Disclaimer: I do not own Warriors. I will never own Warriors.
Rated: T
Author's Note: You're probably all ready to kill me by this point. x.o I couldn't continue the story for a long time after Sootfur died and I started hating Ashfur...and now so many characters aren't going to be in this fan fiction...but there's nothing I can do about that, really, so I'm going to continue this fan fiction as best I can, but it'll be way different than the books...well, I guess that's obvious, since the books don't have any gay couples. D: But yeah.
Here's the first chapter...
Chapter One
Ashfur woke with a start, panting, eyes stretched wide with fear. It was the third time he had dreamt of the shadowy warriors in as many nights, and each time the cats drew closer, claws unsheathed and shining like slivers of Moonstone, their eyes alight with cold cunning. Their scent was of winter and blood, and they seemed to drain the very warmth from the air.
He shook his head, trying to scatter the remnants of the dream like raindrops. His heart beginning to slow, he looked around him.
The ThunderClan warriors were curled up together a short walk from the entrance to the cave, in moss- and feather-lined nests. The Tribe cats did not sleep too close to them, though that came as no surprise to Ashfur. They were well within their rights to be wary of Sootfur and him, as they were still strangers to the Tribe, despite the Clans staying for a short time a few moons ago. Still, he felt like even more of an outcast, unwanted in his Clan and unwelcome in the Tribe. He had taken to padding climbing up above the waterfall that masked the entrance to the Cave and watching the sun's pale light filtering through the clouds for hours on end, sometimes with Sootfur, but most times alone. The silver-gray tom's gentle amber eyes were sympathetic, and soothed his wounded heart. Still, he felt lonelier than ever.
Rising to his paws, he stretched, arching his back and curling his tail. He yawned widely, blinking as a gust of cold air seeped into the cave. Shivering, he imagined his sister back home, snug and warm in the nursery with Daisy, Sorreltail, and their kits, perhaps sharing some fresh-kill. Though Ferncloud's kits were grown, she was too gentle to return to her warrior duties; she would stay to help Sorreltail with her kits.
Maybe Squirrelflight will join them soon, Ashfur thought, and missed his friend more than ever. I'm sure that she and Brambleclaw will decide to have kits someday.
He narrowed his eyes as the wind increased and he heard a low rumble of thunder in the distance over the noise of the waterfall. They were well protected in the cave; much more secure than the Clans would be in their dens of interlaced branches. But maybe the storm would not hit the lake.
A scent crept into his nostrils and he raised his head as Stormfur approached, Brook at his side. "Good morning, Ashfur," he meowed, nodding to the former ThunderClan warrior. "Did you sleep well?"
"Yes, thank you, Stormfur," Ashfur replied.
He glanced at Sootfur as the other tom stirred slowly, blinking up at them. He, too, stretched as he rose, yawning to wake himself up properly. "'morning," he muttered sleepily.
"Do you two want to join our hunting party?" Brook inquired. "We're hoping to catch some prey before the storm hits."
"Sure," Sootfur meowed, padding to stand beside Ashfur. Ashfur looked into his amber eyes and their glow made his anxiety evaporate. His paws prickled with a strange feeling and he suddenly felt as if he could run forever.
"Great!" Stormfur meowed. He led the way to a small group of Tribe cats, all lithe and agile, waiting patiently by the entrance. He dipped his head to a large tom whose mud-streaked fur completely masked the colour of his pelt. "Ashfur and Sootfur will be joining us, Dusk."
Dusk nodded, turning his head to face the two Clan toms. There was a stillness to him that made Ashfur shiver, and his pale orange eyes seemed to bore into his thoughts. "Good," he meowed, and his voice was like the whisper of the wind across midnight snow. "We could use more prey-hunters."
"This is Dusk that Hides the Fox," Stormfur meowed to Ashfur and Sootfur. "He's one of the Tribe's best prey-hunters."
"Pleased to meet you, Dusk," Ashfur meowed, but to him his voice seemed cold.
Dusk stared into Ashfur's eyes for a long moment, then turned to look at Sootfur. As soon as the Tribe cat's eyes left his, Ashfur let out his breath. He hadn't realized he'd been holding it.
There was no further conversation as the five cats were joined by two cave-guards, then padded out of the waterfall and into the cool, crisp air. Ashfur breathed lightly; he felt light-headed if he breathed too deeply of this mountain air. There were no heavy woodland scents to clutter up the air, and so there was so much of it to breathe that his lungs weren't used to it yet. They will be in time, he thought. We are to stay here our whole lives, are we not? The thought panged him.
He had to admit that he enjoyed the challenge of forging a new life in the harsh world of the Tribe cats, but he was unused to sleeping beneath the lights that marked a place where StarClan did not roam. He had looked to them all his life, trusted in them; StarClan was home to his own mother. Now she could not see him while he lived in the mountains.
He glanced at Sootfur padding alongside him. Willowpelt is with StarClan now, too, he reminded himself. Neither of our mothers lived to see us become warriors.
"Stop," Brook hissed suddenly. She swivelled her ears in the direction of a small bush huddled between two hulking boulders. Her gray eyes flitted to a pile of boulders nearby and gave the tiniest of nods. She crept quietly over to the pile, slinking behind it. Dusk, Stormfur, and Sootfur followed, and Ashfur crept quietly behind them.
Brook peeped cautiously over the top of a boulder, her eyes on the bush. Ashfur glanced at Dusk, and saw that the prey-hunting was not looking at the bush, but was staring intently at a space behind Ashfur. Swallowing hard, he turned his head, but saw nothing. Is he trying to make me unsettled? he wondered.
"Here it comes," Brook hissed quietly.
He turned his senses back to the bush. It shuddered, and out of the prickly fronds poked a large, hooked beak. An eagle! Ashfur thought, recognizing the shape. He felt rather than heard Dusk and Stormfur slip away, both moving to circle around behind the bush. Good hunting, he thought.
The two toms seemed to disappear against the bleak landscape, and Ashfur had to strain his eyes to spot them. His eyes caught the faint rustling of Dusk's flank as he tensed his muscles, then sprang at the bird. With a quick movement, he dispatched the bird with a single blow to its throat, his unsheathed claws leaving a bloody trail across its neck. It made a slight gurgle as it fell to the earth.
Stormfur padded out from behind the boulder, purring as he congratulated the prey-hunter. "Great job, Dusk!"
"Yes," Sootfur meowed, slipping out to join them. "I could barely see you as you crept up behind it, and you moved so fast when you killed it."
Dusk's face betrayed no emotion, though he sounded faintly embarassed as he meowed, "I had a good trainer when I was a to-be. He taught me everything."
Brook let out a mrrow of laughter, flicking her tail over her Tribemate's ear. "So humble. The Tribe of Endless Hunting gifted you with the ability to stay still for a long time, then move fast as lightning."
"I hope to continue to use the gifts they gave me to serve my Tribe well," Dusk replied quietly.
"I'm sure you will," Stormfur meowed. He dragged the eagle back into the bush, making sure to hide it well. "Now, let's continue with our hunt!"
As they padded away along the ledge, followed by the silent cave-guards, Ashfur couldn't help thinking, StarClan gave Tigerstar the same gifts.
