A/N: *I suggest reading my first story When The Dawn Breaks for better understanding of this one-shot* So, time for some backstory on Protos and the Star Dwellers! Sort of. :D And, while cats would have existed a long time before, but I'm going and saying that the Star Dwellers started now. So, it's right around the time the Tribal cats first settled into the mountains.
Hope ya enjoy!
A small, slim silver tom-cat slipped out of the small door made especially for him. He crouched for a moment, tasting the fresh outdoor air, before padding silently down a long stone pathway. The pathway led behind the twolegs' house and into a alleyway.
But the tom didn't follow it into the alley. Instead, he crouched, hidden, in the flowers that surrounded the house. He waited for a moment, until a butterfly flitted past. He leaped at it, missing completely.
Meowing, he chased it down the pathway, fearlessly entering the darker alleyway after the golden butterfly. It flew higher, seeking the sun's warmth, and out of reach of the silver tom.
Miffed, the tom stopped, sitting onto his haunches and watching with frustration as the butterfly soared higher, sunlight making its wings shine. Now bored, the silver tom began sniffing about the alleyway.
He nosed at a cat-sized hole behind a metal can, scenting the strange scents that emmitted from it. "Hey!" A rough paw tapped his flank, and the tom jumped, whirling around. Two large cats stood behind him, tails lashing in a way that said they were upset. Gleaming eyes were narrowed at the tom, and he gulped, stepping backwards nervously.
"Get out of here!" Claws lashed across his flank, and the tom leaped forward with a yowl, crouching in front of the two toms, shaking in fear. A plump tabby she-cat exited the hole, a snarl gracing her features. "Whatcha' doin' on our territory, kid?"
The smaller silver tom shook his head, pointing at his ears. "What's wrong wit' ya? Ya deaf or somethin'?" The tabby glared. "If ya are, we ain't got not room for freaks!"
She crouched, stalking toward the tom. "Black, Lash, come on!" The two large cats that had been standing quietly behind the silver tom now stepped forward, snarls rumbling from their throats.
The tom squeaked, dashing between Black and Lash, pelting for his twoleg house. The larger cats easily caught up to him with their longer legs, and they pounced, knocking him flat. He yowled in terror, claws scraping uslessly against the smooth stone as they dragged him backwards.
Dropping the silver tom at the feet of the plump tabby, Black held him in place by stepping painfully on his tail. "Here it is." The tabby glared at him. "Y'know what we do wit' trespassers?" When she got no reply, she clawed his face angrily before continuing, ignoring the blood dripping from the slash marks.
"We kill 'em and leave 'em out as a warnin' fer others!" She nodded to the Black, and, with Lash's help, they rolled the young, crying tom over onto his back, exposing his stomach and throat.
With a hiss, the tabby sliced his throat cleanly. Lash dragged the dying tom to the alley's entrance, leaving a trail of blood. Black followed behind, using his tail to smear the blood to keep it from leaving a direct trail to the hole's entrance.
Lash dragged the soon-dead tom across the alley's entrance a few times, leaving a clear, red blood line before discarding the body to one side. Then, he and Black entered the hole.
Protos opened his eyes, blinking confusedly at the strange sight. Blackness overhead, silver grass underpaw. Trees, also silver, with white leaves, grew hither and thither, with a few rolling hills.
Standing, Protos felt his throat with his paw. It still gaped with it's wound, but there was no blood pouring from it, or even around it. His fur partially covered it. Protos swallowed nervously, taking a step forward. To his astonishment, he floated forwards and upwards slightly.
Slowly, he took another step, this time acting as if there was a step in front of him. He went up, and slightly forwards. Encouraged, he kept stepping, until he was a good several tail-lengths above the ground. From his new vantage point, he could see the trees made a vague ring about a large clearing, devoid of any silver grass.
Padding down to it, he saw that the land dipped rather abruptly down into the clearing, and the ground was covered in soft, luminescent blue moss. He padded through it delightedly, looking at the large, glowing stone that was in the center of the clearing. Squinting his eyes, he could see a faint outline of a cave surrounding the stone, but he blinked and it was gone.
He placed a paw tentatively against the stone, fur raising as he sensed the energy roiling beneath its surface. Protos closed his eyes, focusing on the energy. It poured into him, the stone brightening as it did.
Excited, Protos lashed his tail, taking more energy until he felt refreshed. Then he bounded into the sky. He found he didn't even have to move his paws anymore, instead moving himself with his mind.
He played about in the sky for a moment, before landing and padding over to a tree. Each tree sat in a pool of water. Protos studied his reflection for a moment, suprised at his new appearance.
When he had first woken up here, he hadn't looked at himself, not expecting anything other then his normal, plain silver fur. Now, it was silvery-white, and glowed, with white-blue specks that glowed even brighter. Stars. He thought, his white, glowing, pupilless eyes blinking in wonder.
Floating into the air, Protos headed upwards, only stopping when he felt the tiniest of breezes. There he floated, for how long, he knew not, until he felt tired and worn out. He floated downwards, picking up speed until a fireball formed around him. He hit the earth with a small explosion, leaving a scorch mark on the pristine landscape.
Protos climbed out of the small crater, unscathed, but still tired. He floated into the closest tree, noting that he had to move his paws once more. He curled up into a tight ball, and closed his eyes.
Time skip: Few hours' our time, ? his time.
Protos opened his eyes, and the first thing he noticed was how tired he still was. Even worse, he ached. Yawning, he floated down, not even noticing the water didn't move at all when he landed in it. No ripples rippled outward from his landing, but he kept moving, heading for the stone.
It shines like a star... no, like the moon. He thought blearily, falling against it. Pulling the energy out, he absorbed it, feeling more and more rejuvinated by the moment. Soon, he was as energized as before.
He floated into the air, wondering what to do. Perhaps there is prey? He opened his mouth and scented, but caught no scents, not even his own.
Of course I have no scent! I'm dead. He thought, taking a step, then stopped, thinking about what he had just thought. I'm dead...
The full weight of his realization crashed down upon him, and he crumpled to the silver grass, tears dripping down his muzzle. As they landed, they sparked, floating upwards toward the dark sky.
I'm dead...
The ground rumbled, throwing Protos off balance for a moment before he floated into the air. A stone pedestal was growing up from the ground, intricate carvings upon its surface. It rumbled to a halt, and another began growing out beside it. Soon there were six pedestals surrounding the Moon Stone.
Protos studied them, but could not decipher their meaning. Then, the groud rumbled again. He looked around for another pedestal, but there were none. Curious, he floated higher, scanning the surrounding area.
In a small clearing, just to the left of the Moon clearing, a small stone platform was growing from the ground. It wasn't very big, two tail-lengths by two tail-lengths. Floating down to get a closer look, Protos realized that it was only two claw-lengths high. In the center there was a large star, and, surrounding it, were small flowers.
He sat upon it, noting the cold stone with some degree of discomfort. Standing, he returned to the Moon Stone, soaking up energy as he viewed the pedestals that stood silently around him.
There was a sudden flash of light, and the small stone platform began to glow. Floating swiftly towards it, Protos was suprised to see a cat step from the midst of the glowing light. It looked like him, same starry pelt, same white eyes.
He looked at it curiously, and it looked back, before stepping forward. "I am Amara. Who are you?" The cat said, voice sounding like two cats were speaking at the same time. The voices sounded like one was a tom, one was a she-cat, so he couldn't tell if the cat was a tom or she-cat.
Protos tilted his head. "I am... Protos."
Time skip: Many Moments since second arrival
More cats populated the Place of No Stars, as they had come to call it. It wasn't really a single idea of any cat's; it had just seemed to have been always like that, always named something. As for the stone pedestals, they served as no great purpose, for now.
Nothing ever happened, however, in the Place of No Stars. No prey to hunt, no sun to bask in, only the endless black sky. There wasn't any breezes, no hotness, nor coldness, just the same degree at all times; they could feel the cool wetness of the water pools they walked through, only the faintest sensation of something swirling about around their paws.
They couldn't even feel each other. They could float through each other, and, the longer you were there, the more see-through you became. Your hindlegs merged with your tail, until you only had one, long, misty tail trailing behind you that faded into nothingness. Thus, they were forced to float about.
So, they went to the only place they could feel something physical; up. Up, until they reached the level where there was a faint breeze. Any higher, and your energy was quickly drained.
Thus, the Star Dwellers floated about aimlessly, cats who died without believing in StarClan. But the Star Dwellers didn't know about StarClan. They basically forgot everything about their old lives.
It was a hard, monotonous life. Until something happened...
Protos floated away from the Moon Stone, allowing another energy-sapped cat to take his place. He floated up, resting atop a tree for a moment. In the distance, something glowed. He, however, remained in place. It was impossible for any cat to wander to far from the Moon Stone. They grew too weak, and were forced to either return or fade away to nothingness.
Many cats would have already done this, but it was obviously painful; the cats would shriek horribly, and the others didn't want to go through that much pain simply for a way to get away from this life. It was well enough.
So Protos remained, watching as the starry shapes such as himself grew closer. As they came, the ground underneath them faded until it was mostly see-through. Protos watched the ground come into view.
There were moorlands, pine forest, thick forest, a large river, and birds, squirrels, many creatures Protos had all but forgotten. Interested for once, he watched. The newcomers halted, viewing the Star Dwellers' place with astonishment.
"Hail, you cat!" Came the call, and Protos floated down to greet them, remaining a tail-length above the ground. Behind him, other cats began to gather, some with fur fluffed in hostility.
"Who are you?" Protos asked, scanning the cats ahead of him. While the Star Dwellers' had all the same coat, these starry cats had different patterns and eye color.
"We are the ancestors of the journeying cats below."
Looking down, Protos studied the forest below. He could make out cat shapes flitting between the trees. "Why have you come to the Place of No Stars?"
"We followed the cats to watch over them, and guide them." The cat who had been speaking for the newcomers stepped forward, tail high. "We would like to rest amongest your tribe for a bit to regain our strength."
"Of course." As the newcomers stepped forward onto the silvery grass, it shimmered, and began to turn green where they walked. Gasps of astonishment rang out, from both Star Dwellers and the newcomers.
"Why does the ground change where we walk in this strange place?" A starry cat said from the newcomers ranks. "It is unnatural."
Protos twitched his tail in agreement, but said nothing, leading the new cats to the Moon Stone to absorb some energy. They looked at the stone with awe, but did nothing. Protos took his paw off the stone and looked at them. "Why do you not absorb the energy?"
The cats looked at one another. "Energy?"
"Of course. Can you not sense the energy that runs in this stone? We feed off it to keep ourselves powered up."
The cats hesitated, before the lead one stepped forward, and placed his paw against the stone. "I CAN feel the energy!" He whispered quietly, opening his eyes and looking at his cats, then to Protos. "How do I absorb it?"
"Merely pull it to you, and then absorb it." Protos shrugged, unsure of how to explain. The new cats gathered around, placing their paws against the glowing stone's surface. They began to glow brighter as they absorbed the energy.
The leader sat down in front of Protos, tail wrapped neatly around his paws. "Thank you for showing us this. It shall be very useful for speaking to the cats below."
Protos nodded, choosing to ignore his strange choice of words. Floating a bit higher, Protos watched the newcomers mingle, few taking sips of the pools of water around the trees. "How long do you propose on staying?" He asked.
"As long as we need to, I'm afraid." The lead cat was joined by another, who whispered quietly into his ear. "I have to go for now.''
All the new cats gathered together in one large group, with the lead cat in the center. They were speaking, but it uninterested Protos. Instead, he floated over to the semi-clear ground and peered through it to watch the cats below.
Time skip: Several moments later.
The new cats were huddled under 'their' tree once more, discussing intently again. They had been talking for several days now, and the Star Dwellers were growing uneasy with the newly-named StarClan in their midst.
StarClan had gotten rather pushy, insisting on leaders and a council, and, StarClan had brought many other changes in addition. The whole area of the Place of No Stars was now green, and was slowly but surely expanding. Prey began to run, plump and slow, but they merely disturbed the Star Dwellers. After all, they couldn't eat.
Protos placed his paw onto the Moon Stone, absorbing the energy rather quickly. A paw swiping through his body pulled him abruptly from the energy's stream, and he turned, no warmth in his cold white eyes. "Yes?" He said to the StarClan cat behind him. "Our leader would like to speak with you."
Floating silently behind the dark brown cat, Protos followed it to the StarClan meeting. He waited, near the center, until the leader stepped forward. "This Clan has come to a decision. Since our Clan is ever-expanding, we need room. While the territory is expanding, it is expanding at too slow a pace for our liking. While we need the Moon Stone to keep talking and walking among the Clans below, we thought the Star Dwellers could remove themselves from StarClan's territory and find a new one to float about in."
Protos' fur bristled in indignation. "Leave? We cannot-" "But you can. You do not need the prey that runs, but we do. You can find a new place."
Snarl barely hidden, Protos floated swiftly away, intending to call a gathering of the Star Dwellers. How, he wasn't sure. He placed a paw on the top of the Moon Stone, and, without thinking, shoved his anger into it. Immediatly, it pulsed red, and a shockwave rippled outwards from it.
Shocked, Protos removed his paw immediatly, and the red slowly faded, though the stone still pulsed with blue light. StarClan watched impassively from underneath their tree, but the Star Dwellers quickly gather around. Informing them of StarClan's decision riled the normally peaceful cats, and quiet a few glares were sent in StarClan's direction.
If they insist on forcefully removing us from OUR place, they shall meet with a thick wall of Star Dwellers, intent on defending our home! Protos shouted mentally. The Star Dwellers nodded, using a little-used power for the first time in many moments.
We shall defend our home, and drive these intruders away! They took our hospitality and turned it against us! They are now empowered, strengthened, by the Moon Stone's power! By using it against us, they shall meet our wrath!
Cats cheered mentally, and, to StarClan, it looked as if the Star Dwellers were simply floating in place, all watching Protos in the center. "I don't like this. What if they're more powerful then we thought?" The leader whispered to his deputy, watching with narrowed eyes.
Protos floated out to StarClan. "We have decided. We shall defend our home and drive you out instead."
"So be it." The leader nodded, claws sinking into the soft turf. Protos floated back to the Star Dwellers. "Gather as much energy from the Moon Stone as possible. We need to be at full strength."
StarClan looked at the battlefield. Less then half of the Star Dwellers faced them, and StarClan easily outnumbered them now. "Looks like they were too cowardly to face us!" Sneered a cat from the back, padding to the front.
The leader nodded. "It seems suspicious. Let's move!" They placed themselves onto the battlefield, then began padding forward to make battle. StarClan noticed a few Star Dwellers shooting into the sky, disappearing from sight. Smirks appeared on the faces of StarClan as they charged forward, but those quickly changed into shrieks of fear and pain as fireballs rained down from the sky, exploding around them and tumbling about.
Star Dwellers emerged from the fireballs, eyes alight with ice. They leaped upon StarClan, knocking them over for a brief moment before more fireballs rained. It was a never ending cycle of fireballs. Once they burned out, the cats inside would fly back up into the sky to become a fireball once more.
"Fight back! We have claws! They don't!" StarClan ripped at the Star Dwellers, but no blood flowed. Instead, blue-white energy slowly seeped out. Star Dwellers with too many claw marks went back to the Moon Stone, absorbing the energy as fast as possible. The energy sealed their marks, and they flew back to firebomb StarClan.
"Take the Moonstone! They can't fight without it!" The leader shrieked, pelt scorched in places. StarClan began to slowly move toward the glowing stone. A cat's yowl made them look up. Protos stood atop the stone, anger burning in his eyes. He slammed his paws against the stone, and a large shockwave rippled out, throwing the StarClanners to the ground.
The Star Dwellers were unaffected, since they were floating, and they simply kept biting, knocking over, and firebombing the StarClanners.
StarClan was slowly losing the battle, outnumbered and unable to fly or become a fireball, they were stuck in a rather bad position. But they kept fighting for the Moonstone. Protos would occasionally slam his paws against the stone, knocking unfortunate unprepared cats to the ground.
"You should give up. You can not win this battle." Protos said calmly, though anger seethed under his words. A StarClan cat tumbled over the rim of the pit the Moonstone was in. It lay near the stone, then began dragging itself towards it.
A fireball smacked into it mercilessly, and the Star Dweller rolled away, leaving the burnt StarClanner behind. Another StarClanner fell over the rim, then another. As the StarClan cats grew closer to the Moonstone, the fireballs began to thin out, not wanting to risk hitting the Moonstone.
The Star Dwellers were not fighters, and soon began to succumb to StarClan's claws and fighting prowess. Protos leaped into battle, his claw-less paws floating above the ground as he sank his teeth into a cat's throat.
He was knocked aside, and he stood, floating into the air. His heart sank when he realized that StarClan had managed to completely surround the Moonstone. "We have won this battle. While you may heal your wounds and regain some unneeded energy, you must leave immediatley."
StarClan dragged their wounded to the stone, and they healed themselves first, standing around and atop the stone and the pedestals. They watched the Star Dwellers carefully, but they meekly absorbed energy and left, following Protos as they walked off.
Timeskip: leaving now
Protos wasn't sure how it was happening, but they were able to walk off their previous dwelling grounds. Their energy stayed with them longer, didn't seep away as fast. They settled in the first, small, land island they found, floating in the cosmos. They felt the moon's ambient energy, but were unable to absorb it.
But with the moon's energy there, it preserved them, helped them contain their energy better. So there they waited, listening to the moon whisper about a young tom, who would carry them to safety...
A/N: This was a really fun, really long one-shot to write! Hope ya'll in enjoyed this blast to the past! Took me around 3 to 4 hours to write, actually!
I'll probably start working on Icestrike's Journey, before the Dawn sequel, since it WILL be taking place between When The Dawn Breaks and... (WAIT FOR IT) As the Moon Rises! (That's the name of my sequel! Ya lieky?)
Also, in this story, StarClan is a bit of a jerk, at least, in the earlier days. But, as time went on, they 'mellowed with age' and felt sorry for driving off the Star Dwellers. They wanted to find them again, but couldn't. Also, the reason StarClan was able to fight the Star Dwellers when the Dwellers can go through basically anything, is because they were with the Dwellers long enough they learned how. It's kind of like when Icestrike bonds with a Dweller. You have to kinda focus on them being there... :D
And, a 'moment' is more or less a month's time. Since there's no passage of time, really, in the Place of No Stars, they measure time by 'moments'...
So, be patient until I work the plot out a bit more! :D
*Song inspiration: 300 Violin Orchestra - Jorge Quintero! And Rock it - Sub Focus*
May StarClan light your path!