REWRITTEN! I decided the original one stunk, so I rewrote this. Hopefully it's better than the original one.
I do not own the Warrior cats or the first part of the prophecy (red strikes true). But I DO own the cats, clans, and other ideas in this story.
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The Dawn of Sunset
Late autumn has always been a sad omen for the cats in the Valley of the Lost. As the cold wind whips through their fur and chills their whiskers, they are reminded that leaf-bare is just around the corner, and shall engulf the whole valley with a blanket of snow.
As the leaves fall slowly, like a dancer, and land with a gentle skating motion on the cracked ground, the cats also recall that leaf-bare brings a slow, untimely death to the young or weak, rooting them out and sending them to MoonClan early.
On a particularly chilly day, though, in the FrostClan nursery, the world seemed safe and warm. The nursery was small—there were very few kits this time of year—but it was cozy. A lone queen tended to her single kit, bringing him closer and gently stroking his little body with her rough tongue. The queen herself was a dark, dull gray color with black stripes that were hardly visible unless you looked closely. Her kitten was a ruffled brown color.
A tall and regal looking she-cat entered the nursery. She had fluffy, silver hair with smooth, sweeping stripes running along her back and down her legs, to end with white paws, chest, and muzzle. Walking slowly, so as not to scare the newborn kitten, she approached.
"Congratulations on your kit, Darkspirit," the silver she-cat purred. "It is always nice to receive new kits in the clan." As much as the silver she-cat would try to say the second part with a straight face, it was rather hard. Newborn kits born close to leaf-bare usually died, but she didn't want to scare Darkspirit. "Tell me, do you know what you'll name him?"
Darkspirit looked proudly at her son and whispered, "When I saw him for the first time, mewling quietly, it looked as though his fur were set afire. I can already see him as a warrior, hunting with a fire in his heart, and fighting valiantly to defend FrostClan and you, Dreamstar. I shall name him Burningkit, for the vision I received."
Dreamstar smiled proudly and purred as she saw Burningkit nuzzle closer to his mother and mew pathetically. For a moment she sat there, watching him suckle… then a strange light came through a hole in the nursery roof. Dreamstar, half blinded, stepped back, opened her blue eyes… and gasped.
Darkspirit was right. In the sunset light, it genuinely looked as though this kit had burst into flames. The kitten mewled, but to Dreamstar it sounded like the roar of a LionClan cat. He batted his frail, little paw against his mother in a comforting knead, but it appeared in the light as though he were dealing the final blow to a vicious cat in a battle for his life.
It was among one of the oddest and scariest things that Dreamstar had ever seen.
The sunset lights began to fade, leaving the dull glow of the approaching dusk shimmering throughout the nursery. Along with the light, the kitten seemed to fade back to normal as well. Dreamstar blinked once... twice… she twitched her nose…
Nothing. He was simply Burningkit again.
Dreamstar slowly backed away from the nursery. Her head was drumming with the ferocity of her vision and her eyes were wide with fear. What would he be like when he was older? The question nagged in the back of her mind, exploding almost into a flurry of stars.
She closed her eyes. Something almost seemed comforting as she slowly breathed in and out.
She opened them. Dreamstar gaped as if she couldn't believe what she was seeing.
Emerging from the moonlit sky was a falling cat. His body was faded like that of a ghost, but it glowed with such an intensity that it hurt her eyes. He smelled of the very stars themselves, like the smell of melting diamonds, and his eyes themselves seemed to be made of crystal.
He fell slowly, like a snowflake descending from clouds. He landed a few paces in front of her, his forepaws first and his hind paws following after. Stepping a little closer, he left a small burst of silver fire on the ground for each step he took. Dreamstar felt no heat off the flames, like the fire was enchanted by MoonClan.
"Dreamstar?" his voice was faded, but it reverberated along the hollow a dozen times. Its resonance just blew Dreamstar away, like pounding echoes drumming in her head. The silver she-cat backed away quietly, looking up at the spirit. Something was so familiar…
"Silverstar?" Humbled by the appearance of her former leader, Dreamstar bowed her head in respect. "Is that really you?"
Silverstar said nothing. He took a step forward, leaving a small flicker of silver fire. In the same echoic voice he boomed, "Listen to me, Dreamstar: red strikes true, the last of the kin, to bring death to the dead."
Dreamstar's eyes widened. She looked up at the ghost of Silverstar and whispered, "What? But I don't understand—why are you telling me this?"
The cat's blue eyes almost melted with pity for her confusion. "Dreamstar… I cannot stay… just… just remember… red strikes true, the last of the kin, to bring death to the dead."
Dreamstar blinked at Silverstar, who seemed to be fading out even more. A gust of wind blew, brushing away the spirit that was once her leader. The silvery flames that marked where he had stepped had turned into nothing but a thin smoke that still lingered in the cool air of the early night.
There was a moment's silence. An owl called. A warrior snored.
And the night itself seemed to fade away…
