Author's Note: Okay this is my first story! Please rate and review! If you want to check out my website, go to www.freewebs/forestofmist/. If you join, then you can also request to be in my story! Yay!
Prologue
A cold wind whistled through the leafless trees that stood around the pond. Usually this pool sparkled with stars and the moon, thus giving it its name, the Moonpool. However, tonight there was a thick blanket of dark clouds covering the night sky, and the Moonpool lay dark and shadowy. A lone leaf, brown and crinkled from the heartless leaf-bare, flickered of a branch and hit the pool, then fell beneath the surface.
A small, dappled tortoiseshell she-cat slunk out of the undergrowth, her pawsteps quick and light. She padded down the spiraled path towards the Moonpool, her pads slipping into ancient pawprints that had been there generations upon generations. The tortoiseshell's fur sparkled with stars, and her eyes usually glittered with wisdom. But tonight they were clouded with panic and worry.
Slowly, other cats with starry fur and dreading eyes crept out after her. A magnificent silver-blue cat near the back strode through the crowd of cats, which parted respectfully. "Spottedleaf! What is happening?" she demanded.
The tortoiseshell who had arrived first turned to meet the she-cat's gaze. "I'm not sure, Bluestar," Spottedleaf murmured, "but I fear the end of the Clans has arrived."
Bluestar shook her head, as though trying to shake away her words. "It's impossible," she murmured. "How can this happen?"
A lean brown she-cat stepped out from the crowd. "Is there any hope at all? Generations upon generations, the Clans have survived. Even when the Twolegs came with their monsters, our descendants endured it, and lived to tell the tale!" she yowled, and the cats nodded and muttered to each other.
A skinny gray tabby spoke up. "Windstar," he meowed to his mate, "I fear for the Clans as much as you do. All of us still have kin near the lake. But I'm afraid we cannot stop fate."
"But Gorsestar, what about the cats? We can't stand by and not try to help. What about Ashfoot, Crowfeather, and Breezepaw?" Windstar challenged.
A pretty white she-cat with black spots padded forward. "Windstar," she mewed gently, "I'm frightened for my kin as well. And for all the other cats. But there is nothing we can do."
Spottedleaf dipped her head to the she-cat. "Brambleberry, I regret saying so, but I must agree with you. The thought of the Clans dying-" her throat tightened, "is terrible. But we must still cling to hope and trust our descendants will face this with courage."
"Empty words, Spottedleaf," growled a black tomcat, "It's easy to say we must have faith in them, but personally, I don't think wishing and dreaming will rescue them. We have to accept it."
Windstar bristled. "With all due respect, Nightstar," she snapped, "I feel sure that Onestar won't take this lying down. I can't necessarily say that for Blackstar, but all the same-"
A yowl of anger came up from some of the fiercer-looking cats in the crowd. "Blackstar's no fool!" called a ginger she-cat, and a silver tom nodded in agreement.
Spottedleaf waved her tail for silence. "Enough," she meowed, "can any cat look into the Moonpool, and see anything promising for our kin?"
The crowd muttered darkly to each other, and Bluestar opened her mouth, but a gentle voice rang out. "I can," it said quietly. The other cats looked around for the speaker, and a she-cat with soft white fur and stormy green eyes trotted through them to the edge of the Moonpool.
"What is it that you see, Mothflight?" called a dark gray she-cat with fierce yellow eyes and a dirty pelt.
Mothflight looked around and then called, "You may not like it- but it is the only hope we have. I see that the Clans will scatter- some will die, others will become rogues, and yet more will become kittypets."
She paused at the large outbreak of whispering, and waited patiently. "Quiet!" two white cats hissed, a she-cat and a tom. "Go on, Mothflight," they called respectfully to the she-cat.
"Thank you, Snowfur, Whitestorm," she meowed, dipping her head to the pair, and then continued, "I also see that generations will pass- and a she-kit with stars in her fur, the kin of our kin, will learn of the Clans. She may believe deeply in them- and we must have faith in her to do something. Then the dawn of the warriors may come again."
Author's Note: Ooh freaky! Sort of... but let's find out who this mysterious she-kit is! Please please please rate and review! All reviewers MAY get a special position on my website once we split up into Clans... if you join! :) hahaha, if you join let me know who you are on here!
