A loud yowl erupted from my jaws as I was pressed against a piece of cloth. Writhing and snarling, I tried in vain to bite the fabric-ridden paws of the twoleg. It was a twoleg kit, an obviously excited one, holding me tightly and shouting to some others. More twoleg kits came over, their faces grim. They yelled at the twoleg holding me, but it snarled and pressed me closer. I hissed and squirmed, more uncomfortable than I had ever been in my life. I heard my Clanmates mewing to each other far below me, probably (hopefully) trying to figure out a way to get me down. Juniperpaw, in a rare moment of recklessness, attempted to lunge forward and scratch the tom twoleg's leg. It didn't puncture, didn't tear. The kit reached for him as well, but one of the female kits stopped him. Juniperpaw scrambled back. Cherrypaw cowered and Foxpaw snarled. I went limp, which the kit didn't expect, and slid out of his grip like a snake. On the way down, I scratched whatever I could, but I fell too fast to get any real damage in. He reached for me again but I yowled and stepped back, hissing. All of WillowClan was by my side, StarClan as well. I felt powerful.
It didn't take long for the kit to back off, grumbling. They all left. Every one of us was shook. They knew where we lived now. What would we do?
"Absolutely no-" Thistlestar stopped to cough as she fought to stay steady on her perch of Talltree. "Nothing. As far as they're concerned, we're just passing through. I will be asking Alderwhisker-" another cough. "Excuse me. I will ask Alder-" she broke into a coughing fit, nearly falling off of Talltree. There was a series of collective gasps as she clung on, Asterflower organizing a group of cats to bring her down. It was difficult, but they laid her on the ground as she recovered. She fought for breath before continuing.
     "I know I'm not getting any younger. I also know that this is not what our Clan needs right now. But... I'm officially resigning my position as leader of WillowClan."
     More gasps. "But Thistlestar, what about your nine lives?" one cat wondered.
     "I have one left," she sighed wearily. "I know it isn't common, but WillowClan deserves a leader who can stand on her announcing post without falling off, who is strong and doesn't need to be supported wherever she goes. Alderwhisker will replace me, effective immediately. Asterflower already has traveling herbs ready for their journey to receive her nine lives." She paused to let the news sink in. "I now request you all get some sleep. Until Alderwhisker receives her nine lives, I will remain leader. But when she is back in the morning as Alderstar, she will choose her deputy, and I will officially be an elder." Thistlestar looked fondly at the group of old felines sitting in front of their den. "I look forward to sharing stories with you all with my warrior name, Thistlefur."
     Alderwhisker looked bewildered and overwhelmed, and I felt the same. So much had happened today. I had been checked over by Asterflower so many times for injury, and I'd been asked if I was okay by so many cats. I couldn't wait until I was in my nest with no one to bother me.
But first, I had one stop to make.
"Hey, Juniperpaw," I purred, trotting over to where he stood with my brother. "I've been meaning to thank you about jumping at that twoleg."
"But it didn't work," he responded, flustered.
"That doesn't matter," I argued. "You were willing to risk your life to save mine. That... that means a lot to me." Suddenly, I felt flustered, too, and I looked anywhere but him.
I felt a tail on my shoulder. "Always," he murmured almost inaudibly, leaving me confused and happy and excited and embarrassed and a thousand other emotions at the same time. I didn't see him walking away, but when I looked up, he was gone.
"Uhh... I should go," Foxpaw muttered, darting away and leaving me alone in the center of camp.
I could care less that he saw... whatever that was. I needed to sort through my own feelings before I worried about things like that.
"Hi, Stormpaw," a familiar voice yelped. I turned and saw the bright ginger pelt of my sister, Cherrypaw. "What are you giggling about?"
     "Nothing." I grinned sheepishly, staring after a certain lilac colored tom.
     Not noticing that my sibling was following my gaze, it was a surprise when my tail got yanked. "What's your problem?" I asked incredulously.
     "You like him, don't you?" Cherrypaw whispered.
     "Who?" I asked, my eyes straying back to the apprentice's den, where he was sure to be sitting down in his nest by now.
     "Juniperpaw!" My eyes snapped back to the female. "Admit it! Everyone sees you staring at him all day."
     "Keep your voice down," I hissed. "So what if I do? He's really nice!"
     "Yeah, well, at least you admit it. Don't you see that someone else has her eye on him?"
     I stiffened.
     "You didn't? Oh, boy. Wasppaw has been getting real friendly with him lately. I can't believe you didn't notice." Cherrypaw looked at me pityingly as I sat down, defeated. "Aww, don't give up yet, Stormpaw! I'll help you in any way I can. Plus, I don't think Juniperpaw's noticed yet. He barely even looks at her, but I always catch him looking at you."
     "Me?" I felt that swirl of feelings again. "Are you sure?"
     "Uh-huh. Just... don't go all fangirl on him, okay? I can't have my sister making a fool out of me." But she looked at me fondly, and I tapped her playfully with the tip of my tail.
     "Thanks, Cherrypaw," I giggled. "If there's ever a 'special someone' you want to get fancy with, I'm your girl."
     "Good to know," she commented dryly, but her eyes told a different, less sarcastic story as she trotted away to sit by Silverpaw and Spiderpaw.

Hope I'm not rushing you Storm and Juniper into a relationship too fast. Let me know if it feels a little bit too sudden.