Prologue

The forest was quiet tonight. Ember loved just sitting here on the twoleg fence and staring out into the dense foliage with sharp green eyes. Sometimes she would sit out here during the day, dozing and observing - she had seen the forest cats a small pawful of times, but always retreated back into her yard before they could spot her. The most curious was a grayish blue furred molly with blue eyes. Ember could swear that it was almost as if the old molly was watching her every now and then.

Tonight, she would go into the forest. The dream of the mouse had been the small nudge to begin her curiosity, but then last night her dreams had been filled with whispers and fleeting glimpses of cats with starry fur. Something told her that those cats were somehow connected to the forest cats.

Standing with a stretch, Ember leapt daintily to the ground under the fence, breathing deep to inhale the multitude of smells the forest had to offer.

And the mouse scent on the breeze smelled delightful.

Padding quietly into the forest, Ember didn't realize that this venture would be the start to a brand new life.

—TTF—

Graypaw had slipped out of camp when Longtail wasn't looking, escaping into the night with all the joy of a kit getting into mischief. He knew he could just sneak back in through the dirt place tunnel and no cat would have to know about his midnight adventure.

The thick furred gray tom had journeyed in the direction of Twolegplace, but he couldn't place what tugged his paws in that direction.

When he saw the ginger furred molly, he figured StarClan had led him here to scare away a trespasser. Carefully lowering himself into a crouch, Graypaw waited for the molly to get closer before he sprang with a yowl of fury. The ginger kittypet jerked in surprise as he slammed into her and the two were sent rolling.

To his surprise, a fierce hiss tore its way out of her throat and sharp claws raked over the top of his left ear, causing blood to drip into his eye. With a heave, he flung the little molly away and crouched again as she regained her footing.

Bright green eyes narrowed into furious slits as she bared her teeth at him, ears flat against her head and the fur along her spine prickling. He took a tentative step closer and she recoiled a warning grrroww rumbling in her chest.

"Pretty fierce for a kittypet!" He meowed cheerfully with a flick of his plumy tail. "Not bad for a tame kitty!"

The kittypet's fur relaxed along her spine but her eyes stayed narrowed. "You're a forest cat? Small, aren't you?"

"Only because I'm an apprentice," Graypaw licked a paw and drew it over his bleeding ear. "When I'm a warrior, I'll be as big as a badger! Even ShadowClan will be afraid of me!"

The kittypet sat down, her tail curing around her paws and her head tilting to the side curiously. "ShadowClan?"

"Surely you know about the four warrior Clans that share the land!" Graypaw exclaimed in shock.

"No."

"I'm from ThunderClan!" Graypaw explained excitedly. "We're the best Clan in the forest! Then there's ShadowClan - the elders say that the north winds have chilled their hearts, making them cruel. WindClan live on the moors and spend their days chasing rabbits. And RiverClan… well, let's just say that cats who like to swim? That cannot be natural."

Her whiskers twitched in amusement at the full body shudder that went through Graypaw. "And what do ThunderClan do?"

"Well, we… climb trees?" Graypaw began, a look of concentration on his face. "And patrol and hunt… chase squirrels… fight foxes and badgers and dogs…"

"And the others don't fight foxes and badgers and dogs?"

"Well.." Graypaw's ears twitched in embarrassment. "I'm sure they do."

The breeze shifted then, bringing two new scents toward them that made Graypaw bristle in alarm.

"You need to go!" he meowed quickly, shooting to his paws. "ThunderClan warriors are coming!"

"What's going on here?" A cool voice asks, freezing the two you hesters in their frantic scramble.

"You shouldn't be out late alone, Graypaw." This voice is deeper, firmer, but just as kind.

"And who is this?" The blue furred molly asks, eyeing the ginger kit.

Ember's eyes widen. "Hey, I know you! I've seen you watching me."

The older molly let's out a soft purr. "Yes. I always wondered how long it would take you to finally set your paws in the forest."

"Bluestar has been watching you for good reason, young one," the golden tom meowed.

"I have been long considering offering you a place in ThunderClan," Bluestar admitted. "Your fascination with the forest is very noticeable. I think you could thrive here."

Graypaw looked just as thrown as Ember felt. "But she's a kittypet! She doesn't have Warrior blood."

Bluestar's sad blue eyes drilled into Graypaw's own bewildered yellow eyes. "Warrior blood… too much of that has been spilled lately."

"The offer is not made lightly," the tom meowed. "Bluestar offers you a place among us, but the season of leafbare is harsh, food often hard to come by and tension with other Clans can lead to battle. This life is not guaranteed to be safe."

"It is as Lionheart says," Bluestar agrees. "Safety is not guaranteed. But do you realize the price you will pay for the food and warmth your Twolegs provide? Soon, you will be taken to the Cutter and be altered. You will lose that adventurous edge, and be unable to have kits one day."

Ember is suddenly struck by when a tom a few gardens over went to the vet and came back smelling different. He had grown lazy and fat where he had once been active and thin.

"I can give you a day to think about it -"

"No!" Ember exclaimed, startling the Clan cats. "No, I don't need time to think, I… I would very much like to join you."

Bluestar's eyes seemed to glow with pride. "Very well, we will go back now."

Graypaw pranced up to his side. "I can show you all the best hunting spots! We'll be warriors before you can spell Mothermouth! Oh er… what's your name?"

A purr tore its way from Ember's throat before she paused. Lifting a paw, she slapped lightly at the bell on her collar with a frown. With a grunt of irritation she slipped a paw under it and slid it over her head before kicking it into some thick underbrush.

"My name is Ember. And I don't need that anymore," she murmured to herself. "That's not who I am anymore."

Bluestar flocked her tail and the warriors took off running, and Ember bounded behind. It took only a few moments for her to realize that while she wasn't as fat and lazy as most kittypets, she wasn't in the same kind of shape as these wild cats.

The forest was quiet and peaceful at night, most animals sleeping like they all should also be. Instead they raced through the forest towards the ThunderClan camp, shadows in the underbrush. Eventually Bluestar came to a halt in front of a long horse tunnel.

"This is the ThunderClan camp," Lionheart explained. "The white furred tom guarding the entrance here is Whitestorm."

The yellow eyed white tom dipped his head in greeting. "Hello, young one. Bluestar has told me about you." His gaze then met that of his leader. "So she's staying?"

"Yes," Bluestar answered. "I will call a Clan meeting - I hope no one minds having their sleep interrupted."

"Oh, they'll mind, but they'll get over it."

With an amused flick of her tail, Bluestar entered the camp, the rest of them trailing behind. When they entered the clearing, she leapt on top of a large rock and let out a loud cry.

"Let all cats old enough to catch their own prey gather beneath the Highrock for a Clan meeting!"

The empty and silent camp seemed to come alive before Ember's eyes. From under a thick bramble bush, four mollies emerged. A clump of ferns near a tree stump trembled as three cats about her age exited the den slowly, yawning and blinking the sleep from their eyes. A dark tortoiseshell molly emerged from a crack between some rocks, eyes locked on the leader before sliding to Ember with a look of bewilderment. Numerous cats came from beneath a large bush near a nettle patch, pouring into the clearing and looking much more alert than the three younger cats. Last to emerge was a group of elderly cats that came from beneath a jutting branch of a fallen tree.

"What's going on?" A black furred tom asked anxiously, his white tail tip twitching. "Have we been invaded?"

"Ravenpaw, you mouse-brain! If that had happened we'd already be running off to battle!" The pale ginger molly next to him snapped, causing him to cower.

"Silence," Bluestar ordered, waving her tail. "We gather tonight for the naming of a new apprentice. I have found a cat who wishes to join ThunderClan. Lionheart and I both spoke with this young molly, and we believe she will thrive here."

A pale tabby snores crossly. "You brought a stranger into the Clan? And a kittypet! Just get a sniff of her!"

Bluestar's eyes narrowed. "My decision is final, Longtail. Be silent."

The young warrior's lips curled, but he wisely kept his mouth shut when a tom with a bright ginger tail sent him a cold look.

"Ember," Bluestar meowed. "Come forward."

Feeling all eyes on her, Ember steeled her nerves and padded forward, green eyes glowing in the moonlight.

"You are six moons of age, and are ready to become an apprentice," Bluestar began. "From this day on, until you receive your warrior name, you will be known as Firepaw, in honor of your flame colored coat. Tigerclaw."

From the crowd a large brown tabby tom emerged, his amber eyes shining in the night.

"Tigerclaw, you are ready for another apprentice," Bluestar announced. "You trained Darkstripe well, and I trust you to pass on all you know to Firepaw."

Tigerclaw gave a firm nod, before gazing at the apprentice who was staring at him with wide eyes. So, this was the little kittypet molly that Bluestar had spoken to him about. He had to admit, after what had happened with that Kittypet kit when he was an apprentice, Tigerclaw was surprised when Bluestar came to him and asked him to apprentice the little ginger molly if she were to join the Clan.

Thistleclaw's warning from a dream a few moons ago echoed in his mind. This little molly was the fire that would save the Clan? This was StarClan's chosen warrior? The hero they thought would stop Tigerclaw? As his amber eyes met her bright green, Tigerclaw let out a soft purr as he touched noses with his new apprentice.

Wel, StarClan was wrong, and so was Thistleclaw. His former mentor had insinuated that the fire needed to be quenched - eliminate the threat. No, instead Tigerclaw would take this apprentice and train her. He would mold her into a worthy warrior.

He would tame the fire.

ALLEGIANCES

THUNDERCLAN

LEADER: Bluestar - blue-gray molly, tinged with silver around her muzzle

DEPUTY: Redtail - small tortoiseshell tom with a distinctive ginger tail Apprentice, Dustpaw

MEDICINE CAT: Spottedleaf - Beautiful dark tortoiseshell molly with a distinctive dappled coat

WARRIORS:

Lionheart - magnificent golden tabby tom with thick fur like a lion's mane Apprentice, Graypaw

Tigerclaw - Big dark brown tabby tom with unusually long front claws Apprentice, Firepaw

Whitestorm - Big white tom Apprentice, Sandpaw

Darkstripe - sleek black and gray tabby tom

Longtail - pale tabby tom with dark black stripes

Runningwind - Swift tabby tom

Willowpelt - very pale gray molly with unusual blue eyes Apprentice, Ravenpaw

Mousefur - small dusky brown molly

APPRENTICES:

Dustpaw - dark brown tabby tom

Graypaw - long-haired solid gray tom

Ravenpaw - small, skinny black tom with a tiny white dash on his chest, and a white tipped tail

Sandpaw - pale ginger molly

Firepaw - beautiful bright ginger molly

QUEENS:

Frostfur - Beautiful white molly with blue eyes

Brindleface - pretty tabby molly

Goldenflower - pale ginger molly

Speckletail - pale tabbymolly, oldest queen in the nursery

ELDERS:

Halftail - Big dark brown tabby tom with a part of his tail missing

Smallear - Gray tom with very small ears. The oldest tom in ThunderClan

Patchpelt - small black and white tom

One-eye - pale gray molly , the oldest cat in ThunderClan. Virtually blind and deaf

Dappletail - once pretty tortoiseshell molly with a lovely dappled coat

Rosetail - Gray tabby molly with a bushy, pinkish orange tail