Prologue:
Small silver, black patterned paws slipped from the stone the she cat was sitting upon. She flinched, cold droplets of icey water dappling her already water slick paws. Hollow Drop grumbled, her tail flicking with annoyance.
"Mouse brained waterfall," she muttered sharply, flashing the huge water mass a fierce look. She sighed, her gaze turning from the waterfall back to the small hole in her chilled dens ceiling.
Her focus was shifting constantly, one moment to the entrance to her den and the next back at splash of water that suddenly appeared on her cavern floor. The one thing that kept her attention throughout however was the thought of hunger cats and starving, mewling kits. She gave her den a hiss.
"Ack!" she spat as she began to slip off of the Seer's Stone, her paws scrabbling at the top of the rock.
"It's like the greats are punishing me," she whispered to herself, her flank making contact with cold stone floor.
"Hollow Drop?" rasped an elders voice, making Hollow Drop jump.
"Ah it's just you Misty Pool," the silver bangle she cat sighed "What do you need? Are the ticks bothering you again? I think I have some mouse bile left."
"No no," purred Misty Pool with amusement "Though now that you mention herbs, my joints have been aching a little, but that's not what i'm here for."
"Then what are you here for?" Hollow Drop meowed, sifting through a small pile of herbs with her muzzle. She found three large oval shaped leaves and grabbed them gently with her jaws, beginning to chew them.
"I came to see if you have had a vision yet," Misty Pool, grooming her blue-ish grey fur with tentative licks. Hollow Drop froze, her heart almost skipping a beat. She looked down slowly, seeing that her half chewed daisy leaves had fallen to the ground in an embarrassing mess.
"A-a vision?" Hollow Drop questioned, nervously putting the mashed up daisy leaves in her mouth.
"N-no," the bengal cat spluttered clumsily "No, I haven't had a vision yet." Misty Pool rolled her wise brown eyes, an exasperated sigh leaving her maw as her gaze settled on Hollow Drop.
"Have the greats abandoned us?" the elder muttered, taking Hollow Drop aback "I mean they've let those darn badgers and foxes kill half our tribe…"
"They even let them kill Bracken Foam," Misty Pool spat, venom trailing her remark.
Hollow Drop sighed "I know that Bracken Foam was dear to you," she mewed, nuzzling the angered feline "You know that I lost Snow Gleam to them too…"
Misty Pool leaped away from her, her eyes glittering with furious tears "He was my mate!" she choked "Maybe we should just leave this fox dung pile of a territory."
Hollow Drop felt her fur fluffing up in anger as her eyes burned with sudden fury "Leave our territory?!" she hissed "Are you mouse brained?"
"I'd like to think that I'm not," replied Misty Pool "In fact I may be the only cat in this place with some sense!" The elder huffed out of the icey den with a final hiss.
Hollow Drop watched as the blue grey she cat faded out of view into the snow covered night, the elders shoulders hunched and her head low. Hollow Drop grunted, her fur still prickling from the small though flaming argument. She padded out of her stuffy den when the figure of the cat had disappeared, leaving only anger infused guilt.
"I should really get out more," she meowed to herself as she entered a huge, hulking tree hollow that was home to most of their tribe. The familiar musty scent of the oak calmed her slightly, enough to make her fur at least begin to lay flat on her skin.
"Ah hello Hollow Drop," purred a she cats voice. Hollow Drops head whipped around quickly, attempting to find the source of the meow as her eyes adjusted to the darkness. She could hear a soft chuckle come from we're the voice had echoed and she hobbled over to it blindly.
"It's me Hollow Drop," spoke the voice again, now much closer "Clover Tear."
"Oh it's just you Clover Tear," The bengal gasped "Sorry, i'm used to at least having moon to help me see."
"Your fine," the she cat mewled "I remember my first night in the forest, it was much better then this place." Hollow Drop could start see Clover Tears figure, followed by her small three kits. She closed her eyes for a moment, imagining the mother's fluffed up calico fur against the tree hollow wall.
"Have you named them yet?" Hollow Drop questioned carefully, her anger disappearing as she gazed down at the kits "They are so cute!"
"Not yet," Clover Tear sighed "Bat Foot even padded all around camp yesterday asking cats for names."
Hollow Drop felt a pang in her heart, it was forbidden for StarSeers to have a mate, much less have kits "Could I have to honor of naming them?" the bengal purred softly.
"Of course," the calico mewed quietly "You are StarSeer after all."
Hollow Drop bent down closer, silently wishing that the darkness of the night would fade. She could almost feel pain as she focused on the kits, a beam of moonlight suddenly peering in, hitting each of their coats. She found herself backing away from one of the two kits, her vision interrupted by flashing images. One of the she kits tortoiseshell pelt filled her gaze.
"Huh?" she gasped breathily, the image changing swiftly. A tortoiseshell paw appeared, odd tendrils of swirling willow branches crawling their way out of the ground beginning to twist and curl up the paw. Leaves sprouted from the twigs and branches, each becoming larger it their formerly soft looking exterior became hard and rough bark. The paw moved slowly, the willow branches weighing it down as it walked. More twigs and branches created a twisting path before the enclosed paw.
"Willow Path," she muttered, the image disappearing from her vision as she whispered the words "Willow Path will be this kit's name."
"It's wonderful," Clover Tear meowed "Does it mean anything? I remember being renamed myself…"
Hollow Drop cocked her head slightly "No I don't think it means anything… You were renamed?" Even in the din Hollow Drop could make out Clover Tears figure turning, uncomfortableness emanating from her.
"I was," the mother murmured quickly "It was before you were born, Snow Gleam renamed me when I was very young. She did the renaming in secret so that cats wouldn't question it."
"Why… why were you renamed?" Hollow Drop whispered tentatively.
"My mother died," Clover Tear sighed "And my father blamed me, so he renamed me before he ran off for another tribe."
"I-I'm so sorry Clover Tear," spluttered Hollow Drop "I didn't want to upset you-"
"You didn't upset me," Clover Tear interrupted "I just don't talk about it often."
"Right," Hollow Drop said, hesitating for a moment before asking "If you don't mind me asking… what was your name?"
Clover Tear let out a soft laugh and sighed "It was Lucky Lily. It was a bit odd for a name but my father's name was Sparrows Luck and my mothers name was Lily. He renamed me Clover Tear just to be ironic."
"Both of your names are beautiful," Hollow Drop smiled "Now let's get back to naming your kits."
Clover Tear nodded slowly, giving her other kit a small lick. Hollow Drop bent back down again, expecting to see more images flash over her vision. The she cat stood their for a moment, confusion glazing her eyes.
"Ack!" she gasped, leaping back from the mother as an echo of something filled her ears. It sounded like chirping birds, maybe even the flap of a wing here and their.
"Are you ok?" Clover Tear whispered "You flinched."
"I-I'm fine," muttered Hollow Drop as the sound vanished "I just heard something, that's all."
"Oh ok," the calico sighed "Do you have a name in mind?"
"I have the first part," Hollow Drop replied "Echo."
"How about Echo Mask," Clover Tear merrowed "It's quite pretty name."
"It suits her too," Hollow Drop added.
The she cat stayed silent for a moment, pressing her pelt against the trees iner bark. Hollow Drop tensed, the silence unnerving to her ears.
"StarSeer," Clover Tear murmured "You seemed upset when you walked in, is something bothering you?"
"There's no need to call me StarSeer," Hollow Drop mewed "And… yeah, Misty Pool and I got into an argument."
Clover Tear chuckled "Elders tend to be pretty prickly."
"It wasn't like that," Hollow Drop bristled "She was talking to me about the fox and badger problem and I guess I just said the wrong thing and she flipped, even said that we should leave the territory."
"Oh," Clover Tear sighed "I see." Another moment of silence passed as Clover Tear seemed to ponder the bengals words.
"She has a point," the calico finally meowed "They killed Snow Gleam, Bracken Foam, even Rough Ridge."
Hollow Drop felt her temper flare, her eyes beginning to blaze with fury "This is our home!" she cried, not caring that she had woken the whole nursery "Am I the only cat that is still loyal to our ancestors?"
She could see one of other queens heads pop up from the dark hollow "Quiet down!" the mother called "My kits were asleep!"
"Sorry Rusting Dawn," replied Clover Tear before turning to to Hollow Drop "With all do respect StarSeer, me and Rusting Dawn have to get out kits to fall back asleep, please go."
Hollow Drop stomped out with an angry grunt, padding back to her cavern in the soft moonlight.
A star covered moor seemed to fade into existence before Hollow Drop, the plain stretching out for miles. The young StarSeer knew this place well, the Greats realm. Her fur was fluffed up as she floated in the starry meadow, waiting for something, or someone to appear.
A bright glow began emanate from a space in front of her. The light was a soft red-ish color with hints and streaks of darker russet fur. Two golden pupiless eyes glinted in the mess of colors and fur.
"Hello the great Dawn Cat," Hollow Drop meowed hurriedly, attempting to bow in mid air "It's an honor to finally meet you." The cat came into full focus at her greeting, her pelt covered in what seemed to be shards of stars.
"Greetings Hollow Drop," the Dawn Cat purred, giving the silver bengal a friendly wave of her bushy tail. "And please, call me Dawn or Dawns Wing."
"Dawns Wing?" Hollow Drop mewed in surprise "I thought your name was just Dawn."
"It was, before we found this place," Dawns Wing said "Now I have some… news." A slight tone of urgency trailed the spirits statement. Hollow Drop felt a worried, slightly sickened feeling in her stomach, her ears flitting back.
"Is everything alright?" Hollow Drop questioned tentatively, her fur standing on end.
"I'm afraid that for the past few moons Sun Cloud and Moons Crest have been restless," the russet tabby meowed " I can't tell you everything, Sun forbids it, but I will try my best to give the basics. A dark future is coming to the tribe, you must prepare for the worst. Tw-"
Hollow Drop cried out instinctively "Wait, what's going to happen!"
"Don't interrupt me," Dawns Wing sighed, waiting for the StarSeer to quiet "Two kits will play a role in this, either to save your tribe or destroy it. You must help guide them to victory. That is all I can tell you, farewell young Seer."
The few tail lengths of stars that were between them broke open, a fog appearing out of the tear to separate them. The fog was thick and heavy, drenching
"D-Dawns Wing wait!" cried out Hollow Drop, curling tendrils of fog enclosing her her legs and throat, making it hard to speak "What's going to hap-"
Her voice cut off suddenly as the mist seemed to tighten around her neck, not passing through her as Hollow Drop had expected. She could no longer draw in air from her surroundings as the fog choked her. Panic set in, her paws beginning to try and desperately scrabble at the fog covering them. The mist tightened it grip on her paw, straightening them out, making her look like an odd statue.
She bolted up from her sleep, gasping for air. Her head whipped around to look for any trace of the fog. She was only faced with the dawn light dappling the inside of her den.
"Dawns Wing," she muttered to the flickering light " Thank you." The bengal got up from her dens floor and turned to face the rising sun, readying herself for whatever was ahead.
I'm back! Sorry for not posting in a while. Anyway this is an old idea that I wanted to redo, so here it is! I hope you enjoyed!
-Star