When I first opened my eyes, I saw my mother, Snowtail. I was surrounded by my two other siblings, who would later be named Frosttail and Suntail. We all suckled at my mother, and she licked us softly, and purred.

   As I grew, my siblings and I grew more and more skilled at life. Frosttail was able to walk across the frozen, frost ground towards prey, without making a sound. Suntail was brave and adventurous, always the one that got all of us in trouble. One of the many examples of this was when she hid snow inside of Elderberries mouse, and he never quite forgave her for that. Suntail was sneaky, so they could never usually figure out who did it. But, people started to grow wise to her, so she began blaming her shenanigans on Frosttail and I.

     I often played with my siblings, and Even more often I play-hunted and play-fought with my best friend, Nighttail. Nighttail was a beautiful cat, with pitch black fur, as dark as the night itself. Not even star clan could have shone through her fur!

    Nighttail was playful, and usually kept me out of trouble, when I didn't already drag her into it. Which, to say, is almost always. She never told on me though, even though she was at no fault. She was a good friend, that way!

    We grew up together, always right next to each other for support, even when we were mad at each other. We were more like sisters than friends, to say the least! Are clan mates often just referred to us as “the trouble twins”, due to our habit of getting into trouble.

    Eventually, the time came when we were old enough to be apprenticed. We were apprenticed together, a sort of bonding contract, or a vow that we would always protect each other from harm. Nighttail was apprenticed to a warrior named Strongoak, who had been a warrior in Thunderclan for as long as anyone could remember. He had many scars, and he could tell you about how he got each and every one of them! I was apprenticed to a young warrior named Pinefur, who was sweet and kind, and barely old enough to be a warrior, much less a mentor. She must have been good in order to earn an apprentice so young!

  Strongoak and Pinefur trained Nightpaw and I together, as if we had two mentors, not one. Nighttail was an expert hunter, as she blended into the shadows, as if she was one herself. I was good at hunting, but better at fighting and hiding. I was the more curious one, “curious as a pigeon,” as my mentor claims! That's how I got my name, Pigeonfur. It's hard to be so nosy, but I can't help that everything is so interesting!

      Our story begins when Nighttail and I were made warriors. We had trained, and we had trained hard, and now that we had proven to Firestar that we were as loyal to the clan as a mother is to her kits. We were given the names Pigeonfur and Nighttail. We were proud, and got to sit the traditional vigil of new warriors.

        When we had been warriors for about a moon, I found the cave. It all began when I was on a hunting patrol with Nighttail, her apprentice Stickpaw, my apprentice Softpaw, and Me, Pigeonfur! We were hunting around snake rocks, even though we were always warned to stay a good tail lengths away, due to the adders. But, what with leaf bare coming, most of the snakes were hidden.

       So far we had been successful. Altogether, we had caught a vole, a squirrel, and several mice and birds. We were about to head back to the clan, but then a faint scent caught my nose, so faint that I thought that it was just a trick of the wind, carrying over from some crow food. But, then, I smelled I a little stronger. “Nighttail, do you smell that?” Her nose and ears pricked up, but she nodded her head no. “Hey, Stickpaw and Softpaw, head back to camp, okay? We forgot that we have some prey still hidden in the old hollow!” They didn't look back over their shoulders, but their tails showed that they had heard and, they usually listened to directions. Usually.

     “Follow me. Careful, watch out for adders and cats.” Nighttail said nothing, but her fear scent was enough that I knew that she was ready to follow instructions in order to stay safe. We crept through the tiny cracks in the rock, are fur catching on the sharp stones, are paw pads rubbing against the worn rock and pebbles. The strange, unfamiliar scent grew stronger as we descended snake rocks. Then, we saw the shadow.

      A shadow of a cat. We followed it silently, then we pounced. “Morow!” A sweet voice said. I retracted my claws. But stayed on top of this strange cat. “Who are you? What are you doing on Thunderclan territory?” I looked down at this strange cat. She was a female, and she seemed young enough. “Please, don't hurt me! My name is Poppyfur! Please, don’t hurt my kits!” It was only then that I noticed two little tabby kits, just like their mother. I stepped off of Poppyfur, and stared at the young kits, at most a few moons old, if anything.

    “What are you doing here, Poppyfur? Where are you from, your scent is not of any clan in this land.” She looked as if she was deciding whether or not to tell me, then she answered. “I am here to hunt for my kits, and to get out of the cave where my clan lives. We have lived there for at least twenty years. We have lived in the cave, and we have always stayed out of sight.”

      “Why are you stuck in the cave?” “Well, you see, years ago, a fire burned down are home in the mountains, and we hid in this cave you see before you. We have lived here ever since, hidden away.” “Why should we believe you?” Nighttail asked, her tone suspicious. “I swear by Starclan, I am telling the truth.” That was enough.

  “Are there others?” I asked. “Yes! Many of us!” She stood up, teetering a little, but then walking steadily. Her kits followed, and she nudged them into the mouth of a large cave. We followed her, cautiously, hackles raised. I knew that this was a bad idea, but my curiosity overcame me, and I went inside, slowly followed by Nighttail.

     We had to wait a while for our eyes to adjust to the dim, dusty light, but when they did, we saw some scruffy, underfed, scarred cats. I held back a gasp at their haggard appearance. They were no match for any cat, or any animal besides, especially not snakes! “Welcome. We have brought you here. We have had an epiphany from Starclan, saying that a gray cat and a midnight black cat would come to save our clan from this infernal cave,” an old, scarred cat said from the back. He hobbled into a beam of weak light, buy it was enough to show off his many scars, covering his face and pelt.

     I held back a grimace. “We have been watching you as you hunt, and Poppyfur caught your attention, and lead you here. She was never in any danger,” he added, noticing Nighttail’s horrified look, as well as mine. “We were formally the Mountainclan, but now we are the Caveclan. As you can see, we are in no shape to fight, and we are starving. Would you please, bring us food, if you can?” He was so forward that I was caught off guard. He seemed sincere, due to his appearance. “I… it's risky, and I won't betray my clan.” I said softly.

    The cat just sighed and said, “I understand. I would have done the same.” He said and turned his back to retreat to the shadows. I watched, and slowly, I left the cave, and the poor cats inside.

     When we got back to the camp, I wanted to go and lay down and sleep, but Nighttail convinced me that we should report the cats, even if they were no threat to us. We walked over to Firestar’s den, and he welcomed us in. “Firestar, we… found something on hunting patrol.” I began tentatively. “The Caveclan?” He asked, a smile playing on his lips. “What?-how?” Nighttail began, but Firestar interrupted her. “I have known for many moons, but saw no need to excite the clan. I have known for many moons now.” He just smiled. “I have invited them to join Thunderclan, as it may be. They are planning to arrive in a weeks time.” “What?!” Nighttail shouted, the scent of fear rolling off of her. “They seem harmless, and they are starving!” Fire star said angrily, and sent us off.

     By the time that the Caveclan arrived, every cat from every clan knew, or at least had an inkling of what was going on. Caveclan arrived to many hateful looks, and a few friendly, mostly from Nighttail, Firestar, and I. Poppyfur and her kits nodded to us on the way back, smiling a little.

      Over time, the clan grew used to having the Caveclan join us in all that we did. Poppyfur grew close to me and Nighttail, but she was not as close to us as I was to Nighttail, and Nighttail to me. She seemed to accept this, and didn't seem to care. The Caveclan was not a problem to take care of, as they could hunt for themselves, now that they were free from the snake rocks.

  Just as everything was settling down at last, a rumor started to fly. No one knew where it had started, but it traveled from cat to cat, swifter than the wind that travels through the Windclans fur. The rumor was that the Caveclan was never driven out by a fire, but they were chased out of the clan territory because they were actually part of a rouge clan named Deathclan. They tried to take over the forest, but failed and were driven out of the territory, never to be seen again, and that these cats must be the descendants of the rogues.

     When I asked Firestar and Poppyfur, I got no straight answer, just a “why does it matter?” Or a “it's just a rumor! Don't believe everything that you hear!”, which, if anything, made me more suspicious. I did doubt that Poppyfur could do anything bad, what with her kits and everything. But, some of the cats, like the one we had met in the cave that was scarred, now known as Tornface, would be capable of hurting a cat now that they were fed and rested.

      The rumors continued to fly, long after they should have died down. But, I paid them no heed, thinking them just nonsense. Then, I began to notice the cats from Caveclan starting to disappear at night.

      It all started a few moons after the rumors started to fly. I woke up from a night, ate, and went outside to stretch my legs and refresh my fearful mind, and saw Poppyfur heading stealthily across the ground. “Poppyfur?” I whispered. The cat stopped flat, and turned to face me. “Hi, Pigeonfur! Just off to get some water!” She tried to walk away, but I stopped her. “What are you really doing? You are the worst liar I've ever met!” I said, even though it was pretty rude.

     “Look, just back off, okay? Leave me alone!” She snarled, and raced off into the night. That was not the Poppyfur I knew. Of course, I told Nighttail in the morning. She tried to get me to tell Firestar, but I was unsure of what I had seen last night, and even if she was mean and suspicious, Poppyfur was still my friend. I refused, and changed the subject.

    That night, I kept myself awake, until the moon started to rise above the tall oaks and pines. I crept out of the moss, and waited in the shadows until I saw Poppyfur stalking across the clearing. I followed her, careful to avoid the leaves and sticks falling from the oaks as leaf bare approached.

     Finally, Poppyfur stopped walking. I hid in a bush, the branches pulling at my fur, but I stayed silent. Soon, more cats appeared. I began to notice that they were all Caveclan cats. I heard them speak in hushed tones, and the wind washed their words away, and thankfully, my scent as well.

    The next morning, I told Nighttail exactly what I had seen. She just stood there stunned. Then, we went to approach Poppyfur. “Poppyfur. I need to talk to you. Now.” She followed willingly, clearly confused at the need for secrecy. When we were safely hidden behind the nursery, I began to tell her what I had seen. She began to shrink, and looked guilty. When I finished, she said, “Before you tell anyone, just listen. I can't not go, or they will punish me severely. All I can tell you is that the rumors are true.” She raced off, and I raced off after her, Nighttail hot on my heels. “Poppyfur! What do you mean?” I shouted after her. When she stopped she said, “they are following Tornface. They want to continue what our grandparents did, and take over the forest. You need to run. Go. You are no match for them.” Then she stalked off as if nothing had happened, as if she'd not been close to crying seconds before.

     Nighttail and I raced to Firestar's cave, and interrupted him well he was talking to his deputy, Graystripe. “Excuse me, Pigeonfur. Please wait outside until I'm done.” “NO!” I yelled. Firestars hackles raised, and he hissed. “Listen! The rumors are true! The Caveclan are planning to take over the forest! We need to get rid of the Caveclan!” I said in a rush.

   By the time I was done telling my story, Firestar had rallied his troops, and asked us to pick out the cats that were guilty. “Tornface, those two,....” it went on and on until I came to Poppyfur. “She is involved, but not intentionally. She is a true Thunderclan cat, she telling us about the Caveclan and all.” I said, and Poppyfur looked at me gratefully.

   By the time that all the cats were rounded up, all the clans were abuzz. Cats from all the clans followed the Thunderclan cats as they removed the Caveclan from their territory, and sent them into the mountains. Not one cat was sad to see them go.

   Nighttail, Poppyfur, and I were honored, and were praised for are efforts. Poppyfur was accepted  into Thunderclan, as were her kits. We all lived happily ever after, at least until I accidentally found the falcon nest…. but that's a story for another time! Then end!!!!