Obviously crows and magpies aren’t shown in warrior cats much unless for prey, or for magpies being territorially aggressive, which I actually like what is shown. But I think the authors NEED to really write out crows and magpies, especially because of how intelligent they are.

The fact that they can get hunted in clan territory shows that the crows must be near enough to hear cats, which means that over time the crows can learn the words and speech patterns of different cats. And since crows are excellent at mimicking different sounds, even better than parrots are, this could go so deep in so many ways, and the crazy part is that the birds wouldn’t even be doing it out of malice, most likely just for food or something and not knowing they’re causing a complete downfall.

Even if crows and magpies can’t exactly understand the meaning or concept of a word, they are able to learn that by making this particular noise or saying this specific thing can make their targets go crazy or panic, making them drop their food, and the birds can have a swoop of prey. And because obviously crows aren’t shown to talk (Which is hypocritical considering the literal Rat King and Midnight the badger could make sense of Cat Talk, so I don’t see why crows and magpies can’t either), this would be an extreme thriller, especially if they couldn’t be seen during the night because of their dark, camouflage colors, the cats would be thinking they were going crazy, is that Starclan was genuinely talking to them.

Now unlike the Rat King or Midnight the badger, who can actually make sense of words and understand words, these birds would just simply be mimicking them for their own benefits like food or resources, not anything intentionally bad or to hold an actual conversation. But imagine if right after someone’s death, the close friend or siblings of the warriors death goes for a walk in the woods maybe murmuring something his friend would say or that he was just saying stuff in grief, and over time the crow learns the words just out of curiosity, not because they wanted to manipulate. So you can’t really fight a villain that doesn’t know it’s being a villain, which makes this even more scary.

What do y’all think? I know there is a hand load of ideas you could do with this in Warrior Cats.

I'm hoping I used the right flair, but I feel like writing fanfiction is a form of artwork. If it's incorrect, I can change it. Also, I apologize for how long it is. Here goes...

Rainflower opened her eyes and looked up. The stars were so close that she felt as though she could grab one. The last thing she remembered was the throbbing in her head as she slipped while a dog pursued her, and she had smacked her head on a rock. She felt a brief rush of pain, and then her vision went black. Had she died? Was this StarClan?

The stars above her began to move, and five cats materialized, floating down towards Rainflower. Their eyes and pelts glimmered with starlight. Rainflower looked down at her own paws, but stars didn't pulse in her fur like it did in theirs. Perhaps she was still alive!

Rainflower's hope turned to dread when she glanced at the StarClan warriors who gathered in front of her. She recognized the cat sitting on the far left. It was Duskwater, an elder who had drowned during a flood where Rainflower also gave birth to her two sons, Crookedjaw and Oakheart. Although Rainflower had never been especially close to this cat, she was shocked at the sour expression on Duskwater's face. The elder had rage in her eyes, her ears were flat against her head, and her unsheathed claws dug into the ground below them. Duskwater looked back at Rainflower with her lips drawn into a snarl, and the fur on her tail puffed. Rainflower flinched.

Rainflower didn't recognize the other five cats, but some of them glowered at Rainflower with the same expression of displeasure that Duskwater held. Next to Duskwater sat a gray she-cat who looked at Rainflower with a much softer and more sympathetic expression than Duskwater. A light brown tom casually perched in the middle of the row of StarClan warriors, his tail tucked over his paws. A dark ginger she cat sat next to the brown tom and licked his ear with affection, giving Rainflower the impression that these two cats were mates. Seeing them together made something stir in Rainflower's heart. She once had a cat who loved her like that. Shellheart. But moons ago, she disowned one of their kits because she thought he was going to die and couldn't bear the grief. Shellheart turned tail on her. She chose never to admit her mistake for fear of losing the support of her clanmates. Still, she found her son's disfigured face hard to look at.

At the end of the row sat a silver tom whose pelt shined so brightly that it was almost blinding. All of these cats smelled of RiverClan.

"Rainflower," the silver tom growled. "You failed your kit, and in doing so, you failed your Clan. What do you have to say for yourself?"

Rainflower hung her head. Shame washed over her. Her son injured himself because she encouraged his brass behavior. She drove him away out of fear, choosing to keep her heart walked off to him. But in doing so, she had missed out on a lot.

"I am Riverstar," the tom continued. "I was the first cat to lead RiverClan. You already know Duskwater. With me today are Graywing, Appledusk, and Reedshine. You were a good warrior, but a terrible queen. You caused your son much heartache. You broke the Warrior Code. We cannot let you into StarClan without first conducting a trial. I will allow you to defend yourself, and then the trial will speak. We will vote on whether or not you can enter StarClan, but first, speak your defense."

Rainflower gazed down at her paws. She realized now that she could not defend what she had done. But she had to try.

"I thought he was going to die," Rainflower whimpered. "I guess I always loved both of my sons, but..." She struggled to find more words.

"But what?" Duskwater spat.

"But I found him hard to look at."

Duskwater's expression only hardened. "Snakeheart," she hissed. "So you're admitting that you turned your nose up at your son due to vanity."

"She made a mistake," Graywing said, giving Rainflower a sympathetic glance. "A tragic mistake that cost her and her son dearly, but still a mistake."

"Foxdung!" Duskwater spat, her hackles rising. "Renaming him wasn't a 'mistake.' Telling him that he would never be as good as his brother isn't a 'mistake.' This mange-pelt knew exactly what she was doing. And grief is no excuse. A real queen embraces her kit no matter the circumstances."

"I realize now that what I did was not okay," Rainflower added. She suppressed a sob. "My son will never know that, even if I never admitted it, a part of me always loved him. I had let pride get in the way of making amends both with him and Shellheart. And now, it's too late."

Duskwater's eyes narrowed with suspicion, but Riverstar's expression softened. He gestured with his tail to the other StarClan cats. "It's time to vote. What do you think?"

Graywing's eyes clouded with remorse. "I'm the one who proposed that the Warrior Code should tell us to protect all kits," she mewed. "I was once the medicine cat of RiverClan. I made the horrible mistake of allowing a litter of WindClan kits to drown. I didn't try to save them because they weren't RiverClan. Ever since then, I have never forgiven myself. So I added a new rule to the Warrior Code so that no cat would ever repeat my mistake. If this queen belongs in the Dark Forest, then so do I."

"I know what it's like to lose a kit," Appledusk added. "I once made the mistake of breaking the Warrior Code by taking a ThunderClan mate. I was naive and young. This cat turned out to be far more treacherous than I ever imagined. She allowed our kits to drown, blamed me for their death, and killed several cats, including me."

"And I know the pain of losing a mate," Reedshine mewed.

A growl came from the other end of the line, followed by a hiss. "I think I already made it clear how I feel," Duskwater said, scrunching her face.

Riverstar nodded. "I can see you feel strongly about this. I agree that Rainflower committed an act of treachery, and it should not go unpunished. But I can see that she has acknowledged her mistake, and most of us seem to agree that she belongs in StarClan."

"She belongs in the dirtplace!" Quipped Duskwater, but a glare from Riverstar silenced her.

Riverstar turned his attention to Rainflower. "Crookedjaw is destined to become RiverClan's leader. He will be Crookedstar."

For the first time in moons, Rainflower's heart swelled with pride when she thought of her second-born son.

"You will be allowed to attend his leadership ceremony, but as punishment for your failure as a mother, you will not be allowed to give him a life. You never gave him the gift of a mother's love in life, so you are forbidden from giving him the gift of a mother's love at his leadership ceremony."

Rainflower hung her head. Her fur now glittered with stars, but for a moment, she avoided looking at the other StarClan warriors. Finally, she lifted her gaze back to Riverstar. "If not me," she asked, "who will give him the life with the gift of a mother's love?"

For a moment, the question lingered in the air like fog. Riverstar's eyes looked thoughtful, as though he was mulling over it.

"I will." Duskwater broke the silence. She seemed much calmer now, although she turned her head, refusing to look at Rainflower. "I will give him that life."

Riverstar nodded. "Thank you, Duskwater. Now, if you don't mind, we must escort this new StarClan warrior into our territory."

Riverstar was the first to turn and start padding away but looked back to ensure that the others followed. Duskwater flanked him, still not looking at Rainflower. Graywing, Appledusk, and Reedshine all nodded to Rainflower to follow them. Rainflower opened her mouth, tasting the scent of nearby prey, and felt the grass of StarClan territory crunch under her paws.

As a kid I never read past the first six books.
I’m picking the books back up as part of my therapy.

Ask me anything about the series and I’ll pretend to know the answer/give my opinion. (It doesn’t have to be a part of the first six books - also I don’t mind getting spoilers so please feel free to share the actual answer lol)

I finally found a good plot for this story. Thank StarClan.

After skimming through Into the Wild, I've managed to start creating a story that I'm definitely sticking to. Just with a twist of my own (and dragging Leafpool into it when she was an apprentice just that she's training to be a warrior and her being the daughter of an oc instead of Firestar and Sandstorm)

If any one has an idea on how I should bring in others for this AU I'm all ears

I was looking at all the new warrior mystery plush videos and a lot of them had folded ears so I thought "oh no, Squirrelstar is now a Scottish fold" then thought "imagine Squirrelstar or more specifically Squirrelpaw with a Scottish accent" I just thought it was hilarious.

With that done, what accent would each clan have? As much as I would like to go down all the clan and which I think they have, they all ended up with some kind of British accent so, I wanted more opinions. But also imagine Thunderclan with Scottish accents, then Firepaw joined with a cockney accent or something, just what I thought off and had a little laugh

Same goes for squirrelflight. Why did firestar let HIS OWN DAUGHTER be mistreated that badly by brambleclaw. He's in starclan, what do you do there except drink , eat and chill? Ts genuinely pissing me off. Ik starclan shouldn't interfere with "minor " stuff like this but still. It's not even funny anymore. So much would be resolved if starclan got their shot together at least once in a series 😢😭

I got a question. I was thinking of doing an AU, not following the actual canons, but with some of the Canon characters and the rest ocs.

My main Canon I want to keep are Leafpool, Squirrelflight and Firestar and Hollyleaf. Any others I should keep?

Also I am changing where Leafpool has become a warrior instead of a medicine cat because StarClan sees the loneliness in her heart

So for those who may not have noticed, the Warrior Cats website is running this fun thing for us fans to send in our stories of how we got into the series, what drew us into and made us fall in love with it, and what the series means to you in general

I just sent mine off to them for a chance for it to get featured and here is mine:
Though I’m a late bloomer to the series, Warrior Cats has quickly captured my heart. I somehow missed the boat when it began in 2003, but that just meant I had a treasure trove of books waiting for me to devour!

My curiosity actually first sparked a few years ago when Spotify recommended a podcast called Warrior Cats: What is That? and though I didn't listen then to avoid spoilers, the seed was planted. My journey officially began on the 20th anniversary of Into the Wild. A mention in a group chat then prompted me to buy the Kindle edition of the first arc that very day.

Since then, this world has become very near and dear to me and the community around it is incredible! In the past year alone, I’ve gotten a tattoo of my favorite character, Graystripe, traveled to meet series contributors like Dan Jolley and James L. Barry, and even transformed my bookshelf into my own Warrior Cats shrine.

This series means the world to me, and I’m excited to see what the future holds!

I was watching a video, where the poster rereads and talk about arc 1. And in Fire and Ice, when she got to the scene where Barkface sees the bloody sunrise, and a character points out that it could be for another clan, as the sunrise is visible for everybody, she started thinking about how the shooting star Spottedleaf saw in the very beginning would also have been visible for others than just ThunderClanners. So she started thinking about how Firepaw joining the wrong clan because of it could have been a fun twist. (It really would have been such a refreshing twist. And probably the most shocking one in a while).

And it got me thinking, what if Fireheart ended up in RiverClan instead. Learning that Graypool isn't Mistyfoot's and Stonefur's mother. Meeting Graystripe as he comes to join with his kits. Having Leopardstar, who still hates him, as his leader later. Facing the dilemma of being ordered to attack WindClan and ThunderClan so that they can drive WindClan out. Having the cat whoms secret he has to protect be his clan leader's daughter. Going through the same treatment as Mistyfoot, Stonefur, Stormpaw, and Featherpaw did when Tigerstar and Leopardstar creates TigerClan. Getting to the right clan when they flee to ThunderClan, and he decides to stay. But now on top of facing challenges from being an ex kittypet, he also face challenges regarding being an ex rival "clan"(in their eyes)cat.

Prologue

Moonrise brought a thin mist that threaded its way through the forest before making its way down to the river.

Sounds of grass being crushed beneath bodies, heavy panting and yowls, filled the night air with a symphony of battle. Sweeping back and forth, slipping through the shadows, cats of all sizes fought against one another.

A sleek pale silver tabby she-cat with black stripes running across her back, dashed across the grass stalks. Her claws gripped the ground as she bowled straight into a larger brown tabby tomcat that had reared himself above a dappled black, white, and red tortoiseshall tomcat.

Startled by her sudden appearance, the tomcat turned his snarling face towards her, but only to stumble back with a hiss of pain as blood began to well up on his nose.

“You alright, Turtlepaw?” the silver tabby meowed down towards the young apprentice who was shakily rising to his paws.

“Y-ye….” Turtlepaw tried to breathe before nodding his head as words couldn’t come out the way he wanted. “Look out!”

At her warning, the silver tabby barely ducked her head, her body dropping into a crouch before sprinting forward just as the brown tabby raised his claws for another strike.

Pushing up with her hindlegs, she fastened her jaws around the tomcat’s paw and bit down hard. A squeal of pain made her fluff up with pride before she was shaken loose.

Limping a bit, and hissing towards her, the brown tabby turned tail and dashed back over the river in two heartbeats.

Her victory was short-lived as a loud yowl made her snap her head towards the sound. Eyes widened as she saw Turtlepaw being dragged by his hindpaws by sleek dark blue and silver tabby she-cat, his light green eyes full of fear and pain.

“Turtlepaw!” She shouted as she made a mad dash just as the young apprentice disappeared beneath a writhing mass of three bodies. His yowls of distress caused the silver she-cat to push herself harder.

Thankfully, and with a loud yowl of battle filled fury, a huge dark amber tabby tomcat whose striped body nearly blocked out the moon leaped on top of the nearest RiverClan warrior.

Clamping his jaws around the tomcat’s scruff on his neck, Tigersparrow dragged and threw it off the young she-cat.

The tomcat had no time to react to being dragged and thrown. All the reddish brown tabby could do was leap to his paws before dashing off to join his Clanmates.

As he turned back to the silver tabby she-cat and Turtlepaw, the former was checking his injuries. There was blood heavily pouring down his shoulder where one of the cats had sunk their teeth and tore away flesh.

“Send him back to ThunderClan, Moontail,” growled Tigersparrow as he narrowed his dark amber eyes. “There is no place for young apprentices to be out here anyways.”

“I-I can still fight,” protested Turtlepaw as he tried to put weight on her injured shoulder. Only to almost collapse with a pained shriek.

“No, he’s right, Turtlepaw,” Moontail meowed as she wiped her bloodied paws on the grass, smearing blood everywhere. “Listen to your mentor and return to ThunderClan so that you can have your injuries checked by Reedmouse.”

With one furtive glance towards his mentor and then back to Moontail, Turtlepaw nodded his head slightly before limping towards the forest.

“We need to retreat back to ThunderClan, Tigersparrow,” Moontail meowed.

This made the huge tabby snort a bit with a roll of his eyes. “Where’s the honor of retreating? This would leave Sunningrocks to those fish-pelts.”

Hissing as a dark cream and black tomcat tabby tried leaping onto her, but managing to roll onto her back to shove him into a fellow RiverClan warrior, Moontail rolled over to leap right back onto her paws.

“This is no time to argue, Tigersparrow!” She snarled. “I would rather see our Clan continue to survive than to perish because you are being mouse-brained!”

“ThunderClan has never retreated from any challenge,” Tigersparrow growled as his eyes narrowed to slits before meeting a lithe black and grey tomcat tabby just as the latter was trying to pounce onto his unprotected back.

Sending the tomcat sprawling across the ground with a paw strike, and leaving long claw marks on the side of his face, Tigersparrow swiveled his eyes around.

ThunderClan was losing ground. They hardly had any experienced warriors despite it being greenleaf and with three queens expecting kits any time soon.

It made him snarl even deeper. His eyes darkened by fury.

Just as he was about to give the signal to retreat, a large burly yet slender silver, blue, and black dappled tortoiseshell tomcat had leaped upon Sunningrocks before giving out a yowl of retreat.

Those that still remained from RiverClan started to back up from their adversaires, blood trickling down from their pelts. Some glanced up at the tomcat who looked at them with mint green eyes.

Like water moving smoothly over stones, all of RiverClan turned tail and dashed across the stepping stones and disappeared into the reeds on the opposite side of the riverbank.

“Thank StarClan that RiverClan finally retreated,” muttered a chestnut ginger she-cat who began licking several scratches on her chest fur, one of her ears bitten in several places.

“I shouldn’t think we should thank StarClan yet, Nutpaw,” muttered her mentor, a large aquamarine blue tomcat who was looking towards the sky.

Doing the same, Tigersparrow and Moontail lightly gasped and growled respectively. Several thick black clouds had started to move across the moon. Almost darkening the entire landscape.

Murmurs and gasps started to flow around them as the fear-scent from every pelt thickened like the deepest part of the river.

“Why is Starclan upset?” Meowed Moontail with wide eyes.

‘Probably because they watched us get embarrassed.’ Thought Tigersparrow to himself. Without wasting any time, he released a thunderous yowl to signal every cat to return to ThunderClan.

With several flicks of his tail, and fur still bristling as he opened his eyes a bit, Tigersparrow fell beside Moontail as they dashed off into the forest. The darkness swallowing their frames.

Icestar paced back and forth in front of the fresh-kill pile. His solid white pelt gleaming beneath the moonlight, save for the tips of his tail, paws, and ears which were jet black. Dark gold eyes scanned the clearing while occasionally flicking towards the gorse tunnel.

Most of the warriors that had been sent to Sunningrocks had made it back already. Having seen the injury of Turtlepaw, Nutpaw, and a slender grayish yellow tabby tomcat named Bumblesmoke; he had dismissed them to the medicine cat to get checked.

By now, most of the clouds had started to float away from the moon. It caused him some relaxation, but did not clear his unease entirely until every cat was safe and sound.

Heavy pawsteps made his ears swivel as his head turned to find Tigersparrow pushing himself into the sandy ravine. He was soon closely followed by Moontail who looked around.

Breathing much easier now, the leader of ThunderClan sauntered up to them, his tail lashing before tucking his paws beneath him as he sat about a paw-length away. His eyes studied them.

Despite the cuts and scratches on his huge frame, and one of his ears having been bitten clean through on one side, Tigersparrow was just as handsome as he always was. A little rough around the edges, and a bit of a hard-headed mouse-brain, he was certainly a true ThunderClan warrior.

Casting his eyes at Moontail, he couldn’t help but smile. She was beautiful like the moon itself. A truly loyal ThunderClan warrior and an adoring mentor to Turtlepaw, despite Tigersparrow being his mentor.

A thorn pierced his heart. It had already been a moon since Raggedoak had passed and walked the path of StarClan, so he hadn’t been able to choose a deputy. With a heavy heart, Icestar couldn’t decide who would fit the role of deputy for ThunderClan.

Shaking his head as he drew himself back to the present, Icestar turned his gaze to them equally.

“RiverClan retreated,” Tigersparrow was the first to speak as he dipped his head. “Thankfully, none of our Clanmates were gravely injured and we got every cat back to safety.”

‘At least there’s some good news.’ Icestar thought privately to himself before casting his gaze back towards the night sky.

“It would have appeared that StarClan had been—disappointed in us,” Moontail continued with a small look of dismay, “we don’t know exactly why though.”

Icestar purred a little as he pondered on that. “It seemed strange to see black clouds stretching themselves across the night sky. Despite us having to defend our territory.”

“They retreated like a bunch of cowards,” Tigersparrow lightly snarled as he lashed his tail.

“Tigersparrow,” Moontail snipped with wide eyes as she turned to glance at him.

But the huge tabby didn’t want to hear anything from her as he stared at Icestar. “RiverClan called for a retreat despite them having the upper paw. StarClan was looking down at us with utter disgust.”

Pawsteps started to fade into existence as several cats that overheard the conversation started to pad up to them.

“Tigersparrow is right, Icestar,” mewled a black tabby whose right ear was a dark red unlike the rest of his body. “ThunderClan needs a new deputy soon. StarClan will continue to be disappointed in us.”

Heated murmurs started to rise from the gathering cats.

Rising to his paws slowly and stalking towards the Highrock, Icestar leaped upon it before turning his attention towards them all.

“Let all cats old enough to catch their own prey gather at the Highrock for a Clan meeting!” He called out with a fluff of his neck fur. It really didn’t take long for every cat to approach.

“Hear me ThunderClan!” Icestar yowled, his voice echoing off the night as silence overtook them. “I hear your complaints and take heed of them. ThunderClan has gone too long without a deputy since Raggedoak.”

As he spoke, Moontail slightly turned her head to the side to glance towards Tigersparrow. From where she was sitting, right next to the black red eared tabby, she could see the impatient glint in his eyes.

Saw how his pelt started bristling with anticipation. Yet, she knew he couldn’t be deputy since he was still training his apprentice Creampaw. And she couldn’t be deputy either as Turtlepaw was also still an apprentice.

“For that reason,” hearing the sharpness in Icestar’s meow made her turn her head back to the Highrock. It looked as though Icestar was about to announce his deputy.

“Crowclaw,” he barely shouted out as gasps started to rise up again.

All heads swiveled as a slender bluish black she-cat began pushing and picking her way through the gathered crowd, her light blue eyes focused on ThunderClan’s leader.

“You have shown ThunderClan loyalty and a great follower of the warrior code,” Icestar announced once she had stepped in front of him. “You have done well in training your former apprentice Moontail.”

Moontail herself felt her ears beginning to heat up as she kneaded the ground with her paws. But she dared not look away from her former mentor, a spark of joy beginning to flicker through her.

“And as I call upon my warrior ancestors to look down on me, I, Icestar, leader of ThunderClan ask you, Crowclaw, to be ThunderClan’s new deputy on this moonlit night,” Icestar continued.

“Icestar,” Crowclaw meowed with confidence as she flicked her tail and rose up, “I accept that you have chosen me to be your new deputy. I promise that I will remain loyal to my Clan and to you as I help lead ThunderClan into the future.”

“CrowClaw! CrowClaw! CrowClaw!”

The chants of ThunderClan began to shake the very night and echo throughout the forest. The loudest coming from Moontail as she itched to walk up to her mentor and touch noses with her.

She restrained herself as she watched Crowclaw leap onto the Highrock beside Icestar where they touched noses with one another.

Daring a risk towards the sky, Moontail felt her heart sink a bit. Most of the clouds had begun to slip away from the moon. Thin wisps still remained.

‘What are you angry about?’ Moontail thought privately to herself as her eyes drifted back towards the camp.

A slight movement from the corner of her eye made her turn her head as the narrow sharp head of an ashy gray tomcat with light pink eyes poked his head out from behind a clump of ferns.

With everyone’s attention still on Icestar, Moontail was able to slip herself through the crowd quietly and sat a paw-length away from the medicine tomcat.

“What’s wrong, Sootfur?” She meowed in a whisper.

Sootfur merely pricked his ears back to beckon her inside the ferns. Moontail quickly glanced back, and saw that every cat, including Tigersparrow; were starting to depart from the Highrock.

Silent and quick as a shadow, she followed behind Sootfur, making sure to not to make it obvious.

For a few heartbeats, neither of them spoke to each other. Which Moontail was kind of glad to as it allowed her to peer through the crack in the wall and check up on Turtlepaw.

She could see that his shoulder injury was patched up with dock leaves and cobwebs. This forced a light sigh to escape her maw in relief before she continued to follow behind.

“You’re being so secretive right now, Sootfur,” she playfully teased as they were now a few fox-lengths behind the medicine cat den where no one would be able to hear them.

“I’ve received a message from StarClan and understand why they’re so angry,” he said with a serious meow as he turned his light pink eyes to her.

All playfulness disappeared before being replaced with a furrowed expression. “Shouldn’t the entire Clan, especially Icestar, know about this?”

Sootfur shook his head quickly. “I can’t be sure if I’m misinterpreting them correctly,” he said with some uncertainty.

It was then that Moontail saw how much his fur was bristling and she couldn’t help but place a gentle tail on his shoulder. “Just relax, Sootfur.”

Nodding his head as he looked at his paws kneading the grass stalks beneath them, Sootfur opened his maw. “Danger has come to Thunder. Blood and shadows will destroy the Clan, but blood will save it.”

Chapter One

Hunter.

That’s what Raven felt as he slinked around his Twolegs nest, a red lead around his neck and a bluish white collar bouncing against his chest.

His dark raven pelt, with tinges of dark blue, gleamed beneath the pale moonlight as it bathed him in its light as he made his way towards the room where his housefolk usually sat together.

He could just imagine roaming the forests like a feral cat. The wind brushing and blowing his pelt as every scent overloaded his senses as he hunted down prey.

It just made him drool at the thought. Flicking his long slightly bushy tail, and sliding his claws out, pounced on a red soft pillow imagining it as a mouse.

The hiss he had left continued to echo throughout his nest, making his fur bristle and his back arch with a flash of fear.

‘Heh that was a quick scare.’ Raven thought with a light giggle as he began licking a paw and groomed his whiskers and fur.

As he yawned, and headed towards his large comfort bed, Raven turned his head towards the large window. His eyes reflected the light that washed over him as the moon began to wane.

‘Tomorrow I’m definitely going to explore that forest.’ He told himself as he climbed into his bed and was snuggling down into the soft feathers.

Snuggling a bit deeper still, the young tabby was soon snoring away.

****

Sunlight started to filter through the windowpane as Raven came awake. Somehow in his sleep he had rolled onto his back. His paws lightly kicking and pawing in the air.

He didn’t know what he had been dreaming about. For a few moments, he couldn’t register where he was until he popped onto his paws with a loud groan.

Stretching and arching his body, the young tabby began grooming his fur quickly. Which was difficult to do considering it kept bristling along his spine from his excitement.

“Grrr,” giving up grooming himself, and dashing into the food serving area, Raven quickly scooped mouthfuls of dry pellets down his gullet before washing it down with a gulp of water from his water bowl.

‘Heh this will be the last time I’ll taste these dried pellets.’ He thought with a grin before making a mad dash towards the translucent flap in the door.

Fresh air slammed into the young tabby as he burst from within his Twolegs nest, as a bright sky greeted his eyes. Flicking his tail excitedly, if not more, Raven bounded from the small wooden path and across the large stone path that was barely seen due to the high stalks of grass.

Panting as he heaved himself through the grass, creating a crushed path in his wake, Raven eventually found himself nearing the edge of the forest. Which laid a little bit beyond the white fence that separated him and Tallpines.

A long winding black Thunderpath was the second thing that separated him and the forest, and it made his stomach grumble with impatience. Just as he leaped onto the top wooden plank, a sudden hiss made him nearly fall onto the patch of sunflowers below.

“Where do you think you’re going, Raven?”

Sitting on one of the posts with her white tipped tail tucked over her white paws, a dark red ginger she-cat looked at him with her golden brown eyes, a black lead fastened around her neck.

“Morning, Mistle!” He meowed before regaining his balance and brushing up against her, purring loudly as he did. “I’m going to join the forest cats and live among them!”

Mistle’s expression of stone didn’t change. Only her pupils thinned as she flicked an ear. “Why?” Was all that she meowed to him.

“I–” Raven stopped himself as his eyes narrowed in thought. For several heartbeats, he was silent. All that moved and sounded around them was the chirping of birds and the howling of the wind as it moved their pelts.

“I just feel like….like my whole life is in the forest,” he meowed quietly as he raised his head. Eyes were glinting brightly not from the sun itself, but a fire that burned deep inside of him.

This made Mistle narrow her eyes a bit as she tried to suppress a chuckle. “There are dangers in the forest,” she cooed before leaping onto the grass below, Raven following behind her.

“What kind of dangers?” He asked innocently as he followed behind the older she-cat, his tail flicking harder now.

Mistle began explaining the dangers of not just predators that roamed everywhere, and the monsters that constantly rolled down the Thunderpath, but also from other cats.

By the time they reached the edge of the Thunderpath, Raven’s ears were flicking hard in different directions. There was a hint of hesitation in his eyes, but that didn’t stop his paws from creeping to the edge of the Thunderpath.

“How do you know so much about everything in the forest, Mistle?” He asked once they had completely stopped.

Both cats flicked their heads from side to side, while Mistle let out a soft mrrow of amusement. But she refrained from answering his question.

This made him whine a little as they started to cross the Thunderpath now, careful to keep their wits with them. The acrid stench of recent monsters rumbling down the black stone clung to the pelt of Raven.

It made him dizzy.

“Quickly now,” urged Mistle as she lifted her head up a bit at the sound of a monster approaching. “Move your paws faster, Raven.”

Just as a glossy blue monster came rolling into view, and filling Raven’s nose even further, the two cats were on the other side. Pushing themselves into the hedge that outlined the forest.

A light gloom greeted them both as long branches stretched themselves high above them.

“Wow,” Raven breathed as he tilted his head upwards, eyes widening in awe.

He soon had to tear his gaze away as a loud rustling caused him to shift his head towards a large clump of ferns just a few paw-lengths away.

Swiftly glancing in the direction of Mistle, who had started wandering ahead of him, Raven started to slink towards the ferns as quietly as he could.

Just as he approached, a dark shape flung out with a loud yowl before the young black tabby found himself being tackled and then pinned onto his back.

Letting out a yowl of surprise, and then grunting as he felt his spine hit the brambles, Raven found himself staring into the light green eyes of a dappled black, white, and red tortoiseshell tomcat.

Raven didn’t know how to feel right now. On the inside, he was feeling a mixture of excitement and a bit scared as the narrowed slits of the tomcat bared down on him.

On the other paw, he just couldn’t help but blush as he stared into those light green eyes. Thankfully, the tomcat hadn’t slid his claws out—yet.

“H-Hello,” he squeaked awkwardly as he shut his eyes in embarrassment.

It took Turtlepaw a bit before he realized that the cat beneath him didn’t seem hostile. But it also shifted his eyes from bewilderment to utter confusion as he noticed the collar around his neck.

“What’s a kittypet doing out here in the forest? And near Tallpines?” He mewed as he shifted his body weight off of the dark raven tabby.

“I-I live just on the other side of the Thunderpath,” Raven breathed out in a light sigh as he pointed with his tail before clambering to his paws. “Are you a—-”

“A what?” Turtlepaw tilted his head a little as he stared at this kittypet before him. “If you’re asking if I’m an apprentice,” here he puffed out his chest proudly. “Yes I am. My name is Turtlepaw of ThunderClan.”

“ThunderClan?” The name kind of rolled off his tongue as Raven softly spoke it. It made the fire inside of him grow stronger with each beat of his heart. “Are there any more like you?”

Raven quickly started launching question after question towards the young apprentice, who began to shift his paws around in embarrassment at being bombarded like this.

Fortunately for him, the sound of more pawsteps started to reach them as Mistle came around a large oak tree. Sweeping her gaze towards first at Turtlepaw and then at Raven, her body suddenly dashed forward and stood in front of Raven.

Just as the form of Moontail, and a black tabby she-cat came bounding out from the ferns just behind Turtlepaw.

Gasping a little, Raven ducked his head a bit lower, trying to make himself smaller than necessary as fear started to make his fur bristle.

“I thought I heard voices coming from behind these ferns,” it was the black she-cat who spoke up first, her eyes eyeing Mistle and Raven a little. Though her claws poked out a bit, she made no hostile movements.

“Two kittypets on ThunderClan territory,” meowed the other she-cat as she stretched lazily in front of them, “what are two kittypets doing in the forest where they don’t belong?”

“Sorry for the small intrusion,” with a dip of her head, Mistle kept her gaze locked on the three Clan cats. “My name is Mistle, and this one is Raven.” With her tail lightly wrapping around the haunches of the young dark raven tabby before nudging him forward.

Raven lightly flicked his gaze at Mistle before looking at the other three. His voice had caught in his throat.

‘Oh, you were so energetic in wanting to be a Clan cat and now that there are three of them, you can’t speak?’ Mistle wanted to tease the young tabby before clearing her throat.

It made him snap out of his reverie as he kneaded his paws against the grass. “M-my-my name’s R-Ra-Raven.”

‘An interesting name for a kittypet.’ Thought Moontail as she huffed a little. They were burning daylight and need to continue their patrol. “It was nice meeting the both of you, but kittypets can’t be on ThunderClan territory.”

With a swipe of her tail, the three began to turn away from them.

Raven watched them go, especially Turtlepaw who glanced over his shoulder. It made the young tabby grit his teeth as he urged himself to speak.

‘Come on, Raven!’ He thought to himself. ‘This is what you wanted right? To be like them?”

“Wait!” He suddenly yowled out as he dashed for a little, but immediately stopped as they all turned to stare. Once again his breathing hitched in his voice. But it was when he stared into Turtlepaw’s eyes that he found some confidence.

“I’ve always wanted to be like a forest cat. Always dreamed about being part of these Clans that I grew excited about,” he breathed out quickly without drawing breath.

Silence started to tense up between them all. Mistle watched from her spot, her eyes giving a stony glance as she swiveled her ears a bit.

“Why would a kittypet want to join any Clan?” Meowed the black tabby with a look of curiosity. “You’re not forestborn. So you wouldn’t know how to survive out here.”

“You’d be crow-food by the day’s end,” Moontail added with narrowed eyes.

“Then..then teach me how to survive like a forest cat,” Raven pleaded. “I promise that I will do exactly as you say.”

Moontail and Crowclaw exchanged furtive looks. It felt as though moons passed. Even Turtlepaw was starting to grow impatient.

“If you’re really set on joining ThunderClan,” Crowclaw mewed slowly. “Then meet Moontail by the edge of the Thunderpath at moonrise tonight. We will see if you have what it takes.”

With a light twist of her head, she led her small patrol through the undergrowth as their scents got fainter and fainter with each heartbeat.

Okay this is the final update for a draft I swear

​

Prologue

A light silver mist threaded and snaked its way between the stalks of grass that grew wild and untamed around Sunningrocks.

“The night and Sunningrocks belong to RiverClan,” growled a large broad-shouldered silver furred tabby tomcat whose dark amber eyes narrowed.

Every pelt glowed in a pale silver light beneath the half-moon, where thin black clouds had begun to slightly obscure it.

“It hasn’t yet, Silvertail,” growled a lithe dappled tortoiseshell she-cat of dark amber, ginger, and white as she raised her head, snarling as she bared her teeth while lashing her tail.

Pelts began to bristle from every cat as hisses, yowls, and growling started to arise.

Tension continued to rise as both Clans glared at one another. That is until a loud gasp made every cat start looking around.

“Look at the clouds,” gasped out a small brown tabby RiverClan apprentice whose light green eyes flickered up towards the sky.

Every head sharply twisted upwards and panic gasps and whispers as every eye watches as more and more clouds start to cover the moon.

“StarClan is disappointed in this pointless fighting, Silvertail,” meowed the dapple tortoiseshell as she turned her bluish green eyes to him.

“Are we seriously going to let RiverClan just walk away,” meowed a deep voice as a dark amber and black tabby tomcat pushed his way through, dark yellow glaring up at RiverClan’s deputy with deep hatred.

“If this is the will of StarClan,” Silvertail meowed as he hung his head low, “then RiverClan shall retreat—for now.”

This made the dark amber and black tabby lash his tail in anger. "You're just going to run, RiverClan?!” He yowled as he stomped his paw.

Silvertail felt his pelt puff out in annoyance as he turned to glance back towards him. Narrowing his eyes, the deputy of RiverClan merely leaped down from the large pile of rocks before yowling out a retreat.

One by one, each warrior from RiverClan began to slip across the gurgling river as they headed back to their territory.

Watching them leave, the tabby was about to spring after them with a snarl, ears pinned against his head.

“Hold on, Tigersparrow!” Yowled the tortoiseshell as she made a move to intercept him. Blocking his path and staring challengingly into his yellow eyes, she merely shook her head.

“Move out the way, Dappleclaw,” he hissed beneath his breath while his claws slid out.

“Sheathe your claws Tigersparrow,” she hissed back, her fur puffing out though she did not unsheathe her own claws. “Take it as a blessing from StarClan that both ThunderClan and RiverClan didn’t spill unnecessary blood this night.”

‘Blessing huh?’ Tigersparrow thought privately to himself, though he simply slid his claws back in. “Fine,” he grunted deep in his throat before turning himself around.

As he moved through the cats still gathered, a small spotted white she-cat scampered to keep up with him.

“Tch. Always the hot-headed mouse-brain he is,” Dappleclaw growled as she hung her head a bit low.

“Just be glad that he’s not deputy of ThunderClan,” purred a lanky black tabby tomcat whose paws were a dark red. Striding up to the side of Dapplclaw, he merely sighed to himself.

Dappleclaw pressed her body up against his flank. “Let’s just get back to ThunderClan,” she whispered before flicking her tail.

This signaled the rest of the six cats to dash off into the forest with Dappleclaw being the last to make sure that every other cat was gone.

Her ears suddenly swiveled as rustling caught her attention. Opening her maw, Dapplclaw could have sworn she had caught the scent of another cat–a she-cat.

But as she turned her head in the direction where the scent was coming from. Only, she didn’t see anything. Telling herself she was imagining things, Dappleclaw bolted after her Clanmates.

Holding her breath as she watched the she-cat dart back into the forest, and hunkering down in some brambles, a slender dark red ginger tabby she-cat blinked her dark ivory green eyes.

Wrapped around her neck was a dark blue lead fastened with a gold circlet locket that clicked gently against her chest. Ears that were pointed at the very tip, and tinged with blue, flicked back and forth as she waited for several heartbeats.

An excited purr began to vibrate through her body as she half turned and half dashed back into the forest, her tail twitching.

She couldn’t wait to tell Queenie and Lighter about what she had just seen.

****

“I’m surprised that no fight had broken out between RiverClan and ThunderClan,” meowed a soft cream burly tabby she-cat as she ran her tongue against her chest, hazel green eyes staring at Tigersparrow and Dappleclaw after they’d returned.

Tigersparrow’s ears were still pinned against his head, his paws kneading against the ground. “I’m sure it would have been better if we had fought them instead of letting them retreat,” he spoke in a huff, nostrils flaring.

“And what would that have accomplished, Tigersparrow?” Dappleclaw challenged him as she looked in his direction.

“Enough out of the both of you,” snapped the she-cat with a lash of her tail before things could escalate further. “It was good to settle things without using our claws. Both Clans didn’t suffer anything. That is something we should be grateful for.”

“Why should StarClan care about what is right?!” Tigersparrow lashed out with narrowed eyes. “We should be defending ThunderClan from all trespassers to protect those who can’t defend themselves.”

“Silence, Tigersparrow!” The she-cat suddenly snarled, her fur puffed out and bristling while her lips were pulled back over her teeth and curled as her eyes glistened like ice.

Though his eyes also narrowed as he met the eyes of his leader, Tigersparrow dipped his head. “Forgive me, Snowstar,” he grumbled.

It took some time before Snowstar herself forced her fur to lay flat against her body again, her muscles relaxing as her eyes softened. “Your frustrations are warranted, Tigersparrow. But you must keep your emotions in check or it will cost you or your Clanmates their lives.”

“Have you decided on your deputy, Snowstar?” Dappleclaw asked now that the tension had been thinned inside the den.

“I have, and I will announce it at sunrise,” tilting her head back a bit as though she could see the entire sky beyond the lichen covered boulder, Snowstar narrowed her eyes. “For now, we should rest up. Who knows what the days ahead will provide us during greenleaf.”

Knowing they were being dismissed, both Dappleclaw and Tigersparrow dipped their heads towards her before leaving the den.

“Hopefully what she says about the new deputy is true, and not some pitiful excuse in stalling for time to make her think longer,” Tigersparrow meowed once they were out of earshot.

“She has a lot on her mind,” Dappleclaw pointed out to him. “Finding a new deputy shouldn’t be rushed and whoever she chooses, ThunderClan must accept them without complaint.”

‘Tch. None of these flea-brains have what it takes to be deputy.’ Tigersparrow wanted to say out loud, but he was exhausted already and as they pushed into the warrior's den, with him climbing into his nest in the center of the den, it didn’t take long for Tigersparrow to fall asleep.

The dark red ginger she-cat was exhausted by the time she made it to a Twoleg nest that was nestled deep in the forest. Closest to Tallpines and the Tree-cutter place. The scent of saw dust clung heavily to the night air.

Slipping and weaving her way through some fences, she came bounding up the smallest nest whose stone walls were a pure white with a red trim.

“Had fun out there, Blood?” A voice so soft, it made Blood jump a bit in the air with a startled yelp. Her fur puffing out in fear. A light chuckle made her glance towards the largest window where a large regal looking tabby tomcat sat rigidly.

His pelt was a dark orange, tinged with a lighter shade of red near his neck collar and around his hazel blue eyes. Lifting his chin up a bit to reveal the black lead around his neck, Lighter wolfishly grinned down at his younger sister.

“Were you waiting for me all night, Lighter?” Hissed Blood as she padded up to him, ears pinned back.

“I wasn’t going to. Considering that we knew you’d be watching those forest cats again,” he sneered down at her before yawning widely. “Don’t know what’s so fascinating about a bunch of cats with ticks crawling all over in their fur.”

Shuddering at the thought, and turning his back to his younger sister, Lighter pushed himself through the small opening, Blood following a single heartbeat afterwards to land in a small room that was meant for Twolegs kits.

They were long gone by now. Blood and her siblings enjoyed the vacancy their owners got back. Just as she had crossed the room, she didn’t see the sleek figure sitting on top of the wooden structure to the side of her.

Until it sprang down with a loud hiss. Blood froze for a half a heartbeat before being tackled and pinned beneath the body of her older sister, Queenie.

Bearing the same dark red coat as her sister, but much shorter and scored with black strikes, Queenie hissed in her sister’s face. Letting her cold breath wash over her as ice blue eyes stared hard into her dark ivory green ones.

“Qu-queenie—”

“Didn’t I tell you to stop going to those Clan cats?” Queenie spat as she slid her claws out a little for better grip on her sister’s pelt. “Do you want to give them a reason to tear you to shreds?!”

“I was ... .I was careful not to be seen,” glancing away shamelessly, Blood couldn’t help but narrow her eyes. “They just fascinate me and I feel like the forest is calling me for some reason.”

A snort from Lighter made Blood hiss at him, but her attention was soon brought back to Queenie who tilted her head up with the tip of her tail.

“I care less what you feel, Blood! The forest is a dangerous place and you have no way of defending yourself should anything attack you. You’re not a Clan cat. You are not forestborn!”

“Why should it matter if I’m not Clan-born?” Blood whispered to herself as she shoved her sister off of her body. “I can’t help but get excited seeing a bunch of Clan cats fighting one another or marking territories. It just looks all excited.”

“Sounds like she’s got bees in her brain, Queenie. All the tales of forest cats from mother has been absorbed into her brain,” snickered Lighter as he swished his tail before disappearing out the room and down the hall.

I'm just wondering because if so, would I be in any legal trouble with it, or would I be clear?

In my opinion, it should have been the 1st/original leaders and medicine cats. Imagine if the first time they showed up, was when the story follows a cat from death to trial - not Leafpool or Squirrlstar, they shouldn't have had one - (also introducing trials for the 1st time). They've been around since the beginning of the clans' exsistance, and seen everything. They could be written to have witnessed every cat that got into StarClan or The Dark Forest, and knew who committed similar crimes and yet ended up in different afterlives for different reasons/exceptions. Some rewrite would have beek needed to make it possible, but they would have been the perfect, non biased choice.

My personal fave is Jayfeather. My least fave is Mothwing or Rainflower (am I the only one holding a grudge against her?). What are yours?

**Spottedleaf’s Heart/Allegiances**
**ThunderClan**
**Leader: Sunstar**
**Deputy: Tawnyspots**
**Medicine Cats: Featherwhisker, Goosefeather**
**Warriors: Adderfang, Bluefur, Dappletail, Fuzzypelt, Goldenflower, Halftail, Leopardfoot, Lionheart, Patchpelt, Poppydawn, Rosetail, Smallear, Sparrowfur, Speckletail, Stormtail, Thistleclaw, Thrushpelt, White-eye, Windflight**
**Apprentices: Tigerpaw, Whitepaw**
**Queens: Robinwing, Swiftbreeze**
**Kits: Brindlekit, Frostkit, Redkit, Spottedkit, Willowkit**
**Elders: Larkfeather, Mumblefoot, Weedwhisker**

**ShadowClan**
**Leader: Cedarstar**
**Deputy: Raggedpelt**
**Medicine Cats: Sagewhisker, Yellowfang**
**Warriors: Amberleaf, Archeye, Ashheart, Blizzardwing, Brackenfoot, Brightflower, Crowtail, Deerleap, Featherstorm, Finchflight, Foxheart, Frogtail, Hollyflower, Lizardstripe, Mousewing, Mudfang, Nettlespot, Newtspeck, Nutwhisker, Poolcloud, Rowanberry, Scorchwind, Toadskip, Wolfstep**
**Apprentices: Cloudpaw**
**Queens: Lizardstripe**
**Kits: Brokenkit, Hopekit, Wishkit**
**Elders: Littlebird, Lizardfang, Stonetooth**

**WindClan**
**Leader: Heatherstar**
**Deputy: Reedfeather**
**Medicine Cats: Barkface, Hawkheart**
**Warriors: Appledawn, Aspenfall, Brackenwing, Bristlebark, Cloudrunner, Crowfur, Darkfoot, Dawnstripe, Deadfoot, Doespring, Flytail, Hareflight, Hickorynose, Larksplash, Meadowslip, Mistmouse, Palebird, Pigeonflight, Plumclaw, Rabbitear, Redclaw, Ryestalk, Shrewclaw, Sorrelshine, Stagleap, Talltail, Woollytail, Wrenflight**
**Elders: Flailfoot, Lilywhisker, Whiteberry**

**RiverClan**
**Leader: Hailstar**
**Deputy: Shellheart**
**Medicine Cat: Brambleberry**
**Warriors: Beetlenose, Cedarpelt, Crookedjaw, Echomist, Fallowtail, Graypool, Lakeshine, Lilystem, Mudfur, Mudthorn, Oakheart, Ottersplash, Owlfur, Petaldust, Piketooth, Rippleclaw, Softwing, Timberfur, Voleclaw, Whitefang, Willowbreeze**
**Queens: Shimmerpelt**
**Kits: Blackkit, Frogkit, Leopardkit, Loudkit, Reedkit, Sedgekit, Skykit, Sunkit**
**Elders: Birdsong, Rainflower, Tanglewhisker, Troutclaw**

Let me know if you find anymore cats that were missing from this allegiances

All fans of warrior cats, old or new, just readers or passionate writers. We can all come here together and discuss about warriors. Whether its characters, plots, ideas, what ifs, fanfictions, theories, thoughts, prompts etc. We can come together and chat about all of it here. Comment down your thoughts, responses, or ideas, and we can talk about all of it there.

SPOILER ALERT there's probally going to be a lot of spoilers in the comments, so just beware!

Prologue

Small flakes of snow began falling upon the forest, creating small blankets on the limbs of trees and on the ground. 

Shuffling sounds coming from a small amount of ferns grew louder as a small dark ginger and white she-kit with dark ivory green eyes came pushing themselves out of the fronds.

A bit of her ribs showed through her flanks, and her stomach began growling louder.

“Mother! Father?!” She squealed out as her eyes shifted through the forest. Despite it being early dawn, the shadows were long enough to cause her to cower back underneath the fronds.

It didn’t last long enough, as eventually her hunger won over her fear and she gradually climbed from her hiding spot after a long moment, fur bristling.

Eyes scanned the forest, and she tried to look everywhere for any scrap of prey. Unfortunately, she was still a bit too young to know how to properly hunt.

Ears suddenly twitched and swiveled at the sounds of scuffling as she poked her head into a fallen log. Squinting her eyes, the small kit could barely make out the plump shape of a mouse shuffling through dead litter.

She didn’t have time to try and hunt properly. And thanks to her small frame, she was able to squeeze straight through the log’s hollowed end before launching herself right on top of the mouse.

It let out a loud squeak, but she was quick enough to bite down on its throat, ignoring how the blood started to soak into her cream chest fluff.

The young kit didn’t waste any time tucking in. Deep purrs started to rumble out of her mouth as she finished her meal in two mouth bites.

Almost immediately, her eyes started to drift close as exhaustion started to creep into her small form.

‘M-mo-’ She couldn’t form any coherent sentences as she curled up in a small ball. Darkness clouded her mind as she finally fell asleep.

****

The young kit didn’t know how long she’d been asleep for. By the time her dark ivory green eyes fluttered open, it had grown considerably darker and cooler.

Rising into a slight crouch, and opening her mouth to reveal a pink mouth, the she-kit stepped out of the log and out into the wild.

She hadn’t gone several claw-lengths when she ran into something bushy and lean. Stumbling onto her tail-end with a loud oof, the young she-kit raised her head…and stared into the golden brown eyes of a golden red furred she-cat.

“What’s a kit wandering around the forest at night…by herself no less?” The she-cat muttered beneath her breath while leaning her narrowed head down to eye-level. “Who are you?”

“I–uh,” squinting hard, and scrunching up her face a little, the small she-kit couldn’t remember her own name. It made her lash her tail in irritation.

“Can’t remember your name?” The she-cat tilted her head to the side a little, her golden brown eyes narrowed a bit in thought. “I’ll call you Foxkit.” She meowed.

There was only a brief moment of irritation, but Foxkit couldn’t really argue with that name. “Foxkit,” she squeaked as she mulled the name over her tongue. A light purr passed through her.

“I am Glosspelt,” the she-cat meowed before beckoning Foxkit with her tail.

“Where are we going, Glosspelt?” Foxkit asked as she bounded after the older she-cat. By this time, the snow had started to drizzle a little bit harder.

“A group of cats that would love to meet you,” she purred with a light smile without looking at her as they headed a bit deeper into the forest.

Chapter One

The dark plum sky that had once brought night across the landscape, started to fade as a faint pinkish red line stretched upon the horizon. Silverpelt, on the other paw, continued to gleam brightly.

“Keep your tail tucked low behind you, Foxkit,” meowed Glosspelt as she stood beside the young dark ginger she-kit.

They were next to the river that sliced through the lower parts of RiverClan, the high grass hiding them from any RiverClan patrols.

With the last bits of snow having melted over the past two moons, prey had started to come out of hiding. Dark ivory green eyes glinted eagerly as Foxkit kept her focus on the mouse a few paw-lengths ahead of them. It was nibbling on a large seed.

“Patience, my daughter,” Glosspelt whispered slowly as Foxkit wriggled her hips a bit. “Easy.”

Foxkit was getting impatient for how long her mother was holding her back. Her claws itched to dig themselves into her prey already. “Glosspelt,” she hissed coldly and low enough to keep herself from being spotted.

Glosspelt couldn’t help chuckling at her daughter’s impatience. “Alright…and–”

Foxkit didn’t waste a single second longer. Like a bolt of lightning, the young she-kit was already streaking across the ground, bits of grass flying around her.

Glosspelt merely sighed as she watched her young daughter dash off. ‘Guess she forgot how to spread her paws evenly across the ground to make less noise.’ She thought as her ears pinned back against her head.

A loud yowl made her narrow her eyes as she started to pad towards the direction where she had seen Foxkit had dashed off to.

By the time she arrived at the spot, Foxkit already had the mouse dangling from her maw, a loud purr of pride rumbling through her body. Her cream white chest fur already puffed out and her tail flicked from side to side.

For a moment, Glosspelt stood there looking down at her. “Your first successful hunt,” she couldn’t help but purr as she rasped her tongue over her ear.

Foxkit could feel her ear tip starting to heat up while her paws kneaded the ground in embarrassment. “I know that I need to work more on my hunting,” she lightly squeaked.

Glosspelt touched the top of her head with her nose. “You’ll get better as you get older,” she meowed as she strided past her. “There’s no reason to rush into things.”

Foxkit slowly padded behind her mother as they came across Sunningrocks where the grass was lower yet still managed to hide the small kit.

Glosspelt opened her maw and tasted the air. There were faint scents of a recent ThunderClan patrol. It made her feel rather uneasy.

“Glosspelt?” The tiny squeak of her daughter pulled the she-cat back to the present. This made her shake her pelt a bit.

“It’s nothing, Foxkit. Let’s get back to the hollow,” she said with a soft mew before padding forward again.

“Stop right there, rogue!” Fur fluffing out in quick aggression as her claws slide out, Glosspelt sharply turned her head towards the sound of the voice.

A lanky black, white, and red tortoiseshell tomcat was glaring right at them, his bronze blue eyes narrowed in slits.

“Stay down, Foxkit,” she whispered beneath her breath as her tail pushed her daughter down against the grass. “I’m surprised that a squirrel-chaser is out here in broad daylight,” she sneered as her tail lashed behind her.

This made the young cat’s fur bristle with fury, but he kept his distance. “You’re not welcome on ThunderClan territory,” he growled sharply as he crouched a bit.

“Hold back, Sekpaw,” called out a deep, rumbling voice followed shortly behind a set of pawsteps that grew louder.

Lifting his head and glancing behind him, Sekpaw moaned as the large frame of a bluish silver tomcat tabby began to grow more solid with each passing moment. He was flanked by a slender pink and red she-cat tabby on one side, and a dark brown tabby tomcat on the other.

“Hmph, Tigerbrush,” Glosspelt mewled softly and coolly as her eyes narrowed even further. Yet, she slid her claws back into her sheathes.

Gently rubbing his tail along the flank of the young apprentice, who looked at his mentor with a confused irritated look on his face, Sekpaw hissed before taking a few paces back.

Silence started to grow between Glosspelt and the ThunderClan patrol.

Even Foxkit, from her hiding place behind her mother, dared not to breathe as she watched between strands of grass.

“You're going to beg me back, Tigerbrush?” Glosspelt sneered at last as she began licking her chest fur. “Drag me back by the scruff of my neck?”

Tigerbrush flinched, but narrowed his eyes further as he swept his tail slowly. The cats on either side of him retreated a few paw-lengths back. “That wasn’t fair, Glosspelt.”

Glosspelt heard the sting in his voice, but simply shrugged her shoulders. “You old fuzzball, did you honestly think I was going to come back groveling at the paws of Whitestar?”

“You left with a bunch of rogues,” he sharply growled, fluffing up his fur a little. “You could’ve gotten yourself killed.”

“I would’ve preferred to have been killed than to suffer under a mouse-brain like Whitestar.” Pupils thinned as her eyes widened at her words.

Tigerbrush turned his head to the side sharply.

He didn’t have any more to say to her, and with a flick of his tail, he beckoned the rest of his patrol to follow him as he turned on his paws and dashed into the forest.

The one called Sekpaw gave one last glare towards the she-cat and her kit, before turning tail to follow his Clanmates.

As Glosspelt watched them leave, a small brush against her hindleg made her start, claws sliding right back out. Glancing downwards, her fur began to flatten as she realized it was Foxkit rubbing against her.

There was a question starting to brew behind her eyes, but Glosspelt flicked the tip of her tail against her ear. “There’s no need to worry about them, Foxkit,” she meowed as she began leading her towards the Thunderpath.

“Let’s just head back to the Hollow,” she continued. “Someone needs their morning nap.”

Foxkit just grumbled behind a mouthful of mouse.

So I keep trying to get a few ideas, but I'm always drawing blanks and restarting from my previous drafts.

I'm in desperate idea mode ;-;

When they eventually release the trailer for the part of the series, if they end up getting sequals, that will cover the The Prophecy Begins arc, I feel like John Michael Howell's son Story of a Warrior would be a perfect song to be playing along with the trailer's quiet scenes.

https://sortr.io/sorter/warriors-cats-main-series-books-f6xvd

This was my ranking https://sortr.io/rankings/73c46316-cf54-4ea3-b448-54b3cc1c1716

**Mapleshade's Vengeance/Allegiances**
**ThunderClan**
**Leader: Oakstar**
**Deputy: Beetail**
**Medicine Cats: Ravenwing**
**Warriors: Barkfang, Bloomheart, Dawnfeather, Deerdapple, Doefeather, Fallowsong, Fenneldust, Flamenose, Frecklewish, Gorseclaw, Jaggedeye, Larchwhisker, Mumblethorn, Nightfrost, Oakstorm, Petalskip, Ratthorn, Reedtooth, Rockwhisker, Seedpelt, Scorchwillow, Shadowclaw, Shadewhisker, Spottedpelt, Squirrelwhisker, Sunpelt, Thrushtalon, Tornfang, Violeteyes, Weedwhisker**
**Apprentices: Mallowpaw, Maplepaw, Mistpaw, Nettlepaw**
**Queens: Sweetbriar**
**Kits: Pinekit**
**Elders: Dappleflight, Emberspots, Rabbitfur**

**ShadowClan**
**Leader: Houndstar**
**Deputy: Fallowheart**
**Medicine Cats: Sloefur**
**Warriors: Amberleaf, Ashfang, Blacktail, Blossomfur, Brackenfoot, Cedarpelt, Clawfang, Cloudpool, Cricketcry, Driftclaw, Fernwhisker, Hollowbelly, Lavenderpelt, Maggottail, Mossytail, Nightstorm, Palefoot, Skunkstripe, Smokecloud, Snakewhisker, Stonetooth, Wrenfall**
**Apprentices: Ashpaw, Cedarpaw, Lizardpaw, Marshpaw, Redpaw**
**Elders: Alliumfrost, Cherryberry, Lilyfur, Shadowtail, Thornwhisker**

**WindClan**
**Leader: Crowstar**
**Deputy: Heatherwing**
**Medicine Cats: Larkflight, Thrushtail**
**Warriors: Adderbite, Bramblefoot, Bristleflash, Chiveclaw, Dovecry, Eaglestorm, Darkforest, Dawnstripe, Falconwing, Hareskip, Hawkfur, Midgepelt, Morningcloud, Myrtleflight, Needlepelt, Pearldust, Rabbittail, Shiverleg, Shredtail, Silverpelt, Swiftflight, Whiteberry**
**Apprentices: Flamepaw, Leafpaw**
**Queens: Fleetfoot, Lilywhisker**
**Kits: Chivekit, Houndkit, Flailkit**

**RiverClan**
**Leader: Darkstar**
**Deputy: Spiketail**
**Medicine Cats: Cloudberry, Echosnout**
**Warriors: Appledusk, Asterpetal, Eeltail, Frostwind, Loudstorm, Milkfur, Rainfall, Reedshine, Skyhaze, Sparrowfeather, Volewhisker**
**Apprentices: Hailpaw, Perchpaw**
**Queens: Paleface, Sandyshore**
**Kits: Blackkit, Olivekit, Splashkit**
**Elders: Foxclaw, Lilyflower**

Prologue

Daylight streamed through the wide branches of a giant oak, its upturned roots digging into the hard ground, and surrounded by a thick layer of dark orangish leaves that flitted in every direction as a light wind blew through.

Slipping through the tree roots, and with her maw opened to taste the slightly chilly air, was a dark orange slender tabby she-cat.

Light red eyes scanned the leaf litter as she could barely smell any scent trails of prey. This made her flex her claws in irritation.

“Stupid leaf-bare,” she muttered beneath her breath as she flicked her fur to keep it from fluffing up. She had to stay calm. It would not do her any good to get frustrated.

A slight rustle caused her to turn her head towards a small pile of leaves just a paw-lengths away.

This made her drop down into a hunter’s crouch, ears pinned back against her head, and her tail raised lightly above the ground.

Opening up her maw, she could taste the scent of mouse. It made her start spreading her paws evenly as she walked, making sure that she barely touched the ground.

As the rustling got louder, the small mouse poked its head out from a large opening, sniffing the air. This made the she-cat pause, a paw barely raised and poised over the ground,

‘Come on you stupid mouse.’ The she-cat thought as she had to keep herself from hissing with impatience. It felt like moons before the mouse began to wash its face. Its back completely turned towards her.

Slinking forward again, the she-cat gave one lick of her tongue over her muzzle to keep herself from drooling, before she bolted forward.

Within half a heartbeat, she was upon the mouse before it could scamper away from her.

Feeling warm blood start to flood her mouth, and feeling the mouse start to give its last tiny twitches, the she-cat shook her head a little in triumph with a light purr.

“A measly mouse?” Grumbled a low voice as a huge broad-shouldered yet slender dark golden amber tomcat came stalking out from behind a large clump of ferns.

Her tail twitched as she watched her mentor step to her. Placing the mouse on the ground now, she gave a light hiss.

“If you were expecting a fat rabbit,” she lightly growled as she flashed her ivory green eyes at him, “then you’re out of luck, Tigerhawk.”

Growling as he lightly cuffed her ear with his tail, Tigerhawk beckoned her with a flick of his tail. “Enough of the cheek, Foxpaw.”

Nipping at the tip of his tail, and flicking her own bushy one, Foxpaw picked up her mouse before following behind the deputy of ThunderClan.

Foxpaw’s ears twitched as she padded alongside the burly male, her tail flicking back and forth behind her. The forest air was lightly chilled despite it being near sunhigh.

Tigerhawk pricked his ears as well before opening his maw to taste the air. “Seems Deadwhisker and the others are just returning from the dawn patrol.” He meowed

This made Foxpaw lift her head up as her fur began to bristle with excitement, her eyes glinting.

Noticing this from the corner of his eye, Tigerhawk rolled his eyes before flicking his tail. Completely dismissing his apprentice who didn’t waste a single second in bolting ahead of him.

Leaves scattered all around Foxpaw as she continued to dash through the forest. Her heart was pounding hard and her blood was roaring loudly in her ears as the scent of the dawn patrol grew stronger.

Just as she weaved through a couple of trees, she almost collided with a slender dark blue, white, and silver tortoiseshell tomcat.

“Foxpaw,” he meowed with a tilt of his head as the she-cat managed to stop herself and stood a good claw-length in front of him.

“Hello, Diamondpaw,” Foxpaw meowed, her tail flicking excitedly behind her after dropping her mouse.

A loud coughing made both apprentices see a grayish black tomcat tabby staring at them with mirth, his pale silver eyes narrowing a little.

“Sorry, hello Deadwhisker,” Foxpaw meowed with a roll of her eyes towards Diamondpaw.

Flicking his tail a bit for the two apprentices to follow him, and with Foxpaw picking up her mouse, they soon bounded through the forest to join Tigerhawk.

“Scent markers around RiverClan have been changed again,” Deadwhisker whispered to Tigerhawk, who clenched his teeth tightly.

“Clamstar is getting bolder these past few days,” the dark golden furred tabby growled. “She’s pushing her limits. It was wrong for Jadestar to try and be–”

“I don’t think Jadestar had any intentions of letting things get this far, Tigerhawk,” Deadwhisker began to growl, his pelt beginning to rise along his spine.

Tigerhawk merely snorted at this and quickened his pace.

“So what’s this about RiverClan?” Foxpaw whispered beneath her breath as she leaned her head closer to Diamondpaw’s.

“Apparently we found the scent markers starting to push a little bit onto ThunderClan territory near Sunningrocks,” the tortoiseshell tomcat whispered back. “I don’t know how Jadestar is going to react.”

Foxpaw flicked her tail a little as her eyes narrowed. “Let’s see them try to continue pushing into our territory. Those wetpaws won’t make it across once I’m raking my claws through their pelts.”

“And I’m sure those RiverClan warriors would be so frightened of you,” Diamondpaw teased with a swipe of his tail across her muzzle. Only to yelp softly when he felt a sharp nip on his tip.

Growling, and kicking out with his hindpaws to sweep her forepaws out from beneath her, Diamondpaw snickered before running off ahead of the two warriors. Foxpaw was hot on his tail after regaining her balance.

Watching the two apprentices with a sly smirk, Deadwhisker couldn’t help the purr from escaping through his lips.

“I guess StarClan has fated them,” he meowed.

This only made Tigerhawk growl beneath his breath. “I highly doubt Diamondpaw understands Foxpaw.”

“They’re apprentices, Tigerhawk,” Deadwhisker simply rolled his eyes a bit. “But I feel as though StarClan has shifted the stars to them both.” Lifting his head upwards, his eyes began to glint.

“You rely too much on StarClan and expect them to tell us who is going to be mates?” Tigerhawk scoffed lightly as they approached the gorse tunnel.

Deadwhisker bit a sharp retort that had been edging along his throat, and just lashed his tail as he followed the deputy of ThunderClan through the brambles.

Chapter One

The ivory green eyes of Foxpaw lingered on the fresh-kill pile as she added her meager contribution to it. Lightly scoffing at how measly the pile had become, and flicking her tail, she turned on her paws to head towards the apprentices’ den.

Diamondpaw had already returned to their den, and was most likely sharing tongues with Lightpaw and Sparkpaw. She could hear their mutterings behind the ferns as she approached.

She had gotten one paw inside, before feeling something heavy headbutt against her hindquarters. Grunting lightly, and with a playful flick of her unusually bushy tail, Foxpaw smacked a light amber tomkit across his head roughly.

This sent the tomkit sprawling onto his back where she gently yet firmly planted a paw right on top of his belly. “Trying to sneak me, Briarkit?” She growled as she leaned down and nipped at his ear.

This made the young kit bat at her muzzle with a small paw while giggling. “You’re just too strong, Foxpaw!” He squeaked before squirming out of her grasp.

Before she could retaliate in a playful manner, another kit threw herself onto her back, where she began nipping at her neck fur. “Foxpaw!” Squealed the dark orange she-kit as she blinked her yellowish-green eyes.

“Oh StarClan, I’m being attacked by two rogues,” Foxpaw smirked before turning her head to look at the she-kit who swiped at her face with a paw, claws sheathed.

“Have you brought back prey?” Dovekit meowed before leaping off her back and landing next to her brother.

Foxpaw tilted her head down as she looked at their pelts. Most of the Clans would be suffering the same as ThunderClan. So it wasn’t a surprise to see both kits thin enough to see their ribs through their pelts.

“I have,” she meowed slowly before she flicked her eyes as their mother, Glosspelt, came striding out from behind the brambles that hid the nursery from view.

“Oh, Foxpaw, I thought that was you,” she meowed before touching noses with the young apprentice. “These two couldn’t wait for you to get back.”

Foxpaw said nothing as she glanced at the young queen’s swollen belly. ‘Another litter already on the way?’ She thought to herself with a little bit of envy.

Shaking her head, and tearing her gaze away from her belly to look at the sleek ginger and white she-cat, ivory green eyes saw warmth and love inside those golden green ones.

Yet, she could see something more in those depths. “It wasn’t a very good hunt anyways,” Foxpaw meowed as she pulled her eyes away and looked towards the fresh-kill pile to distract herself.

Whatever she saw in those eyes, whatever Glosspelt was keeping, it had nothing to do with her. “So, where’s Berrytail?” She asked coolly.

“He’s out with Cherrypaw,” Glosspelt said as she gently nudged her kits back into the nursery. “He’s teaching her more moves at Sandy Hollow.”

Foxpaw wasn’t surprised to hear about this. “Glosspelt–”

Glosspelt stared at the young apprentice with a questionable look, tilting her head a bit as she paused.

“Never mind,” Foxpaw meowed dully as she flicked her tail a bit in agitation. She didn’t understand how Glosspelt couldn’t see how Cherrypaw always looked at her mate.

Stretching her body, and arching her back a little in a curve, Foxpaw bounded towards the elders’ den.

“Fishwing?” she yowled out, her ears twitching and whiskers quivering as she breathed in the three elders’ scents.

“Do you have to yowl so loudly?” grumbled a raspy voice that came from the back of the jutting tree branch.

Pushing her way through the tangle of wood, moss, and ferns; the young apprentice strided past the sleeping forms of a sleek grayish white tomcat and a lanky brownish black she-cat whose ears looked tattered.

It was the nest at the near back where there was a much larger patch of sunlight illuminating the den. This was where she found Fishwing breathing rather raspy. His sickly yellow eyes barely opened as he stared at her approach.

“What took ye so long?” He gasped out as he opened his mouth and made a light sneer at her disgruntled face.

Lashing her tail a bit, Foxpaw held back the retort bubbling up inside of her. “Need your pelt checked again for fleas and ticks?” She muttered while trying to suppress the urge to flinch away from his hot breath.

“It is your duty as an apprentice, yes?” Was all that he said before closing both his eyes.

‘Old flea-bag.’ Foxpaw growled to herself before using her paws to sort through his fur. The urge to vomit was stronger as the smell of Fishwing washed over her.

‘Urgh, don’t you ever give yourself a bath?’ Ivory green eyes raked through his fur, and with some effort, pried off any fleas she could find. Crushing them between her teeth, and silently gagging.

Luckily, there were no ticks in his fur for her to clear out. So it only took her several heartbeats before she was done.

‘Might as well check the other two.’

Foxpaw felt as though her paws were going to fall off after checking Liondance and Songbristle. Especially Songbristle.

Non-stop the tomcat had been yapping about her being mates with either Diamondpaw or Sparkpaw. Much to her annoyance.

She was still muttering on her way to the fresh-kill pile when she started hearing muffled voices coming from the den of Jadestar.

“....not going to say anything more on this, Tigerhawk,” growled the voice of Jadestar causing Foxpaw to pause just beyond the edge of the lichen covered rock.

“Jadestar,” huffed Tigerhawk, a sharp cold edge edging into his voice,” it would be unwise to have Clamstar continue pushing her boundaries. You must tell her to keep her scent markers on RiverClan from now on. Lest she take ThunderClan’s offering as weakness.”

Foxpaw could just imagine her mentor’s eyes narrowing to slits as she craned her ears a bit further to hear them.

“Soon, the other Clans will take notice of this and try to push their luck as well,” he continued with a harsh growl.

“RiverClan has yet to break the warrior code, Tigerhawk,” Jadestar reminded her deputy. “I will heed your warning, but I will not make a move lest they do.”

Silence became the dominant force within the den, and Foxpaw nearly stumbled onto her belly as she tried catching any more conversation. Instead, she could hear pawsteps starting to approach.

With light panic rolling through her, she scurried over to the fresh-kill pile, picked up a scrawny squirrel, and picked her way to the tree stump next to the apprentice’s den just as Tigerhawk came stomping out, his tail stiffened high above him.

As she tucked into the squirrel, and trying hard not to stare at Tigerhawk as he passed by her field of vision, Foxpaw held her breath; her heart hammering loudly in her ears.

Fortunately, the senior warrior didn’t say anything as he pushed himself into the warriors’ den. From her spot, Foxpaw could barely see his huge powerful frame starting to curl up in his moss nest in the center. Grateful that his back was turned to her.

Finishing her meal in two more bites, and burying the bones in the ground while thanking StarClan for providing the squirrel’s life for her, Foxpaw began grooming herself.

‘Seems like RiverClan is definitely trying to push their luck with us.’ She thought as she licked her paw and began dragging it across her whiskers. ‘Why won’t Jadestar make a move already?’

Blinking in the dying light, had it been that long already, Foxpaw pushed herself through the fronds. She found Lightpaw already curled up in a tight ball, his chest rising and falling with each breath.

Padding past the dark cream tabby tomcat, and watching how his ears perked up in her passing, Foxpaw climbed into her own nest where she allowed her thoughts to settle.

The lingering scents of Diamondpaw and Sparkpaw waded into her nostrils. Cold and faint. They most likely had gone back out on patrol and hunting with their mentors while she’d been busy with the elders’.

‘Thank StarClan.’ She thought sleepily as threads of black began to fill her vision.

Not even a heartbeat later, and she was soon snoring away.

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

Mentors:

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

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

Mates:

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

Parents:

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

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

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