The rain poured heavily on that foggy night.Droplets of water gracefully slided through the the thick foliage of the pines to continue their fall.Despite being insignificant, the droplets sure knew dropped themselves heavily on the forest's undergrowth. One even managed to dall right in Claw's muzzle, which annoyed him a bit.He wasn't in any way afraid to wet himself, if i'd meant to go back to his den, but everyone gets annoyed once in awhile.
A fat squirrel was hanging from his jaw, blood dropping from a gruesome wound that split its neck in half, and left it dangling.
Claw finally made his way back to his den, or rather, nest, located in the branches of maybe the tallest pine in the whole woods.His old friend, Flame, was always mocking him for that, calling him a furry bird.He kinda liked it at first, but started getting on his nerves.It was actually not bad at all.The branches (kinda) cover yourself in case of rain, Offer protection from most predators, and it gives a good sight range.Claw thought that maybe he should mock Flame for living in a stuffy, small hole in the ground.
Threading his claws in the sturdy pine, he managed to climb four leaps rather quickly, but of course, climbing trees for your whole life strenghtens your muscles and overall energy, so that was nothing but routine for him.
While he munched his freshkill, the rain stopped.For some moments, the moon was uncovered by the clouds, bathing Claw in the soft, faint glow that managed to sneak through the branches.He escaped a little chuckle to himself, as this moment was invaded by distant, good memories.
He remembered of the lazy nights he and his littermates spent playing and laughing at each other, since they were nocturnal, like many cats from that side of the woods did.And his mother, Mint, would arrived with a juicy mice, and tell them tales of glorious cats of old, who fought in epic battles against each other, in the name of some code of honor.
Oh, how good those were.If it weren't for that fox-hearted pile of droppings he had for a dad to ruin everything.
As he mind drifted off, he slowly lawed on his paws and fell asleep.
A warm breeze on his muzzle waked him up.The moon was still high up on the darkness.The weird thing, however, is there wasn't no tree, or rather, no pines.Claw was now laying in a clearing of soft grass, filled with tiny yellow flowers.He felt warm and cozy, specially due to a familiar purr next no him.He tilted his head, in denial that it could be true, but there was she: A fluffly light-brown she-cat, with ocasional darkened spots on her pelt, and striking yellow eyes."M-...mother?!"-Claw almost yelled.She tilted her head down in approval."Ar...are you...?" "Yes, dear.I am very, very real." Oh, how much he missed those low, sweet purrs.He rushed to her, to feel her soft pelt, her berry-scented fur."Stop." She said, in a weird tone, with bits of sadness and determination.Claw almost immediately stopped, and almost tripped.He looked completely shook."It's...not that I don't want to embrace you, Claw...oh, how I want...but I can't." As she said that, Claw finally noticed a striking feature on her.She was...transparent? A bit, yes, he could almost clearly see the waving grass through her paws.And she also emmited a soft glow, much like the moon, but in a faint, golden line around her body.
"You see dear...you would just...go right through me.You're still attached to the living world, so you still have your physical body in this realm.
He lost himself in a bit with all those weird terms.
"Well...uhh...it's...fine mother.Seeing you again is still great."
A smile went joyfully through her face.
"But...you yourself always told me that the spirits of the dead visit us when they still have unfinished business with the living.What do you..."
"Yes, indeed, that is...my purpose, of some sort.But...I'm not the one with unfinished business."
Claw tilted his head to the side, confused."Wait...then-"
"You can come out now, Hailfall!"-Mint said in a quite cheerfup manner, as she turned for the shadows created by the oak trees.From them, emerged a lean, elegant she-cat, with deep grey pelt, and pale blue eyes.Much like Mint, Claw could still see the moonshine go through her, but her..."transparency" was much more advanced.He could barely indentify her paws, ears and tail.And a unusual, red glow emanated from her.
"I'm surely excited to finally meet you, Claw."-Hailfall spoke, in a long cordial mew.
Claw tilted his head as a short greeting.
"So...you want me to help you?"
"Not only me, but my various other friends and clanmates."-She asnwered Claw.His eyes widened in shock at the mention of the word "clanmate".
"I suppose you must be very confused, judging from your face.Well, Claw, the glorious clans you heard from the legends Mint told you are, or rather...were real.But as seasons passed by, and the wars got bloodier, the snowskies became harsher, and the diseases, more deadlier...and eventually, we were almost all wiped out.The few survivors, kits at the time of the war, couldn't remenber their clan lineage, and our legacy was forgotten."
"Oh...that's...well, uh...unfortunate."-Claw tried to be polite, but didn't quite assimilated all the other information.
"It's okay.Since the demise of the clans, we all started to slowly fade away, considering no living cat could keep our memory alive.Almost 200 moons passed, and in a desesperate measure, we sent dreams to our ancestors, sharing stories of better times, when the clans were at their peak, and the warrior code was commonplace."
"And I was the cat she reached out to."-Mint purred to her son."I remember vividly, as a little kit, I would anxiously wait when Hailfall appeared in my dreams to tell me about those cats that upholded a code of glory and honor."
"So...we are your ancestors."-Claw mewed.-"And I believe that you want me to spread the word of the warrior code to keep your memory alive, right?"
"...in a way, yes."-Hailfall confirmed Claw.-"But your real purpose, Claw- she got closer to him, almost touching muzzles.-"Is that me and my colleagues of Glowclan deemed you fit to found a new clan."
"What?!"-he screamed, not believing he just heard those words.He looked down at his paws and daced Hailfall once again."Hailfall, I...if it is only spreading you and your friends's memories...I would...gladly accept it, but...I think you choosed wrong.I'm not in any way fit to be a leader to dozens of cats!"
"And I much agree with you."-She smewed calmly."-"This she-cat must be crazy.First, she said she believes I'm fit to lead, and a moment later, says I don't!"-.he though to himself.
"I'm not in any way crazy, Claw.To be fair, most Glowclan cats say I'm one of the most reasonable of the group."-Claw almost jumped of surprise.She could read his mind!And apparently, his mother could too, as she had hints of anger in her face, most probably because her son was rude to her good friend.
"Don't worry too much, I understand such thoughts.I didn't explained it quite clearly.I believe that you'll be a great clan leader, only if you train for such.Because now, you're in no way prepared."-Okay, Claw understood that, but he still wasn't sure of such thing.-"I will be your mentor in the teachings of clan life and leadership skills, starting in the next moonhigh, in your dreams.For now, to simbolize your initiation, you'll receive your warrior name."-But he didn't know if-
"May I...do the honors, friend?"-Mint asked in a low mew.
Hailfall looked at her in surprise.
"Uuuuhh...yes, of course Mint.He's...your son, after all."
Mint stood right in front of Claw, smiling.He noticed, in the corner of his eyes, as if this "glowing realm" was fading.His head was boiling in confusion, fear, anxiety...
"You're almost waking up, so I'll have to be quick with this.My dear, I can sense your feelings.You're not sure if you want to carry this burden of ressurecting a clan.Mostly due to your doubt in yourself.But trust me, you're a strong-willed, determined tom.And for that, I rename you Clawpounce, because you'll always pounce in the middle of danger, if it means defending someone of something you hold dear to you."