A/N: I do not own Warriors...nor any dialogue taken from Crookedstar's Promise.


Goosefeather nosed around Sunningrocks, looking for any new growth worth collecting. He knew that ThunderClan wouldn't hold the rocks forever, so he would prioritize herbs from Sunningrocks while he had the chance.

A pair of kits cautiously crept onto the stepping stones from the far side of the river. Goosefeather's whiskers twitched, but he ignored them; it wasn't his problem if RiverClan lost track of their kits. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw an orange-and-white pelt following the kits. Good, one of their ancestors was watching out for them.

Wait. That wasn't a RiverClan ancestor. Goosefeather's head snapped up, and he glared at Mapleshade. "Did you think I wouldn't notice you?"

"Of course I knew you would notice me," Mapleshade meowed smugly. "It makes no difference. You cannot change this kit's fate. But I can."

An image suddenly flashed through Goosefeather's mind—the pale tabby kit lay slumped in a nest, blood dribbling out of his mouth, his jaw twisted at a horrific angle. Goosefeather shook his head to clear the image, narrowing his eyes at Mapleshade. "How dare you?"

"He's going to kill us!" the bracken-colored kit croaked.

"Run!" the pale tabby screeched. He turned and scrambled back onto the stepping stones, quickly followed by his brother—and by Mapleshade. All three cats bounded back across the stepping stones.

"You don't get away from Goosefeather that easily!" the medicine cat snarled, trying to snag his claws in Mapleshade's pelt. His paws passed right through her, and he felt his claws dig into the pale tabby's tail instead. Mapleshade shot Goosefeather another smug look, then gave the pale tabby a shove. The kit lost his balance and fell face-first onto the next rock. The river swept his paws out from under him, and he flailed in the current.

"No!" Goosefeather yowled.

"Stormkit!" the other kit wailed. "Help!"

Mapleshade wound around Stormkit, her pelt dry despite the river. Goosefeather cautiously put a paw in the water, then quickly drew it back out. He needed to get Mapleshade away from the kit, but he couldn't swim, and he'd do the kit no good by drowning.

Fortunately, Mudfur emerged from the reed bed and dived into the river. Within moments, he fastened his teeth into Stormkit's scruff and pulled the injured kit from the water. Brightsky also pushed her way out of the reed bed, glaring at Goosefeather. "Stay away from our kits!"

"Keep them out of our territory!" Goosefeather snapped back, knowing there was no point in mentioning Mapleshade. He bounded back across the stepping stones, images of Stormkit's twisted jaw flashing through his mind again. Whatever Mapleshade had planned for the kit, Goosefeather was sure that this was only the beginning—and as always, there was nothing he could do to stop it.