Hello, readers!
First of all, an apology. I know I said I would be putting something up mid-June, and it is now July, as of today. My mind was probably taken over by aliens and they forced me to procrastinate. I'm hoping you enjoy this quick one-shot, and I promise, I will (probably) have more stuff for you to read soon.
Also, quick thanks to my real-life friend Dominosrule (sorry, too lazy to check if I spelled that right) who read this story first and gave me advice on it.
Enjoy!
-Izrose
Ancient Echoes
Sunshine lit the walls of the reddish-painted house, making it look almost as if it were in flames. A white fence ran around the neat garden in front, and a brown tomcat sat atop the fence, surveying the neighborhood streets like a king watching his kingdom. He enjoyed the feeling of the late summer sunshine warming his pelt, the breeze soothing the itch that his collar created, and most of all, the knowledge that at any time, he could head inside to his Upwalkers to escape the heat and get a cool drink of water.
The tom, who was called Toby by his Upwalkers, closed his eyes and sighed. There's nothing better than this, he thought.
When he opened his eyes again, Toby saw something he hadn't expected – the old, black-and-white tom that lived down the street from him was walking beside a brown tabby she-cat right below his fence. They walked slowly, looking as if they were enjoying the sunshine and each other's company.
The black-and-white tom, who Toby had seen before but never bothered to talk to, spotted Toby looking at them. He smiled and waved his tail in greeting. Toby, not knowing how to respond to this strange old cat, replied with an uncertain nod in their direction.
Now the she-cat was looking at him too. "Hello!" she called out to him. "Gorgeous day, isn't it?"
Her amber eyes were friendly and warm, and Toby relaxed a little. "Yes," he said. "I wish every day was like this."
The old tom chuckled. "No you don't. If every day were like this, it wouldn't be as special. We wouldn't enjoy it as much."
The she-cat purred and stretched. "I don't think I'd ever get sick of this, though."
"What's your name, young'un?" said the old tom.
"Toby," Toby replied.
"I'm Smudge," meowed the tom.
"Hattie," the she-cat introduced herself. "We live a ways down that way." She pointed with her tail.
Toby nodded. "I've seen Smudge out walking from time to time."
Smudge nodded. "Hattie, you know who this young cat looks like to me? My old friend Firestar."
Hattie giggled. "I think your memory is getting foggy, Smudge. Firestar had ginger fur. I remember, because it was rather striking in the sunlight."
"Oh, I know. I'm not a mouse-brain. It's not the kid's fur. Don't you see it in his build, the look in his eyes, the way he sits there?"
The way the two cats were talking as if Toby wasn't there was making him uneasy. Especially since he had never heard of this Firestar cat. What a weird name, too. It didn't sound like a normal kittypet name.
"Um, who's Firestar?" Toby asked, leaping down off his fence to talk to the two cats better.
"Oh, dear, don't get him started," said Hattie, rolling her eyes. "Smudge go on for hours about his old friend, the leader of ThunderClan."
"ThunderClan?"
"Now, come on, Hattie. The kid wants to hear the story. And it's a good story at that. Besides, he should know what was here before all the dwellings were."
Toby blinked. What was here before the dwellings? He had never thought about that. All there was, as far as he could see, were Upwalker dwellings in every direction. The thought that they hadn't always been there…
"Come into my garden," Toby offered. "We can rest in the shade while you tell me the story."
"Why, thank you," purred Hattie. She followed Toby as he leapt onto the fence, and then down onto the other side. She stumbled a little upon landing, but used her tail to regain her balance. Smudge found it a bit more difficult to get over, but eventually landed safely in Toby's garden.
He showed them the shady spot underneath his favorite bush, and waited for the two to get comfortable.
"Now, when Firestar and I were first friends, he wasn't called Firestar. His name was Rusty, because he lived with Upwalkers, just like you and me," Smudge began.
"My Upwalkers," said Hattie. "They got me after they had him."
"Don't interrupt," grumbled Smudge. "Now, all these Twoleg houses around here, including this one where you live now, didn't use to be here. Instead, this was all forest."
"What?" Toby exclaimed. "Forest?" The only trees here now were the ones the Upwalkers planted by the sidewalks and in their gardens. To think that this used to be nothing but trees…
"Yes. The forest started right about here, actually. Rusty and I lived very close to it. One day, Rusty actually ventured into the forest.
"He met these cats who lives without Upwalkers. They didn't wear collars, and they had to catch their own food. They all lived together in Clans, and the cats Rusty met were from one called ThunderClan."
Toby's head swum with all this new information. Clans? Cats that didn't live with Upwalkers?
"They asked Rusty to join ThunderClan. He came back that night to think about it, but in the end he decided he would. He left that morning."
"Did you ever see him again?" Toby asked, becoming more curious.
"Yes," said Smudge. "A few times. The next time I saw him, he was called Firepaw, not Rusty."
"Wait… you said I reminded you of 'Firestar', not 'Firepaw'."
"Indeed. The Clans had a complex naming system. He was Firepaw as an apprentice, Fireheart as a warrior, and Firestar as a leader. As far as I know, he is still living as the leader of ThunderClan somewhere."
So then Smudge proceeded to tell Toby the story of how Firestar defeated BloodClan and his rise to leadership. Toby shivered at the description of BloodClan, the very thought of the bone-collared cats sending chills down his spine. Tigerstar was equally frightening, the way Smudge described him.
But while Tigerstar and Scourge sounded like the cats that appeared in your nightmares, Firestar sounded like the hero in the stories mothers told their kits when they couldn't sleep. In Smudge's story, he was brave, loyal, and strong – just like all ThunderClan cats, Smudge said.
"What happened to the Clans when they built the dwellings here?" Toby asked, by now hanging on Smudge's every word.
"When the Upwalkers started tearing down the forest, Firestar helped lead all the Clans to find a new home. They escaped, and now I like to believe that they found someplace to live without the Upwalkers."
Toby sat in silence for a long time, taking in the story. A cat that had lived with Upwalkers, much like him, became a great leader in a Clan of wild cats. It sounded like no more than a tale, but Hattie seemed to have met Firestar as well, and she had agreed with everything Smudge said.
By the time the story was done, the sun was sinking behind the dwellings' rooftops, and Toby heard his Upwalkers calling him from the door.
"Thank you for the story," Toby said politely to Smudge, "but I think I have to go in now."
"You're very welcome, Toby," purred Smudge.
"We should probably get back, too, before our Twolegs worry. Thank you for the pleasant afternoon. I do love your garden," Hattie mewed. They made their way to the fence and leapt onto it. Hattie jumped down to the other side.
"Come visit again sometime," Toby called after them, as they left. "Tell me more stories about the Clans!"
Smudge waved his tail to Toby before leaping off the fence, landing on the other side.
Toby watched them go from the top of his fence, for the moment ignoring the Upwalkers that wanted him inside. He looked out as far as he could see, at every Upwalker dwelling, and imagined instead that they weren't there, that there was only trees.
Toby blinked, and for a second it was all there – he could see the trees, the ThunderClan camp, the cats hurrying about. Dinner wasn't waiting for him in his dwelling, he was about to go catch it. He looked up and saw the stars they called Silverpelt, and had the feeling of being watched over. He was surrounded by the smell of the forest, and the smell of the cats he called his Clanmates.
Then he blinked again, and it was all gone. Toby shivered as the chill of the night began to descend, and headed inside for his dinner.