Chapter 1
"We need to move faster! Go, go, go!" a voice yowled out desperately over the howling storm. It was getting worse by the second, chewing through tree trunks as if they were twigs and sending rain as cold and sharp as tiny knives raining down onto the assembled group of cats. In all of her moons, Lynxstar had never seen anything like it. The river flowing above them was flooding faster than a fox could run, and it threatened to spill over the boulders looming over their camp and drown them all. The Lakeclan leader knew that there was no hope for them- unless they could get up a tree. And not just any haggard pine tree or a slumping willow- a massive oak with sprawling branches, raised high above the ground and roots positioned firmly beneath the soil. And there was only one of those in the entire forest of their territory.
Lynxstar's chestnut brown fur was slicked back with water and sweat, and her green eyes were wide in fear and worry. Not far off, a wall of water was rising ever higher with hundreds of tiny droplets of rain. Then it would explode, hissing in a giant wave over the slate rocks and smashing into the cats she had come to treasure with all of her heart. They were more than just clan members. They were like family to the burly she-cat, each one unique in their own way... her dark irises narrowed in determination.
The exhausted felines had been moving as quickly as they could, but each had seemed to realize that their situation was almost hopeless, one by one. They began to slow down- but Lynxstar would not allow such a thing.
"We're almost there! If you want to live, then MOVE!" she howled, driving her muzzle into the back of a lagging brown tom who she knew as Otterclaw. He yelped in surprise and sped up, pushing aside the others as he went. They began to quicken their pace again, the eerie silence bursting out into mingled cries for help and shouts of encouragement.
Before long, they had managed to reach their destination- the greatest tree any cat had ever seen. A towering oak tress, its bark a hue of deep brown and roots snaking out from the ground, some large enough to pass under. Its branches reached out in various directions, beckoning for the exhausted felines to rest on and be safe from the inevitable flood.
The leader didn't even have to cry out- they began to climb immediately. Queens went first, a few of them still pregnant with tiny kittens. Their mates had to help push them up onto the lowest bough, but the brown she shook her head violently.
"Too low! We have to at least reach the ninth branch if we want to escape that flood!"
Groans echoed from many, but they didn't complain. Their leader was right. They began to climb higher, some needing more help than others. The tired elders, frightened kits, and shaking queens took shelter on the ninth branch, with the more agile cats able to climb a bit higher. Lynxstar heaved a sigh of relief when the final apprentice had wiggled his way onto one of the branches. Her clan was safe. She herself began to climb, her claws slipping on the slick trunk.
"You can do it, Lynxstar!" a pale queen who went by the name of Honeysong cried out. The others agreed raucously, encouraging her to reach them. Her teeth were gritted in grim concentration. Her muscles strained, and she finally lunged up onto a branch and released a heavy sigh. The felines of Lakeclan cheered for their leader, and she smiled tiredly. She abruptly glanced up at her fellow clanmates, her peaceful gaze replaced with worry almost instantly.
"Is everyone alright? Do we have any injuries?" she meowed anxiously. Silence reigned among them, and she shook her head. "I'm not convinced. I'm going to have Mothfoot take a look at all of yo- Mothfoot?"
"The medicine cat isn't here!" a warrior cried out in sudden alarm. The heads of all the others whipped around, and Lynxstar realized with increasing dread that indeed, the grey tom was nowhere to be seen. Anger surged through her. How could she have not noticed he was gone? Her eyes rolled slightly upward as she tried to think- where would he have gone? The fury drained from her and was replaced with horror. She knew exactly where he was.
"I'm going to find him. Nobody leaves this tree until either I have come back- or if I am unable to return- the flood has been over for a sun shift or more. Understood?" she growled. The others gravely nodded, knowing this would be a dangerous card for their leader to play. One wrong move would end one of her lives. She looked up one last time. "Nightfur, you're in charge."
The Lakeclan deputy, a giant Maine Coon with jet black fur, blinked stolidly in return. His haunting blue eyes flashed like lightning against the night. He didn't say a word- nor did anybody expect him to. Nightfur hadn't spoken since his warrior ceremony in which he received his name. Nobody in the clan knew why, yet nobody could get him to explain.
Lynxstar lunged out of the massive tress, her paws stinging on contact with the mud, and bolted off into the pine trees that were bending impossible directions in the wind. She was almost instantly swallowed up by their shaking needles, and then nobody at all could see her, despite how high up the oak tree was.
The cats of Lakeclan lay somberly on various branches, thunder rumbling above and a canopy of leaves protecting them from most of the rain. Some talked to one another in low tones. But mostly? It was silent as night itself. Their thoughts were similar- after all, they were all hoping desperately for the same two things. One being that both their leader and medicine cat would return before the flood arrived- and the second being that Starclan would help them through these hard times.
But neither of these things were to happen.
Lakeclan
Leader
Nightstar - Massive black tom with blue eyes
Deputy
Blossomfrost - Calico she-cat with amber eyes and long ears
Medicine Cat
Slatetail - Tiny grey tom with a striped tail and green eyes
Apprentice - Sunpaw
Warriors
Otterclaw - Brown tom with a black muzzle
Pebblestream - Pretty grey she-cat with blue eyes and black stripes
Apprentice - Dovepaw
Quickfall - Sleek, blue-eyed, grey tom with a long tail and limbs
Apprentice - Rainpaw
Bearpelt - Large brown tom with one black paw and emerald green eyes
Apprentice - Pigeonpaw
Patchear - A black and white tom with green eyes and a torn ear
Robinwing - Red she-cat with blue eyes and a white underbelly
Apprentice - Aspenpaw
Ravenwhisker - White tabby she-cat with a black tail and green eyes
Apprentice - Splashpaw
Cloudfoot - Dark grey she-cat with one white leg and amber eyes
Stoneleap - Silver tom with dark green eyes and large ears
Smallclaw - Tiny white tom with black claws and green eyes
Apprentice - Sootpaw
Hawktalon - Large brown tom with icy blue eyes
Cherrycreek - Reddish she-cat with a white underbelly and green eyes
Apprentice - Duskpaw
Storkleg - Slim white tom with blue eyes and black paws
Apprentice - Rosepaw
Mudfur - Brown she-cat with black paws and brown eyes
Apprentices
Dovepaw - Pure white she-cat with green eyes
Pigeonpaw - Tiny grey tom with green eyes and black paws
Rosepaw - Dark ginger she-cat with green eyes
Sootpaw - Dark grey tom with white paws and blue eyes
Duskpaw - Black tom with dark amber eyes
Splashpaw - Brown she-cat with darker brown stripes and green eyes
Rainpaw - Silver-furred she-cat with golden amber eyes
Aspenpaw - Small chocolate-tortioseshell she-cat with amber green eyes.
Queens
Honeysong - A pale she-cat with a white-tipped tail and brown eyes
Kits
Stonekit - Grey tabby tom with brown eyes
Elders
Softfur - Hairless she-cat with large ears and grey eyes
Goosestep - Grey tom with a white underbelly and green eyes
Beetlethorn - Black tom with a white underbelly and paws and one white eye
A/N: Hi, everyone! This is my first ever Warriors story, and I'm really hoping it'll turn out well. It is also my first SYOC story in the bargain- yay! You'll have to bear with me if I do something wrong, seeing as I'm new to such a format of story. And by the way, the above list of characters does not mean Lakeclan is ridiculously small- they're just some of my characters to start it off! I will add other cats as they are submitted. My only three rules are simple and easy to comply to (besides the obvious things- no mary/gary sues, no rainbow cats, etc). Ignore them and your character will not appear in the story- simple as that!
The first is that I will NOT TOLERATE people abandoning this story. You don't need to comment on every single chapter (though it would be appreciated) or whatever- just follow it at the very least! I don't want a story that nobody is reading, after all! I will be checking to see if you've done so. If I find that you are not at least following after your character is accepted, I'll take him/her right out of the roster. I'll give you a reminder by PM first, though- I understand if you just haven't had the time to check the story. I'm not heartless ;)
Second! I want the submissions to be in the comments, not by PM! For organization's sake, please only post these characters on the first chapter (this chapter!) of the story. Exceptions can be made if you would honestly prefer it to be in my messages- alert me first, though.
Thirdly and final- you may submit two characters at the max. First come, first serve for high ranks- this rule may have its exceptions, however, if I decide one cat is better-fitting for the position than the other.
See? Those aren't too hard to obey. The form is located on my profile- go wild, my friends! :)
And on a side note- the clan cats will be shown quite a bit, but the main focus of the story is the five apprentices who journey out to- well- I won't spoil it! ;) One of my OC's is already a member of it, meaning I will be accepting four other apprentices. This, unlike the clan's high ranks, will not be first-come first-serve. I will choose the submitted apprentices I deem the best-fitting for the roles. If you want to be one of these particular characters and not just your average apprentice, say "Chosen Apprentice" in the rank section instead of apprentice. If you are not accepted, I will simply put you down as a normal one. So, good luck!