"Sparkfur... Sparkfur!" Thunder crashed in the sky, rain pummeling down on the stone roof of Sparkfur's den. She blinked her eyes open blearily. Big kit-blue eyes met hers.

"Hm..?" she mumbled sleepily.

"....I'm scared." Her eyes adjusted, and she could see Briarkit much clearer now. His dark fur was on end, his eyes wide. She glanced over to where Frostheart lay asleep; Squirrelkit, Emberkit, and Hazelkit also resting quietly next to their mother. Why can't Briarkit be that sound of a sleeper? She looked back at Briarkit. His eyes were wide and scared. She sighed, turning onto her side.

"What're you afraid of?" She murmured quietly. He blinked.

"The loud sounds. The.. lightning?"

"Thunder. The sound is called thunder,"

"Yeah. The thunder. It's scary." He nuzzled close to her belly fur, and she looked down at him awkwardly. She didn't know what to do. Frostheart was asleep, and it was close to impossible to wake the ex-FogClan cat.

"Here, come on." Sparkfur stood up, leaning down and picking up the under-sized kit. Briarkit let out a startled mew, luckily not disturbing the sleep of his denmates. Looks like they inherited something other than white fur from their mother...

The rain pummeled down on Sparkfur the moment she stepped out of the den, and she kept her head low so that Briarkit didn't get wet. She moved quickly, making a bee-line straight for the bramble den. She poked her head in, her eyes moving across the sleeping bodies of huge cats. She carefully maneuvered around several cats till she reached the center of the huddle of cats. Her eyes moved past Berryfoot, who was sound asleep, to Waspclaw, who's eyes were half open.

The big dark striped tom blinked his copper eyes open all the way, looking up at Sparkfur, water dribbling off her fur onto him.

"I don't know what to do...," she whispered. He gave her a confused look, but as lightning lit up the den, followed by a rather loud crash of thunder, Briarkit let out a scared squeak, and Waspclaw stood up in understanding.

"Come on," he murmured. He led the way out of the den, straight for the medicine den. They bounded down the huge rock platform steps, careful not to slip on the rain that had managed to get inside the opening. The big open main den was mostly empty, only a single medicine cat remained at the herb storage at the back wall. Sparkfur recognized her as Fawnheart, a light brown she-cat who could never sleep through the nights. Waspclaw gave no notice to the spotted medicine cat, heading straight for one of the patient wings. They had been empty for the past moon, since all the cats had healed from the battle and the fresh New-Leaf winds had brought enough strength for them to fight green cough just as it had started to spread.

He settled down in a nest, Sparkfur setting Briarkit down next to the huge tom. The den was a little chilly, but it was dry and the sounds of thunder were dulled.

"You know the story of TigerClan and LionClan?" Waspclaw breathed. Briarkit shook his head. Waspclaw glanced over to Sparkfur, who smiled sheepishly. "TigerClan warriors are great big tabby cats, and LionClan are even bigger cats with pelts like the sun and thick fur around their necks. They're up in the sky, right now, battle training, you know?"

"Training to fight the rogues?" Briarkit's face brightened. Sparkfur's gazed darkened. Waspclaw brushed it off. I didn't think he was listening to Frostheart's stories about the rogues.

"No, the rogues are gone. But up in the sky, the clans are at battle with each other. You can hear them fighting too--" he was cut off by a muted crash of thunder. "There, that was a TigerClan apprentice falling on his tail!" Waspclaw grinned. Briarkit laughed, bouncing on his toes.

"I want to be a LionClan warrior!" He growled playfully. "Sparkfur-- you and Waspclaw are both TigerClan!" He announced. Sparkfur grinned and got to her paws. Waspclaw looked over at her.

"Are you sure we should be playing a game? It's moonhigh--"

"Come on Waspstar. There's a LionClan warrior on our territory!" She lowered to the ground, tail flashing behind her. Briarkit's face brightened. A crash of thunder sounded, and it cued him to leap onto Sparkfur's scarred shoulder. She feigned pain, falling back onto the ground. She squirmed under Briarkit's prodding paws, and he let out squeaks of pride.

"I didn't realize it, but this warrior must be Briarflame the Great!" He picked the small kit up by the scruff, and the young tom bat his hind legs at Waspclaw, prompting the huge deputy to drop him onto the ground. With great kit-like resilience, he landed on four paws. Sparkfur backed up, fur fluffed up and tail high.

"Waspstar we should run..!" Sparkfur nodded to Briarkit, who had his fur fluffed up, his eyes shining.

"Great or not, Briarflame should be running! No LionClan warrior trespasses on my territory!" Waspclaw purred, ears back. Briarkit laughed and dashed away on short kit legs, and Sparkfur took a tremendous bound to cut him off. He giggled brightly, turning quickly and heading in the other direction. Waspclaw pounced foreward, catching the kit and bringing them both tumbling to the ground.

Briarkit opened his mouth in a wide yawn, in between a laugh, blinking sleepily. Waspclaw grinned, tipping his head up from where he had fallen. Sparkfur padded over, laying down and drawing a nest together out of scattered scraps of moss and bracken. The small dark cat didn't need to be told to go to bed, he crawled into the nest with worn legs and plopped down. Sparkfur curled around the nest, perfectly fine on the dirt floor. She closed her eyes as soon as she heard Briarkit whisper a good-night, the dulled sound of rain pattering and thunder lulling her to sleep.

,,

Sparkfur blinked her eyes open as something tickled her nose, an unmemorable dream escaping her. A ginger tail with dark tabby stripes filled her vision. Waspclaw's tail was brushing against her nose. She picked her head up to see the dull tabby tom grooming his fur for the day.

"Sorry to wake you-- I have duties to attend to." Sparkfur looked down at Briarkit, who was still asleep. Dawn light filtered in from the main clearing of the medicine den, outlining Waspclaw's well-muscled features.

"No worries." She drew her tail close to her body. "Thanks for last night-- I'm not very good with kits." She began cleaning the dirt out of her own pelt.

"I just remembered the stories they told me when I was a kit. How did you not know that story?" He laughed gently. She narrowed her eyes, her fur hot with embarrassment. She gave her chest fur a few licks before she was able to respond.

"Asterfoot never told me stories, he just explained what was going on. Instead of stories of LionClan, I got stories of thunder and lightning. The power that they hold-- causing fires and scaring cats. But also that they brought strength to warriors and rain to the ground." He raised a brow.

"I forgot you were raised by a medicine cat..." he mumbled. A few moments passed before he asked another question. "How did you even get Briarkit?" Sparkfur flicked her ears up with interest. She looked down at the dark brown kit, who was sound asleep.

"When I was undercover with the rogues, a queen gave him up to a kittypet so that he wouldn't be killed in battle training. Spruceclaw would send kits into training as soon as they could tumble and play. A lot of queens did that-- gave their kits away to kittypets. I took him from the kittypet." Sparkfur drew her tongue over a paw, washing her ears. Waspclaw stood up, stretching.

"I've got to go and assign tomorrow's patrols." He flicked his tail, padding out. Sparkfur scoffed, looking down at Briarkit. She poked her head out of the room, seeing Asterfoot picking through the herbs for something specific. His apprentice, Thistlepaw,  was at his side, whispering herb names to himself.

      "Asterfoot?" Sparkfur called out. The blue-gray tom looked over his shoulder, his eyes wide with surprise.

      "I didn't know you were in the medicine den." He meowed, turning his full attention to her.

       "Briarkit was scared of the storm last night. He's asleep in the sick den.. Can you watch him?" Asterfoot glanced over to Thistlepaw. The young light gray and white tom's ears pricked, and he turned to Asterfoot.

       "Fawnheart will be there, I can do it on my own!" Thistlepaw begged. Sparkfur twitched an ear, confused. She noticed raspberry leaves and fennel already pulled out. Fennel is for hip pain, and raspberry is for pain relief... I think. And queens can't have poppy seeds-- "Sparkfur, I'm capable enough to handle a kitting without Asterfoot, right?" He held her gaze with pleading amber eyes. She blinked, sitting down.

      "Well I don't actually know much about your skills...," she glanced over to Asterfoot, who was just as tall as his apprentice. The senior tom sighed deeply, blinking slowly and tiredly. "I'm sure you can handle a kitting with just the help of Fawnheart rather than Fawnheart and Asterfoot." Thistlepaw's face lit up and he looked over to his mentor.

      "See? She doesn't give out praises like that to just any cat-- I can do it!" He bounced to his paws. Asterfoot held his apprentice's gaze for another heartbeat before giving a stiff nod. The young tom purred loudly, running his head against the blue tom's shoulder, grabbing the herbs, and dashing out of the den before the medicine cat could change his mind.

"As I was saying, would you mind watching Briarkit?" Asterfoot gave a slight nod. "You need some rest. This'll be good for you." Sparkfur murmured, leading Asterfoot to the side den.

      "I'm not that old..." He mumbled.

      "But you are tired," he blinked indignantly, "besides, it won't be for too long. He'll be awake as soon as the sun is all the way up." Asterfoot thought for a moment and settled down in the scraps of a nest next to the tiny kit.

      Sparkfur waved her tail and bounded out of the medicine den, glad to finally be out. Kits are so much of a responsibility. She started toward the nursery where Grey had moved to, when a certain white she-cat caught her eye. That little pigeon... Lambflower. Sparkfur flexed her claws. Just looking at the white cat made her cringe. She kept moving to the nursery, ignoring the she-cat who was stretched out in the weak morning light and calling a tom over with a purr. She cringed and stepped into the warm den.

The Leaf Nursery was where all the rogue queens stayed, and was made out of the Cedar Den's boughs. The kits were just waking up, most around two to four moons now. It didn't take long for Grey's kits to notice her and come tumbling out of their mother's nest.

"Sparkfur, Sparkfur, I learned a new game yesterday, and I was going to show you but you were gone!" Dawnkit purred, her words tumbling out of her mouth too fast for her to articulate them properly. The three kits bounced at the scarred warrior's paws, their eyes bright.

"Dawnkit, Ashkit, Lilykit, get back here!" Grey hissed. Other queens had poked their heads up slowly to watch. Dawnkit ducked her head sheepishly, slowly making her way back to her nest. Grey had renamed her kits to 'proper Clan names.'

       "Hazel will have to be Ashkit, then, because Frostheart named her little brown tabby Hazelkit." Grey murmured, giving Hazel's gray tabby cheek a lick. He grumbled, annoyed.

       "What's wrong with our names now?" Florence mumbled, avoiding a lick from her mom.

       "You're part of a clan now." Sparkfur groomed her own golden fur.

         "I like my new name!" Lilykit purred. Florence poked her sister with a soft paw.

        "That's because you used to be Lily, and now you're Lilykit. I don't think Florencekit is allowed...."

        "Then how about Dawnkit, for your cream fur?" Sparkfur offered. Florence's amber eyes lit up.

       "Oh, that's cool!" She yipped, dancing in a circle before tripping over clumsy legs.

        "What are you doing today, Sparkfur?" Dawnkit purred, her tail swishing behind her as she sat up. Ashkit had settled back down with his paws tucked under him, and Lilykit was purring softly as she looked up at the much bigger cat.

        "I'm going hunting at the border." She purred. "Do you want anything?" Dawnkit nodded vigorously.

"Thrush, it's my favorite!" She purred.

"Dawnkit, what do you say?" Her murmured purred softly.

"Oh-- please!" Sparkfur gave the kit a soft prod with her paw.

"I'll get one," the golden warrior stood up, and the kits beamed.

"One day, I'll be that big..!" Ashkit whispered to Lilykit before picking his eyes back up.

"I'll see you soon." Sparkfur waved her tail, padding out of the den.

Arden was sitting outside of the den, her feathery silver tail wrapped around pale paws while she watched over her kit tussle with an apprentice. Spark sat down next to her.

       "Silverkit is becoming an apprentice in a moon," Arden murmured,"I think he'll have a real future here." She glanced over to Sparkfur. The golden tabby nodded, watching the silver tabby get pinned to the ground by the apprentice, a white tom with gray smoky patches here and there.

        "Mom, Sootpaw is too much for me!" Silverkit squeaked, pulling free from the apprentice. Sootpaw beamed happily, his tail waiving.

       "Then you'll have to keep trying." Arden murmured. Sparkfur narrowed her eyes. "Go back. Try again." Silverkit took a deep breath in before crouching down and pouncing at the bigger cat.

      "He's just a kit..." Sparkfur mewed sharply. Arden's ice blue eyes seemed to pierce right into her.

      "Like I said. He has a future in this clan, and I'll make sure he gets there. I won't have any regrets." Sparkfur stood up. This wasn't a rarity in DrizzleClan. Many mothers had done this to their kits in the past.

She padded past and out the exit of camp, into the forest. She glanced over at her stone den, hearing loud meows of Squirrelkit squabbling with her sister, Hazelkit. Sparkfur turned quickly, not wanting to get in the middle of it. Besides, I've got a thrush to catch.

The forest was still. She weaved around brambles and ferns, and giving an ear flick of a hello to a passing black tom she vaguely recognized. She scented the air, surprised to find Waspclaw's scent. She followed it hastily, padding across a fallen tree and skirted around a bramble thicket, hiking up a steep, muddy, wet-leafed hill while  avoiding patches of thistles. She stopped suddenly at the top, her eyes taking in the scene.

      The hilltop was a small space enough for a few cats, which overlooked the river border. Waspclaw sat with his back to her atop of a rock, but as she silently leaped up next to him, he had already known it was her.

      "We take it all for granted." He murmured. She sat down, wrapping her tail around her white paws.

       "The territory?" Sparkfur looked over at him briefly before averting her gaze to the land below her. Tall grass swept down the other side of the hill, trees scattered but getting thinner near the river border. Plants and herbs grew high next to the river, with reeds gathered at the water's shimmering edge.

      "The territory. Our friends. Everything. The future generations won't even understand what we've done to ensure our territory will be ours. They won't know what you did. You fought your father--"

      "And lost miserably..."

      "It doesn't matter. He was your flesh and blood.. But you still fought him for your clan. And future cats won't care. They'll be too busy worrying about themselves, worrying about becoming a Bramble Den warrior, to think about who's around them and who's made it possible that they can even have a chance of becoming a Bramble Den warrior."

       "Clans aren't as drawn together as we should be, I get it." Sparkfur nodded. The sun was just up above the hills in the distance.

      "If I become leader, I'll make sure kits learn about the Rogue Wars." His mind seemed to be clearer now, words coming out with more sense.

      "Even if you don't become leader, I'm sure Berryfoot would listen to you about that."

      "No-- I want to make the clan whole. I want every cat to have a proper burial, I want bush den warriors and bramble den warriors to be equals, I want to know what clanmate just had kits, I want to know what clanmate is suffering from old bones. I don't want to take things for granted anymore...!" Waspclaw's claws were unsheathed, his amber eyes intense with the morning sun glimmering off their surface.

      Sparkfur took in a deep breathe.

      "I want that too." She whispered.

They were silent for a while. Birds twittered brightly, swooping in the sky. Sparkfur could spot a FogClan patrol on the other side of the river as they checked the scents.

"I'm sorry I was so mean to you." Waspclaw broke the silence. "I don't know why. I just did it to do it..." He looked down at his paws. He's changed so much-- but so have I.

"I was mean to you too." Was all she said. He closed his eyes, taking in a deep breath with relief.

Sparkfur nodded her head in the direction of where the river branched off into a creek, a willow just barely visible. "That's where Ryeheart is buried." She murmured. A purr rumbled in his throat.

"I knew Ryeheart. He was supposed to join the Bramble Den, you know?" He looked over at her. Sparkfur's eyes were wide with shock. "I thought he was an amazing cat. Not the best fighter, but he had the spirit of a warrior. I'll never match up to him." Waspclaw sighed. Sparkfur stood up.

"No cat will ever be like Ryeheart. But you try, and in your own way, you're getting to be just as great of a cat." Waspclaw's face brightened, his ears forward. He stood up as well.

"We should go and visit him then," he held his tail up high. Sparkfur tipped her head to the side.

"What-- his willow tree?"

"Yeah! Rye's Willow. That's what we'll call that spot. I noticed there was some of that river plant at his vigil--"

"Watermint?"

"Yeah, yeah, watermint. We should get some to bring to him." Sparkfur purred, leading the way down the hill with caution.

"I think there's some just at the river bend."

      "Lead the way."

AN

      Epilogue in progress.

      Also if you're interested, I posted the completed character guide.