Disclaimer: Warriors © Erin Hunter. Not me.
Author's Note: Hi everybody! This is my first fanfiction set in the world of Warriors. This takes place about six moons after the Omen of the Star's series is finished (even though it isn't yet.) Not much excitement yet but this is only the prologue. More cats and action to come in later chapters! Please enjoy and review. =]
The stars were cold and cruel tonight, much like the air around. A thin layer of frost had covered the ground since the sun had set, and Jayfeather thanked Starclan that he had stocked up on all the precious herbs that would be killed by coming leaf-bare. Plodding over the hilly moors of Windclan, the medicine cat ignored the cries of his apprentice behind him. If Cherrypaw wanted to be his protégée, she could start with not stopping and staring at every leaf and twig, insisting there could be a sign hidden within it.
Sometimes, Jayfeather believed that she did it just to mock him.
Halting suddenly, the tom-cat raised his sightless blue eyes to the sky and took a deep breath. A familiar scent washed over his nostrils, and with the cracking of sticks and soft paw pads crushing grass, the grey cat whipped his head around and could practically see the Shadowclan scents swirl together to form Littlecloud.
"Good evening, Jayfeather." The black and white male dipped his head politely. The Thunderclan cat followed suit,
"Littlecloud. How are things in Shadowclan?"
"Fine, but things will change as soon as the first snow falls." Both medicine cats raised their heads to the sky as Cherrypaw finally caught up to her mentor, breathless. Nodding a greeting, the small she-cat sat down, trying to regain her breath from the sudden dash.
"Hello, young one!" Another voice called from across the hills. Soon the mottled grey ball of fur, Kestrelflight, flew across the grass and skidded to a stop before the three cats, "how was you first moon as an apprentice?"
"Fine, thank you." The young red she-cat beamed at the recognition.
"Has anybody seen Mothwing or Willowshine? We're going to be pushing moonhigh as it is." The Thunderclan medicine cat interrupted, his voice annoyed.
"We'll go ahead, they'll catch up." Littlecloud reassured, placing his tail lightly on Jayfeather's shoulder. "Calm down. The Moonpool isn't going anywhere."
"Yes, but should we dishonor our ancestors by being late?" Jayfeather didn't wait for a response before plodding off, following the cold, clear scent of stream water.
"What's his problem?" Kestrelflight demanded, moving forward to stand where the dark grey tom had just seconds before. Cherrypaw shrugged, sighing as her tail drooped, "he says something's not right tonight." Littlecloud sighed, taking a deep breath of air. Cherrypaw followed suit—there was a strong wave of Riverclan scent. The Shadowclan healer waved his tail, motioning for all the cats to hurry to the Moonpool.
I don't get why Jayfeather has to be so surly, Cherrypaw thought fiercely, stomping after her mentor on short legs. Ever since she had begun her training as a medicine cat's apprentice, a part of her had regretted it. If she had been training as a warrior, she might have at least gotten some praise. Even Molekit, who wasn't the brightest of the warriors in training, was showered with approval upon catching his first sparrow.
"Cherrypaw, let's go!" Jayfeather's angry yowl sent her scampering up to her mentor's side, struggling not to quiver as she padded with the lithe grey tom.
After some distance, the Medicine Cats stopped again, having been joined by Willowshine and Mothwing. Each took a deep breath of night air. Cherrypaw could taste the faintest tinges of cold water against her tongue.
Jayfeather was the first to begin walking again. "Let's keep moving." Was all he offered. The young, ginger apprentice followed her mentor faithfully, leaping over rocks and tiny tributaries of the Moonpool stream, determined to keep up. Soon, the frozen grass gave way to chilled, smooth stone and Jayfeather felt his paws slip into ancient paw prints preserved in the rock, leading him down to the water of the sacred pool.
"You remember what to do, don't you?" Jayfeather bend down to question Cherrypaw in a hushed voice. She nodded vaguely, staring wide eyed at the beauty of the stars reflected in the crystalline waters. Slowly walking behind her mentor, the small cat bent down and touched her nose to the water, sending tiny ripples across the surface. Following with her tiny, pink tongue, Cherrypaw lapped up a tongue-full of water. It tasted like liquid starshine, and sent her to sleep as soon as it slid down her throat.
At first there was only darkness. Cherrypaw began to panic, not being able to see anything or feel the presence of any familiar cat. Blinking hard, her vision began to clear and she found herself in a clearing surrounded by tall trees. The she-cat blinked as she saw that the trees were totally made of ice. The leaves were heavy with sharp icicles and snow.
Staring, Cherrypaw felt another pelt brush hers. Lashing out, she stopped her paw only centimeters from Jayfeather's tail.
"Watch it!" He hissed, sending his apprentice cowering behind his legs. "What are you doing here?" Cherrypaw paused for a few moments, working up the courage for a response. "I could ask you the same question. This is my dream after all."
Jayfeather sighed, shaking his head as he strode over and examined the base of a tree. There were four of them, placed around a massive rock so tall that any cat who stood atop it couldn't help but be respected.
"Where are we, do you know?" Cherrypaw's voice had lost its edge and now seemed fascinated. This was her first real dream from Starclan—her first ceremony had proved uneventful other then meeting with her warrior ancestors. Jayfeather flicked his tail, signaling he was thinking as he took in the massive clearing. It took Cherrypaw a few moments to remember that in dreams, her blind mentor could see.
The grey tom turned to face her, confusion in his cloudy eyes. "I've been here a few times before. This is the old forest. The ones the elders always speak of. I think this is where all the clans met each moon." Cherrypaw turned around, paws leaving soft tracks in the snow beneath her. Sighing, she closed her eyes and took a deep breath. It was almost possible to smell all of the cats mingling together; to see them speaking and laughing and reporting on clan goings on.
Suddenly, Cherrypaw's reverie was interrupted by a frightened yowl. Turning to face her mentor, the young cat felt a cold wind kick up and throw powdery snow into both of their faces. The clearing shook as gusts rocked through it with thunder like crashes, sending icicles down just tail lengths away from both cats as they struggled not to be blown away.
"Jayfeather, what's happening?" Cherrypaw screeched, digging her claws deep into the ground. Jayfeather yowled a reply, but it was drowned out by a great crack of deafening noise as an ice tree's trunk snapped. It collapsed, quickly followed by another and another until all four trees were lying, defeated, on the icy forest floor.
Each burst of wind was so relentless and fierce that the young medicine cat constantly had to remind herself that this was only a dream. But then why does it feel so real?
"Listen, vessels of our words, the time has come." A voice that sounded like many yet rang out as one roared through the wind. Blinking back snow, Cherrypaw could make out faint outlines of felines, almost like a band of starry cats standing a few fox lengths from her and her mentor. Was this Starclan delivering a message?
"Hear us well, for these words shall effect generations of cats to come." Cherrypaw tried to yell an answer, that she was ready to receive whatever Starclan wanted of her, but the young cat's words were lost in the tornado of wind and strong voices.
"O vessels.
Snow's deception shall rip apart the sky. Promise is you're only hope.
Mistrust and Anger shall become abundant, clouding water with blood and carnage. Guide the four to greatness, or all shall perish beneath hungry waves."
Frightened by the severity of the words, Cherrypaw opened her mouth to question them but instead was met with another blast of wind, this one stronger then any before it. Scrabbling for purchase on the icy ground, the young cat found none and felt her tiny body being thrown across the sky. Screaming, she braced for a fatal impact with the ground.
Cherrypaw couldn't seem to open her eyes fast enough. All she wanted was out of this terrifying darkness that Starclan had brought on her. The message, the prophecy… it still rang long and loud in her ears, each word of impending destruction more frightening then the last. Flicking open her green eyes, the ginger she-cat could feel the rustling of Jayfeather's pelt beside her own. He had been in her dream, hadn't he? Or was he just a figment put there by Starclan?
The tom's voice was nothing more than a rumble, "Cherrypaw? Did you have the dream too?" So it hadn't just been a figment. She nodded, still trying to collect herself after the drastic measures their ancestors had taken delivering the omen.
"Jayfeather—great Starclan that was terrifying! All the ice and that terrible voice!"
From across the pool, Kestrelflight stirred, quickly followed by Littlecloud and the others. "You had it too?" Both cats nodded in unison, their grumpy relationship cast aside in the moment.
"What do you think it means?" Willowshine got to her paws and shook her shimmering fur, as if trying to rid it of the weight of what had been said. Her fellow healer just looked uncomfortable.
Jayfeather pondered for a moment, ever calm when it came to deciphering Starclan's messages. "I think it means hard times are coming for the clans. Who or what could the four be, do you suppose?" His inquiry was met by shrugs. Jayfeather sighed before going on, "Our leaders need to know about this. From all the ice and what the prophecy said about snow… I'll bet something terrible is going to happen this leaf-bare." The Thunderclan cat's interpretation was met by frightened nods. By some unspoken command, each cat got up and began padding up out of the pool's basin, heading towards their own territories. Cherrypaw lost no time in bounding along after her mentor.
"Jayfeather—I thought we weren't supposed to talk about our dreams with other cats." Her green gaze was met with his opaque blue one, for once not filled with disapproval but rather with alarm and frantic thoughts.
"In a case where disaster like this is promised," he softly hissed, "all medicine cats and leaders must know of any messages. That's why we're here. When something is said to affect the clans like this…" he shuddered, shaking his pelt and bursting off into a sprint over the Thunderclan border.
This time, frightened that he would leave her behind for real, Cherrypaw followed, thinking of how the clans might be destroyed, and what hope could possibly be left for any of them.