A cave. A quiet, pleasantly dark, and cool place. Much more wide than it was deep, the site still had plenty of space for the numerous creatures living inside: cats. Broad-shouldered warriors squeezed out from a gap between a giant pile of rocks and made the short walk over to the apprentice den immediately across the way, calling out for their sleeping pupils to get a move-on. CliffClan's elders were beginning to wake, slowly but steadily making their way towards the fresh-kill pile in search of breakfast, only to be turned away as they discovered only a cold mouse and scrawny pigeon lay leftover from the night before. A few cross words were tossed in the direction of the warriors by the retired members of the Clan, urging them to hurry up and bring back some proper food before they starved to death.
The words of the elders weren't meaningless, though; leaf-bare held the forest in its tight, icy grip, a fact easily noticed by even the densest observer. The apprentices, once they exited their den, looked to their thinning mentors with dull eyes before the group slowly made its way outside into the bitter cold. They thanked StarClan every day that the snows hadn't come yet, but this season was one of the coldest the Clans had seen in years.
And even without the snow, sickness still threatened CliffClan.
Scorchstar's den was about as far away from the medicine cat tunnel as it could get, but he could still hear the echoes of strained coughing from all the way across the cave.
The smoky black tabby stepped out from the short channel that led from his personal den out into the rest of camp, his yellow eyes fogged over. He hadn't slept long that night, plagued by troubled thoughts revolving around the lack of food and the impending risk of a greencough outbreak. Spiderbelly, his own deputy, and Larkpaw were the only two to have contracted whitecough so far, the young apprentice's illness no doubt brought on by her father's frequent visits to see his only child.
Brindlestem assured him that she would be able to keep the spread of infection down by keeping the current patients quarantined. Her supply of catmint had been greatly bolstered during the beginning of leaf-fall, thanks to the great cooperation between her and the medicine cats of LakeClan and BreezeClan. With luck, no cats would join StarClan as a result of the terrible disease, but Scorchstar worried for Spiderbelly's poor daughter nevertheless.
It was Scorchstar's anxiety that drove him towards the medicine den that morning, and before he knew it, the tom found himself winding his way through the tunnel that led into the heart of the earth and the large opening where CliffClan's medicine cat did her job.
"Alright, obviously you know what catmint is for. What about…thyme?"
A bright, but slightly muffled, voice answered the first: "Anxiety! You chew on the leaves and it helps calm down a nervous cat!"
Scorchstar rounded the corner and finally came to find the source of the noise, Brindlestem and Larkpaw, the latter splayed out in a mossy nest with a pile of leaves sitting in front of her.
"Oh, good, Scorchstar, glad you're here. Maybe you can convince this rock-headed apprentice to take her medicine before I force it down her gullet." Brindlestem, a stocky tortoiseshell, cast a green-eyed glare in her pupil's direction, but Larkpaw only returned it with a smile brighter than the sun.
Larkpaw's golden brown tail thumped happily against the ground as she turned to the Clan leader.
"I'm working on it," the young she-cat said in her defense, absentmindedly poking at the catmint. When Brindlestem hissed at her though, Larkpaw quickly ducked her head and lapped up a decent portion, chewing the herbs thoroughly.
Scorchstar nodded approvingly. "Good girl, listen to what your mentor says. She's the most brilliant medicine cat I've ever had the pleasure of knowing, even if her bite is worse than a fox's."
The older she-cat rolled her eyes and grunted, "Just because you're my leader doesn't mean I can't give you a good whoopin', Scorchstar. It just means I have to waste my herbs and fix you up afterwards."
Scorchstar couldn't help and purr in amusement at Brindlestem's claim.
"If you were a warrior, Brindlestem, I'd truly fear for my life – all nine of them, in fact." The smoky black tom helped himself to a seat, curling his striped tail carefully around his paws. "I didn't come here to be, uh, threatened, though. I was hoping for a word with you, privately."
Brindlestem's eyes flashed with a knowing light. "Of course," she replied curtly, "Larkpaw, take your last mouthful of catmint and then go check on your father in the back. There should be some spare moss lying around; fetch him some water from the pool and give it to him too, if you would."
For a moment if looked as if the golden-brown she-cat was about to refuse – after all, what apprentice didn't want to listen in on an important conversation between the Clan leader and medicine cat? – but she obviously thought better of it and quickly acquiesced, scampering off around the corner to the rear of the medicine den. Scorchstar watched Brindlestem as she turned, easily spotting the softness of the she-cat's gaze as she made sure Larkpaw made it back alright. As soon as her sight landed back on the tom, however, Brindlestem's eyes were as hard as stone: not cold and unyielding, but strong and steadfast.
"I'll get right to it," Scorchstar said, his tail twitching anxiously as he spoke, "I want to go speak to StarClan. I want to go now, today, before this leaf-bare gets even tougher. I…I just have a feeling that things are going to get immeasurably worse, Brindlestem. Both the other Clans and our warrior ancestors have been too quiet, and I want to know why."
If the medicine cat was surprised by his request, she didn't show it. Instead, the tortoiseshell fixed him with an unwavering stare, soaking up Scorchstar's every word.
"I'd have you go with me as well," the tom added, "Two vessels for StarClan to speak to means double the chances of getting the answers I want, right?"
Brindlestem got to her paws once he was finished. "Tom cats," she scoffed, "bone-headed warriors. Only you would believe such logic."
Scorchstar couldn't help but bristle a bit at the she-cat's mockery; she didn't miss his reaction, however, and quickly lashed her tail to quell her earlier statement and her leader's anger. "I do agree with you to a point though, Scorchstar. StarClan has been unusually silent, and Morningfur and Thistlefoot shared the same sentiment the last I saw them. Pick your most trusted warriors to leave in charge for the rest of the day; we'll leave as soon as I've gotten Spiderbelly and Larkpaw settled."
Wind buffeted Scorchstar's short black fur, the freezing gusts biting directly into his skin as the tom shivered. For a moment, the world was silent as the wind died down. CliffClan's leader stood at the crest of one of the many hills that littered BreezeClan's territory; Scorchstar and Brindlestem had forgone the traditional route the medicine cat would take on a journey to speak with StarClan, instead opting to take the shortest, most direct route to Moon Falls, the sacred spot within the lone mountain that lay within the Clans' land. Normally they would have travelled south from camp until they reached the lake, from which they could follow the winding path of the river all the way to the heart of the mountain in the east, but Scorchstar had insisted they travel as the crow flies. The longer they were away from camp, the more CliffClan's leader worried. He had left the camp in capable paws, that he knew. The tom was more concerned about having Brindlestem away from her sick patients…but not concerned enough to keep from getting his answers regarding StarClan's silence.
His companion scaled the hill a few moments later, the she-cat's sides heaving from the effort. Scorchstar couldn't help it as his eyes narrowed in concern, yet he kept his gaze fixed on the horizon as opposed to turning to Brindlestem with the look. She had been the medicine cat that had birthed him moons and moons ago, so it was expected Brindlestem occasionally looked a bit long in the tooth. Her greying pelt and labored breathing confirmed it, but Scorchstar had never even heard her speak the "dreaded R-word": retirement.
Perhaps he would broach the topic with her once Larkpaw was fully trained; at the very least, CliffClan's medicine cat had earned the right to take a back seat when it came to handling the brunt of the Clan's healing responsibilities and to relax instead. Brindlestem had served them well for countless moons, so far as he was concerned, she deserved the most plush, comfortable mossy nest in the elder's den.
"You just going to sit there until you start sprouting moss?" Came a growl at Scorchstar's shoulder. The concerned light faded from his eyes and was replaced with mirth as he turned to address his tormentor. Brindlestem's nostrils flared as she breathed in, but this time if it were from her expended effort or an attempt to scent the air, he couldn't tell. "It's sun-high already and we're only halfway there."
Scorchstar grunted in response, "If someone might not have spent an hour allowing Spiderbelly to pick out his favorite piece of fresh-kill before we left, we'd be nearly to the Moon Falls by now, Brindlestem."
"Ah, yes, blame it on the senile, old she-cat. Next time you fall ill, Scorchstar, I'll order the warriors to only bring you beetles and worms to eat. How's that sound?" Sarcasm flowed from Brindlestem's words like a river swollen with snow-melt, yet it warmed Scorchstar's heart.
"Alright, alright. There'll be plenty of time for bickering on our return trip, so let's save it for then, yeah?" The smoky black tom suggested, beginning his descent down the steep slope before Brindlestem was able to spit out a reply.
Brindlestem cast her bright green gaze up towards the heavens. "Now you're speaking my language, Scorchstar."
By the time Scorchstar and Brindlestem had scaled the rocky heights up the mountain, the sun was close to kissing the horizon. Being a cat of CliffClan meant climbing the rough terrain of the monolith was an easy task for the tom, the pads of his paws used to the abuse tough shards of stone could deal to one's feet. Brindlestem had even done a relatively well job of keeping up with his steady pace. He could have gone faster by himself, but it was important that the medicine cat accompanied him.
They hadn't climbed that high to begin with; there was a crack in the mountain's side just about halfway up that was their goal, before the slopes got too steep and the ground reduced to rock and dirt, without a hint of grass in between. Trees and wispy bushes lined the path they had taken here, and the occasional bird or squirrel could be heard overhead. 'Amazing to see life clinging on even in the harshest places,' Scorchstar thought. Looking back from the way they came, he could see the rolling hills of BreezeClan territory touched by the fading, pale yellow light of the sun. To his left, the west, he could just make out the shimmer of water past the hills and trees that sprouted up, forming the thicker forest of LakeClan's territory. His own Clan's lands looked like a lumpy strip of brown from here, a combination of dead trees and rocky ravines and valleys.
With a sigh, Scorchstar turned away from the vast landscape and towards Brindlestem, who had helped herself to a seat at the mouth of the tunnel that would lead them to the Moon Falls. If he listened carefully enough, the faint sound of rushing water could be heard from within.
The look in Brindlestem's eyes was one Scorchstar couldn't quite place. The green optics were darkened with swirling thoughts, and the tom even thought he saw the she-cat shudder before she got to her feet once again.
"Come," the medicine cat said in a low tone, turning tail and disappearing into the dark hole that led into the heart of the mountain. Scorchstar followed quickly, his black pelt assimilating with the darkness as he entered. Cool, slick stone walls pressed against his side as tried his best to keep his eyes on Brindlestem as she padded deeper and deeper inwards. Only when she twisted and turned along the winding path did he catch a glimpse of the ginger patches on her tortoiseshell fur; otherwise, he might as well have been blind in the darkness. Dry rasping sounded above him as leathery winged bats stretched and took flight, eager to leave the cave in search of food. On and on the duo walked, until the tunnel finally yawned open and the sound of crashing water amplified.
They were in a large, nearly circular cave. Near the entrance, tall, pointed spears of rock met from the roofs and ceilings, forming strangely imposing towers that moisture gathered on. Before him, the ground was smooth stone, dimpled in places but flat in most and the color of sand. The most noticeable feature of all was the roaring waterfall, as wide as five cats and easily triple the height. Water poured from a crevice in the ceiling, and it must have been open to the surface somehow, as faint rays of light bounced off the rushing liquid and painted the cave with a faint glow. At the foot of the waterfall was a small, crystal clear pool, and Brindlestem was already standing at its edge, her toes just barely brushing the water's surface. She waved her tail at him, beckoning Scorchstar forward.
"Drink of the Moon Falls' waters, and pray that StarClan answers your questions, Scorchstar," Brindlestem intoned before crouching down herself to lap at the crystalline surface. The tom did as he was told and settled down beside the medicine cat, shivering as his belly contacted the cool floor beneath him. After just a moment's hesitation, CliffClan's leader bent his head and drank, his mouth filled with an unearthly taste. A heartbeat later, and his vision went black, and the world grew silent.
When Scorchstar blinked his eyes open, he was immediately taken aback. No longer was he in the Moon Falls cave, but a forest. It had been awhile since he had been in StarClan's forest, but that place wasn't easily forgettable. Nothing about this forest seemed familiar. As Scorchstar craned his head back, all he saw were dead trees and frost where there should have been plush greenery – it was never leaf-bare in StarClan's forest. The tom's breath billowed in the wind as he turned, searching for something, anything recognizable.
"Brindlestem?" Scorchstar called out, "Brindlestem, are you seeing this? Are you here?" But no answer came to him.
CliffClan's leader had thought there were something wrong earlier, back in camp that morning. Now he knew his suspicions were correct; even the air here felt sinister.
This was not StarClan's forest.
The tabby tom's fur rose along his spine as he began padding forward, determined to walk until he found someone he could question. The ground crunched beneath his paws as he walked, crushing the frost-covered, half-dead grass that covered the expanse of naked forest he was in.
It wasn't until a few moments later that Scorchstar realized that all the trees he passed looked identical. Yellow eyes wide with confusion, the tom approached one, a leaf-barren oak with skeleton limbs. He carefully raised a paw and unsheathed his claws against the grey bark and drug downwards, leaving a long, jagged wound in the tree's surface.
As soon as Scorchstar's claws left the oak, a terrible scream broke the silence of the dead forest. Scorchstar whipped around, expecting to find the source of the dreadful noise, but his now fright-filled gaze was only met by line after line of dead trees. The scream continued, a high-pitched screech of terror that threatened to tear Scorchstar's ears to pieces and rip his sanity straight from him. The leader slammed his eyes shut and sunk to the ground, clamping his paws uselessly over his ears in an effort to keep the noise out.
But still, the screaming would not stop.
It could have been days that passed, maybe even weeks. Seconds, minutes, hours, none of them held any sort of significance anymore because to Scorchstar, it felt like an eternity before the screaming stopped. The tom cracked open one bloodshot, distant eye, and came face to face with a pair of big, white paws.
With a yowl of surprise, Scorchstar leapt to his feet, his smoky black pelt fluffed out in terror. The strange cat standing before him had a long, pure white pelt and was larger than any warrior Scorchstar had ever met. Blue eyes darker than the lake's depths looked the CliffClan leader over calmly until it became apparent he was in no danger.
"Who…who are you?" Scorchstar gasped, struggling to find his voice again. He concentrated a large amount of effort to getting his fur to lie flat again. "I don't recognize you. Are you a StarClan spirit?"
The huge white tom remained impassive, his face an unmoving mask.
Scorchstar took a step forward, this time his voice stronger despite its pleading tone, "Please. I'm Scorchstar of CliffClan. My medicine cat and I, Brindlestem, came to try and commune with StarClan. You can help me, right?"
The white tom looked away. "Help you?" He finally said, in a deep, grating voice that sounded like tumbling rocks, "There will be no help for what is coming. You and the Clans have condemned yourselves to your doom already."
Scorchstar stepped back in front of the white cat. "So I was right," he said breathlessly, "Something bad is going to happen. But what? Can't you tell me?"
Shouldering him aside, the big tom started walking further into the dead forest. "All the Clans are doomed, those living and dead. The end is near. There is nothing else to say."
"Wait!" Scorchstar called after him, breaking into a run to catch up, "Please, you must help us!" The white tom sidestepped behind a tree, breaking the line of sight between him and the CliffClan leader. As Scorchstar came around the other side of the oak, the strange cat was gone.
With a hiss of defeat, Scorchstar lashed out at the nearest tree with unsheathed claws, triggering the terrible screaming yet again. This time, however, a loud thunderclap accompanied the cries, and suddenly the tree he had hit was leaning, tumbling, falling, straight towards him. Scorchstar had only a second to react, his legs working faster than he would have thought possible to throw himself to the side, desperately trying to get out from under the rapidly expanding shadow of the falling tree. Groaning in protest, the thick trunk impacted the ground first, causing the ground to jump and shake beneath his paws. Then came the multitude of branches, the bare wooden limbs clawing at Scorchstar's pelt as he scrambled back one more tail-length, just barely avoiding their dangerous touch.
The smoky tabby's blood was roaring in his ears, drowning out the sounds of the death sigh of the tree and the continuous screaming. His chest rose and fell rapidly, his breath coming in ragged gasps. Scorchstar's legs crumpled beneath him, and his eyes slowly began to close. Blackness soon swept over his vision, and once again he succumbed to the darkness.
Moments later, Scorchstar awoke to the dim light and constant din found in the Moon Falls cave. Brindlestem's paw was on his shoulder, roughly shaking him.
"Scorchstar, come on. Get up!" the she-cat hissed, her eyes wide and ears pressed flat against her skull. "You were right, something is wrong. We need to get out of here, now!"
Although his legs felt as if they were made of stone, CliffClan's leader struggled into a standing position. "What did you see?" he rasped, throat dry and constricted. He just had to know what the medicine cat had seen in her dreams; if they were anything like his, then it spelt serious trouble for them all.
Brindlestem shook her head frantically. "Not here. We're leaving this place, now, before it's too late."
A dozen questions sprang to Scorchstar's lips as he narrowed his eyes at her in fury. He wasn't used to being ordered around, and wasn't going anywhere until his questions were answered. Scorchstar opened his mouth, a growl growing deep in his belly, but was cut off before he could even form his first word.
The screams. The cave shook with their ferocity, dust and pebbles raining down on the two cats crouched by the pool where the waterfall emptied. All around them, stalagmites and stalactites cracked and crumbled, shattering into knife-like shards. Giant portions of the ceiling tore loose and crashed to the ground, one missing Brindlestem's tail by a whisker's width. The she-cat yowled, her look of shock and fear mirrored on Scorchstar's face. The tom grabbed the medicine cat by the scruff and heaved, shoving her towards the cavern exit.
"RUN!" Scorchstar roared, his voice drowned out by violent sounds of the earth tearing itself apart, but Brindlestem got the message. She ran, CliffClan's leader right on her paws. Dust filled the air, making the poorly lit tunnel nearly impossible to navigate, but the two cats continued on, running for their lives. Rocks fell all around them, closing off the path behind them entirely.
Despite it all, Scorchstar could just barely make out the tunnel's exit onto the mountainside. Night had fallen entirely, the dark indigo sky a hazy splotch of color against the dark walls of the collapsing cave. Stars twinkled sadly in the sky above, as if the ranks of StarClan were watching that very moment, silently urging Brindlestem and Scorchstar forward.
He could taste the fresh air on his tongue, it was so close. Brindlestem was gaining ground on him, her tail tip the only part of her he could see. In another second or two she would be clear of the falling –
Crack! Ahead of them, the tunnel's roof snapped clean off, and the rock sheet fell, slamming across the exit. Rock slides were common in CliffClan's territory, so the following rumble pierced Scorchstar's heart like the sharpest of claws. Boulders dropped from above, a deadly rainstorm, and more dirt and debris filled the air.
One monster-sized rock fell as Scorchstar rounded the corner, and he could do nothing but watch in horror as its shadow briefly eclipsed Brindlestem. Her screech of pain was short, along with the splintering of every bone in the she-cat's body, but the shockwave and reverberation of the boulder's impact lasted forever.
Scorchstar slid to a halt, no longer able to process what was going on. The cave continued to collapse all around him as he stood, rooted to the spot by grief, disbelief…and acceptance. So this is where he would die – if not once, then nine times over. His only hope at this point was that his soul would join the ranks of StarClan, being so close to their earthly source, even as it imploded around itself.
Another sharp shard of rock tore loose from the walls and slammed into Scorchstar's skull, knocking the tom to the floor. He was out instantly, perhaps a blessing in disguise as the cave collapsed completely, burying Brindlestem and Scorchstar in a cold, earthy embrace.
A short time after all the rocks had fell and the dust had settled, the screaming stopped.
Welcome to Unbalanced, a Warrior's fic in the making. I told myself I'd have half of this story written and outlined before I published this prologue, but I just got way too excited about it and couldn't help myself. That said, it's going to be a bit before I update because I want to have a couple of pre-written chapters to fall back on that I can put up on my chosen scheduled upload day, since school and work take up a lot of my free time.
I hope everyone enjoys, and I definitely appreciate any and all reviews. Hope to see you again soon! c;