Clans and Their Cats

FireClan:

Leader- Honeystar, she-cat with bright yellow pelt, bushy tail and slightly ripped ear. Loyal, brave, and determined.

Deputy- Duskclaw, large tom with dark pelt, white chest-fur and a long straight tail.

Warriors- Hollyfern, she-cat with calico pelt, yellow eyes. Mousestripe, strong she-cat with dark brown pelt, scar on tail. Icetail, shy tom with white pelt, powerful claws. Cherrytail, determined she-cat, orange pelt with cream colored specks. Lionstone, loyal tom with cream pelt, white tail and brown ears. Robinwing, tortoiseshell she-cat, caring and fierce.

Apprentices- Acornpaw, brown she-cat with bright eager eyes. Mentor: Mousestripe. Hailpaw, silver she-cat with grey dappled tail. Mentor: Icetail. Fernpaw, silver tom with black tail. Mentor: Lionstone.

Queens- Thistlestream, dark blue pelt. Mate: Swiftfur.

Sootberry, black pelt with brown paws. Mate: Brambleface.

Medicine Cat- Echosong, smart dusk colored she-cat.

StormClan:

Leader- Falconstar, giant grey tom, dappled tail, serious face.

Deputy- Sparrowstripe, sleek brown she-cat, assassin swimmer.

Warriors- Redstream, she-cat with rusty red pelt, white tail. Bloody personality. Sandblaze, powerful cream colored tom, great at ambushing. Lilystripe, quick she-cat with pure white fur, shy but strong. Elmburn, extremely powerful tom, great at swimming, brown pelt with white paws.

Apprentices- Lichenpaw, serious tom with silver coat, crooked tail. Mentor: Sandblaze. Peachpaw, tan, energetic she-cat with brown chest-fur. Mentor: Elmburn.

Queen- Ivyflower, calm, tan-pelted, silver tail. Mate: Whitenose.

Medicine Cat- Nightwhisker, small tom with midnight pelt, silver tail. Extremely skilled and smart.

MossClan:

Leader- Petalstar, fierce she-cat with orange fur, white tail. Good fighter.

Deputy- Froststorm, feisty tom with messy white fur.

Warriors- Rosestorm, ginger she-cat with orange stripes, very loyal.

Fogcloud, smart dusty blue she-cat, silver ears, strong fighter.

Shadowbriar, black tom with grey paws, tricky fighter, good at hunting.

Rabbitpelt, shy she-cat with brown fur and a dark brown tail. Great at tree-climbing. Sandfang, handsome tom with tan fur, quiet and strong.

Apprentices- Cherrypaw, ginger she-cat with brown stripes, fast learner. Frostpaw, white tom with orange specks in tail, fidgety and quiet.

Queen- Brambleberry, orange and black pelt. Mate: Hailstream.

Medicine Cat- Poppyfoot, determined she-cat, cream pelt, brown paw.

Prologue- 5 moons ago..

"...Hollykit?"

Hollykit struggled to open her eyes. She felt someone nudge her with their paw. 

"Mmf.." Hollykit said. Then she felt someone bat at her ear.

Hollykit rolled over and meowed. 

"Stop it Foxkit," she heard someone say. "She'll open her eyes when she's ready."

"But mom," the kit called Foxkit said. "I want to play with her."

Hollykit strained to open her eyes. Then, she saw a blur of light. I'm doing it! she thought. She rolled over and blinked. She saw a small cat with orange fur standing over her.

"Mom!!" yelled the kit. "Mom, she opened her eyes!"

Hollykit sat up and saw a big she-cat coming over to her. The cat had

calico fur, and she was smiling.

"Why, hello there Hollykit," the cat said. "I'm your mother, Berryclaw. And this is your sister, Fox-"

"FOXKIT!" shouted the little kit. She jumped around the den.

Hollykit looked around and saw that she was in a big den with moss on the floor. "Where am I?" she squeaked.

"You're in the nursery," Berryclaw said. "You are about.. mm, I don't know... a day old?"

"Oh," Hollykit mewed. Then she heard a laugh. She looked up and saw a yellow she-cat. Hollykit scrambled over to her mom. 

"Are these the new additions to the clan?" the cat asked Berryclaw.

Berryclaw smiled. "Yes, Foxkit and Hollykit. Kits, this is Honeystar, the leader of FireClan."

Honeystar licked her paw. "I can tell you two are going to be great

warriors someday," she said.

"What's a warrior?" asked Hollykit. She was confused. 

Honeystar swished her tail. "Well, a warrior is-"
Her sentance was cut off with a screeching coming from outside the den. It made Hollykit's little ears hurt.

"I GOT THE MOUSE FIRST!" shouted a voice. "NO I DID!" shouted another.

Honeystar sighed and said, "Sorry little one; It seems I need to leave and resolve this issue," as she ran out of the nursery.

"Come here Hollykit," Berryclaw said. Hollykit stumbled over to her mom with her clumsy paws. Foxkit did the same.

"Let me tell you about FireClan positions," their mother said. "We will start with the leader."

As Hollykit listened, she thought about warriors. Whatever a warrior is, she thought, I'm going to be the best one there ever was.

Chapter one- 5 Moons Later

"Ha!" yelled Hollykit. She ducked Foxkit's paw and swatted her sister's ear.

"Oww," yowled Foxkit. Then Hollykit pounced on her sister and pinned her to the ground. Foxkit screeched.

"Ok, Ok, Hollykit, you win! Now get your paws off of me!" Foxkit meowed. She kicked Hollykit off of her and walked away.

Hollykit laughed to herself and walked into the nursery. She was greeted by Berryclaw, who was laying down. She smiled as Hollykit padded in. "Hello Hollykit!" she greeted her daughter.

"Hi mom," Hollykit said. She sat down next to her mom, licked her paw, and rubbed it on her face.

"I hear you and Foxkit have been play-fighting," Berryclaw said, looking down at Hollykit.

"Uh," Hollykit said as she looked around. "Yeah! We've been training for when we become apprentices," she finished.

Berryclaw laughed. "Well, wait a moon and you will become apprentices. You know that kits become 'paws' at 6 moons, right? And you two are 5 moons old!"

"Really?" Hollykit asked. Excitement raced through her veins. She grinned.

"Yes, really!" Berryclaw said. She stooped to lick Hollykit's forehead. 

"Foxkit!" shouted Hollykit. She rushed out of the nursery. She heard Berryclaw say, "Be careful Hollykit! Don't get yourself hurt!"

"FOXKIT!" Hollykit yelled again, and then felt herself crash into something fluffy. She looked up.

Duskclaw was standing in front of Hollykit. He looked down in surprise. "Oh, my! Hello little one," he said. "Where are you going in such a rush?"

Hollykit blushed. She had crashed into Duskclaw, the deputy! She was 

so embarrassed. 

"Oh, um, uh," Hollykit stammered. "I'm looking for my sister Foxkit. I-I wanted to tell her that we will be apprentices in a day!"

Duskclaw blinked. "A day, huh?" he asked. Then he smiled. "Well little kit, congrats. I think you'll make a good apprentice. But I have to go check on Honeystar now, she's not doing so well."

Hollykit felt a wave of anxiety. "Is- is she alright?" she asked Duskclaw.

The tom sighed. "She's alright, it's just that.. well, StormClan's leader, Falconstar, has been threatening her." 

Hollykit tilted her head. "With what?"

The deputy shook his head. "Don't worry about it Hollykit," he said sternly. Duskclaw twitched his tail and continued his walk to the Leader's Den.

Hollykit huffed. "Don't worry about it Hollykit," she muttered and she pawed away. 

"I'm Duskclaw and everyone should follow my rules and also everyone worry about yourselves."

It's not that Hollykit was mad at Duskclaw. She just hated being told what to do every single second of the day.

Suddenly she stopped. Hollykit was next to the prey pile, but she wasn't hungry.

I want to figure out what's going on, she thought. And Honeystar is as much as my leader as she is Duskclaw's.

And with that, Hollykit sped away towards the Leader's Den.

She was going to spy on Honeystar and Duskclaw.

Chapter Two-

Hollykit nervously slowed down as the Leader's Den came into sight. What if Honeystar saw her?

Hollykit fiercely shook her head, trying to push that thought away. She heard mumbling coming from inside the Den. Hollykit slowly peeked in.

"But Honeystar," Duskclaw was saying. "If Falconstar's threatening you, can't you just talk to him at the next Gathering about it?"

Honeystar sighed. "No Duskclaw. He wont just stop because I tell him to. He's been telling me he'll steal all our prey and kidnap our kits if we don't let StormClan take some of our territory and hunt in the same grounds," she said.

Hollykit couldn't believe it. Falconstar was going to take FireClan's belongings if they didn't give him the territory?! Hollykit couldn't help it; she gasped. Then, she immediently realized she had made a big mistake.

Honeystar sat up. "Who's there?" she meowed.

Terrified, Hollykit walked into the den. "Me," she meekly said.

Duskclaw gasped. Honeystar's eyes widened. "Hollykit? Why are you here..? You know kits can't come into the Leader's Den, let alone spy on the Leader of a Clan," she sternly said.

Hollykit dipped her head. She was so humiliated. "I'm sorry Honeystar," she told the frowning she-cat. "I just wanted to help the Clan get protected from Falconstar, so I needed to-to get- to get more information?"

Hollykit thought she saw a slight smile on Honeystar's face. Duskclaw, however, was fuming.

"How could you have spied on our leader?" he hissed. "And anyway, you are only a kit. As much as I want the clan to be safe from StormClan's Leader, I cannot have you wandering around, spying on Honeystar for

more 'informa'-"

"Shush, Duskclaw," Honeystar interrupted. "I think Hollykit here had a good reason for 'spying' on us. However, she still shouldn't have done it. It's against Clan Rules to have kits wander into the Leader's Den. But Hollykit, don't worry, I can deal with StormClan on my own."

"It didn't sound like it a couple minutes ago," Hollykit said. She twitched her tail nervously. She was talking back to Honeystar! That was completely out of the rules of the clan.

Honeystar approached Hollykit. Duskclaw was frowning. Uh-oh, Hollykit thought. Was Honeystar going to do something terrible?

Then she stopped. She sat down. The Leader sighed. "Your right," she admitted. "Falconstar is completely beyond my control at this point. I could send warriors to try and fend him off, but what good will that do? He'd just kill them, and then a war would start. The least I could do would

just put a bunch of guards around FireClan's camp."

Suddenly, Foxkit burst into the Leader's Den. Hollykit was shocked.

Duskclaw was furious. "More kits?" he bellowed. "Why in the name of StarClan are there MORE KITS barging into the den?!"

"Sorry Duskclaw!" squeaked Foxkit. "It's just that I have an urgent message. I was out getting some prey from the pile, and then Cherrytail ran up to me and said, 'Help! Foxkit, quick, go tell Honeystar that Sandblaze from StormClan has been spotted near the nursery!' and then she ran off and I had to come here."

Foxkit took a breath and then continued. "So I'm here to tell you that Sandblaze from StormClan has been spotted near the nursery!"

Chapter Three-

"What?!" shrieked Honeystar. She jumped up and ran out of the den, shouting, "QUICK! DUSKCLAW! GATHER THE WARRIORS!"

"Alright, kits, get back to your mother. Fast!" yelled Duskclaw. He shot out of the den, Hollykit and Foxkit following. 

The 2 kits ran to the prey pile, and crashed into their mom. "Kits!" Berryclaw shouted. She licked their heads.

"Mom, Sandblaze is-" Foxkit started, but was interrupted by Berryclaw.

"I know," she sighed. "So we need to get somewhere safe until the warriors drive him off, ok?"

Hollykit watched the nursery, and saw Sandblaze. Cherrytail and Mousestripe had him cornered. Cherrytail swiped his ear. "Get out of FireClan territory, you StormClan slime!" she yowled.

Sandblaze hissed. His fur stood on end as he said,

"Never! Falconstar ordered me to steal your kits and train them to become StormClan warriors, and I will obey his order!"

Hollykit shivered. It was so lucky she and Foxkit weren't in the nursery when Sandblaze sneaked into FireClan's camp.

"You will never steal FireClan's kits!" shouted Mousestripe as she bit Sandblaze's tail. He yowled in pain and swiped at the she-cat, but she dodged. 

Suddenly, Hollykit heard someone screech, "WARRIORS! SURROUND THE INTRUDER! GET THE KITS TO THE MEDICINE DEN!"

Hollykit looked up just in time to see all the FireClan warriors jump over her and surround Sandblaze, hissing and yowling.

The next thing she knew she was getting pulled away, Foxkit right next to her.

Duskclaw crashed into Hollykit as he ran towards Sandblaze, getting 

ready to drive him out of the territory.

How ironic, thought Hollykit as she tried to ignore her aching shoulder. He crashed into me after I crashed into him.

The kits were led into the medicine den. Hollykit looked around and saw 2 other kits she knew; Silverkit and Sunkit. 

Berryclaw took Hollykit and her sister into a corner of the den where Echosong was preparing some herbs.

"What are those for, Echosong?" Foxkit asked, scratching her side.

Echosong smiled, but it was a grim smile.

"Well.. in case.. in case any warriors need tending to...," she told the confused Foxkit.

Suddenly, the cats heard a terrible yowling coming from outside the medicine den. "NO!" a cat was yelling. "GET AWAY FROM THERE, YOU STUPID STORMCLAN CAT! No, NO!!"

Hollykit screeched with terror as Sandblaze burst into the medicine den, his angry eyes wild.

He ran over to Sunkit, his teeth gleaming. The little yellow kit shook with fear and he towered over her.

Just then, Duskclaw ran into the medicine den, Cherrytail following him. "Get out of FireClan territory, StormClan cat!" he hissed at Sandblaze. Sunkit and Silverkit's mother, Thistlestream, was cowering next to her kits, feebly hissing at Sandblaze.

Then something awful happened.

It happened so fast, Hollykit barely had time to know it had happened.

Sandblaze picked up Sunkit, bit Thistlestream's ear, and ran out of the medicine den.

Duskclaw meowed in surprise and chased Sandblaze. Cherrytail went over to Thistlestream, who was in shock. Tears were welling up in her eyes.

"Great StarClan!" Echosong exclaimed. She dropped the herbs and ran over to the sobbing she-cat.

"It's ok!" Hollykit heard Echosong say. "It's alright Thistlestream, someone will get your kit back! Do you hear me? Someone will get Sunkit back!"

Then all of the cats looked up as Duskclaw came padding back into the den. He had a lost look on his face.

"Duskclaw! What in all of StarClan happened? Is Sunkit alright?" asked Cherrytail.

The deputy sank down to the mossy ground, his sad eyes closing.

"I-" he said. Duskclaw swallowed and looked at Thistlestream, who was staring in shock at him.

Hollykit felt Berryclaw leave her side and go over to comfort Thistlestream. She felt Foxkit trembling with fear at her side; Sunkit was Foxkit's best friend. Hollykit reassuringly licked her sister's ear.

"Duskclaw! Are you going to sit here all night?" Cherrytail told the tom. "Tell us what happened! Did you catch Sandblaze?"

Duskclaw closed his eyes in remorse. Then he opened them and looked at Thistlestream.

"I'm so sorry," he said. "Sandblaze escaped, and Sunkit was stolen. He left FireClan territory. Sunkit is gone."

Chapter Four-

Hollykit and Foxkit were took out of the medicine den. Echosong was tending to Thistlestream's ear, who was sobbing as hard as she could into Cherrytail's shoulder. Cherrytail looked slightly embarrassed, but still allowed Thistlestream to cry into her.

Hollykit looked up at her mom, who's face was worried. "Kits," she said. "Um, I think you two should stay in the nursery right now. I need to make sure Thistlestream is alright, and Mousestripe is guarding the nursery."

"But mom," Foxkit said, looking around. But she was interrupted by Berryclaw

"Foxkit, Hollykit, just go," she said. Then the she-cat walked into the medicine den.

Foxkit put her head down and walked to the nursery. Hollykit did the same.

Mousestripe smiled sadly at the two kits and let them into the nursery. Hollykit and her sister padded over to their moss patch and laid their heads down.

After a moment or two, Hollykit heard Foxkit say, "Someone should get Sunkit back."

Hollykit lifted her head up. "What?"

"I said someone should get Sunkit back!" Foxkit said angrily, standing up. "Instead of talking to Thistlestream about it and acting all sad and mopey, someone should go into StormClan territory and save Sunkit!"

Foxkit was yelling now.

"She's my best friend! Someone should save her!" she screeched.

"Kits?" Hollykit heard Mousestripe say. "Is everything alright?"

"Yes," answered Hollykit. "Foxkit," she said to her sister. "Calm down, alright? Keep this up and everyone in StarClan will hear you!"

Foxkit swished her tail. "Fine. But someone should still save Sunkit! I- I'M going to save Sunkit!"

"What?!" exclaimed Hollykit. She felt her eyes widen. "Foxkit, no! You could get killed!"

"If no one helps Sunkit, she could get killed," retorted Foxkit. "I'm going to save her, and you can't stop me."

And with that, the small orange kit flew out of the nursery, not even stopping. Despite Mousestripe's 'Meow!!' of surprise, Foxkit did not slow down.

Hollykit sighed in disgust and ran out after her sister.

"I can't believe I'm doing this," she muttered and she followed Foxkit. "She should leave this kind of work to the warriors."

Foxkit slowed down as she came to the FireClan camp boundary. Hollykit saw nervousness in her eyes, but she shook it away and took a step out

of clan territory.

"Hollykit, I know you're following me," Foxkit said. Hollykit froze.

"Like you think I couldn't hear you. You need to be more quieter on those clumsy paws of yours!"

"At least I'm not heading into danger and possible death!" Hollykit shot back.

"In a way, you kind of are," Hollykit heard Foxkit say.

She had to admit that Foxkit was kind of right.

Just then, she started to smell something weird. The smells of unfamiliar cats and strange plants crept into her nose.

"I think we're in StormClan territory!" Foxkit whispered to Hollykit. Hollykit felt her stomach drop.

"Foxkit, I think we should turn back. Let's leave this job to the warriors!" she heard herself say.

"Not a chance," Foxkit meowed. "If we're this close to my best friend, I am NOT turning back."

Hollykit tried to flatten herself down, hoping to hide herself in the tall grass. In front of her, she saw Foxkit stop. "It's- I don't believe it- It's Sunkit!" she whispered excitedly to Hollykit.

Hollykit crawled up next to her sister and looked where she was looking.

A stream ran out in front of them, and sitting next to a tree, looking helpless, was Sunkit.

"Well?" Hollykit whispered. "Go out and get her!"

"No," Foxkit responded. She pointed with her paw at two StormClan warriors guarding Sunkit. They were hidden quite well in the tall grass.

"I say we throw her into the stream!" said the brown tom.

"Don't be silly Elmburn," said the red she-cat. "As much as I would like to, we can't, unfortunately. Besides, we're supposed to train this one to

become a StormClan warrior!"

"I'll never be a StormClan warrior!" squeaked Sunkit.

"Shut up, you stupid little furball," Elmburn said, swatting at Sunkit with his paw.

Hollykit felt Foxkit's fur bristle up. "How could they do that to her?!" the orange kit said in rage.

Then Foxkit said something that made Hollykit's heard skip a beat.

"Now's our time to get Sunkit back! ATTACK!" she screeched.

"Wait, Foxkit, no-!" Hollykit started, but Foxkit had already jumped.

"What the-" Hollykit heard the she-cat say, and then she heard yowling, hissing, and screeching.

"Foxkit-" she muttered, terrified. Then, she too, jumped.

The scene was wild. If a two-leg walked in on this scene, they would have seen a small orange kitten battling 2 full grown cats, a yellow kitten

mewing in fear, and a calico kitten running around the tom.

Hollykit jumped onto Elmburn's leg and bit it hard. He yowled and said, "Get off of me, you pipsqueak!"

Hollykit was thrown off. As she crashed to the ground, she saw Foxkit take Sunkit by the paw and throw her over the lake.

Hollykit slowly got back up. She ran towards the she-cat, who was trying to shake Foxkit off her tail.

Hollykit jumped onto the she-cat's back and dug her claws into her fur. The cat screeched in agony and slammed her paw into Hollykit's side.

"Ouch!" she yelled as she crashed into the rocky floor. 

Just then, another brown she-cat came running into the clearing. She stopped ever so suddenly as she saw the scene in front of her.

"Elmburn! Redstream! What is happening!? Who are these two kits?! I thought Sandblaze only stole one!" she said, her ears flicking back.

"Not really a good time to talk about kits, Sparrowstripe!" grunted Redstream as she tried to throw Foxkit off of her tail.

Sparrowstripe? thought Hollykit as she ran out of Elmburn's reach. Isn't that the StormClan deputy?

"Hey!" Hollykit shouted. "Hey you, Sparrowstripe!"

The deputy's eyes narrowed. She flattened her ears back. "What is it, tiny kit?" she asked.

"Give Sunkit back to FireClan!" she meowed. "You have no right to steal a kit!"

"Yeah!" put in Foxkit. She was lying on the ground, struggling to get up.

"She belongs to FireClan. Give her back!"

Sparrowstripe hissed. "You think I take directions from a kit?" she spat. "I take directions from Falconstar and Falconstar only. Get out of StormClan territory! And we will never give Sunkit back. She is the property of Storm-

-AAARRGH!!!"

Foxkit had jumped onto the deputy's face, scratching her ears and biting at her fur. 

"Sunkit, run!" she shouted through a mouthful of fur. "Go! Get back to FireClan! Follow our scent; you'll find it!"

The terrified yellow kit bristled her fur. "Please stay safe Foxkit!" she mewed. Then she turned and sped away.

"NO!" yowled Elmburn. "We needed her!"

Hollykit scratched the tom's leg and bit his tail. He screeched and ran off.

"Coward," muttered Redstream. But then Hollykit jumped on her tail and scratched it as hard as she could.

"MEOWWWWW!!!" the she-cat screamed. She thrashed wildly around, flicking her tail, hissing, and spitting.

Just then, Foxkit flew by Hollykit and landed into the stream. Water 

splashed Hollykit, causing her to slip and fall of of Redstream's tail.

She looked up and felt a wave of terror sweep over her water-drenched fur.

Redstream was advancing on Foxkit, her claws unsheathed.

"Get away from me!" yelled Foxkit as she tried to get up. Water sprayed all over the she-cat.

"This is what you get for trespassing on StormClan territory," the warrior said. "This is what you get for attacking me, Elmburn, and Sparrowstripe. This is what you get for stealing what we stole."

Foxkit looked up in terror at Redstream. "What are you doing?" she whimpered.

"I do not care that I am breaking the warrior code," she said. "I simply repaying you for the trouble you caused us. Good-bye, little kit."

Hollykit barely had time to see what happened.

In one swift motion. Redstream brought her gleaming claws down on the trembling Foxkit and ripped her skin open.

Foxkit gasped, blood gurgling up from her throat.

"NO!!!!!" screamed Hollykit.

She stared in horror at her sister.

Blood sprayed all over the ground and got on her paws, but Hollykit didn't care.

Foxkit was dying.

Chapter Five-

"Redstream?! What have you done?! You broke the warrior code; you killed a kit! I'm going to have to report this to Falconstar! And you let our hostage escape!"

Sparrowstripe was meowing angrily at Redstream, who's claws were drenched with blood. All the same, she had a wicked grin on her red pelted face.

Sparrowstripe led Redstream away, casting an angry look at Hollykit. The two she-cats disappeared in the tall grass, going back to the High Rock.

Hollykit bent over her sister's ruined body in horror.

"No, no, no no no no no no no no," she meowed. Tears started streaming down her face.

Foxkit looked up at Hollykit. She was gasping for breath.

"Hollykit," she rasped. "G-get- get back to... to the- to the cam- camp.

Hurry. B-before they c-c-co-come b-back..."

"No, I won't leave you Foxkit!" Hollykit said in panic. "Come on, it'l be alright! We can get back to FireClan. Echosong can help you!"

Foxkit coughed, sending more blood streaming onto the rocky ground. "No. Th-there won't be enou-enough t-ti-t-time. I t-think I'm going to... to- to Starc... Clan."

"No, Foxkit!" wailed Hollykit. "Don't say that, we can get back to camp together! Come on, get up! Please Foxkit, don't go!"

Foxkit summoned a deep breath and looked straight into Hollykit's horrified eyes.

"Thank you for being my sister, Hollykit," she said. Then Foxkit gave a massive shudder and fell still.

"NO!!" screamed Hollykit. "FOXKIT, WAKE UP! NO, NO, NOOOO!!!! COME BACK! NO!"

But Hollykit knew Foxkit would never come back. She would never become an apprentice, or a warrior, with Hollykit.

Foxkit had joined StarClan.

Hollykit crashed down to the floor, and sobbed. Tears splashed against the ground as she cried, and cried, and cried.

Eventually, she sat up. Hollykit glanced over at Foxkit's body and felt tears well up in her eyes again.

"Goodbye, Foxkit," she whispered. Then she jumped over the stream, and ran back to FireClan territory.

"Where's Hollykit and Foxkit?!" Hollykit heard someone meowing.

She burst through the clearing and came face-to-face with Berryclaw. 

"Hollykit!" the she-cat said in surprise. She licked all over Hollykit's face.

"I heard that you and Foxkit saved Sunkit," she said, looking down at Hollykit. "That was very dangerous! What were you two thinking? As much as me and the clan are for you saving Sunkit, that was still extremely dangerous! You should have-"

But then she stopped. She had noticed the blood on Hollykit's paws.

Berryclaw's eyes widened. "What in all of StarClan happened, Hollykit?! Where- where is Foxkit?"

Hollykit looked down at her paws soaked with her sister's blood. "She-" she started, her voice cracking. "She- she-"

"Hollykit, where is she?" Berryclaw said. There was a note of anxiety in her voice now.

And then it all came pouring out.

"Redstream killed her. She killed Foxkit!"

Berryclaw flinched, shrinking to the floor. "Wh-what?!" she yowled.

Hollykit started to cry. "It's true," she sobbed. "Foxkit saved Sunkit and Redstream killed her for it. I couldn't do anything. Foxkit died, mom. She's gone."

Berryclaw put her face in her paws. Her shoulder's started to shake.

Hollykit buried her face in her mother's fur and cried.

Just then, a voice entered Hollykit's ears.

It sounded like Honeystar.

It said, "Berryclaw? Hollykit? Is everything alright?"

Chapter Six-

Hollykit looked up. She saw Honeystar watching them, a concerned look on her face.

"Berryclaw, what happened?" the leader asked. She put a paw on her shoulder.

"I heard that Hollykit and Foxkit rescued Sunkit," Honeystar tried. "As irresponsible as that was, it was brave. But they still shouldn't have done it. I'm going to have to give them a punishment job of cleaning the medicine den for a week."

"Honeystar..." Berryclaw started. "You only need to give Hollykit that job."

"What? Why?" Honeystar asked. Then she looked at Hollykit.

Hollykit felt more tears welling up in her eyes again. No, stop, don't let them fall, she pleaded.

"Ok, in the name of StarClan, what happened?!" meowed Honeystar.

Berryclaw shook her head and looked down at her paws.

Honeystar looked frantically at Hollykit. She could tell the leader was getting stressed.

Suddenly, Hollykit burst out, "Honeystar! When we tried to save Sunkit, Foxkit got in a fight with two StormClan warriors. She-s-s-sh-she..... She died!"

Honeystar's fur bristled as her tail shook. "What?!" she said. "Foxkit died?!"

Berryclaw let out a mournful wail and crashed down on the soft ground.

"This is why we don't let kits out of camp!" Honeystar said, horrified. We only have 3 kits left in the camp now. Maybe more, if everything goes alright with Sootberry..."

But the leader noticed she said the wrong thing. Berryclaw obviously didn't want to hear about 'only three kits left in camp.'

Neither did Hollykit, to be honest.

Honeystar cleared her throat. "Berryclaw, Hollykit, I am so sorry," she said.

"Redstream killed her," Berryclaw choked out. Hollykit nodded.

"Redstream?" gasped Honeystar. "What?! She broke the warrior code! I'm going to talk to Falconstar about this.. I doubt he'd listen to me though.."
"Honeystar, can I talk to Sunkit?" Hollykit suddenly said. "Please?"

"Yes, of course," the leader said sadly. "I need to talk to your mother anyway."

Hollykit padded away and looked back. Honeystar had a paw on Berryclaw's shoulder, and Berryclaw was talking to the worried leader.

Hollykit started to run to the nursery. Mousestripe greeted her.

"Hollykit! Great StarClan, why did you ever run away from the camp?! You know to let the warriors handle a situation like that-"

"Mousestripe, where is Sunkit? I need- I need to talk to her," Hollykit mewed.

"Oh.. she's in the medicine den, getting checked up by Echosong," Mousestripe replied. Then she took a closer look at Hollykit's sad face. "Hollykit? Is everything alright?"

"No!" Hollykit heard herself say. "Foxkit was killed by Redstream while trying to save Sunkit. She's- she's gone."

Mousestripe's tail stiffened. "You mean... you mean she's dead?" she whispered. "Oh no..... Foxkit."

And Hollykit sped off, leaving the horrified Mousestripe behind.

She burst into the medicine den and saw Sunkit being checked out by Echosong. Thistlestream sat in the corner, her tail around Silverkit.

"Hollykit!" Echosong said in surprise, dropping the mistletoe leaf she was holding. "Why did you ever run out of camp? And where's Foxkit?"

"Sunkit," Hollykit said, looking at the worried kit. "I'm so so so sorry... but.. Foxkit is dead. She died fighting Redstream after you ran back to camp."

"Oh no!" exclaimed Echosong. "Foxkit died!?"

"No, Foxkit!" yowled Sunkit. She sank to the mossy ground, sobbing. Thistlestream gasped and ran over to her. Silverkit looked terrified.

Hollykit gritted her teeth and squeezed her eyes shut. "I told her not to go. But she went. And she died," she said, hearing her voice shake.

"Hollykit, it isn't your fault," Echosong meowed, coming over to her. "Foxkit died doing a brave thing. You two shouldn't have sneaked out of territory, and especially into StormClan territory at that, but there is no doubt that Foxkit was a brave little kit."

Hollykit swished her tail. "I'm sorry Sunkit," she said to the sobbing kit.

Then she ran out of the medicine den.

Hollykit ran back to the nursery. Berryclaw wasn't back yet.

She threw herself down on her moss patch and put her tail over her eyes.

Why didn't Honeystar send out any warriors to save Sunkit? she thought.

Foxkit wouldn't have died if she did!

Just then, she heard Honeystar from outside the nursery. "Let all cats old enough to smell smoke gather beneath the High Rock for a clan meeting!"

Slowly, Hollykit got up and walked outside of the den. "This is most likely going to be about- about Foxkit," she sadly muttered.

Hollykit saw Honeystar standing on the Rock, her face looking grim.

Around the High Rock stood the FireClan cats, some looking mournful, and some looking confused.

Hollykit saw her mom in the crowd of cats and went over to her. She sat down next to Berryclaw. The she-cat licked Hollykit's head.

"Alright FireClan cats," Honeystar began. "As you know, Sandblaze of StormClan tried to steal our kits. And he did get away with it. Sunkit was taken into StormClan territory."

Some of the cats gasped. Hollykit heard Acornpaw say, "Oh no!"

"But luckily," Honeystar meowed. "Sunkit is safe and she is back in the camp. Two kits saved her, actually. Hollykit and- an-and- and Foxkit."

The clan gasped even louder. Someone said, "They could have been killed!''

"One of them did," Honeystar said grimly, her voice cracking.

The noise was deafening. Cats started screaming. Fernpaw whimpered, "Oh no!! Oh no! Oh noo!!"

Honeystar screeched and the noise stopped. "Cats!" she yowled. "Listen!"

The cats fell silent.

"Foxkit was killed while fighting Redstream," the leader told the clan.

"She was killed while saving Sunkit. Now, I am here to say that Foxkit and Hollykit should not have strayed out of camp. But there is no doubt that what they did was brave. And they were being an extremely good friend 

to Sunkit."
Hollykit looked up and saw Berryclaw close her eyes and dipped her head in sadness.

"Foxkit will be remembered as a brave friend," Honeystar said. "She will be remembered as a good friend, and may she rest in StarClan, looking over her sister and mother."

Hollykit felt a sudden urge to cry, but strained not to let the tears fall. She looked around and saw Sunkit silently crying. Thistlestream was looking lost, and the three apprentices were trembling in horror.

"Before this meeting is over, I have something to say," the she-cat continued.

Isn't she already saying stuff? thought Hollykit.

"Since Hollykit and Foxkit saved Sunkit, I was going to make them apprentices for their actions," Honeystar announced.

"But since.. but since Foxkit.. died.. I can only make Hollykit an apprentice now. Hollykit, please come forward."

Hollykit was is shock. This couldn't be happening. It just couldn't! Foxkit died, and they did something wrong, and Hollykit was getting made an apprentice for it?!

Berryclaw gently pushed Hollykit forward. She blinked and started walking to the High Rock. She passed Icetail, who smiled sadly at her.

She reached the High Rock and found Honeystar looking down at her. Duskclaw was sitting importantly next to the leader.

"Now, Hollykit, you have not yet reached the age of six moons, but you are quite close. And the thing that you did, along with Foxkit, helped the clan greatly. You will be made an apprentice," Honeystar told Hollykit.

"Alright," mumbled Hollykit.

The clan went silent. Hollykit felt the eyes of cats burning into her fur. She 

slightly shivered.

"Hollykit, you have almost reached the age of six moons and it is time for you to be apprenticed. You are only being apprenticed for the great action that saved Sunkit from death," Honeystar said. 

Hollykit felt burning vengeance inside her. But Foxkit died! she thought, but all the same, she nodded her head.

"From this day on, until you receive your new warrior name, you will be known as Hollypaw. Your mentor will be Cherrytail. I hope Cherrytail passes down all she knows to you," Honeystar continued.

"Cherrytail, please come forth to the High Rock!" the leader called.

The crowd of cats parted as Cherrytail padded through. She dipped her head when she reached the Rock.

"Cherrytail, you are ready to take on an apprentice. You have received excellent training from Duskclaw, and you have shown yourself

to be full of knowledge and to be kind. You will be the mentor of Hollypaw, and I expect you to pass on all you know to Hollypaw."

Cherrytail nodded. "I will Honeystar," she said, and came over to Hollypaw. She touched her nose against Hollypaw's. The clan was quiet, but when they parted, there was an uproar.

"Hollypaw! Hollypaw! Hollypaw!" the clan shouted. Hollypaw felt a surge of pride, but it quickly disappeared.

How could she be feeling proud when Foxkit was dead?
"Thank you Honeystar," Hollypaw said, and went back to her mother.

Berryclaw smiled down at her daughter. "If Foxkit wasn't- wasn't dead, this would be the best moment of my life," she said to Hollypaw.

Hollypaw nodded. She couldn't talk. It was if a large piece of mouse had gotten stuck in her throat. Hollypaw knew if she talked, she would 

burst out crying, because Foxkit had not been made an apprentice with her.

The ceremony ended soon after, and Berryclaw made her way back to the warrior's den, Hollypaw padded over to the apprentice den. This would be her first night away from her mother.

She entered, and saw the three apprentices sleeping in a corner. Hollypaw curled up on a patch of lichen and closed her eyes.

She woke up sometime around midnight, and started to silently cry.

This was the first time she was away from her mother during nighttime, and she was feeling a little lost.

And this was also her first time away from Foxkit, who, Hollypaw knew, would never share a bed with her again.

Chapter Seven-

The next morning, Hollypaw woke up to the sounds of rustling. She slowly opened her eyes, and saw Fernpaw, Hailpaw, and Acornpaw batting at eachother with their paws.

Hollypaw made a frustrated noise and closed her eyes, trying to get back to sleep. She heard an apprentice bang into the wall, and then someone got knocked over.

They must be "training" thought Hollypaw grumpily. She wanted to get more sleep, but with this racket going on it was a miracle she could even close her eyes.

Just then she felt Acornpaw slam into her back. Hollypaw shot up out of her moss nest and screeched, "COULD YOU BE QUIET?! I'M TRYING TO SLEEP FOR STARCLAN'S SAKE!!"

Fernpaw and Hailpaw froze, guilt washing over their faces. But Acornpaw

frowned and said, "Calm down, Hollypaw, will you? It was an accident!"

Hollypaw sighed. "I'm sorry," she said, calming down. "It's just that, I'm still really upset about what happened to- to Foxkit..."

"Aren't we all?" sighed Fernpaw, and Hollypaw saw Hailpaw blinking his eyes rapidly, as though not to let any tears fall.

"Foxkit was a good cat," Acornpaw said to Hollypaw. "What she did was brave. It wasn't your fault. Don't feel ba-"

"I'm going to go get some food from the fresh-kill pile," Hollypaw said suddenly. She left the Apprentice Den, leaving 3 confused cats behind.

Hollypaw did not want to talk about Foxkit. It would make her sadder than she even was now.

Hollypaw got the the prey pile, but did not eat anything from it. Instead she sat there, staring at a dead mouse. She felt sick. If she had went and gotten Mousestripe, Foxkit would still be alive. It was all Hollypaw's fault.

Hollypaw sighed in lament and put her tail around her paws. She didn't feel like even walking.

Just then, a she-cat walked up to Hollypaw. It was Cherrytail, and she was smiling, if not looking grim.

"Hello Hollypaw," she told the apprentice. "I've come to take you to your first training."

"Does it have to be now?" whined Hollypaw. She flattened her ears backwards.

Cherrytail swished her tail. "Yes, Hollypaw. Look, I get you are upset about Foxkit. We all are! But that doesn't make you unable to train."

Hollypaw sighed and slowly stood up. Behind Cherrytail, she saw Mousestripe, Icetail, and Lionstone. They were leading Fernpaw, Acornpaw, and Hailpaw.

"Hi Hollypaw!" greeted Fernpaw, her eyes wide and bright. "Today we are 

going to show you around territory! Since it's your first day as an apprentice you know," she added quickly.

"Yes," agreed Hailpaw, slowly. Acornpaw said nothing. In fact, Hollypaw noticed she seemed quite sad.

Most likely because of.. of Foxkit... Hollypaw thought.

'Well, let's go," Cherrytail said. She lead the apprentices and mentors away from the fresh-kill pile and out of camp.

"Alright Hollypaw," Cherrytail said. "So, we won't be doing any actual training today seeing as it's your first day, we'll just take a little tour around territory and show you around."

"Alright," mumbled Hollypaw. She felt sad. If Foxkit was still alive then Hollypaw would be getting a tour around camp with her sister. But no.

She sighed and looked up at Cherrytail. 

Then Icetail spoke. "Hollypaw," he said. "Today we are going to be

showing you Fourtrees, a little bit of Snakerocks, some of the Twoleg place, and the Thunderpath.

"What's Fourtrees?" Hollypaw heard herself ask.

Mousestripe smiled. "You'll see. But in short version, it's where all the clans meet for gatherings," she told Hollypaw.

"Oh, alright."

The cats set off into the forest. Hollypaw was greeted by the sounds of chirping birds, smells of moss and cedar, and the crunch of the leaves beneath her paws.

"It's great, isn't it?" grinned Hailpaw, dashing into a pile of orange leaves. Leaves flew all over Fernpaw and Acornpaw and they laughed. Well, only Fernpaw laughed. Acornpaw just flattened her ears.

"Acornpaw? Are- are you alright?" asked Hollypaw. What a stupid question, she thought. Of course she's not alright.

Acornpaw smiled. "I'm fine," she said, and then twitched her tail.

That was obviously a fake smile, Hollypaw thought, looking over at Acornpaw. She's upset about Foxkit. Well, almost everyone is. They're just trying to hide it so they can have a normal day. Well, I guess I'll try to hide it too, but that won't change the fact that I'll still be upset about Foxkit.

Suddenly, she felt someone prod her on the shoulder. She looked up and saw Icetail standing over her. "Hollypaw? Are you paying attention?" he asked sternly.

Embarrassed, Hollypaw shook her head.

The warrior sighed. "Well, we were just explaining what prey smells like when they're alive or dead."

"Oh, um," stammered Hollypaw. "I'm sorry, could you.. could you repeat what you were going over?"

"Yes, Hollypaw. Now please pay attention. If you want to become a

warrior, you must learn to listen."

"Now," Cherrytail said. "Living prey smells fresher and cleaner than dead prey. It smells rich and fresh. Dead prey smells quite different. It smells like burnt trees and the foul stench of StormClan warriors."

For a minute, Cherrytail glared at the StormClan territory in the distance. Then she shook herself.

"Now, Hollypaw," Mousestripe said. "Sniff the air. Tell us what you smell."

Hollypaw hesitated. Weren't they supposed to be giving her a tour around territory?

"Come on Hollypaw!" Acornpaw said. "Sniff the air! We had to do it too!"

Hollypaw twitched her tail. She stretched her head into the air and took a sniff.

The smells of rich fur and freshness filled her lungs. She took another sniff, wanting to smell that sweet scent forever and ever more.

"What do you smell, Hollypaw?" questioned Cherrytail.

"Fresh skin and something really rich," answered Hollypaw. She sniffed the air again.

Cherrytail smiled. "Good! That's living prey that you're smelling. Can you try to figure out what animal it is?"

Hollypaw took a deep sniff. "It sort of smells like the mice from the fresh-kill pile," she said.

Hailpaw twitched his ears. "That means that there are mice nearby! Good job Hollypaw," he said.

"Thanks," said Hollypaw shyly. She felt good, but then and image of Foxkit swept through her mind and the happy feeling disappeared.

"Now," Cherrytail said. "Let's give you a tour of FireClan territory!"

The cats walked into the clearing.

Chapter Eight-

"Let's start with Fourtrees," Lionstone suggested.

"Alright, let's go let's go!" shouted Fernpaw. She bounded across the clearing, Hailpaw and Acornpaw following.

Icetail laughed. "Well, I guess you guys are the leader and we're the followers. But I'd better walk up front with you guys in case something.... happens. We are close to StormClan territory.."

Hollypaw knew he was thinking about Foxkit.

The warrior padded up front to join the 3 eager apprentices.

Soon, they got to Fourtrees. Hollypaw was shocked. Four massive trees surrounded one huge rock.

Cherrytail smiled. "This is where the 3 clans meet," she said. "The huge rock you see is where the three leaders sit when the Gatherings happen."

"Cool," Hollypaw said. She was watching Acornpaw climb clumsily up the rock and Mousestripe telling her to come down.

"Well, I suppose you would like to see Snakerocks?" asked Cherrytail.

"Oh, um, sure?" Hollypaw said uncertainly. "The snakes won't.. you know.. they won't- bite us, will they?"

"No. They only bite if you stray too close to their dens. Just stay with a mentor, you'll be fine."

"Alright then," said Hollypaw.

Soon, the cats had set off again, this time towards Snakerocks.

"Now, Hollypaw," Mousestripe said. "Sniff the air. I want you to tell me if you smell anything strange."

"Why?" Hollypaw cocked her head.

"Just to test you.." Mousestripe said slowly.

Hollypaw was beginning to think Mousestripe was hiding something from

her.

"Sure," she said, and sniffed the air. Damp scents filled her nostrils as she smelled the air. She could smell moss, rich and alive rabbits, and... and something unfamiliar.

She stopped in her tracks.

In front of her, the mentors and apprentices were still padding through the forest, but to her side, Mousestripe was staring after them.

"Cherrytail! Lionstone! Icetail! Apprentices!" she meowed. "Come here for a second."

The cats came dashing back. "What's the matter?" Hailpaw asked, his ears bent. "Is Hollypaw alright?"

"Yes, she's fine," said Mousestripe. "But I just thought you would might like to hear what she smelled?"

The cats stared at Mousestripe like she had just said StarClan was fake,

but all the same, Icetail smiled and asked Hollypaw what she had smelled.

"Well," Hollypaw said slowly, choosing her words carefully. "I smelled lots of moss, and a couple of rabbits. But I also smelled something strange."

A look of concern flashed across the cat's faces. "What?" demanded Lionstone, shocked. "What did you smell?"

"It sort of smelled like a cat," Hollypaw told the mentors. "It smelled kind of wet and stormy, and the scent was really clear."

The cats looked at eachother in horror. Even the apprentices looked concerned.

"This can only mean one thing," Cherrytail said, her voice shaking.

"There is a StormClan cat in FireClan territory."

Chapter Nine-

The next thing Hollypaw knew, the apprentices, Cherrytail, and Mousestripe were sprinting back to the camp. Lionstone and Icetail had stayed behind in case they spotted the cat.

They reached the entrance to FireClan camp. The cats slowed down to catch their breaths. Beside her, Fernpaw was crashed down onto the floor, breathing hard. Hailpaw had a pained look on his face as if he was about to crash down, but didn't want to do it. Acornpaw was panting, her tail bristled and held high.

Hollypaw sniffed the air again, and smelled the StormClan scent. It was even clearer that it was at Fourtrees. "Um," she said to the two warriors. "The StormClan cat scent is even clearer that it was before. I think- I think the cat is somewhere near camp!"

"Really?" Hailpaw said. "But.. but how come we smelled it so good at Four

trees?"

"Probably because the cat was trying to mark FireClan territory so StormClan could steal our land," Mousestripe said. She looked scared.

"Well, if the StormClan cat is near camp, shouldn't we go to another place in terriotr-YYYAAAAAHH!!!"

Fernpaw was interrupted in her statement by a flurry of red fur slamming into her. She was knocked down onto the ground, gasping for breath.

"QUICK!" screamed Mousestripe. "SOMEONE GET HELP!"

Hailpaw turned to run into the camp, but the StormClan cat jumped on top of him, throwing him back to the ground.

The she-cat slowly turned around to face Hollypaw, and when Hollypaw saw her face, she felt anger and rage boiling up inside of her. Her ears flattened backwards, her tail grew stiff, and her fur bristled.

"Redstream!" she hissed. "You killed my sister! You killed her! I'll kill you!"

Hollypaw sprinted towards Redstream, blinded by rage. She jumped on top of the hissing she-cat and bit and scratched her fur as hard as she knew how. She heard Cherrytail and Mousestripe yelling at her to stop, but Hollypaw did not care. All she cared about was to tear Redstream's body apart, making her feel the pain that Hollypaw felt when Foxkit died.

"Get off of me, you slimeball!" yowled Redstream, and she threw Hollypaw off her back.

Mousestripe ran into FireClan camp, shouting, "HELP! STORMCLAN CAT IN FIRECLAN TERRITORY! HELP! SOMEONE HELP!!"

Redstream spat at Mousestripe. "Coward," she muttered. 

And then Duskclaw ran out of the camp, followed by Mousestripe. "REDSTREAM!" he roared, and then tackled her to the ground.

Hollypaw started to get up to help the deputy, but then Hailpaw pushed her backwards. "No!" he said. "You'll just get hurt, and that would be no

help at all!"

"SHE HURT FOXKIT!" yelled Hollypaw.

Hailpaw took a step backwards. "I know!" he said, looking desperate. "But that doesn't mean you have to hurt her! Let the warriors handle it."

"Yes it does!" growled Hollypaw. "I want to help Duskclaw kill the cat that killed my sister!"

Cherrytail ran over to Hollypaw. "Calm down Hollypaw! Let Duskclaw handle-"

Her sentance was cut off as Redstream crashed into her. Cherrytail hissed and scratched her ear, and then threw her back to Duskclaw, who was spitting fur out of his mouth.

Just then, Hollypaw saw Icetail and Lionstone running towards the battle.

"GET OUT OF THE WAY!" the white tom yelled, and then they barreled  into Redstream, their claws unsheathed.

After that, there was a hissing, spitting, yowling fury of fur. Even Cherrytail and Mousestripe had joined the fight. Fernpaw and Acornpaw jumped out of the way as Redstream came running past them, her teeth bared.

Suddenly, the red StormClan cat banged into Hailpaw. She bit his fur and scratched his belly.

"HAILPAW!" screeched Acornpaw. She tried to run over to him, but Fernpaw held her back. "No! It's too dangerous!" she told Acornpaw.

"Don't worry Hailpaw, I'm coming!" Icetail meowed. He ran towards Redstream, who's claws were drenched with blood. Hailpaw was screaming in pain, his entire belly was a mess of blood and shredded skin.

Acornpaw was sobbing into her paws, Fernpaw was staring at Redstream with a deep look of loathing on her face, and Hollypaw was getting VERY worried. Please don't kill Hailpaw! Don't kill anyone else in the clan; I can't bear it! she thought.

Icetail leapt on top of Redstream, slicing her fur up. She yowled and tried to kick him off, but he stayed on her back.

Suddenly, something awful happened.

Redstream kicked Icetail off of her back. He crashed to the floor, the wind knocked out of him, his tail bleeding.

And then the she-cat approached Fernpaw.

''Get away from her!" screamed Lionstone. His fur had gone rigid.

Redstream laughed. "No," she sneered. "I don't think I will."

And then she bit down hard on Fernpaw's head. Blood dripped down from the warrior's teeth, and Fernpaw was screaming in agony. "Stop it!" she pleaded. "Leave FireClan alone! Leave- leave ME alone!!"

Redstream laughed and threw Fernpaw into the rocks surrounding the entrance to the clan camp. The apprentice let out a soft, "oh!" of surprise as

her head hit the rocks. She crashed to the ground, not moving nor breathing.

"FERNPAW!" screamed Acornpaw. She ran over to the she-cat, tears welling up in her eyes.

Redstream laughed. It sent shivers down Hollypaw's spine.

"My work here is done!" she meowed, and then she ran towards StormClan territory.

"SOMEONE GET ECHOSONG!" Mousestripe yowled, and Cherrytail dashed into FireClan camp.

Hailpaw's breathing was turning into short little gasps.

Then, a dark pelted she-cat ran into the clearing. She was carrying herbs in her mouth, and her eyes widened when she saw Hailpaw. She dabbed a light green wet leaf at his belly, her eyes frantically moving.

"Echosong, come here!" sobbed Acornpaw. "Help Fernpaw!"

Echosong glanced over at Fernpaw's body and a look of horror came onto her face. She made to get up, but fell back down, still dabbing at Hailpaw's wounds.

"Well?" demanded Acornpaw. "Get up! Please help her!"

"I'm sorry," Echosong quietly said. "I can do nothing for her. She-" her voice cracked. "She's dead."
Acornpaw wailed and buried her face in Fernpaw's blood-soaked fur.

The warriors, including Duskclaw, dipped their heads and squeezed their eyes shut.

Hailpaw said, "No... F-Fe-Fernp-p-paw.."

And Hollypaw felt tears slide down her face.

I will kill Redstream, she thought, anger sliding around inside of her. I will hunt her down, and make her pay for what she did to FireClan. I will make every cat in StormClan pay for what they did to us!

The clearing was quiet, except for Acornpaw's muffled sobbing.

Chapter Ten-

"Come on."

"No."

"Come on, we have to get back to camp.

"No! I'm not leaving her!"

Mousestripe was trying to convince Acornpaw to leave Fernpaw's dead body, but the feisty apprentice was refusing.

Echosong had taken Hailpaw back into camp so she could watch over him in the medicine den. Cherrytail, Icetail, Duskclaw, and Lionstone had walked back into the camp to tell Honeystar what had happened with the apprentices and Redstream.

Hollypaw walked over to Acornpaw, who had her paws set fiercely on Fernpaw's body.

"Acornpaw, you have to leave Fernpaw. She's dead! Do you really want to

waste your time staying with a dead cat? Come on Acornpaw!"

Acornpaw jumped up in a flurry of fur. "No!" she screeched at Hollypaw. "Out of all cats, I thought you would be the most understanding! Having your sister die when you were a kit.. you spent as much time with her as I am with Fernpaw!"

And with that, Acornpaw flounced down next to Fernpaw's body and started sobbing her eyes out.

Mousestripe glanced helplessly at Hollypaw. "Hollypaw," she said, "Um, thank you for trying to help, but maybe you should go back to camp."

"Fine," Hollypaw huffed. She turned and padded back into FireClan camp.

When she entered, she was greeted by a panic of cats. Honeystar was on top of the High Rock, her shoulders hunched over. Tears were splashing down onto the rock. The warriors were talking to Duskclaw, who had a 

pained expression on his face.

Berryclaw bounded up to Hollypaw, licking her on the forehead. "Oh Hollypaw!" she exclaimed. "I'm so glad you're safe! Redstream could have killed you!"

"She did kill Fernpaw and you aren't overreacting all over her body," muttered Hollypaw, but Berryclaw didn't seem to hear her.

    A few minutes later, all the cats were gathered under the High Rock. Their faces were grim. Honeystar was still half-crying.

"Cats of FireClan," she choked out. "Today, Fernpaw was- was k-killed in a fight with Red- with R- with Redstream. This is a huge loss to the clan, as Fernpaw was... was an excellent apprentice. May StarClan care to her well."

Duskclaw was trying to show no emotion on his face, but Hollypaw noticed a single tear drip down onto the High Rock.

"We have buried Fernpaw's body just outside of camp," the mourning deputy said to the clan. "Let's have... let's have a moment of silence for our lost clanmate."

The cats fell silent. Hollypaw could hear Acornpaw crying into her paws. Lionstone was sitting next to Mousestripe with a lost expression on his face, as if he couldn't do anything else anymore.

After the gathering, Hollypaw was told by Cherrytail to stay in the apprentice den while all the other cats mourned.

"Why can't we stay out and mourn as well?" an angry Acornpaw said to Cherrytail.

"It's not safe," the she-cat sighed. "We can't afford to lose anymore cats today."

Acornpaw looked so mad Hollypaw though she might explode. She let out

an angry hiss and stormed off to her bed of moss. She flounced down, covering her head with her tail.

Cherrytail sighed in lament and left the apprentice den.

 Hailpaw was in the medicine den for the night, but Hollypaw kind of figured that if he was in here, he would be shaking with grief.

She sank to the floor, closing her eyes.

Even though she hadn't known Fernpaw all that well, she felt a sadness welling up from somewhere deep inside her.

Half of that sadness was for Fernpaw.

But the rest of it was for Foxkit.

Chapter Eleven-

Hollypaw woke up to find that no one else was in the apprentice den. She stretched and yawned, then slowly padded out of the den.

Morning mist danced lazily over the ground of FireClan camp. Dew sprinkled itself on the leaves.

Wow, though Hollypaw. What a beautiful morning. It's so ironic, though, because Fernpaw died yesterday. I guess StarClan is trying to make up for it.

Well guess what StarClan? Hollypaw angrily thought at the sky. Nothing can make up for what happened to Fernpaw and Foxkit.

Sighing, she made her way over to the fresh-kill pile. She picked up a sparrow and started in on her breakfast.

Just then, Acornpaw walked up beside Hollypaw. She picked up a rabbit

and ripped into her breakfast so fast, Hollypaw thought that she would accidentally eat some of the ground.

Acornpaw finished extremely fast, and then, licking her paws, she stood up and padded away without a single word to Hollypaw.

"Don't take it to personally," said a voice behind her, and Hollypaw was startled to see Lionstone.

"She's been treating everyone like that. She's probably just still grieving for Fernpaw," the tom said, then grimaced.

"I am too, for that matter," he said sadly, then walked away.

Hollypaw felt lost. She walked over to the warrior den, debating whether or not to visit her mother. No, she decided, then walked over to the leader's den.

"Honeystar..?" she called out softly. No answer.

"Honeystar?" she tried again.

"She won't answer you," said a deep voice.

Hollypaw screeched in surprise and whirled around, to find Duskclaw standing directly behind her.

The tom gave a faint smile. "You need to practice your apprentice skills, young one," he told Hollypaw. "You should have been able to smell me before you heard me."

Hollypaw wanted to say, "Well, it's been a little hard to train ever since Fernpaw died just yesterday," but she held the nasty remark back. Instead, she said, "Well, where is Honeystar? Duskclaw," she added quickly.

"She's out," the deputy said simply.

"Out where?"

"Out having an angry discussion with Falconstar," he responded.

"Oh," Hollypaw said.

"What, did you have something you wanted to ask her?" Duskclaw asked.

Hollypaw took a breath. "Actually yes. I was wondering if I could go out to hunt..?"

Duskclaw sighed. "With all that's been happening around territory? I don't think I should let you.."

Hollypaw's heart sank. "But the fresh-kill pile is getting low!" she tried. "And it's no use keeping everyone 'safe' if we all are going to starve to death."

"You're right," Duskclaw said. "Just be extremely careful. Don't leave the boundaries of territory!"
Hollypaw nodded and left the camp.

She padded through the woods, nervously turning her head in all directions. She thought she heard someone sneaking through the trees, but it just turned out to be a chipmunk.

Hollypaw crouched down low in the grass, hoping to smell or hear something. She sniffed, and smelled a scent like a mouse.

Sure enough, a mouse was cleaning itself a few fox-lengths away from her.

Hollypaw waved her tail, getting ready to pounce, when all of a sudden, a tan bundle of fur burst out of the shadows and bit down hard on the mouse's neck.

"Hey!" Hollypaw exclaimed, surprised. "Who are you?"

The cat straitened up. "Oh, um!" she squeaked.

Hollypaw noticed she was about as big as she was. She must be an apprentice, she thought.

"Um, I'm Peachpaw," the cat said.

"From StormClan?!" Hollypaw said in disbelief.  "What are you doing in FireClan territory?!"

"I was told by Falconstar to go out and hunt wherever!" Peachpaw meowed.

"Did you know that it's your stupid Clan's fault that 2 cats of FireClan are dead?!" Hollypaw screeched in anger. "Get out of FireClan territory! We don't want your Clan's foul stench filling up our territory. Just get out!"

"But, I can't!" protested Peachpaw. "Falconstar just said for me to hunt on your territory! He said-"

"I don't care what your stupid leader said, and if you want to see another day, then you'd better GET OUT of FireClan territory," Hollypaw said darkly.

Peachpaw gave a frightened shriek, then ran out of the forest, her ears flattened back.

Hollypaw was startled by her fierceness. I didn't know I could be that mean, she thought.

She shook the thought away and continued her hunting.

When she returned to FireClan camp, it was sun-high. She stopped to look around, then noticed Cherrytail coming towards her.

"Hey Hollypaw," she greeted, sounding sad. "Let's go out into the forest. It's hunting time, and I might was well show you how to hunt."

"I already know how to," mumbled Hollypaw, but all the same, she followed Cherrytail out of camp.

They walked into the forest. Chirps and chitters filled Hollypaw's ears. They passed the area where Peachpaw had ran out of territory. Hollypaw grimaced.

Cherrytail stopped, sniffing the air. "I smell... StormClan," she hissed softly. "Can you smell it, Hollypaw?"

"Yes," she sighed. "I was out hunting a few hours ago, and found 

Peachpaw hunting somewhere around here."

Cherrytail frowned. "We really need to do something about that infernal clan," she growled, her ears twitching.

She took a deep breath. "Well, we might as well start!" she said in a false bright voice.

Hollypaw sighed. She already knew how to hunt and didn't want to be here at all.

Might as well freshen up on your skills, said a small voice in the back of her head.

Hollypaw returned to camp, exhausted. Cherrytail had insisted on, not only hunting, but teaching Hollypaw how to climb trees, how to blend in with the grass, and gave her a tour around the Thunderpath.

Hollypaw was breathing hard. Her strongest wish right now was to

fall down into her bed and never get up.

She stumbled into the apprentice den. Acornpaw was still sleeping, snoring noisily in the corner.

Lazy cat, Hollypaw thought bitterly. Sleeping in her off of her grief all day while I had to do all the work. 

She threw herself down into bed and fell asleep before her eyes even closed.

Chapter Twelve-

"Hollypaw..?"

Hollypaw opened her tired eyes. Through her bleary vision, she saw Berryclaw leaning over her.

"Mmff... mom?" groaned Hollypaw.

"Hollypaw, wake up! Battle training started 5 minutes ago... Cherrytail is wondering where you are!" Berryclaw exclaimed.

Hollypaw groaned again. Battle training? After all she went through yesterday?!

"I'll be right there. Thanks, mom," she reluctantly said. Hollypaw stood up, still feeling very tired.

She stumbled out of the den, making her way towards out of camp.

"Oh, Hollypaw! There you are!" greeted Icetail. "We were wondering

where you got to."

Acornpaw was sitting on the floor, staring at her paws. Hailpaw wasn't even there.

"Is Hailpaw still in the Medicine Den?" asked Hollypaw.

"Yes," sighed Mousestripe. "He's getting better though. Echosong reckons he'll be in there another day or two. Redstream really beat him up."

"Oh, I am going to kill that cat!" exclaimed Cherrytail. "I hope Honeystar knocks some sense into Falconstar. Literally!"

"Yes, well. Be that as it may, we have to focus on battle training," meowed Lionstone.

Cherrytail took a deep breath. "Hollypaw, we're going to start with the basics. We're going to teach you what to do if an enemy has you in their grasp, how to kick and use your claws, and all the weak points on a cat's body. Acornpaw, I know you already went over this with Icetail, but it 

wouldn't hurt to freshen up on your skills."

"I bet," Acornpaw muttered.

After a while, Hollypaw knew how to roll out from under an enemy cat, batting at their head with her paw, the weak points on a cat's body (tail, neck, stomach, ears,) and how to bite and then dart back and then claw and then dart back. She also knew how to, when on the floor in an enemy's hold, to kick their belly and scramble away.

"I think you've got it, Hollypaw!" said Cherrytail after Hollypaw rolled away from her again. 

"How about we put you in a practice battle with Acornpaw?" suggested Mousestripe.

"Excellent idea," Icetail commented.

Cherrytail moved Hollypaw and Acornpaw into a large clearing. The floor

was dotted with crunchy, old, orange leaves.

"Hollypaw," she said. "You use everything you've learned to have a battle with Acornpaw. We'll step in if we think it's necessary. Remember, it's not a real battle, so don't actually try to kill her."

Lionstone laughed.

"Alright. Whenever you're ready!" Cherrytail finished.

Acornpaw shot forward at Hollypaw. She was swishing her tail around, trying to confuse her.

Not this time! thought Hollypaw. She dived out of the way and jumped on Acornpaw's back. She batted at her ears so they flopped down into her eyes, obscuring her vision.

Acornpaw shrieked and flipped over, slamming Hollypaw onto the floor. She bit down onto her tail.

Hollypaw let out a loud, "MEOW!" and pawed Acornpaw's head. Then, she

kicked her belly, sending her spiraling into a pile of leaves.

Hollypaw was about to run at her, but Mousestripe jumped in.

"Great job Hollypaw!" she said. "Acornpaw, you did good as well! I think you two will be excellent warriors!"

"Good job Hollypaw," Acornpaw said, spitting out a leaf.

"You too," she replied, and the two apprentices smiled at eachother.

Hollypaw returned to camp, feeling a little bit better. She even decided to go visit Hailpaw.

The Medicine Den wasn't too full. Only Silverkit and Robinwing lay in a corner.

"Hello Hollypaw," smiled Echosong. Hailpaw glanced wearily up. He gave a faint smile. "Hey," he whispered. Then he closed his eyes.

"He's getting better," Echosong said. She crushed a bit of clover and put 

the pieces on Hailpaw's wounds. "And Silverkit and Robinwing are going to be up and running again in a day. They just got a cold."

Hollypaw walked over to Hailpaw. "Do you feel better?" she quietly asked.

He opened his eyes. "Yeah," Hailpaw said hoarsely. "It still hurts all over, though. At least I'm not dead."

Then he frowned. "Speaking of which, is Acornpaw ok? Fernpaw was her best friend."

"She's still really sad about Fernpaw," Hollypaw replied. "But she's doing way better. I think."

Hailpaw gave a short laugh, then grimaced. "I think I'd better get some rest," he told Echosong and Hollypaw.

"Of course," the she-cat replied. Then she turned to Hollypaw. "Thank you for visiting him."

Hollypaw nodded, then padded out of the den.

She walked over to the Leader's Den. "Honeystar?" she called out.

The she-cat emerged from the den. "Hollypaw!" she exclaimed. "Can I help you with anything?"

"Not really," she replied. "I was just wondering if you're doing ok?"

Honeystar sighed. "Yes and no. A Gathering is coming up, so I'm hoping I can knock some sense into Falconstar there in front of all the different clan cats."

Hollypaw held in a giggle. Cherrytail had said something almost exactly like that not too long ago.

"And it's been awhile since I last met up with MossClan, so that would do us some good," she said.

"Oh, I wanted to tell you that Peachpaw was hunting in out territory. She said Falconstar ordered her to," Hollypaw told her leader.

Honeystar let out a soft hiss. "I cannot believe Falconstar is doing this!

Does he even care about keeping the balance between the clans?!"

"I guess not," sighed Hollypaw.

Honeystar dipped her head. "Well, thank you for checking in on me, Hollypaw," she meowed.

Hollypaw nodded. She turned to pad away.

But then, Honeystar called out, "Hollypaw?"

She turned.

The leader smiled. "You're doing very good things for this clan. You're going to be a wonderful warrior someday."

"Thanks," Hollypaw said, and she truly meant it.

Chapter Thirteen- (Three moons later)

3 moons had passed since Foxkit and Fernpaw had died. Hollypaw was still an apprentice, still young, and still sometimes very said because her sister and fellow apprentice had died, but didn't think about it as much. Still, sometimes, the guilt dropped onto her head like a heavy tree branch. Hailpaw was a strong apprentice, and Acornpaw was as fidgety as ever. They made a good team though.

Hollypaw had been training every day. Hunting, battling, scent work, or even tree climbing, Cherrytail sure knew how to train a cat!

Hollypaw woke up that morning in the apprentice den. She yawned and turned onto her side to scratch her ear. She sat up and padded out of the den.

The fresh-kill pile was stocked, nearly up to capacity! Hollypaw picked up a mouse and started in on her breakfast.

Acornpaw and Hailpaw walked up to her side. Hailpaw chose a sparrow, and Acornpaw bit into a vole.

"Ghmfood mforgin Holepew. How dphid yshew sfgeephl?" Hailpaw said through a mouthful of feathers.

His mouth was so full, Hollypaw thought it was quite an achievement for him to make any noise at all.

"What?!" Acornpaw exclaimed, laughing.

Hailpaw chewed and swallowed. "What I mean was," he said, laughing as well. "Good morning Hollypaw. How did you sleep?"

"Pretty good," she responded. "I had a weird dream. It was about Honeystar wanting to eat Icetail, and then Lichenpaw and Lilystripe from StormClan came bounding in, yelling about how only a fool would be

apprentices with Glistenflowerpaw. I mean, who even is Glistenflowerpaw?! And then, get this, Duskclaw flew in from the sky. He had two big fat bat wings on the back of his back, and he was shouting about Clan rebellion and not to eat Robinwing. What was that all about?!"

Acornpaw was laughing so hard she could barely speak. Hailpaw collapsed onto the floor, weak from laughter.

They were laughing so hard, they didn't even hear it when Honeystar called a Clan meeting!

The apprentices finally noticed it when Lionstone cleared his throat at them. Duskclaw was looking over at them. Hollypaw was relieved to see that he had not sprouted bat wings.

Honeystar cleared her throat. "Cats of FireClan," she started. "It has been a fortunate Newleaf, and I feel it is time to announce the arrival of new warriors to the clan. Acornpaw, Hollypaw, and Hailpaw, would you please

come forward?"

Hollypaw froze, shock speeding through her body at the speed of a squirrel running away from Falconstar. This couldn't be happening. It couldn't! Slowly, she made her way to the front of the clan. Acornpaw stumbled to her left, and Hailpaw sat down to her right, his eyes as big as bowls.

"These three apprentices have been blessings to the Clan. They have trained hard and have grown into strong cats. I think StarClan will accept my decision into making them into warriors," the leader continued. "Acornpaw, Hollypaw, and Hailpaw, do you promise to uphold the warrior code and to protect and defend your clan, even at the cost of your life?"

"I do," whispered Acornpaw.

"Y-Y-Yes!" squeaked Hailpaw.

Honeystar gazed at Hollypaw. The words seemed to have gotten stuck in

Hollypaw's throat. Her, a warrior? This was the biggest step she had ever taken!

"I do!" she choked out.

Honeystar smiled. 'Then, by the powers of StarClan, I give you three your warrior names. Acornpaw, from this moment on, you will be known as Acornfang. Hailpaw, from this moment on, you will be known as Hailfur. And Hollypaw, from this moment on, you will be known as Hollyfern. We welcome you three as full warriors of FireClan."

Honeystar climbed off of the High Rock. She rested her muzzle on Acornpaw's head, Hailpaw's head, and finally, Hollypaw's head.

"Acornfang! Hailfur! Hollyfern! Acornfang! Hailfur! Hollyfern!" chanted the clan. Hollyfern spotted her mother gazing fondly at her from the crowd.

"You three will have to sit a silent vigil for the clan tonight," Honeystar told them. "After that, StarClan will accept you as warriors into FireClan.

"This meeting is dismissed!" she meowed.

Slowly, the crowd of FireClan cats thinned. Hollyfern, Acornfang, and Hailfur sat alone, still in front of the High Rock.

"Well, we're warriors now!" Acornfang finally said. "I'm excited but also a little nervous.."

"Don't worry about it," reassured Hailfur. "You guys got such cool names! I'm stuck with Hailfur... ugh."

"No, no! Your name is great!" Hollyfern exclaimed.

They sat, bickering for a minute about names. Then Hollyfern stretched and said, "I think I'm going to take a break in the warriors den. It's gonna be a long night if we have to stay up!"

"Me too!" exclaimed Acornfang. "I know I just woke up, but I'm still super tired!"

Hailfur laughed. "I'm gonna go talk to my mother. See you later!"

Hollyfern yawned and padded over to the warriors den. Mousestripe and Robinwing were laying down, chatting about what they think would happen during the next Gathering. Mousestripe looked up and gave a nod of welcome to Hollyfern. Robinwing smiled and said, "Congratulations on becoming a warrior, Hollyfern!" and then they resumed talking. 

Hollyfern laid down on a soft piece of moss, and shut her eyes for a short nap.

Hollyfern woke up. The sun was just setting. Acornfang was out of the den already.

Some short nap, Hollyfern thought sarcastically. She got up, stretched, and padded out of the den.

A glorious sunset streaked across the sky. Pink and orange clouds were

dotted in various places in the sky. Hollyfern looked to her right, and could see a sliver of the moon rising.

"Hollyfern!" shouted someone. Hollyfern looked around and saw Hailfur swishing his tail at her. "Come over here! Vigil is about to start!"

Hollyfern raced over. Honeystar stood between Acornfang and Hailfur. She gave a short smile at Hollyfern.

"Now that you are here Hollyfern," she meowed. "We can start the vigil."

She turned to the two other warriors. Hollyfern sat next to Acornfang.

"Hailfur, Acornfang, and Hollyfern," began Honeystar. "You are about to take watch over the camp in a silent vigil, a tradition traced back generations to name new warriors into the clans. You are not to talk, to go to the dens, or to do anything to disrespect the rules of the vigil. You are to sit at the entrance of camp and watch the stars, silently. You can be dismissed when the sun rises."

The leader licked Hailfur and Acornfang's heads. Then, she did the same for Hollyfern.

"Good luck," she said, and with that, Honeystar swiftly ran back into camp.

Hailfur blinked. It was obvious he wanted to say something, but they had a job to do, and he didn't want to fail his first task at being a warrior.

The three warriors walked outside of camp and sat down in a row at the entrance.

The sun had fully set now; Hollyfern could hear the shrieks of night hawks, the squeaks of bats, and the faint buzzing sounds of fireflies. The moon's light danced across the sky, and twinkling silver stars appeared in the black sky.

She looked up at the stars. A comet shot across the moon, and then it was gone.

All night, Hollyfern kept silent. Acornfang kept stifling yawns, and Hailfur occasionally pawed the ground impatiently, but other that that, they sat in front of FireClan camp until dawn.

Chapter Fourteen-

Hollyfern had completed the vigil. Dawn had arisen, and Acornfang, Hailfur, and her had stumbled back into the warriors den for another "short" nap.

Hollyfern felt really, really glad she had completed the vigil and became an official warrior, but she wasn't glad that she was so tired she almost collapsed when the sun rose!

After her nap, she padded out to hunt. The forest was quiet. Hollyfern crouched down low in the grass and pounced on a rabbit. She pushed it beside her in the grass and got ready to pounce again.

When she returned to camp, she had caught 2 rabbits and a mouse. She set them down in the prey pile, turned around, and smacked right into Berryclaw.

"Oh! Sorry, mother!" exclaimed Hollyfern

"Hollyfern- there is nothing to be sorry about," purred her mother. "It's fine that you crashed into me, but you do seem to have a habit of crashing into cats."

Hollyfern laughed. 

Berryclaw picked up a sparrow and chewed on its wing.

"So, you know the Gathering is tonight? Honeystar is getting quite worried- she doesn't know what Falconstar will do."

Hollyfern blinked. "It's tonight?"
Her mother nodded.

"Well, let's hope Falconstar and the rest of StormClan," Hollyfern spit the word StormClan out, "play fair."

"Yes," agreed Berryclaw. "For our clan's sake. And for MossClan as well. I've heard from Thistlestream that they have been having problems with StormClan as well."