Hey, everyone!!! This is my first Warrior fanfic, so I don't know how well I'll do... Please review and tell me how I did!! This is the story of the cats of StoneClan. They are distantly related to the clan cats and the tribe cats... It'll explain it in the story. But, as always, before the story, you have to know who the cats are!!! These are the cats as they appear in the Prologue, and if a cat dies or something changes, I'll post it before the chapter. Enjoy!!!
Cats of StoneClan (prologue)
Leader: Sharpstar--a slender gray tom with gray-green eyes and unusually sharp claws
Deputy: Spiketail--a small, spiky-furred tom with black and white fur and brown eyes
Medicine Cat: Dreamwhisker--a long-furred white she-cat with pale gray eyes
Hunters and Huntresses: Pinetail--bristle-furred brown tom
Snowfall--pure white she-cat with tufts of silver-blue fur in her ears
Skyfeather--cloudy gray tom with long, soft fur and blue eyes (Apprentice-Spottedpaw)
Brownleaf--white tom with a brown, leaf-shaped mark on his chest
Darkfur--black tom
Pebblefoot--mottled gray-brown she-cat
(Apprentice-Blackpaw)
Stormcloud--dark gray tom with dark blue eyes
Eagleclaw--yellow-orange tom with a scar across his back from an eagle's talons (Apprentice-Rockpaw)
Dawneyes--tortoiseshell she-cat with eyes the color of the sunrise
Hawkwing--red-brown tom
Liontail--dark gold tom with an odd tuft of fur on the end of his tail
Graydapple--gray she-cat with lighter gray dapples over her back
Longpounce--gray tabby tom (Apprentice-Mousepaw)
Ashface--white she-cat with a splash of gray over her muzzle and eyes
Nightshine--black she-cat with a frosting of silver fur on her back
Whitefrost--white she-cat with foggy blue eyes
Bramblethorn--dark brown tom with sharp claws and fangs
Apprentices: Mousepaw--small brown she-cat
Blackpaw--black tom with a white tipped tail and white ears
Spottedpaw--pretty white she-cat with small splotches of black on her back and chest
Rockpaw--light gray tom with amber eyes
Queen Mothers: Mapleflower--mahogany colored she-cat with gold eyes (Kits-Dustkit, Amberkit, and Tinderkit)
Rabbitleap--black she-cat with white feet (Kits-Heatherkit, Badgerkit, Fogkit, and Foxkit)
Cats of StoneClan (prologue) Continued...
Sleetshower--gray and white she-cat with dark green eyes
(Kits-Frostkit, Wolfkit, Leafkit, and Rosekit)
Elders: Mistheart--pale gray she-cat with still-sharp blue eyes, the oldest cat in StoneClan
Tornpelt--a battle-scarred old tom
Cloudeyes--white she-cat with opaque blue eyes, blind
Mudears--white tom with brown patches on his ears and back
Prologue
In the mountains on the other side of the lake territory, there is a clan called StoneClan. The cats are three times the size of the cats in the clans by the lake, and are even larger than the tribe cats. They have to be, to fight off the many dangers in their territory--mountain lions much larger than Sharptooth, and wolf packs. From the nursery, they are taught how to deal with the harshness of their life, and surprisingly, most of the kits survive into adulthood. These cats also follow StarClan, despite the fact that their StarClan is a different group of cats than the one the other cats look to. In actuality, StoneClan's StarClan are the original StarClan, and the clan cats by the lake came from StoneClan, long ago. They have no idea how close they are to their origins, how close they are to the original ancestors.
Long ago, long before the clans were formed in the forest, a group of cats grew unhappy with their life on the mountain. They banded together and tried to get the clan to move to a better home, but the majority of the StoneClan cats were proud of their mountain home. They would not leave, but the leader then, a she-cat named ShiningStar, agreed that the harsh mountain life wasn't for every cat. She told the cats that wanted to leave that she would send a group of cats with them as far as the bottom of the mountain. They agreed to this, and they set out. At first, they settled by the lake, but many of the cats were unhappy there. Half of them left, but the others stayed behind. These were the ancestors of the cats who were at the lake before the clans that are there now. For a while, the cats that had kept going settled in the mountains, but though these mountains were not as treacherous as their first home, several of the cats were still unhappy. Half of those cats moved on, while the rest stayed. These are the ancestors of the Tribe of Rushing Water, these cats who stayed. The ones who kept going finally settled in a forest on the other side of the mountains. They did not stay in a group, but split up to hunt for themselves. Eventually, there was a battle over the hunting rights, and many cats died. The spirits of those cats came to the others, who were still fighting, and showed them a better way to live. This is how those clans were formed--ThunderClan, WindClan, RiverClan, ShadowClan, and SkyClan.
Everything started with StoneClan. Just as everything will end with StoneClan.
This tale starts after the clan cats have moved back to the lake. All is not well in StoneClan. The wolves have had enough of being driven away by cats half their size. The mountain lions want more hunting territory. They have decided that enough is enough, and have been attacking StoneClan more often. More cats have died or been horribly injured in the past few seasons than they have since before ShiningStar's time. As always with the clans, this story begins with a prophecy.
The moon shone bright on the mountain, the sky clear and the stars plainly visible against the inky black of the night sky. In a sheltered cleft in the mountains, where a cold mountain stream made a small waterfall into a calm pool, three cats were sitting there, gazing at the sky. One of the cats shuddered, and the others looked to him. One, a silver she-cat with bright blue eyes, followed the first cat's gaze.
"What is it, Hawksong?" she asked, her fur standing on end at the look of horror in Hawksong's eyes. "What have you seen?"
Hawksong closed his golden eyes, "Death. I have seen the destruction of the entire clan." He shook his head, "When the moon shines red, shadow shall cover all, and gleaming fangs shall be the end of the cats on the mountain."
The third cat wailed with terror, "What shall we do for them? Is there no hope?!"
The silver she-cat gave Hawksong's ear a comforting lick, "Whatever happens, we will not abandon them," she said calmly.
Hawksong blinked at her, a spark of hope coming into his eyes, "Yes! I believe that is the key..." he looked back to the moon, and when he spoke again, his voice held more power than before, "When all seems lost, help shall come. Those who have long been lost shall be found. The spark that lights the fire will lead them home."
The silver she-cat nodded, her bright blue eyes peaceful, "I will tell Sharpstar." With that, she turned and bounded into the scraggly brush that sparsely covered the mountainside.
Some distance away, in a deep cave high on the mountainside, a slender green tom slept in his den, high above the cave floor. He began to twitch in his sleep. He was dreaming, and in his dream, he chased the biggest rabbit he had ever seen. He ran after it, his paws pounding against the cold rock beneath him, and yet the rabbit got no closer and no farther away. With a yowl of fury, he leaped, but he had miscalculated. He landed on the edge of the path beside the rabbit, and he slipped over the edge of the cliff. He yowled as he fell, twisting and turning through the air, beneath him, he saw only sharp rocks.
Suddenly, something changed. He felt a breath of warm wind caress his fur, guiding him gently away from the drop that would surely lea to death. He landed gently in the bushes that lined another steep mountain path. He lay there for a moment, just breathing, until he heard a low, rumbling purr of amusement. He turned his head to see a shining silver she-cat with bright, serene blue eyes. He pulled himself into a sitting position and dipped his head to her.
"Thank you for saving me, Shiningstar," he murmured, licking his fur to smooth it.
Shiningstar flicked her ears at him, "No need, Sharpstar. I don't believe that would have turned out badly, but you never know how dreams will affect the waking world," she pondered this for a moment, her glittering blue eyes never leaving his face, "But that is not why I'm here. There has been a prophecy, and it does not bode well for the clan." She closed her eyes and spoke clearly, her voice ringing and echoing with power, "When the moon shines red, shadow shall cover all, and gleaming fangs will be the end of the cats on the mountain."
Sharpstar held his breath, "What does it mean? Gleaming fangs? And I've never seen a red moon before..." His unusually long, sharp claws slid from their sheaths, "Is there nothing we can do to stop this? Can StarClan not help us?" his eyes were desperate, pleading with her.
Shiningstar shook her head sadly, "You know very well that StarClan can only help in some ways. They are not all powerful. They cannot stop the inevitable."
Sharpstar dropped his head, his shoulders drooping, "Then what hope is there for my clan?"
Shiningstar laughed, "Do not yet give up hope. There is a second part to the prophecy."
Sharpstar looked up at her, "What can save us from this future?" he asked, his voice soft.
The star-bright she-cat got to her paws, "When all seems lost, help shall come. Those who have long been lost shall be found. The spark that lights the fire will lead them home."
He frowned, "Who has been lost? How will a spark find anyone?" He jumped up, his tail lashing back and forth, "I need more than this! You cannot just leave us to die!" hissing, he turned and stalked off a few steps. When Shiningstar spoke again, he turned to look at her. She had not moved.
"This will not come to pass for many seasons. All I can tell you for sure now is that help will come. You will not be destroyed," she stood, the ripple of her muscles impressive under her glittering fur. She padded quietly over to him, and touched her nose to the top of his head, "Be at peace for now, Sharpstar. Wake up."
Sharpstar jerked awake in his den, his breath coming fast. He smelled an acrid stench in the air, and a cat was wailing outside his den. He got to his feet, shaking scraps of moss from his fur. There was a shriek from outside, and he bounded out of his den and down to the cave floor. A strange haze filled the cave, a cloud of....smoke?
His deputy, a small white cat with a line of spiky black fur from the crest of his head down to his tail named Spiketail, darted past, a water-soaked clump of moss clamped in his jaws. He was running to the nursery. Sharpstar followed him. When they reached the nursery, Sharpstar stopped, his eyes reflecting the fire that burned part of the bush that made up the nursery for the expecting she-cats and their kits. Cats were being evacuated, the queens picking up their kits and herding them away from the fire. One she-cat was wailing, trying to go back into the burning nursery. One of the other queen mothers held her back.
"No, Mapleflower! You can't go back inside! Think of your kits!" she hissed, holding down the struggling queen.
"That's what I'm doing, you flea-bitten scrap of fur!!" Mapleflower shrieked, clawing at her clan mate. "The littlest one is still in there!"
"There's a kit trapped inside?!" Sharpstar meowed in shock. Just then, more cats arrived carrying soaked moss. They threw the moss on the fire, and slowly, it was extinguished. Sharpstar watched as a soft-furred gray tom shoved his way into the nursery, "Where is Dreamwhisker?" Sharpstar asked, "Dreamwhisker?!"
A long-furred white she-cat with pale gray eyes skidded to a stop next to him, a bundle of herbs in her mouth, "Here I am, Sharpstar. Is anyone injured?"
The queen who was restraining Mapleflower looked over at them, "Sleetshower has a burn on her shoulder, and Leafkit's been coughing."
As she was telling Dreamwhisker who all was injured, the gray tom came out of the nursery carrying a tiny kit in his mouth. He came over to Mapleflower and set the kit next to her, "You can let her up now, Rabbitleap," he told the she-cat holding Mapleflower still.
The black she-cat sniffed and sat back, curling her tail around her white paws. She gathered her kits together with one paw, dragging them to her so she could give them a good washing. As they complained loudly, Mapleflower was busy nosing her kit, licking it. It was a little she-cat, a brighter red than her mother, with white on her cheeks and on her throat and underbelly. Her little paws were white, too, and her tail-tip. She mewled pitifully, and she had good reason to--her right eye had a nasty burn over it.
"Dreamwhisker!" Mapleflower called desperately, "She's hurt!"
The medicine cat made her way over to the kit and her mother. She quickly assessed the injury, "This is a bad burn, but I think maybe I can save the eye," she pushed her bundle of herbs towards a beautiful white she-cat with silvery-blue fur arcing gracefully out of her ears, "Snowfall, will you treat Sleetshower's shoulder? There's some honey in there too, for Leafkit's throat."
Snowfall nodded her slender white head and picked up the herbs in her mouth. She tore open the bundle with her teeth and started to chew up some goldenrod to put on the burn. Her paws were gentle as she patted it onto the wound. Assured that the injured cats were in safe paws, Dreamwhisker bent her head to pick up the injured kit. Mapleflower stopped her, picking up her kit gently with her teeth. She nodded for Dreamwhisker to go ahead to the medicine cat's cave. With a shrug, Dreamwhisker padded quickly to her cave to get things ready for the kit. As she passed Spiketail, she paused.
"Do you have any more soaked moss?" she asked, glancing back at Mapleflower with her kit.
A young white she-cat with a distinctive patch of gray over her face came forward with a big clump of soaked moss, "I do," she mewed through her mouthful of moss.
"Thank you, Ashface," Dreamwhisker purred, taking the moss from her, "Good and damp," she mumbled through the moss. She continued on to her cave, not setting the moss down. When Mapleflower got there, she set the kit down in a nest that Dreamwhisker kept for the sick cats.
"Can you help her, Dreamwhisker?" Mapleflower asked, nosing the kit anxiously.
Dreamwhisker didn't answer at first, using the moss to gently wash the kit's eye. She chewed up a little goldenrod to help the wound heal, and added on a little chewed comfrey root to soothe the burn. She fed the kit one tiny poppy seed to help with the pain and help her sleep. When she was done, she turned to Mapleflower, "Now that I've seen the wound better, I can tell you that it will scar, and that there's a good chance she'll be able to see out of the eye if it opens." She looked back down at the tiny kit, which had been born earlier that day, "With her so young, it's hard to tell. It's up to StarClan now."
Mapleflower whimpered softly. This was her first litter, and she hadn't even had a chance to name the kits yet. She looked up as the gray tom that had gone into the nursery to get the kit came into the cave, carrying one of Mapleflower's kits in his mouth. He was followed by Sharpstar, who carried the other kit. They laid them in a nest next to the injured kit. The gray tom pressed his muzzle to Mapleflower's cheek.
"How are you doing, Flower?" he asked softly, "Is she going to be okay?"
Mapleflower pressed herself against his warm, soft fur, "Oh, Skyfeather! Dreamwhisker says she's not sure if she'll be able to keep her eye!" she shook with stress, her eyes squinted shut. She buried her muzzle in her mate's fur.
He licked her ears, "It'll be fine. She can get by with one eye, and we'll love her as much as the other kits." He nudged her towards the nest the two uninjured kits were in, "Right now, your other kits need you too."
Sharpstar broke off from where he'd been mewing urgently with Dreamwhisker, "Have you named the kits yet?" he asked softly.
Skyfeather looked at Mapleflower, "It's your choice, Flower."
She studied each kit in turn, "This one's the color of that dirt by my favorite tree, but I don't want to name him 'Dirt.'" She looked up at the cats waiting for her to make her choices, "What's a nicer word for dirt?"
Sharpstar laughed, "Ground."
Skyfeather mewed, "Soil."
"Dust," Dreamwhisker murmured.
Mapleflower nodded, "I like dust. I'll call the little tan kit Dustkit." She looked at the next kit, an light orange-red she-cat, "This one looks like a sunrise, but Dawneyes already took that name. Hmm... I like the name Amberkit."
Dreamwhisker gazed calmly at Mapleflower, "What about the last kit?" she asked, knowing it would be hard for her to name the injured kit when it still wasn't a sure thing that she would survive.
Mapleflower looked at her last, smallest kit with love in her eyes, "I want to call her Tinderkit," she meowed firmly.
"Tinderkit?" Sharpstar meowed in surprise, "I guess I can see why..."
Mapleflower nuzzled sleeping Tinderkit, "My sweet little Tinderkit, grow big and strong, and please open your eyes. Both of them..."
Did you enjoy it? I'll put up the next chapter soon, so don't worry!!!! Remember to review!!!!