The Tribe of Falling Snow:
Healer:
Snow That Falls From Sky (Snow)- Pure white she-cat with one black paw, first ever Healer of The Tribe of Falling Snow.
Prey Hunters:
Stars on Cloudy Night (Stars)- Dark gray she-cat, with lighter stripes on her face and blue eyes.
Eclipse on Full Moon Night (Eclipse)- Pure black tom, with vibrant green eyes. Best tracker in the Tribe.
Grass That Grows on Mountainside (Grass)- Bracken colored tom, pale gray eyes, one of the best hunters in the Tribe.
Cherry Blossom That Blooms In Spring (Cherry)- Pinkish-gray she-cat with cherry red eyes.
Leaf That Falls From Tree (Leaf)- Pale brown tabby she-cat with amber eyes, named for when she fell out of a tree as a kit.
Camp Guards:
Boulder That Rolls Down Hill (Boulder)- Stone gray tom with dark blue eyes, only cat in the Tribe that doesn't enjoy getting wet.
Eagle That Chases Fleeing Rabbit (Eagle)- Eagle colored she-cat with amber eyes. Heavily built, she was born a loner, and taken into the Tribe by Snow That Falls From Sky, and raised as her own kit.
Squirrel That Lives In Cave (Squirrel)- Light brown tabby she-cat with green eyes, daughter of Eagle That Chases Fleeing Rabbit and Frog That Sits on Lily.
Wind That Whispers Through Trees (Wind)- Brown-and-black tortoiseshell tom with gray eyes.
Thunder on Stormy Night (Thunder)- Black tom with orange lightning bolt stripes down his face and sides.
Queens and Kits:
None
Elders:
Sight On Misty Morning (Sight)- Pale gray she-cat with blue eyes
Frog That Sits on Lily (Frog)- Greenish-gray tom with green eyes.
none.
To Bes:
Snow on River's Ice (Snow)- Silver tabby she-cat with blue eyes
Light That Shines on Bloodstained Grass (Light)- Small gray she-cat with pale green eyes, future Healer.
Jay Who Brings Morning Light (Jay)- Dark gray tom with blue eyes, and is blind.
Hawk That Soars Through Sky (Hawk)- Golden brown she-cat with green eyes
Storm That Rides The Wind (Storm)- Black tom with silver eyes
Stream That Flows Through Mountain Silver (Stream)- Light gray she-cat with bright blue eyes
Prologue
The moon was bright, reflecting off the snow and lighting up the sparse moorland like an eternal fire. Hawk looked at her brother, whose face was raised upwards, sightless blue eyes fixed on the hunting grounds of their ancestors. The moon turned his gray pelt silver, making him look like a cat from the Tribe of Endless Hunting itself.
"He looks like he really belongs with them, doesn't he?" Hawk jumped at the sound of her sister's voice.
"Yeah, he does. I wonder what he's thinking." She turned to look at Stream, her blue eyes filled with the same wonder.
"If you want to know so bad, why don't you go ask him?" The two sisters looked up into their brother's face, his silver eyes blazing like the moon overhead. "It's not polite to wonder about cats behind their backs. He would claw your ears off if he heard you talking like that!"
The two sisters shrank back into the grass, ears flattened. "We're sorry, Storm. It's just that, we don't think he likes us very much, even though we're his sisters." Hawk's voice was shallow.
"I like you fine, when you're not talking about me behind my back." all three cats started at this, as none of them had heard the young gray tom approach.
"Jay, don't be so grumpy. They were just wondering why you were..." His voice faltered, not wanting to use the word "looking" because he knew it would offend his brother.
"Why I was smelling the air? Because I'm trying to protect my Tribe. I thought I smelled something strange, so it made sense to check it out." his sightless blue eyes were again angled upward, but this time, all four cats knew what he was doing.
He was walking with their ancestors. The Tribe of Endless Hunting had called out to him once again.
Chapter One
Jay hooked the mouse with his claw and tossed it down in front of his sister.
"Here. I thought you might want this." he could tell that she was looking at him from the way her scent changed, and the feel of her blue gaze burning into his own gray pelt.
"Thanks, Jay." her voice was gentle, but he could feel her embarrassment from the way she set her paws down.
"It's your own fault you got hurt, you know. That hawk could have killed you if Stars hadn't been there to kill it first. I thought that's what prey hunters learned on their first day: always look up." he tried to keep his voice gentle, but the anger and fear slipped through his teeth like a fish through a river.
"Jay! Leaf is looking for you!" Hawk's voice was filled with excitement as she called to him.
"Yeah. Right. Whatever." he could tell that his sister was excited to be going out. For some reason, he just couldn't share that excitement.
"Jay Who Brings Morning Light! Cheer up! We're going hunting." Leaf That Falls From Tree's voice was filled with encouragement. This would be his first time out of camp since his not-so-amazing adventure as a kit. Sniffing, Jay turned to his mentor.
"I guess we'll just get this over and done with so you can tell me how useless I am." his voice was bitter as he began to pad for the camp entrance.
Sighing, Leaf called to the other three mentors. Handling all four to-bes would be a challenge alone.
"Stars, Grass, Eagle, come on. We've got to take them out sometime before they drive everyone insane!" The cats padded over to her, and together they followed their to-bes from camp.
"Drop lower to the ground, Jay." Leaf prodded the young tom with her paw, settling his crouch. Backing away, she flicked her tail to indicate silence as Jay closed his sightless blue eyes and began to scent the air.
Silently, he began to pull himself forward. His ears flicked forward, the tiny beat of a heart filtering in.
Rocking back on his haunches, Jay Who Brings Morning Light pounced, landing squarely on the body of a squirrel. Killing it with a bite to the neck, he sent a silent prayer to the Tribe of Endless Hunting.
Thank you, Tribe of Endless Hunting. I take what is needed and no more.
Picking up his first kill, he turned to his mentor. He could feel shock coming off of her pelt in waves.
"Great catch, Jay! That was wonderful!" Hawk's meow was bright and alive. "Can I try that, Grass? Please, oh please?" Jay felt the purr of the pinkish she-cat rumble through the ground.
"Go ahead. That's why we're here." retreating back to stand by his brother and other sister, Jay dropped the squirrel and felt Storm press his pelt up against him.
"Great catch!" his brother whispered into his ear, and he felt his pelt grow hot with embarrassment.
Jay tried to focus on his sister's hunt, but something would not let him. It pricked at him like a tick hidden deep in his pelt.
Suddenly, he felt as if he had just been dropped out of the great aspen tree that his mother used to address the Tribe. The ground was removed from under his paws and he was soaring upwards, stars flashing past him in blazes.
I can see! Jay looked around wildly, trying to pinpoint his location, but to no avail.
"Welcome, Jay Who Brings Morning Light. We have been waiting for you." the ground re-connected with his paws and he collapsed.
Looking up, he found himself staring into the bright green eyes of a ginger tomcat. "Why have you brought me here? Where am I?" Jay's questions were blunt.
"You are in the Tribe of Endless Hunting. And we have brought you here to tell you something." the tom flicked his tail, indicating that Jay should stand up.
"Well, I'm here now, so tell me." he glared at the ancient tom.
"Come with me. The rest of the Tribe wishes to speak with you." and thus, the tom stood and began to pad away into the depths of the starry forest.
Heaving himself to his paws, Jay began to pad after the starry tom. Looking down at his paws, Jay thought, Being able to see isn't all that. I think cats would manage better if they were blind. After all, they would rely more on their other senses.
Before long, Jay could scent more cats, yet they concealed themselves to the shadows, out of his temporary vision. Though Jay had many questions, something deep inside kept him moving forward, some sense of foreboding that swelled deep inside telling him to keep silent.
"Stop here." Jay nearly slammed into the ginger tom as he stopped abruptly in a small clearing.
"Tribe of Endless Hunting, Jaysong is here." as the tom spoke, starry cats began padding from the darkened forest.
Jaysong? Who is Jaysong? Jay could not help but wonder about the strange name.
"Where are the others? Hawksight, Stormfade and Streamflight? Did they not come?" the lithe body of a tortoiseshell queen padded up to the tom.
He dipped his head and replied, "Jaysong came to us willingly. Hawksight, Stormfade and Streamflight will come in their time." nodding, the queen padded to Jay.
"Tell me, Jaysong, why have you come?" her amber eyes were bright with wonder.
"I don't know this 'Jaysong' you speak of. My name is Jay Who Brings Morning Light, and I did not come of my own accord." Jay kept his mew taught.
"Jaysong, please sit. We have some catching up to do." she flicked her tail at the spot next to her. Jay did as he was told.
"This is a story of the past. Before the Tribes, and before even the Clans. Long have we awaited your arrival, Jaysong.
Once, there was only one sky that all cats walked together. There was no Tribe of Endless Hunting, no StarClan nor any Dark Forest.
Because of this, cats soon began fighting. They all wanted to separate, as all of them came from somewhere different. Eventually, the fighting became so bad that the moon turned red and the stars began to fade.
Below the skies in the forest, four young cats were striving to survive. Their names were Jaysong, Hawksight, Stormfade and Streamflight. They were scared of the blood red moon and fading stars, fearing what would happen to them.
One night, Jaysong slept soundly. At first he dreamed of nothing more than being able to see, and upon hearing his silent prayers, a cat descended from the stars.
'I will guide your paws, Jaysong. The gift of sight is not yours, but the power of blood is. Come with me, Jaysong. I have something to show you.'
The starry cat and Jaysong ascended to the heavens, where Jaysong was witness to the final, bloodiest battle. As the cats fought with all of their might, the sky was drenched in blood.
'This is what it's come to, Jaysong. Save us.' and then the starry she-cat raced into the battle. Leaping onto a stone in the center of the clearing, Jaysong begged for the cats to stop.
'Stop this madness! Stop right now!' And as quickly as it had begun, the battle was over.
'From this day forward, I separate these skies! Thunder, River, Wind, Shadow, you are to be Clans. Your cats will share this forest and how you rule is yours.
Snow, Fire, Leaf, Rain, you will be Tribes. The mountains belong to you and how you rule is yours.
Clans, you are to be StarClan. Tribes, you are to have the Tribe of Endless Hunting. Teach your cats how to survive.'
And thus, here we are. Jaysong saved the cats of Clan and Tribe and any in between. Jaysong saved the skies and the moon.
Soon after, Jaysong himself died and went to govern both StarClan and the Tribe of Endless Hunting." Pausing, the she cat looked over her shoulders at a blue-gray she cat. At the signal, the other she cat padded forward.
"Greetings, Jaysong. I am Bluestar of ThunderClan. I have been granted to walk these skies to tell you something." her crystal blue eyes searched Jay's for something, though he had no clue what it could be.
"Something bad is coming, Jaysong. 'The moon will die and the stars will fall, Jay's song will save us all'" as she finished speaking, Bluestar backed away.
The last thing he saw was her blue eyes reflecting the moon, and then darkness crashed down on his vision once more.
"Run, Jay! Get out of here!" Hawk's voice was filled with panic, almost drown out by the snarling of something big.
Turning tail, Jay raced for the camp, screaming "Wolf!" at the top of his lungs. As he broke through the barrier, his legs buckled and he collapsed and the last thing he heard was Bluestar's voice in his ear,
"The moon will die and the stars will fall, Jay's song will save us all..."