Beautiful Darkness/Story

Prologue - ThunderClan, Snowfrost
"Another wouneded, Snowfrost. Is your den ready for another cat?" spoke a voice into the cavern of the medicine den. In the darkness, bright blue eyes blinked in shock. The cat rushed out and started at the cat laying on the ground. She then looked at the other cat, the one who had spoken.

"What happened?" Snowfrost asked, worried. It was clear that she knew all too well as to how he got hurt. But, it was her duty to ask what happened.

"Snowfrost, I'm sorry...about Stormdawn. He..got ambushed by ShadowClan. We were out on patrol, and he said something about a strange scent and he bolted off, without even waiting for us. We got there just in time, otherwise he wouldn't have made it." The tom shook his gray head mournfully. "I don't know how much more of this Flamestar can take..." Snowfrost let her tail rest on Gorsetail's shoulder.

"It's not your fault..." she assured the gray and white tom. "ShadowClan will be punished by StarClan for their actions. I also wonder how much more Flamestar can take. This has got to be bad. ShadowClan hasn't gotten this bad since Tigerstar's reign, many many seasons ago."

She glanced over at Flamestar's den, where the lichen was draped across the den entrance, disturbed only by the slight breeze flowing through the camp. It seemed that Flamestar was ignoring the whole camp. Nothing she said or did would ever erase the fact that her leader was changing.

Chapter One - ThunderClan, Ravenheart
ThunderClan had been left alone since that deadly attack by ShadowClan. However, something seemed different about ShadowClan. At the last Gathering, Dawnstar, ShadowClan's leader, acted like nothing had ever happened. There was proof that it did though. Stormdawn was still in the medicine den, with a wound that wouldn't heal, and Flamestar...well... he was still very isolated. There was nothing that Snowfrost could do - not even the best of medicine cats can heal a heart as shattered as his.

"Ravenheart?" spoke a voice. Jolting the tom from his thoughts. He turned to see his brother, Cloudflight, looking at him with concern in his eyes. Along with Snowfrost, the three siblings tried their best to figure out what was wrong with their father. Not even Hollysong, their mother, could jolt him back into the strong leader he once was. "Ravenheart? Are you okay?" Spoke Cloudflight, his black tail flicking in confusion.

Ravenheart flicked one white paw and raised it up to his ear and flicked again, trying to wake himself up. "Huh? Cloudflight? What? I'm just sleepy, that's all. I had a long evening, keeping watch..." Ravenheart's warrior vigil was the night before, and he was just waking up from a long nap.

Cloudflight looked at his younger brother with amusement in his green gaze. "You would think that staying up all night would be good for you. I thought the night was perfect for a vigil - I would've joined you had Hawkpelt let me." Hawkpelt was the ThunderClan deputy and Cloudflight's former mentor. His brother had been a warrior for many moons, but sometimes still acted like an immature apprentice. "I think that he thought that the camp was well enough guarded with just you and Flowerpetal. Although I could have sworn I saw her taking a nap outside of the camp..."

As if she had been summoned by Cloudflight, Flowerpetal walked into the warrior's den. "Cloudflight. I think you better get your facts straight before assuming something. At least I can stay up the whole night - remember the last time you were put on guard duty? You were out before the sun set!" Flowerpetal flicked her tail over Cloudflight's ear.

"Oh, hush." Cloudflight felt his pelt grow hot at Flowerpetal's teasing. "Like I could help it! I was on patrol almost all day - added to the fact that I was on guard duty... It was enough to make even a StarClan cat tired." He got up and stalked out of the den, his tail flicking in agitation.

''Something 's up his pelt. Jeez, did StarClan bless him with a family of ticks or something?'' Ravenheart thought as his brother stormed out of the den. He looked at Flowerpetal, and she just shrugged.