Hello Everyone, Marshstar here. This is my first fan made story so I hope it all goes well. Constructive criticism is always welcome. This story was placed in the future of the clans. So without further ado, let us begin. Also, if you wish for the list of clans including of warriors and leaders I will be willing to post it. Enjoy! :3
The rise of Marshstar
Chapter 1
The sun glimmered high in the sky. The day was gorgeous. The clearing shone brightly, cats rested lazily in the shade of the willow and oak trees. Marshkit gazed into the clear blue sky above him, searching his target. A moss ball sailed through the air. He leapt up and raked the sky with his tiny but sharp claws. Plucking it from the heavens he brought the delicate toy back to earth. He padded it softly in his golden brown paws which lit up in the light.
"Marshkit! Pass the ball back!" bellowed his brother Thistlekit who was golden with tints of brown. Marshkit tossed the ball back to him, and as Thistlekit tried to snag the moss ball it went high over his head and landed on Marshkits other brother.
"Butterpaws!" squeaked Marshkit. Shallowkit batted the ball off quickly, a grim look danced on his face.
"Hey!" he mewled. His tail twitched I annoyance. Shallowkits fur was the color of ash with darker speckles of gray. He was sleek and quick and was full of curiosity. Marshkit eyed him carefully and noted that his brother would make an excellent hunter for Skyclan.
"Sorry about that." Thistlekit replied. Shallowkit began to pace back and forth, the hairs on his neck slowly rising up. Marshkit retrieved the moss ball, and began to bat at it while his brother went on another worry frenzy. "How can you play at a time like this?" He demanded. He continued to shuffle back and forth in front of the nursery.
"What do you mean Shallowkit?" Thistlekit stepped in his way and eyed him carefully.
"Were about to be made apprentices you mousebrain!" Shallowkit hissed at him. Marshkit pricked his ears, usually he stayed out of conversations like these, but now it just got interesting. His teeny heart soared at remembering that tomorrow they would become apprentices. He wondered who his mentor would be. He concluded later that any warrior would be fine. He then whispered "Isn't it great?" Shallowkit just shook his head.
"For you maybe." He whimpered. His brother always worried about stuff that he could never control. Marshkit never saw the point in all that worrying. Just like Shallowkit to worry about becoming and an apprentice, any second now he would say… Thought Marshkit.
"I'm worried I might mess up." He scratched the ground softly, his head bent. There it is, once again he worries about nothing. Marshkit sighed. Thistlekit padded up and touched the tip of his tail to Shallowkits shoulder. Marshkit waited a few seconds before joining them.
"Lets play leader! I'll be THISTLESTAR." He stated. Flicking his tail to each in turn he said, "Lets go Marshfur and Shallowpelt! Time for a border patrol!" and he dashed off like no tomorrow. "Shallowpelt you be deputy!" Shallowkit bounced up and down with joy, his previous worries forgotten. Marshkit swished his massive tail from side to side. "Marshfur you're a warrior!" Thistlekit called over to him. Marshkit dashed after them. A warrior! That was a fine title for him! Marshkit felt he was always a little different then his brothers, and even then, different than Ivykit and Echokit, even though they were half a moon younger. He bounced along after them, pausing when he scented the fresh-kill pile. Shallowkit scented it too and flick his tail in its direction.
"This way Thisltestar! I smell prey over here!" Thistlekit purred and replied, "Good job Shallowpelt!" And bounded over to where he was sniffing. Marshkit heard paw steps behind him and scented the cat before Thistlekit and Shallowkit.
"Be careful Thistlestar, one may never know what lies in the tempting gloom." The voice spoke coolly and softly. Marshkit turned and saw Quakestar, leader of sky clan. His clear blue eyes were soft with emotion, but Marshkit knew better. Quakestar was the first and greatest blind leader to ever exist in the history of the clans. He was motionless as Thistlekit and Shallowkit told him they were only playing and stuff like that and- (is trying to explain the mind of 6 mooned kits) so, Marshkit chose to ignore the conversation completely. Basically whatever his brother Thistlekit said he ignored. He never found him interesting. Only ambitious. Marshkit began to prowl around Quakestar with interest. He sighted his tail and waited patiently for the right moment to strike. His ears flick back and he leaped into the air, preparing to land on Quakestars tail. But, being Quakestar, his tail slid out from under Marshkit and thus, he landed on dirt. Quakestar turned and smiled at Marshkit.
"You should go find your mother kits, she may be wondering where you are." And with that he strolled off, his tail flicking from side to side occasionally. Thistlekit charged up to Marshkit and gave him a warning hiss.
"Why did you do that? He's clan leader!" Marshkit just rolled his eyes. Thistlekit huffed and looked Marshkit in the face. "I bet I'll be his apprentice because I'm respectful to him then you are." He snorted again. "After I become a warrior he'll want to make me deputy because I'll have great hunting skills and fighting technics he wouldn't dare say no." He boasted. He whipped his head back to Marshkit. "And he'll also make me his deputy because I was his most loyal apprentice." Marshkit stared at him in a bored manner. Thistlekit saw he was not going to get a reaction so instead he marched away across the clearing. Marshkit flicked his ears in astonishment. He brother was so boastful! Thistlekit always thought he was the greatest, and even Shallowkit thought Thistlekit was the best. The two looked down on Marshkit even though he was stronger and was more thoughtful. They thought he was weird because he never talked much and his tail was as bigger than him. It had grown to an abnormally large size and nothing slowed it down. But one cat thought he was special, one cat thought of him as someone important. Echokit. His mind began to wander when he heard whisperings in his ear.
"Catch up to them Marshkit, you don't want to be left behind." The voice whispered. It dawned on Marshkit that his brothers were waiting for him near the clearing. He dashed off to join them, once again thanking that sweet voice for guiding his paws. He reached his siblings and watched as Thistlekit went into a crouch that reminded Marshkit of a skunk.
"What are you doing?" mewed Marshkit; Thistlekit didn't look up from what he was doing.
"A hunter's crouch." He replied, focusing on a fallen leaf.
"You look like a skunk." Marshkit commented, realizing what he said. Thistlekit glared at him.
"Bet you can't do it better, so shut up, I'm trying to stalk a mouse if you don't mind." Thistlekit snapped. And he went back to "stalking" the so called "mouse".
"You won't catch anything if you stalk prey like that." A voice spoke from behind. Marshkit, Shallowkit and Thistlekit whipped around and saw an apprentice who was white with black splotches.
"Snakepaw!" Thistlekit purred. He dashed up to the apprentice, his eyes glowing brightly. Snakepaw flicked his tail at the three and began to speak.
"You guys ready to become apprentices? Cause tomorrow you'll be known as Thistlepaw, Shallowpaw, and Marshpaw." Thistlekit nodded and Shallowkit jumped up and down excitedly. Marshkit's eyes glowed. He has been waiting for this day the moment he opened his eyes.
"Do you know where are mom is Snakepaw?" Shallowkit mewed, looking at Snakepaw with interest. Snakepaw nodded and indicated for them to follow.
"This way." He meowed and paraded off with the three kits on his trail. This padded across the clearing and reached the willow near the warriors den. Two cats were sitting there speaking with each other rather quickly. The male turned and spotted them and said something to the female.
"Rumblefoot, Rosefur. I found your kits by the fresh kill pile." Snakepaw purred. Rumblefoot, their father rose from his spot and padded over to Snakepaw. He reminded Marshkit of a bigger Thistlekit, only without all the ambition. Rumblefoot had a massive scar on his shoulder he acquired from fighting two foxes who were trying to break into the nursery. He was well respected for his wisdom and strength. Rosefur, his mate and their mother, looked like a larger Shallowkit. She was an excellent hunter and was quick on her feet. She padded over to the three kits and began to wash them with her tongue.
"Momma!" Shouted Shallowkit.
"I'm fine! I'm going to be leader one day!" squeaked Thistlekit. Marshkit only purred when she licked him in turn. It was warm and soothing to him and he enjoyed it.
"Thank you for finding them Snakepaw." Rumblefoot purred his voice was soft and gentle. Snakepaw dipped his head, embarrassed at the praise.
"It was nothing. The suns going down and I thought you would like to know where they were." Rumblefoot nodded and Snakepaw padded away to join Owlpaw in sharing tongues. Rosefur purred loudly when she finished washing them.
"I'm glad you three didn't get into trouble! Your father and I were worried." She mewed. Rumblefoot nodded.
"Next time you go off somewhere tell us." He added. The three nodded.
"Don't worry papa." Mewed Thistlekit. "I'll be clan leader one day and I won't get into trouble."
"You'll have to be an apprentice first." Purred Rosefur and began to nudge the three towards the nursery with Rumblefoot close behind. He would follow them to the nursery, say goodnight, and then head towards the warrior's den. Before they made it though, Quakestar leaped up on to the top of the high rock.
"All those old enough to catch their own prey join here beneath the high rock for a clan meeting. All the cats gathered around the rock. Marshkit searched the crowd and spotted his uncle Treeheart, but that was not who he was looking for. He was looking for the two apprentices that would become warriors tonight. He spotted the two and giggled to himself as he realized they had no idea what was going on. Quakestar began to speak.
"I, Quakestar, leader of Skyclan, call upon my warrior ancestors to look down on these two apprentices. They have trained hard to understand the ways of your noble cade, and I commend them to you as a warrior in their turn." Snakepaw and Owlpaw wriggled with excitement as they and their mentors padded forward. Quakestar leapt down and stood in front of the apprentices. "Snakepaw, Owlpaw, do you promise to uphold the warrior code and to protect and defend this clan even at the cost of your life?" Both cats mewed "I do." At the same time. They were confident and firm. They knew that this is what they wanted since the moment they became apprentices. "Then by the powers of Starclan, I give you your warrior names: Snakepaw, from this moment on you will be known as Snakefang. Starclan honors your courage and loyalty, and we welcome you as a full warrior of Skyclan." He stepped forward and placed his head on Snakefangs and Snakefang licked Quakestars shoulder. He stepped back and Quakestar turned to Owlpaw. "Owlpaw, from this moment on you shall be known as Owlfight. Starclan honors your agility and intelligence, and we welcome you as a full warrior of Skyclan." Quakestar rested his muzzle on her head and she licked his shoulder. She stepped back and the clan cheered for their two new warriors. Marshkit dashed up to the two before being pulled into the nursery.
"Congratulations guys! You really deserve it." He smiled and the two warriors nodded their heads in thanks. They couldn't speak due to the ritual, but their happiness shown in their eyes.
"Now let us sleep while these two warriors sit vigil." Quakestar mewed and padded off to his den. Marshkit yawned and padded into the nursery, curling up next to his mother, slowly slipping off to dream of the beautiful tomorrow.
Well how'd you like it? Let me know how you think. I want to thank my brother Moneyman538 who lead me to this site and got me interested in writing fan fiction. I also want to thank him for helping find the names of the other clans and leaders. Thanks bro! :3