Rising Shadows, Falling Stars/Striking Thunder

Striking Thunder

We are the five Clans. We are enemies, foes, friends, and kin.

We are the Shadow Realmers. We are your worst nightmare.

We are the Outcasts. We seek revenge, more revenge than our predecessors did.

We are the Rebels. We are apprentices who don't give a fox dung about Clan boundaries.

We are the Adventurists. We explore to destroy the Realm, and to defeat enemies, old and new.

~As Clan boundaries become extra tight and the Clans more untrusting, the Realm grows stronger and stronger each day. Plague sweeps the forest, and no one can trust. Except for a certain group of apprentices . . . ~

ATTENTION: Some characters are from Tigerheart's Shadow and are unreleased characters.

## Allegiances

### ThunderClan

**Leader:**
Squirrelstar – dark ginger she-cat with green eyes and one white paw

**Deputy:**
Stemwhisker – white-and-orange tom

**Apprentice: Mousepaw**

**Medicine Cats:**
Jayfeather – gray tabby tom with blind blue eyes

Alderheart – dark ginger tom with amber eyes

**Warriors:**
Mousewhisker – gray-and-white tom

**Apprentice: Thunderpaw**

Poppyfrost – pale tortoiseshell and white she-cat

Lilyheart – small, dark tabby she-cat with white patches, and blue eyes

Snowbush – white, fluffy tom

Ambermoon – pale ginger she-cat

Dewnose – gray-and-white tom

Cherryfall – ginger she-cat

Molewhisker – brown-and-cream tom

Stormcloud – gray tabby tom

**Apprentice: Firepaw**

Hollytuft – black she-cat

Fernsong – yellow tabby tom

Sorrelstripe – dark brown she-cat

Honeyfur – white she-cat with yellow splotches

**Apprentice: Lionpaw**

Plumflight – black-and-ginger she-cat

Shellfeather – white she-cat

**Apprentices:**
Firepaw – golden-and-ginger she-cat with piercing green eyes the exact same of Firestar’s

Mousepaw – cream she-cat with extra sharp claws

Thunderpaw – ginger she-cat with a spiky tuft of fur on her head

Lionpaw – golden tabby tom with spiky fur

**Queens:**
Blossomfall – tortoiseshell-and-white she-cat with petal-shaped white patches, expecting Mousewhisker's kits

Ivypool – silver-and-white tabby she-cat with dark blue eyes (mother to Bumblestripe's kits, Beekit, silver tabby she-kit, Spikekit, spiky-furred white tom, and Songkit, a black she-kit with a gray underbelly)

Sparkpelt – orange tabby she-cat (mother to Fernsong's kits, Leafkit, brown tabby tom, Leopardkit, tortoiseshell she-kit, Cinderkit, smoky gray tom, and Larkkit, orange she-kit)

**Elders:**
Brackenfur – golden-brown tabby tom

Brightheart – white she-cat with ginger patches

Cloudtail – long-haired white tom with blue eyes

Millie – striped silver tabby she-cat with blue eyes

Leafpool – light brown tabby she-cat with amber eyes, white paws and chest

### ShadowClan

**Leader:**
Rowanstar – dark ginger tom

**Deputy:**
Tigerheart – dark brown tabby tom

**Apprentice: Slashpaw**

**Medicine Cat:**
Puddleshine – brown tom with white splotches

**Apprentice: Fennelpaw**

**Warriors:**
Berryheart – black-and-white she-cat

Cloverfoot – gray tabby she-cat

**Apprentice: Needlepaw**

Rippletail – white tom

Juniperclaw – black tom

Yarrowleaf – ginger she-cat with yellow eyes

Lioneye – yellow she-cat with amber eyes

**Apprentice: Shadowpaw**

Birchbark – beige tom

Frondnose – gray tabby she-cat

**Apprentice: Halopaw**

Gullbird – white she-cat

**Queens:**
Grassheart – pale brown tabby she-cat

Dawnpelt – cream-furred she-cat

**Elders:**
Snowbird – pure white she-cat with green eyes

Scorchfur – dark gray tom with slashed ears

### RiverClan

**Leader:**
Mallowstar – light brown tabby tom

**Apprentice: Ivypaw**

**Deputy:**
Mintfur – light gray tabby tom

**Medicine Cat:**
Willowshine – gray tabby she-cat

**Apprentice: Fallowpaw**

**Warriors:**
Lizardtail – light brown tom

Jayclaw – gray tom

**Apprentice: Flypaw**

Owlnose – brown tabby tom

Brackenpelt – tortoiseshell she-cat

Curlfeather – pale brown she-cat

Podlight – gray-and-white tom

Havenpelt – black-and-white she-cat

Breezefall – gray tabby-and-white tom with yellow eyes

Cypressleaf – brown-and-white she-cat with hazel eyes

Nightshade – dark gray she-cat with blue eyes

**Apprentice: Riverpaw**

Softshade – gray she-cat

Dapplefur – gray-and-white tom

Gorsefoot – white tom with gray ears

Harewhisker – white tom

**Queens:**
Wavesplash – silver-and-white she-cat with green eyes and a long tail

**Elders:**
Icewing – white she-cat with blue eyes

Sneezecloud – gray-and-white tom

Minnowtail – dark gray-and-white she-cat

### WindClan

**Leader:**
Harestar – brown-and-white tom

**Apprentice: Windpaw**

**Deputy:**
Featherpelt – gray tabby she-cat

**Medicine Cat:**
Kestrelflight – mottled gray tom with white splotches like kestrel feathers

**Apprentice: Wingpaw**

**Warriors:**
Willowclaw – gray she-cat

Breezepelt – black tom with amber eyes

**Apprentice: Mothpaw**

Leaftail – dark tabby tom with amber eyes

Slightfoot – black tom with a white flash on his chest

**Apprentice: Strongpaw**

Larkwing – pale brown tabby she-cat

**Apprentice: Crowpaw**

Ferntail – gray tabby she-cat

**Queens:**
Brindlesplash – mottled brown she-cat, expecting Slightfoot's kits

Smokewillow – gray she-cat (mother to Oatclaw's kits, Sunkit, Moonkit, and Frostkit)

**Elders:**
Nightcloud – black she-cat

Oatclaw – pale brown tabby tom

Hootwhisker – dark gray tom

### SkyClan

**Leader:**
Hawkstar – dark gray tabby tom with yellow eyes

**Deputy:**
Finwhisper – light brown tom with ginger legs

**Medicine Cat:**
Fidgetfoot – black-and-white tom

**Warriors:**
Sagenose – pale gray tom, foster to Bellaleaf's kits

Mintfur – gray tabby she-cat

**Apprentice: Cloudpaw**

Macgyver – black-and-white tom

Dewfoot – gray tom

Reednose – pale tabby she-cat

**Apprentice: Skypaw**

Cloudmist – white she-cat

Twigshine – gray she-cat with green eyes

Violetwing – black-and-white she-cat with yellow eyes

Sunnystone – ginger she-cat

Pigeonscar – gray-and-white she-cat with scars crisscrossing on her legs

Quailtoe – tom with crow-black ears

**Queens:**
Blossomheart – ginger-and-white she-cat, expecting Finwhisper's kits

Bellaleaf – pale orange she-cat with green eyes (mother to Fidgetfoot's kits, Rileykit, Leafkit, and Rainkit)

Tinycloud – small white she-cat, full time queen

Pebbleshine – brown-speckled white she-cat with a scarred pelt and face, expecting Hawkstar's kits

**Elders:**
Fallowfern – pale brown she-cat who has lost her hearing

Sparrowpelt – dark brown tabby tom with three legs

Clovertail – light brown she-cat with white belly and legs

Waspwhisker – gray-and-white tom

### Cats Outside Clans

Snake – sleek yellow she-cat, formerly Sleekwhisker (mother to Thistle's kits, Ash, gray tom, Star, yellow she-cat, and Thorn, dark gray tom with creamy spots)

Nettle – brown tom with long, spiky fur

Flame – orange she-cat with white belly fur and green eyes (expecting Roach's kits)

Smoke – white tom, Snake and Darktail's kit

Scar – bright red she-cat, Snake and Darktail's kit

Bee – yellow tom, Snake and Darktail's kit

Night – black she-cat, Snake and Darktail's kit

Shard – silver tom, Nettle and Raven's kit

Lightning – white tom, Nettle and Raven's kit

Tsunami – blue-gray she-cat, Nettle and Raven's kit

Hurricane – dark gray tabby she-cat, Nettle and Raven's kit

Dovewing – pale gray she-cat with green eyes, formerly of ThunderClan

Pinespirit – dark brown tabby she-cat

Grayheart – gray tom

Shiningflower – brown she-cat with gray splotches on tail

### Dark Forest

Ripplestar – black-and-orange tom with yellow eyes

Mapleshade – tortoiseshell-and-white she-cat with a thick fluffy tail and amber eyes

Thistleclaw – gray-and-white tom with amber eyes

Maggottail – black tom with white tail tip and white splash on his nose; yellow eyes and fox bite on tail

Darkstripe – sleek black-and-gray tabby tom

Snowtuft – small skinny white tom with a scar stretching from his belly to his ear

Clawface – scrawny brown tom

Deerfoot – mottled dark gray and brown tom with a white chin, chest, and paws and yellow eyes

Batear – black-and-white tom with a missing eye and a dreadfully scarred face

Tangleburr – gray-and-brown she-cat

Brightflower – orange tabby

Blizzardwing – mottled white tom

Redwillow – mottled brown-and-ginger tom

Marshcloud – brown tabby tom with a short tail

Rushtooth – plump light brown tabby she-cat with glossy fur

Lilywhisker – light brown she-cat

Houndleap – scrawny black tom with a torn ear tip

Sparrowfeather – small mottled brown tabby she-cat with a battered muzzle

Slash – mangy, scarred brown tabby tom with white slash across his front legs

One Eye – mangy mottled pale ginger tom with knotted fur and one eye

Bee – black-striped yellow she-cat

Beetle – brown-and-black tom

Silverhawk – ragged pale gray tabby tom

Darktail – a strong, muscular tom with white fur broken up by black spots around his eyes

Roach – silver-gray tom

Raven – long-furred black she-cat

### StarClan

Firestar – ginger tom with a flame-colored pelt and green eyes

Sandstorm – pale ginger she-cat with green eyes

Graystripe – long-haired gray tom

Larksong –

Cinderheart – gray tabby she-cat

Lionblaze – golden tabby tom with amber eyes

Hollyleaf – black she-cat with green eyes

Briarlight – dark brown she-cat

Bumblestripe – very pale gray tom with black stripes

Bluestar – blue-gray she-cat, tinged with silver around her muzzle

Mossclaw – pale gray-and-white she-kit with bright blue eyes

Snowfur – snowy-white she-cat with gray tipped ears

Whitewing – white she-cat with green eyes

Onestar – brown tabby tom

Mistystar – blue-gray she-cat with blue eyes

Crowfeather – dark gray tom

Crowfrost – black-and-white tom

Pinenose – black she-cat

Needletail – silver she-cat

Oakfur – small brown tom

Ratscar – scarred, skinny dark brown tom

Conepaw – white-and-gray tom

Leafstar – brown-and-cream tabby she-cat with amber eyes

Sharpclaw – dark ginger tom

Honeytail – pale ginger she-cat with long fur

Billystorm – ginger-and-white tom

Stormheart – ginger-and-gray she-cat

Firefern – ginger she-cat

Rileypool – pale gray tabby tom with dark gray strips and blue eyes

Ebonyclaw – striking black she-cat

Harveymoon – white tom

Nettlesplash – pale brown tom

Rainfur – light gray tom with dark gray flecks

Frecklewish – mottled light brown tabby she-cat with spotted legs

Bouncefire – ginger tom

Mistfeather – gray tom with amber eyes

### Realm of the Stars

Tigerstar – big dark brown tabby tom with unusually long front claws

Fenneldust – light brown tabby she-cat with white hairs on her muzzle and shredded ears

Spottedleaf – beautiful dark tortoiseshell she-cat with a distinctive dappled coat

Hawkfrost – dark brown tom with a white underbelly and ice-blue eyes

Brokenstar – long-haired dark brown tabby with a bend in his tail

Antpelt – brown tom with one black ear

## Prologue

Ripplestar growled, pacing the forest. He paused to scrape the earth, and then continued. Another cat, this time a tortoiseshell, yowled in rage as he paused to look in the murky pool that hid the depths of the living world. The tom himself wished that he too could be released from this forest, so that he could torment the living world. But not today. Today was the day of the meeting, and they were all waiting for the ragged tortoiseshell-and-white that was their leader, their hope and comfort, and their throat-slitting psycho. The tom hissed and asked, “When will Mapleshade arrive?” Pausing only to look wistfully at Lilywhisker, who was limping around on her three good feet, he continued. “We’ve been waiting here forever, and she’s not showing up! Has she forgotten her duty to us?”

A weary-looking tom with half his face shredded off stepped forward. “I’ve never seen anything like this. Hollowstar may have been a fool, but he wasn’t late. And neither was he late at Gatherings or anything.” The black and orange tom known as Ripplestar snarled at him. “Don’t. Mention. The. Gathering.”

The tom surveyed what was made of this group, including much more. “One Eye! Beetle! Slash! Bee! You’ve been here longer than most. Tell me, what has happened to Mapleshade?” All four cats looked at each other uncertainly, with Bee lashing her tail in frustration. Finally, they shook their heads dejectedly. The dark warrior growled, then turned to the pool. “I wish we could figure out—” Suddenly the pool cleared. Inside were a tortoiseshell, a tabby, and a mottled tabby.

“Help!” the tabby, Hawkfrost, the tom realized, wailed. “We’ve lost Brokenstar a few moons ago, and a half moon ago we lost Tigerstar, and now we’ve lost Fenneldust and . . . and we saw Mapleshade in here but now we can’t find her! What if she wanders to the Ream of the Shadows? I’ve heard stories, stories that will make even your hearts chill!” The waters rippled again.

“We have your precious cats,” sneered a cat. “Of course, one of them was being a teensy bit arrogant and outspoken, so we sliced his throat until he dissolved. Now, we’ve took a look at your territory, and we like it. Join us, and you will have no problem. You will rule the forest. But if you resist, then you will meet the same fate as your friend over here. We’ve also captured a few of your . . . counterparts. Return your decision by the next moon. Or else.” The cat, a massive black-and-brown she-cat, howled with laughter, and the pool became murky once more.

The cats began to panic. If even the most ferocious of cats couldn’t keep himself safe, how safe were they? The tom saw them muttering to each other in low tones, and he tried to speak, but he could barely keep the fear out of his voice. “I know what we’re going to have to do. We’re going to have to journey to StarClan.”

A ginger tabby she-cat with white paws began licking them. She was aware that her friend and mentor Spottedleaf would never walk the skies of StarClan ever again, but that didn’t stop her from missing the lithe dappled she-cat. She got up and paced the floor, watching for the blue-gray she-cat that was a former ThunderClan leader, and her mother, a bony, grizzled gray she-cat with a flat muzzle. She sighed and beckoned for her sister to come over, and waited as two more cats, a snowy-white she-cat with gray-tipped ears, and a black tom with white flashes, came out of their dens.

“Where is Bluestar?” inquired the tom. “I thought she called a meeting.”

The she-cat shook her head. “She’s not here, Ravenpaw. Plus, Yellowfang isn’t here either, and we haven’t seen neither fang nor pelt of Firestar or Hollyleaf or Lionblaze. I wonder where they are.”

A bush rustled, and a smaller white tom, as small as a kit with blue eyes stepped forward. He warily looked around, and the she-cat recognized him at once. “Snowtuft!” she snarled. “You’re not welcome here.”

He dipped his head, and squeaked, “I know, but we have something to tell you. Listen to Darkstripe, and he will tell you where your Clanmates are.”

The striped black tom nodded, and took the kit’s place. “It all begins with the disappearance of our own Clanmates . . .”

## Chapter One

“She is dead,” announced the blind gray tom, who only paused to bend down and cough up a bunch of icky yellowish-brown substance. The other medicine cat looked sadly at him, as if he was going to be sitting vigil for the ancient tabby.

“No!” wailed a lithe she-cat. “She can’t be! Squirrelstar is the strongest cat I know! She can’t be dead!”

Firepaw watched the commotion through narrowed eyes. She couldn’t believe the strongest of ThunderClan leaders, Squirrelstar, was dead. The ginger she-cat was only a kit when Bramblestar fell at the paws of Darktail’s companions, but she was old enough to remember sitting vigil for the heavyset tom.

A black-and-orange she-cat, with a fierce glint in her eyes stepped forward. “And what of Stemwhisker? Will he lead us through this dark time? Snowbush is sick, and Stormcloud showed signs of being sick this morning.” The tom standing next to the elderly medicine cat shook his head.

“No, Plumflight, he is with us no longer. And I fear that Jayfeather will not be here any longer either.” He glared at the gathered cats, waiting for them to respond, but none did.

Jayfeather, the blind tabby, proceeded to carry the former leader out of her den, and laid her neatly on the ground. Thunderpaw and Mousepaw, her daughters, wailed their grief, while the younger tom, Alderheart, and his sister Sparkpelt touched their noses to her pelt briefly, then backed away. Firepaw never saw these many cats so panicked before. At least with Bramblestar Squirrelstar was destined to lead. But now with both leader and deputy dead they seemed to have lost control of their lives.

“Enough.” Alderheart, a dark ginger tom, waved his tail to signal that he wanted silence. “I will have to act as leader for now, as Jayfeather is clearly sick. But we will need to elect a new leader, and I know how the election of Flowerstar came to be. I don’t want that this time!” he hissed, clearly annoyed. “Go forth and announce your leader when you come to it.”

Firepaw joined in the conversation with the other apprentices. “Who do you think will become the next leader?” fretted Mousepaw. The other apprentices, obviously tense, scored the earth and lashed their tails, waiting for the warriors to come to a consensus.

“We have reached the consensus,” meowed a warrior. “The new leader will be Cherryfall, and she has agreed to let Fernsong be deputy.”

Alderheart nodded. “A wise choice.” He paused. “Fernsong, get Jayfeather to the medicine den, and have Brightheart assist you in helping him. I will travel with you, Cherryfall, to the Moonpool, and may your ancestors walk with you tonight.”

She nodded, then walked over to say good bye to her brother. “Cherryfall!” meowed Firepaw. She raced over to her mother, who nuzzled her. “I wish you didn’t have to become leader. I still want you,” she admitted. Lionpaw, her brother, mewed his agreement. Their father, Stormcloud, rolled his eyes. “She’ll still be here. It’s not like she’ll disappear.” Cherryfall shot him a playful look, and he mumbled, “Just sayin’.”

The two apprentices ran over to their littermates, Mousepaw and Thunderpaw, who were sisters. “Great StarClan, I can’t believe our mother is going to the Moonpool to receive her nine lives!” chirped Lionpaw.

Firepaw swiveled her ears around. “I swear I hear something,” she meowed cautiously. When the others stared at her, she meowed, “Never mind.”

Two of their mentors, Honeyfur and Mousewhisker were agitated, swishing their tails around, back and forth. When Honeyfur’s sister asked what was wrong, she growled, “Stemwhisker isn’t around to mentor Mousepaw anymore. And since there is no stand in leader for Cherryfall, we don’t have anyone to appoint a new mentor for Mousepaw.”

Fernsong, who had been listening, growled, “I am deputy! Do you think I have some authority over who gets to mentor who when the leader is away?” The three cats walked away bickering.

Firepaw blinked. How could things be happening so suddenly? Her mentor, Stormcloud, told her that they should catch prey to help the Clan get through leaf-bare. So, along with Lionpaw, she slunk close through the forestry of ThunderClan territory, hoping that maybe a cache of prey was nearby. “Psst!” her brother whispered. “I can smell two thrushes! And one finch!” He ran off, not caring that he was making tons of noise.
“Oh Lionpaw,” she sighed, dashing after him. Not long after she spotted the thrush, and climbed the tree silently. Reaching out with a paw, she caught the thrush and shimmied down the tree as best as she could with a bird in her mouth. Spotting her father and brother, she ran up to them. “Any luck?”

“The thrush flew away. The finch is in Stormcloud’s mouth.”

Two faces peeked out. “We’ve got your thrush!” one of them squealed. A blue-gray she-cat poked her head out of the bracken and shadows. “We’re excellent at catching birds.” The she-cat next to her, a white-and-gray she-cat, cuffed her lightly. “Don’t brag, Skypaw! That’s our secret to keep!”

“It’s not considered bragging if we state the obvious.”

“Yes it is!”

“Knock it off, you two.” A black-and-white tom glared at them both. “Must I tell Hawkstar that you two are misbehaving again?”

Firepaw glanced at Stormcloud, who shrugged and mouthed, I don’t know what’s going on here. They backed away slowly, until they were out of sight of the other Clan cats. “What Clan are they from?” breathed Lionpaw. Both of them hadn’t gone to the Gathering yet, but Mousepaw and Thunderpaw did.

Stormcloud sniffed the air before growling, “That was SkyClan. Hawkstar is the leader of SkyClan, and that tom must’ve been Macgyver, a tom who kept his kittypet name. But they shouldn’t be hunting on our territory! I’ll inform Cherryfall of this when she gets back, and if possible, Hawkstar.

Firepaw tipped her head to one side. “Okay. But what’s wrong with letting cats hunt on our territory?”

Stormcloud rolled his eyes before responding, “This isn’t the Revenge Battle anymore, Firepaw. I know all cats born around the time of Larksong, Honeyfur, and Leafshade are used to being close to the other Clans. I know of a couple friendships myself, including my own. But we all put them aside for the good of ThunderClan, remember?”

Lionpaw licked his paw before asking, “But why does it have to be this way? Can’t it just always be like this?”

“That’s not how the Clans work, Lionpaw.”

“Oh, mouse-dung.”

“Lionpaw . . .”

“What?”

“Never mind.” They walked back to camp with the thrush and finch, with Lionpaw arguing along the way. When they got back, the camp was in complete disarray. Plumflight and Ivypool were arguing over who gets to have first pick of the fresh-kill pile. Leafpool was screeching for Jayfeather to wake up, and Fernsong was furious at Mousepaw and Thunderpaw.

“What is going on?” Cherryfall’s voice filled the ravine, fresh and furious. “I go away for a while and I see the camp in disarray?” She did a complete loop around the camp, glaring at each cat. Some glared back, defiant. Others cowered under her amber eyes. Still others were nonchalant, continuing their daily business.

Firepaw snuck over to the fresh-kill pile, dropped her finch, then scampered back, afraid of her mother’s fury. She could be so angry at times, though she could control it. Yet when she was mad, she was mad, and could not be controlled.

Cherryfall stomped over to her deputy, and leaned towards him. “What were you doing, Fernsong? How did you act as my deputy?”

Fernsong looked defiant. “I tried!” he snarled. “But no one would listen to me! Can you believe the insolence of these younger cats?” On and on and on he ranted about how the Clan was being disrespectful, and how the apprentices thought they were so much better than him.

“Silence.” Cherryfall roared. “I’m now Cherrystar, and will announce that at the Gathering. For now, we will sit vigil for Squirrelstar and Stemwhisker.” Jayfeather dragged the bodies out, then coughed. He collapsed into a coughing fit before shuddering and lying completely still.

Firepaw gasped. She started to run over to the blind tom, but her mother stopped her. “Don’t go near him, he’s sick and probably dead because of it.”

“He can’t be dead!” Leafpool wailed. “He’s the only son I have left!”

Alderheart raced towards the tom. He pressed his ear to his mentor’s chest, then began to push Jayfeather’s chest. After about ten pushes, he listened again, but shook his head. “I can’t revive him. I’m sorry, but he is truly dead. Now all of you, back off! He carries the sickness and I don’t want you catching it.”

“But I don’t want you catching it either,” meowed Sparkpelt, his sister. “You’re my brother. I don’t want you dying.”

Leafpool’s cries stretched into the night, piercing the very blackness itself. “No. No! NO! NO!”

Firepaw shrank back from the hysterical she-cat, pressing into her mother’s fur. She whimpered as Leafpool crumpled in a sobbing heap. “What’s going to happen to us?” she cried. “Squirrelstar, Stemwhisker, and Jayfeather are dead, and Leafpool’s gone mad!” Burying herself in the softness of her mother’s fur, the apprentice sobbed silently as her mother drew her fluffy tail across the ginger she-cat.

~\*~

“I-I can’t do it!” stammered Leafpool. Her eyes were still wet with tears, her pelt still soaked from the drips. She was staring at her son’s dead body, along with her sister’s. “She-she helped me. And he—Jayfeather—he was my son! My son! Don’t you understand? Don’t you?”

Alderheart nosed his kin. “Then I’ll do it. Besides, you’re not the medicine cat. You’re an elder. Relax, and let the youngsters take care of it.” He somberly bowed his head, and the cats in the clearing did so as well. “StarClan, we have lost two wonderful cats. We ask that you receive them with honor. We ask that you give them good hunting, swift running, and shelter where they sleep.” Firepaw looked up for a peek. The gray tabby tom was lying on the floor, his face one of peace.

"Keep your head down!" hissed her father. "We need to show respect for those who have died." Firepaw obeyed as Alderheart continued. Eventually everyone got up, but did not go over to the bodies. The apprentice guessed it was because of the sickness. She wished the sickness didn't exist, so this didn't have to happen. Selfish, sure, but she wanted everything to be like it was before. Firepaw wanted her mother to herself, Stormcloud, and Lionpaw. She didn't want to share with her Clanmates.

*tbc*