her path. "...I'm scared, Adderpelt. The kits will be apprentices soon. I don't want them to risk their lives over this."

"That's what being a warrior is all about, isn't it?"

"Maybe. I just don't want them to feel like they have to choose sides, and I really don't want them getting hurt because Spiderstar has a burr up his butt." She paused. "I wish we had a real medicine cat. I wish I could trust Dew to be a real medicine cat."

"Has StarClan offered up any options?"

Weaselstar shook her head. She hadn't discussed the hesitant offer from RiverClan with anyone yet; it didn't take the wisest warrior to know Dew would never willingly go live in RiverClan for an entire Leaf-bare, especially under strict watch.

"I can do it."

They quickly untangled themselves to stare, bug-eyed, at a wide-awake Spottedkit. Weaselstar gaped down at her. "Spottedkit! How much did you hear?"

"Everything. All the time." Spottedkit blinked passively at them. "I talk to all sorts of weird stuff. That's what being a medicine cat is, right?"

Adderpelt sent her a look. Weaselstar bit her lip. It wasn't that they didn't think Spottedkit might want to become a medicine cat someday- her connection to the afterlife was still as strong as ever- but neither cat wanted her to pressure her into the role. "You don't have to do that, sweetie. You can be a warrior if you want to."

Spottedkit's tiny nose wrinkled. "But warriors don't see weird stuff."

"Your powers may... lessen," Adderpelt said hesitantly. "Lots of kits see ghosts at your age, and a lot of them become warriors. You'll just see things.. not as much."

Or at all, Weaselstar thought.

"I don't want that. I like the weird stuff." Spottedkit casually crawled between them, kneading herself a place to nuzzle into. "I'm gonna be a great medicine cat."

Weaselstar carefully rubbed her daughter's speckled pelt with her nose.

"The best," she promised.

Author's Note: HOWDY I'M NOT DEAD

Whoo boy, I am sooo sorry I've been gone so long. I haven't left this or my other warriors story dead or anything. The long and short of it is that I messed up my spine and got into WCRP at the same time and haven't been really writing. I'm trying to work on that. It's hard to get the juices flowing while everything hurts from PT.

Weeeee, time to get back into this! Next chapter is gonna be a Gathering I think, but also a ceremony. Should be fun!

-Mandaree1