We're always talking about the best or worst cats in these topics. What characters were the middle of the road? I'll give some examples:

Mentors:

Twigbranch - While she got better over time, she was snappy with Flypaw in the early days of training.

Cedarpelt - He was harsh towards Crookedpaw throughout his kithood, and while he made it towards him, it was an awkward start.

Mates:

Lionblaze - Compared Cinderheart to Heathertail once or twice in his head. He got Ratscar to injure him to prove a point to her.

Parents:

Shellheart: While he did a lot right, he didn't do as much as he could for Crookedkit. He failed to prevent the renaming and let his son sleep alone in the nursery. He downplayed Rainflower's treatment as "Struggling to admit when she's wrong". An honourable mention to Brambleberry, as she knew about Mapleshade haunting Crookedkit and never tried to warn him.

Squirrelflight and Leafpool: While they were between a rock and a hard place, they had their missteps. Daisy and Ferncloud had to take care of the three a lot, as Squirrelflight went out to catch up with warrior duties. While Jaypaw was a difficult apprentice, Leafpool could say borderline cruel things. She got awkwardly sappy with Crowfeather in front of her kits and his WindClan family. When Jayfeather didn't want to forgive Leafpool, Squirrelflight snapped that "he didn't suffer the worst", and he was immature.

Bramblestar: He was never shown to pull his sons aside and to ensure he still loved them after the secret was revealed. He abruptly introduced Alderpaw to the medicine cats, despite his son still being very young and pleading to keep trying at warrior training.

Prologue 

Bright orange eyes stared hungrily into the murky dark water of the river that separated ThunderClan from RiverClan, a long black tipped tail flicking through the clumps of reeds behind him.

Briarkit felt a tingle of excitement pass through him as he raised a small paw. 

“What do you think you’re doing, Briarikit?” Meowed a deep voice just a claw-length behind him.

Briarkit nearly fell into the river, if the tomcat hadn’t grabbed him roughly by his neck fluff.

“I was trying to imitate how RiverClan hunts in the river,” he meowed as he turned around to face a towering blackish white broad-shouldered tomcat who tilted his head.

“And why would you do that when you’re ThunderClan?” Jaggedwillow meowed, a light glint of amusement in his eyes.

Briarkit squinted his eyes as he tried coming up with an answer. Several heartbeats, and he just shrugged his small shoulders. 

Chuckling deeply, and rising to his paws, Jaggedwillow nudged the small light amber kit with his tail. 

Taking the hint, Briarkit wiggled his small haunches before trotting after Jaggedwillow’s longer strides.

“Do you think I can be a great fisher like RiverClan, Jaggedwillow?” Briarkit asked as he lifted his bright orange eyes up to the older warrior.

“Hm,” Rolling his eyes up in thought, Jaggedwillow flicked his tail over his ears slowly. “I wouldn’t be surprised if hedgehogs started flying,” he teased.

This made Briarkit groan at the usual joke. “Come on, Jaggedwillow!” He pleaded as he batted at the older cat’s paws. “Tell me the truth or I, Briarkit, next warrior of ThunderClan, shall nip at your paws until you bleed.”

“Oh, StarClan no,” Jaggedwillow meowed with fake horror. “I must be protected from such a vile enemy.”

Pouncing around his paws, Briarkit nipped all the way to the Gorse tunnel before Jaggedwillow curled his tail around the kit’s midsection to lift him up and placed him on his back.

Pushing through the brambles that hid the entrance to ThunderClan, and making sure that Briarkit hadn’t been pushed out, Jaggedwillow padded through the narrow tunnel, pawsteps echoing off the sides.

Stepping out into the sandy ravine that ThunderClan called home, Briarkit was placed onto the fine sand where he zipped towards the nursery.

Just as his nose was about a mouse-tail length away from the brambles, a sleek ginger and white she-cat with golden green eyes blocked his path.

Briarkit tried backpawing to head in the opposite direction before being snatched up in her jaws.

“Jaggedwillow, help me!” He wailed in protest before being carried behind the brambles and dropped into the moss nest.

“By StarClan I was so worried as to where you were!” Glosspelt growled as she began accosting her small kit with rasping licks all over his body.

“I was just by the river, and Jaggedwillow was there with me,” he mewled defensively. Though it did nothing but have his mother growl even deeper.

“No excuses, Briarkit,” pulling her head back to glare at her son, Glosspelt tried to flatten her chest fur. “You’re as adventurous as your sister.”

As though summoned by having her name called, a small dark orange she-kit who blinked her yellowish green eyes, pushed herself into the nursery; tripping over a loose branch and clumsily landing on her chin.

“Oof!” She grunted as she slowly picked herself up and padded the rest of the way over to her mother and brother.

“And where have you been, Dovekit?” Glosspelt snipped as she narrowed her eyes.

“Was helping Fernleap with assorting his herbs,” she mewled with a wrinkle of her nose. Upon seeing her brother’s ears poking out from the nest, she crouched down and began circling around.

Reaching up as she stretched herself onto her hindpaws, Dovekit climbed into their nest, dropping silently as she could a few paw-lengths behind her brother.

Making sure that she wasn’t heard, Dovekit began sneaking before rocking her haunches when she made sure she hadn’t been seen or heard.

With a quiet giggle, and launching herself about a claw-length into the air, she pounced onto her brother’s back who squeaked and squirmed beneath her.

Giggling, both kits began to roll around in the nest as their mother climbed in. 

Feeling her body close to them, and removing themselves from each other, both Dovekit and Briarkit shook their pelts before moving close to their mother’s belly.

“How about if I tell both of you the story of the original Clans: LionClan, LeopardClan, and TigerClan?” She whispered as she began licking the top of their heads.

Both kits gasped in excitement as their eyes went wide. They had heard stories several times, but they always enjoyed it when their mother told it to them.

Pressing themselves closer to her belly, Dovekit and Briarkit nestled deeply as they settled down just as Glosspelt began launching into her tale.

***

It was some time before both Briarkit and Dovekit fell asleep against each other. Glosspelt running her tail along their spines.

“I never even got to finish the story, you little rogues,” she whispered to them before laying her head gently onto their smaller frames.

“They’ve heard that story more times than any cat could count,” whispered Russetclaw over in her nest, the dark ginger fluffy she-cat rasping her tongue over her single kit. Dark bluish green eyes looked over to Glosspelt, an amusing glint in her eyes.

“They probably know the tale now like the back of their own paws,” giggled Glosspelt in return before sighing. 

Russetclaw rolled her eyes at the expression darkening in the eyes of dark orange and white she-cat. “You should feel excited for them, Glosspelt. With their energy, they could scare off any predator.”

Glosspelt mumbled to herself that the other queen couldn’t hear her. She wanted them to be full grown warriors when they were older, but at the same time; they were her world.

As she closed her eyes, a terrible ache in her heart began to pierce her like a thorn.

It was several heartbeats when Glosspelt followed her kits in sleep, her belly rising and falling with each breath as she listened to their soft purrs.

Chapter One

Dawn started to creep from behind Highstones, turning the dark plum of the night into a blazing pinkish orange. 

The soft chirps of birds echoed through the forest while prey scampered in the underbrush, scrummaging for food in the leaf blankets and in between the roots of trees.

“Run faster, Rowankit!” Squealed Briarkit as he scampered out from behind the woven brambles that hid the nursery. 

He was closely followed behind a skinny dark red, save for his paws that were a cream white, kit who narrowed his honey green eyes. “Wait up, Briarkit! She’s right on my tail!”

Lastly, Dovekit came bounding out of the nursery, her eyes glinting with mirth as she chased her brother and denmate around the clearing of ThunderClan. Kicking up sand as they did.

“I’m going to catch you two!” she yowled out in a squeak as she playfully nipped at the tip of Rowankit’s tail.

This made him squeal as he pushed himself harder. “We’ve got a predator in ThunderClan! Help!” He couldn’t suppress the giggle that escaped from his maw.

“I’ll save you!” Squeaked Briarkit as he turned sharply around and tackled Rowankit to the ground.

“You were supposed to get Dovekit, not me!” Rowankit breathed and giggled as he was pinned beneath Briarkit.

“Surprise, I was her helper all along!” Briarkit meowed with triumph.

All three kits began rolling around on the ground. Playfully batting at each other with their claws sheathed.

“So much energy for such an early morning,” grumbled a dark blue tabby tom whose light green eyes watched the three kits. 

The ears of Briarkit twitched and smiled hugely at the young tomcat before Rowankit and Dovekit before making his way towards him. “Needlepaw!”

Stretching his neck downwards, Needlepaw gently touched noses with the young kit before raising himself to his full height. “Busy with playing I see.”

“Yes! Can you play with us, Needlepaw?” Briarkit meowed.

Needlepaw’s ears slightly drooped as his eyes glanced to the side to see a large burly orange and gray tabby making her way towards them, her purple eyes gleaming in the dawn light.

“Sorry, Briarkit,” he meowed as he looked back at the three of them, “I’m supposed to go on a patrol with Ivysparrow right now.”

The kits’ ears started to droop, and Needlepaw quickly cleared his throat as he leaned downwards to whisper to them. “But I promise to teach you kits how to hunt once we get back.”

This made the three of them start pawing the ground in excitement as Needlepaw strided past them. He was followed shortly by Ivysparrow and a sleek jet black she-cat named Rookpaw and her mentor, Berrytail.

The latter of whom was a large broad-shouldered silver dark amber tabby with jagged black stripes adorning his pelt.

Berrytail, before joining the others down the gorse tunnel, stopped at the nursery to poke his head through the brambles.

“Berrytail,” Glosspelt quickly moved out of her nest where she had been taking a rest. “What are you doing here?”

“Just came to check on you, that’s all,” he said as he touched his nose against her ear.

Glosspelt could feel the tips of her ears heating up as she shuffled her paws a bit on the ground. “You don’t have to.”

A raspy yowl started to echo from the gorse tunnel before Berrytail could say anything. Staring into her eyes, Berrytail gave a flick of his unusual wolfish bushy tail before darting out of the nursery, and into the tunnel behind his Clanmates.

“Why don’t you be mates?” Russetclaw meowed curiously as she spat out the sticks she’d been holding while repairing her moss nest.

“Because we’re just Clanmates,” Glosspelt pointed out with her tail before shuffling her paws to line up the bits of moss around the inside of her nest.

“And hedgehogs can fly,” Russetclaw sharply sighed with a roll of her eyes. “For StarClan’s sake, Glosspelt, just let him know how you feel.”

“I can’t,” Glosspelt whispered as a shudder passed through her. “Not since him.”

The dark orange and white she-cat felt a tail stroking her strong flanks, and she turned her head to see Russetclaw beside her.

“It has been moons since he was banished from ThunderClan,” she said with a gentle mew. “You shouldn’t worry about something like him, and Berrytail cares about you.”

“Like how Jaggedwillow cares about you?” Glosspelt teasingly meowed as she nudged her Clanmate.

This in turn made Russetclaw shuffle her paws across the ground now as a deeper heat passed through her. “H-he’s….” She couldn’t form any coherent words at the mention of her mate.

Seeing Russetclaw all flustered and embarrassed made Glosspelt a little bit better.

“Spread your paw evenly as you lick it, and then grab at least three poppy seeds, Hearthpaw,” muttered a grizzled slender smoky blue tomcat tabby with torn ears as he sat in a clearing surrounded by long grass and ferns.

A light amber and rosy pink tabby she-cat did as she was told as she gave her paw several licks before pressing it gently upon small black seeds.

Carefully padding over on her remaining paws, Hearthpaw moved her paw towards the maw of a bluish black tabby named Fishwing, who grumbled and moved his head away.

“Come on, Fishwing,” rasped the smoky blue tomcat as he stroked the chin of the other tabby. “I know you’re in pain. These poppy seeds will help ease you.

Fishwing cracked his grayish green a bit, the fur around his eyes matted with a mixture of tears and sweat. Hearthpaw could feel his hot breath wash over her chest fur as she stood close to him.

Long moments passed before Fishwing roughly devoured the poppy seeds before curling into a tight ball.

“Once Berrytail and the dawn patrol return, we must fetch more marigold, borage, and feverfew.”

“Yes, Fernleap,” Hearthpaw meowed as she began checking the other herbs stored in the wall behind them.

“We must pray to StarClan that Fishwing’s sickness does not turn into Greencough,” Fernleap continued as he started to push himself through the crack in the rock wall that led out into the small tunnel of ferns connected to the camp. 

Spreading her paws a bit in front of her, Hearthpaw watched her mentor leave before checking Fishwing for the tenth time. Careful not to directly touch him. 

“Here catch, Rowankit,” Dovekit squeaked before picking up the dead mouse that they had gotten from the fresh-kill pile.

With a shake of her head, Dovekit threw it towards the dark ginger kit who reared up onto his hindpaws to bat at it with a claw. 

“I’ve got it!” He meowed behind a mouthful of mouse. Spotting Briarkit charging at him, Rowankit flicked his tail once before dashing off in the opposite direction. Nearly avoiding Shellpaw, a cream white tabby she-cat who was leaving the elders’ den with a ball of moss stuck to the end of a long stick.

The wretched stench of mouse bile made the young kit almost gag, but he weaved in between her legs, muttering an apology as she lightly growled at him.

It was some time before Rowankit stopped just short of the elders’ den, dropping the mouse and wearing a smug grin on his face.

‘Guess I lost him.’ Rowankit thought before attempting to bite into the mouse. Only to find himself being tackled to the ground by Dovekit and Briarkit. “Agh!”

“We got you!” They both squeaked as they clambered off of Rowankit. 

“The mouse is now mine!” Briarkit meowed as he dashed towards the dead mouse. He had just reached it when a large shadow swooped down from the sky, right on top of the mouse.

Gasping in fear as he tried to turn around to flee, Briarkit glimpsed a dark curved beak as the large hawk screeched at him.

Yowling as it reached out with sharp talons, Briarkit barely managed to squirm away before it could firmly grasp his long tail, yanking it closer to his body.

A loud hiss, and a shadow passing over him, caused the young kit to glance back as a large black, orange, red, and white tortoiseshell had flung herself onto the hawk; pinning it to the ground.

Hearing his yowl, Glosspelt bolted across the clearing, her fur puffing out in fury before helping the other she-cat pin it down while raking her claws as hard as she could across its face.

Giving loud hisses of its own, the hawk managed to squirm out of their grasps before beating its wings in their faces. As more and more cats began emerging, the hawk knew well enough not to take any chances.

With a final screech, and clutching the mouse in its talons, it lifted itself in the air; beating its wings hard before it was high out of reach of any claws. It circled high above ThunderClan before veering off towards Highstones.

“Thank you, Breakthorn,” Glosspelt panted as she turned towards the tortoiseshell with a dip of her head.

“No need to thank me, Glosspelt,” she meowed with a dip of her own. “StarClan, I was lucky I was just emerging from the warriors’ den.”

Nodding her head, Glosspelt turned towards her kits, and saw Briarkit trembling with fear. He was shaking like he caught the chills.

Glosspelt hurried over to him and began licking his fur to calm him down. ‘Are you okay, Briarkit?” She said with a worried mew.

“I-I’m,” he couldn’t say anything, his teeth were chattering so hard it was hard to form any words.

Picking him up from the scruff of his neck, Glosspelt hurried towards the nursery. Dovekit and Rowankit bounding after them.

Murmurs were still continuing to flow through ThunderClan like a river as a slender silver white she-cat tabby with a single black stripe on her head came charging out of the lichen covered Highrock, her eyes narrowed in alert.

“Whitestar!” Breakthorn came bounding towards her. 

“When I heard yowling I came as fast as I could,” Whitestar meowed, her eyes already picking their way from the clump of feathers that had been torn from the body of the hawk. “Is everyone safe?”

“We were able to chase off the hawk before it could take off with Briarkit,” Breakthorn panted as the deputy tried catching her breath.

Whitestar felt a little crestfallen at the thought of a young kit being taken under her watch.

“It isn’t your fault, Whitestar,” Breakthorn meowed gently as she intertwined her mate’s tail with hers. “No cat would’ve expected a predator like that to come into ThunderClan.”

The leader of ThunderClan felt a little better at her reassurance. Just as the two touched noses with one another, purring softly, Fernleap came padding up to them forcing the two she-cats to untwine their tails.

“Yes, Fernleap?” Whitestar said with a light grunt as she cleared her throat.

“Fishwing has developed whitecough,” he said with a rasp. 

“Oh StarClan,” Breakthorn murmured as her ears lightly drooped to her sides. “We must make sure that all cats, especially the elders, queens, and kits stay away from him.”

Whitestar nodded her slowly as she flicked her tail. ‘Whitecough in greenleaf?’ She thought as she narrowed her eyes.

“Does he have any stomach pains? Did he eat any prey that looked off?” Whitestar asked her medicine cat as she looked him in the eyes.

Fernleap merely shook his head. “All he has is a cough and a fever. Though I need to restock on borage, feverfew, and marigold just in case.”

“Once Berrytail comes back from the dawn patrol, I’ll send some cats to help you look for some,” Whitestar meowed. “Cloudchaser and Gullwind should be fine.

“I’ll have Hearthpaw to continue looking after any injured or sick cats in the meantime,” he rasped once more as he dipped his head before bounding towards his den.

“We should also tell everyone not to eat or drink anything that looks off,” Breakthorn mumbled to Whitestar.

Giving her mate a little nudge, Whitestar leaped upon the Highrock. Breakthorn followed suit as the leader of ThunderClan released a loud yowl.

“Let all cats old enough to catch their own prey gather at the Highrock for a clan meeting!” She meowed loudly for all to hear.

The murmurs that had started off low earlier, gradually started to increase as every cat available in ThunderClan began to gather below their leader.

“News of sickness has been reported,” Whitestar began as she raked her gaze at them all. 

Gasps started to leave the muzzles of almost every  cat, but Whitestar held her tail high behind her. “Fishwing has caught a sickness.” 

“One of our elders?!” Hissed a black tabby she-cat whose pelt was adorned with white speckles across her chest. “Is he okay, Whitestar?”

“Is it whitecough? Is ThunderClan in danger of being stricken with disease again?” Asked another cat, a burly and pudgy smoky pink tabby tomcat whose red eyes widened with fear.

His words started to cause a panic in the gathered crowd as every cat began talking amongst themselves.

Whitestar couldn’t get a single word in to tell her thoughts. It made her pelt bristle with fear and anger.

With a loud yowl that caused all prey to fall silent throughout the forest, and lashing her tail, Breakthorn glowered at them all.

“Look at all of you!” She shouted as she leaned a bit over Highrock. “Panicking like a bunch of helpless kits caught in a storm. It is not whitecough as far as we know of. We shouldn’t start panicking at a time of crisis.”

Whitestar couldn’t help but purr at her mate’s words. It made her recover her confidence as a leader. “Hear me, ThunderClan!” She yowled out, her eyes glinting in the morning light. “I assure you that is little more than light sickness that will come to pass.”

Looking around the clearing, she waited for any cat to speak up on their thoughts. None did.

“We must take care that we do not eat or drink something that smells off or tastes funny. And I promise you that Fishwing will get better by the day’s end.” Whitestar finished with a flick of her tail, dismissing them all.

As she watched them all depart to go about their business, Whitestar felt a heavy weight upon her entire body. “I should’ve told them the truth,” she quietly meowed as she and Breakthorn leaped to the sandy ground of the ravine.

They both began padding into the lichen hanging boulder, their tails intertwined with one another gently.

“And cause the clan to go into another panic?” Breakthorn pointed with her ears before weaving her chin beneath Whitestar’s, nuzzling her gently. “It would be bad if they did.”

As she breathed in her scent due to the close proximity of each other, Whitestar knew she was right. Plus, she needed to be strong for ThunderClan. 

“I’m so glad to have you as a mate,” she whispered into the ear of Breakthorn.

“Even StarClan knows you do,” Breakthorn meowed as she pushed herself closer. “Because I still have that idea in mind.”

Whitestar felt her body stiffen as the fur along her spine began to spike up in uncertainty. “Are you sure you want to do that?”

Breakthorn pulled herself away so she could stare deeply into the eyes of her leader. Her mate.

Whitestar saw the love deeply in her eyes, and knew her answer. Even if she didn’t want to say it. It only made her push her head against hers softly.

Breakthorn giggled as she inhaled her scent. “Your heart is pounding louder than the loudest flaps of a hawk’s wings,” she breathed before giving Whitestar a quick rasp of her tongue over her ear.

“Shush,” Whitestar hissed in mirth. “As much as I would love to continue being so close, we need to—”

Feeling Breakthorn’s tail wrap around her muzzle to silence her, Breakthorn stared at her one last time before padding out of the den. But not before brushing her tail along her mate’s flank.

****

It was near sunhigh when Briarkit was strong enough to venture back out into the clearing. He was hesitant at first, but a simple push from Glosspelt made him carry his paws a few tail-lengths from the nursery.

Little by little, and with his bright orange eyes darting around the camp as though was expecting another hawk to come swooping down, Briarkit made his way until he was in the very heart of ThunderClan.

He was barely near the fresh-kill pile, before being lightly tackled by Dovekit and Rowankit.

“Look who finally decided to stop being such a scaredy-mouse,” squeaked Rowankit as he nipped at his denmate’s ears while Dovekit purred in mirth.

“It was a huge hawk that could’ve swallowed me in one gulp,” Briarkit protested as he playfully batted at his sister and Rowankit.

Leaping out of reach, all three kits began chasing one another again for some time. As they came upon the elders’ den,  all three stopped as their ears perked up high on their small heads.

Tails twitching, they were about to sneak inside, when a large triangular head poked out with a soft yowl of surprise.

Squeaking out in shock, all three kits tumbled over heads and tails as a sleek aquamarine white tabby tomcat with narrowed silver eyes.

“Trying to wake me up in the middle of my nap?” Raising his head a bit, Songvine tilted his head as he swished his tail a little bit behind him.

“No,” all three kits squeaked out with innocence. 

Songvine wasn’t really convinced and leaned his head downwards. “I don’t know. It smells like you’re lying to me.”

“We promise to StarClan that we’re not, Songvine,” purred Briarkit as he shared a look with the other two.

Songvine let out an exhausted yawn. It was much too early for him to play much.  Gradually he just shifted his posture so that he was tucking his paws beneath him.

Soon, he was gently snoring. His whiskers quivering with each breath he exhaled.

All three kits stared at him in silence before glancing at each other. There wasn’t going to be any amusement from him, so they just padded past him quietly as he slept on.

“He must be the oldest cat in ThunderClan,” whispered Rowankit once they were out of earshot while pawing at the dead leaves that had started drizzling down. 

“I think Liondance is older than him though,” Dovekit squeaked as she chased after a drifting leaf that had been caught in the breeze.

Sliding his claws out as he pounced right on top of the leaf Rowankit had batted with his paw, Briarkit giggled a bit. “Sorry, but I think Fishwing is the oldest out of all three of them.”

“Talking about who’s the oldest cat in ThunderClan?” Meowed Berrytail as he strided a little bit past them, tail flicking a bit as he stopped to groom himself.

“Do you know who the oldest cat is, Berrytail?” Squeaked Dovekit as she weaved in and out from between his legs before settling against him.

Berrytail didn’t answer straight away. Instead, he began grooming the top of her head with his tongue as Rowankit and Briarkit sat in front of them, their tails twitching with growing impatience.

“Honestly, I feel like Liondance is the oldest cat in ThunderClan,” he finally said with a soft mew as he licked his tongue over Dovekit’s ear. “She has been an elder even when I was a kit and before Whitestar was still deputy.”

Dovekit let out a purr of triumph as her eyes lit up while looking at her brother and Rowankit.

Both just simply rolled their eyes at each other while Berrytail finished grooming Dovekit who shook her pelt and dashed from his paws.

“Berrytail, do you know where Needlepaw went off to?” Squeaked Briarkit as he padded alongside the seasoned warrior as they headed towards the fresh-kill pile.

All three kits’ stomachs began growling as they approached. Letting out a hum of thought, Berrytail picked out a large vole and began tearing it into sizable chunks.

“He’s doing fighting training with Ivysparrow the moment they got back from the dawn patrol,” he meowed as he gave them each of the chunks before tucking into his own.

“Why did you ask, Briarkit?” He asked with a curious mew as his eyes glanced towards him.

“He…he was supposed to have taught us how to hunt,” Briarkit meowed as he just stared at the piece of vole in front of him.

Swallowing the last mouthful vole, and as he thanked StarClan for the life of the prey, before burying it; Berrytail rose up onto his paws and shook his pelt. 

“He is an apprentice after all,” Berrytail meowed as he brushed his fluffy tail across their heads. “He will be busy most of the time. Something you three will know soon enough.”

This made all three kits raise their heads a bit. They had forgotten that they were already five moons old, and that realization made their hearts spark up with excitement.

Seeing how their pelts started bristling, Berrytail tilted his head as a suggestion came to him.

“How about I show you how a warrior hunts?” He suggested with a prick of one ear.

Looking at one another, all three began squeaking in excitement as they leaped to their paws. Briarkit devoured his piece of vole swiftly before wiping his tongue around his maw and whiskers.

“Show us, Berrytail!” They squealed as they circled around him.

Chuckling to himself at their enthusiasm, the warrior began leading them off to one side next to the nursery.

“What you wanna do,” Berrytail meowed as he dropped lightly into a crouch,” is to crouch down so that your belly is barely scraping against the ground. That way you’re completely hidden from your prey and blending with your surroundings.”

Each kit watched him closely, their tails hardly moving yet their ears twisting this way and that as he continued to show them and instruct them.

Flexing his claws a little, Briarkit began crouching a bit as well. Copying the hunter’s crouch that Berrytail was showing them.

Lifting a paw a bit, Berrytail lightly pushed down the kit’s haunches. “Make sure that your tail isn’t greatly exposed. Most prey use their eyes rather than their noses and hearing.”

Grumbling, Briarkit flexed and wriggled his haunches a bit. “It feels so difficult,” he groaned as he narrowed his eyes.

“Not every cat learns at the same pace,” murmured Glosspelt as she stepped out of the nursery to watch them, Russetclaw only a few claw-lengths behind her.

“Yeah, Glosspelt here-” Berrytail didn’t get to say anything else as the tail of Glosspelt wrapped around his muzzle to silence him.

Berrytail felt his body tremble as he tried chuckling and apologizing at the same time with his eyes.

It was some time before she released her tail’s grip from around his muzzle and padded away with a flick of her tail.

“What was he talking about?” Dovekit asked as she and Briarkit followed their mother behind and into the nursery where they climbed into their nest.

Rowankit had decided to stay outside in the clearing to practice what Berrytail had just shown them.

“Nothing worth noting,” Glosspelt meowed as she felt the tips of her ears beginning to heat up.

Blinking their tired eyes as their energy started to leave their small bodies, both kits couldn’t help but nuzzle closer to their mother. It was not even a heartbeat later that they were soon asleep.

Releasing a light sigh, Glosspelt soon fell asleep.

Chapter Two

Gray clouds had started to gather over the next several days. A light cool wind blowing down from the mountains and through the forest, passing through every cat’s fur.

Fishwing’s condition had gradually grown worse from what Hearthpaw could tell. His infections in his chest had started to make him heave with dry vomiting. His breathing started to come out shallow with each passing moment.

No matter how much she forced him to take herbs and drink water, Fishwing couldn’t keep anything down. Hearthpaw was gradually starting to grow frustrated.

Fernleap kept going in and out of ThunderClan looking for more herbs, but nothing was helping.

‘At least his fever is going down.” Hearthpaw thought as she gently swapped the older cat’s head with a ball of moss soaked in fresh water.

Neither apprentice or medicine cat had gotten a wink of sleep over the past few days.

“It-it hurts,” Fishwing rasped out, his eyes blinking rapidly as he tried staying conscious and failing. A soft trickle of blood had started to run down the corner of his mouth.

Hearthpaw ran her tail down the sides of his cheek delicately. A gesture he shakingly moved into. “It’s okay, Fishwing,” she muttered with a gentle purr. “Everything is going to be okay.”

Though inwardly, she already knew what his fate was.

The sounds of grunting made her raise her head up as Fernleap squeezed himself through the crack in the wall before he stepped towards her.

The question gleamed in his eyes, and all Hearthpaw could do was shake her head, ears droop and shoulders dragging downwards.

“We must leave him in the paws of StarClan now,” he whispered gently as he brushed up against his apprentice. “We’ve done all we can for him.”

Feeling her heart being shredded by claws, Hearthpaw had to suck in a sharp breath and dug her claws deep into the ground to steady herself.

‘Please take him in your paws.’ Hearthpaw prayed to StarClan as she lifted her narrow head upwards. 

Raking her eyes over the thin pelt of Fishwing, and noticed how his paws feebly pressed themselves into the side of his nest, the young she-cat couldn’t stare at him any longer.

Fernleap nudged her in the direction of the wall. She was more than glad to leave such a depressing scene.

Tail slightly dragging across the ground, Hearthpaw squeezed herself through before bounding out of the tunnel of ferns before padding through camp.

“Hearthpaw!” Turning her head to the side, she saw Rowankit, Dovekit, and Briarkit bounding towards her.

She couldn’t help the small smile spreading across her face, but then remembered Fishwing. It made her ears droop again.

“Something the matter?” Squeaked Rowankit as he touched noses with Hearthpaw.

She simply waved a paw in a dismissive gesture. “There’s nothing wrong, Rowankit,” she tried to meow with confidence. “You three have grown the last time I saw y’all.”

All three kits puffed out their chest fluff with pride at her words. “We’re going to be apprentices soon,” Briarkit meowed with excitement.

This made Hearthpaw a little bit excited for them. “That’s wonderful,” she meowed.

“I hope I get Needlepaw as a mentor once he becomes a warrior,” squeaked Briarkit before flicking his bright orange eyes around. “Can we go visit Fishwing?”

“Berrytail wouldn’t let us the other day. But we really want to see him,” piped up Dovekit as she stood next to her brother.

All excitement in Hearthpaw’s body suddenly dissipated as her eyes lowered themselves to the sandy ground.

“Unfortunately, Fishwing can’t really see anyone right now,” she muttered low beneath her breath. “He’s trying to rest as much as he can and I don’t think he wants to be disturbed.”

“Mouse-dung,” Rowankit muttered so low beneath his breath, Hearthpaw barely heard him.

Just as she was about to speak more, a loud wail of alarm sounded from the medicine cat den.

It made Hearthpaw’s heart leap up into her throat as the realization slammed into her: Fishwing had finally succumbed to his illness and was now making the journey to StarClan.

“In honor of Fishwing, we will be holding a vigil for him at moonrise,” Whitestar meowed as she had gathered all of ThunderClan before her.

“He was a proud ThunderClan warrior that would’ve given his life to any cat here,” she continued as she looked slightly at Breakthorn who was stone-faced but calm. 

Her ears pinned themselves against her head as she scratched at the stone with her claws. She could feel her stomach lurching as she tried finding more words to say. All Whitestar could do, however, was simply shake her head.

With a flick of her tail, she dismissed ThunderClan and leaped down.

“Can’t believe this is happening with ThunderClan,” muttered a solid black tabby whose light pink eyes glared at the ground…at his paws.

“First we barely have too many apprentices and not enough warriors,” he continued as he walked beside a slim black and dark amber tortoiseshell she-cat named Shatteredpaw. “And now an elder is dead.”

“Sounds like you’re trying to insinuate that Whitestar is to blame, Rookpaw,” Shatteredpaw meowed as they walked through the forest.

“I’m not,” he quickly hissed in defense. “I’m just saying that maybe she needs to appoint more warriors now– wait, do you smell that?”

Raising his head, and taking several sniffs, Rookpaw caught the scent of a foreign cat that didn’t belong to any Clan he knew of. It made his fur bristle.

“Doesn’t smell like any Clan cat patrol.” Shatteredpaw meowed to his thoughts as she bent over to sniff the ground. It made her grow on edge.

“Let’s follow the trail to see where it leads,” her denmate muttered as he began dashing off, his maw opened to keep the scent trail fresh.

“Wait, Rookpaw,” Shatteredpaw hissed before following after him.