So! I got pretty much an overwhelming response for the long version! Yayyy. :P I'm glad, because I already typed out the long version.
Redwolf: Thanks so much! That would be amazing of you! :D
And to everyone who commented about the 'love triangle' – yes. I didn't even think about it in those terms until I saw your guys' reviews. :D I just kinda had to for my benefit. Even if it doesn't last long (winkeh winkeh). 'Cuz since the beginning I had always pictured Fernpaw and Wolfpaw together, but then as I was writing it seemed like she fit better with Blazepaw. Ah well... maybe it will continue, maybe one side of it will be forced to die out. c:
Be warned – this chapter is a teensy bit violent! (But not anything to horrendous. Don't worry about it. I don't even know why I included this. I'll shut up now.)
–
p.s. (written much later) I know I took a rather extended writing hiatus, I considered putting in an author's note chapter but those always annoy me when I read them in other people's stories and discourage me from putting on story alert. I'm back now though, and hoping to get back into the cycle of writing!)
/\/\
Bristlepaw, you already know me, and you know what I am here for. You must find the other three.
Remember, Bristlepaw. Remember that you are the purest of all.
Bristlepaw woke with a start, the words of the black she-cat still echoing in her head. The sun was already shining through the medicine cat's den opening. She must have overslept.
Stonefeather confirmed her words as his head poked into the den. "Bristlepaw, you're finally awake. I didn't want to wake you, you looked exhausted from the Gathering. Can you check on Redstorm's joints? The cranky old tom has been complaining to no end."
"Yes, Stonefeather," Bristlepaw chanted obediently, grabbing the herb mixture she used for Redstorm. She made herself become more alert as the even-more-dim-than-usual sunlight caught her right in the eyes. Nearing leaf-fall, the sky had begun to get darker, more clouded.
Just how she – and most of ShadeClan – liked it.
Bristlepaw padded into the elder's den, pinpointing the ginger tom easily. The only other elders in the den were Breezewhisker, a gray tom, and Robinsong, a brown-and-white she-cat, Breezewhisker's brother. She padded up to Redstorm, dropping the bundle of herbs.
"Redstorm, I'm here to help with your joints."
"And it's about time," rasped the elder, peering at Bristlepaw through slitted eyes. "Well, hurry up then."
Bristlepaw started chewing the herbs into a poultice as Redstorm continued. "What's all the hubbub about the Gathering anyways? Some white cats? Sounds like a story, a rip-off of my story."
Bristlepaw stopped chewing. "Your story?"
Breezewhisker chuckled mildly. "It's not really his. He was the only one willing to memorize the whole long bit from Gorsetail, the last elder who knew it. Such an old tale."
Bristlepaw turned to Redstorm. "Tell me. While I'm getting your poultice ready."
Redstorm raised his eyebrows at her brusque tone as Bristlepaw continued getting the herbs ready, her ears perked keenly towards his direction. "Well, to understand my story you need to know the whole background. You see, long ago in a forest far away, there were four Clans, LeafClan, NightClan, SnowClan, and CreekClan. But a great group of rogues overtook the Clans. They combined all four into a 'OneClan', took away titles, forced the Clan cats to be their slaves. Many Clan cats went along with them, and were accepted into their ranks. But there were still a few resistors..."
/\/\
The ginger-striped tom stepped into the moonlit clearing. His ears were perked for danger, eyes flashing about nervously. If the others had come like he had told them to, they should be here by now.
"Flamestride." A cool mew came from the shadows as a black she-cat with glowing blue eyes slipped into the moon's bathing glow.
Flamestride nodded his head slightly to her. "Shadefur."
Shadefur only narrowed her eyes in return. "Why have you brought me here?"
"It seems we have the same questions," came a lower, rumbling voice. A stone-gray tom appeared, amber eyes glinting.
"Stonestep. I promise, all questions will be answered; we just have to wait for the last one."
"For StarClan's sake-" Shadefur started to hiss, and Flamestride and Stonestep immediately shushed her quiet.
"You know that name is now outlawed," Flamestride said softly.
"If this mysterious someone will just show up, maybe we could get past these awkward formalities," Shadefur finished her thought in a whisper.
"He's here," Flamestride said as a light brown tom made his appearance.
"Um-um- is this the wrong place, I think I'm in the wrong place-" the tom stuttered, and Shadefur rolled her eyes.
"Not Dustleap. Are you serious? He's, well, he's CreekClan," she said scornfully. Dustleap seemed to shrink even further, ears flattening onto his head.
"Stop. The reason I've called you here should be obvious." Flamestride started to pace around the three others. Shadefur rolled her eyes, but the other two toms were riveted by the ginger tom's dramatic procession.
"Shadefur, former warrior of NightClan."
Shadefur nodded, somewhat startled.
"Dustleap, former warrior of CreekClan."
Dustleap shifted awkwardly, looking anywhere but into Flamestride's green gaze.
"Stonestep, former deputy of SnowClan.".
Stonestep flinched as the tom mentioned his former title, then nodded slowly.
Flamestride stopped in front of the three. "And me, Flamestride, former warrior of LeafClan."
Silence.
"Look well upon each other, because we are the next four leaders of the new Clans."
Silence met his words. Then an explosion of sound -
"Are you joking?" snarled Shadefur, obviously put-off, as Stonestep blinked hard in surprise and Dustleap trembled, murmuring "Oh no, not me, I couldn't ever-"
"Now listen," Flamestride said, causing them to fall quiet, "This blasted 'OneClan' is not how this is supposed to be. We've been betrayed and abused. Dustleap, I know you love your mate, Marshflower. Do you want her to continue being beaten and hurt by these rogues?"
Dustleap shook his head, determination finally flaming in his eyes.
"Go back to your previous camps. Find those still loyal to their Clans. We will escape, find a new forest, a new home. We will start new Clans – FlameClan, ShadeClan, StoneClan, and DustClan."
The other three cats nodded slowly.
"We understand," said Stonestep, wise amber eyes glowing.
"In one moon, on the full moon, we will make our escape. Be ready. Bring all the cats you can, kits to elders. Our leaders have been slain, but we will start anew."
Flamestride flicked his tail and disappeared into the shadows. Just as swiftly, the other three cats retreated to their camps, minds racing with the news to tell their friends and family.
/\/\
"And one moon later, they made their escape. They didn't have enough cats to fight off the intruders, but they were fleet of foot enough to run. They travelled far until they reached this forest." Redstorm scowled in annoyance as a fly landed on his ear, flicking his ear away. "It was perfect. Mountains, forests, and wetlands. Cats were shifting Clans to follow lovers or for different tastes – in fact, only a few former SnowClan cats actually stayed with Stonestep - the same for every to-be leader. Allegiances were changing. But when the Clans, not yet totally formed, entered their perfect forest, they realized there was a problem. A large group of cats already inhabited the forest, and they were not about to give it up."
Bristlepaw listened keenly as she spread the poultice onto Redstorm's joints.
"They were a cruel, harsh group, calling themselves the 'pure hunters'. And they hated all cats who weren't white." Redstorm shrugged. "Sounds like folly to me, I know, but they had a terrible, twisted mindset. When the to-be leaders, Flamestride, Shadefur, Stonestep, and Dustleap, saw the horrible things that went on in the pure hunter's camp, they realized they had to defeat them. So they went to war."
Redstorm nodded, closing his eyes as a ray of sunshine fell on his pelt. "That feels good. Less and less sunshine these days. Leaf-fall's nearing..."
"Keep going," Bristlepaw urged, heart pounding. This explains why the pure hunters hate the Clans...
"Patience, missy. Erm, where was I? Oh yes, they went to war. It was a terrible battle, with heavy losses on both sides. It worked its way into a stalemate, until the four leaders managed to corner the pure hunter's leader, a vicious, bloodthirsty tom named Dyrus..."
/\/\
Flamestride snarled, his fangs glinting, as he prowled closer to the huge white tom. "Your time is up, Dyrus," he spat. "Too many cats have died because of you."
The tom's black eyes were harsh, unforgiving, unafraid. "So you think."
Stonestep and Shadefur were both bleeding heavily, but neither of them showed any exhaustion as they joined Flamestride, approaching Dyrus from both sides.
"You think that you are so pure?" came a spat as Dustleap, all former hesitation gone, stepped forward, glaring harshly at the tom. "Let us show you how a real warrior fights!"
It was the cue. Immediately, all four cats sprang at Dyrus. The white tom fell under the combined weight of all four cats, but was immediately back on his feet, hissing and clawing. Shadefur latched onto the tom's back, gripping his spine with her teeth and raking her claws down the sides of his pelt. Dustleap used his small size to his advantage as he darted under Dyrus' paws and clawed at his belly, while Flamestride and Stonestep attacked from opposite sides.
With a might jerk, Dyrus threw Shadefur off his back. The she-cat flew into a large, vertical stone and crumpled soundlessly. With a shriek, Flamestride flung himself at Dyrus, clawing the tom's face multiple times. Dyrus stumbled back as Dustleap squirmed out from underneath him.
Dyrus was bleeding heavily and panting for breath. His eyes were wide and terrified as he realized that this was the end. "No," he said hoarsely, his claws sinking into the earth. He tried to turn and run but behind him was tightly weaved brambles, unyielding and unescapable.
He turned back to the three toms stalking closer. "No," he said again, "I will not die without taking you with me!"
With a roar, he launched himself at Flamestride. He sent a huge, block-sized paw towards the ginger tom's head, the impact throwing him against a tree. The flame-colored tom fell to the ground, and Dyrus hesitated for a split second as he looked at the unmoving body.
A split second was all Dustleap needed.
With a screech, Dustleap threw himself onto Dyrus' back. Dyrus thrashed wildly, but he had taken too long. Dustleap sunk his teeth into Dyrus' neck, and the huge white tom started to crumpled.
But in one last spasm, he jerked Dustleap off his back and clawed desperately at the brown cat's neck.
Stonestep shot forward, but Dyrus was already dead. His eyes glazed over as his body went still and cold. Stonestep stood still in shock.
They had done it.
But at what price?
He looked up frantically. To his relief, Shadefur was picking herself up from the ground where Dyrus had flung her. Flamestride remained unmoving, but Stonestep could see his pelt faintly moving up and down with breath.
"Dustleap, you did it," Stonestep said breathlessly. Dustleap didn't acknowledge his comment.
"Dustleap-" Stonestep stopped in horror as he saw Dustleap. The brown tom was standing, eyes unfocused, breathing ragged as his legs wobbled. Blood poured from the wound in his neck and the wounds from his sides.
Time seemed to slow as Dustleap crumpled and collapsed.
"Dustleap!" Stonestep whispered in disbelief. As he said the name, a small tortoiseshell she-cat flew into the clearing. Her eyes focused on Dustleap and she froze.
"No, Dustleap!" cried Marshflower, running to her mate's side. Dustleap was breathing raggedly. His eyes struggled to stay open.
"Stay with me, Dustleap," Marshflower whispered, her voice raw with grief. "You're okay. You're going to be okay, we need you to be the leader-"
"Marshflower," rasped Dustleap, "It's okay. It's my time to go."
Marshflower squeezed her eyes shut in grief. "DustClan will be the greatest Clan in the forest, Dustleap, you'll see."
"No, not DustClan." Marshflower looked at her dying mate in disbelief. "MarshClan. You will be a greater leader than I ever could have been, Marshflower. Lead your Clan well."
Stonestep lowered his head as Dustleap stopped breathing and went still. Marshflower started to cry as Shadefur padded over, sitting close to her and trying to comfort the distraught young she-cat. Flamestride lifted his head slowly, blinking away his pain. He stood slowly, padding towards Marshflower, Shadefur and Stonestep.
"We did it. The forest is ours," he said. Marshflower nodded.
"Dustleap made a great sacrifice. He will always be remembered," Shadefur whispered to Marshflower. "Now, keep his memory alive. Make MarshClan great."
Through the canopy of trees above, sunshine broke through, falling onto the four leaders. As Flamestride, Shadefur, Stonestep, and Marshflower looked at each other, they realized that Dustleap's sacrifice had saved their Clans.
/\/\
"All four Clans mourned for Dustleap before they finally split up, bidding tearful farewells to their friends and – sometimes – even family. Flamestar, Shadestar, Stonestar, and Marshstar became the first four leaders of FlameClan, ShadeClan, StoneClan, and MarshClan. The rest of the pure hunters were chased out, far away. They were assumed to have disbanded. But now, apparently, they're back." Redstorm's last comment was almost irritated.
Bristlepaw didn't say anything for a while.
"Well, all that talking has made me tired. I'm off to sleep," Redstorm said abruptly, setting his head down.
Breezewhisker chuckled, breaking Bristlepaw out of her trance. "Quite a story, eh?" he said. "He gave you the shorter version. To a lot of cat's he'll go on and on and on about every single detail of the battle, every pure cat's name – I've almost got it memorized, thanks to the amount of times he's told it." He grinned at the medicine cat's apprentice. "For instance, did you know that Dyrus' mate escaped? And she had kits. She was the only one of the pure hunters to get out of there alive."
"Do you know what the kit's names were?" Bristlepaw questioned.
Breezewhisker scrunched up his nose. "I know old Redstorm said this one time. Um... I think they called them Colt, the white tom, and Noose, the white she-cat." He nodded, looking to his sister, Robinsong, for confirmation. "Right?"
"How should I know?" the cranky she-cat grumbled. "Those sound right. Yes, no, I don't know."
Breezewhisker chuckled. Bristlepaw gave an amused grin. "Thank you, Breezewhisker. And when Redstorm wakes up, tell him I said thanks to him, too."
"Thanks? That's it? No, 'Redstorm, I'll make sure the apprentices bring you the freshest moss in the forest for your bedding for telling me that long and tiring story?' No, 'Thank you from the depths of my soul, Redstorm, I'll bring you the choicest prey in the forest?' None of that?"
Bristlepaw laughed as she flicked her tail at the ginger elder who, apparently, hadn't actually been sleeping. She bounded out of the elder's den, waving her tail goodbye to Breezewhisker.
At least she knew something. Why these pure hunters had such a deep-seated hatred towards the Clans. And... and... Colt and Noose. Could it be possible that they were ancestors of the white hunter's leader? Kestian? She shook her head. Too many variables. But it was information, information that should have made her heart feel lighter, better off.
Instead, she began to feel pure terror. The four great leaders of the original Clans could barely fight off one of the pure hunters. What were four apprentices going to do about a whole army of them, bent on revenge? Her heart sunk lower and lower as she sat, watching the cats around her bustle about life, completely oblivious to the danger that surrounded them.
What good will being 'purest of all' do me?