A/N: Ok, I know how annoying it is when an author skips time every few paragraphs. So, I can promise you that this will only happen in the first chapter, because I just wanted to introduce the characters. Sorry about the time jumps, there won't be any in following chapters!

Startled meows sounded across the clearing.

Who ARE they?

Where did they come from?

Why is RiverClan bringing KITS to the gathering?

They smell funny.

The questions and statements of the cats blurred into each other, so much so that it became difficult to tell who was talking.

"Let me see!" Icepaw was saying, trying desperately to see above the warriors.

When that didn't work, she pushed her way through the crowds. It was one of the advantages of being young. You were small enough to fit through gaps larger cats could never hope to get through.

Leopardstar stood perfectly still, waiting for silence.

When it was finally achieved, Firestar, Blackstar, and Onestar looked to Leopardstar to begin.

She sighed and spoke.

"A few days ago, one of our warriors pulled something out of the river." Her voice rang out in the silence. "It was something the Twolegs use, though what its purpose is, we can not imagine. However, we managed to open it." She nodded towards the four strange kits, clearly an order to come forward. They obeyed.

"These kits were inside."

Startled mews filled the area.

"But… that means…"

"They're kittypets!"

The explanation created an excitement that refused to be contained.

Icepaw dug her claws into the dirt. Did these cats have to be so rude? The four kits were hearing every word. It wasn't as though being kittypets made them deaf.

When the noise finally died down, Leopardstar continued. "We decided to bring them here, where their future can be…decided."

One of the larger kits, a small she-cat with black fur and white feet, let out a hiss. Her brilliant amber eyes narrowed, glaring at the cats, challenging them to say something she didn't like.

"Seeing as they are here…" Firestar began. "I take it RiverClan does not want them?"

Leopardstar bristled. "They are causing…" She trailed off, looking for the right word. "Arguments… in the Clan. They aren't exactly used to Clan ways."

The black kit unsheathed her claws. Another, a smaller she-cat with brown and black stripes and bright green eyes, gently pressed her nose to the black kit's shoulder, as though asking her to calm down. The black kit's fur flattened slightly, but she continued to glare.

"And you expect one of the other Clans to take them?" Onestar demanded. "Four more mouths to feed, right before leaf-bare?"

"You wish to give us your problems?" Blackstar joined in.

The black kit was done with that. Anger lit her eyes like a flame. "Problems?" She hissed. "PROBLEMS? I'll show you problems, mouse-brain!"

Her littermates held her back, but the words sent startled gasps and mummers through all the cats, Icepaw included. It wasn't just what she said, it was her VOICE. Her dark meow that sounded different from any cat the clans had ever heard. It was incredibly different, as though these kits had come from a place farther than the mountains themselves. Farther than the old forest. Perhaps across the world itself.

Leopardstar winced. Clearly, she had been hoping the other Clans wouldn't hear their voices.

The black kit glared at the cats. "So! You too hate us for our voices? Well, FINE! We never asked for your help!"

Despite the voice, some of the cats began to chuckle. This young kit was talking like a warrior, but she was barely large enough to be out of the nursery. She couldn't even be an apprentice!

Firestar suppressed a purr, though his amusement tainted his words. "We had no wish to offend you, young one."

Her amber eyes narrowed. "Do you hate me for my voice?" She asked. "Well?"

Despite the anger in her eyes, there was also a hidden desperation. Something that only Firestar could see.

He let out a long, deep sigh. "If no other Clan will accept them, ThunderClan will take the kits."

He waited for a leader to object, but none did. There was a deep silence across the Clans, as they all waited for someone to speak.

Finally, Leopardstar's voice rang out. "Very well." She nodded at the kits, who slowly went over to the ThunderClan leader. The black kit glared at Leopardstar one final time before walking over to him.

When Firestar had finished explaining to the ThunderClan cats what had happened, he called the kits towards him.

"Do you have names?" he asked.

"Jade." The striped brown and black she-cat answered.

"Shadow." The black kit replied, a snarl tainting her words. When Firestar looked closer, he could see brown and grey spots in her fur.

"Ash." The grey and black tom told him.

The last, a tom with broad shoulders, black, brown and grey fur, and deep amber eyes, looked at Firestar before replying, "Thunder."

Firestar looked at them. Their names seemed… wrong somehow. Except for one…

"Well, from now on, you will be known as Jadekit." He told the she-cat with the green eyes.

She nodded respectfully.

"And you," he looked at the tom that called himself Ash. "You will be Stormkit."

Stormkit nodded.

He looked at Thunder. "And you will be Bushkit."

Bushkit blinked once, accepting the name.

He looked for a long time at the black she-cat. He hadn't seen it before, but there was a long cut on her face, one that could very well become a scar. It traveled from her ear, in a diagonal line down to the bottom of her muzzle, where it twisted quickly. Firestar knew exactly what it looked like, and named the kit accordingly. "And you are Lightningkit."

The four kits grew quickly, and before long, they were apprentices, near warriors.

Stormpaw padded up to his littermates. "Hi." He meowed quietly.

Bushpaw and Jadepaw nodded their greeting. Lightningpaw was looking across at all the other cats.

Stormpaw looked around and cleared his throat. "Lightningpaw, will you stop doing that? It's scaring me. I keep thinking some ShadowClan warrior is sneaking up on me or something."

Lightningpaw's amber eyes narrowed. "Sorry, Stormpaw. I just…" She looked down. "I can't help it. These cats never accepted us."

Bushpaw snorted. "You're not still on that, are you? Seriously, it's been moons since we came here!"

"Do you think that helps?" She snarled. "Look at what the other Clan leaders say about Firestar! No on forgets kittypet roots. No one."

Jadepaw rolled her eyes. "You worry too much." Her voice had blended better with the other cats, so much so that she almost sounded ThunderClan. In Lightningpaw's eyes, that helped her get along with the others.

"Lightningpaw!"

The black she-cat rolled her eyes, and her littermates purred. "Someone's in trouble." Bushpaw mused.

She glared at him before walking, head held high, towards Firestar. Fury blazed in the ThunderClan leader's eyes.

"Where were you last night?"

"Out." She replied simply.

"ACROSS THE BORDER?" He demanded.

She shrugged. "I didn't cross into other Clans territories, if that's what you're worried about. I just… went exploring on the other end of the boundaries." She sighed. "Don't tell me. I'm breaking the warrior code."

For that, Firestar had no real answer. She hadn't crossed into other territories, but she had crossed a boundary.

"You're confined to the camp until after the next Gathering."

He expected the typical, 'That's not fair!' or 'Why?' or even, 'What did I DO?'

But Lightningpaw just stared at him with bright amber eyes. "Fine." She replied.

She padded back to her littermates, leaving behind a very confused Firestar.

He went back to his den, where Sandstorm was waiting. He sighed and sat down.

She looked at him. "What's wrong?"

He looked back at her. "I don't know what to do about that one."

"Lightningpaw?"

"Who else?"

"She'll make a great warrior eventually. You just have to give her time."

"Time?" His eyes locked on hers. "What time can I give her? She'll be made a warrior in another few moons!"

Unknown to him, Lightningpaw was talking with her littermates about exactly the same thing. "When I'm made a warrior, I'm gone."

Jadepaw's eyes widened. "But you can't! You'd be breaking the warrior code!"

Lightningpaw glared at her sister. "And what else is there? I'm only staying because I don't like the name 'paw."

Stormpaw purred. "Then leave and change it." He shrugged. "No one is stopping you."

Lightningpaw blinked her gratitude. Stormpaw wasn't the kind of cat to be extremely excited about nothing.

Bushpaw sighed. "We'll miss you, Shadow." He whispered.

Jadepaw blinked. "I can't believe this! Lightningpaw, you can't be serious!"

"I'm deadly serious! If things haven't changed when I'm a warrior, I'm gone! Forever!"

"From this day on you shall be known as Jadeheart."

Moons had passed since Lightningpaw's promise. She'd never spoken of it since, but Jadepaw, now Jadeheart, never stopped worrying.

"Jadeheart! Jadeheart!" The cats cried out their congratulations.

Pride warmed Jadeheart's pelt. She nodded her thanks to Firestar.

He nodded in return, then turned to Stormpaw. "Stormpaw, from this day forward, you shall be known as Stormcloud."

"Stormcloud! Stormcloud!"

Jadeheart wanted to congratulate her brother. She wanted to feel happy. But there was a dark doubt in her mind that refused to let go. She glanced at Lightningpaw, who was staring at the ThunderClan leader with an unreadable expression.

Firestar padded up to Bushpaw. "Bushpaw, from this day forward, you shall be known as Bushface."

Whatever he said next was lost in Jadeheart's thoughts, like much of what happened had been.

"Bushface! Bushface!"

She swallowed nervously. Would Lightningpaw reject everything they'd worked so hard to achieve?

Firestar looked at Lightningpaw for a long time, and an uneasy silence filled the Clan. Finally, he spoke.

"Lightningpaw, you are not to be made a warrior."

Lightningpaw's pelt burned with shame and hatred. "Why not?" She demanded.

Firestar said nothing.

"WHY NOT?" she snarled. "I've kept to the warrior code, I've done my apprentice duties, and I've done everything you've asked. So, I'll say it again, WHY NOT?"

He looked at her and sighed. "Because you plan on leaving."

Startled gasps filled the Clan.

Lightningpaw instantly whirled on Jadeheart. "YOU!"

Jadeheart flinched.

"You traitorous mouse-brained idiot! WHY DID YOU TELL HIM?" She unsheathed her claws. "HOW COULD YOU?"

"It… it's true?" Brightheart, her mentor, asked. Pain filled her voice.

"NO!" Lightningpaw hissed. "That's the point!"

She looked at the Clan cats, fury in her eyes. "I planned on it once. I changed my mind long ago! I didn't want to leave the Clan!"

Firestar looked at her calmly while she whirled to face him.

"How could you DO this?" She asked. Betrayal filled her eyes.

For a moment, Firestar saw the kit he had once accepted into the Clan. Her eyes looked the same as they had then, furious, but desperate. "If you were planning on breaking the warrior code…"

"But I WASN'T!" She snarled. "And you just decided to tell the world about something that's in the PAST? Something I GAVE UP?" She looked at him for a long time. A tense silence filled the area.

"Then FINE!" She spat. "You have proven something to me, FIRESTAR." She hissed the name out with pure malice and hatred. "You have proven that Clan cats can not look away from the past. If you couldn't see through THAT, then NO ONE could be able to see through where I come from!" She glared at the ThunderClan cats.

"MY OWN VOICE BETRAYS ME!" She hissed. "And if you want me gone…"

Her amber eyes locked on her littermates, then turned away. "THEN I'M GONE."

And she ran. No cat dared to follow her, not even Firestar.

Lightningpaw was in a different class now. Not a kittypet. Not a Clan cat.

She was a rouge.