Prologue
Lightening tore its claws through the sky, roaring thunderous fury and shaking the very earth under the five cats' paws. Blinding rain struck relentlessly against the cats as they diligently picked their way into the protected cove beneath them.
Jaystar shivered as her paws slid into the grooves in the stone, sending icy fear up her legs and down her back. Raindrops splattered on the stone, gathering within the ancient paw prints and trickling down into the glittering water of the Moonpool.
"What did you insist on this, Jaystar?" The black and white tom demanded, his eyes glinting in cold fury. Despite his barred fangs and unsheathed claws, to Jaystar, he looked small and helpless with his pelt clinging close to his body, slick with rain. "And why are you even here? What happens by the lake is none of your concern."
She was silent for a moment. The ThunderClan leader was right about what happened along the lake. Jaystar really wasn't interested in the other four Clan's problems anyway. SkyClan was for SkyClan, and that was her concern.
Lifting her head to meet the eyes of the angry tom, Jaystar opened her mouth to speak. "Breezefall was visited by StarClan a quarter moon ago in a dream."
Alderstar snorted. "You brought us here because your medicine cat had a dream?"
"Stop it!" Sootstar brushed her tail over his mouth. "Jaystar would not have traveled all this way to see us if it wasn't important."
Jaystar dipped her head gratefully to Sootstar, who nodded.
"As I was saying; Breezefall was visited by the founders of our Clans: Clear Sky, Thunder, Tall Shadow, Wind Runner, and River Ripple."
A collective gasp rippled through the cave, the other four leaders' wide eyes shining in the dim light.
"Stories about our Clans are spreading through the Twoleg world. Stories of Firestar, Leafstar, and Tigerstar are now well-known in their world. They know of our Gatherings, they know our customs and they had learned our way of life." Jaystar met Sootstar's gaze. The black she-cat's eyes were wide and disbelieving.
"That's why you brought us here?" Alderstar hissed angrily. "Why do we need to know this?"
"Because we are being represented wrong," Jaystar snapped. "Although there are truthful and honest stories about us, many are wrong. Stories of Clans such as MoonClan, GlitterClan, or AwesomeClan corrupt our image, flying warriors or cats with rainbow pelts are what they think of us as. Many cats with names such as Goldenlion, Rainbowstar, or Starstar are the heroes of these false teachings. We have to do something!"
Sootstar and Flamestar nodded in agreement.
"You're right, we have to do something!" Flamestar yowled over the fierce howling of the storm.
"But what can we do?" Sorrelstar asked in despair. "It's not like we can bring Twolegs to our Clans and teach them how to tell their stories better."
Jaystar's eyes shone. "But we can."
The music blared as Moonstar and Sunstar padded forward to meet in the center of the stage, eyes shining in anticipation for what the results of the dance-off would be. Claws unsheathed, the two locked eyes as Shake it Off howled from the loudspeakers…
"This is stupid." Lillian muttered, slamming the top of her laptop down and placing her head in her hands, defeated. I guess all my wonderful FanFiction followers will never see how The War of Night and Day ends. I can't think!
"What's your problem?" Tyler snapped, poking his head into his sister's bedroom, baseball cap askew. "You're slamming things loud enough for Tigerstar to hear you. And that's pretty loud considering how dead he is."
"I don't care! I need to think!" Lillian retorted, pushing herself out of her desk chair and flopping down onto her bed, her face buried in the unmade sheets and quilt.
"Have you still not finished that stupid princess cat story? I thought you'd given up on it long ago." Tyler stepped past his sister and leaned over her desk, gently pushing her laptop open and scanning through Lillian's writing. "Breakdancing? They're having a dance war?"
"At least they're not taking over the world." Lillian's muffled voice floated up from the exasperated heap lying on her bed. "Your story is no more realistic than mine."
Tyler sighed, and plopped down on the bed next to where Lillian lay. "That's why I came in here. I'm stuck. Any suggestions?"
Lillian pushed herself off her bed, her blonde hair falling in front of her face like a thin, golden waterfall. "Honestly, I don't. It may be time to re-read some things."
The twins' gaze both turned upon Lillian's bookshelf, which was stacked full of Warriors book after Warriors book. A thin layer of dust coated the novels, causing the titles to become unreadable and foggy. It had been nearly two years since either of them had even so much as opened a Warriors book, much less read one. From time to time, Lillian would choose a book and wipe the dust of the faded cover lovingly. She would follow every detail on the cover of the book with her eyes, name after name of cats swirling through her mind.
"I can't remember the last Warrior book I read. All I ever read now are FanFictions." Lillian remarked, looking through the books, her gaze resting on Bluestar's Prophecy. Bluestar's wary, river-blue gaze peered out at her from the cover of the book. Behind the wariness, though, Lillian could make out a haunted look deep within the blue-grey she-cat's gaze. Haunted… haunted by the memories of countless deaths, memories of lies, secrets, and blood.
"Who needs books when you have the internet to read for you?" Tyler agreed, sliding off Lillian's bed and joining her before the bookshelf.
"Apparently us, if we can't remember anything." Lillian replied, fingering through the pages of the book, her eyes scanning the pages for Oakheart's name. She cast a sideways glance at Tyler, who was holding a ragged copy of The Last Hope out in front of him, the bright ginger form of Firestar staring knowingly back at him. Tyler's eyes weren't on the book however, but fixed on the open window on the back wall of Lillian's room. His eyes were small and focused, as if he were watching something, closely.
"What?" Lillian eyed her brother warily, confusion swimming within her.
"Outside. Look. Quietly, though." Tyler whispered, pointing slowly. Lillian placed Bluestar's Prophecy back on the bookshelf, and then crept toward the window, Tyler at her side. Silently, she dropped to her hands and knees and peered out the window.
Nothing looked amiss in the beautiful, autumn-bathed field. Leaves from nearby trees speckled the earth, igniting the grass in hues of ginger and golden. Lawn furniture sat clustered in the corner near the red-brown fence, the whicker covered in twigs and fallen leaves.
Lillian cast a questioning glance toward Tyler, who rolled his eyes and pointed to the fence. Two cats; one black and the other golden-brown, sat together on the fence posts, their eyes fixed on the house before them. Lillian blinked in surprise and looked back toward Tyler.
"Do you think they're watching us?" Lillian murmured eyes wide and nervous. But why would they?
"That's not what I meant. The point is have you ever seen them before?" Tyler responded softly, placing his copy of The Last Hope on the dresser by his side. "They're not one of ours, and I don't recognize them as any of the neighbors'."
"Could one of them be Dylan?" Lillian asked hopefully, thinking back to the month before, when their tabby kittypet had gone missing. Both Lillian and Tyler had told themselves that he had gone and joined a Clan of warriors. Despite their wish, they both knew very well that they lived nowhere near any Clan. On numerous occasions, the twins had searched the forests in the vain hope of finding one of the Clans, but to no success.
"No." Tyler shook his head, frowning. "Dylan was yellow."
"Golden, not yellow." Lillian corrected. "There is a difference." Tyler rolled his eyes.
"Let's argue about this later, yes?" Tyler snapped. "I'm going to go get a better look at these two."
Without another word, the twins left the room silently, stepping rapidly down the stairs to stand at the backdoor. Tyler reached for the doorknob, and then paused, his fingers barely resting on the handle.
"What?" Lillian breathed, confused.
"Won't opening the door scare them away?"
Lillian shrugged. "At this point, I'm willing to take that chance. We can chase them if they run."
Tyler narrowed his eyes skeptically, but pulled open the door, and crept outside, Lillian at his heels. She immediately locked her gaze on the two cats, which had not moved from their spot on the fence post. If not for a fast flick of the brown cat's tail, Lillian would have believed them to be twin statues.
The hard, watchful gaze of the two cats remained on the twins as the stepped toward the two. Lillian felt as if an ice cube had been slipped down the back of her shirt as an icy feeling of nervousness gripped her.
As if by some silent signal, the two cats fled as Lillian placed her hand on the rough, splintery wood of the fence. Frantically, Lillian scanned the underbrush, but no sign remained of the two cats' presence accepting the quiver of the leaves left behind in the path.
"Were you serious about what you said?" Tyler asker wryly, his eyes shining. Lillian rolled her eyes and jogged to the fence gate, which hung ajar from its half-rusted metal hinges. She paused just outside the fence, scanning the undergrowth rapidly in search of any sign of the two cats. Tyler skidded to a halt just behind her.
"Where to now?" Tyler glanced quickly at his sister, but Lillian's eyes remained fixed on the ferns and tall grass. She paused, her eyes staring into the shadows beneath the ferns where two pairs of eyes poked out of. Lillian pointed, taking off just as the two darted away, their tails streaming out behind them.
Lillian and Tyler crashed through the undergrowth, thorns and burrs clinging to Lillian's clothing and hair. She brushed a clump of oak leaves out of the way and focused her gaze on the fleeing form of the two cats.
The two cats swerved suddenly, entering an open plain. Lillian widened her stride to a swift jog, her sneakers thudding gently as they beat against the earth. She could hear Tyler's labored breathing behind her, her own breath clawing at her throat in raspy, panting breaths.
The two skidded to a halt as the cats slowed to a casual walk, their tails waving confidently in the air. Lillian crouched down, watching as the black cat led the other into a dark, black tunnel, its black fur dissolving into the darkness.
The twins exchanged glances. "Ready?" Lillian whispered once the cats had disappeared out of sight.
"You can't be saying we're going in there!" Tyler's eyes grew wide.
We have to! Lillian shouted silently. "Yes. I'm getting great story inspiration." Without waiting for a reply, Lillian jogged to the tunnel opening. The dark, yawning depths caused a pit of nervousness form in her stomach, but she pushed it away, determined. I have to find out where those cats came from.
She dropped to her knees and crawled into the tunnel, the cold, dank darkness shrouding her. Lillian willed Tyler to follow her, the sense of nervous returning at the thought of being trapped within the gaping darkness alone.
"Get moving!" Tyler hissed from behind her. "Let's go before I change my mind."
Lillian willed herself forward, the cold, wet stone turning her hands to ice. She felt the stone pressed against her back seem to lift, and she tentatively rose to her full height.
"It's tall enough to stand here!" Lillian whispered over her shoulder.
"Yeah! It's better than crawling, that's for sure."
The darkness ahead of Lillian seemed thicker than the stone beneath her, but slowly, it began to dissolve as her eyes adjusted. Ahead of her, Lillian could make out the hundreds of passageways that branched off from the tunnel. A pool of inky black water writhed at the far end of the tunnel, surrounded by heaps of earth.
"Look!"
Lillian started, surprised by the sudden sound of Tyler's voice echoing off the stone.
"What?" She snapped.
"The cat!"
Lillian squinted in the dim light, then took a step back at the sight of the black she-cat standing before her. But something was different about her. She seemed taller, and bigger. Lillian blinked in surprise as the she-cat's eyes met her own, a look of knowing within them. The she-cat turned and began padding through the tunnels, slow enough for the twins to follow.
Blinking in surprise, Lillian stepped out of the tunnel into a field of tall, waving grass, the sunlight warming her as she looked back as Tyler slid out of the tunnel. But instead of Tyler, a red-brown tabby tom looked back at her, his eyes filled with astonishment.
"Who are you?" Lillian whispered, peering closely at his tabby pelt.
"Lillian?" The tom asked, his mouth falling open in shock.
"Tyler?"
"You're a cat!"
Tyler took a step back from the she-cat who stood before him. How could this have happened? We're both cats! I guess black cats really are bad luck.
Lillian was no longer the pretty blonde-haired sister he had always known, but a bluish grey she-cat, her pelt solid in color and void of any tabby markings. Her grey-blue eyes had remained the same hue, but they were brighter and more intricate than they had once been, with veins of green and amber running through them.
"What do I look like?" Tyler demanded, lifting a forepaw to examine it.
"You're brown. But more of a red-brown, like Oakheart except that you're a tabby." Lillian replied, looking him over. "You're eyes are still grey-blue, though."
"So are yours."
"How did this happen?" Lillian asked, curling her tail down in front of her legs as she examined it. "I've read over a million FanFictions where some unsuspecting teenager is turned into a cat, but there is always something that happened to them. Maybe they get struck by lightning, or they drown, or they drink from the Moonpool, but it never just…happens."
"Maybe the tunnel did it. You were a human before we entered the tunnel, but a cat when I next saw you." Tyler suggested. Maybe that's why it became tall enough to stand! Because we got smaller!
"How are we going to get home? What are we going to do?" Lillian gasped, the realization seeming to suddenly slam into her. "We can't go home as cats! Mom and Dad will never know it's us! They'll worry!"
"Lillian, calm down." Instinctively, Tyler ran his tail down his sister's spine. She seemed to relax at his touch, but Tyler could still feel the nervousness and fear radiating from her blue-grey pelt. "Let's see if we can find those cats. They might be able to tell us how to get home."
Lillian closed her eyes, and the tension running off her pelt seemed to evaporate. "Yes, you're right. Let's go."
Tyler turned to look across the moor, a seemingly endless sea of waving grass. This is impossible. He groaned inwardly. They could've gone anywhere. "Where are you?" Tyler muttered.
"Here." Tyler whirled around, red-brown fur standing on end. The black she-cat sat just behind him, the golden-brown tom by her side. Both cats had their tails wrapped neatly around their paws, their eyes fixed intently on the twins.
"Hello." The black she-cat meowed, rising to her paws. "I know the change was sudden, but you'll get used to it in no time."
The littermates exchanged glances, confused.
"Hello." Tyler replied uncertainly, stepping forward and instinctively dipping his head. "My name is Tyler, and this is my sister Lillian. Did you bring us here?"
The she-cat smiled and nodded. "Yes I did. Do you like it here?"
Lillian shot another uncertain glance in Tyler's direction. "Um…it's…great?"
"How long will we stay like this? Will we be cats forever? Why did you bring us here?" Tyler blurted out, unable to hold back his stream of questions.
The she-cat smiled a second time. "I brought you here because there is much you need to learn, and I have much to teach you. You'll only remain a cat as long as I have something to teach you. Once you complete your training, you can return to your Twolegplace."
Tyler opened his jaws to let out another string of questions, but the she-cat placed her tail over his mouth.
"Not now. Come with us, we will answer your questions once we return home. Let's go." The she-cat waved her tail in summons to the golden-brown tom, and the two broke into a run, their tails streaming out behind them.
"More running?" Tyler muttered, lengthening his stride to a run, Lillian by his side. His paws seemed to eat up the earth as he ran, the wind streaming through his tabby fur as he continued his pursue of the two cats. Lillian seemed to evaporate from his side as he flew over the moor, the wind screaming in his ears.
I've never run like this before! He thought joyfully. All too soon, though, the black she-cat slowed to a walk as they neared a shallow dip in the earth. The she-cat stopped and held her tail in front of Tyler.
"What do you smell?" She asked. Tyler's eyes widened uncertainly. How do I smell the air? Through my nose? Through my mouth? Um…
Seeming to sense his uncertainty, the black she-cat opened her jaws in demonstration, tasting the air. Tyler copied her, and then slammed his mouth shut at the sudden flow of scents.
"Cat? I don't know…" He admitted quietly. The she-cat placed her tail-tip on his shoulder.
"It's alright, the scent of many cats is overwhelming at first for kittypets and other cats who aren't used to the scent of a Clan." She replied sympathetically.
"Wait. Did you say Clan? Lillian asked at a whisper, her eyes widening in disbelief.
"Oh! I'm sorry. I never introduced myself. I am Sootstar, the leader of WindClan, and this is my deputy, Bronzemoon."