Chapter Six: The History of the Four Clans

An anon had a few questions, so I decided to answer them in this Chapter, but it still relates to the storyline. And Dragonmist already got her medicine cat name, like Featherwhisker did before Goosefeather retired. So she will become a full medicine cat when Tigerlily dies.


The kit stared at the warm-brown roof of the nursery. She blinked, as light began to filter in through the den. Too bright! Her mind whined, and the she-cat burrowed her head into her mother's warm flank.

"Bluetail, I want to go out and see the camp today." The kit mewed, voice muffled. She raised her head, staring into her mother's amber ones. What colors are mine? Bluetail purred, "You've opened your eyes!" Sweetkit grimaced as she felt her mother's rough tongue scraping her forehead, grooming her.

She darted out of her mother's reach, "I opened my eyes yesterday. Everything was dark! And so quiet! I didn't see my father. Who is my dad? And why is it so bright now?"

The queen purred. "When you opened her eyes, I bet it was nighttime. Right now it's morning. And your father is Waspfire. He is the deputy of MapleClan. He is very important, but I'll try to get him to come over sometime."

Sweetkit mewed. "Can I go outside-"she was cut off by a slate-grey tom entering the den. The kit couldn't help but stare at his eyes, which were a bright blue that stood out from his bland grey pelt. Are mine blue too?

"Hello Bluetail. I see that your kit has opened her eyes." The strange tom mewed evenly. Sweetkit averted her eye contact, and looked questionably at Bluetail.

She asked, "How do you know him?" The blue-grey she-cat ignored her kit for a few moments, answering the tom's question, "Yes. Aren't they a lovely shade of green?" Bluetail added, "Sweetkit, Fogwhisker is the Clan's medicine cat. He heals wounds and injuries, and he was at your kitting." Aha! So my eyes are green. Sweetkit nodded solemnly.

"Now can I go out?" the white kit pleaded, rubbing her head against Bluetail's back. Her mother nodded. Letting out a squeal of glee, the fluffy white kit left Bluetail to talk with Fogwhisker. As soon as she crawled over the slight hill that was in front of the den, Sweetkit found herself tumbling down another slope, landing at the bottom with a thud. Oops… the she-cat felt her fur warming, before embarrassedly licking her chest. The kit noticed that her fur was fluffy and white.

Luckily, Sweetkit didn't see anyone that might've seen her fall. As she looked around, she realized how big the camp was. Wow! Is the forest this big too? The kit had heard her mother talking to other cats about the territory and twolegs. Shrugging, Sweetkit padded over to the nearest den, a burrow similar to hers.

Mind wandering at the possibilities of which den this was, she didn't expect another slope as she stepped in, and fell on…. moss? The white kit squealed sharply, before shaking some off of her fur. It was spongy and soft.

"Littlefoot?" came a gruff voice from deeper inside the den. "Is it sun-high yet? Why did you squeal?"

A clear mew sounded out, about a few mouse-lengths away. Sweetkit guessed that was Littlefoot. "I haven't squealed since I was a young kit, Nightfang!" As the fluffy white kit's eyes adjusted, she saw the outline of two figures in the den. Some rustling occurred, and then a slender calico walked -no- limped towards her, followed by a black tom with a white neck and underbelly.

"This one must be Bluetail's. Is Bluetail your mother?" Littlefoot asked, with a yawn that showed yellowed and broken teeth. Sweetkit nodded, staying quiet.

The tom grunted. "Hello Sweetkit. Everyone's been talking about you since you were kitted! There haven't been kits in the Clans for ages. I'm Nightfang, by the way." They must be elders! Mother was talking about them as well. And she said something about made-up stories?

Sweetkit nodded. "Bluetail let me explore today. The camp is big! She said the elders made up stories? Can I hear one?" Silence could be heard in the den. Did I say something wrong? Sweetkit cocked her head to the side.

Littlefoot sighed. "I'll tell you the story of how the four Clans came here. And our stories are not made up, if you could tell Bluetail that." Sweetkit settled down in the soft moss, ears pricked.

The calico she-cat sighed, recalling the memories back, before beginning.

"A very long time ago, we used to be called ThunderClan, ShadowClan, WindClan, and RiverClan. Everything was peaceful. Long before that, our ancestors lived beside the forest. Twolegs had driven them out, and they began a long journey to find a new territory. They found one by a shining lake, but twolegs were nearby.

"They settled there, and lived there for many, many moons. Quite a few kits became warriors, and warriors became elders. Elders joined StarClan, and the cycle continued. Even the Dark Forest attacked! But the four Clans survived for a long time. In fact, even old Nightfang wasn't born back then!"

Nightfang purred, settling his head on his forelegs. "Just get along with the story. I was an apprentice when we got here." Littlefoot rolled her eyes, opening her mouth to speak again.

"Anyways, prey was plentiful during the warmer seasons for a very long time. Until, all of the Clans' food grew scarce and their prey disappeared. Cats were starving. Many died, and the leaders decided to meet with each other and discuss plans. They all voted on moving. All were sad to leave their beloved home behind. Nightfang here had a hard time surviving the first few days of the journey."

"It's true, we were hungry, and in green-leaf there had been plentiful prey. Suddenly, there was none." the tom stated.

Littlefoot shot a playful glare at Nightfang. Sweetkit guessed she wanted him to be quiet.

"They left after strengthening themselves a bit, and the medicine cats gathered whatever herbs they had left. The first few days were especially harsh, as they had to cross steep hills and thick undergrowth. RiverClan swam alongside the Clans whenever it was possible.

"During the journey, the prey they hunted was plumper, yet it was almost leaf-bare. All the Clans but ShadowClan took it as a sign that StarClan approved of them leaving the territory. They said that if StarClan had been with them all along, then they wouldn't have had to leave. The leader was going a little crazy, as he was an old tom, and had led the Clan into battle many times, and his deputy was a young she-cat.

"The leader of ShadowClan eventually died on the difficult journey, as they searched for a new land. With no Moonpool, the deputy didn't have StarClan's approval, even though she was technically ShadowClan's leader. Some of her Clan argued, and left, becoming rogues. It was sad. ShadowClan was now much smaller. The deputy, called Frostwhisker, decided to leave as well. The Clan became a rogue pack. Three Clans were left now. Even though no one really liked ShadowClan, they all missed the Clan's presence. But the Clans were close to finding their new home.

"However, rogues stopped them as they progressed. The leader of RiverClan, the most reasonable leader, convinced a good half of the rogues to join them. The Clans educated them on the warrior code and such. A few of the other cats of the different Clans joined them, to make sure they'd remain a Clan. And in honor of the deputy which had waited so long to become leader, yet wasn't able to, the Clan was named FrostClan.

"Frogstar, the leader of FrostClan, proposed that they'd change their Clan names, as they had arrived in their newly found territories. Most of the rogues had thick fur, so FrostClan took camp in the colder area, the one that received the most wind and snow, on a mountain slope not far from the other Clans, but that's why that Clan doesn't get many visitors."

Sweetkit cut in swiftly. "I know you said no questions.. but can we talk about MapleClan now?"

Littlefoot and Nightfang both purred. Littlefoot answered her question, "Of course, little one."

"All the Clans decided to change their names, deciding to begin again, old grudges left behind and new territory staked out. ThunderClan changed its name to MapleClan, and their cats settled in a woodland area, much like their territory before. RiverClan became MistClan, as on the day that they found their camp, a thin layer of mist had settled on the ground.

"WindClan became SwiftClan, at Frogstar's suggestion. The former rogue had claimed that WindClan were swift –if not swifter-than rabbits. WindClan took their suggestion, and that is how the Clans came to be, Sweetkit. Sweetkit?"

The small kit had dozed off, as the story had lulled her to sleep, and the warm leaf-fall sun was shining on her fur. She was sprawled out. A shriek sounded in the camp, waking the sleeping kit. "Littlefoot?" the she-cat asked, yawning. "Who was that?" the elder looked out of the den.

Nightfang answered her question, "Sweetkit, your mother's getting' frantic over there. Shouldn't you go over?" The kit shook her head, hard. "It's comfortable in here." and dug her claws into the moss, eyes closing again. Littlefoot smiled. "I'll tell Bluetail." Nightfang nodded, watching the young kit, before beginning to doze off himself.

Meanwhile, quite a crowd had gathered around Bluetail. Waspfire was talking to Thornstar, his eyes wide with anxiety. Littlefoot sighed. "Fools." She muttered, and yowled as best as she could. Silence spread through the Clan, and all eyes turned to the calico elder. "Bluetail, have you really checked all the dens?" The queen nodded, "I checked the medicine cat den, the warriors, the nursery, and the leader's den," she said with a quick glance at Thornstar, who was padding towards them, Waspfire at his side.

The tabby tom sighed. "This is the thing about queens, when a kit supposedly goes 'missing', they all panic." His voice was without emotion, and seemed a little exasperated. "And Bluetail, you forgot to check the elder's den." The queen nodded, licked her chest fur a couple of times. "Littlefoot, is she in there?" her mew was soft. The elderly she-cat nodded.

"She's taking a nap, Bluetail. Let the kit be." The mottled she-cat blocked the queen's way. Littlefoot said in a softer tone, "Sweetkit is allowed to be left alone." Bluetail nodded, and headed off towards the nursery. Littlefoot returned to the elder's den, to see Nightfang and Sweetkit both asleep. The elder purred at the sight, before closing her eyes herself, and the three slept. Sweetkit woke up around evening, and hurried back to the nursery, where she fell asleep again.