I 3 Lightbulb Moments. It's been a very long time coming. But I am back! Yayz.
I've often wondered what the dawn of the Clans were like, and, fantastically, we will find out in 2012 with the start of the Dawn of the Clans series. Nom nom nom. :) This is my interpretation of what it was like, without actually knowing what happened. And, for the purposes of this story, I'm going to completely ignore Codes of the Clans for two reasons:
I haven't properly read it – it's on my iPhone waiting to be read, but I'm currently occupied with Bluestar's Prophecy. :/
The codes in the book were formed over such a big time period that it would be impossible to track what happened when, and I'm pretty sure it would probably make the story a bit more dull (after all, I am no Erin Hunter).
So, tell me what you think, and hopefully I'll be back with Chapter 2.
Signed,
Leo.
Chapter 1
The cats, myself included, stared in bewilderment at the sight they had witnessed. The wise spirits in front of us had vanished, and we were in a strange united silence – a silence so deafening, it was hard to hear yourself think. The ominous statement, 'unite or die', rang in our eardrums, as fresh as new-leaf grass.
After what seemed like half a dozen seasons, cats started to stir from their amazement. Some cats were so disorientated by the images they witness, as soon as they stood up, they collapsed back on the floor again.
I was, too, astonished that the stars themselves gave us such a blunt and frightening warning, but I was also one of those who told them I could lead the forest. But they didn't want that – they wanted four leaders, each to rule parts of the forest with other cats with the same skills. It was time to begin this prophecy, to bring peace to this war-besieged forest.
I climbed onto the big rock in the centre of the clearing, and let out a painful yowl. The cats turned to look, their eyes still wide with confusing and terror.
"If we want to survive, we need to take heed and listen," I began. "The time of war must end, tonight, if we are going to live leaf-bare when it comes".
"And how does the All Mighty Thunder propose we do that?" piped up a wiry brown she-cat.
"We listen to what they said to us, Wind," I replied calmly. "These cats came down personally to tell us what to do. We must respect the ones we've killed and do it."
"But what about prey?" a lithe, battle-scarred tom asked from below.
"As a Clan, we could share our prey between the members," I replied, thinking on my feet a little. "We can provide for each other, making sure that every member gets fed before sunset."
"But what about in leaf-bare?" Shadow, an untrustworthy but skilful she-cat rebuked. "Not even these spirit-cats can just magic up prey whenever we please!"
"Then we starve as a Clan," I put her argument to rest, before she could put in a reply.
"What about my kits?" wailed a beautiful tortoiseshell cat with three squeaking kits by her belly, each covered in blood.
"Then the Clan provides for the queens and the kits whilst you look after them," I tried to make the rest of the cats feel at ease with this plan, but at least half of them didn't look convinced at all. "No cat should leave a queen with kits to die.
"The spirits said we should split into like-skilled groups. I suggest that each group of cats gather underneath one of the oaks – cats who can hunt on the moorland, gather around Wind," I nodded to the wiry she-cat "cats that can hunt in marshland and the dirty undergrowth, gather around Shadow. Cats that can hunt in the river, meet around River," the long furred silver tom nodded in recognition, "and cats that can hunt in the undergrowth and the forest land, can meet with me.
"I also think we should meet here again, like the spirits said. Meet under a truce under the full moon, every full moon to report on Clan happenings. Agree?" The cats below nodded, although some looked more reluctant than others.
Without waiting for any protest from the others, I jumped off the boulder and to the tree directly in front of me. What if no one wants to join with me? I'm not joining with the other leaders! I'd rather scratch out my own eyes! Licking my chest-fur, matted with blood, I waited for cats to come to me. I saw quite a few cats were joining around River, nosing each of his new Clanmates and welcoming them into his Clan. Wind, and her mate, Gorse, were welcoming a couple of queens into their Clan, excited, but tired, kits following their tails. Shadow was talking to a couple of cats with scars all over their body, absolutely massive in comparison to the she-cat.
I was so caught up in my worries and doubts, I hadn't noticed a cat beside me calling my name.
"Thunder?" a muscular cat approached me. He was a dark brown tabby tom, but he had golden flecks through his coat, looking like lightning flashing through his pelt.
"Oh, sorry," I shook myself up with vigour, trying to at least look leader-like. "What's your name?"
"Oscar," he replied enthusiastically. "I've lived in the forest for a few moons now – I know the best places to hunt mice!"
"Wonderful..." I could see his energy was going to be hard to keep under control, but at least he was enthusiastic. It was good energy...at least, I hoped so.
A couple of other cats came up to me, both quite young, giving nervous looks every so often, anticipating some sort of attack. Then, four queens together came, each with at least three kits in their little, one with five. ThunderClan will live on in generations to come if these queens stay... I thought about my use of...ThunderClan...it sounded right, but immediately I felt selfish. I didn't even know whether this Clan was going to really stick together at all, and besides, I was pretty sure the other leaders weren't so self-absorbed as to call the Clans after themselves. I decided to leave the name till later.
I noticed that some old cats were hobbling our way, looking crestfallen and dismayed. They looked far too old to be able to hunt or fight, and one of them looked sick.
"Hello, what are your names?" I asked gently.
"I am Fuzz," rasped a black tom, "and this is Rose," he flicked his tail to the ginger she-cat beside him, who looked even worse than him.
"You won't send us away, will you?" Rose whimpered.
"Of course not!" I jumped in surprise. "Did they others?"
"We can't hunt very well anymore," Fuzz rumbled wistfully, "the other leaders said we'd be a burden to their Clans."
Part of me agreed with them – it would be more hungry mouths to feed, when they couldn't give back to the Clan themselves. But then I thought – these cats were so frail and hungry. They couldn't provide for themselves anymore because that's what they had been struggling to do for most of their lives.
"Of course I won't send you away," I meowed softly. "You can stay with us – we'll look after you." I hope this is the right decision, I found myself praying. What to? Anyone who would listen? Or StarClan? Was I destined to lead this Clan?
The two cats blinked their gratitude, and went to sit down and rest. After waiting for a while, more cats joined, warily watching for oncoming attackers. I had assembled a fairly decent sized Clan, but the numbers weren't a match for those in River's and Wind's Clan. It seemed like most of the cats had gone that way instead, River welcoming new comrades heartily, whilst Wind made sure everyone understood that joining her Clan meant being loyal to her. I felt very underprepared and small – like a kit. I had begun to regret saying that I could ever lead a group of cats, but these cats had already started to depend on me. I silently willed that my best would suffice for these hopeful, but expectant cats.
Once everyone had made a decision about their allegiances, we left each other to find somewhere to make a camp. We had decided to bury our dead in the morning – we needed somewhere for the future before we could even think about honouring our past.
"So where are we going to make camp?" Oscar was jumping about, his energy burst out of his whiskers and paws like a hyperactive rabbit.
"I don't know," I confessed in annoyance. "I haven't properly inspected the territory yet".
"I hope it's warm, and well protected from intruders," Oscar mewed. "I can't wait to get to know everybody". They won't want to know you because you'll have made them deaf with your constant stream of nonsense; I fought back the temptation to calm him down with a nip on the ear, and instead focussed on thinking up a good place for a camp. It needed plenty of dens for all the cats, and a place to call the Clan for meetings. But I couldn't be sure that there would be such a place. It could be moons until we found something suitable for a Clan. I bit back the prickle of doubt and ploughed on.
The trees around us were buzzing with life and sounds. I could tell that the environment would be sustainable enough for the Clan to feed for many generations; I thanked StarClan (I wasn't sure why) that it was green-leaf, and the forest was bustling with activity. I just hoped that the Clan could still survive well in leaf-bare.
"Thunder!" a yowl from the back halted my tracks.
"Yes?" I meowed back.
"We're hungry, and tired," a weary queen with her kits called back to me, "Can we please rest here and do more tomorrow?"
"I agree," a fluffy black with splashes of white murmured. "The queens need to look after themselves for their kits, and the elderly aren't exactly in very good shape".
I too felt hunger gnawing at my stomach like elongated talons, but we had to find somewhere that was safe to stay. But you don't know this territory. This could be as good as any place.
"Okay," I succumbed to my own tiredness as well as the others. "But we need some cats that can volunteer to guard us – to make sure we don't get attacked unawares".
"We can do that," a group of three fairly young cats chipped in.
"What about food?" Petal, one of the queens, asked.
"You can all hunt," I told them. "But stay here. We don't know this territory as a group; we don't know what's lurking round the corner. Make sure you are with at least one other cat."
I looked around the Clan, to make sure everyone understood. I noticed that Fuzz and Rose looked slightly troubled – they can't hunt for themselves, you mouse-brain!
"Do you want me to hunt for you?" I asked them gently.
"No, no, I think I can get a mouse at least," Fuzz protested, but the fluffy black cat protested.
"You shouldn't put yourself into danger," he told them politely, but firmly. "How about I hunt with Thunder, and we'll bring back the juiciest mice!"
Fuzz was about to protest again, but Rose put her tail around him and sat him down again. I nodded to the two elderly cats, and walked with this black cat.
"My name is Cloud," he introduced himself with his head quite rigid, looking rather awkward. "It's quite an honour to be in a Clan with you, Thunder. I heard what you did to save that family of cats from that badger".
"Oh, it was nothing – the badger was already pretty weak when I got there," I shook off the thought of me being a hero. I just did my duty to save those cats from an attacker. I'm sure all the other cats have done it more than I have...
"Well, it's still an honour," he mumbled. But I was far too occupied on the squirrel right in front of me to listen to his mumblings. It was completely oblivious, gnawing at an acorn from the ground. Treading very lightly, keeping as flat as possible without making a noise on the leafy ground, I got up to a whisker's distance away from the still oblivious squirrel – then, I pounced. The squirrel had no hope, and before it could run away, I dealt the fatal bite, and it squeaked before going limp on the ground. Satisfied with my catch, I looked around for Cloud. But he had disappeared.
"Cloud?" I called as I walked back the way I had come. "Where are you?" Suddenly, I got a face-full of tail. He was sniffing a very strong smelling plant with yellow flowers. "What in heaven's name are you doing?"
"I don't know...it just seems...useful. Perhaps it's a herb that can help the Clan feed or something," he shrugged and padded after me. We walked back to the temporary camp, on the way catching a mouse for the other elder, and entered the clearing just inside the forest.
"Here we go," I dropped the mouse and the squirrel in front of the elders, whose eyes lit up in gratitude. They devoured the prey quickly, and settled down for a nap. As much as my belly was also growling with hunger, I decided I wouldn't eat until later, to let the other cats eat first.
Sitting down under a bush, I looked at my new Clan. Although they were cats who didn't really know each other very well, they were mixing pretty well. I just hoped the cats would develop a bond of loyalty between each other pretty quickly. I closed my eyes, and let unexpected tiredness wash over me.
I opened my eyes. I was at the clearing with the four oaks. What am I doing here? Was I sleepwalking? It was dark, and I could only just make out some shapes in the clearing. They were the mysterious spirits again. What do they want? I fretted silently.
"Welcome, Thunder," the nine cats said in unison. "You have led your Clan to the place which is destined for your cats to tread for many generations. But you must find a camp".
"But where is it? Do we need to make one?" I wanted to know. I felt like these cats knew all, like I should look up to them for guidance.
"Seek shelter where rocks and water combine," the cats chanted, and then swiftly left. Darkness fell over me.
Jumping up on all four paws, I opened my eyes. The other cats were sleeping, and the sun was just peeping over the horizon. I thought over the guidance StarClan had sent me – how can rocks and water combine? It sounded ludicrous – how could I trust such an odd and nonsensical prophecy? But it was the only thing I had to go on, and anything could help my Clanmates to shelter.
Behind me, I heard a cat stir from their slumber. It was Cloud – his black fur was such a stark contrast from the lush greenery around him, it was hard not to notice him.
"Hullo," he greeted me, still shyness clinging to his voice. "Why are you up so early?"
I needed to tell somebody about what I had witnessed last night, and Cloud seemed as good as anyone. "I was visited by StarClan last night".
Cloud tipped his head thoughtfully, "What did they say?"
"They told me that in order to find the camp, I had to 'seek shelter where rocks and water combine'," I told him. "What do you think?"
"Well, there is a small stream in the territory," he told me. "We could follow that."
"Good idea!" I replied, feeling like this could actually happen. "Wake up the rest of the cats".
Cloud trotted off to poke the rest of the cats from their slumber, the Clan waking with slight reluctance to wake from the best night's sleep they had in moons.
"Last night, StarClan talked to me," the rest of the Clan fell silent in wonder and excitement. In such a small period of time, these cats had begun to rely on these spirits to tell them what they had to do to survive. I had begun to find that I too started to rely on them. I felt like I could do anything for this Clan, with StarClan behind me. "They told me to look for a place where there are rocks and water together. Cloud told there was a stream in this forest – it seems wise to follow that, if that's okay with you?" The rest of the Clan nodded, looking excited to be finally going to somewhere much more comfortable.
"I'll take one patrol down the stream, and Cloud can take a patrol up the stream. Does anyone want to volunteer?" I needn't have asked. Most of the healthy warriors stood up, ready to volunteer, some other cats staying to look after the queens. Some of the cats are already developing a sense of Clan spirit – we could just make this work!
"Can you split yourself into two, please?" About five cats went my way, and five went to Cloud's patrol. Oscar had chosen to go with me (Oh, StarClan help us all...), along with the two young cats, called Branch and Feather, an older cat called Lion, who had a glorious mane-like neck fur, but a friendly and determined face, and Fuzz was determined to follow us, no matter what Rose or Cloud had tried to say.
"Okay, the other cats stay here, and, if we find anything, we'll report straight back here," I told the others. "Let's go, Cloud".
We walked silently up towards the stream that Cloud was talking about, everyone looking around the dense woodland around us. We could see birds, mice and beautiful insects everywhere. Up the top, the big leaves at the treetops would shelter us from the rain in later moons, and the beautiful forest would give plenty hiding places for prey just waiting to be caught. Those hiding places could also be used by cats... I noted wearily, but carried on walking. We would have to inspect every area of the forest inside out before long.
"Okay, here's the stream," Cloud mumbled, working his paw in the ground slightly in shyness. "I'll go upstream, Thunder goes downstream." Without saying more, he led the patrol up the stream and out of sight.
"Okay, let's go." We walked silently again down the stream, looking closely for a possible place for a camp. The silence however, did not last for long.
"Thunder!" Oscar had trotted over to my side. "What are we looking for?"
"A place where water and rock combine," I recited, the tabby cat noting mentally before bouncing to look for other places around him. Surely it could be easy? This stream wasn't long, and the forest wasn't that big!
They had been looking for nearly the whole day, digressing slightly by getting to know each other, and eating some lunch. The patrol was pretty tired, and there was still no luck. Lion had climbed up a tree to see if there was any such place at all, but all he could see was some trees and the river up ahead.
"I wonder if Cloud's patrol had managed to find something..." Branch spoke everyone's mind. "There's nothing here".
As much as I didn't want to, I had to agree. This stream was leading us nowhere. "Come on, guys, let's head back to the clearing. Perhaps Cloud has some news." The other cats began to turn back, but Oscar had kept moving, sniffing around and bouncing to the next potential spot. Just as I was about to turn and call him back, I saw something fall over a ledge, the thing yowling, getting quieter as it dropped away.
"Oscar!" I yelped as the other cats turned to face the ledge. We ran forward, careful not to suffer the same fate, and looked over the edge. It was a ravine, with rocks tumbling down to a gorse bush down the bottom. Then, in the middle of the ravine, the stream was pelting down the rocks, splashing all the way down to a little pool down the bottom of the rock fall and into a wider pool off underneath a bush. I could see Oscar at the bottom – he wasn't moving.
"I'm coming!" I bellowed down the rocks, picking my way carefully down the varying heights of the huge stones, and towards Oscar. Nearly slipping myself a couple of times, I managed to get to the bottom, the others following. "Oscar?"
"Thunder?" he croaked. He's alive!
"Are you okay?" I willed him to be okay, despite his inherently annoying nature.
"I'm fine, I just ache a bit – that's all. But look under that bush!" His eyes were wide with excitement. I peered under the gorse bush, which tugged at my orange fur a little, into a huge clearing. This could be it! Squeezing through, I could see a deserted clearing, with trees dotted around.
"Quick – check there aren't any foxes or other cats here," I ordered the cats who had followed me through the gorse bush. I peered under an old fallen tree – it was lovely and sheltered. There was a big bush which could provide a great shelter for a large amount of cats.
"Thunder!" Feather called to me, "Look at this big rock!" I turned to see a huge smooth rock, with a small gap at the back for a place to sleep. It would make a very good den...
"Has anyone found anything?" I asked, sincerely hoping not. This would make a very good camp. The other cats shook their heads. I smiled. The age of the Clan had truly begun.
What do you think? Was it good? Rubbish? I hope it will warm up a little bit soon.
A small poll: do you guys just wanna stick with ThunderClan, or do you want to have PoVs from the other Clans?
Thanks for reading. :) I'm glad to be back. :P
Leo