IMPORTANT NOTE: If your favorite cat is not resurrected, please refrain from asking me to add them. There are more groups of them that you will learn about later in the story, so wait and see. I wouldn't mind requests, but I can only do so many and don't want to upset anyone. Also, if a cat you dislike is a key player in this, please do not complain or request I remove them. I have chosen these cats for a certain reason (as you will discover later on) and do not intend to change them. c:
Thanks!
Cold air whipped through Bluestar's fur, shaking her concious. She lunged to her feet with a start, her heart racing. Where am I?... Bluestar looked over her shoulder and caught sight of a lake in the distance, black waves lapping lazily at the bank. A short distance from the water was a thick expanse of forest. Oh...Right. She shook her head to clear it. Bluestar looked around, but didn't see any other cats. Her heart sped up. What if I'm the only cat who made it?
Suddenly, a brown shape caught her eye. She turned to see a short, somewhat young looking tom creeping along the nearby bushes. A starclan cat, perhaps?
"Hey!" Her own voice surprised her. It was youthful and clear, not rumbling with age. The cats head shot toward her direction, and it leapt up to it's feet and dashed towards her.
"Bluestar!"
Realization hit her, and she ran to meet him, calling out, "Barkface!"
The two skidded to a hault, and Barkface touched his nose to Bluestar's. "What a relief!" He purred. "I was worried I was by myself here."
"I know. I was too." Bluestar replied. Barkface looked around, his ears erect to catch any sounds of cats nearby.
"I remember this place, faintly." He mused. "We passed through her on the journey here." He sighed softly, "It seems like so long ago..." Bluestar nodded in solemn agreement. She had wished she could have led her clan to their new home, but did not regret her sacrifice.
"Bluestar." The she-cat looked at her friend, he gazed at her with slight worry. "We should probably begin looking for the others."
She nodded, "Right. Sorry."
The two decided that Barkface would stay behind and keep watch in case any other cats showed up, and Bluestar would explore the area to see of they ended up nearby.
Bluestar edged along a trimmed row of bushes that were settled neatly along a Twoleg nest's fence. She parted her jaws, tasting the air for familiar cat-scents. Kittypet, Twolegs... A robin... The scent of prey clung to the roof of her mouth and sent a wave of excitement along her spine. That's right, I can hunt now! It's not like it's a bad thing, we will have to eat..
Bluestar hunkered down, her ears pricking to listen for the robin. It was settled on the fence, chirping contently. She watched it push of the fence and flutter onto the gras before her. Perfect. Her whiskers twitched and she paced forward, trying to keep hidden in the shade of the bushes.
She paused, wiggling her haunches, and lunged forward. The robin caught sight of her, but was a heart-beat too late. It sprung into the air as Bluestar landed,in time to swipe at the bird and send it crashing down. She quickly bit the back of it's neck, leaving the satisfying flavor of blood on her tongue.
"That. Was. Brilliant!" Bluestar jumped at the voice and whipped around, fur bristling. A fuzzy tan tom was perched on the fence, his hazel eyes gleaming.
"Who are you?" Bluestar demanded, flexing her claws. The tom leapt down and swept his tail across the grass.
"I should ask you the same question, forest-cat! Shouldn't you be back with your group?" He inquired, taking a pace closer. She stepped back.
"I.." She trailed off, she couldn't explain the situation to him, he wouldn't undrstand! "I'm on a mission. have you seen any other forest cats today?"
"Possibly. Who are you?" She flattened her ears in annoyance.
"My name is Bluestar." She sighed. The kittypet gave a purr and rolled onto his back.
"Cute name, kitty! I'm Felix." Bluestar's ear twitched. Cute? Kitty?
"Look." She sighed, "I need to find my clanmates. Have you seen them?" Ludwig thought for a moment and then shook his head. "Not that I know of, kitty. One of my house-mates may have. I remember Gizmo saying something about a 'strange brute' prowling around."
Felix jumped up, "Follow me!" Without waiting for a response, he leapt over the fence. Bluestar stared after him, eyes wide. Should she trust him? Maybe she should consult Barkface first. But if he's right, I may be able to find another cat, and maybe they know where some of the others are...
Sighing, Bluestar leapt onto the fence and the nicely groomed yard. Felix flicked her ear with his tail and led her through the yard. The grass pricked her paws, and every noise made Bluestar jump and bristle. They reached the other side of the yard and stopped by a patch of flowers.
"Wait here." Felix said, slipping through the flowers. Bluestar sat and looked around. A few birds fluttered around a tall stone shape, ocasioanlly landing and leaning into it's center. Bushes and flowers were lined up along the outside of the nest and stopped at the edge of smooth, tan stones that led into the nest. It's so strange...
Felix's scent filled her nose, and she turned to see him slipping back out of the flowers with a shaking cat at his side.
"This is Gizmo." He announced, nudging the shaking, mostly-white calico towards her.
"H-Hi.." She whispered, pressing closer to Felix.
"I asked her, she said she did see a wildcat not too long ago, didn't ya Gizmo?"
"Yes..."
Bluestar jumped to her paws, her tail shooting straight up in excitement. "Really? Did you talk to them? What'd they look like? Please, tell me everything!"
Gizmo looked unsure, but nodded. "Okay. Well. I snuck through the fence, just there beyond the flowers, and caught a strange scent. I-It was probably a stupid thing to do, but I followed it and found one of those forest cats. He was huge! White with black paws, I think.."
Bluestar's heart sped up. Blackstar? It must be! She jumped to her feet. "Gizmo! Please, you have to show me where! You must!"
Gizmo shook her head, "I-I don't know..."
"Please! I know that's one of my clanmates, I must find him!"
Gizmo gave Felix a nervous look, and he nudged her encouragingly. "Cmon, Giz. You gotta help her out!" She sighed and gave a reluctant nod.
Bluestar purred and lifted her tail, "Thank you, thank you so much!"
The little white cat turned and slipped through the flowers, Felix and Bluestar at her heels. They slipped through the hole in the fence. Bluestar peered around. They stood on a strip of grass, the next yard over was blocked by another fence, and at their sides was a dead end of bushes and a path of gray stone by a Thunderpath. Gizmo nudged her shoulder.
"Saw him over there, by the Walkway. I didn't see where he went, I ran off before he saw me." She meowed, nodding towards the stone path.
"I may be able to track him from here. Tha-" Bluestar was cut off by yowling nearby. Felix's fur bristled with excitement. "Hey! That sounds like it's coming from the alley!"
The tan cat shot off towards the Walkway. Gizmo gave Bluestar a nervous look, then dashed after him. Bluestar hesitated, then decided to follow. They skidded along the smooth stone of the Walkway, then turned sharply along the end of a fence into an alleyway.
"You stupid furball!"
The kittypets skidded to a stop, and Bluestar nearly crashed into them as they did. Peering around them, she saw an almost amusing sight. A large white cat towered over the noticeably smaller golden one. But the golden cats fur was bristled so much that it made it look almost the others size. Bluestar recognized them immediately.
"Blackstar? Leopardstar?"
The two looked in her direction, eyes wide. "Bluestar?" Leopardstar bounded over to her.
"Of course." Blackstar sneered. "The Thunderclan cat is with a bunch of kittypets!"
Bluestar ignored him and turned to Leopardstar instead. "Is it just the two of you?" Leopardstar nodded.
"Yes. Have you seen anyone else?"
"Barkface of Windclan."
"A cat from each clan." Blackstar observed "Only four? It seemed a bit of a dramatic ceremony for four cats..." Bluestar shrugged.
"Doesn't matter, does it? We should get back to Barkface and try to contact...some cat." Leopardstar nodded in agreement. "Yes. I want to know what in Starclan's name we're supposed to be doing!" Bluestar turned and caught sight of Gizmo and Felix standing there, eyes wide.
"Oh." She paused, "I'm sorry, you two. These are some of the cats I was looking for. Thank you both very much for your help."
Gizmo lowered her eyes, and Felix puffed out his chest. "No problem-o, kitty! Was glad to do it!"
Blackstar hurdled over the fence out of Felix's yard to join Leopardstar on the other side, leaving Bluestar to say goodbye to the kittypets. She touched noses with Gizmo and Felix, giving a warm purr. "Thanks again. You've assisted me greatly."
Felix licked her between the ears, "No problem, Bluestar. "
Gizmo purred shyly, "It was nice meeting you." Bluestar nodded in agreement and turned to jump onto the fence. She waved her tail in a final goodbye, and as she jumped down, Felix called after her.
"Visit us again!"
Bluestar joined the other two and started off towards Barkface's location. As they approached, however, they heard two voices. One belonging to Barkface, the other Bluestar found familiar, but couldn't quite place. She glanced at the other two, then the three sped forward to reach them.
When they got closer, they saw the medicine cat sitting with a young gray tabby. Barkface turned to them, a purr rumbling in his throat when he saw Leopardstar and Blackstar.
"Greetings! I'm glad to see Bluestar found others. Another had found me, fortunately!"
He gestured to the gray tom, who dipped his head politely. "Hi."
"Hello. Ashfur, correct?" Blackstar meowed. Ashfur nodded in response.
"So." Leopardstar began, "What do we do now? How are we supposed to contact Starclan?" As she spoke, a cat appeared behind her, Golden Light. The other cats faced her, eyes wide.
"I haven't much time, so I will make this quick." She took a breath, " The Tribe is just beyond the forest the Clans first inhabited. You must start your journey immediately to reach the them in time. There are other cats, but they have been dispersed in other locations in hopes that one will make it there faster. We did not have enough power to transport you closer, I apologize. Furthermore, you will not longer be able to keep your warrior names."
Leopardstar snarled in outrage, "What?! I have earned my name, and you dare threaten to take it away?"
"You all must remain inconspicuous.. We do not need to draw attention to you with Clan names. Your name will return to you when you return to Starclan and when you're in the Tribe. I haven't more time. You will now call eachother by the first part of your names. Good luck."
Blue's pelt bristled. "That was it? A general location and the loss of my name? that's fox dung!"
Bark rested his tail on her shoulder, "We must trust Starclan, Blue. I am frustrated as well, but we have no choice."
Black growled, "He's right. Let's just get on with this." He started off in the direction of the mountains, tail flicking in irritation. Leopard trudged after him, along with Ash. Bark nudged Blue in the hindquarters, then followed along.
We're really doing this. We're going back to my old home, we're saving Starclan. Blue looked up at the sky. The sun was starting to set, and the moon was faintly visible. Sighing, she ran after the others, heart pounding in her chest.
...I hope we can do this!...