Here is the long-awaited chapter 2!
I am very sorry for the delay, and I hope that this longer chapter will make up for it!
Reviews (wow, 8 reviews already?!):
"Cloudy Dreamcatcher" - Thank you so much! It means a lot to me ;)
"Pixelfun20" - Thank you! I can't say where the she-cat received her power yet, but it's definitely not from StarClan. Since she knows she has this power since she was born, she already used it multiple times, but for minor things (for example, saving someone who dies crushed by a tree). Her power is a sort of intuition, she just knows how to use it and what it does.
"Emberflame" - Thanks! I didn't really know how to start the story, but at some point the complicated details were going to appear, so I decided to just put everything in Chapter one. Sorry if it was a little confusing at first! XD
"Blue741776" - I love the original plot too, but this story will change things a little... I hope you'll like it anyways!
"FlareOfTheMidnightPanther" - Thank you! ;)
"A Sky Of Blazing Stars" - Yep, this story will have a lot of suspense XD And no, Whitestar's warrior name is not Whitestorm. The beginning of this story is in a very distant future, and the past happened just like the original series (until both apprentices go into the past). So Whitestorm died like he died in the battle against Scourge and everything else happened like the original plot. Whitestar is just the name of the ThunderClan leader some 50 years after Firestar's death. He's not really important in the story though, I doubt you'll hear about Whitestar again ;)
"Tigerflight" - Aww, thank you so much!
Chapter 2:
The she-cat staggered as she touched the ground. Scanning her surroundings, she checked that they were at the exact same place as before.
Indeed, the same trees were looming over them, the same bramble bushes were surrounding them, the only difference being the weather and the blossoming trees.
"Specklepaw, open your eyes!" she meowed to her friend, prodding at his side with her forepaw. "We did it! We managed to go back in time!" she yowled excitedly.
Specklepw slowly blinked open his eyes and looked around, making sure that they were definitely in another time period.
"This is great," he purred, brushing his pelt against hers. "Now, we have all the time we want to change our future."
But the she-cat did not seem as sure as her friend. "Hang on a moment," she meowed, squinting her eyes as if she was looking for something.
"What is it?" inquired the golden-pelted tom.
"Shhh!" hissed the she-cat. "I need to concentrate." The time seemed to drag on as he she-cat stood, listening to any sounds she could hear.
"This is it!" she meowed suddenly, her happy face becoming grave again. "Can you hear anything, Specklepaw?" she asked her friend.
Specklepaw's brow furrowed as he perked his ears. "No," he answered, after a moment of hesitation.
"Yes! This is exactly what I mean!" cried the she-cat. "We can hear nothing! We are supposed to be on Clan territory, right? And Clans make a lot of noise. Well, remember the Great Journey? The Clans lived in the old forest at this precise time, and I completely missed this detail! We are by the lake, which is sunrises away from the Clan's original territory! Why haven't I thought about that?"
"Oh," murmured Specklepaw. "I see the problem. But will a moon's delay really change our plans?"
"Yes!" wailed the she-cat. "In a few sunrises, one of the most famous villains known in our history will commit his first murder. We need to prevent this from happening! Look, Specklepaw. I have a lot of things to tell you. You have no idea how many things we need to prevent from happening. And I need to brief you on today's history."
"Oh no," answered Specklepaw. "Can't you go into the past again to give us one more moon to arrive to the forest?"
"No," replied the she-cat. "I can only go into the past when I have merged with my own self, which will be in six hundred moons."
"Well, we'd better get going then, if we want to arrive as soon as possible."
"You're right," sighed the she-cat. "Let's go, and I'll tell you everything while we walk."
Specklepaw nodded, and twitched his ears to show that he was listening. Both cats turned around and padded alongside each other, headed towards WindClan territory. The she-cat gave one last look at her home before turning her head towards the sun in determination.
"I'll start with our ancestry first," she meowed to Specklepaw as they neared the ThunderClan border. "You may not know it, Specklepaw, but we are very very very distant cousins. I give you three guesses to find our last common ancestor."
Specklepaw frowned, then lifted his head to look at the she-cat. "Dawnfrost?"
"Good guess, but no," purred the she-cat. "Dawnfrost was your great great great grandmother, and it doesn't surprise me that you would think of her. She did, after all, save the Clans from great trouble. Specklepaw, our last common ancestor lived way before Dawnfrost, and you know him by name."
"How can I know him if he lived that long ago?" muttered Specklepaw. "I have no idea. Go on, tell me."
"Sure. His name was Firestar, and his mate was Sandstorm."
"Firestar... This name definitely reminds me of something," thought Specklepaw aloud.
"Of course it does you stupid furball!" laughed the she-cat. "Firestar was the cat who saved the Clans so many times that ever our elders couldn't remember everything he had done!"
"Yes, I see who he is now!" exclaimed Specklepaw, his eyes brightening. "Is he really my great great great great grandfather or something?"
"Yes," purred the she-cat.
"Wow, this is amazing! This is truly amazing!" he meowed, tail high in the air.
"To make things more precise, Firestar and Sandstorm are your seven times great grandparents and my six times great grandparents," meowed the she-cat. "They had two daughters. The first one, Leafpool, had three kits. One of them, Lionblaze, had a kit who had a kit who had a kit who had a kit who had a kit who had your mother, Stormcry, who had you with Shadeclaw. Leafpool's sister, Squirrelflight, had a kit, Sparkpelt, who had a kit who had a kit who had a kit who had a kit who had my father, Flameheart, who had me with Echowhisp," the she-cat meowed, out of breath.
"That was a mouthful!" she added after a few heartbeats, laughter sparkling in her eyes.
Specklepaw was speechless. "I didn't get everything, but I have a little idea of our ancestry now," he meowed after a moment. Then, his eyes flicked to where they now stood. "We are in WindClan territory now," he meowed. "Isn't it good to be able to trespass on the other Clan's territory without being attacked?" he added, looking at his friend.
"True," purred the she-cat. "Now, let me continue. Right now, Firestar is alive, and is approximately six moons old. However, he had not arrived to ThunderClan yet."
"What do you mean by that?" meowed Specklepaw, startled.
"Don't you remember? Snowpelt told us Firestar's story when we were kits. Firestar was a kittypet before he became a Clan cat, and entered ThunderClan when he was six moons old. His old name was Rusty, but I am the only one who knows that, thanks to my power."
"Oh yes, I remember now."
"So, in about two or three sunrises, Rusty will become Firepaw. Nevertheless, on this precise day, a horrible cat named Tigerclaw will murder Redtail, ThunderClan's deputy, in order to become the next leader of ThunderClan. This was the murder we needed to prevent," meowed the she-cat.
Specklepaw nodded in understanding and flicked his ears to show his friend he was listening.
"I will go into all the further details tomorrow, because you need to know the Clan's allegiances. ThunderClan is now under the reign of Bluestar, a very well known she-cat durning this time period. Redtail is her deputy, but after his murder, a cat named Lionheart will replace him. RiverClan's leader and deputy are Crookedstar and Oakheart, but this last one will die the same day as Redtail. He will be replaced by a she-cat named Leopardfur. WindClan lived under Tallstar and Deadfoot, while ShadowClan lives under Brokenstar and Blackfoot."
"Wait a second for me to assimilate all that," laughed Specklepaw. "I have a slower memory than you!"
"Just for you to know, Redtail is Sandstorm's father, and therefore is from our family," meowed the she-cat after a moment. "Tell me when you get everything secured in your memory," she added, purring.
"I got it now, thanks," he purred back.
"So, as I was saying, Brokenstar is the actual leader of ShadowClan. He is one of the most villain cats in the Clan's history, but I'll go into details later too," she meowed, looking at Specklepaw in the eyes.
By this time, both cats were already way past the WindClan and RiverClan border. The lake was just a small glittering surface in the distance.
"The sun is setting," noted Specklepaw, blinking as the last rays of sunlight pierced his eyes. "We need to eat, and find a place to rest."
"True," agreed the she-cat. "Let's walk a little further and find somewhere to sleep in the forest we can see there." She pointed her tail in front of them, where they could see a few trees, changing them from the vast moor they were on. "We'll fell more at home."
Together, the apprentices walked up to the edge of the emerald green forest.
"I'll go and hunt," meowed the she-cat to Specklepaw. "Try to find someplace safe to stay for the night."
"Fine," he meowed. "Meet me here when the sun will have completely set."
The she-cat nodded and padded into the forest. The prey will probably be plentiful here, as there aren't many predators like Specklepaw and I, thought the she-cat. Lifting her eyes, she spotted a squirrel nibbling a nut beside a tree. Smiling, the she-cat silently dropped into the hunter's crouch, and padded towards it. A few fox lengths behind the ginger rodent, she leaped and swiftly killed it, before it could react.
"That was a fine catch," the she-cat meowed to herself. "I just need to find another one like that and we'll be full for a whole day!" she smiled, thinking about how round Specklepaw's belly would look after this meal.
A few heartbeats later, a plump mouse was in her jaws, its body limp as the she-cat held it by its tail. She padded confidently through the forest, and laid her prey to her paws as she arrived at their meeting place. The sun wasn't down yet, but the sky was already starting to become darker, and shades of orange and red mingled with light blue.
"Specklepaw, here you are!" she finally meowed as her friend approached her. "Have you found us someplace to sleep?"
"Yes," he purred, flicking his tail happily. "Follow me, I found a small cave not so far from here that will make us feel just at home."
The she-cat purred in response and took her prey in her jaws as she rose. Both cats walked a little and Specklepaw stopped beside a gurgling stream with flowers growing near it. In front of them was a little cave which was hidden behind a bramble bush.
"Here it is," meowed the yellow tom, pointing his tail to the cave. "It's hidden, small and secure. Isn't it great?"
"Of course," answered the she-cat, placing her prey down. "Let's eat what I have caught, and then rest. We have a long day ahead of us tomorrow."
"Definitely. Can I have the mouse? I'm not that hungry you know." He lifted his golden eyes to look at his friend.
"I know you Specklepaw," laughed the she-cat. "Did you really think that I would believe you? You're always hungry! I don't mind taking the mouse. I hate squirrel fur!"
"Fine," laughed Specklepaw, defeated. "I'll take the squirrel. But don't think that I will always take the bigger prey! Tomorrow, you will be stuffed by the biggest rabbit in the world!"
"Oh, really?" snickered the she-cat, rolling on her belly. "You weren't that great a rabbit hunter in ThunderClan!"
"I'll prove you wrong, you'll see!" he meowed, jumping on her and pinning her to the ground. Amber eyes met green, and both cats stared at each other, entranced in the other's gaze. The she-cat stared at Specklepaw, his blazing yellow dappled fur shining in the last rays of the sun.
"I love you Specklepaw," she murmured, looking at him with honest, deep green eyes.
"And I love you, Thunderpaw," he answered, curling up beside her. "Forever and always."
Here is the end of Chapter 2...
So, what do you think about the she-cat's name? XD
I'll try to update as soon as possible, but no promises... And for those who are wondering: I am not abandoning The Flight of the Jay ;) I am just taking a little break from it by continuing Echoes of the Past.
I hope you liked this chapter! Please review! ;)
~Lightning