Hello again! The prologue isn't very long, but it hopefully sets the tone.
Don't forget to check out Dustlight's Choice!
Enjoy!
Lilystar had always found Twolegs to be positively dreadful. Their grating voices were unintelligent, and their ugly, furless bodies made them look like plucked birds.
They were also dreadfully destructive towards RiverClan territory—they always had been, what with one of their dens not too far off. That was how it had always been, as long as Lilystar could recall.
She remembered how Dandelionskip had once gotten her hindpaw wrapped up in a thin, clear Twoleg vine while swimming in the river. It had been caught so tightly, Shimmerfoot had had to remove the paw entirely. Lilystar recalled the medicine cat's grim gaze as he did the deed, and Dandelionskip's sad eyes as she retired to the elder's den at only thirty moons.
Twolegs had always been a problem; it was something Lilystar knew. This, however, was something she could have never anticipated.
The sun was hot on the cream she-cat's back as she padded along the riverbank, her deputy and close confidant, Pikebelly, in tow. They were just out to scout the area behind an earlier patrol to make sure ThunderClan hadn't attempted to claim Sunningrocks.
It was Pikebelly who first noticed something was wrong. "Lilystar," he meowed sharply, and she turned around to look at him. Pikebelly was staring into the river, yellow eyes wide with worry. "Lilystar, there are dead fish in the river."
"What?" she asked, walking back to where her deputy stood. "What do you mean?"
Pikebelly gestured with his head to a particular spot in the water, and, sure enough, Lilystar could see that there were at least five sizable fish floating dead. She was quiet for a moment, unsure of what to make of it, but knowing full well that whatever had caused the deaths was not good. One dead fish with no visible wounds was concerning enough, but five? "Fish them out and bury two of them; bring one back to camp. We will have Shimmerfoot investigate them."
Pikebelly nodded, wading into the water to do as his leader said. Together, the two cats buried the fish further up the bank, and Lilystar picked up the remaining prey between her jaws.
She nearly gagged, dropping it unceremoniously by her paws. "It's rancid!" Lilystar exclaimed, disgusted. The fish had tasted completely unnatural, like something one would smell by a thunderpath, but worse. "It's poison!"
Pikebelly's eyes widened. "You think so?" he asked, concern clear in his voice. "What do you think it is? Twolegs?"
Lilystar nodded grimly, gagging again at the memory of the brief taste she'd had. And she'd only just picked it up. "Perhaps..." she meowed, green eyes fixed on the dead fish. "Pikebelly, tell the Clan report any strange tasting fish, and to stay clear of this part of the river. Do not alarm them any more than they need be," she ordered, and Pikebelly nodded dutifully.
Lilystar's gaze flickered to the calm, flowing river, feeling a distrust in her stomach like she'd never felt before. The river gurgled playfully as it always had, but now it seemed somewhat malicious, as though it was harboring a dreadful secret. "Let's not waste time," she meowed briskly. "StarClan knows we may not have it."