Chronicles of One
This tells the tale of Onestar. From kit, to apprentice, to warrior, to deputy, and finally to leader. It gives vent to his dark history, and names the trials placed upon his young life.
Prologue
Dawnflower stopped to catch her breath by the gorge, panting hard as she looked back to where the RiverClan camp lay. The attack from ThunderClan, though hinted at the last Gathering, had taken her unprepared Clan completely by surprise. The least Dawnflower could to was to save her one kit, ThunderClan seemed quite prepared to rip RiverClan apart.
But at least here she and her kit were safe. For now anyway. Two ThunderClan warriors had been sent after her when the leader first noticed her disappearance and that of her kit. Dawnflower and her kit were on the run for their lives.
But Dawnflower did have one hope, that WindClan would at least offer her kit shelter. Her mate, after all, was a WindClan tom, and would want to offer protection to his only kit.
The sounds of pursuit got louder.
Without further hesitation, Dawnflower picked up her kit and carried him towards the gorge. She knew that was a place, just beyond RiverClan borders, where WindClan territory met theirs away from the gorge. It was where she had met her mate. There was a much calmer stream there, one that led unwaveringly through WindClan territory.
The ThunderClan warriors were getting closer.
By the stream, sitting just inside WindClan territory, was Darkfoot. The WindClan warrior was anxious about his mate, Dawnflower, and awaiting the news that she had promised would come tonight. But so far there was no sign was of the beautiful, pale gray RiverClan she-cat that had taken his heart. He had no idea that his mate was just minutes away, bringing the most momentous news with her he could imagine.
And so, Darkfoot sat waiting.
Razorstar, the ThunderClan leader, crouched in front of the RiverClan leader, Reedstar. The dark brown mottled tabby tom glared at Reedstar and, in one powerful leap, landed on her back and was clawing her fur out. "Now you will die, Reedstar!" he yowled.
"No." meowed Reedstar defiantly. "I will not succumb to you, Razorstar. I refuse to give you an inch of RiverClan territory. Me and all my Clan shall die before we give ThunderClan a whiskers-length of our territory." The black she-cat wriggled and squirmed to get free, but to no avail.
"Okay then, if you absolutely refuse to give us want we want… there will be more suffering than you would ever know, if you just surrender to me now."
It was then that Reedstar's deputy, Lightfur, came hurtling in. He leaped upon Razorstar and threw the ThunderClan leader off of Reedstar. "You'll feel more suffering than you'll ever know if you and your Clan leave mine and my leader alone."
Lightfur's voice was a low, dangerous growl, and it didn't take a genius to tell Razorstar that he meant it. The ThunderClan leader backed away, and just when it seemed he would be going away and giving no further trouble, he ran back leaped upon Lightfur.
Before you could say 'mouse', Razorstar was a fox-length away and Lightfur was lying in a bloodied heap on the ground. The light brown tabby deputy's jaw was horrendously twisted into a crooked shape that gave him the appearance of an ever-present grin.
"Wha- what have you done to my deputy?" said Reedstar in a shocked mew. She bent down and pressed her nose into her deputy's bloodstained fur. Underneath, there but very faint, she felt a pulse.
Turning her now glaring, blazing eyes on Razorstar, she yowled, "Your crimes here will not go unpunished! Never think that RiverClan will give into you and your bloodthirsty warriors!"
It was that moment that the ThunderClan deputy, Tawnyspots, arrived upon the scene. His face was both anxious and grave at the same time. "Razorstar," he meowed, saluting his leader respectfully, "the RiverClan warriors are pushing us back towards Sunning rocks. They've got a whole front of their strongest warriors organizing to protect their camp. We've got to get out, or we'll be prisoners in this place." His voice was full of panic as he urged his leader on.
Razorstar hesitated. Glancing uneasily first at Reedstar then at the limp body of Lightfur and back. Then, with a growl of frustration, he tore away and followed his deputy, racing for the camp entrance. As he ran, Razorstar called to Reedstar over his shoulder, "Don't think we won't forget this! ThunderClan will get revenge on RiverClan one of these days!"
Meanwhile Dawnflower had just stumbled upon Darkfoot by the stream in their usual meeting place. She was so scared. Her eyes wide and her body shivering from fear. Quickly, she dropped her kit from her jaws, nuzzled him in the neck, and meowed, 'This is our one kit, Darkfoot. Please take care of him for me. Promise me you will."
Darkfoot took one look at his desperate mate, at his kit at his shadowy-gray paws, and listened to the sound of approaching ThunderClan warriors. Without hesitating he meowed, "Yes, I promise you Dawnflower, I will take care of our kit. But you have to be taken care of as well. Run. As fast as you've ever run in your life." He pressed his nose into her fur and gave her a comforting lick to quell her fears. '"Just go, Dawnflower. Everything will be alright. I promise."
Dawnflower looked uncertainly at Darkfoot, then drank in his warm, comforting scent one last time before emerging from the reeds that had shielded them, in plain view of the ThunderClan cats. One of the pursuers yowled, "There she is! Get her!" and the others all followed with jubilant cries of glee. As soon as she heard t6hat call, Dawnflower knew she was dead. But she tried bravely to get away anyway, though for her there was no hope.
Seconds later, a bloodcurdling screech of pain rent the still night air. Dawnflower was dead.
Back in the reeds, Dawnflower's cry reached Darkfoot's ears, but he tried his best to ignore it. From the time she had given him their kit, he knew she was dead, and he had sensed that she knew this too. Yet she had died a brave death, and the least he could do was keep his promise to her.
Picking up their kit, he started across WindClan territory to the WindClan camp. It was a still, clear night, and Silverpelt shone brightly above him. But for the first time, Darkfoot did not feel comforted by the knowledge that his warrior ancestors were close by. All he could feel was misery at Dawnflower's death, and the fierce desire to protect their kit.
So, with the kit dangling from his jaws and mewling pathetically as the cold air of the moorlands whipped his tiny body, Darkfoot ran as fast as he could toward camp. The familiar landscape flashed past as he ran as if all of StarClan were running with him. In no time at all he had reached the camp entrance.
Passing through the prickly tunnel of gorse that protected the camp on all sides, Darkfoot became aware of the silence, broken only by muffled snores. Trying hard not to wake his Clan, Darkfoot headed to the leader's den. Cottonstar, as he had expected, was asleep as well, but as he hesitated outside, her clear blue eyes opened and she meowed, "Enter."
Darkfoot did so, bringing the kit with him. Cottonstar was quite surprised by this, and meowed curiosly, "Darkfoot, where did you get that kit? He's not from WindClan, that's for sure."
"I- I found him. Near the edge of our territory near our border with RiverClan. Not the gorge." he added hastily as he saw Cottonstar's eyes widen in shock. "The river sort of trickles down to a stream near where I found him." he meowed, "And I was wondering, could we take him in? he doesn't seem to have any parents as far as I can tell, and he'll die without a mother."
Cottonstar contemplated his request for a few moments, then meowed, "We'll care for him now. But in the morning the rest of the Clan will help decide his fate. Go wake Whitenose. Tell her to meet me. Leave the kit here. You may come as well."
Darkfoot left and headed to the WindClan nursery. Whitenose was one of the three queens there. She was a tortoiseshell with bright amber eyes and an unusual white nose-bridge. She was asleep closest to the middle, as she had most recently kitted.
Darkfoot prodded her awake with his right forepaw and told her Cottonstar's message. Leaving her kits sleeping, Whitenose followed him into Cottonstar's den. Whitenose was surprised to see a kit there, but sat back to listen to Cottenstar's explanation.
"Whitenose," began Cottonstar, 'this kit needs a mother. I was wandering, will you nurse him."
Whitenose looked at the kit and was instantly filled with love. She bowed her head to Cottonstar and asked, "What is his name?"
"I was hoping you would name him."
"Well, in that case, because he is alone and we no nothing about him, I will call him Onekit."
