had another fanfic idea come to me while i was angry about spoilers for the newest series of warriors. :'I
like. i love skyclan so much they're literally my fave Why Must They Suffer So Much.
so this is a future AU i guess?
js i'll forgive the erins if skyclan comes to live with the other clans (like it should be already) but otherwise i'm going to be salty for a while about this ngl.
"Exile!"
Quailstar's words cracked like thunder through the still night air, the light of the moon reflecting coldly in his dark amber gaze. More than one cat gathered around Stormeyes flinched at the unexpected sharp fury and bitterness in his father's snarl, but the silver-gray tom just narrowed his wild eyes back up at him, unwavering. Even now, he could remember the times that those same eyes were warm with pride, pride that Quailstar had always felt for him.
Now, they were hard as gemstones.
"So, that's it then?" Stormeyes didn't back down, challenging the SkyClan leader, taunting him with his scorn. "You're willing to throw out your own flesh and blood, just like that?"
Hisses of outrage rose from the crowd then, the glint of unsheathed claws and bared teeth encircling the exiled tom. "You killed Silverfang!" Quailstar yowled, his dark fur rising along his spine. "And then tried to murder me as well! How can you accuse me of not caring for my kin when you turned your claws on me without hesitation?!"
"You know why I had to do it, you old fool!" Stormeyes snapped back, his age-old anger rising to the surface like a geyser bursting from the earth. "We are not brave and strong like the SkyClan of old; we're soft! Weak! Our pure blood is constantly diluted by those who are inferior!"
Turning on a group of cats, huddled together like crows at the edge of the throng of cats, he focused his stormy eyes on them with a look of pure hatred. "They've NEVER deserved to be called warriors!"
More defiant yowls rose from the rest of the Clan, disagreeing with Stomeyes' words, but fell silence when a cat pushed her way to the front of the group. Her silver fur shimmered in the moonlight, tail constantly flicking behind her as she faced the silver-gray tom. "Why, my son?" Her mew cracked with grief. "Do you truly feel nothing for your Clan? For your family?"
Her blue-gray eyed were fixed on him, a desperate hope buried in their depths. Stormeyes almost felt guilty, until his gaze rested on the collar still fastened around her neck. A growl rose in his throat, and he turned away. "You are not my family anymore. You haven't been for a long time."
His mother's gasp of pain was clear and full of heartbreak. For a moment, Stormeyes thought that Quailstar was going to jump down and tear out his throat then and there. "The daylight warriors have been a facet of our Clan for generations, and have been crucial to our survival more than once!" He spat. "It seems that you have forgotten what it means to be SkyClan. You desired to chase away some of our most valued Clan members, and now, you will be the one to face that fate for your crimes."
He jerked his muzzle toward the end of the gorge, into the territory beyond. "Go. My son or not, if we find you on our territory by sunhigh, we will not hesitate to kill you."
Stormeyes curled his lip, giving everyone gathered in the gorge one last look of disgust. "I'd like to see any of you try." He felt satisfaction at the fear he saw flash in some of their gazes. "I would have done everything all over again if given the chance. It doesn't matter if you chase me away from here. I will rise again, and when I do, I. Will. Win."
Lifting his head proudly, confidently, Stormeyes strode past his former clanmates as they snarled and spat at his paws until he disappeared into the shadows beyond the gorge.
My revenge may not be swift, Stormeyes curled his lip, but it will be one that SkyClan will never recover from.
Still standing frozen on the Rockpile, Quailstar released the breath he didn't realize he had been holding in a ragged sigh. He whisked his tail dismissively, pushing away the fear gnawing at his mind. I have to prove to all of my Clanmates that everything will be okay.
"Flurryfeather." The pale-furred she-cat, almost silver under the moonlight, pricked her ears in surprise as the leader called her name. "We require your kind, gentle heart and spirit more than ever right now. I know that you only recently chose to leave your Twolegs to become a full Clan member, but I say these words before Silverfang, so he can hear and approve of my choice. You will be the new deputy of SkyClan."
Flurryfeather gasped, so loudly Quailstar could still hear it from the top of the Rockpile. The crowd of cats around them slowly began to cheer, gathering momentum the more of the Clan joined in. Bluefrost, Flurryfeather's mate, purred proudly and pressed closer to her, while their daughter Icepaw bounced around them excitedly. "Q-Quailstar…" She stammered for a moment before gazing up at him, warmth glistening in her eyes. "It… It means more to me than anything that you trust me enough to make me your deputy. Ever since I joined the Clan as a daylight-warrior, I knew that the gorge truly was where I belonged. I will protect this Clan with my final breath, I promise you."
Quailstar smiled genuinely back at her, knowing that her vow was true, but the ice in his heart from what he had just done still pained him. "I know you will, Flurryfeather." Lifting his head to scan over the rest of the Clan, he nodded briskly. "StarClan has never stopped watching over us, and I know now more than ever that they will be there to help us through these times. But, for now, we must rest."
As the Clan dispersed, murmuring in low voices to one another, Quailstar felt another claw grip around his chest. It didn't take much for him to figure out what they could be talking about. Stormeyes… Your mother and I treasured you more than anything. He stared desperately at the stars. Why, StarClan? Why my son?
The sound of claws scrabbling up the Rockpile tore him away from his thoughts, and he turned to meet the now almost painfully familiar eyes of his mate. The same eyes that their only child had inherited. "Quailstar…" He mew was racked with grief. "Was there something I could have done? Something that could have kept him from… from hating me so much?"
He moved closer to her, pulling her against his chest where she rested, trembling, her muzzle pressed deeply into his neck fur. "We're both to blame for this, Bellesong…" It was painful to admit, but true, and they both knew it. "Stormeyes has closed himself off to us. I… I think he's felt this way for longer than either of us knew."
Quailstar lifted his ears when he noticed his medicine cat, Brightberry, clawing up the last ledge to join them. Bellesong must have heard him as well, her ear flicking in his direction, but she didn't move from her spot, still curled against her mate. "Brightberry?" He frowned. "Is there something amiss?"
His concerned expression told him everything he needed to hear. "Quailstar… I've received a message from StarClan." His green eyes flashed in the darkness. "Something that will change everything."
Quailstar stared back at him with intense amber eyes. "I saw Silverfang, as well as… my father." He turned his face to the stars with a faraway look. "And they told me… Take caution, for the storm is still on the horizon. But with it will come the sun and moon, rising high as the sky."
Listening to his words carefully, Quailstar felt his fur rise along his shoulders. "You're right, Brightberry. Great change is coming."
A single star in the distance seemed to glow brighter than the others in that moment. You're listening even right now, aren't you? He mused. Always worried about us, your descendants, down below.
Keeping watching us, spirits of the past. Something is coming… And it's not just rebellion. Something that will change our future forever.
ALLEGIANCES
SkyClan
Leader: Quailstar – tall, russet brown tabby tom with white paws and a white chest, amber eyes
Apprentice: Burnpaw
Deputy: Flurryfeather – soft-furred pale gray-and-white she-cat with blue eyes
Medicine Cat: Brightberry – creamy-white tom with ginger patches and green eyes
Apprentice: Icepaw – silver tabby-and-white she-cat with pale blue eyes
Warriors:
Crowclaw – jet-black tom with yellow eyes
Bluefrost – blue-furred tom with a white muzzle and dark blue eyes
Flurryfeather – soft-furred pale gray-and-white she-cat with blue eyes
Mallowleaf – speckled brown she-cat with green eyes
Breezebird – black-and-silver tabby she-cat with yellow eyes
Talonstrike – black-and-white tom with green eyes
Apprentice: Oakpaw
Snowthorn – white she-cat with a short tail and amber eyes
Foxfoot – ginger she-cat with black paws and a white-tipped muzzle, blue eyes
Yellowfire – golden tabby she-cat with amber eyes
Morningwind – brown tabby tom with a white chest and amber eyes
Rushingrain – gray-speckled tom with green eyes
Apprentice: Hollowpaw
Grasspelt – ginger-and-white tom with spiky fur and green eyes
Daylight Warriors:
Bellesong – pointed silver she-cat with bluish-gray eyes and a blue collar
Maxspring – black-and-white tom with pale green eyes
Lilyshadow – black she-cat with cream-colored flecks and amber eyes
Apprentice: Jynxpaw
Tabbystripe – pale ginger and brown tabby tom with yellow eyes
Apprentice: Pepperpaw
Lunawing – pretty silver tabby with black paws and green eyes
Apprentices:
Oakpaw – sturdy brown tom with a white belly and amber eyes
Burnpaw – dark golden tabby she-cat with amber eyes
Hollowpaw – dark gray tom with blue eyes
Daylight Apprentices:
Pepperpaw – speckled brown-and-white she-cat with green eyes
Jynxpaw – jet-black she-cat with amber eyes
Queens:
Juniperleaf – blue-gray tabby she-cat with golden eyes (Mother of Stormeyes' kits)
Palestream – pale ginger she-cat with a white stripe on her muzzle and green eyes (Mother of Tabbystripe's kits – Pouncekit, Sandkit, Swiftkit, and Redkit)
Elders:
Flameheart – ginger and white she-cat with amber eyes, distantly related to Leafstar
Vinetail – black tom with a long tail and green eyes
Cats Outside the Clan
Apple – ginger tabby she-cat with white paws and a white chest, pale green eyes
Raven – glossy jet-black tom with amber eyes
Bat – black tom-kit with pale green eyes
Heron – silver-and-white tabby she-kit with blue eyes
Embers – black-and-ginger she-kit with green eyes
Hawk – muscular black and white tom with golden eyes
Tulip – pale gray she-cat with soft blue eyes and a white flash on her nose, kittypet
Marlin – gray-and-white tabby tom with blue eyes
Whitney – pure-white she-cat with amber eyes and a torn ear
Kindling – dark-ginger tom with a paler underbelly and yellow eyes
Littlepaw – brown tabby tom with small white paws
Pine – brownish-ginger she-cat with dark green eyes
Stripe – black-and-silver tabby tom with a long tail and blue eyes
Sunny – golden tabby she-cat with a white underbelly, legs, and chest, amber eyes
Raspberry – white tom with reddish-pink eyes, albino
Stormeyes – silver-gray tom with stormy gray-blue eyes