Eaglestar watched his two sons wrestle each other in their nest. Large for their age, he thought to himself what strong and powerful warriors they would make; both fearless, ambitious, and quick learners. That is when they wanted to be. His heart warmed as he saw Ambergaze, his mate and mother of his kits, pad into the nursery. Her amber eyes touched his soul each time he looked into them, and he could see her beauty in his two sons Lizardkit and Jaykit. Lizardkit was a silly tom, always making jokes-even some that didn't always make sense. He was a cream colored kit with darker speckles and brown eyes. His brother was a dark red, rusty color with bright green eyes named Jaykit. Jaykit had very keen senses and was always wanting to learn, but sometimes he wanted to learn for his own good and not the good of the clan. However, Eaglestar could see his potential and was already proud of his sons for reaching the time to become apprentices. It has been difficult to pick a mento for each of them since they both were so close. Eaglestar wanted their bond to only continue to grow through their mentors. With one more night to decide, he brushed the thought away and padded over to his family.
"Want to share a squirrel tonight?" Ambergaze questioned. "I know it's your favorite, and tomorrow is going to be a big day for our family. We should all celebrate!"
Eaglestar purred at his mate's excitement. "I think that is a great idea. What do you two think?" He beckoned at his sons.
"I'll fetch the squirrel from the kill pile!" Lizardkit meowed.
"Shouldn't you be catching your prey now?" Jaykit challenged his brother. "Just you watch, Jaykit over here is going to swoon all of the warriors and catch a massive squirrel," he said as he leapt towards the entrance of the den.
"Not so fast you!" Eaglestar interrupted. "As long as you are a kit you will stay in your quarters. Is that understood?" He snapped harshly narrowing his brown eyes at the two kits. Even though he wanted to see them catch prey right away, he had to follow the rules previous leaders had set, and if he wanted his sons to one day take his place as leader of ShadowClan, he had to be stern and strict with them.
"Yes, Eaglestar," they both replied.
The family shared a squirrel from the fresh kill pile that evening, and Eaglestar knew it was time to send out the evening patrols. The brown and white tom leapt onto the dead oak tree that served as the leader's spot for meetings and that sheltered the leader's den. Foxtail, the ShadowClan deputy gently padded to sit below him. His fox like fur was fluffed and healthy after a nice cleaning after supper. His black muzzle was just beginning to show grey furs as he had been a senior warrior for some time now. He was Eaglestar's best friend and most trusted advisor. "Foxtail, I would like you to patrol along the edge of the territory-the back edge I mean. So far there have not been any issues with the other clans, but we have had reports of some strange scents near our territory. I would like you to take Deerstride and Antpaw, and Waspbite. Just make sure these scents are nothing that poses a threat to us" he finished before padding back into his den for a night's rest.
The days had been long in ShadowClan: no new apprentices had been made recently until now and no queens were moved into the nursery. It was just ordinary business, however, Eaglestar knew that times of peace did not last long around the lake. He thought of his sons and how empowering their apprentice ceremony the next day would be, and it calmed him into a deep slumber. Suddenly dark trees swarmed around him. "Where am I?" Eaglestar asked himself. He scented someone familiar to him and followed the markings. "Blackstar!"
"Yes, Eaglestar, it is I," the white tom with her black paws bowed down to the current leader. "You have made your ancestors proud as your first dozen moons as leader and for that I want to thank you" he stated.
"Thank you Blackstar. I was always motivated to be a great leader and protect my clan, but now that I have a family, my motivation has only increased," he said as he flexed his muscles. At that comment Blackstar twitched his nose and lifted one paw as if he was taken aback by the comment.
"Yes. About them," he started.
"What? Is something wrong?" Eaglestar begged for a positive answer.
"They are destined for importance in the clan. What type of importance, good or bad, I cannot determine. All I can tell you is that the ashes cover a dark danger." With that the former leader faded out of the Black Forest.
"Blackstar! Tell me what that means!" He wailed. But it was too late. All that remained was him and the soot colored trees and frosty ground. "LeafBare?" He thought to himself. Was this threat coming soon? The weather had slowly begun to shift into cool breezes and fallen leaves. He walked around the strange land carefully placing every foot in the hard frozen mud. Suddenly, Eaglestar heard a skid and dust clouded around him. More skids and thrashing was heard and then suddenly a shriek.
"Eaglestar! Wake up! Foxtail has been killed!"
