~I was fine, simply walking through the forest, but in a flash, something grabbed me by the scruff. I scrabbled but was quickly knocked out. When I awoke, a cat was staring down at me, and he told me he was from StarClan. I was surprised, and then he said that the only way for me to survive was to escape and find the Clans. He told me of these Clans, and before I knew it, I awoke, ready to escape to the Clans, where I would be a loner no more.~
Sand peered through the forest, blue eyes flashing curiously. When seeing nothing out of the ordinary, she continued on, keeping a sharp eye out for anything that might harm her, like a fox, or a badger. Suddenly, something grabbed her by the scruff, and she tried her hardest to get away from her unseen attacker, but was quickly knocked out by it. After being consumed by darkness, Sand found herself lying down in a starry clearing, a cat looking down on her. She quickly stood up and backed up a fox-length, eyeing the stranger warily.
"Where am I?" she finally said.
"You are in StarClan. I have brought you here myself, to tell you the only way that you can survive." The cat responded. "My name is Stonemask."
Sand eyed him curiously. "How can I survive, Stonemask?"
"You must join CliffClan." And then he told her of the Clan's ways as she sat, ensnared in the information. "You must leave. Quickly."
Sand nodded, and as she looked down on herself, she was surprised to see that she was fading away.
"You're waking up. Beware of Talon…!"
Sand's eyes opened, and she found herself in a small cave, littered with bones, mouse, and… was that cat? She leaped up, then noticed the other cat in the cave, a dark gray tabby tom. He seemed to be sleeping, so Sand crept towards the entrance, using her skills in stalking prey to not make a noise.
She traveled down a small tunnel, then burst outside, taking in deep breaths of the fresh air. Glancing warily back down the tunnel, she took off running in the direction of cliffs, assuming that was where CliffClan was.
As she got closer, she heard pawsteps other than her own behind her. It must be that other cat! She thought. What had Stonemask said? 'Beware of Talon'? That must be his name…
She poured on speed, seeing what looked like a camp, with two strong looking cats guarding it. They haven't seen me yet… As she got closer, one of the cats, a brown and white mottled tom, saw her, and told the other, a russet tabby she-cat. Don't let them think that I'm the enemy, StarClan, please..
As Sand got closer, she yowled, "Help, I need help!" She then turned and swiped at Talon, who was taken by surprise and almost ran straight into her unsheathed paw. She was soon joined by the two other cats.
"Why did you take me?" Sand demanded to Talon, hissing.
"To get my revenge… Your father killed mine!" With a furious yowl, Talon rushed forward, claws outstretched and aiming for her neck. Her eyes widened, and as if some StarClan cat was guiding her movements, she moved her paw quickly, claws unsheathed, and he ran into it, the claws going into his heart. He looked up at her, hazel eyes wide in shock and pain, then those eyes glazed over, and he slumped to the ground, dead. Sand stared at him in shock, looking at her bloodstained claws, then him again, as if not believing that she killed him.
"F-firethorn? Is that you?" The tom said, breaking the silence. Sand looked up, then shook her head.
"No.. but I think that he is my father."
"I always knew that he had kits with some she-cat outside of the Clans…" The she-cat murmured, taking in Sand's appearance.
"What happened to him? What happened to Firethorn?" Sand asked.
The tom's eyes filled with pain, and he looked away. "He was killed by a badger a moon ago." He finally mewed, his voice filled with pain. "You look so much like him, but your eyes are different…"
"Can I- can I join CliffClan?" she asked timidly.
The russet she-cat looked surprised, as if the thought hadn't occurred to her. "We'll have to ask Briarstar," she said. "Do you know about the Clan's customs?"
Sand nodded thoughtfully. "Stonemask told me." She told them, then noticed the looks of shock on their faces. "What? What is it?"
"Stonemask.. just passed into StarClan this morning." The tom whispered. "You have truly talked with StarClan…"
"My name is Poppydusk." The russet she-cat meowed.
The tom seemed to remember himself. "And I am Falconwing."
"My name is Sand," Sand said.
"We'd better get you to see Briarstar.." Falconwing murmured.
Poppydusk nodded in agreement. "We can't hold back you joining the Clan."
"I now pronounce you Sandstream!"
