Would've posted this yesterday but I was busy. R&R!
An icy wind buffed Icekit's pelt as she exited the nursery. With a small squeal of excitement, she leaped into the snow-covered camp, ignoring the clearing around the den witch had been cleared of all snow. She enjoyed the crunch of snow under her paws. It felt so exhilarating to feel the cold soak into her tiny pink pads. A small bushel of snow fell from a near by tree, thumping her heart into a playful mode.
Just when she was about to leap into a fury of chasing the clear white snow as it fell from the branches, a tiny squeak came form behind her. She snapped her head around, her icy blue eyes curious. There was her brother, Dockkit. Dockkit had his nose sticking out of the den, his pelt shaking bits of snow that had fallen on his pelt. Icekit laughed, pouncing on top of her pale ginger brother. She giggled playfully batting at his face as he tried to push her off with his hind legs. But Icekit was larger then him, faster and stronger too. She always had been. But finally he managed to get his teeth around her tail, biting down softly. Icekit pretended to squeal in pain and fell on her back. She stuck out her tongue, pretending to be dazed. Dockkit leaped on top of her, squealing out a furious battle cry. With a gasp of shock she playfully batted his ears with her paws, laughing freely and warmly.
Suddenly, a rustle of bracken sent Icekit onto her paws in an instant, leaving Dockkit staggering to keep his balance. Shrewshadow padded out from the nursery, staring down in dismay at the young kits. Icekit looked away from her step-mother's eyes. She never truly liked the large she-cat she was forced to call mother. She was always yelling at her about things she never meant to do, and ignoring all the things she ever did something right. How she wished she could have a real mother; a mother that birthed her. Maybe if her mother hadn't of died in the first place, she and her family would be freer and Sunstripe wouldn't have to be so sad all the time.
"Cut that out!" Shrewshadow snapped at the kits, seeing the mess of moss, snow and mud they had made in their play-fight. "It's cold out here and you're going to get sick! Get back inside the nursery, now!"
"It not that cold." Icekit snuffed. "Look, even the apprentices are rolling in the snow!" She flicked her tail toward Streakpaw and her sister Tawnypaw rolling around in the fresh snow, free from their duties for the day.
Shrewshadow snuffed. "Those apprentices are older then you, Icekit. I'm worried about you, and you know that. More kits die in leaf-bare then any other season!" The black-and-gray molted she-cat stared at her paws. Icekit remembered her foster-brother, Nightkit that had died after his third moon because of the harsh cold. She hung her head, knowing the pain the queen must have felt. It was bad enough that she had to share her litter with two kits from out of her blood, but having them as her only children left after her son died? She must have been so torn inside. But that still didn't mean she had to take it out on her! She was almost an apprentice herself!
"Relax, Shrewshadow." Dockkit mewed happily, standing in front of his snow-white sister. "We're not going to stay out here for long. We're on our way to Smokebelly to hear one of his stories!" his eyes lit up at the gray elder's name. Smokebelly was famous for making even the most boring fables into exciting adventures through his magical words of wisdom. Icekit felt herself knee on her delicate pads, eager to storm into the elder's den and demand for a story.
Shrewshadow was silent for a while, her white tail-tip flicking as she inwardly made her decision. "Fine, but don't bother them for too long. Remember, Rainfeather doesn't want Crookedeyes to get too excited after that piece of crowfood Streakpaw gave him yesterday. He's a very old tom."
"We wont!" Dockkit yowled happily as he zoomed past Icekit and into the moss-covered elder's den. Icekit looped after him, smiling with delight. She skidded to a halt as she entered the den, seeing the three elders sitting around in a circle. Smokebelly was in the middle, licking his gray paws lazily. Crookedeyes was on his right, his brown tabby tail curled over his white muzzle and his chest rising and falling in a rhythmic pattern. Finally there was Wetnose, the small crippled she-cat with white and black patches scattering her fragile body. She purred happily as Dockkit and Icekit entered the den, wide smiled on their faces.
"Better watch out, Smokebelly. The kits are here." Wetnose purred in a raspy tone, jabbing the gray elder's side with her delicate forepaw. Smokebelly lowered the paw he was grooming and laughed a rickety and deep chuckle.
"So they have!" He tittered to Wetnose. "Guess that means I should hide before they start begging."
Icekit laughed, leaping on top of the old tom happily. Smokebelly chuckled as Dockkit joined in the attack. Carefully, the gray elder lowered the excited kits, ignoring Crookedeyes' crossed-eyed glare. With a sigh of content, the elder crossed his paws and stared at the wide-eyed kits.
"So…What's it going to be today?" He smiled, two fangs missing from his mouth.
Icekit smiled, eyes beaming. "Tell us about Maskstar again!"
"Again?" Dockkit stuck out his tongue in disgust. "We've only heard it a million times! Tell us about LionClan!"
Icekit curled her lip. "No way! I want to hear about the battle with SunClan!"
"Why? We already know we won!" Dockkit spat.
"Yeah, but the fight is exciting!"
Wetnose rolled her eyes, placing her paw in-between the arguing kits. "What about you tell the story about White Guardian, Smokebelly?" She suggested, staring at Smokebelly kindly.
"Ah!" Smokebelly breathed merrily. "Perfect! It's been seasons since I've told that one."
"White Guardian?" Icekit leaned forward, her ice blue eyes wide and eager. Dockkit dropped their quarrel additionally, leaning in beside her. Neither of them had heard this one before.
Smokebelly nodded his large head, his clear amber eyes kind and gentle.
With a deep breath, he began. "Long ago, there were four Clans. They had just formed under the ways of StarClan. They were even sent by StarClan themselves. But you already know that story." He laughed, scuffing Icekit's ear. "They were in peace. No cats fought. Moonclan lived happily in their flooded lands and swamps. CloudClan lived in bounty of their dense forests and hills, while SunClan lived in their rocky lands of mountains and little trees and plants. Finally our Clan, SkyClan, was settled perfectly with their scattered forest and long open planes and mountains. A perfect mixture.
"All Clans had equal territory and prey ran well. There were no battles, no conflicts, no arguments…Until, that is, the Black Ones came." Icekit leaned in closer at the sound of these 'Black ones.' He cackled at Icekit's reaction before continuing. "These Black Ones tore the Forest apart. They came from no where, exiting the shadows like mist.
"The Black One first attacked SkyClan, capturing them in their long and eerie claws. Skystar fought hard but she was quickly defeated as a Black one dragged her into a long dark pit. It wasn't long before the rest of her Clan was dropped in as well. SkyClan was trapped in that pit for days, moons even. They were locked away form the world. No one knew what had happened to them. They had just, disappeared. The Black ones would drop food into the pit every so often, but it was either rotten or half-eaten already. Some cats in the Clan where driven to attack kits and young apprentices and eat them instead." Icekit and Dockkit shivered in fear, knowing that they would have no chance back then. Wetnose smiled at them, placing her tail comfortingly on their shoulders.
"While SkyClan was trapped, The Black ones began to expand their black grip on the forest. They killed cats and disguised themselves as them just to get into the Clan camps. They tricked them to fight each other over silly reasons like the way a warrior looked at a she-cat from another Clan. The Forest was eventually covered in unnecessary blood. Finally, the Clans began to realize the price of blood they had spilt and the anger StarClan shone on them. They begged StarClan to save them before the Black Ones killed them all. They had lost fate in themselves for the new no one could kill these Black Ones
"Meanwhile, SkyClan was begging the exact same thing. They wanted out of this pit and a savior to free them. Just as they finished their prayer, a small warrior who had been unwell for days began to glow. This cat's name was Lightsoul. He was beautiful and pure and had refused any food that was given to him in the ditch. She had become so ill, the Clan feared he would die like so many others. But then, he began to blaze brightly, like a silver flame. Suddenly, he let out a loud screech that filled the solid night air.
"Suddenly, the walls of the pit had blood veer, becoming only a shallow dip in the ground, surrounded with high walls of earth and tiny walk-ways for cats to exit and leave freely.-"
Icekit smiled deeply. "Just like our camp!"
"Exactly!" Smokebelly laughed. "This later become SkyClan camp. Anyway, Lightsoul's luminosity soon faded, becoming a glistening silver rock in the middle of the ditch. That's our Silver Rock today from witch Maskstar makes announcements to the Clan. The Clan was both thankful and scared at Lightsoul's sudden sacrifice. No one knew what was going on. Suddenly, from the silver stone stepped a Giant white tiger, with thick black stripes and icy blue eyes.
"The tiger told SkyClan, 'I am the cat you used to know as Lightsoul. StarClan sent me to guard and protect you since you were all born into existence. The Black Ones have threatened our homes. Send a messenger to each Clan, telling them not to fear. Tell them to send their most black-hearted cat in their Clan to the Meeting Place when the moon is missing from the sky.
"Then Skystar, leader of SkyClan asked the white tiger if even Skyclan must give up one of their warriors; and quickly added that if a messenger told each Clan about their black-hearted ones, that they would not believe. They would only lie. The white tiger replied by stomping his mighty paw on the ground. Just as he did, the night clouds parted, letting the silver star's beam shine on a small ginger-and-white nursery queen, heavily pregnant and cruel. While in the pit, she was the first she-cat to suggest killing each other for food. The tiger told that SkyClan cats that whoever the messenger that was sent was to stomp his or her paw just as he did when the moon was highest in the Sky. Then the stars would reveal the cat with a black heart.
"With that, the tiger gave them their blessings, took the nursery queen and disappeared into the night. SkyClan did what they were told. Slowly, the Clans came to believe them and a cat from each Clan was sent. From SunClan was a tall long-haired brown tabby tom with large paws. CloudClan's chosen cat was a beautiful solid gray apprentice she-cat, with a long skinny tail and legs. Moonclan's cat was a short and stubby white elderly tom with black mask, paws, and tail. Each of these cats were known for evil deeds and had been poisoned the most by the evil ones.
"The white tiger then grabbed the four convicted cats, running through each territory with the sinful cats in his jaws. The Black ones were torn from their hiding places and dragged along behind the white tiger. Then the tiger went to the middle of the territories, to the Meeting Place. He threw the sinned cats into a stump, where they and Black ones were trapped forever.
"After that, the White Guardian left, becoming the shine in the moon. Every full moon we gather and the Meeting Place under his guidance and the leaders sit upon the black stump as to symbolize the trump over sins. But the Black Ones still live; parts of them were left behind in the hearts of cats. And because of that, there is still war and fighting in the forest. But as long as there is a moon, the White guardian will never let them become whole ever again." Smokebelly finished. Icekit was bouncing on her paws at the end of it, eyes wide in wonder. Yet, pain stabbed her heart. She felt sorry for the poor Black Ones. She knew they must have been so unloved...
