Summary: When Rusty winds up in WindClan rather than ThunderClan, StarClan learns that destiny has a funny way of unfolding. The kittypet-turned-warrior has a long journey awaiting him, but with the entirety of StarClan stalking by his side.

Disclaimer: I do not own the Warrior Cats series. If I did, Firestar probably never would have died.

Notes: This story veers sharply away from the canon storyline. Obviously, canon events will still happen, but this story is very different. I am planning to take it all the way to the battle with the Dark Forest, so sit back and get ready to read. I also apologize if some things about WindClan are not perfectly accurate. Also, there are so many cats and so much history in this series that I had to draw a line somewhere. I'm positive that things won't match up exactly. We know more about ThunderClan than any other clan, so I had to invent some cats to flesh out the story. Please feel free to correct me if I missed something major. I will post the WindClan roster at the bottom of the chapters whenever it is updated. Also, I'm slowing down how quickly cats become warriors a bit, so all the clans match a bit more evenly.

Sprint with the Stars – Prologue
Intertwined

The half-moon hung low in the cloudless sky as its many small children twinkled against the blackness of the sky. A chilled wind swept through the air, chasing away the hint of warmth promised by the arriving season of newleaf. Far below the endless sky, flitting across the ground as nothing more than dark shapes to those passing by, were five cats. They walked side by side and chatted quietly between themselves. Behind them stretched a wide twoleg field and- beyond even that- a massive, dark hole that had been cut into the earth: Mothermouth.

These five were the medicine cats of the four clans that lived in the forest, and they were on their return trip home after communing with their warrior ancestors.

"It will be good to get home." A mottled brown cat broke the long silence when he spied the hills that signaled the beginning of WindClan's territory.

A patchy grey-and-white tom, smaller than his companions, and identifiable by his crusted nose purred an agreement and paused momentarily to stretch out his limbs. "I can't wait to rest my paws."

An older grey she-cat, littered with scars and possessing a pair of sharp yellow eyes, turned her head to narrow her eyes at the cat. "I hope you don't think you can sleep all day, Runningnose." She snapped at the tom.

Runningnose flinched at his mentor's infamously sharp tongue and quickly shook his head. "Of course not, Yellowfang."

A beautiful dappled tortoiseshell to the pair's left smiled in amusement. ShadowClan's medicine cat was as stubborn and sharp-edged as usual. Rather than comment on the banter, she glanced at the brown cat who had spoken before. "A chance to rest before inspecting the stores would be most welcome," she agreed.

A brown tom with a short tail on the far right of the group chuckled at her words. "As diligent as ever, Spottedleaf. I've never seen a medicine cat so focused on picking the forest clean."

The mottled tom who had spoken first flicked his tail and retorted lightly, "Perhaps if you were half as diligent, Barkface, you wouldn't be scouring the moor at the last moment."

Barkface bristled at the comment and spat angrily at the mottled tom just before Spottedleaf stepped between the two.

"Mudclaw," she reprimanded softly. Spottedleaf said no more aloud, but her eyes carried a clear message. The RiverClan cat twitched his ears and looked away silently, but with a hint of guilt. Last leafbare had been hard for WindClan. Greencough had latched onto the camp, but catnip was difficult to find in the swift clan's territory. Only the guidance of StarClan had lead the unprepared Barkface to a clump large enough to save his clan.

Yellowfang simply snorted and continued forward, while Runningnose cast a sympathetic look towards Barkface. The WindClan medicine cat nodded slightly and let his fur lie flat; the tense moment over.

Silence fell over the four cats once more as they crossed the scent marker into WindClan territory and began to walk the wide uplands of the forest. The sky lightened rapidly as they traveled and soon the morning had stolen away the quiet darkness of the night. There was a moment of surprise when Barkface did not split off towards the WindClan camp, but instead followed the others to the large oaks that surrounded the only place Clan cats met in peace: Fourtrees.

When they reached the hollow, the cats paused and turned to look at one another; this time with unease.

"StarClan brings warnings," Barkface murmured. His voice was grave and his expression tired as he gazed up at the blue sky, as though he could see past it to the spirits of his ancestors that resided in silverpelt.

At his words, the other medicine cats shifted and exchanged tense glances. The times ahead would be difficult for all the clans.

Spottedleaf dipped her head in acknowledgment, but then straightened and answered in a soft voice, "Our ancestors also bring us hope."

Yellowfang looked across the hollow of Fourtrees with her wise gaze, yellow eyes gleaming as though she could see all the forest in that moment, and rasped, "The clans must be ready. The future brings change."

In silence, Barkface dipped his head and turned to head back through WindClan territory. A heavy weight hung over his head as he remembered the prophecy StarClan had sent to him only a few sunrises ago.

Fire will save the Clan.

This story will have relatively slow updates. I will be aiming for once a month; on the 20th of every month. Sometimes it'll take a bit longer, sometimes the updates will come faster.

Prologues are short. Next chapter out in an hour. Bye!