Disclaimer: I DO NOT own the Warriors series.
Prologue
"Why are we here?" a soft voice floated through the still night air, ringing out crystal clear in the moorland sky. A light gray tabby tom with clouded blue eyes stood crouched slightly on the crest of a slope, staring down at a tangle of brambles sheltering a gentle dip in the hill. Beside him was an old she-cat with matted gray fur that shone with stars and sharp yellow eyes that glinted with moonlight.
"We are here, Jayfeather," she began, sliding her paws along the scratchy grass, "because I have something to show you." With that, she rose to her paws and pelted down the slope with much more speed than is normal for a cat of her age. Stars sparked along the path she left and Jayfeather scrambled to his paws to follow her, heart pounding.
"Wait, Yellowfang!" he called desperately to the old cat as she plunged into the spiky brambles. He skidded to a clumsy halt and stared distrustfully at the brambles, wrinkling his nose as though he had smelled something foul. Yellowfang's narrow face poked out from the bushes, her eyes snapping with impatience.
"Come on!" she hissed, before tuning and disappearing again. Jayfeather gave a slight snort as he dove into the bushes, hissing as they clawed at his ears and muzzle. Once he had stumbled into the clearing, his face was lined with small scratches and a bramble thorn poked out of his nose, as he pawed repeatedly at it.
"Come here," Yellowfang called softly. Jayfeather walked slowly over to where she was crouched in the center of the small clearing, her tail whipping behind her. She was peering intently into a small puddle, and she was leaning in so close that her whiskers touched the water, stirring its crystalline surface.
"So?" Jayfeather grumbled, still rubbing his nose. "It's a puddle." As he spoke, he glanced warily around him, at the sleeping bodies of cats surrounding them. They were in the heart of WindClan's territory, in their camp. The WindClan cats slept out in the open, where they felt closer to their ancestors, StarClan. Not even two fox-lengths away from him, Jayfeather could see the striped tabby pelt of Onestar; WindClan's leader. The young tom's tail twitched back and forth, and his paws churned in the air, evidently he was dreaming.
Whiskers twitching with amusement, Jayfeather turned back to Yellowfang, who was now nodding slowly as she observed the puddle closer. She turned to Jayfeather, her eyes glimmering with wisdom.
"Jayfeather," she started, slowly, "when was the last time it rained?" Jayfeather froze, realizing what Yellowfang was trying to show him. The puddle, looking as though it had only sprung up overnight, was actually a quarter-moon old. The last rain was on the night before the Gathering, and a quarter-moon had passed since then.
"Why is it still here?" Jayfeather immediately crouched down next to Yellowfang, his tail flicking nervously as excitement and anxiety coursed through him, setting his pelt on end.
"Look closer," Jayfeather could hear and feel Yellowfang's breathe right next to his ear, but when he whipped his head around, she was nowhere to be seen.
"Yellowfang?" he called, trembling slightly while at the same time frowning with confusion. Where had she disappeared off to?
"Look closer!" Yellowfang's voice came again, sharper this time, and Jayfeather turned his attention back to the puddle, studying it closely for once. It shocked him.
It was perfectly in the shape of an eagle or other bird sustained in flight, its wings outstretched, and portrayed in the silvery water was the moon. A perfect, full moon, though it was waning in the sky currently. A beautiful full moon, depicted inside a bird. What could it mean?
Yellowfang's voice came again, except this time her raspy mew was smoothed out, and it seemed to echo from Jayfeather's head itself:
"While the light strengthens and the darkness fades, from the ashes of death the Lost One will rise. The code shall fall and the world shall shatter as the shadows of the dead return once more."
Time for a bit of a change-up! Warriors this time!
Read and Review, my lovlies!
~xoxo WinglessAngel