"What?! Expecting another litter of kits?" Jaywing gasped. "Do you know how many?" She asked.

"No," Ashstar meowed. "But maybe this time, we'll have something more than dull colored cats!" He meowed.

Jaywing blinked. "Ashstar," She sighed.

"What?" Her father leaned down.

"I'm expecting Bumblestripe's kits," She sighed.

Ashstar bristled. "You're young though!" He hissed. "Well, I guess it doesn't hurt to have more cats in ThunderClan."

"Yeah," Jaywing agreed. "But....I'm just gonna tell you that they'll be born...." She hesitated. "Tomorrow."

Ashstar padded down towards the lake, looking out across it. The setting sun shone down on the lake, making it glitter with yellow and red. He blinked as he realized that it looked like something was walking on the water. Ashstar stood up. What? Cats walking on water? 

The cat stepped closer, and Ashstar saw starlight glittering around its paws. It finally reached him. "Ashstar, terrible times are ahead."

Ashstar blinked slowly, and the cat was gone. Why am I having these weird visions? He padded back up the slope, wanting to get back to camp. 

Jaywing worked her way through the crowd of cats. She finally took her place in a clear spot. Hawkpaw, who had just been made an apprentice the last moon, sat beside her. The brown tabby apprentice held his head high, his amber eyes shining. Although he was Millie's kit, he was still the kit of Graystripe, and that made him half ThunderClan and half kittypet.

A full moon was shining in the sky, and a bit of clouds were quickly crossing the bright moon. 

Finally, Russetstar's  voice rang out over the clearing. "We shall begin the meeting!" Shee looked at Ashstar, and nodded towards the ThunderClan leader.

Jaywing watched as her father stepped forward on the branch of the Great Oak. 

"Prey is running well," He cast a smug glance at all the Clan leaders. "We've made three new apprentices. Hawkpaw, Bramblepaw, and Rowanpaw," Ashstar meowed.

"Hawkpaw! Bramblepaw! Rowanpaw!" The cats meowed.

Jaywing saw Hawkpaw lick his chest fur in embarrassment.

Ashstar then nodded to Onestar.

"The prey is running well," Onestar meowed. 

Jaywing almost thought he was lying. The WindClan leader looked hungry and weak, and his ribs were showing. 

"Wait!" A voice erupted from the cats. 

Every cat's gaze landed on Tawnypelt. 

The ShadowClan she-cat rose to her paws. "I've decided to leave ShadowClan and come to ThunderClan," She padded up the Great Oak, looking up at Ashstar. "You'll let me join your Clan, won't you?"

Ashstar looked down at Tawnypelt. "You aren't gonna be a spy or anything? Because I don't want spies in my Clan!" He turned to Russetstar. "Did you know about this?" 

"No!" Russetstar hissed. "Tawnypelt, I thought you'd stay in our Clan! I never thought that you'd go and join that bossy excuse of a Clan over there!"

Growls came from the ThunderClan cats.

"Please let me join your Clan!" Tawnypelt begged Ashstar. 

Her son, Tigerpaw, glared at his mother, lashing his tail. 

Tigerpaw doesn't look so nice, Jaywing thought.

Ashstar sighed. "Alright then, you can join us," He meowed. 

"Thanks!" Tawnypelt meowed. 

Jaywing wondered why Tawnypelt wanted to join ThunderClan, but she was half ThunderClan anyway. 

Then, Mistystar stepped forward, ignoring the other leaders. "The prey is running well for us."

Finally, Russetstar was able to call out. "This gathering is at an end!" She hissed. She leaped down from the Great Oak. "Come on! Lets go!" She hissed. 

Her deputy, Crowfrost, glared at Tawnypelt as the ShadowClan cats left. 

"Lets go," Ashstar meowed to ThunderClan. He glared at Russetstar's group as he led the ThunderClan cats across the tree-bridge. 

Jaywing awoke in her nest. She stood to her paws, realizing that Ashstar had called a Clan meeting. She stumbled towards the group of gathering cats. 

"Foxpaw, Icepaw, step forward!" Ashstar called.

Jaywing heard Foxpaw mutter as he walked by. "It was about time!"

Jaywing felt tired with sleep as Ashstar gave the ceremony for the apprentices. The last thing she heard was their names. 

"Foxleap! Icecloud!" The Clan called out. 

Foxleap and Icecloud held their heads high. 

Ashstar then walked down the rocky slope, and made his way towards his daughter. "Jaywing, you look very tired. What's the matter?"  He asked.

Jaywing looked at her father and heaved a sigh. She looked down at her round belly swollen with kits. 

"Oh," Ashstar meowed. "Where's Bumblestripe?" He asked. "He'd love to see your kits!"

"No," Jaywing meowed. "We got into an argument last night. Now Bumblestripe hates me. He said he wasn't going to take care of our kits. So now my kits will up without a father," Jaywing sighed. 

Hate and anger lit up in Ashstar's eyes. Then it faded. "I'll try and find him," He meowed. "Stay there."

"But-" Jaywing protested.

"No, you need to rest in the medicine den, your kits are about to be born," Ashstar meowed. "And as your father and leader, I'm telling you that you need to rest !" He turned away and bounded off. 

Jaywing walked into the medicine den, only to find it empty. She saw Cinderheart in the back of the den. She turned around. "Hi Jaywing! I was expecting that you'd be here. Brightheart and Alderpaw have gone to the Moonpool," Cinderheart meowed. "They wanted me to make sure that you took a rest."

As Jaywing buried in her moss nest to rest, she felt a bursting pain inside of her. She felt her heart ache, like something wasn't right. When she closed her eyes, she saw blood and gray fur cloud her vision.