Drowning in You: A True Love Story
By Poison Rain
Summary: Young Shadepool, whom has just become the new LeafClan medicine cat after the death of her mentor, meets a reckless NightClan tom named Redclaw. Though the warrior code forbids it, they fall in love. But with a rising threat foretold in a dream from StarClan that foolish Shadepool refuses to pay attention to, and a jealous tom who becomes dangerously obsessive of the poor she-cat, what will happen to them, their love, and all the Clans in the forest?
Disclaimer: Warriors belongs to Cherith Baldry, Kate Cary, and Vicki Holmes, and I did not create it (as much as I wish I did. Heehee). Drowning in You internal content belongs to me, and no one else, so you better not steal it or I'll send my evil henchman after you. Dun dun duuuuun.
Note: Please be aware that this story has violence, some scary depictions, and extremely mild sex-related content in it. It's been rated appropriately, and so you can't blame me for how it makes you feel.
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Well, here it is; the prologue. : ) It took a long time to finish. I don't know how long exactly, but let's just put it this way: it was light out when I started it, and it was dark out when I finished it. lol. I had to rewrite it though, so it took me longer than usual to write...Well anyway, enjoy! ; )
Prologue
The sliver of a moon dangled in the sky like a sharpened claw. A grassy hollow surrounded by impenetrable walls of twisted brambles seemed ghostly and barren under the silver light. The night was still, and below the treetops the cats of LeafClan were preparing for sleep within the hollow. Though all was silent, a disturbance could be sensed . . .
The smooth leaves of the camp entrance rustled, and a jet black she-cat came pelting through. A yowl arose from her, and all heads turned in her direction. The cats' eyes were wide with fear as they stared at the she-cat.
A tabby tom rushed out of a den and bounded toward the black cat. He came to a halt in front of her and stared into her face for a moment, as if paralyzed with worry.
"Shadepool," the tom meowed, clearly afraid. "What happened?"
The she-cat opened her maw several times, but whenever she tried to speak she would choke on the words and have to gasp for breath. Finally she gave her leader the answer: "Oh Mudstar, Sparrowpelt . . ." she began, still trying to catch her breath. "We were heading to the Starcave, and a fox came out of nowhere!" She closed her blue eyes for a moment, and kept them sealed as she carried on. "He tried to fight it off, and it hurt him—badly. He told me to come get help; he wasn't strong enough to make the trip back with me. I ran back here as fast I could." She opened her eyes again.
The tabby was quiet as he took in the problem. Then he gave a curt nod. "All right then," he replied, his eyes wide with concern. "We must go help him. Falcontooth, Moonfur, Snowcloud!" he called out urgently. "Shadepool will lead the way to where Sparrowpelt's hurt, and then you three will help her carry him back to camp. Is everything clear?"
The three warriors, who had hurried up to their leader, nodded vigorously. Falcontooth glanced over at Shadepool, looking at her in a different way than usual; if Sparrowpelt died, the dark-furred cat would become the new medicine cat, and take on much bigger responsibilities than she had now, as the medicine cat trainee.
Shadepool glared at the cats. "Well, come on! Sparrowpelt's probably lost half his body's blood by now." She turned and sprinted over to the leafy entrance. After Falcontooth, Snowcloud, and Moonfur had left the camp, she slipped out after them into the shadowed woodland.
The panicked she-cat parted her jaws to drink in the scents around her. To her relief, the unpleasant reek of death was nowhere near where the medicine cat was.
"Come on, this way," she instructed briskly. With her tail doubled in size, Shadepool leaped through the undergrowth; the three others followed.
Her paws flew across a worn dirt path that had long since been walked upon by the Twolegs that had first made it; now it was LeafClan's way to the Starcave. The smell of blood began to get stronger as the four cats ran further down the pathway. Shadepool could feel her legs becoming weak with fear beneath her, even though the fox had run off after she had scratched its face. But now she was afraid of what she would find when they got where she was leading them.
Soon, a bloody heap of fur came into view, and the group slowed as they neared Sparrowpelt. Shadepool crouched down next to her mentor and began to clean his battered fur.
The injured tom opened his eyes and looked up at her without lifting his head. He was too weak to move one whisker; any movement at all would cause more loss of blood, and he was already soaked from head to tail-tip with the sticky, dark scarlet liquid.
"Shadepool . . . i-is that you?" he rasped with much difficulty.
Shadepool nodded and looked down at him fondly. "Yes, it's me Sparrowpelt," she whispered. "I brought warriors. Falcontooth and Snowcloud and Moonfur are here to help me carry you back to camp. You'll be all right . . ."
Sparrowpelt smiled at her warmly and closed his eyes for a moment. Opening them again, he mewed softly, "It's too late for me, Shadepool. No matter how many warriors come to help me, it's my turn to join the ranks of StarClan."
Shadepool's eyes became hard, and her neck fur rose. "No, don't say that!" she yowled. "It's not your time! We'll bring you back to camp and cover up your wounds. You can rest in the medicine den, and we'll all help nurse you back to health."
"Please don't waste your energy on me, Shadepool. When a cat's time comes, that's just the way it is." He struggled a purr. "Don't worry; I'll be safe with StarClan. And you will make a wonderful medicine cat. I'll be okay . . . and so will you."
With one last affectionate look at his apprentice, he sighed deeply and closed his eyes . . . never to open them again.
"No, Sparrowpelt!" Shadepool wailed, frantically nudging his shoulder with her head. But his lifeless body didn't move an inch. He was gone. "Sparrowpelt, no. Come back. Don't leave me!"
She jumped as Falcontooth appeared at her side. The dark tabby tom bowed his head sorrowfully, then lifted it again to rasp his tongue over Shadepool's ears.
"I know you really cared about your mentor," he said quietly to her. "But he was right; it was his time to join StarClan, and there was nothing any of us could do."
Behind them, Moonfur erupted with a yowl of despair. Snowcloud, the newest and youngest warrior of LeafClan, let out a series of pathetic mewls. Falcontooth started murmuring inaudible words next to the medicine cat's body. But Shadepool didn't cry; she didn't wail or whimper. She just stood there with emotionless eyes and a blank expression.
"It was my fault," she said in a low, dry voice. "He fought the fox to save me."
Falcontooth shot his head up to glare at her. "This was not your fault, Shadepool!" he snapped. "Don't you ever think that. Thank Sparrowpelt for dying to try and protect you, but you were not responsible for his death."
"I guess I know that," Shadepool replied, staring at the ground. "But at the same time I feel like it was my fault, and I'm guilty."
"Well, of course you feel guilty," Moonfur comforted her, padding up. "Everyone feels at least a little guilty when they're involved in a trauma. But don't be so hard on yourself; this really wasn't because of you."
Shadepool paused, then nodded. "All right, you three head back to camp with Sparrowpelt's body, please. I need to go to the Starcave and share with StarClan . . . for him. Maybe I'll even get to say good-bye to him in my dream."
The two warriors nodded. Falcontooth flicked his tail to Snowcloud, and the shocked youngster quickly came to the older cat's aid. The three worked together to pick up Sparrowpelt's body, and then they staggered away into the darkness.
Shadepool stared after them for a moment—and for the first time, the thought came to her: now that Sparrowpelt was in StarClan, she would have to become the medicine cat in his place!
She padded to the mouth of the Starcave, her paws aching. She couldn't wait to lie down inside below the hole in the roof where the moonlight streamed in, and go to sleep.
Shadepool took a deep breath and walked into the dark cavern. She drew in the scents of the cave, and waited a moment for her eyes to get somewhat adjusted to the pitch black. Then she walked through the tunnel, letting her whiskers and her warrior ancestors guide her around every twist and turn.
After what seemed like moons of walking in circles, a light appeared up ahead. Shadepool began to walk faster, and soon she was right below the hole in the cave roof. It was called the Entrance, where the spirits of StarClan were said to enter the cave once the medicine cat went to sleep, and then they would speak with him while standing around his slumbering body.
Shadepool stepped into the patch of moonlight, her black fur turning blue-ish white. She laid down and rested her head on the cold stone floor. Closing her eyes, it was only heartbeats before she was swept into a deep sleep.
She awoke in a grassy hollow much like her own camp, but there were no walls of brambles; just a ring of juniper bushes. It was more like a clearing than a hollow, come to think of it.
Suddenly, orbs of light began drifting down from the star-specked sky. They were small, yet the vast number of them illuminated the clearing and turned the grass and bushes to pale silver.
Shadepool looked around nervously. She had never had a dream like this when she had been the medicine cat apprentice. But maybe now that she was the medicine cat, and not training to be one, her experiences with StarClan would be different.
The orbs drifted closer to the ground, and suddenly cats began to appear in place of the orbs; slowly becoming less and less see-through until they were solid. They were all so amazing, with gleaming coats and stardust hanging around their bodies. They began walking downwards on the air toward the ground, leaving shimmering white pawprints wherever they stepped.
They could always set a cat in awe, no matter how many times that cat had seen them. Shadepool was no exception. She stood there with her mouth agape like a foolish kit. She rapidly blinked her eyes, closing her jaw and forcing herself to sit calmly as the warrior spirits alighted around her.
A handsome tabby tom with a small 'v' in his left ear stepped forward and touched noses with her. It took a moment for Shadepool to realize that the tom was Sparrowpelt! His coat had been restored to its healthy gloss—the blood and gouges had disappeared—and he looked younger than he had ever looked when Shadepool had known him in life.
She nearly jumped a mile into the air. "Sparrowpelt, I do get to say good-bye to you!" she squealed, sounding like a youngling. Her eyes were bright with excitement.
A deep purr rumbled from Sparrowpelt's throat. "Yes, I suppose you do," he spoke in his steady voice. "You will make a fine medicine cat, Shadepool. I will always be with you to guide you whenever you need assistance."
Shadepool pushed her head into his fur. "Good-bye, Sparrowpelt. I'll never forget you."
"Remember, Shadepool. I'll always be right by your side. Always." Then he backed away and sat down again among the ranks of StarClan.
Another cat stepped toward her; a pretty light gray she-cat with pale green eyes. "We welcome you as a full medicine cat, Shadepool," the she-cat meowed. "As Sparrowpelt said, you will do a wonderful job as LeafClan's healer."
Shadepool dipped her head respectfully, for this was the LeafClan leader before Mudstar: Skystar.
"Thank you, Skystar. I'll do the best I can." She smiled, flicking her tail in farewell as the former leader sat back down in the empty space she had risen from.
All the cats of StarClan rose their voices to yowls of celebration, and began to chant her name in unison. It sounded like the millions of voices it was, but at the same time one voice alone.
Sparrowpelt walked to the front of the crowd again and stood with bristling fur a tail-length away from his former apprentice. His eyes were dark with worry, and his tail hung low.
"Sparrowpelt, what's wrong?" Shadepool asked, her voice shrill with concern.
Suddenly the light faded, and the darkness of the night was there again. She could just barely make out the forms of her warrior ancestors that still stood there. Sparrowpelt took a couple steps forward, so that just his face was softly lit by the moon up ahead.
"Something terrible is going to happen, Shadepool," he told her, his voice deep and serious.
Shadepool's heart began to pound against her chest. "What?" she whispered fearfully. "What's going to happen?"
Sparrowpelt didn't answer her; he just continued the premonition. "You will drown in the depths of your own heart, and your Clan will drown in the depths of the water."
"Water?" Shadepool mewed in a voice barely loud enough to hear. "What water?"
Sparrowpelt just ignored her again. "Beware the black river, Shadepool, and never do anything unless your heart wants to."
Then the cats faded, and the clearing went with them. All of a sudden, Shadepool was in a cloud of mist. The helpless yowls of cats in danger were all around her, but they were foggy and distant, and she couldn't see anyone; she was all alone.
And then the water came.
A huge amount of rushing water, the color of her fur, swept around her and picked her up off the ground. She found herself thrashing around, kicking her back legs for dear life. The yowls of the poor dying cats became louder and louder until they meshed together into a dreadful roaring in her ears, as if there was a whole Clan in the water, but all she could see were dead cats floating on the surface with their faces down.
Shadepool was almost frozen with fear. She tried to call out, but the second she opened her mouth water filled it, and as she choked on it she stopped kicking. After only a heartbeat, the river pulled her down, down, down to the bottom of the depths. And suddenly, everything was dark.
She couldn't see a thing, and she wasn't breathing yet she was still alive. After a moment a silvery light came into view. She started kicking her hind legs furiously, and propelled herself toward the light. It got brighter and brighter as she swam on in the thick blanket of black, and soon it became blinding. She shut her eyes as she pushed herself into it, and suddenly she felt herself slam onto hard, smooth stone.
Shadepool snapped open her eyes. She was in the Starcave again, her fur damp with sweat. She could hear her own heavy breathing echoing off the rock walls.
Rising slowly into a sitting position, she looked around. There wasn't one drop of water anywhere around her, except for a small pool in a corner.
Shadepool sighed in relief. It was all just a dream, she thought. Her heart was still racing, but she calmed down after a moment of the cavern's silence. It's over now . . .
She stood up and shook herself. She just had to forget about her nightmare, as simple as that. And she would forget about it; she didn't want the dirty black river or the deafening sound of the cats' yowls to ever enter her mind again!
Closing her eyes for just a heartbeat and then opening them again, Shadepool turned around and began to walk hurriedly back the way she had come. She was eager to get out of the Starcave and back to camp to her new nest at the back of the medicine den. She wouldn't tell anyone about what she had seen while she slept—and anyway, what Sparrowpelt had said didn't sound much like a prophecy; she wasn't obligated to report a message like that to Mudstar, right? And if there's no prophecy, a medicine cat must not speak of what they experienced when they shared with StarClan.
The thought briefly crossed her mind that she was just making up excuses so she wouldn't have to think or speak of her frightening dream, but she quickly sent it away. She was being a responsible medicine cat by keeping her dream to herself. Besides, she didn't want to worry the Clan over something that might not even be very important.
With that matter covered, Shadepool focused on finding her way out of the Starcave. It wasn't long before she saw the entrance a little ways ahead. She bounded across the last few tail-lengths and raced outside. The light of the distant sun had just appeared on the horizon.
"I better hurry," she remarked aloud. "I need to get back to camp before the dawn patrol leaves."
Shadepool broke into a run, already starting to forget about her dream and what Sparrowpelt had said to her as she raced with the wind.
Well, I hope you liked the prologue. Chapter 1 will be coming soon. Please review!! (Critique is okay - actually, I'd like it - but please no criticism. Be nice.)
