A/N: This is just an idea I thought of after I drew a picture of the clay slab mentioned in the story. It started out as just a picture of half of a cat face and half of a human face put together, and I ended up writing a short story. The Clans in this are based on the Clans when they lived in the forest, but with different names and different cats. I finally got around to actually spending time working on it.
Disclaimer: I don't own warriors, but I do own this story and the characters.
Allegiances
LightClan
Leader: Brightstar – white she-cat with bright green-blue eyes
Deputy: Riverheart – blue tom with deep blue eyes
Medicine Cat: Eagleflight – beautiful young black and white dappled she-cat with amber eyes
Apprentice: Stonepaw
Warriors: Sunlight – young golden she-cat with green eyes
Troutfin – older grey tom with grey eyes
Wetfoot – blue tom with amber eyes
Duckwing – grey tom with dark green eyes
Apprentice: Puddlepaw
Lionfur – young golden she-cat with yellow eyes
Apprentice: Lillypadpaw
Sunsetsky – light orange she-cat with subtle blue eyes
Quickriver – blue tom with amber eyes
Mudpool – brown tabby tom with amber eyes
Apprentice: Frogpaw
Silverstripe – silver tabby she-cat with silver-grey eyes
Lightfur – golden she-cat with light green eyes
Apprentices: Frogpaw – silver tabby tom with dark green eyes
Lillypadpaw – small blue she-cat with blue eyes
Puddlepaw – silver tabby she-cat with grey eyes
Stonepaw – grey tom with grey eyes
Queens: Toadpuddle – grey she-cat with green eyes
Kits: Sandkit – light orange she-kit with dark green eyes
Goldenkit – golden she-kit with blue eyes
Fishkit – grey tomkit with grey eyes
Webbedkit – grey tomkit with green-blue eyes
Waterkit – grey she-kit with blue eyes
Elders:Leopardheart – yellow she-cat with blue-green eyes
Darkwater – dark tabby tom with dark blue-grey eyes
DarkClan
Leader: Shadowstar – dark tabby tom with grey eyes
Deputy: Ratclaw – tough gray tom with small grey eyes
AirClan
Leader: Skystar – white tom with blue eyes
Deputy: Cloudfur – fluffy white tom with blue eyes
StormClan
Leader: Thunderstar – smoky gray she-cat with cold grey eyes
Deputy: Snowstorm – strict white she-cat with grey eyes
Prologue
Valerie was walking through the mall, looking at the booths when one caught her eye. It was a fortune-teller's booth, but what caught her eye wasn't the vial of powder that would help you find your true love or the mirror that would supposedly bring good luck if you looked in it and said what you wanted seven times. It wasn't the lady in odd clothes with various good luck charm bracelets and necklaces, or her tarot cards that she said she would use to find your future. It was a small piece of clay. It was just a simple square slab of clay about an inch thick with a design on it. It was the sort of clay that had a design painted on it in liquid clay and then fired onto it, but there were two shades of paint. One of them fired to a red-orange, and the other turned out black. Valerie had learned about it in art class.
The design was a black jagged line. On one side was the face of a calico cat, and on the other was a red-haired girl. Valerie loved it instantly. She walked up to the booth and asked, "How much is this?" as she pointed to the clay.
"Usually, forty dollars," the old woman said, showing her teeth, or lack of. "But for you," she said, smiling, "it is only fifteen."
"Dollars?"
"Whatever you prefer." She sat down on a nearby bench to think. She had only been given twenty dollars. But she decided to buy it and spend the rest on a snack.
"I'll take it," she said at last.
"Good. It fits you."
"What?" But the woman just smiled and placed it in a small paper bag, placing wrapping paper carefully around it to protect it. She handed it to Valerie, saying, "Thank you so much for buying it."
That night, Valerie placed it on the table by her bed before going to sleep. She had an odd dream. It was of the clay figure, but now it was a little different, and she understood the meaning for the first time. The girl had two lives and couldn't choose one, and it was like her life was split by a sharp, jagged line. And then a mirror appeared by the clay. Valerie looked in it and saw her face, and realized that it was like the girl on the clay slab. Then her face transformed into a cat's face, and the cat looked like the one on the clay slab. Then the old woman appeared. She asked, "Are you sure?" smiling serenely.
"For what?" Valerie asked many times. But the woman never answered. "Fine, I'm sure." And the woman became a blue cat that smiled at her, just like the old woman. "I will see you again, quite soon, I think."