There are legends of tribes that existed long before ours. They were barely able to be considered tribes though. They were many clusters of three or four or five cats -mostly kin- that would hunt for each other, care for each other and bury each other when they died. Then there was a battle. The battle was so fierce most cats died but some did live. Those who died in the battle came back to tell all of us to untie or die. We did.
There were four tribes created. The Tribe of Silver Streams was where the graceful, strong swimmers went. They would hunt for their food in the streams that littered the territory in between the mountains and the plains. Claiming the mountains was the Tribe of Windy Cliffs. They were large, well muscled and could easily leap across the large boulders that they used for their home. The plains were claimed by the Tribe of Grassy Meadows. They are small, thin and can run speeds few can compete with. That leaves the fourth tribe, my tribe, the Tribe of Crashing Waves. We are strong, light swimmers that use the waves to our advantage.
We had another legend. There would be a blue bird. The blue bird would die and a kit would be born. That kit would assist in saving the tribes from dangers known by only the one who unties the tribes. I believe these legends with all my heart, mostly because who the blue bird kit is. No it's not me. It's my little brother. Well, half brother.
"Light! Light that Dances on Water! Where are you?" My little brother called my name out to the beach. I catch more than my fair share in prey, enough for the tribe and enough to make sure my brother, Blue Bird who Falls into Sea, has enough to eat. He is often ill, which causes me to question my ancestor's choice in their savior. I wonder what he sees that none of us can.
"I'm coming Blue!" I named him Blue because I saw the blue bird dive into the sea and never come back out. His mother disowned him; afraid he would die, and refused to care for him. I felt his pain, I didn't know my mother ever because I'm half Tribe of Grassy Meadows. My father said he would still take my brother in as his son, gave him to another kit-mother and told me to name him. He was lucky from the start.
I started to run to Blue with a crab in my jaws. The crab was still alive. Blue loved to practice his skills on things that were still alive. It gave him pleasure. I reached the camp, an island not too far from shore and placed it in front of him. "Have at it Blue!"
He killed it swiftly. I taught him how to kill crab. It isn't about skill; it's about placing all your weight on a directed place to break the shell. He leaped and landed on the crab with his front paws. He moved the shell and bit into it. "Light, I've been seeing the things again."
"The things" were what we called the strange items only he saw. The way he described them made them sound like the coral reefs that were in the shallows of the sea. They were bright colored and full of beautiful or dangerous creatures. He said they would whisper things to him. He could never understand what they were saying though. "Just ignore them, Blue."
Blue shook his gray tabby head. His blue bird colored eyes were fixed on me. "I could understand what they said." He lowered his voice to a whisper. "Light go to the gathering tonight and find Storm who Chases Clouds. That is what they told me."
I nodded my head. I was going to the gathering anyway. It would be my first one as an official prey hunter. "Okay, Blue. I'll go." I licked his head and walked over to the others.
I cannot believe everything I hear but there are some things so ridiculously stupid that it would be stupid not to believe them. The only legend I believe is one most would cast aside as foolishness. It is the story about a mouse. The mouse died the same day a kit was born and they would assist in saving the tribe by leading the way for the one who unites the tribes.
I wouldn't believe it until I saw the mouse escape through my paws but it died anyway. When I came back my half sister was born. Usually that wouldn't disrupt me but the mouse was white. One of the kits in the litter was white, the rest were black. I got to name her. I named her Mouse who Trembles behind Rock. I tried to ignore her since but she has some hold on me.
"Storm! Storm who Chases Clouds!" I looked at my innocent little sister who was running to the edge of the cave. We are part of the Tribe of Windy Cliffs, well she is anyway. I'm half Tribe of Silver Streams. My father is part of that tribe so I never knew him though Mouse is treated by both of her parents.
"Yes Mouse?"
She looked at me with her big gray eyes. "Go to the gathering tonight!" She looked around before saying "They told me to tell you."
She had voices in her head. It was insane but I ignored it. "Okay, I'll go. Did the voices ask for anything else?"
"They want you to meet a cat named Light who Dances on Water." With that, Mouse ran off. Sighing, I padded off to get ready for the gathering.
When I reached the maple lined clearing where the gathering was held I looked around. There wouldn't be a cat named Light. Then I saw her. She was beautiful with pale blue gray fur, white paws, ear tips and tail tip. Her eyes were the color of the sea. I couldn't stop myself from walking to her. "Hello."
"Hello." She replied. I could feel my heartbeat with each word she spoke. "My name is Light who Dances on Water." I could feel my heart beating faster now. Surely that wasn't right.
"My name is Storm who Chases Clouds." Her eyes grew big. She looked around and whispered in my ear.
"Meet me at the border after the gathering." I nodded. The gathering then started.
I walked away with my tribe. I could remember every word he said. I could remember how he was from the tribe where there were no plants yet he smelled like a meadow. I faked a limp. "Are you okay, Light?"
I nodded my head. "Yes, it's just a shell caught in my pads. I'll catch up." They went on and I walked to the border. There he was. He was black as a night with no moon with streaks of gray on his fur that matched his eyes. "I was afraid you wouldn't come."
"I was about to say the same." He looked at me in the eyes. "This will sound crazy but my sister, a kit named Mouse, told me that voices told her that you were going to be here."
"My brother Blue said the same thing. I heard a legend when I was young that he would help save the tribes." I looked away from the tom. Afraid he would see how attracted I was to him.
"Will you meet me back here tomorrow night?" I looked back at him a nodded.
We met every night for a moon. We also forgot the reason we met. At first it was because of our siblings, now it was because we were forbidden mates, and I was expecting his forbidden kits. "You know, these kits will be exactly one fourth of every tribe." She said one day.
"That is a miracle all in itself." He looked into her eyes. "I love you."
"I love you too." She nuzzled his muzzle when her face twisted with pain. "The kits are coming." I froze. I had no experience, and none of our healers would come help with something like this. We need a miracle.
That's when I saw the tufts of whites and gray watching. "Mouse, Blue. Come here!" If this is what the legend was for then let them do their job and save Light and our kits.
After what seemed like moons, and with a lot of assistance from Mouse and Blue who said the voices told them what to do, there were four kits nestled close to Light's belly, two toms and two she-kits. "What do you want to name them?" She asked me.
I looked at one of the she-cats. She was the oldest and biggest, with dark grays and blacks on her fur. She looked like a cat of the Tribe of Windy Cliffs. "How about Echo of Falling Pebbles, Echo?" Light purred at the name.
"Mouse, how about you name one." My sister looked at one of the toms, a small thin, pale brown tabby with white paws, ear tips and tail tip.
"He looks like a Tribe of Grassy Meadows cat. How about Wind that Chases the Sun, Wind?" Light nodded.
"Blue, would you name one?" Blue looked at the gray and blue-gray tabby tom. He looked like a cat that would belong to the Clan of Crashing Waves.
"Wave that Crashes onto Shore, I think Wave will be a good name for him." Blue said surely.
I pressed my muzzle to Light's. "Name the last one, love."
She looked at the tiny silver and white she-cat and thought. She looked like a cat from the Tribe of Silver Streams. She was thin with a silky pelt and silvery fur. "Rain that Falls into Pools would be a good name for her, I think." Light said.
We purred at our kits when Blue and Mouse approached us, each with a grave look on their face. "Each must go to a different tribe and unite them." Blue's eyes were huge.
"They cannot know they are kin until the time is right. They cannot know until their destiny is upon them." Mouse's gaze softened. "Don't worry Storm, it'll be sometime soon."
Okay so this was suppose to be a one-shot for Waterstar03's Dream of a Tribe Challenge but I find I am really enjoying this so be on the lookout for another chapter or a sequel to this story. It was a ton of fun to do and I don't think I can leave it at this... Please leave a review, I want to hear y'all's opinions.