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"Bramblestar's lives were ripped out, just like that?" Slatekit gasped. Her amber were were wide.

Coalkit stared in shock at the elder as she nodded. He couldn't believe it.

"The clans were weak!" Ironkit, Coalkit's brother, sneered. "They were defeated by rogues!"

The elder, Oceanclaw, nodded. "That is why Squirrelstar overpowered them easily."

Shardkit, the youngest and weakest kit, sighed. "BoneClan's rise was so bloody," she murmered. Ironkit whacked her upon the ear, making her flinch back.

"Mousebrain!" He growled. "Of course it is! Blood is what BoneClan is all about!"

Shardkit whimpered and backed away. Cold claws clamped over Coalkit's heart as he looked over the scars that cross the young kit's face. She was weaker than most kits, so that means she was the center of all bullying.

Coalkit left the elders' den and padded out into the clearing. He felt sick as his eyes scanned over all the bones that littered the sandy camp. They were only prey bones, but it was still horrid. And he seemed to be the only cat in BoneClan who thought so.

The clan's leader, Houndstar, sat atop the Bonehill, her deputy Clawfoot beside her. Stories have been told of the Bonehill, most consisting of it's origin, back when a rogue clan called BloodClan took over the old four clans. But that was decades ago.

BoneClan has ruled all around the lake for eleven seasons. They had taken over when Squirrelstar, the first BoneClan leader, overpowered her own clan, ThunderClan. She then took over the other three clans: ShadowClan, WindClan, and RiverClan.

Love was forbidden in BoneClan. According to the stories, love was what blinded all the clan cats. It had made Bramblestar oblivious to what was going on around him.

Coalkit jumped as a yowl sounded from the entrance. He turned to see a group of cats dragging a small black bundle of fur into the clearing. The bundle thrashed and kicked, but was no match for the four warriors holding it down.

Nightscar, a lithe black shecat, through the bundle onto the ground, and Coalkit saw it was an old cat. He snarled and started to get up, but Nightscar held him down with a paw, hissing a threat.

Houndstar and Clawfoot hopped down from the Bonehill and padded up to the elder.

"An intruder," Houndstar observed. Her muscles rippled under her sandy pelt, and the elder whimpered, but still glared up at her.

"What is your name and why are you here?" Clawfoot snarled.

"Breezepelt. You have no right to keep me here!" Spat the elder. He bared his teeth, and Nightscar dug her claws into his back. Breezepelt cried out in pain.

By now a crowd had gathered. Some cats spat insults at the old tom.

Houndstar held Breezepelt's gaze for a moment, before turning to a large tabby tom.

"Snakeheart," she meowed. Snakeheart looked up, eyes glinting with excitement.

"Yes, Houndstar?"

"Do you consider yourself a good fighter?"

Snakeheart nodded. "Of course!"

"Prove it."

Nightscar released Breezepelt, who got up and brushed down his pelt.

Houndstar turned and faced Coalkit, who flinched under her fiery gaze.

"Kits must know the ways of the clan," she meowed softly. "Come, Coalkit."

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