Sprouting Leaves

by Graymist the Great

At the base of a looming mountain, two friends meet. Sunshine, a loner whose family was stolen away, and Boulder, a young tom who has been on his own for as long as he can remember, are found by StarClan. From these two, LeafClan is formed. They meet many unexpected friends, and dive into the unknown, encountering things they never thought imaginable. (Was 'LeafClan's Beginning')

1. Chapter 1

Hello everyone, and welcome to the wonderful tale of my Clan, LeafClan. The story is a bit rough at first, but trust me, it evolves into a beautiful work of art. The Clan lives at the foot of the Colorado Rocky Mountains, far from the original Clans. To clarify, my LeafClan is not related to any other LeafClan on this site, but is featured in KonoDragon's "SnowClan's Story". I have also created a forum that runs along side the story;LeafClan. Feel free to join! ~Graymist

Allegiances

Leader- Boulderstar- brown Tom with black stripes and blue-green eyes

Mentor to Owlpaw

Deputy- Graymist- gray-blue she-cat with blue eyes

Mentor to Featherpaw

Medicine Cat- Goldenheart- golden tabby with orange spots and green eyes

Warriors

Firestorm- red-orange she-cat with amber eyes

Mentor to Quickpaw

Grayleaf- pale gray she-cat with darker gray stripes and green eyes

Leafshadow- dappled tabby with orange eyes

Rawfire- small rust-colored Tom with green eyes

Eaglestripe- tan tomcat with brown stripes and amber eyes

Mentor to Runningpaw

Flamestripe- black Tom with orange stripes and brown eyes

Tigertail- albino she-cat with a bobtail

Hawkpelt- gray Tom with black spots and blue eyes

Foxcloud- red-orange Tom with a fox-like face and green eyes

Apprentices

Owlpaw- brown Tom with black spots and brown eyes

Featherpaw- white she-cat with blue eyes

Quickpaw- blue Tom with amber eyes

Runningpaw- dappled sand-colored tabby with blue eyes

Queens

Snowfeather- white and gray she-cat with green eyes, mother to Windkit and Rainkit

Foster mother of Aquakit

Lilacpool- blue she-cat with amber eyes, mother of Sunkit, Grasskit, and Silverkit

Chapter 1

Her life had started as a dream. As a kit, Sunshine had her own family, and always enough food. Her mother had been a storyteller, telling Sunshine and her littermates of long ago clans, forged through courage and bravery, lives led by a code. She had looked up to these stories, knowing in her heart that they were true.

But now her family was gone. Her mother had died shortly after catching a deadly illness. Two legs found her littermates and stole the rest of her family away from her.

Sunshine sat among the dappled orange shadows of the bright leaf-fall trees. She was camouflaged among the carpet of fallen leaves, her golden pelt flowing in the fast fading light.

I'm starving, Sunshine thought to herself. It had only been a quarter-moon since her siblings had disappeared, and for most of the time she had scavenged for food off twoleg nests. However, today's journey had taken her too far into the forest for her to steal their tasteless food.

Sunshine's stomach growled again. Standing, she went in search of food. Opening her mouth, she smelled the thick musty smell of the fallen leaves, and the fresh scent of squirrel. She follow the scent, weaving between the thick trunks, until she found the squirrel nibbling on seeds. Sunshine dropped into a crouch, slowly stalking her prey. When she was less than a fox-length away, she leaped forward, killing the squirrel with a swift bite to the neck.

She sat down and sank he teeth into the warm, tender flesh. Sunshine nearly choked on the foreign meat. This is gross! She thought to herself. It covered her muzzle in blood and was sticky and raw. How can wild cats stand this? She thought to herself.

Behind her, a twig snapped. Sunshine whipped around to face the noise. From behind a tree peered another cat, on about her age.

"Hello," she mewed.

The cat dove back into his hiding place. Trying to avoid making too much noise, Sunshine slowly crept forward, the crisp leaves crackling softly under her paws.

" Anyone there?" she called. "I won't hurt you."

The cat reappeared, flashing across the golden leaves and out of sight. His brown pelt rippled with muscles. Sunshine dashed after him, her feet pounding the forest floor.

After what seemed like hours of chase, Sunshine collapsed, gasping for breath. This cat is certainly fast, she thought to herself. She looked around, completely unaware of her surroundings. The chase had distracted her, and now Sunshine was horribly lost. The lush orange forest had thinned into sparse moorland. Mountains with snow capped peaks loomed over to the west, and a thundering river raged to the south.

Sunshine sighed. She was too tired to catch and prey, and quickly fell into a calm sleep.