Hey guys, about this fic. It's my first one, well, first one I'm serious about carrying on. This is something I've had in my head for literally years, I've just had no idea how to start it or for it to come about. The Allegiances were up and about ages ago and so was the general storyline. But now, just after 11pm, I've finished the prologue. Sorry if there are mistakes, it's late.
Criticism is more than welcome, well good criticism anyway, tell me what I can improve on and I will do my best to succeed!
Any grammar/spelling mistakes please let me know as well so I can fix them.
But yeah, pre-warning, these are all OC's and this is an AU fic, the idea of Warrior's goes to the Erin's, but the characters, setting and plot are all mine.
Also, I am very bad, and I mean very bad at updating. I've picked a bad time to start a story, as I'm in the middle of revising for my last year of exams. Yay. Please don't expect it to be quicker than every other week, I am so sorry x
So, I hope you enjoy the beginning of my story, thanks!
-Prologue-
Unbeknownst to the sleeping world, a single paw appeared over the cliff edge as the half-moon looked down upon it. Dry and battered, the claws were cracked and caked in dirt. It was soon followed by another, and with all his might, a dark grey tom cat pushed himself over the ridge onto the dusty surface. He collapsed, exhausted. His once sleek fur was layered with mud and dust. At one time he might have been lean, his muscles rippling with strength, but now his bones were all that could be seen under his dark pelt. He showed no movement as his companion hauled herself over the ridge as well.
She had fared no better than he, her pale grey fur trembled with fatigue as she padded wearily over to him. She jabbed his side, growling.
"Tide. Get up. We have no time for laziness." The tom did not argue, he stood up shakily on all fours and turned to face his companion, tired eyes levelled at the she-cat.
"Mind your tongue, Lupa. Your hostility is useless, over the past moon I would've thought you learned that. You and I need to co-operate together to complete our mission."
Lupa's tail twitched in agitation and her deep yellow eyes shone with anger in the moonlight. "And that I will, Tide." She hissed, "But if you ever think that we are friends, you are deeply mistaken. I will never forgive you for your cowardice that night."
A flash of sorrow flitted through Tide's deep green gaze. He blinked slowly, "As you have said many times before." His voice barely above a whisper.
Lupa eyed him stonily before looking across at the cliff and the inky blackness below. "We climbed the cliff and we're alive. What now?"
Large dark grey ears cocked forward as Tide closed his weary eyes in thought. "I hear a river. That must be the one which leads to the waterfall we saw at the bottom, let us make our way towards that while we review our mission."
Whiskers twitching in anticipation, Lupa nodded slightly in agreement and followed Tide, having come to trust his ears over the past moon of wandering.
They padded on slowly, their steps unfocused but determined. The ground was hard and dusty, full of cracks and rocks and their scabbed pads started to bleed once more. The two young cats took notice, both ensued in their own turbulent thoughts.
"We should come across the two groups of cats soon." Lupa almost tripped, startled by Tide's sudden announcement. "How can you be so sure?" She countered.
He turned and pointed with his long tail. In the half moon light, Lupa could just about make out a gradual increase of the density of trees beside her, it had just been grass and fields beforehand. Her yellow eyes widened in shock when she saw a faded path, almost border-like, twining like a snake all the way through the trees, along the rocky surface. She gasped, "It's the path that leads to-"
Tide nodded grimly, cutting her off, "Correct, the path which ends at the twin peaks has appeared, as she said."
"Then we will meet them soon."
"Yes."
Silence followed as Lupa made sense of the idea in her head. Her journey was almost over, now their mission truly began. She felt a spring in her step and a giddy thrill in her stomach as she quickened her pace, her eyes shone with excitement once more. She started laughing. It sounded like she was gagging. She hadn't laughed in so long, oh how she had missed it!
"Lupa, hold on." She whirled round, her excitement fading into annoyance as he kept her back.
Tide's expression was thoughtful, serious. He looked up at Lupa and stated his plan as bluntly as possible.
"We will need to separate once these cats find us."
She snorted, "I didn't know this was able to get any better." Tide narrowed his eyes, but he let the statement go. "There are two groups of cats, it makes sense. One of us will go to the other and persuade them to help us. Time is precious, and so this is the more efficient way. We will need to meet often to review progress as well."
Lupa nodded, giving Tide a withering glare, "Good, I don't need to put up with you any longer than need be."
With a lash of his tail Tide stared back without flinching before launching into fast pace. He didn't notice Lupa silently trotting after him. He barely registered the twin peaks until he was right in front of them. His fur bristled in awe as he gazed at the massive sight. There were huge piles of jagged rocks before them, but in the centre there were the two peaks. Right next to each other and awesome to behold were two massive rocks protruding from the ground, all others were insignificant and leaned towards the twin peaks direction, as if bowing to their King and Queen.
The stale scent of cats filled the area. So many cats. Tide and Lupa shared a knowing glance, they were almost there. They jumped from rock to rock, their fatigue unknown as they leapt gracefully towards the other side.
A race began. The sound of rushing water was ever clearer as the two young cats sprinted towards the oncoming waterfall. They stopped metres away, panting with exhilaration and exhaustion. The river swelling with dark ink and spilling it over the edge of the cliff as the cats stared at it.
Their journey was finally over, their mission finally beginning.
They sat, tails twitching, listening to the harshness of the rushing river and the soft breeze through forest leaves. A slight chill passed through them as it ruffled their lank fur.
Tide gazed at the moon.
"They will come. They will help us defeat them. We will win. We need to. But first, we wait."
"Please… Help… They will come… you need to help.
Help them in their quest.
Shadowed beings come at night, guided by moon's evil light.
Beware the fangs,
Beware the claws,
They'll come to bring life, bring death.
Trust in the tide whose floods are filled with light.
Trust in the wolf who confides in their shadow.
They'll be the ones to bring back hope."
A bright light pierced through the darkness once the melodic voice finished the dooming message. The monster appeared once again, its muzzle dripping with blood and its fang's glistening in the light. Its claws were sharper than the deadliest thorns, glinting with the dark blood pooling around its brute of a body. It opened its gaping maw and let out a shrieking howl. All at once the light started dissipating and the monster easily swallowed it up, leaving nothing but darkness and the glowing murky eyes of the beast. Cruel laughter filled the air, then silence.
Hawkfire gasped awake. Shaking uncontrollably, he slowly stood up from where he was sleeping in the Watermouth. The sound of the raging water of the waterfall pounded against his head as tried to not to fear what he had seen. What was the purpose of this vision? Why had StarClan sent it to him so many times now? The last time he had talked to a StarClan cat was when an unknown black tom visited him in his den three moons ago. His starry fur was paling and translucent, Hawkfire figured that the tom didn't have much time left until he would be forgotten and disappear.
In a grave and deep voice, the black tom warned, "Be ready, your deadliest battle soon approaches." And as soon as he had appeared, he vanished before Hawkfire's shaken mind had the chance to process the foreboding warning. Since then, every single night he had been plagued by this same nightmare.
"Hawkfire?" A small voice trembled. It was Gingerpaw, Silversong's apprentice. The poor orange tom had only been apprenticed a couple of moons ago.
"Again?" Hawkfire murmured anxiously. The pale tom nodded, he was crouched on the cave floor, hackles up and eyes wide. "That monster… every single night I see it… why? I'm too scared to go to sleep."
Narrowing his eyes, Hawkfire tried to think of a way he could comfort the young tom, but he was saved by the awakening of Silversong and Icepaw, his own apprentice. They looked shaken and ready to collapse as well.
"You too?" He asked fearfully. Both nodded apprehensively.
Silversong hung her head, defeated. "Smallstar's not going to be happy, MeadowClan is worried enough as it is with me being at wit's end, but three moons without hearing a different message from StarClan is going to cause outright panic." The old pale grey she-cat's muzzle trembled in fear.
The four cats sat in the foreboding silence, not even noticing the rising sun's light diffracting through the waterfall, causing rock crystals to sparkle like stars.
"For now," Icepaw started slowly, breaking the silence. "Let's only tell our leaders, it wouldn't be wise to panic the Clans. Creating a tense atmosphere in both Clans will only lead to unnecessary fights."
Hawkfire blinked proudly at his apprentice, he had taught him everything he knew. It was almost time for him to become a full medicine cat, that being a small light in the upcoming darkness.
Silversong's tail was wrapped around Gingerpaw comfortingly. She nodded in silent agreement and started nudging Gingerpaw to his feet.
"Let us leave. If we need to talk to one another before the Gathering, Hawkfire, you will be most welcome to MeadowClan camp."
Bowing his head in thanks to the wise she-cat, Hawkfire murmured, "As you are too in the NightClan camp, Silversong."
One by one, with the apprentices in the middle, the Medicine Cats walked up the path along the cliff face from the Watermouth. The rising sun beating down at them, they could clearly see Hell's Hollow beneath them, a dry red wasteland, home to only rocks and dirt. One slip from the path and they'd be plunging down to the foot of the cliff, never to see home again.
No cat talked on the way up to the cliff top. They were too scared, too rifled up over this reoccurring dream. Then they arrived at the top.
He was too wrapped up in his thoughts that Hawkfire didn't notice that the other cats had stopped in front of him. Slightly annoyed he pushed his way through, until he realised why they had stopped. Or rather, frozen in shock.
They were greeted by the sight of two cats a few metres away from the cliff edge. One was a pale grey she-cat of slender build, who was curled up sleeping. The other's dark grey, almost black fur looked like sand with the amount of dry mud and dust which was caked on. The tom surveyed the Medicine Cats almost as if he was sizing them up. By the way he curled his lips, he didn't like the sight of them.
Fur bristling with the insult, Hawkfire, stepped towards the tom. "Who are you, rogue? What means do you have by stepping onto Clan territory?"
Leaf green eyes widened with a mix of emotions Hawkfire couldn't make out. The tom hurriedly awoke his companion in hushed whispers, totally ignoring the Medicine Cat. Hawkfire sat in a huff, the other Medicine Cats eyeing the intruders with a mixture of suspicion and curiosity.
The pale she-cat leapt up suddenly, whirling around and staring at the small group of cats with intense yellow eyes. She glanced at the tom, "Are they really them?" She seemed almost excited, Hawkfire noted in puzzlement.
Silversong padded forward next to him, her eyes narrowed and Hawkfire could see her hackles rising. "Answer the questions, rogues. We have little time for your procrastination."
The tom's tail slapped over the she-cat's mouth before it opened with what looked like a biting retort. She glared at him with intense animosity which surprised both Medicine Cats.
"I am deeply sorry for our intrusion," The tom mewed, his voice soft and smooth. "However, we have had an incredibly long journey to come and find you. Please, my companion and I would like to speak with each of your leaders, would be able to do so?"
It was just then Hawkfire noticed how weary both of them were, their pads bloody and cracked, and their bones sticking out, visible to see. He heard Icepaw sit beside him and mew softly to him,
"Those poor cats, they look like they haven't eaten in days. As a Medicine Cat, my duty is to see that all cats are fit. They don't look like a danger, Hawkfire, let Ravenstar decide what to do."
With a glance at the strangers, Hawkfire whispered to Silversong who had just coaxed Gingerpaw into sitting beside her. "What do you think?" The grey she-cat nodded in agreement, eyes firm in decision.
"We will take you to our leaders, young ones," she rasped. "I am Silversong, Medicine Cat of MeadowClan, and this ginger tom is my apprentice, Gingerpaw. Our camp lies in the hills and fields further down from here, across the old Twoleg path."
The pair of rogues glanced his way, Hawkfire nodded in return. "Be wary though, cats in our Clans, especially my clan are extremely guarded towards strangers. I will try and make you welcome, though I can't promise anything about protecting you. I am Hawkfire of NightClan, and my white-furred apprentice here is Icepaw. We live in the dense part of the forest near the marsh."
The dark grey tom looked almost amused, "What strange names you cats have, but I thank you. This is where my friend and I will split ways, neither of us needs to see both leaders." The she-cat was looking at the tom with cool regard, they obviously were not on the best of terms.
"Very well." Silversong mewed, confusion highlighting her voice. "But we would be more comfortable if we knew who we were letting into our homes."
The she-cat shifted from paw to paw, her impatience was evident. "My name is Lupa, I would like to go to MeadowClan. I don't do well in enclosed forests."
The tom lashed his tail in annoyance at Lupa's clipped tone, it was obvious she did not care what these cats thought of her.
"Then I shall go to NightClan, my name is Tide, Lupa and I are grateful for your hospitality."
Both he and Lupa had bowed their heads in gratitude, unaware that all four cats in front of them had unsheathed their claws in shock, and that their tails were bushed out in horror. Hawkfire's mind was in flames as he linked two and two together.
Not now, He thought frantically. We're not ready.
Trust in the tide whose floods are filled with light.
Trust in the wolf who confides in their shadow.
Allegiances
NIGHTCLAN
Leader
Ravenstar- a black she-cat with one blue eye and one green
Deputy
Emberclaw- a dark ginger tabby tom with brown eyes.
Medicine Cat
Hawkfire- a white tom with grey and black splotches and amber eyes.
Apprentice- Icepaw
Warriors
Blackshadow- a dark grey tom with black patches and amber eyes. Has an old scar across his shoulder.
Nightwhisper- a black she-cat with brown eyes.
Apprentice- Sunpaw
Addertooth- a lean grey tabby tom with blue eyes.
Viperfang- a small white tom with grey patches and blue eyes.
Lightningstrike- a sandy tom with white paws and yellow eyes.
Flameheart- a ginger she-cat with a white muzzle and yellow eyes.
Apprentice- Blackpaw
Dawnstreak- a dark brown tabby she-cat with lighter stripes and amber eyes.
Apprentice- Thunderpaw
Gorsenose- a dark brown tabby tom with amber eyes.
Brightpool- a grey tabby she-cat with blue eyes.
Darkfang- a black tom with brown eyes.
Shadefall- a dark grey tabby tom with dark blue eyes.
Greystorm- a pale grey tom with darker patches and amber eyes.
Apprentice- Shadowpaw
Swiftwing- a brown she-cat with lighter splotches and yellow eyes.
Yellowblaze- a pale ginger she-cat with yellow eyes.
Apprentices
Icepaw- a white tom with amber eyes. Medicine Cat apprentice.
Sunpaw- a bright red tabby she-cat with blue eyes.
Thunderpaw- a dark grey tabby tom with blue eyes.
Shadowpaw- a pale grey tom with black and dark splotches and ice blue eyes.
Blackpaw- a black she-cat with pale blue eyes.
Queens and Kits
Hazelstripe- a pale brown she-cat with darker stripes and white paws with green eyes. (Mate to Viperfang)
Mother to:
Birchkit (a pale brown and black tom with white paws and green eyes)
Ashkit (a white and grey tom with a dark striped tail and blue eyes)
Nettlekit (a pale brown tabby she-cat with green eyes)
Morninglight- a pale sandy and white she-cat and amber eyes. (Mate to Shadefall)
Mother to:
Stormkit (a grey tom with a white tail and amber eyes)
Elders
Lillyfall- A once pretty black she-cat with brown eyes.
Sootclaw- An elderly grey tom with blue eyes.
MEADOWCLAN
Leader
Smallstar- a small white tom with ginger flecks and yellow eyes.
Deputy
Eaglewing- a dark brown tabby tom with a white chest and paws with amber eyes.
Medicine Cat
Silversong- a pale grey she-cat with a white muzzle and blue eyes.
Apprentice- Gingerpaw
Warriors
Willowcloud- a grey tabby she-cat with blue eyes
Lionstorm- a bright ginger tom with pale yellow eyes
Ambersplash- a ginger tabby she-cat with amber eyes
Apprentice- Cloudpaw
Flowersong- a brown and white she-cat with darker patches and pale blue eyes
Stripedgaze- a pale brown she-cat with darker tabby stripes and grey eyes
Quickfoot- a pale brown tom with darker paws and grey eyes
Riverspirit- a blue-grey tom with dark blue eyes
Stormface- a blue-grey tabby tom with a lighter muzzle and green eyes
Poppystream- a dark red tabby she-cat with light green eyes
Tasslecloud- A dark brown she-cat with white patches and amber eyes
Bramblespots- a brown she-cat with darker splotches and green eyes
Apprentice- Maplepaw
Tawnyleaf- a white and brown she-cat with grey eyes
Sparrowtalon- a ginger-brown tom with pale blue eyes
Apprentice- Clearpaw
Aldershade- a brown she-cat with a tabby tail and yellow eyes
Shrewclaw- a dark blue-grey tom with green eyes
Smokewhisker- a grey tabby tom with green eyes
Grasspelt- a spiky furred, pale brown tom with darker paws and green eyes
Apprentices
Cloudpaw- a light blue-grey tom with white flecks and dark blue eyes
Clearpaw- a light brown she-cat with pale grey eyes
Gingerpaw- a pale ginger tom with yellow eyes. Medicine Cat apprentice.
Maplepaw- a red tabby she-cat with green eyes
Queens and Kits
Littlestep- a small sandy she-cat with darker stripes and amber eyes (Mate to Sparrowtalon)
Mother to:
Leopardkit (a sandy she-cat with darker flecks and pale blue eyes)
Lionkit (a golden tom with amber eyes)
Tigerkit (a ginger-brown tabby tom with blue eyes)
Elders
Goldenleaf- a ginger she-cat with yellow eyes
Sandfang- a dusty brown she-cat with amber eyes
Cats Outside the Clans
Tide- a very dark grey tom with large ears and dark green eyes, a loner
Lupa- a pale grey she-cat with darker stripes on her tail and legs with deep yellow eyes, a loner
That was it! Please comment below on what was good/bad so I can improve for your sake
QOTD: What do you think of Tide and Lupa? What do you think their mission is?
Thanks guys, I will try and update as soon as I can x
-Moony-