"Once upon a time, there were four clans in a perfect habitat..." Mudwing, a Fernclan elder, rasped. Riverpaw, a white tabby, and Flamepaw, a dark colored cat, stared at her, eager to hear more.
"Is this a true story?" Flamepaw interrupted, his short tail twitching.
"Of course," Mudwing meowed, her voice cracked with old age. The battle scars all over her body proved her intelligence. Mudwing would never spout nonsense to apprentices. "Let me continue. The four clans were called Thunderclan, Riverclan, Windclan, and Shadowclan..."
"Hey, that's my name!" Riverpaw yowled with excitement. "Did they name the clan after me?"
"No interrupting," Mudwing sighed. "Riverclan was named after the first leader, Riverstar. Now, please let me tell you this story without being interrupted!"
"O-okay..." The two apprentices mewed, intimidated.
"Now, one day, the leader of Thunderclan, Bluestar, and one of her bravest warriors, Lionheart, were patrolling around the Twolegplace when they ran into a kittypet with a flaming orange coat named Rusty. Rusty was an unusual kittypet, who frequently dreamt of hunting mice and becoming a warrior. Because of this, Bluestar let Rusty into the clan and named him Firepaw."
"Are you sure this is true?" Flamepaw asked, his bright amber eyes narrowing with suspicion. "Cause' it sounds like a bunch of stuff you and Notchedfeather made up."
"Eh...?" Notchedfeather looked up from the back of the elder den.
"Nothing, Notchedfeather, go back to sleep," Mudwing meowed. "Now, can I continue?"
"Yes," Flamepaw said grudgingly.
"There was also a cat named Tigerclaw, who was very evil," Mudwing added. "He tried to attack Bluestar, but he was stopped by Firepaw, who was now Fireheart. He was driven out of the clan, but he planned revenge by becoming the leader of Shadowclan. Later, Bluestar and Fireheart were fighting a pack of dogs when she fell into a river. Fireheart saved her, but it was too late. She was dead."
Flamepaw and Riverpaw both gasped, "What happened to Fireheart?"
"He was deputy at the time," Mudwing meowed. "so he did what all deputies do and became the leader, Firestar. But in Shadowclan, Tigerstar had formed a plan with an extremely evil cat named Scourge. He wore a collar full of dog's teeth, and had a high pitched, cold voice. They planned to take over all four clans, forming one clan: Tigerclan."
"Then what?"
"The four clans met at Fourtrees, the place that they had Gatherings. Tigerstar broke Scourge's promise, then Scourge did something horrifying. He leapt up, sliced open Tigerstar's chest..." The elder leaned in closer, then whispered, "...and tore all nine lives out of him at the same time!"
"No!" Riverpaw yowled. "How could he have done that?"
"Nobody knows, but eventually the four clans defeated Scourge, and the clans were peaceful for many moons. Some cats made a journey to the mountains to find the Sun Drown Place, where they would meet a badger called Midnight. She told them that they must leave because Twolegs are cutting down their home, and when they came back, they were almost too late. The four clans fled to a lake far away, and settled there for many, many moons. So many moons that there were ten more leaders in each clan before the worst appeared before them." Mudwing paused.
"Then what?" Flamepaw meowed impatiently. "Tell us!"
"The ground began to shake," Mudwing hissed. "And the ground shook so badly, giant claw marks opened up into the ground and sucked in many warriors at the same time! And after that, the lake exploded, sending waved flying everywhere and drowning warriors left and right. The mountains in the distance also exploded, sending out liquid so hot, warriors vaporized if it reached them."
"Oh no!" Riverpaw yowled. "What happened to the clans?"
"They all died," Mudwing mewed, her voice barely louder than a croak. "All but four cats who hid underground. They were Embershade, Fernleap, Galestripe, and Tidewhisper. They moved far, far away, and started new clans. They are the clans we live in now."
"Woooww..." Riverpaw whispered, her crystal blue eyes shining in amazement. "Is this a true story?"
"Of course, little one," Mudwing meowed happily. "If it weren't, I wouldn't be telling you, would I?"
"I don't know..." Flamepaw meowed suspiciously. "It sounds like a bunch of flying hedgehog dung to me..."
"Well, I think it's true," Riverpaw huffed, standing up. "And if you don't mind, I'm going to sleep. Goodnight, Mudwing!"
"Goodnight, Riverpaw."
