Disclaimer: I don't own Warriors. Erin Hunter does.

Devastation.

It was the only word that could describe what I was seeing. It wasn't like border skirmishes were rare. They happened quite frequently, but never of this magnitude. Cats died and many more sustained deep wounds that are unlikely to heal fast. With leaf bare coming, the survival of the Clan depended on every warrior and apprentice to hunt for food, but with so many injured, how can we survive what's to come?

Was the victory at Sunningrocks worth it? Ravenstar seemed to think so, even though he had lost a life battling Nightwing, the RiverClan deputy. Maplefur, ThunderClan's deputy, had lost his life to Cloudheart and Leafstripe had accidently killed Dawnstripe, a warrior of RiverClan. How could both clans recover from this with leaf bare coming?

"ThunderClan, it's time to go home!" Ravenstar yowled. He and two other warriors bent down to carry Maplefur's still form and started walking towards ThunderClan camp. Limping, I followed them slowly. The trek back to the camp was the longest I've ever felt it to be. But after a few moments, the gorse tunnel was visible. In front of the gorse tunnel, a black she-cat with bright blue eyes waiting for us. She had a frown on her face.

"I'll go prepare the herbs," Nightpool said. "All of you come to my den straight away." With that she dashed off and we entered the camp. The warriors carrying Maplefur set him down besides the Highrock and dispersed to see Nightpool. Ravenstar, however, stayed beside him and he'll probably stay by him all night.

I walked towards the Nightpool's medicine den and waited for my turn to be treated. My injury was relatively minor, since I had just gotten a few scratches on my left hind leg, so I let everyone else to be treated first. By the time Nightpool finished with everyone else, the sun was already starting to set.

"Thanks for letting the others get treated first, Whiteclaw," Nightpool said to me.

"I thought I was being subtle about it, Nightpool," I replied. "But you are always very observant. Anyways, my injury is minor. Just a couple of scratches. It'll heal in the morning."

"You seem pretty confident with that judgment. Perhaps, you don't need your medicine cat for much longer," Nightpool teased. She walked towards my hind leg and sniffed the wound.

"I'll always need you, Nightpool," I replied in all seriousness. "I'm glad you're ThunderClan's medicine cat." Nightpool let out a purr, but continued to examine my wound.

"It seems that you are correct," Nightpool stated. "Nothing to worry about, though I'd like to clean that wound in case it gets infected." With that, she started to press a piece of damp moss on the scratches. I sucked in a breath. It actually stung a bit.

"Thanks, Nightpool," I said after she finished cleaning my wound.

"Get Ravenstar to come here. I need to see his injuries as well," Nightpool commanded. "And then, go get something to eat."

"Of course," I answered and started walking towards the Highrock, since I knew that he'd still be there with Maplefur. He'll be sitting vigil with him tonight, since Maplefur has been his deputy for many moons. As I neared, Ravenstar, with grief clouding his eyes, looked up at me. "Nightpool wants to see you. She's treated everyone else already." Ravenstar nodded his thanks and left Maplefur's side.

I lingered, trying to sort out my feelings. It hadn't hit me as hard on the battlefield, but the feeling of loss and sadness was present now, weighing me down. I had known Maplefur all my life, ever since I was a kit. I remember daydreaming in the nursery, that one day, I'll be as brave and strong as he was. When I became an apprentice, Ravenstar had chosen Maplefur to be my mentor. I was delighted and trained hard under his instruction. When I became a warrior ten moons ago, he was there, congratulating me for a job well done. And now, he was gone from the world.

I laid down beside him and started sharing tongues with him one last time. A couple of my clan mates came and wished him good hunting in StarClan. I stayed for a while longer, numb with grief, until Ravenstar and Nightpool approached from behind.

"Go get something to eat, Whiteclaw," Nightpool commanded. "You'll need all your strength to heal. ThunderClan will rely on you and a few others for survival in the next couple weeks, since most of them are too injured to do patrolling."

"Yes, Nightpool," I replied. I got up and stretched out my legs, then trotted over to the fresh kill pile. The pile was almost empty, save for one dark furred shrew with lots of leaves on it. I blinked. It was quite unusual for leaves to get into the fresh kill pile. Nightpool must have seen my pause for she came over.

"What's wr-," Nightpool stopped in midsentence after seeing the shrew. "It's an omen from StarClan." I looked at her, confused, but didn't say anything. "I need to talk to Ravenstar. Don't eat the shrew. Pick something else." Nightpool spun around and walked quickly to Ravenstar, who is now sitting below the Highrock.

I looked back to the fresh kill pile. To my dismay, the only other piece of fresh kill was a small blackbird with hardly any meat on it. Oh well. I picked it up and brought it to my usual spot, then quickly devoured it in a couple bites.

"Hungry, aren't you?" a light colored tabby she-cat spoke.

"Couldn't help it, Dawnfur. I used up quite a bit of energy today," I replied, amusement tinkling in my eyes. I sat up and started licking my paw.

"I suppose you did," Dawnfur said. "I wish I had been there. I could have helped ThunderClan. Then, you guys wouldn't have had to sustain so many injuries." Dawnfur was still young. She's only been a warrior for two moons and she has already proved her loyalty to ThunderClan many times over.

"I'm sure you could, Dawnfur," I answered. "There will be more battles in the future that you will be able to participate in." Dawnfur smiled and nodded. Having finished cleaning myself, I looked back towards the Highrock to see what had happened with Ravenstar and Nightpool. However, Ravenstar was on top of the Highrock, getting ready to call the clan together for a clan meeting.

"Let all cats old enough to catch their own prey gather beneath the Highrock for a Clan meeting!" Ravenstar yowled. I looked at Dawnfur and we both proceeded to make our way to sit underneath the Highrock and wait for Ravenstar's announcement. It was time for him to choose a new deputy. Once everyone had settled down, Ravenstar started the meeting.

"First, I want to congratulate everyone on a job well down. The battle for Sunningrocks was a fierce one, but we prevailed. Next, I want to thank StarClan for the life of Maplefur. He was brave and loyal and a fine confident. Tonight he sits with his fellow warriors in the stars." A hush fell over the clearing as everyone looked to the sky, in honor of Maplefur.

"And now, I shall name ThunderClan's new deputy." Ravenstar continued after a pause. "I say these words before the body of Maplefur, so that his spirit may hear and approve of my choice." There was a ripple of murmur throughout the clan as they awaited Ravenstar's choice.

"Whiteclaw will be the new deputy of ThunderClan!" I blinked as all heads swirled around and looked at me. I couldn't believe my ears. There were more experienced warriors that could have been more well suited for the position. "I shall keep vigil with Maplefur tonight." With that, he leapt off of the Highrock and laid down next to Maplefur.

"Congratulations, Whiteclaw!" several of my clanmates said to me and I thanked them. My mind, however, was still whirling. I couldn't believe that I was made deputy.

And Ravenstar hadn't said anything about the omen from StarClan...

Author's Notes: Thanks for reading! Hope you enjoyed the story! ^^

This story was an original one that I had taken down due to a long hiatus (a year and a half). However, since then, my writing style has evolved, so I decided to rewrite it. Most of the old ideas, however, I am going to scrap and let this story launch in a new direction. =)