CHAPTER 1

The first time Eclipse had met her father was when she was three moons old. That was customary for every kit in The Saber; they would be assessed by the Chief and examined to see what possible role they would take on when they turned six moons and became a Claw.

Eclipse sat in a horizontal line with her brothers. Beside her, Phantom fidgeted with his tail-tip between his claws, eyes fixed on the ground. On her other side, Spider was trying to sit up tall without falling over. He wasn't very successful.

Eclipse sighed. Her brothers were so embarrassing. She quickly regained her elegant posture as Reaper, her father and esteemed Chief of The Saber, emerged from his den. Behind Eclipse, Cherry, her mother, was giving off waves of anxiety. Reaper first approached Marrow, who was gazing at him with his mouth slightly agape and eyes wide. "UH…HELLO," Marrow meowed, quite loudly. Eclipse winced. This was not going well.

"Do not speak unless spoken to," Reaper chided, his voice cold and each syllable pronounced curtly. Reaper examined Marrow for a few moments, his eyes scanning Marrow's broad shoulders and muscular build. "Most definitely a protector," Reaper meowed, mostly to himself. He offered Marrow a small nod before moving on to Phantom, who was still eyeing the ground intensely. He slowly met Reaper's gaze and let out a small yelp as he realized that Reaper was standing there.

"Mm…we'll see as he gets older," Reaper muttered. Now, he stood in front of Eclipse. She puffed out her chest proudly and flexed her claws, her muscles rippling underneath her pelt.

Reaper barely glanced at her before mewing, "Scout. Obviously." He turned away to look at Spider, but Eclipse stopped him.

"Actually," she began, her voice bold. Reaper glanced at her, clearly not amused. "I would like to be a Protector." The clearing was silent for a moment before Reaper let out a huge laugh.

"Ha! She-cats can't be Protectors. They're much too fragile," Reaper chuckled. Eclipse narrowed her eyes.

"That's not true! I'm very strong. Quick, too," Eclipse argued, meeting Reaper's challenging gaze.

"You're too small." Reaper waved her off with a flick of his tail. But Eclipse wasn't done.

"I'm fast," she repeated. "I can unbalance my enemies quickly. They won't be

expecting me."

"No," Reaper told her, the amusement fading from his eyes.

"I'd work really hard! Trust me, I'd be a better fighter than you!" Eclipse countered. Reaper's eyes darkened and his lip curled into a snarl.

"You're starting to get on my nerves, little kit," Reaper spat, his tail lashing. Eclipse let out a soft yelp as Cherry snatched her from behind and pulled her away from the line. With a huff, Reaper moved on to Spider, who was watching the altercation with wide eyes.

"You do not speak to Reaper that way!" Cherry hissed quietly. "And you know that she-cats can't be Protectors. Especially not small ones like you."

"I'll grow, you know," Eclipse protested, annoyed. Why did everyone keep calling her small? She was perfectly average for her age.

Cherry sighed. "It's just not the way things work in The Saber. She-cats have their own roles."

"But why is that the way things work?" Eclipse asked.

"I don't make the rules, I just follow them," Cherry sighed. The two were silent for a moment as Reaper examined Spider's long limbs and skinny build. Finally, he finished, and stood in front of the line stoically.

He nodded to Cherry, his eyes cold. "Teach that one some manners, will you?" Cherry nodded, her expression unreadable.

The first time Eclipse realized she hated her father was when she was 3 moons old.

Notes: Welcome to my fic! :) My name is Onyx, and I'm a warriors fanfic author. After this one, go check out my other fic, A Looming Shadow!

So! Yay, new fic! These first two chapters will be pretty short - it's just so you can get a bit of history on the main characters before the real plot comes into play.

To my amazing fans, thanks so much for supporting me! Feel free to PM me about writing collaborations, fan stuff (lol), questions, comments, and/or concerns.

Oh! Art collabs are open again! PM for my discord so we can chat there if you're interested.