My new Warriors stories: The Light Saga!

Warriors: Ragged Flower

This story does not begin with a Warrior, a history, or a mere prophecy to start it all. This story starts with the birth of a kit. Small, frail, and easily breakable like a Twoleg China doll. Do not bend her. Do not break her. Never shake her.
A beast lies within.
The new age of Warriors begins in a forest, far away, but not far at all. Welcome to the Clans.

"Look, look! Green eyes!" a gray tabby tom said, staring into its eyes. "Cream with green eyes, and so small...How about Creamkit? Smallkit? Brightkit?" His blue eyes shone with pride at his mate.
"How about Lightkit?" the cream she-cat replied calmly. "And her older sister Rosekit, the one that looks like you? And the pure gray one Ashkit?"
"Beautiful!" the new father was so happy, his mate suppressed a shiver and a retort. She sighed.
"Grayclaw, calm down." she said.
"Creamfur, lighten up." Grayclaw replied, looking at his kits. Lightkit was just like her mother, and the others like him-only Ashkit didn't have stripes.
"Momma..." Ashkit began.
"Now that Lightkit opened her eyes, can we go outside and play?" Rosekit asked.
"Again?" Creamfur asked. "Fine, but be back before sunset."
The kits bounded outside. Lightkit raced after her faster siblings. They were bigger than she, and faster. And stronger...The elder kits took Lightkit behind the empty apprentices' den.
"Runt." Rosekit complained. "Why does she have to be our sister?"
Ashkit shrugged. He extended his claws. Lightkit stared at them, saying nothing.
"Hey, how would you like to play?" Rosekit said in a sort of mean tone, smiling evilly. Lightkit still was silent.
Ashkit laughed and growled. He swiped at Lightkit.
Everything went dark.

"She's waking, Sunsparkle!" a tom's voice said. Lightkit blinked her eyes open a bit to see a bright orange tom and a younger blue tom standing over her. Her vision was slightly blurred, and the bright sunlight was dimmed...
"Lightkit, are can you hear me?" Sunsparkle asked. "Deeppaw, put some more of the poultice on the wound, and go get Whiskerscar to help me get herbs." The apprentice nodded and did so. After he ran off, Lightkit pressed on the moss to get water, and saw what happened. She had four, big claw marks across her face, from just below her left ear, across her nose, and ending on her right cheek.
"Lightkit, who did this to you?" Sunsparkle asked. Lightkit did not part her mouth. After a while, she saw her father leaving to hunt and mother letting her siblings play outside while she rested in the New-leaf sun. Ashkit ran up to Sunsparkle, Rosekit at his heels. Lightkit backed off to a corner.
"Hi, is she all better?" Rosekit asked.
"Yeah, that stick sure was nasty! And the things coming off it were big too..." Ashkit added. He walked up to Lightkit, and she flinched. She ran behind Sunsparkle.
"Did you do this?" he asked, giving the kits a cold stare.
"N-no." Rosekit squealed, running off to Creamfur. She hid herself behind her mother.
"No way! She's our sister!" Ashkit almost yelled.
Sunsparkle leaned over and pulled a tuft of fur from between his toes. It was Lightkit's. He said nothing and set the fur down. "Tell your parents to come here, then stay in the Nursery."
Ashkit drooped his tail and walked to Creamfur.

"So, will you tell Nightstar?"
"Are you kidding? The kits were playing, they didn't know they'd hit Lightkit with the stick!" Grayclaw exclaimed.
"Then explain to me why I found Lightkit's fur between Ashkit's claws, with blood." Sunsparkle said, showing them the fur.
"No!" Creamfur yelled. "You leave my kits alone, they're kits and will be loyal RiverClan Warriors someday!"
"There's no way! You lie!" Grayclaw hissed.
"Lightkit will be scarred for life, and you blame it on a big stick? I had Deeppaw search the entire territory for a stick of such size, but no kit could carry one close to the size left on her face, let alone a stick covered in blood!"
Creamfur picked up Lightkit by her scruff and stormed out, Grayfur following. Creamfur walked to the Nursery, curled up with her kits and went to sleep after making sure all three were doing the same.

Lightkit woke in the middle of the night. She padded outside and to the medicine cat's den. She walked up to Deeppaw and pawed at him until he woke.
"Wha...What is it, Lightkit?" he asked, yawning and getting up.
Lightkit stroked her throat.
Deeppaw looked at it, made her stretch her mouth wide to look in it. He saw no issue. "Hey, Sunsparkle!" he whispered. He shook the tom and woke him, making him look at the kit.
Lightkit never said a word, nor made a sound.
"Can you talk, Lightkit?" Sunsparkle asked.
Lightkit shook her head "no".
The medicine cat picked her up by the scruff and laid her down in his nest. "Deeppaw, get Nightstar over here at dawn. Get some sleep." He yawned and curled up around the kit.
Lightkit slept like she never had before.

"Sunsparkle, you wished to see me?" the black she-cat, she had white feet, chest, and tail-tip.
"Lightkit was injured by her siblings, and has been unable to speak since birth." Sunsparkle said. "Judging by this, she may not be a good warrior. If she was to prove loyal enough to be Deputy or Leader, she could not. She would be unable to give orders."
Lightkit saw her father coming back from dawn patrol. She drew a line in the soft ground, with a half circle above it, like a sunrise, she thought.
"Lightkit what is that?" Sunsparkle asked. Lightkit pointed her tail at her father.
"He was on the dawn patrol." Nightstar said. "Maybe she could give orders. Kit, draw pictures for dawn, sun-high, and night patrols. Make them for hunting patrols as well.
Lightkit drew a full circle in the ground. Sunhigh. A line with the half circle under it, sunset. She drew a crescent for the night. She drew under each a circle with a triangle on the end.
"What is that?" Nightstar asked.
"A fish." Sunsparkle answered.
Nightstar stared at the drawings carefully. She stared at the kit. What power does she hold? Unable to speak, yet draw? Burdened with a scar a day ago, but so calm. she thought. She walked out, going into her den.
"Lightkit, stay with me until you're apprenticed. I do not wish for your siblings to abuse you." he said. Deeppaw stirred in his nest, sleeping.
"Lightpaw! Ashpaw! Rosepaw!" the cats chanted joyfully. Nightstar just finished the ceremony, and Askpaw joined his mentor, Whiskerscar. The slick, silver tabby she-cat. Rosepaw went to her mentor, the Deputy, Sandpelt. She was a tan-sandy color with blue eyes that gave any disobedient cats a long, cold stare. Lightpaw had seen her do it, and it sent chills down her spine.
Lightpaw, herself, had made Ashpaw jealous. She was Nightstar's apprentice. And, in Ashpaw's eyes, had been shown off to Sandpelt. Both were marveled by Lightpaw's ability to draw orders and such. Both knew it would help her greatly in life.
A special cat huh? A puny kit! I'll show them... Askpaw thought. I'll show them all!

Lightpaw crouched, ready to strike. She did, but she moved a bit too slow and missed the fish. The surrounding fled. She looked at Nightstar, disappointed.
"You'll get it next time. Be faster, and make sure you make no noise." Nightstar encouraged her.
Lightpaw moved and got ready to get a fish. She got one. But another snagged on her claw and splattered her with water.
"Good, good! Okay, now I'll show you to swim. Then we'll eat and start battle training." Nightstar was so pleased with her. Lightkit smiled and followed.

Lightpaw curled up in her nest and fell asleep. It was the night of the Gathering, but Nightstar wanted to wait another moon to announce the new apprentices. She knew Lightpaw might not be safe, considering her brother and sister would have to go as well.
Lightpaw heard a rustle in the den entrance. She looked to see Rosepaw walking up to her and Ashpaw covering the entrance, guarding as if something was coming for them.
Rosepaw growled softly and scratched Lightpaw's pad and opposite shoulder. "Try being taught with that, fox-dung! That's for being Nightstar's apprentice. Tell her we did it, I dare you!" she laughed. The two apprentices went to the other side of the den and laughed themselves to sleep. Lightpaw sniffed out herbs that were in the poultice once she reached the medicine cats' den, leaving light trail of blood.
Deeppaw shot awake and noticed Lightpaw was there, and he smelled blood. "What happened?" He cleaned up the wounds and put herbs on them. Lightpaw led him outside, where they cleaned up the trail that led to her nest. Deeppaw saw her siblings. That was all they needed.
Lightpaw took part of her nest and walked to the leaders' den. Deeppaw realized her intentions and helped her. The blue tom left her once they built her nest by Nighstar's.
Lightpaw laid down, putting her nose close to the leader's nest for comfort and fell asleep.

"What happened to you!?" Nightstar demanded. Lightpaw pawed at her face, along the scars where fur refused to grow.
"Ashpaw and Rosepaw?" she asked. Lightpaw nodded.
Nightstar stormed out of the den and went straight to Creamfur and Grayclaw, sharing tongues. "Do you have any idea what your kits are doing?"
The two stared at their leader, not knowing what was going on.
"Scars where fur refuses to grow, scratching her pad, and shoulder! Ashpaw and Rosepaw are harming her and you do nothing! Talk to your kits when you get back. If you don't, so help me, I will make them kits again for another six moons!" Nightstar yelled. She growled and walked up to Sandpelt. "Setting up patrols?"
The Deputy nodded.
"Let Lightpaw observe, help if she can. She cannot train today. Those siblings of hers hurt her again. Make sure they are on every non-hunting patrol for tomorrow." Nightstar said.
"Yes, Nightstar." Sandpelt replied. "Okay, Lightpaw, I'm setting up patrols for tomorrow. Can you draw those symbols again?" Lightpaw nodded and did so, drawing all of them twice, and a fish under half of them (no nighttime hunting though).
"Okay I want Rosepaw, Ashpaw, Whiskerscar, Fishscale, and Brightwish on the dawn patrol." Sandpelt said. Lightpaw drew a rose, many small dots, a whisker, a fish with scales, and a diamond-like shape under the dawn picture.
"Nightstar said to get your siblings in all of them so..." Lightpaw was already ahead of her, drawing the symbols under the reast of the non-hunting patrols.
"Rosepaw, Ashpaw...myself, Grayclaw, and Silverstripe on the sun-high." Sandpelt said. Lightpaw drew a claw shape, and three stripes underneath her siblings' symbols.
"Then under your sister and brother, Nightstar, Rivereye, and Creamfur for the senset." Lightpaw drew a circle, a wavy line, and a swirl.
"Okay, night..."
They two went on, filling up the patrols. Lightkit was a huge help! I could use her every day so I don't accidentally repeat everyone!

Nightstar padded back to Sandpelt after hunting on her own and gathering a few herbs. Lightpaw was asleep at her paws. "Did she help?"
"Yes, very much! I know who's on patrol when, and all the cats have a different symbol! You're a circle! I'm a circle with dots in it. Creamfur is a swirl, Rivereye is a wavy line like water...it's amazing! And she remembers it all! Watch!" Sandpelt tapped Lightpaw. "Hey, who's on the dawn patrol? I stepped on it...sorry."
Lightpaw sleepily opened her eyes and scraped a rose, dots, a whisker, a fish wish scales, and a diamond-like shape. She curled up again and fell asleep. "Rosepaw, Ashpaw, Whiskerscar, Fishscale, and Brightwish! This apprentice...she's unlike any other! Teach her well and fast enough, and she'll be a Warrior in no time! Deputy even, like me! Possibly a Leader after we both pass or retire!"
Nightstar stared at the young cat. She was so small, still the size of a kit. Four scars across her face, fur not growing, a beautiful, slick cream pelt, green eyes. StarClan must have sent her.
"Let her do it again, let her try on her own. If she does well, I will train her and she will be an early warrior. If not, it was a one time thing and she will wait longer like the others. Tell her to make sure Earthpaw and Reedpaw are in the patrols." Nightstar looked from her to Creamfur and Grayclaw, talking to Rosepaw and Ashpaw. She decided to join in.
"We didn't do it, I swear! Stop blaming us!" Ashpaw said angrily.
"We went to sleep, and last we saw her, we saw her sleeping too!" Rosepaw protested.
"Why not admit the truth?" Nightstar said. "All the evidence points to you."
"How are you so sure?" Creamfur asked, Grayclaw nodding in agreement.
"Today, she helped Sandpelt with setting up patrols. Her memory is extraordinary, she would remember any attacker and their faces." Nightstar said. "Any more nonsense and you will be demoted to kits, and cleaning the elders' den and all the other dens, including mine and Lightpaw's."
"But-" Rosepaw started.
"No 'buts', young apprentice. I have ordered Sandpelt and Lightpaw to place you in every patrol, not hunting, tomorrow. You will not sleep, as I am considering putting you on the next day's dawn patrol. And you will not even eat without my permission, Sandpelt's, or Lightpaw's. Do you understand?" Nighstar said.
"But-" Rosepaw started again.
"Do you!?"
The siblings sighed. "Yes."
"Now, get some rest while Lightpaw and I train. You will need all your strength and more tomorrow." Nightstar said.
"Yes, Nightstar."

Lightpaw raced through camp, blood on the bottom of her paws. She had witnessed something she wished she hadn't. She stepped in blood in the process, and raced to Sandpelt, finishing addressing orders. Lightpaw was panting, wide-eyed and frantic.
"What is it, Lightpaw?" Sandpelt asked.
Lightpaw drew a circle.
"Nightstar?" she asked. "Where...?"
Lightpaw nodded and drew lines through it. She ran through the reeds, leading Sandpelt out of camp and to the river. The Deputy looked in the river: it was blood red.
"Lightpaw, be Sandpelt's Deputy...will you?" whispered the choking voice of a she-cat. She breathed her last breath and laid there, dead.
Sandpelt knew at once: Nightstar was killed. Her last life taken by surprise.
And she knew who did it.

Sandpelt-Now Sandstar-had returned from the Moonstone the day before, wishing to rest before taking on her new duties. She made Whiskerclaw Deputy, thought they both knew it was not meant to be. Almost one moon later, it was time.
"I, Sandstar, leader of RiverClan, call upon my warrior ancestors to look down on this apprentice. He has trained hard to understand the ways of your noble code, and I commend him to you as a warrior in his turn. Lightpaw, do you promise to uphold the warrior and to protect and defend this Clan, even at the cost of your life?" Lightpaw nodded "yes". "Then, by the powers of StarClan, I give you your warrior name. Lightpaw, from this moment you will be known as Lightheart. StarClan honors your wisdom and courage, and we welcome you as a full member of RiverClan." Sandstar laid her head on Lightheart's shoulder, and Lightheart licked the Leader's shoulder. "I say these words before the body of Nightstar, as she has made this choice with her dying breath and will fulfill that wish. Lightheart will be RiverClan's Deputy."
All the cats started chanting Lightheart by her new name. Not one moon ago, she was a small, weak apprentice. Not moments ago, she was made a small, wise Warrior and Deputy.
Ashpaw and Rosepaw growled, Sandstar making them watch the ceremony before going back to their training with Whiskerclaw and Snowfall, the tom being made one of the sibling's new mentors. Which one it was, Lightheart cared not, as long as she knew who to put together on patrols.

Ashpaw pinned Lightheart to the ground. Rosepaw bit her tail until she heard a crack. Lightheart felt like a kit again. "No one to protect you here, on the border! All the patrols aren't for a while yet!" Rosepaw teased.
Ashpaw went to bite at her throat when they all felt a pulsing rising from Lightheart's body. Lightheart's eyes turned blood red and the longer fangs grew larger. Her claws grew and she let out a bloodcurdling roar, fierce as a lion.
"What is she!?" Rosepaw squealed. She ran for it when Lightheart threw Ashpaw against a tree. She looked back. Lightheart bit Ashpaw's neck and was clawing at his belly, blood gushing out all over the ground.
"Help me!" she screamed.
Another loud roar broke the silence of the morning.

To be continued in Warriors: Missing Rivers

Warriors: Missing Rivers

"So let me get this straight," Sandstar said, "Lightheart turned into a miniature lion and savagely killed Ashpaw?"
Rosepaw shook her head, scared and worried she was next.
"S-she was covered in his blood...A-Ashpaw said w-we should try t-to get her a-and she gave us some d-defensive wounds, b-but when Ashpaw went to b-bite her neck, she..." Rosepaw fell silent, shaking and closing her eyes tight.
"Warriors! To me!" Sandstar yelled. The sandy she-cat ran off to find her Deputy. "Deeppaw, take care of Rosepaw!" she called over her shoulder.
"Sandstar, wait!" someone called. A bright orange tom made the Leader stop and turn back. "Deeppaw went to get herbs, said he'd look for Lightheart on his own..."
Sandstar shot out of camp, and the others followed.

"Shush, young one, shush!" Deeppaw said, pinning Lightheart to the ground and shook her a little. Lightheart finally returned to normal, fangs back to their original size, claws shortened and sheathed, and growling stopped.
He let her go and she stared at him, dazed and covered in blood. Deeppaw took her to the river and quickly washed her of blood, and made it look like they were trying to save Ashkit, not kill him. No fur tufts, no bloody claws.
Lightheart stared at him. Why? she seemed to ask.
"I'll explain later." Deeppaw said. The blue tom gave her a sort of loving look, making Lightheart feel nervous and confused.
"Lightheart!" Sandstar yelled, seeing them over Ashpaw's body. "What happened here?"
"Sandstar, Lightheart was trying to save Ashpaw. She didn't see what happened, she was unconscious. It's only a bump, but she woke and was trying to save Ashpaw when I arrived." Deeppaw explained. "She was scared, but I've managed to calm her down."
"And you know this how?" Sandstar asked.
"Putting the pieces together. Lightheart was scared, Ashpaw near death and now dead, and she trying to save him with a small bump on her head." Deeppaw said.
Sandstar's cold expression didn't change. "Go to the prisoners' den, the abandoned one. You will stay there until I get more out of Rosepaw, then I will question you. Whiskerscar, take over Deputy position."

Lightheart laid down. It was moon-high and she couldn't sleep. Deeppaw went to the back of the den, touching Lightheart with his tail for her to follow.
When they settled, Deeppaw began: "I am not Deeppaw."
Lightheart's eyes widened.
"Deeppaw was my younger brother. He went missing, and I took his place. He was found dead, and they thought it was me. I grew slower, and am still growing. That's why I look like an old apprentice or a young warrior..."
Lightheart searched his blue eyes for an answer.
"Lightheart, my true name is Blueshadow, but I will remain Deeppaw for the rest of my days." Deeppaw said. The she-cat just stared in wonder. "I...I am descended from a lion. Once, a lion came from the mountains and had kits with a blue cat. As time went on, my family learned that when our lives are in danger, we turn to the lion in our blood and it saves us. But for every kill, our pelts got bluer. As a warrior, well...Deeppaw and I had killed many before he decided to learn of herbs. A prophecy was handed down to us: A dark swirl of blood will both save and destroy. I hope I live to see such a cat of my blood..."
Lightheart wondered where he was going with this. Surely she was not a relative? Distant, it had to be. Her family was gray and cream...right? She stared at her cream pelt. It was lightly tinted blue.
"Lightheart...Grayclaw is not your father." Deeppaw said. "I am."

Lightheart made a choice. She'd take her father and run as far away as she could. The blood in her veins said "mountains" but the cat in her said "another Clan". She woke to Deeppaw to tell him, but found herself in the presence of Sunsparkle. "I know what happened. Under StarClan, I give you your new name, Deeppool."
Deeppool touched noses with his mentor and went to Lightheart. Lightheart pointed her nose to outside, and in a specific direction. The two cats snuck out of camp, then bolted away in the direction Lightheart suggested. As they were covered by trees, they ran past a patrol and Deeppool led his daughter into the leaders' den. "Woodstar, we need shelter in your Clan. Just for a while."
"What for?"
"There's been a killing in our Clan, and we need to run."
"Did you do it?" Woodstar asked.
"She did, but not intentionally. Something forced her. We'll stay for a day, maybe two or three, then we're gone." Deeppool said. "We only need to divert them in another direction."
"You, what happened?" Woodstar asked.
"She cannot speak, Woodstar, she must draw pictures or let me explain." Deeppool said.
".......Very well."

"I don't like the forest." Deeppool said. "I'm glad we'll be leaving tomorrow." He stretched and laid down in the moss nest in the warriors' den with Lightheart. Lightheart shook her head in agreement. She curled up, looking at the shadows in between the trees. Owlwing, Brownbark, Birdfeather, and Mousepaw came back from the sunset patrol...Lightheart yawned and fell asleep.

Deeppool prodded Lightheart awake. "We must go!" he whispered. "RiverClan cats are here!" He slipped out of the den entrance and behind it, followed closely by Lightheart. They sneaked around the brambles and through the camp entrance. Deeppool ran off, and when they were at Fourtrees, the place of the Gathering, they ran towards WindClan.
Deeppool and Lightheart ran along the border, and found themselves at Highstones. Deeppool led her inside and to the Moonstone. At the end of the dark tunnel, partially lighted by the reflected light off the Moonstone, they laid down to rest.
Lightheart drew a star in the ground and gave him a questioning look.
"Yes, this is the sacred place of StarClan and medicine cats, Moonstone."
Lightheart drew a wavy line.
"Water?"
Lightheart shook her head and cut herself lightly, letting a few drops fall to the rock, then licked it clean and used the blood to draw a wavy line.
"Blood?"
Lightheart shook her head "yes" and pointed to herself.
"Yes, you have the blood of the lion within you. I am your father, and Creamfur was expecting you before she and Grayfur were mates...he thinks you're his still." Deeppool said.
Lightheart sighed. She laid her head on her paws.
"And from now on, I'll hunt. Since your first kill, you will turn more blue as it will be considered a life taken. I am as blue as it gets, so I'm fine." Deeppool said.
Lightheart ignored him and went out to hunt. He followed her, telling her to stop. But she killed a rabbit and a mouse.
Her pelt turned two shades darker, and Deeppool saw her sides turning darker blue than the rest. "Lightheart, eat and we must move on." He flicked his ear.

They turned past Highstones and a Twolegplace came into sight after another day. Lightheart, curious, left Deeppool when he was sleeping and hunted a few mice to eat. She got three and when she licked her pelt clean of dirt, she noticed her fur was almost completely blue, and the darker region was beginning to take shape. It was wavy, with some holes in it.
she shrugged and left the mice with Deeppool. She went back to get more for the trip. Three more mice from an empty, dark part of the Twolegplace. More spots on her pelt, darker blue.
She waited for a monster to pass, and bolted across the Thunderpath. There were so many...
A Twoleg grabbed Lightheart. She squirmed and scratched, clawed at its hairless paws, but it but her in a gray box with cold box-holes on one side. She couldn't get it open.

"Hey, you get that stray?"
"Yeah, Paul, I got 'er."
"This kitty will be sold for a good price, given she'd young and cute." He reached his finger inside, but the cat scratched him. "YEOW!"
"At least she doesn't meow or anything." his friend laughed.

Lightheart stared out of a hole in the side of the boxed trap. She looked out at her travel path, where Deeppool would await her...and not find her.

Lightheart woke up in a different box trap. It was made completely out of the cold, gray stuff with a bunch of holes, except the gray bottom that was full. Reminded her of brambles, only without the thorns. There were cats all around her-above her and below her, she could hear, and she could see a cat to her left and right. To the right were two newborn kittens. Lightheart stared at them. One of them noticed her. It was gray with white mouth, paws, and belly. It walked over to her.
"Momma?" it asked. It was a tom. "Will...will you be my Momma?"
Lightheart nodded "yes".
"We don't have names."
The other one, gray with darker gray stripes and white jaw and belly, walked up to its brother. "Momma's broken." Another tom. A she-cat padded up to them. The kit was a bit fluffier, and a very dark gray with white paws.
"I miss the fire. Kept us warm! Momma said cinders and smoke and ashes were always left for heat for us when the fire left.
Lightheart thought. She pointed to the first tom, then the other, then the she-cat.
"Huh?"
Lightheart scratched dots into the bottom of the trap.
"Cinders and smoke and ashes?"
Lightheart nodded, and pointed again. The one with the white mouth smiled. "I'm Cinder! He's Smoke! And Sister is Ash!"
Lightheart nodded and smiled.
A Twoleg walked by. It saw the cats interacting and took the kits. Lightheart watched how it unlocked the opening. It set the kits in Lightheart's trap. "Momma!" the three squealed and ran up, purring, to Lightheart.
Lightheart laid down and the kits curled up beside her.
"Momma, will you always keep us warm?" Ash asked.
Lightheart nodded, wrapping her tail around the kits to keep them warm and keep them close.
"Momma, I love you." Ash said.
"I love you, Momma." Cinder said.
"Me too, Momma!" Smoke said. Lightheart hushed them and fell asleep just as they did.
I'll protect them with my life, as if they were my own kits. I may have ilk, and I may not considering I'm not a queen, but I'll care for them. Lightheart vowed.

A Twoleg reached into the trap and went for Cinder. Lightheart bolted up and scratched and bit. The Twoleg slammed the opening shut and ran off. Lightheart sighed and looked at the kits. They ate the dry food left for them (and thought it was disgusting). Lightheart pawed at the lock, using her other to try to unlock the opening on her own. She almost got it, but didn't get it.
"Momma, what are you doing?" Smoke asked.
Lightheart looked outside the trap.
"You want to get out, huh? We do too." Smoke said. "But we're too small. The big things-Twolegs I heard once-want to take us home and make us fat and love us."
"Those icky Twolegs are mean!" Ash said, then turned to eat. "And this food...I don't think I can take much more!"
"Yeah..." Cinder said, taking a drink and going up to Lightheart.
Lightheart felt more motivated and tried at the lock again. And again. She heard a click and knew she got it. She jumped to the ground. Not too high. The kits stared at her, and Cinder jumped down. Lightheart made sure he was okay, then got Smoke, then Ash. They ran off, and Lightheart had them hide under a cold thing the Twolegs put things on top of, and when one went out an opening, they followed.
Lightheart kept them dodging, hiding, and running until they were outside and safe in a dark place again. Lightheart found herself on the path again-the one she took to get Deeppool food. She led the kits outside of the Twolegplace, and saw a barn. It began to rain, and when they reached the barn, it was pouring. Lightheart made them a nest of hay and straw and they laid down in it.
Lightheart licked them backwards to warm them up, then let them sleep in peace.

"Momma, wake up! We're hungry!" a small voice mewed.
Lightheart blinked her eyes open. She realized that each day, she smelled more of kits and milk. Three days ago, she escaped what the kits called a "Pet Shop". Stray animals were taken, and given to Twolegs as kittypets or other loyal pets
"Teach us how to hunt, Momma!" the kit Ash repeated. She was eager to learn, always.
"Yeah, Momma! Show us to hunt those big mice so we can hunt when you sleep!" Cinder agreed.
Lightheart stretched and saw Smoke chasing mice around, claws unsheathed, trying to catch one. Lightheart stared at the lines in the ground, marking how old the kits were: two moons. She got up and yawned. She walked over and stopped Smoke. She crouched, and the kits imitated her. Lightheart lowered their tail-ends and moved their paws a bit. She made sure they kept their tails up off the ground. Lightheart crept forward and pounced on a mouse, biting and killing it. The kits each found their own mouse. Ash missed, but her brothers got mice. Lightheart smiled at her adopted daughter and watched her try again. This time, she had a clean kill.
Lightheart ate, and the kits did too. Lightheart went outside the barn and got moss off a damp rock. She let the kits drink and then play with the moss, after they begged her to make it a ball.
She laid down and watched them laugh. She saw something running toward the barn and stood protectively over the kits. The kits stopped dead and stared outside.
A blue cat ran up to Lightheart. "You haven't seen a cream cat around here, have you? She's sort of blue..." he began.
Lightheart purred and smiled.
"L-Lightheart? But you're blue...and..."
Lightheart nodded.
"Kits? B-but...?"
"Momma, who's this?" Ash asked.
"I'm Deeppool, you're mother's father." he said, still confused.
"Momma was in a Twoleg trap next to us, and the Twoleg thought she was our Momma and Momma will take care of us and keep us fed and warm like she promised, huh Momma?" Cinder said proudly.
Lightheart nodded. She purred and let the kits play again. She turned and sat, watching them.
Deeppool backed off, shocked and scared. "L-Lightheart..."
Lightheart gave him a questioning look and looked at her side. The darker patch of blue had finally taken shape-a dark swirl on her sides. Lightheart stared at Deeppool again, remembering the prophecy.
A dark swirl of blood will both save and destroy.

Lightheart made another nest for Deeppool. Her father was still acting strange around her, worried and scared of her. Well, at least he was safe.

Lightheart heard something, and got up. The kits were sleeping soundly. Deeppool was already staring outside. Lightheart joined him. Someone was running towards the barn, and a few fox lengths behind was another cat.
"Lightheart! Deeppool! Run for it!" a she-cat called. "It's Rosepaw!"
Lightheart ran to the kits and woke them up.
"What is it, Momma?" Smoke asked.
Lightheart ran to the ladder, making her kits climb up it, then climbed up herself.
"I'll distract her, Lightheart, you go!" he yelled.
Lightheart nodded and led the kits across a small piece of wood above a bunch of big, fat birds and their babies. Lightheart was careful when she led them to the opening. She grabbed two kits in her jaws and the third wrapped its paws around her neck. She jumped out of the opening and landed on the ground. She leaped up onto an opening, and saw Deeppool and a sandy she-cat fighting off Rosepaw. Lightheart saw Rosepaw pouncing on Deeppool and jumped inside, set the kits down, and tackled her sister.
Unknowingly, she changed again. Longer fangs and claws, red eyes, and swirl grew. As it did, it made Lightheart grow as well. She grew bigger than any cat in the forest, almost the size of a lioness. She went for the kill when Sandstar jumped in the way and Lightheart bit at her. She growled and threw her away. Deeppool was yelling for her to stop, but Lightheart didn't listen she ran outside and roared, staring at the mountains. Deeppool ran to her jumped on her back. He reached up and bit her ear.
Lightheart roared and shrunk again. She felt dizzy, and staggered a bit, staring at Deeppool. Her eyes weren't green. They were a dark amber. Deeppool let Lightheart lean against her and took her back to the kits.
"This is why I told you to go! You're going to become one of them, our ancestors." Deeppool said. "Go to the mountains and stay there with your kits. Don't hurt anybody." He ran over to the Sandstar and saw she was waking up, healed, with only dried blood from the previous wound. She stood up and walked over to Lightheart.
"So you lied. Deeppool is your father and you are a monster. Rosepaw was correct, then?" she said.
Lightheart nodded.
"You're an official exile of RiverClan, then." Sandstar said. "Nightstar was wrong to trust you. May her spirit rest in peace, without you."
Lightheart looked at her paws, then at Cinder, Smoke, and Ash. They ran up to Lightheart, whining and scared.
"Lightheart..." Deeppool began. Rosepaw pounced on him and sunk her claws into his neck.
"Traitor!" she yelled at him. She bit his neck and looked up at her sister. "I've heard stories of this before, Deeppool-or rather, Blueshadow-said they were merely Nursery tales. Only one of the litter changes!"
Lightheart crouched, ready to fight. Rosepaw pounced and Lightheart did too. The two clawed at each other in air, and both hit the ground on their sides with a thud. Lightheart and Rosepaw fought, Lightheart trying not to transform. Rosepaw scratched her little sister on the side, across her swirl, and bit her tail almost at the end until she heard a snap. Lightheart was in pain, and would have yowled had she had a voice to do so with.
"Now I can saw I defeated the monster of the forest!" Rosepaw said, looking at Sandstar. She ran over and sliced her throat, laughing. "And I'll kill Sandstar over and over until I'm leader! I've already killed Whiskerclaw on the way here! I'm now Rosethorn, Leader of RiverClan and soon the whole forest! And we'll make sure you're whole family dies, wealkling! Get some strength for the next time we meet, this wasn't a challenge at all!"
Sandstar blinked her eyes open, but Rosethorn sliced her open again. She did it over and over, and blood covered the wooden floor of the barn. Lightheart took the time to flee with the kits. They ran across the moorland.
"And never come back, scourge of the forest! YOU MONSTER!" Rosethorn yelled.

To be continued in Warriors: Winds of Fire

Warriors: Winds of Fire

"Cinderpaw! Ashpaw! Smokepaw!" the Clan chanted. A fluffier, gray tom with blue eyes was one of the loudest. The three apprentices went up to their mother and purred. "Momma, we'll come visit you." Cinderpaw said.
"Yeah!" Ashpaw said.
Their mother purred.
"Blueflame, go back to the Nursery, I'll get us a rabbit to share." the tom said to the apprentices' mother. She was blue with a dark blue swirl on her side. She had fours scars across her face where it was pink, the fur didn't grow back. There was a scar alone one of her sides and on the opposite shoulder. She sighed and walked back to the Nursery, she being heavy with kits.
"Blueflame, wait." a gray tabby tom said. The tom and his mate walked back to him.
"Yes, Goldenstar?" the tom asked.
"Stormcloud, this is for Blueflame only. About...Clan matters." the leader replied.
Stormcloud nodded and left to hunt on the moorland.
"Lightheart, we owe you thanks. Many of them. WindClan now had three, fast and strong apprentices and more to come." he whispered.
The she-cat nodded, smiling.
"Blueflame, you have not told anyone, I trust?" Goldenstar asked.
Blueflame shook her head.
"Good. Rest well." Goldenstar walked away, and Blueflame went to the Nursery.

"Father!" Cinderpaw called. Stormcloud grabbed a rabbit out of the pile and turned to the apprentice. "Father, I caught a bird! Hawkflight said it could feed all the elders!"
Stormcloud smiled, setting the rabbit down. "Good job. Did your mentor also tell you what bird it was?"
"Yeah, it was a thrush coming out of the forest. But it was a fat one!"
Stormcloud knew it wasn't his kit, but it made him light up. "How did your brother and sister do?"
"They caught hares, and Smokepaw won a race against her own mentor!" Cinderpaw replied.
"Swiftfoot? Really?"
"Yeah! Ashpaw almost won against him, but beat Hollybush." Cinderpaw went on. "They're still hunting. Me and Hawkflight went earlier than they did. How's Momma?"
"Good." Stormcloud said. "I'm just going to eat with her, want to join us?"
"I'll say hi, but Windpaw wanted to eat with me. She's waiting, so I better hurry."

"Hi Momma!" Cinderpaw said. Blueflame purred. "How are you?"
Blueflame nodded as if to say "Good."
"I'm eating with a friend, so I'll see you later, okay?"
Blueflame nodded and purred.
"Bye!" Cinderpaw called back as he ran off.
Stormcloud laughed and set the rabbit down. Blueflame began to eat, and then Stormcloud did.
"So...any name ideas?" Stormcloud asked. He knew Blueflame drew pictures sometimes to make up for her voice.
Blueflame shrugged and kept eating.
"You don't know what to name then until you see them, silly." said a white queen with two kits, one cream and one gray.
"Icechill, Creamkit and Rabbitkit were planned." Stormcloud said.
"They were ideas." Icechill corrected him. "Why don't you go on patrol or something?"
Stormcloud sighed. "I guess so." He said good-bye and went on patrol with a group just leaving.
Blueflame tapped Icechill. She drew vertical, wavy lines.
Icechill got up, making sure her kits were okay, and bolted out. "Willowtree, Blueflame's having her kits!"

"I like Swirlkit!"
"Creamkit, hush, it's Blueflame's choice." Icechill silenced her son.
Blueflame nodded. Ashpaw and her brothers were allowed in the Nursery to "translate" for their mother. They knew her drawing better than anyone.
"Mother likes it! Okay, so the one that looks just like you is Swirlkit. He's cute." Ashpaw purred. There was a fluffy gray she-cat, a slick gray tom and a blue tom. Blueflame thought, and drew a line with a sun above it.
"Dawnkit?" Ashpaw asked. "The tom?"
Blueflame nodded. She drew a feather.
"Featherkit." Askpaw said.
Blueflame drew a curved diamond-shape, and repeated it.
"Erm..." Ashpaw wondered.
"Silverpelt, like the stars." Cinderpaw said.
"Silverkit." Ashpaw said, seeing Blueflame nod. "Swirlkit, Dawnkit, Silverkit, and Featherkit."
Blueflame purred and licked the kits. But she was worried as well. Maybe I'm not the one of the prophecy Deeppool told me. What if it's Swirlkit? she thought.
"I'll go get Stormcloud, I think the patrol just came back." Smokepaw said. He and Cinderpaw were sitting, so he got up and ran out of the den.

Moments later, Stormcloud made his way through his kits. Ashpaw decided to leave, following Cinderpaw to the apprentices' den.
"Their names are Swirlkit, Dawnkit, Featherkit, and Silverkit." Smokepaw said, pointing to each one. He went outside and joined his siblings in sleep.
"They're beautiful." Stormcloud said, laying down by his mate. "Look, Swirlkit even got the mark on your sides."
Blueflame nodded, but thought: That's what I'm afraid of.

Blueflame felt the cold air pierce her fur. It was Leaf-fall, and it was getting colder. she longed to be back with the reeds, fish, and warm water to swim it. But alas, she was exiled. She stepped outside, watching as more warriors went hunting and even less returned with food. A gray tabby cat was walking through the camp entrance, with five others with her. One, she recognized right off by her cream pelt.
Blueflame ran into the apprentices' den and woke her kits. Once they were up, she ran into the Nursery with the newborns. In the ground, she drew a circle and a line. Next to the line, she drew a frog.
"No, we won't run to ShadowClan!" Ashpaw whispered, unwilling to wake Icechill and her kits.
Blueflame drew a circle around her kits and drew an x under them.
"They can't find out?" Ashpaw asked. She looked at the patrol, still approaching. She looked at her mother and nodded.
A white she-cat with jet black paws and tail-tip ran up to them. "Cinderpaw?"
"Windpaw, no time to explain, but we have to leave." he said, picking up Featherkit.
"Then I'm coming with you." the apprentice protested, picking up Dawnkit.
Ashpaw picked up Swirlkit, and Smokepaw with Silverpaw. The apprentices slipped behind the dens, and watched as the patrol was invited into Goldenstar's den.
The apprentices fled, and Ashpaw ran off to find the marshy lands of another Clan. Why can't we just be safe and happy!? she thought.

"Rosestar, you are paranoid, we have no 'Lightheart' here." Goldenstar said. He was trying to get them out.
"Well, even if she's not, my cats will search for her, and I will ask you join us. RiverClan and ThunderClan know the bad deeds committed by my younger sister, and we are planning to attack her once we have her whereabouts." Rosestar said.
"I assure you, she is not here. We know nothing of this sister you speak of." Goldenstar said.
"Creamfur, check the dens! The rest of you-check the territory!" Rosestar commanded. "You must join us, Goldenstar. She killed our elder brother, Sandstar, the Medicine Cat's apprentice, and possibly more! She's got three gray kits with her and is probably planning to build an army, starting by planting evil thoughts in their heads!"
"I do not wish to join you." Goldenstar said.
"What!?"
"I want my cats safe and well-fed. I do not need countless killing to ruin that in Leaf-fall." Goldenstar said. "You are foolish is you plan to chase her in Leaf-bare."
Rosestar said nothing, merely stared into camp. Creamfur ran into the Nursery.

Blueflame froze as Creamfur entered the den. Creamfur stopped dead in front of Blueflame.
"You look just like Deeppool...you're father..." she whispered.
Blueflame nodded, and showed her all her scares, pointing outside.
"I know Rosestar did all this. Sandstar...she came back to camp...she only told me. She told me everything Rosestar did." Creamfur said. "She struggled to breathe, and died. I'll let you go."
Creamfur padded outside, and Blueflame sighed.

"There was no cream cat, besides a tom kit belonging to a queen named Icechill." Creamfur said.
"Blue-did you check for blue!?" Rosestar yelled.
"There was no one of blue fur here, besides Bluesky." Creamfur said, lying. She forced herself to sit and hide her guilt. But it was not to be.
"You lie!" Rosestar said, storming towards the Nursery.
Blueflame padded out of the Nursery and got into a fighting crouch. She stared hard at Rosestar.
"Blueflame, you're nursing kits, go back into the Nursery." a Warrior said, coming out of the warriors' den. Stormcloud. "Blueflame, please, care for our kits."
"Stormcloud, take Blueflame and get in the Nursery if you please."
Blueflame didn't move. She wanted to take on her sister and keep her kits going. She felt her strength returning. More strength than she had ever felt before. StarClan was at her shoulder.
"You can do it, Lightheart." a voice whispered in her ear.
Nightstar?
"You can do it, my dear apprentice. I have never lost faith in you."
Blueflame felt her strength returning and her pelt faded to cream, the dark blue swirl still on her sides. She was a cat she never was before-a new Lightheart. "Rosestar, you will die!"

"And why should we allow you here?" a dark brown tom asked.
"We can help. We're four apprentices and four kits-more warriors for your Clan if we stay!" Ashpaw said, Swirlkit at her feet.
"Well, looks like Rosestar will be happy."
"Rosestar?" Windpaw asked.
"Rosethorn! The cat who tried to kill Mother!" Smokepaw exclaimed. "You've joined her!?"
"Yes, and now we have Lightheart's precious kits. What a good ransom! Eight cats for one puny lioness." the leader laughed. His laugh sent chills down the apprentices' spines.
A bunch of rough warriors put the cats into an old den, three cats guarding the entrance. "Some den! An old tree trunk with a hollow middle!?" Cinderpaw yelled.
"Shut it, fox-dung." the leader said.
"Toadstar, you traitor!" Windpaw yelled. She sighed and knew it was no use. She plopped down on the ground and decided it was best to give up and get used to the smell of mushrooms.
"Hey, how about we give each other Warrior names?" Smokepaw suggested. "To pass time and make us feel stronger?"
"Yeah!" Ashpaw said, excited. She thought for a bit. "How about Smokerise?"
"Or Smokecloud?" Cinderpaw said.
"Smokesky?" Windpaw said.
"I'll be Smokesky!" the new Warrior announced. He sat up real straight and smiled. "StarClan, under your guidance, I give myself the new name, Smokesky."
The cats outside yelled at the annoyance and so the apprentices and kits silently cheered his name.
"How about Ashdust?" Smokesky said.
"Ash is like dust, so it doesn't make much sense." Ashpaw disagreed.
"Ashfall." Cinderpaw said. "That sounds cool. Like after a fire, it falls like snow."
"StarClan, under your guidance, I give myself the new name, Ashfall." the she-cat said soft, but proud. "Ashfall! Ashfall! Ashfall!"
"And I'll try for Windpaw's name. Windvoice!" Ashfall said.
"Sounds nice..." Windpaw said, sort of embarrassed.
"I always liked Windclaw." Cinderpaw said.
Windpaw nodded and spoke the words, finishing with "the new name, Windclaw!" The cats cheered.
"Cinderhead...Cinderfur..." Windpaw suggested.
"'fur and 'pelt are so common, I want something different!" Cinderpaw said.
"Cinderflame." Ashfall said.
"Or Cinderfire?" Smokesky said.
Cinderpaw finished with Cinderflame, and the cats wanted to curl up, but all sat vigil for the night.

The sun was rising and Cinderflame looked at the kits. Swirlkit was breathing heavily for some reason. He looked outside and saw a bit of red. He stuck a paw and his head outside.
Windclaw padded up next to him and saw what he did.
Three cats were covered in blood, and laying dead in a pool of it.

"So, the little birdie can sing now, can she?" Rosestar teased.
Lightheart didn't reply. She pounced on Rosestar and scratched her side. Rosestar pounced on her, but Lightheart clawed at her belly, making her get off. Lightheart faced her sister.
"This birdie is more dangerous than you think." Lightheart said.
"Where is this coming from? You've never spoken a word since birth, even if you wanted to." Rosestar said.
"StarClan is at my side, Rosestar. With them with me, you're a mere kit compared to me!" Lightheart yelled. "That sad little kit I used to be! And so you shall bear the same scar!"
Lightheart charged at her and raked her claws from under Rosestar's left ear, across her nose, and pulled back. Rosestar yowled in pain and scratched the tip of Lightheart's ear off.
Lightheart remembered Deeppool and that it was the only way to stop her if-
Rosestar lunged at her little sister, but Lightheart clawed her face and threw her to the ground. Rosestar pinned Lightheart to the ground. "Memories, huh?" she said.
Lightheart smiled. "Only so much." Her eyes glowed red.
"What!?" Rosestar exclaimed. "How!?"
"I've found my strength, Rosekit." Lightheart said, only another voice was speaking at the same rate as her. "I can do what I'd like, when I'd like. It's as if I've died and returned with more power than before!" Lightheart's fangs and claws grew. Her eyes turned blood red and she was the size of a lion. "Now you will feel the pain I did during the time I lived near you." The doubled, dark voice said. "You will join little brother soon, puny cat! Feel the wrath of a true lion!"


"Who of you did this?"
No one answered. Windclaw was left with the kits while the other warriors were being interrogated for the three mauled cats. "Who!?"
"We did not do anything, Toadstar." Cinderflame said.
"Listen you-"
"Cinderflame!" a she-cat's voice yelled. Windclaw ran up to the cats. "It's Swirlkit. Something's happening." The Warriors ran back to the den and Toadstar followed.
Swirlkit was squirming, feeling angry and uneasy. She grew slowly, and her eyes turned from amber to red. Her claws grew and her fangs did the same. She squealed and cried out for her mother.
"Cinderflame you think..." Windclaw began.
"She has a connection to mother." Ashfall said. "Mother changed again!" She and Smokesky grabbed a bit, and Windclaw took he third. Featherkit was crying out in fear, and Silverkit and Dawnkit were scared and whimpering. Cinderflame knew what had to happen. He grabbed Swirlkit and bolted off to RiverClan territory, his siblings and friend trying to keep up.

Cinderflame ran to see a cream lion with a blue swirl on its side fighting Rosestar. There was blood everywhere. Goldenstar was lying dead, claw marks in his throat.
"You'll pay for killing him!" the lion growled. "He didn't deserve it!"
"Now I rule all four Clans!" Rosestar yelled. "Creamfur, get my allies and bring all the warriors here to fight."
The cream she-cat looked familiar to Cinderflame. He knew it then: It was his mother's mother. Like Deeppool was his mother's father. Cinderflame's jaws couldn't take it. He set Swirlkit down by Rosestar. She grew to the size of a lion cub.
"Sister, kill this traitor!" he yelled. The others went off to the side and watched.
Swirlkit growled and pounced on Rosestar. She bit her throat and ran to the lion. "Momma." she said.
"Swirlkit?" the lion asked.
"Mother!?" Ashfall exclaimed.
"Blueflame!?" Windclaw asked. "L-Lightheart!?"
The lion hesitated, then nodded. "A dark swirl of blood will both save and destroy. That is the prophecy handed down through the ages of my family. My father wished he was alive to see it come true, but alas, he has died. And I am sorry to say, too, that I will not live either."
"What!?" Smokesky exclaimed.
Lightheart continued. "I have used all the strength my body and spirit allows in gaining my voice from StarClan and choosing to take the form of my ancestors to finish the darkness that pierces this world's light. May that light guide your paths." She stepped on Rosestar, taking her last, weak life and shrunk to normal size. "I love you, my kits. Live well..." Lightheart said softly and fell to the ground. She sighed and closed her eyes.
"Mother!" Ashfall cried, running to Lightheart and weeping over her body.
Swirlkit shrunk to normal and curled up at Cinderflame's feet.
Windclaw pressed up against him. "Oh, Cinderflame...I'm so sorry." she said.
Smokesky was sitting over Lightheart's body, moving his mouth in prayer. Ashfall cried out to StarClan in grief.
"So...what happens now?" Windclaw asked.
Cinderflame stood firm, bravely even as he cried inside. "Deeppool, my grandfather, wished for Mother to take us to the mountains. It's to the mountains we'll go." He looked at the grieving cats. "We'll leave after we bury the dead."
"I'm sticking with you till the end, Cinderflame." Windclaw said. "So don't think I'm staying here to be a leader and live a normal life."
Cinderflame smiled. He was starting to like her. Or maybe, he already had.

To be continued in Warriors: Ring of Snow

Warriors: Ring of Snow

"Cinderflame, I'm cold."
"Featherpaw, the sun is setting, then we can rest." the tom replied.
"Do we have to wait?"
"Yes, Dawnpaw." He looked away from him. He was blue with blue eyes, like Deeppool, and Lightheart before she changed.
The young cats were eager to see the lions that they descended from. There were nine of them:
Windclaw, the young, happy-go-lucky white she-cat with jet black paws.
Cinderflame, the eldest of the cats and his siblings and sort of the leader. He was gray with a white mouth, paws, and belly. Adopted by Lightheart as a newborn kit while he was in danger from Twolegs taking him away from his brother and sister.
Smokesky, the next oldest, was a gray tabby tom with white lower jaw and belly. He was the one to take action more than the rest of the cats, but was silent.
Ashfall, the youngest of the adopted kits of Lightheart. She was a very dark gray with white paws, and a bit fluffier than her brothers. She was the smart one, who remembered herbs well and seemed to be just like Lightheart-only she had a voice all her life and couldn't draw nearly as well.
Swirlpaw, the oldest kit biologically related to Lightheart, and one of four in her litter. She's like Ashfall and Lightheart in personality and is cream with a blue swirl on her sides.
Dawnpaw, the second oldest of Lightheart's litter and the oldest son of it. He was blue with blue eyes and calm, silent.
Featherpaw, the youngest daughter of Lightheart. She's fluffy and gray with a soft heart and hardcore in fights
Silverpaw, the youngest son and named after Silverpelt, the wave of stars in the sky. He has a bright silver pelt and was very fun-loving.
Stormcloud, adoptive father of Cinderflame and his siblings, real father to Swirlpaw's litter. No one wanted him to come, but being the late Lightheart's mate, he insisted and won. He was a kind of fluffy, and gray like a storm cloud. He was kind, or at least tried to be, and doesn't like Windclaw.

Cinderflame looked at Windclaw. She wanted to get to the summit as soon as they could get there. Cinderflame couldn't understand why, or why she was so tense around him and Stormcloud. She was leading, but fell back to talk to Ashfall. Again. The she-cats were like best friends, and in almost every conversation he interrupted, there was something to hide. The she-cats fell silent then said they were talking about something simple. They were hiding something. But what, he wondered? Cinderflame shook his head and went ahead. The sun was setting, and they were lucky if they could find a place to stay the night. He jumped over a small gap; everyone could jump over it, he concluded, and kept going. The sun was almost gone when he found a hole. Small. It'd be cramped, but they'd be warm together and it would do.

Ashfall and Windclaw ran up and were the first ones in the hole-den. They were still deep in conversation, silent when they passed Cinderflame. They checked it out, then laid down.
"So, you going to tell him?" Ashfall asked, laying down by the she-cat.
"No. Not yet. Let's get somewhere safe and with plenty of prey. When we're not in danger of falling, freezing, or starving, I'll tell him." she replied.
Smokesky padded in. "What's this about starving?" he asked.
"Oh, nothing. Nothing at all." Windclaw said, feeling squished between Ashfall and the just-entered Cinderflame. They kits piled in and slept on top of one of the warriors or between them, running in before Stormcloud. Stormcloud had his back to the entrance, blocking the snow and cold of the mountain from the others.
When it's safe, I'll tell him...but for now, we have to be alright without him worried about me all the time. Windclaw thought, and drifted off to sleep.

"Come on, Windclaw, what are you waiting for?" Cinderflame called. There was a big gap between her and the rest of the cats. Stormcloud almost fell, but even though she knew her friends would help him, it sent a chill down her spine. She didn't want to fall. She didn't want to risk lives trying to jump across. "I'll catch you!" Cinderflame called.
That didn't help Windclaw.
She closed her eyes, backed up, and jumped. She landed well, almost falling backwards. Cinderflame grabbed her scruff and pulled her closer to him, but she took a step sideways, feeling Stormcloud's angry gaze on her. It felt warm, his hot gaze, compared to the cold feeling her toes were being forced to get used to. She was beginning to wonder why she had come along. She knew her...condition...then, as well as she did now. She wondered more why she put herself in danger for this. But then, Stormcloud had no argue with her and she was madly in love with Cinderflame. Why did she have to get pulled into this Lightheart-Prophecy-Mountainside Travel business?
She blinked her eyes open all the way and pressed forward with the others.

"Hey, I found something!" Smokesky called. There was a waterfall, and at the bottom, he saw a den or two.
"Good find, brother." Cinderflame said. "We must find a safe way down."
"Oh, come on." Windclaw said meanly. She pushed the toms aside and jumped into the frigid water, sliding down into the water below. Ashfall laughed and followed. The apprentices followed, then Smokesky.
"I do not like this Windclaw character." Stormcloud told Cinderflame. "She is from my own Clan, but I do not like the idea of you two together." He jumped down, and Cinderflame hesitantly followed.

Windclaw and the others padded to land, fur plastered to their skin.
"Who are you?" a big, brown tom asked.
"We...we are travelers. We're looking for a lion-" Windclaw began.
"Lion?" a tan tom asked. "What is a lion?"
"A big, big cat with big teeth and big claws." Windclaw said.
"Hmph. We know not of 'lions'. Maybe Teller of Pointed Stones will know." the tan tom said. "To speak, you will give us names, please."
"I...I am Windclaw. These are my friends." she said.
"I'm Ashfall." the she-cat went on. "My father is the big gray tom over there named Stormcloud. By him are my older brothers, Cinderflame and Smokesky. Then the smaller ones are Dawnpaw, Swirlpaw, Silverpaw, and Featherpaw."
"How is Windclaw related to you?" the brown one asked.
"Family friend."
"Fine, let us go." the tan said.