A New Leader

The great Needlestar was dead. That's what they had been told. No one knew much about how he had died. There was no scent of another cat on him, or any fur in-between his long black talon claws. Yet he was dead. And everyone, even those who didn't know him well, knew he wouldn't have gone down without a fight. Falconkit looked at his two siblings. The two she cats gossiped happily between each other, talking of who would be the next leader of Thunderclan.  There was an uproar in the whole camp; it wasn't common for there not to be a deputy to take the place of the leader once he left his position. Berrynose, the former deputy, had died early that day from a terrible case of green cough, and before Needlestar could appoint a new one, he mysteriously died.

"Don't be such a mouse brain Sootkit," Talonkit an orange tabby she cat purred in laughter at her sister's words, "the next leader will of course be Rateye."

Her words could very well be true. The black tom had been close to their grandfather, Needlestar, and had served his clan well; proving himself worthy of the title Ratstar on many occasions. Though, ThunderClan might not be willing to except a cat that was once an outsider to rule the clan. Even he, a kit, could see that.

"At least I don't have bees buzzing in my brain. That old cat might as well be in the elders den," Sootkit a long furred grey she cat snapped. Falconkit gave a smirk listening to his sister. If their mother or any other cat heard her talking about a senior warrior like that she would have her face ripped off. "The next leader will of course be Mustardseed. He's strong and amazing."

Falconkit rolled his eyes, it was gross how obviously in love she was with the tom, but even though both cats were strong and would make for excellent leaders; the same issue laid for both, they were not clan born. He stood up and grabbed the two she cats attention.  His brown tabby fur shone with the light that found its way through the little holes of the entrance to the nursery.  "I can't believe you two are missing the cat that deserves it the most. The true, and clear, leader of ThunderClan."

The she cats looked at him curiously. "Well," it was Sootkit who spoke, "are you going to tell us or are we to read your mind?"

Falconkit sighed irritably. "You're such mouse brains," he mewed.  He lifted his head and puffed out his chest, his amber eyes glowing with strength, "our father of course!"

The two she cats continued to stare at him and then looking at each other before they burst into laughter. "Talk about mouse brained Falconkit," Talonkit mewed between her laughter.

So what? So what if they're father was young? Wasn't Firestar a newly named warrior when he became deputy and soon after leader? So what if he never had an apprentice; it was a stupid code anyways and Bramblestar had been named deputy before he had one. They're father was the best. He had the blood lines to take up the role of leader. He was the only one in the clan who truly did.

: 3

HE HAD BEEN RIGHT!! Falconkit raced around in circles in the nursery earning a few hisses from the other cats inside, manly his mother scolding him, but he didn't care. His father, Pineclaw; soon to be Pinestar, was going to be the next leader of ThunderClan.

"Did you hear," Falconkit stopped in his tracks at the sound of the warrior's voices right outside the nursery. "That 'THEY' are coming back to the clans to congratulate Pinestar on his new ranking."

"Yes," the other cat meowed, "I can't believe that after all this time they're coming back to the clans."

Falconkit turned to look at the bramble entrance with a confused look on his face. 'They?' who was 'they?' and why had they left only to decide to come back?

: 3

Everyone was in the clearing of the camp. It was grand! Pinestar lay beside the deputy he appointed when he came back from receiving his nine lives, Sunheart. Each warrior had a large plump prey in front of them.  All of them together talking about the best places to hunt, elders reminiscing about the good old days, while the kits raced around playing with a moss ball they had stolen from Loudmouth's den.  It all stopped though, everything went silent at the same moment. Falconkit narrowed his eyes not understanding why, until he turned his head to the entrance and saw, 'them!'

A large brown tabby tom that held a few battle scars padded in beside another tom, this one smaller and grey. Though what Falconkit couldn't understand was why their tails were intertwined and they padded closely together as though they were mates.

It was the large brown tabby that spoke. "Ahhhh, so you finally got the rank you always desperately clawed for," he spoke with humor and sarcasm to the black and white leader.

HOW DARE HE?! What right did he have to speak to the clan leader in that way? An outsider, from the smell of it, no less; Falconkit puffed his fur up. This cat would get his face clawed off and he couldn't wait to see it.

"Moon, Rush, I'm glad you two were able to come," Pinestar meowed standing up; his voice not showing the aggression that Falconkit had expected.

The clan cats fell back into what they had been doing glancing over every so often to check what the two rogue cats were doing. Falconkit didn't like the two cats and he hoped they weren't planning on staying.  

The toms padded up to Pinestar and the cat known as 'Moon' rubbed his muzzle happily over the leader's while the grey one sat a few paces behind looking around with narrowed eyes, clearly unhappy to be here. Finally they stopped at Falconkit; the brown tabby froze under the intense gaze of the other tom. "Pinestar, I never took you as a tom to have a family," he meowed in an almost bored voice.

Falconkit looked at the tom with surprised eyes, how could he tell that he was Pinestar's kit? Pinestar looked over to the brown tabby kit with surprised blue eyes as though in all the excitement he had forgotten that he did in fact have kits.

"Ah, yes," he curled the tip of his tail for Falconkit to come over the kit complied with his head and tail held high, using long powerful strides.

He heard the larger brown tabby chuckle softly, "I see he has taken after you in confidence."

Falconkit sat tall when he came to the three larger toms. "Moon, Rush, this is my son Falconkit. I have two daughters but they're in the nursery if I'm correct."

He looked at each tom in turn before to his father. "Pinestar, who are these cats?"

It was Moon who spoke. "I am Moon," the brown tabby purred before jerking his head to the grey tom with a huge scar of a slave on his chest, "and that grumpy cat over there is Rush."

"What do you expect when you wake me up before sunrise, and tell me that we have to quickly rush over to see your brother," the grey tom grumbled.

Falconkit's eyes widened, so Moon was his father's brother. How could that be?

Moon leaned in and looked at Falconkit with excited eyes, he was a little too close for the kits comfort so he shifted back.

"Oh Pinestar, he's just so adorable," he looked over to Rush, "isn't he Rushbunny?"

Rushbunny?  Wasn't the cat's name Rush?

"Yes Moon," the tom meowed in a bored voice, "I can hardly contain myself with his cuteness."

The large brown tabby tom gave a small skip to be beside the other cat. "Oh Rush I want to have kits," he whined.

Rush's eyes widened before they narrowed to look at Moon, "do I look like a she cat."

Wait! Why did it matter what Rush was? Could it mean? No it couldn't.

Pinestar rolled his eyes. "None of that while you're here," he meowed and Moon looked over to the leader with disappointment.

"Fine," he sighed resorting to grooming his already sleek fur. Falconkit watched the tom's careful strokes and couldn't help but wonder why he was grooming his fur when not one piece was even out of place.

"Because he's obsessed with looking perfect," the cat named Rush meowed in a bored voice.

Falconkit's fur fluffed up in surprise. Did the tom just read his mind?

"Why don't you go back with your clan mates, your mother seems to be worried," the grey tom meowed with a sigh.

Falconkit turned to see that he was right. Snowpatch, the white Thunderclan queen who was his mother, stared at the cats. Her muscles bunched as though ready to spring. The brown tabby kit bowed his head and raced off relived to be away from the two strange cats.

"You know," Rush meowed softly enough for only the three of the toms to hear, "that kit might very well be the next leader of Thunderclan."

Moon narrowed his eyes watching the brown tabby race away toward his mother and pressing noises before starting a play fight with a few other kits. "Yes," he meowed his voice suddenly serious, "I would have to agree. He shows the makings of such."

Pinestar rolled his eyes. "I highly doubt that Falconkit will be a leader one day," he meowed.

Rush looked over to the black and white tom with unreadable eyes. "He's smart, he relived that I was able to read his mind."

"That's because you made it so clear for StarClan's sake," Pinestar growled the tip of his tail flicking back and forth.

Moon shook his head. "I foresee that he will become a great cat Pinestar.  He will one day lead the four clans into peace, an everlasting one. Horrific tasks that no cat has ever had to overcome await him, and he will have to face them alone. That kit will become the greatest leader that any as ever seen.."

The three cats watched Falconkit playing with his two sisters tossing a ball of moss high in the air with their mouth and the other two trying to be the one to catch it. It was hard to believe that the greatest cat was standing right in front of them as a tiny kit. He had lots to learn and he would have to learn it from many cats in the hardest ways.

"Pinestar, you know what this means right?" Moon asked looking away from the kit and to his brother.

The tom's eyes didn't leave his kit for a second, just giving a single slow nod. "When he becomes to be a apprentices age he will be yours to train."

Moon and Rush looked at each other. They had a lot in their paws and they knew what was at stake for all the clans.  They stood up and Moon gave an over exaggerated bow of his head. "Well until then Pinestar," he meowed before the two toms turned around ready to head back.

"In four moons," Pinestar meowed as though a reminder.

Moon raised his tail in the air signaling that he had heard before they padded toward the enterence.  Moon paused and looked over to the brown tabby still playing fully unaware of all the troubles that laid ahead of him.

"Moon," Rush mewed comfortingly pressing his noise into the larger tom's fur affectiontly, "he possibly won't be going through things harder then what we had to go through."

The large brown tabby shook his head with a long exasperated sigh. "I've seen it Rush, and its worse…much worse." The two tom-toms left the camp with in mind that they would be back soon to collect the kit in order to train him for what was ahead.