"So, a long, long time ago, the forest was just an empty land. And occupying that land were great beasts, bigger than the biggest Big-Barks, and meaner too.".
"But unlike Big-Barks, these things were cat-like. There were cheetahs in the moorland, lions in the forest, tigers in the marsh, and leopards by the river. There were also cats like me and you, but... uh... they were hunted a lot by the beasts. They were also much weaker and more frightened compared to us.".
Firepaw could almost snicker at how Ravenpaw's demeanor shifted as soon as he began telling the story, but he held his tongue and nodded for him the continue.
"But among them lived four special giants. These ones were meek and polite, not at all like the savages most of their clanmates were. And being very thoughtful, they felt sorry for the cats' predicament. But, being thoughtful was their weakness, and they were thrown out. Soon they began to hate their clans. So one night on a Quarter-Moon, they all gathered at the Four-Trees, and held a meeting.".
"'I believe we all know why we're here.' Forestswipe, the lion, spoke.".
"'Indeed. We need to find out how work out an arrangement.' Skypelt, the representative from the leopard clan, spoke.".
"'But the trouble is,' Marshfoot, a tiger, broke in, 'That the cats won't listen to us, and we're considered enemies to our clans.'.".
"Finally, Swiftfoot, a warrior from the Cheetahs', spoke: "Perhaps we could go to the cave beyond my clan's territory. I have found a glowing stone in a cavern, illuminated by the moonlight. I spoke with my mother there, and she granted me the power to walk in dreams. I was thinking we could visit the cat's dreams and convince them there.". The other three nodded in agreement, and decided to meet at the half moon.".
"And so, when they came into the cavern we know as the Moon-Stone today, they were luckily able to explain their situation, and even managed to convince a few cats to meet them there in the next two days. And the cats did. The leader stepped forth.".
"'Are you sure this plan will work?' He spoke, his voice raspy and aging. Forestswipe informed: "There's no guarantee, but we have to try.". They all nodded and started to plan. And while planning, many mated with the giants, and sure enough, a new race of cats were created. They had the patterns of the giants and strength, but also the senses and speed of the cats.".
"Soon there were too many cats in the cave, and on a full moon night, they decided to confront the clans in a gathering of sorts. The four exilees lured them our to the Four-Trees, and gave their speech. But when they gave their proposal to share, the leaders simply laughed.".
Ravenpaw paused to take a breath, before continuing.
"'You really expect us to hand over our land!?' The tiger leader boomed, 'Think again!'. Then, all four leader let out a battle cry to their giants, and they all attacked.".
Firepaw nodded, truly intrigued by this story.
"It was a bloody battle. Many were lost that night, including the weaker race of cats. But in the midst of the chaos, the battle was turning. The four and their army were winning. And soon, all that was left were bloody bodies of he giant's clans, the four, and the new race.".
"'We've won...'. Skypelt whispered. And soon enough, the night was spent in celebration, before they buried the bodies in the morning. They took a certain amout of cats and headed off to their clans' camps, giving the queens and kits there a chance to live and intermingle with the new race of our kind. They meet every full moon to speak peacefully of news, and at the half moon, the medicine cats would meet at the Moon-Stone as it was called, to share with StarClan, a place where good cats go when they die.".
"Where do the bad cats go?" Firepaw inquired.
"To a void of darkness and despair, where they will be tormented with their crimes until they are forgotten.".
As Ravenpaw wrapped up his story, Firepaw stood up to his paws.
"Great story, Ravenpaw!" He congratulated.
The black tom jumped in the air, seemingly forgetting he had an audience. Turning around and swallowing, he said, "Uh, yeah. I mean- it's the only thing I'm confident in.".
"Well that's a good thing, right?".
The black tom nodded sheepishly.
"I-I suppose.".
"Hey you two!". Both toms looked up to find a tortoiseshell tom there.
"Everyone's getting settled in the sleep. You better come if you don't want to miss it." The tom said, his voice rough but not unkind.
"O-oh! Sorry Redtail!". Ravenpaw nudged his companion onto his paws, and they followed Redtail as Firepaw thought about the story he had heard.
