The Missing Link (A Warriors Fanfic)

-prologue-

All was quiet. The silence gripped the night like icy black claws. No moon was reflected on the shining, perfectly round pool, but the masses of stars dotting the sky encrusted the surface of the water, making it glisten and gleam.

The stars also shone on the dappled pelt of a cat. The tortoiseshell's head was bent, and she was staring into the pool as if she could see something in it's depths. She crouched there for what seemed like moons, her entire body tense and her ears pricked. Finally, the beautiful tortoiseshell lifted her head and stared into the trees. Standing up, she walked a few tail-lengths, and when she entered the shade of a pine, it was apparent that the dappled starlight on her already spotted fur did not come from the sky, but from her pelt itself. It was as though the slim she-cat was cloaked in starshine. And when she walked, glittering paw prints were left behind, shimmering there for a few moments before they faded. The celestial tortoiseshell seemed to be waiting for something, or someone. Her amber eyes glittered with anticipation. Finally, those amber eyes glowed, as though what the tortoiseshell had been waiting for had come.

Dozens of starlit felines poured into the clearing. They paused to touch noses with each other and the tortoiseshell, then took their places around the full moon-shaped pool. They stood as friends, as equals, and none seemed to have a higher rank than the other.

A blue-gray she-cat with a broad face spoke first. "What have you seen, Spottedleaf?", she asked the tortoiseshell.

Spottedleaf raised her head, which had been staring into the pool again, and gazed evenly at all the cats in turn. She looked at the cat who had addressed her last. "Bluestar…I'm not sure", she murmured, faltering. "It's not clear." She again dropped her gaze to the water. Indistinct shapes were swirling within it, made up of greens and browns, blues and whites. "It does not concern ShadowClan or WindClan."

A tomcat with a crooked jaw spoke. "Is RiverClan involved?"

Spottedleaf twitched her whiskers. "No. And neither is ThunderClan."

A dark colored tom lashed his tail in annoyance. "This sign is pointless. We only watch over cats inside these four clans, of which we came from."

"Patience, Nightstar", Bluestar told him. "All will reveal itself in time."

Nightstar bristled noticeably, but was silent. All bright eyes were on Spottedleaf, still staring into the pool. All was quiet for a while.

"There are…more cats", Spottedleaf mewed finally. "Clan cats, like us. They live far away from the lake territory…closer to the forest territory. That is who this sign is for."

A huge golden tom shook his head, confused. A ruff around his neck, that was like a lion's mane, rippled as he moved. "These cats are not our responsibility. Why aren't their own warrior ancestors watching over them? How are we even linked to them at all?"

"This is a young clan", Spottedleaf answered simply. "Young and clueless. They do not know of StarClan, or any other warrior ancestors. As for how we are linked to them…" Spottedleaf looked back to the pool. Almost at once, a pure white shape formed there. The starry cats leaned over as one. Bluestar nodded as she recognize the shape. "We watch over him still, though we no longer walk his skies."

A white tom seemed to recognize the shape, too. He glanced up at Spottedleaf. "But I don't understand. How is he a link?"

As in answer, the shape in the pool changed. White became gold, and the shape became smaller and more slender. Bluestar and the white tom raised their chins as if they understood. "He has kin in this new clan", Spottedleaf confirmed. "He becomes a link to ThunderClan."

Silence once again swept over the cats. Spottedleaf turned her attention back to the water. New shapes were forming now. Five cats, one larger than the others, their pelts pressed together and their tails twined. It was nearly impossible to tell one from another. Nightstar narrowed his eyes. The golden tom cocked his head with an unasked question. Bluestar's whiskers twitched, but she was silent. Spottedleaf opened her jaws to speak.

"To face the impending danger

Five are united

One is divided

For the full moon is stained with blood."

Invisible claws slashed the round pool, and the surface turned red.