Dustsong gave a contented sigh, snuggling deeper into her newly replaced moss bed. Closing her eyes, she pricked her ears slightly, absentmindedly listening to the ruckus around camp. This nest reminds me of the time Cloudear and I saw a heather patch and rolled and rolled in it…,she thought, pushing deeper into the bedding.
Suddenly, a loud crash greeted her as she woke up with a jolt, face-to-face with a young she-cat that Dustsong vaguely remembered-Graypaw,she thought. "Why are you here, Graypaw? You ruined my nap!" she growled. Graypaw trembled slightly.
"I-I wanted a story…" Graypaw whimpered, pressing herself into the wall of the den. Oh no,oh no…
Dustsong looked at her incredulously. "You come barreling into me, disturb my nap, and ruin my new moss bed, and all you wanted from me was a story?" Graypaw nodded quietly, not able to say anything. Dustsong leered at her for a moment before laughing. "If that's all you want, then of course I'll comply." She chuckled, settling down on the moss, beckoning Graypaw. Slowly, Graypaw complied, and she sat down.
"What kind of story do you want to hear?" Dustsong asked her kindly. Graypaw surprised her with her answer.
"I want to know the beginning of the Clans!" Graypaw said excitedly, looking like she could jump up and down- startling, considering how she had acted before. "Please…"
Dustsong nodded. "I will try." Dustsong was not a very old elder; indeed, she was one of the youngest. But as she squinted her eyes a bit and thought back as far as she could, as she remembered her mother telling it to her in the warmth of the nursery, her eyes glinted with triumph; she knew it, most definitely.
Graypaw got a little impatient. "Do you know it, Dustsong?"
Dustsong nodded, but was a little curious. "Why would you want to know the history of the Clans? Aren't you too old for this?"
Graypaw shook her head. "No one is too old for a story." She said, impatient. "Go on already!"
"Yes, yes." Dustsong chuckled. She took a deep breath and could almost feel the spirits of the Great Ancients filling the den. She started up the traditional beginning.
"Listen, listen, gather around, and hear my voice and tale
Listen to stories how the humble rise, and the proud fail
Slaying foxes, conquering fears, all these I will tell
The story of the oak, the tale of the sand, and the ballad of the shell."
Dustsong looked straight into Graypaw's eyes, and started.
"Once, long long ago, there was a cat named Fang."