Prologue: Fate
The moon overhead beamed a bitterly cold light over the empty stretch of moorland. There were no trees to stop the wind as it swept over the cats that stood there. But only one of them had their fur fluffed up against the weather; the others, made of starlight, felt nothing but pity for the cat in front of them.
The cat looked up and shivered again. "If this is death, why am I cold? I thought the afterlife would be warmer than this."
One of the starry cats stepped forward, his magnificent golden pelt gleaming in the harsh moonlight. "This is only a dream, youngster. Your time hasn't come yet."
Rather than the relief that the starry cats had expected, the cat looked devastated. "Why? Wasn't it enough that I-"
"There's no need to bring it up again," one of the starry cats interjected roughly. His ragged pelt was close to bristling. "Imagine trying to throw away a perfectly good life."
"You don't know anything about me!" the cat spat.
"But we do." The new voice was soothing, and the cat looked up into startlingly blue eyes. "We've been watching you for a long time. And there's something we would like to ask of you."
The cat looked guarded. "You've been watching me? Who are you?"
"My name is Bluestar. I left this world many moons ago, but I watch over those I left behind. And they need help. I think you can be that help, if you so choose."
Something changed in the cat's eyes. Then they closed. "It's been a long time since I had a purpose," the cat whispered, barely above the howling wind.
A tom with a snow-white pelt came to stand beside Bluestar, his yellow eyes hesitant. "Just know that this isn't something to take lightly. There is no shame in saying no."
The cat was silent for many heartbeats. Then…
"Yes, I want to help."
The starry cats in the clearing all moved as though letting out a sigh of relief. "You don't know how much this means to us," Bluestar said softly. "We will never forget this."
The cat's eyes opened and met Bluestar's. There was only sadness there. "I should do at least one good thing before I die." And with that, the cat began to fade, out of sleep and into reality, until only the starry cats were left.
There was nothing but the howling wind for a moment. Bluestar's eyes were troubled. The white tom pressed his starry pelt against hers. "We've done the right thing. We have to think of the Clans - all of them."
"I don't know, Whitestorm." Bluestar let out a sigh. "I can't help but feel that I've done something horrible. That young cat should not be involved. I just don't know what else to do."
One of the cats flicked her ragged tail. "I wonder who StarClan can ask for mercy?" she asked scathingly before turning and stalking away. She needed no answer and she got none. The wind continued to howl.
AND WE'RE BACK! I have the overwhelming urge to apologize for how late this is, even though I was pretty vague about the release date so maybe I'm not late? Idk?
It's been a rough few months. I was super duper sick the entirety of October, and the stress of catching up with a month's worth of housework and school (I've been cramming so many German words in my head, learning past tense is hard!) has completely drained my motivation. But I've been rereading Warriors like a maniac and it inspired me to start back up!
I can't promise weekly updates since this is brand new territory for me and I'm still doing a lot of storyboarding. But I do promise to update as often as possible! This is a short update and I apologize profusely, haha! Hopefully you can all forgive me!
I'll also be steadily updating the allegiances through that same link on my profile, so check it out if you're ever confused about anything! And thank you so much for joining me on this new adventure :D