Warrior Cats: The New Beginning

by: exeinator

Prologue

Rain could be seen trickling off of trees as lightning lit the brisk night sky. There was no stars, only the hazy grey-black clouds swrling and blocking out the sight of the moon from above. The sound of hurried paw-steps drew closer, and a flash of dark grey fur zig-zagged through a nearby patch of pine trees. The scuffling of needles drew to a stop as the cat halted, his ears sticking straight up into the air.

The medicine cat looked around. The sound of clapping thunder drew out his apprentice's nearby call. "Keep up, Fennelpaw!" The grey-pelted tom growled in annoyance. "Our pelts will wash off before we get to the Moonpool." He leapt onto a nearby log and lunged onto the other side, mud splashing around his paws.

The obedient cream-furred apprentice's pelt appeared as she dashed closer, "Coming, Smokeberry!" Her voice echoed from the surrounding dense patch of oaks. The pines had begun to disperse into the massive trees of Thunderclan's forest. Smokeberry knew they'd be there in a few heartbeats.

Smokeberry lead Fennelpaw foreward through the Dirtpath, until the vast acres of trees began to retreat, a few dotting the landscape here and there. A sloping hill lead the two onto a steep journey toward the Moonpool. "We're nearly there. The Moonpool should be Close."

Smokeberry came to a complete stop as a nearby rustling could be heard from earshot. He grabbed his apprentice's tail and twisted sharply to face the source of the noise. Drawing in his breath, he took a few steps foreward.

"Smokeberry, I'm glad we found you!" A voice boomed as the rustling stopped, and a dark ginger head poked out of the bushes. Behind the cat, a smaller grey tabby followed.

He let out a sigh of relief and stepped back. "You nearly scared the fur off our pelts!" Smokeberry nodded to Fennelpaw, who looked like a batch of shivering fur, eyes dialated in anxiety. "It's alright, it's just Ryefoot and Bettlepaw from Thunderclan."

Together, the four cats slipped into the clearing. The sound of rushing water drew Smokeberry's attention as they padded onward, and a flash of silver peering out of the trees told him they had arrived. Smokeberry's green eyes gleamed a silver, reflecting light of the Moonpool as the pelts of more medicine cats came into view.

"Here it is, Fennelpaw." The smoky-grey tom mrrowed, pride puffing his chest. "The Moonpool." As she was taking the beautiful sight in, he took notice to adress all of the cats. "See that dark brown she-cat over there?" He pointed with his tail.

Fennelpaw nodded cheerfully, and looked back up at Smokeberry.

"That's Dustcloud of Riverclan. She's not had an apprentice for a few moons." The wise tom explained, then dipping his head in the direction of emerging cats far to the left. "Those are Windclan's medicine cats, Barktooth and Bluewing. Bluewing recieved her full medicine cat name a half-moon ago."

As all the medicine cats gathered, Smokeberry of Shadowclan pulled foreward. "Starclan is waiting on us. Dream well, cats of the Clans, and I hope you dream of good luck with Starclan." The seven cats pulled their heads together and each drank a lap of the silvery, cool water.

The tom felt the water slide down his throat, and he quickly eased off into a deep sleep.

The sound of yowls and screams of terror awoke him. At first, Smokeberry looked around to see if Fennelpaw or the others were alright, but what lay before him was painstakingly terrifying.

Instantly, the tom's fur spiked around his spine. The clearing was now streaming with the bodies of cats he couldn't quite make out, but as he peered closer, he could see some familiar faces through each of the cats.

Foxtuft, Graybird, Palestripe and Sorrelwhisker. Each of Thunderclan, to Smokeberry's dismay. Out of the corner of his eye, he spotted a patrol that made his pelt bristle, and his jaw gape with shock.

It was the leader of his Clan, Bristlestar! With him followed a Shadowclan patrol containing Dawnleaf, Tigerleap, Hollyeyes and a greyish-white cat he couln't quite make out. No matter how hard his eyes strained, the face of the cat seemed to be washed out by some kind of thick haze..

More cats of each Clan ran on with terror, and as Smokeberry watched, Riverclan and Windclan soon joined them, their bodies mixing as a river of cats flooding out of the lake territory and into unknown grounds Smokeberry couldn't make out.

"Starclan, why have you shown me this?!" Panic seared in the tom's usually sullen voice. "What misfortune will this bring upon my Clan?!"

The howling of wind answered him, and the tom looked on as the four Clans hustled onward, each paw-step provoked with hunger and fear. He strained his ears to hear something above the groaning, the whispering of trees growing louder as he did so.

"Smokeberry."

The dark gray tom jumped, his heart thudding against his chest as he turned to see a golden-furred, starry figure leaping from the branch of a nearby tree. "The Clans are in danger, Smokeberry."

Smokeberry breathed out in a stunned response, his eyes twinkling with the reflection of the familiar cat. "Thornpelt, is that truely you?"

His old mentor, previous medicine cat of Shadowclan, gave a nod, his eyes looking on gravely. "This is no time for a reunitement, Smokeberry. I have come with a prophecy.."

Smokeberry sat down, his pads tingling with anxiety as he fixed Thornpelt with his worried gaze.

"The call of the owl will unite four into one." Thornpelt's voice boomed, growing louder and thunderous. "Danger is coming to the Clans, Smokeberry.."

The confused tom's head tilted. "What does that mean? What danger will we face?"

But the starry cat was already beginning to fade, the bushes and trees behind him seeable through his clear pelt. "Remember what I have told you. I can say no more. You will not tell anyone else. The destiny of the four is not up to you."

As the sounds of the forest drowned out beyond earshot, the tom awoke with a jolt. Around him, the rest of the Medicine cats were staring at him, their eyes wider than moons. Fennelpaw looked the most worried, her amber eyes locking directly with his.

"You sounded as if you were being torn from the inside! What did you dream of, Smokeberry?! We were all worried sick!"

He pushed her paw away and got upward, his fur still ruffled and sticking up in different places. Smokeberry swayed on his paws slightly, pressing against a nearby shrub. "..Nothing, Fennelpaw. Let's get moving."

The medicine cats turned away, seemingly understanding of the law of the dreams. It wasn't shared with other Clans, not even of ther own. But the tom couldn't help but lag behind the rest of the group as they separated. Why didn't the others have similar dreams of misfortune? Why only him? Thornpelt's voice began bouncing around in his head as he walked behind the traveling paws.

The call of the owl will unite four into one.