Pebblepaw is the deputy's apprentice, but that doesn't mean he is held in any higher regard than the other apprentices. Quite the opposite, actually. When he finally snaps and looses his temper with his mentor and the deputy's son, he runs off and ends up in Twolegplace, where he meets a spunky kittypet that looks suspiciously like the one in his dream. When the plans of Ridge, a twoleg-hating alley cat, are finally revealed, only he and his new friend can stop him from becoming a murderer. Pebblepaw, a quiet, witty tom who really does have a lot to say, narrates his way from the woods, to the ocean, and then back to the mountains. But does he have the strength to sacrifice everything that matters most to him? Or will it have to be his life?
Allegiances
AshClan
Leader: Ridgestar - Red-brown tabby she-cat
Deputy: Stagfrost - Light brown tabby tom
Apprentice: Pebblepaw
Medicine Cat: Stormfeather – Elderly gray tabby tom with green eyes
Warriors:
Rushfoot- Pale gray tabby tom
Rainflower- Dark gray she-cat with white markings
Apprentice: Pinepaw
Frostfeather- White she-cat with blue eyes
Twigstripe- Ginger tabby tom
Turtlestream - Dark tabby she-cat
Apprentice: Lilypaw
Copperstep- Golden brown tom
Apprentice: Smokepaw
Ivystep- Dark gray tabby she-cat
Emberfoot- Black tom with a ginger paw
Twiststorm- Dark gray tom
Apprentice: Fleetpaw
Apprentices:
Pinepaw- Dark brown tabby tom
Smokepaw- Gray tom
Lilypaw- White she-cat with gray patches
Fleetpaw- White she-cat
Pebblepaw- Light gray tabby tom with white feet and deep ocean-blue eyes
Queens:
Riversong- Blue-gray she-cat
Elders:
Flutterspots- Perky graying tabby she-cat
Maplefoot- Brown tabby tom
Cats Outside of Clans:
Ridge - Dark red-brown tabby tom; leader of the alley cats
Bane - Black and white tom
Branch- Brown and white tom
Scruffy- Fluffy brown tabby tom
Stripes- Ginger tabby she-cat
Ivory- White she-cat
Scamper- Long-haired brown tabby tom with white markings
Pebbles- Dark gray tabby she-cat with white feet and sky blue eyes
Whiskers- Chubby gray tabby tom
Hugo- Elderly silver tom
Mocha- Elderly dark brown tabby she-cat
Sparks- Ginger tabby she-cat
Ashes- Gray she-cat with darker gray patches
Charcoal- Black she-cat
Flicker- White she-cat with ginger splotches
Shadow- Dark gray tom
Storm- long haired elderly pale gray tabby tom with green eyes
I would like to thank my cousin the 'Prehistoric Pterodactyl Named Delma' for a considerable amount of plot help, her cat Scamper for agreeing to star in the story, and my other cousin Carobelle for typing up the allegiances when I was at her house, because I type wicked slow and she's wicked impatient. Thank you guys!!
Prologue
The town was quiet. Usually, even at night, the port was lit with blinding lights, and blinking lights, and loudspeakers, and foghorns, and engines were growling and blaring and rumbling, like an earthquake, and a volcano, and a thunderstorm all at once. The only light was pale beams of silver moonlight filtering between the damp stone buildings. A dark fog wrapped the quiet town in darkness, and the sound of the ocean echoed through the damp cobblestone alleys.
Pebblepaw's eyes snapped open. He jumped up, his heart pounding. Where was he? He looked up and down the dark alley, trying to calm down. Twolegplace. He took a deep breath. Twolegplace was nothing to be afraid of. The forest was just over here—
He trotted down the alley, breathing fast. How he'd gotten here was anyone's guess. The roaring sound grew louder. A cold wind blew back against him, flattening his fur as he came out onto the deserted, muddy thunderpath. He squinted in the cold mist, trying to figure out where he was. The stench of twolegs and their monsters was confusing him, and there was a smell over it all that made him want to gag, or sneeze—salt.
Staring into the fog, Pebblepaw listened to the steady roaring of the ocean. The shadows rising in the distance were the mountains, and behind Pebblepaw the town towered in the swirling mist. He shivered and shrank down in the shadows—how'd I get here from my den in camp? hewondered. What's that noise? Is that the ocean? Glancing both ways along the dimly lit street, Pebblepaw darted across the thunderpath.
The ground suddenly turned to wood. Moving wood. Pebblepaw leapt back. The planks shifted beneath his feet and rocked with the waves. The wind howled and blew harder as Pebblepaw crept along the wood. It tugged at his fur and whistled through the cracks in the boards. It sounded oddly like... whispering.
He sank his claws into the planks, flattening himself to the ground. But the voices rose around him.
There are two.
Huh? Pebblepaw looked around for a cat, but saw no one. The voice was strange, but oddly familiar.
But soon there will only be one.
Then Pebblepaw saw the shadow.
Pebbles clattering on the blood river's shore beneath scampering paws...
One black paw will lash back...
And find another...
Even the brightest star hides secrets...
And even distant mountain ridges can reach the stars...
Even an accident can save the cats who need you most...
Dark moonbeams light the fog...
A cat was sitting in the mist just a tail-length ahead of him, seeming to glow. Those sky-blue eyes looked oddly familiar too—
The only thing holding you back... is you.
Suddenly a huge wave rose and swept Pebblepaw out with it.