Chapter 2

Briarleaf woke with a start. It was all a dream,she thought. She padded out of her den into the clearing. The morning sun shone down on her as she stretched. Selecting a mouse from the fresh kill pile, Briarleaf sat down to eat. Silverheart sat next to her, her silvery tabby fur gleaming in the sunlight.

"Good morning, Briarleaf," she mewed. "How are you today?"

"Fine, thanks," Briarleaf replied politely. The clan deputy was very friendly, but also very serious. ThunderClan meant everything to her, and Briarleaf understood that she did not have enough love for any other cat. There was a cat who loved her though. His name was Moonblaze and Briarleaf was always standing on the side, watching him pad after her, day after day, and she ignored him. Briarleaf pitied Moonblaze. It must hurt to love someone so much.

"Hey, Briarleaf," Silverheart mewed. "Have you ever thought of taking on an apprentice?" Briarleaf looked surprised. She had never really thought about it before.

"I...I'm not sure," she replied. "I don't know if I'm ready." Before Silverheart could say anything else, Briarleaf padded off to her den.

Briarleaf hated being impolite, but she just didn't feel comfortable socializing with other cats. An image of Stardust popped into her head, and she sadly shook it away. Stardust was the friendliest cat she had ever met, always chatting with other cats like they were all littermates. But in the end, Briarleaf was everything to her.

Briarleaf decided to check on the kits and the queens in the nursery. As she padded in, the kits dashed up to greet her.

"Hi Briarleaf!" squeaked Icekit. She jumped onto Briarleaf's back and clung on to her. Three other kits folowed, until Briarleaf was covered in a squirming mass of kits.

"Get down this instant!" Raincloud said sternly. Immediatly, the kits dropped from her back. "Hello, Briarleaf. I'm sorry about the kits. They've been dying to get out of the nursery today." Briarleaf licked her ruffled fur.

"It's okay," she mewed. "Kits will be kits." Raincloud purred and gathered her four kits to her nest. Icekit and her littermates, Ivykit, Brushkit, and Shrubkit tumbled into the nest, squealing. Lightfrost's litter, Thistlekit and Bubblekit her older than Raincloud's and sat maturely at the side.

"They're almost six moons old," purred Lightfrost. 

"We're going to be apprentices!" shouted Thistlekit while her sister sat up straight with her nose in the air. Briarleaf smiled at the sight of the energetic, enthusiastic kits. Would one of them become her apprentice?

Shiningpelt lay in her nest, her belly heavy with unborn kits. "They'll be due any day now," said Briarleaf.

"They're going to be beautiful kits," she replied happily.

"I'd think so," Briarleaf replied. Then, the mysterious prophecy popped into her head.

Danger will come in the face of the sun's cloud.