"Ow!" Fire yelped after a last boom was heard. Moon shook herself off.
"I don't know how those twolegs stand it! Those booming sticks could make a cat go deaf," she said, sitting down. Moon, Fire, Night, and Golden had made it out of the valley where the twolegs were making noise. They had just made it to what looked like a forest.
"It looks nice here," Fire said, looking into the trees.
"Yeah, whatever," Golden said, starting to wash himself, "Let's just keep moving, I'm starving." Fire sniffed, walking forward, "We could stay here for the night," he meowed. Golden followed Fire, while Moon and Night stayed where they were. The dark blue-she cat was staring at the black cat.
"What do you think?" she asked. He stared at her, piercing green perfect eyes that made her shudder. He looked away, staring at the trees. Moon sighed; she had been trying to get some response out of Night for some time now. She got up, and followed Fire and Golden into the forest. She could hear Night following her, and at the same time wishing he would do something for himself. Fire and Golden were staring at a huge tree, one of the tallest ones she had ever seen.
"There's a lot of prey here," Golden meowed, "Let's hunt!" Fire bent his head at a root.
"This is a big enough root for all of us today," he said. Moon made a face.
"We have to stay there? We're going to get our pelts dirty." Night made a small gasp. The group looked at him. The black cat's eyes were wide with alarm.
"What is it?" Golden meowed. He looked around the forest, sniffing, as if searching for something. Is it here? Is the thing that he's looking for, here? She thought to herself, but she instantly dismissed it. How could it be in this awful forest? Still, Night made no acknowledgment of their existence. He stood up, and walked, mindlessly deeper into the forest. The group sat there, watching the shrubs that he disappeared behind, in silence. After a couple of heartbeats, Golden meowed, "Some cat should go with him, make sure he doesn't get into trouble." Moon nodded, "I'll go, I think this is important." She stood up and walked in the direction he went into.
"You should go with them," Golden's soft meow to Fire said, "Make sure they don't get into trouble." She rolled her eyes, despite the truth in his words. Night was alone, sniffing the floor, moving every now and then. Moon had taken an interest in his behavior.
"Night, what are you looking for?" she asked, practically begging for an answer that made sense. He stopped, and then looked straight at her.
"Can't you feel that?" he asked, looking up at the blocked sky. She froze.
"Feel what?" He didn't respond, and just went back to his sniffing. She followed him, looking around pretending to be occupied while she was watching him out of the corner of her eye. What is he searching for?
"Night, can I help you look for whatever you need?" He stopped again.
"Can't you feel that?" he asked again.
"Feel what?" Golden's annoyed meow came from behind them. Both cats looked back. Fire wasn't with him. The white cat stalked over to Moon, looking annoyed. Tail twitching, he sat next to her.
"Is he being useful?" he asked. The she-cat wanted to let out a mrrooooww of laughter.
"He's just being himself! Useful… isn't him." What kind of response was that? she scolded herself.
Golden stopped shuffling and looked at her. Defensively, her pelt began to rise up just in case he said something. But he only snorted and licked his arm to start washing himself again. Toms. She turned her head to look at Night again, but the spot that he was at was replaced by a bush.
Confused, she stood up and listened. The slight shuffling of the trees, the cries of small birds, but none that came from a cat except for Golden.
"Where did he go?" "Why don't you look for him?" he responded, not looking her in the eye.
"Where's Fire?" she asked, not caring. Golden stopped washing.
"He's making us a nest under that root that he showed us earlier," he meowed with disgust, "But there's no way I'm sleeping in there." Moon shrugged and walked away, and flinched when a short pain came to her paw. Startled, she stopped and looked at it. I hate the forest. Closing her eyes, she grabbed the short with her teeth, and yanked it out. I could never live here. She licked her pads a couple of times, and then started again.
The black cat wasn't too far away; she had followed his scent trail to the other edge of a really small forest. He was sitting, silently, looking up. She looked in the direction he was looking at, and almost lost her breath.
A massive cave of rock was sitting on top of a hill that overlooked some marshes, and a moor. It looked superior, as if to watch the valley below. Is that it?
"Night, is-" "Can't you feel that?" he asked again, not looking at her, "Great power!" She froze. Power?
"I'm going there," he meowed excitedly.
"Are you crazy?" Golden's meowed again, came from behind them, "It will take you all evening to get there!" But Night had already started down a hill, and was vanishing before them. Fire's scent became stronger.
"What's going on?" he asked. All Moon did was point her tail at the cave. Silence.
"Oooohhh," he mewed, like he was thinking the same thing that Golden was. More silence as the group watched their friend walk, determined.
"Ah, what the heck?" Fire meowed, "Hey Night! Wait up!" He started to chase after him. Golden snorted again, "Good luck with those two, Moon." She smirked, "Oh no, you're not staying here alone!" She started to get behind him.
"I'm not going there!" he mewed defensively, pelt rising.
"There are badgers here." His eyes widened. "There are?" "I saw one." "Bye." He ran down faster than Fire did. Moon had to turn back and laugh. Golden was absolutely terrified of badgers.
The four cats made it to the cave as the moon was rising. The three had stopped to rest, but Night had no time for resting.
"Can't you feel that?" he asked them again, hoping to get a different answer, Or question, "Great power!" Golden had gotten even more upset, because he hadn't eaten since the morning.
"The only thing I can feel, is my stomach, burning a hole in my belly!" Why can't they feel it? Night ignored the sarcastic comment, and vanished inside the dark cave. The whispers, he had heard since they arrived at the forest, became stronger.
You come at last, Night.
Welcome, Night.
He became even more excited, knowing that what he was looking for was here. But it was dark in the cave, even darker than Night was used to seeing, so he had to be careful. Remembering the instructions that the dark tabby gave him, he closed his eyes, and stepped, remembering each sentence.
You will walk five pawsteps, and then duck, the ceiling gets low. He became lower, aware that his fur was brushing rock.
Now, open your eyes, what you seek for is there. He opened them. A hole in the top of the cave, lit up the room with moonlight, and what's more:
The stone! There it was! Containing only the urge to jump for joy, he waited patiently. After a couple of heartbeats, the moon shone fully over the stone now, and he could see it clearly.
It was permanently in the wall and the ground, but with a clear, outside shell. But inside, there were whisps of shadows, darkness and the pure absence of light. Quickly, before the others could find him, he closed his eyes and bent down to touch his nose to the stone. A could chill ran up his spine as darkness surrounded him; and then he opened them.
"You come at last," a cat's voice meowed. Welcome back, Night.
You've arrived at last! Come with us Night!
The forest where no stars ever reached, where the branches blocked out the sky.
"My friends!" he greeted excitedly, "What do you ask of me?"
"You're word," the dark tabby said, with cold blue eyes. Promise us, Night. Will you help us, Night?
"What can I do for you?" he asked.
"We need an extension, Night," the tabby said, getting up and starting the circle the black cat.
Help us, Night.
We must leave this place, Night.
"The warriors of the stars trapped us in this stone. However, your arrival has freed us. But we have nowhere safe to go," the tom continued. Simple enough.
"How must I find you a place?" "Find cats," the tom stopped circling him, his voice becoming stronger, "find many that will follow you. Then, go to the gorge. Bring all of them," he paused, "You're friends will follow you in this task. Drive them away, they do not belong."
"I will do my best," Night promised.
"Call yourselves... NightClan, and then but you will not become until you come to the gorge. And then, we will rule the forest," he said, eyes sparkling with ambition, a growl forming in his throat, "As one."
He gasped, as light filled his eyes. He was crouched over. NightClan. He had to carry out what he needed to do! Getting up, he had ducked underneath the low roof of the cave, and heard the other three cats close by. They could not see him. Their scents were too laced with fear and anxiety to smell him. Silently, he slipped by the squirming cats, calling his name in the dark, and left the cave.
He had work to do.
The three cats walked, blindly through the cave.
"Night? Are you still in there?" Moon meowed. Golden bumped into her.
"Hey watch it!" she hissed.
"I can't even see where you are!" he whined.
"Both of you, cut it out!" Fire scolded, "Hold on, there's a low ceiling here."
"Where?" but Golden's meow was cut short by an "Ow!" Moon began to purr.
"I think you found it!" she said. When they ducked under, Moon almost lost her breath again.
"Wow!" she meowed in amazement.
"Look, there's a stone here!" Fire meowed. Night's not here. She began to panic, searching the moonlit room for another tunnel that he might have gone down. But as she looked around, she began to become even more anxious, for there was none.
"Moon look at this!" "What?" she asked, enraged. Both Golden and Fire were staring at the stone. If Golden is taking in interest in something, it must be good.
She stalked over to where the stone was, her anxiety and Night forgotten temporarily from her mind. She looked at it.
It was bright, and lit up from the Moon. It had a clear outside shell, and the inside shone with the stars. It was bright, and the sky above looked clear.
"Can't you hear that?" Fire's question sounded familiar.
"Hear what?" the white tom asked. "Listen." Moon stayed quiet. Soft almost windlike whispering was heard. They listened closer. It was the sound of cats.
Come to us, they said, the stone.
"The stone. What do we do with it?" Fire must have heard the barely audible sentence.
The stone, touch your nose. Come with us! it said, urgently. Moon bent down, and closed her eyes. This isn't going to work.
A cold chill ran up her spine, and she gasped for breath when she suddenly opened her eyes to somewhere else. A starlit forest, with shining leaves and a peaceful breeze. A white she-cat was staring at her.
"Ah!" Golden meowed behind her. She jumped. He was here!
"Hello," the she cat greeted them, when Fire had appeared.
"Moon? Are we-" "You are dreaming," the cat meowed, "But this is the most important you shall ever have. Darkness is rising. You must find others to destroy it. Join together, and prevent it from ruling!"
"Darkness?" Fire's determined mew broke the chill, "What Darkness?"
"Find others," she repeated, "Call yourselves a Clan. Follow the code of warriors!" she continued, her amber eyes becoming laced with fear, "Or you may be destroyed yourselves."
"Wha-"
They all woke to darkness. The moon had passed on.
"What in-" "Did you get the same dream?" Moon asked.
"What was that?" Golden seemed to be acting like they had just been attacked from a badger, "Did you get the same dream?"
"The message?" Fire asked, "The Darkness?" Golden and Moon froze.
"We did." "What could be powerful enough to do that?" Can't you feel that? Great power! Night's meow rang through her head.
"We have to figure out what to do!" Fire said, becoming determined again, "We have to destroy the Darkness." You actually believe that? she expected to hear Golden's meowed, but it never came.
"The Darkness. Right," he said instead, "We have to find other cats."
"Create the Clans," Moon continued, "We have to create our Clans."
Night was out there somewhere, and somehow, she felt like she would see him again.
Echo waited patiently in the cat crowded gorge. Ivory and Blue, his two best friends waited near him.
"You think it'll happen?" Ivory asked him, wide eyed, "Is this where we become NightClan?" Echo could only shrug. "I dunno, perhaps this is a joke."
"What do you think of Night?" Blue asked him, "He seems pretty promising, I mean after all, if he what he has been saying is true, then we have a good life ahead of us." Echo only shrugged again.
"I suppose so." The cats around them became quiet. Night was perched on top of one of the taller rock columns that stuck out of the ground in the gorge.
"Good cats! You will not be disappointed! Here, we become a Clan!" he announced. Cheering cats, which Ivory and Blue contributed to, but not Echo. He waited, hoping something good would come out of this.
"Look up at the stars!" Night meowed. It became quiet again, as cats looked up. Echo did too, and his tranquility turned to horror.
A solid black cloud was slowly drifting over the gorge. There were cries of alarm, for this was no ordinary cloud, and ever cat knew it.
"Do not be afraid!" Night shouted, "Here we become NightClan!" There were screeches of agony in that filled his blood pounding ears. His friends were screeching, and so was every other cat except Night. What's going on? Night was looking around, urgently like he was looking for something. Echo began to shove through the crowd of cats, to demand what was happening. At his abnormal movement for the crowd, Night whipped his head at him.
His green eyes pierced Echo's bones. Wow.
"What's-" "It's you." What?
"What?" he shouted over the screaming cats, "What's-" "You are the deputy of NightClan!" he announced. I am? But Echo never got to verbalize his thought.
"Cats of the Dark Forest!" his voice came over the screaming, but the cats still did, "The cat before me is not any longer known as Echo. From this moment forward, until you become leader of NightClan, you will be known as Darkmoon!" The cat's screeches turned to cheers. They chanted, loudly, his new name.
"Darkmoon! Darkmoon! Darkmoon!" It was astonishing for him. I'm the NightClan deputy! He thought excitedly.
"Let us rule the other Clans!" he shouted. The cheers broke into cheers of ambition. NightClan had been was created.