Notes

The next story's plot (takes place in the future):

The main character is Mudstar (Mudgaze), a beautiful blue (blue-gray, on the bluer side) she-cat with very dark amber eyes. Her mother, Sandstream, a pale ginger she-cat with blue eyes, has just revealed that she is not her true mother and that her father, Heronfrost, a white tom with a black tail-tip and bright green eyes, brought her to the Clan as a kit, claiming to be her true father. Her sister, Lightberry, a spry pale ginger she-cat with forest green eyes, seems unconcerned by the news, focusing more on her training than her heritage. Mudgaze is angry and decides to go try to find her real mother, searching Twolegplace first. She's caught by a rogue group who attacks her (she's around apprentice - young warrior aged) and she barely escapes, finding shelter in an abandoned cave. An ObsidianClan patrol comes by the next morning, showing some of the apprentices the cave and saying that "their founders slept here for moons." Mudgaze hides, barely evading being caught, and leaves, continuing to search the ever expanding Twolegplace. She finds a cat that looks like her and tries to approach her, but a strong kittypet stops her, saying that he's her mate and won't let some wild cat touch her. Mudgaze tries to explain but the tom won't listen. In the night, her mother is spotted watching the forest and she decides to approach. The tom doesn't intervene, and her mother realizes who Mudgaze is, recalling her many meetings with Heronfrost. Mudgaze tells her story and how she kept getting nasty looks from her Clanmates and her mother is sympathetic but simply doesn't care enough to do anything. Mudgaze leaves, angry, and returns to IceClan. Heronfrost and Sandstream gush over her while Lightberry makes small talk, but she dismisses them. Eventually, she gets an apprentice, her best friend (male) Nightleaf's kit, and trains them well, but they just won't listen, so she tries to be more strict. Lightberry, who also got one of the kits as an apprentice, seems to be doing fine and tries to advise Mudgaze on what to do, but Mudgaze snaps at her because "[she knows] what [she's] doing!" She apologizes and is given advice by Sunnystar on what to do. She takes the advice and the apprentice is made a warrior along with their littermate(s). After a while, the deputy, Smokeleaf, decides to retire, telling Sunnystar to make a young cat deputy. As it was in the morning, Sunnystar takes all day to decide on the new deputy while Sunnystar handles the patrols for the next day. Sunnystar announces that Mudgaze is the deputy at sundown, and she's shocked, trying to refuse. Smokeleaf and Sunnystar insist and she accepts it while Smokeleaf moves to the elders' den. The cats let her take his nest and she begins her deputyship confidently. At the next Gathering, one of the other deputies, Rowanstone of SandClan, accepts her and defends her from the others' remarks. She quickly becomes friends with him, beginning to meet at night just to vent and give advice. One day, he asks her to be his mate. She says she'll think about it, and does while on patrol, completely missing another SandClan patrol accusing them of doing something to their deputy. One of them notices that she's also tired and accuses them of breaking the warrior code. Before the IceClan patrol can defend her, one of the apprentices bursts in and calls Mudgaze back to camp. She returns to find the medicine cat hunched over Sunnystar in her den, the leader losing a life. The medicine cat reveals that it was her last and Mudgaze is shocked, wanting someone else to become leader. The medicine cat accuses her of being disloyal, saying that it's the warrior code and StarClan's rule, not hers to decide. She regretfully becomes leader and stops meeting with Rowanstone. She asks the medicine cat for advice on who to next make deputy and she recommends Bouldercloud, a gray tom with white spots and sky blue eyes. Mudstar isn't so sure, as she's seen his ambition and fears that he'll become cruel with power but gives in and makes him deputy. At the next Gathering, Rowanstone asks why Bouldercloud is in her place with the deputies but gets his answer when she leaps up with the other leaders. A moon later she notices that Bouldercloud is sending most cats off to fight and not worrying about hunting. She mentions it and he sends a patrol of the younger apprentices off to hunt. She tells him to go with and he does, only coming back with a few bits of prey and one less apprentice. She finds the poor cat huddled in a bush since he got lost and is too young to remember the way back. She brings him back and finds Bouldercloud fighting with Lightberry about her. Breaking up the fight, she sends Bouldercloud to her den and Lightberry to her nest to talk separately. She finds out that Lightberry was defending her while Bouldercloud was simply "critiquing [her] leading style." She tells him she'll handle the patrols for the next day while he helps the apprentices with their tasks. Lightberry gets off with only a visit to the medicine cat who asks to talk with Mudstar first. They say that they need an apprentice soon and that (insert queen here)'s tom-kit seems up for the task. Mudstar talks to the kit and finds out that they just want to talk with StarClan and have no interest in actually helping his Clan. She tells the medicine cat and they say they'll keep looking. Mudstar finds out when one of the border patrols return that they were attacked by some older ObsidianClan warriors and she goes to investigate. The patrol is still celebrating their rivals' retreat and defeat and she speaks to them calmly but they get defensive and threaten to attack her. Obviously, she returns with a larger patrol and tells them to go back to their camp, reminding them that their Clan's founders had help from IceClan and their first leader was an IceClan cat. They leave and return with a large patrol, attacking the camp and stealing the youngest kits in the nursery. Mudstar doesn't want to risk any more injuries so she has everyone rest and wait for her command to attack. After a quarter moon, she notices Bouldercloud is getting antsy and finally tells him to take a patrol to investigate the borders. He returns with the news that no scents have crossed except for the occasional wafter over scent and she decides to lead the raid party herself. Bouldercloud and Smokeleaf are left in charge while she leads her patrol, including Heronfrost and Lightberry, across the border and straight into the ObsidianClan camp. She attacks the camp, heading straight towards the nursery. Heronfrost warns her against it but she says that she has eight more lives than him and can take the risk. When she enters, she notices that the queens left the kits at the first sign of battle. She grabs one of the kits and passes it to Lightberry and grabs the other. She tells everyone that it's time to leave and races back to her camp, struggling under the weight of the kit. When she returns she gives the queen her kits and the queen is extremely thankful. The two kits' den/littermates welcome them back and begin to interrogate them about the camp while Mudstar goes to the cliff. She makes one of the apprentices a warrior just in case ObsidianClan attacks again and life continues as normal.

Ooo maybe a second book? IDK i still want at least Lightberry and/or Bouldercloud to have kits as well as Bouldercloud getting demoted in favor of someone not super popular. IK I should be writing Threequel and SP but like I REALLY wanna start this :///