Oh hey, I've found another old Warriors story of mine. I started this in mid-2017, and upon stumbling across it once again a couple weeks ago, I've decided to try my hand at returning to it. Personally, I just love this concept.
This is a pretty big AU that actually separated from canon well before this story begins (just before/during Fading Echoes). Everything is canon up to Sunrise (which is when the big change takes place). There is an explanation to why things are so drastically different, but it will be a time in coming. Ages for the younger members of Skyclan will also be off, but that's the fault of 2017-me, not the AU.
Updates will be every week or so until we catch up with my writing. If you have any criticism (I did write this first part in 2017) or praise, please review! Have fun and thank you for reading!
Prologue:
The nearly full moon shone with a bright silver light in the night sky. Stars were splattered in the deep black around it, giving the earth below a sweet, silver sheen. Twoleg houses lined the earth, their insides quiet as the monsters slept silently on the Thunderpath.
On the side of said Thunderpath walked three cats. Leading them was a tortoiseshell-and-white she-cat, her sky-blue eyes alight with excitement. She bounded ahead of the two cats trailing her, sometimes getting far ahead before remembering the two behind her and slowing to a stop to let them catch up. She was on the thin side, but it was more than made up for with the strong muscles that rippled under her pelt.
In the middle was an unusually patterned she-cat, with short light brown fur and darker spots speckled over her back. Her light amber eyes glinted in the moonlight. She was slightly larger than the tortoiseshell she-cat, and carried the hints of an easy life with her limbs accented with traces of fat and a dark purple collar. She had a tired look in her eyes, but did not say anything, instead opting to drape her tail over the shoulders of the last cat.
Bringing up the rear of the small party was the largest one of the group, a heavily muscled brown tabby tom. However, he seemed to be faring the worst of the three. Several old scratches lined his pelt, mostly healed, save for a particularly nasty one that ran down the side of his flank. It was covered in cobwebs and a poultice of some kind, but was red and puffy, signalling the infection that plagued his body. He had a deep scar on his neck, and was out of breath, his dark amber eyes clouded with a dull pain. He did not complain, though, instead opting to bear his pain in silence as he pushed himself forward.
The tortoiseshell she-cat, finding herself in front of her two companions once again, lashed her tail, though more out of impatience than annoyance.
"Hurry up!" She announced, her voice dripping with excitement. "We're almost there! Just a little more!"
The spotted she-cat spared a glance at the tabby tom behind her, before turning her amber eyes on the tortoiseshell.
"You need to slow down, Cherrytail," she mewed worriedly. "We're all tired. I understand you're excited to get back, but you need to think of Brambleclaw. He's on the verge of collapse! Can't we find somewhere to shelter for the night?"
Cherrytail stopped completely, gasping as she bounded back to the two cats. "Oh, I'm so sorry, Brambleclaw!" She exclaimed. "In my impatience I completely forgot about your wound! Are you alright? We can find a place to stay if you need to stop."
The brown tabby—Brambleclaw—shook his head, his eyes lighting with a hint of stubbornness.
"No, I'm fine," he rasped, voice scratchy and hollow as the two caught up to her. "I know how much this means to you. We will get there tonight."
The spotted she-cat scoffed. "Not with that wound, you don't! I'm not letting you die this close to the finish. I didn't save your life back in the forest for nothing!"
"I think Eliza's right," Cherrytail sighed after a moment of hesitation, touching the tip of her tail to the scar Brambleclaw's neck, causing him to flinch away. "We can wait the night. In fact…" she looked up for a moment, thinking deeply, before grinning. "I think I know where we can stay! Come on!"
And with that she began walking again, despite Brambleclaw's (weak) protests, as well as at a slower rate. Eliza's ears perked up at the thought of rest, while the tom of the trio groaned, but followed his two companions as they turned down a side street. Passing by several Twoleg nests, they came across a medium-sized tan nest with neatly-cropped grass. Cherrytail flicked a tail, motioning for Brambleclaw and Eliza to stay where they were, and leaped up onto fence lining the yard, bounding around to the back.
After several tense moments between Brambleclaw and Eliza, both of whom seemed slightly confused about what Cherrytail was doing, a sharp screech sounded from the back, followed by loud barking. Brambleclaw's eyes widened, and he unsheathed his claws, readying himself to leap up after the tortoiseshell she-cat, when said cat burst into sight, blue eyes wide as she rejoined her companions, breathing heavily.
"Wrong house," she gasped, chuckling slightly. "That one had a dog."
Eliza nodded, calm, while Brambleclaw hissed, cuffing her weakly over the head.
"Be more careful!" he scolded the younger she-cat. "I thought you knew better than to just jump into a Twoleg nest!"
Cherrytail flattened her ears in embarrassment. "Yeah. My mistake. I haven't been in the twoleg place for so long, I've nearly forgotten where all the nests are."
"Who are we meeting, anyways?" Eliza questioned. "It better not be someone associated with Cyanide again. They nearly killed us last time!"
"I didn't mean to run into Kenzie and her cronies!" Cherrytail hissed back, rolling her eyes. "I was looking for Stick and Cora! I had no idea they were with them."
Eliza snorted. "Tell that to Brambleclaw's wound. He nearly died protecting you!"
Said tom flicked an ear, embarrassed. "It's fine, Eliza. I told you that. And Cherrytail, it isn't your fault. If anything, it was mine, attacking like that. It was uncalled for, no matter how much he deserved it."
Cherrytail blinked, thankful that the tabby tom had agreed with her, before turning her eyes upwards towards the Twoleg nests, scanning them again, and finally stopped at a nest similar to the one she had previously tried to look into. She leapt onto that nest's fence, bounding around to the back. Once again, Brambleclaw and Eliza found themselves in a tense silence as they waited for her.
After a moment, Cherrytail appeared again, nodding to the others to show that she had found her contact. Eliza jumped up after her first, easily reaching the top, then turned around to help Brambleclaw up as he leapt after her, gasping in pain as his wound reopened slightly, a trickle of blood making its way past the cobweb binding.
The tortoiseshell she-cat hurried to the tabby tom's side, licking him comfortingly and sending a look of thanks to Eliza, who nodded in return.
"You alright?" She asked, nosing Brambleclaw gently. "We're almost there."
"I'm fine," Brambleclaw insisted, pushing past Eliza and towards the Twoleg den. "Do you know a kittypet here, Cherrytail? Can they be trusted?"
"Kind of, and of course!" The she-cat responded. "Let me try and get him."
With that, Cherrytail jumped down the fence and made her way towards the Twoleg nest. Stopping for a moment to take a deep breath, she pushed through the back door through a cat flap, her dark tail disappearing with a swoosh. Several more minutes passed, the time stretching out as Brambleclaw made a slow descent down the fence, Eliza at his side, as they struggled not to open the infected wound any more than they already had.
Finally, Cherrytail exited the Twoleg nest, her eyes alight with joy. Coming up behind her was a ginger and white tom with leaf-green eyes. He almost seemed to be in a state of shock, following Cherrytail numbly.
"I…" the tom began, looking at Cherrytail before pressing his nose to her flank happily. "Cherrytail! It's been almost three seasons! After the twolegs took you… everyone thought you were dead… how'd you get back?"
"It's a very long story," the tortoiseshell purred, before sombering and gesturing with her tail to her two companions. "Look, we need a place to stay for the night before going on to camp in the morning. Can you help us?"
"Will I help you—" The tom cut off as his eyes fell on Brambleclaw's wound. "Dear Starclan! What happened to you?" He blinked in apology almost immediately afterwards. "Excuse me, that was a bit rude. Of course you can stay with me tonight. Can you tell me your names? I'm Billystorm."
"Billystorm?" Brambleclaw echoed. "That sounds a bit like a warrior name. Why are you with Twolegs?"
Billystorm and Cherrytail shared a glance.
"It's a long story," The ginger-and-white tom replied.
"Anyways, I'm Brambleclaw," the tabby continued, putting aside the matter. "This is Eliza, a friend of ours who came with us on our journey."
Billystorm nodded.
"Let's get inside," Cherrytail mewed after a moment of awkwardness. "We have a big day tomorrow."
Billystorm purred. "Yes. I'm sure Leafstar will be ecstatic to have you back, as well as the two of you, if you so wish. Echosong, our medicine cat, will help you with your wound, Brambleclaw, that I'm certain of."
Brambleclaw flicked his tail as Eliza nodded excitedly. With that, the four cats ducked into the twoleg nest. Eliza was last, her excited mew floating in the nighttime air.
"I can hardly believe it! Tomorrow, we'll be Skyclan cats!"
The backyard of the Twoleg nest was quiet after that, with nothing left to make any noise.
After several moments, however, the wind began to blow, picking up from nearly nothing to a hard breeze, pulling up dust and feathers as it went. It began to blow even harder, until the wind itself began to swirl in one place, silver lines appearing in its depths.
The first to form was a head, with darker gray markings and pale blue eyes. His body formed next, mottled gray fur shining with pinpricks of lights. His legs each took shape soon after, followed at last by his tail.
The star-speckled tom stepped forwards on the lawn, looking at the Twoleg nest as if he could see what was occurring inside. After a moment, a small smile formed on his face, nostalgia and bittersweet happiness lining his features.
"See? They're safe."
The tom's voice was soft and carried on the wind, more to himself than anything.
"I promise you, I will protect the third part of the prophecy."
He snorted, looking up at the sky.
"Now all you need to do is find the second of the three, Lionblaze."