Hey thanks for coming back! This is the prologue, even though it is long. Please enjoy! Still looking for that Leafstar winner!
Rain poured down into the gorge, where a lone cat was sitting. He let the rain soak his pelt, making it sleek and shine. He raised his head to look into the stars, but storm clouds were in the way, and he closed his eyes against the rain.
There was a quiet sound from behind, and he turned to see other warriors coming up out of their dens. He turned back to the sky, looking for Starclan. They have to be with us tonight, there's no other way to do this without them.
"Sharpclaw," One of them said, "What are we going to do? That thing killed Sagefrost and Petalnose!"
"Not to mention Sparrowpelt!" Another cried.
Sharpclaw turned to see Mintpelt's burning bluish gray eyes blazing with fury. The thing had killed his sister and mother, and he wanted revenge. Mews of agreement came from other cats, and Sharpclaw stood and faced his Clan.
"Look," He said, "With Leafstar in the nursery we can't do anything stupid. I will go ask her what she wants, and then we will plan our attack." If she is even well enough…
Cries of excitement and battle howled out from the other cats, and Sharpclaw nodded his head approvingly. He left them to their cheering and conversations and he made his way down, further into the gorge. He saw the small cave that was tucked away under some large boulders, and he ducked inside.
He saw Cherrytail and her two kits, Buzzardkit and Ivorykit, the kits of Mintpelt. Speckledstream had her three kits, Darkkit, Nightkit, and Snowkit. They were the sons of Rockslash. All the kits were only a moon or so old, so they weren't up and about as normal kits would have been. Skyclan has really grown since it was built all those seasons ago…could it have only been three?
Leafstar was on her side, her breathing heavy and shallow. Sharpclaw felt helpless to see his mate in so much pain.
"Are you alright?" He asked, knowing the answer. He wished that Echosong or her apprentice would figure out a way to make her painless, but he knew that it was impossible.
"I don't know," She whispered, and she winced in pain, "But it's close. I…I can feel it…"
"It?" Sharpclaw asked, and Leafstar laughed slightly, a heavy panting sound,
"I can tell that there is only one. One…just like my lives…"
"You will make it through this Leafstar, I promise." He whispered as he moved closer, putting his head on her shoulder. She winced slightly, trying to hide it. It didn't fool Sharpclaw, but he said nothing.
She may not make it, he thought, She may die because of this kit…her last life given to another…
"You and I both know that is not true," Leafstar rasped, "That sickness from last leaf-bare took more than one of my lives…and…" Her breathing got even harder if possible, "That fight with…that thing…"
"We are going to kill it, Leafstar," He said quickly, "With your permission, I will take our warriors and apprentices to kill it, and then it will pay for Petalnose, Sagefrost, and Sparrowpelt's lives, and yours too."
"Do it," She sighed, laying her head down, "Go kill it…Echosong and Fawnpaw will take care of me…I'll be okay…"
But what if you won't be? "We will kill that thing, Leafstar, don't worry. The cutters may have altered it but we will kill it." His voice rang out loudly and he heard shouts of agreement from above, and Leafstar chuckled again,
"Go get it…" She whispered, "Go…do…it…for…me…."
"We will…" He whispered back. Sharpclaw's eyes were burning with anger now, "We will hunt that thing down and make it die!" He licked the top of her head softly and turned to rush out of the cave, passing Echosong and her apprentice Fawnpaw, a large brown and cream she-cat. They looked after Sharpclaw as he climbed up the rocks, back to the warriors.
"Silence!" He roared, and all the cats stood erect, some puffing out their fur to make them seem bigger. They were all ready for this fight. Sharpclaw went back to the Highrock so all the cats could see him; "We will leave in just a moment! I'm going to organize different squads to do different things. Patchfoot," He called, and the small black and white tom came out and stood beneath him, "You will lead the first squad. You will be the ones to lure the creature to the training meadow." He nodded and turned around to face the others.
"The next leader will be Mintpelt," He yowled, and the pale grey tom padded forward, his eyes still burning, "You will be in charge of attacking the beast first off, and then…Rockslash your group will be used for keeping it in the meadow. I will close in after Mintpelt's group and kill that beast!"
Yowls came up and Sharpclaw nodded approvingly. They are so ready to do anything…these cats truly are warriors…
"Let's see…Patchfoot, your group will consist of the fastest runners, so…Tinycloud, Gorgefall, and Blazingpaw, will go with you." The three cats came up and sat by Patchfoot, who was already talking strategy with them. Sharpclaw looked back out at the cats, and called out the next cats.
"The cats to go with Mintpelt will have to be our strongest. I, of course, will be in that group, and so will Rainfall, Orangetail, Silversnow, Twanyheart, and Mossclaw." The choice cats came up underneath Sharpclaw, next to where Mintpelt was, "The idea for us will be ripping out its mane, so I can get to the throat.
"Now, for Rockslash's group, we will have Brightspirit, Dustypaw, Icywind, Bouncefoot, Sleetpaw, and Hawkthroat will go with you." The rest of the cats left, leaving Birdpaw sitting with Hailstorm and Brackentail.
"What about us?" Birdpaw cried, "Don't we have a part too?"
"Stay here and guard the camp." Sharpclaw said simply, and Mintpelt looked up at him.
"Are we going or what?" He yowled, and mews of agreement rang out. Sharpclaw raised his head to the sky, closing his eyes against the rain.
"Starclan protect us," He cried, "As we rid the gorge of the Monster!" He let out a caterwaul and let off of the Highledge, and raced out into the forest. He heard his cats behind him, and could faintly hear Birdpaw's yell for good luck.
Luck…heh…we don't need luck, we are Skyclan! They raced towards the training meadow, getting mud all over them. The rain poured down even harder, blinding the path. Sharpclaw's nose hit a scent and he turned his head to the cat next to him.
"Patchfoot, go," The tom nodded and he pulled over to the side, his cats following him. He disappeared into the darkness, and Sharpclaw sped up. The Monster was close, he could feel it.
Mintpelt was on his other side, and he got a bit closer so Sharpclaw could hear him, "Do you think that this is the right choice?" Sharpclaw shrugged his shoulders in reply.
"I don't know. I didn't want to leave Leafstar there alone. She is close to having our kits." Mintpelt nodded his head, and turned back towards their designation.
The meadow came up quickly, but it didn't seem the same. Mostly because there was a large, mutated creature standing in the middle of it.
"It's already here…" Mintpelt gasped while Sharpclaw yelled,
"Everyone, go to your stations! Now!" Many cats disappeared behind him, and he saw only the choice cats that he had picked behind him.
"Silly cats," The Monster chucked in its deep, horrifying voice, "Trying to defeat me. I will kill you all!" It crouched down low, ready to spring. Sharpclaw saw its patched fur, and its giant lion's mane. Its claws slid out, unnaturally long and sharp. Its teeth were bared, a horrible sight of blades, "I will kill you just like I did with those other cats!"
"You will pay for my family!" Mintpelt roared, "ATTACK!"
At once, all the cats were on top of the Monster. Sharpclaw waited for his opportunity, for his goal. He watched as cats were thrown off of the Monster and slammed into trees and rocks, laying unmoving or struggling to get back up. Silversnow lay dead at the creature's feet, and Sharpclaw winced in horror. Her body was mangled and bloody, a horrid sight to see. Rainfall lay next to her, also unmoving. His tail had been bitten off, and it was bleeding badly. Sharpclaw wanted desperately to attack, but he had to wait for it; for its throat to be revealed.
Mintpelt had been thrown off but had rebounded off of a nearby tree and sprang back at the Monster. He landed on his target, the front of the Monster's neck. He ripped at the thick mane with all of his might, and got a large patch off in him mouth when the Monster reached down and ripped him off, throwing him nearby Sharpclaw. Mintpelt had done it. He had exposed the soft throat of the Monster. Mintpelt struggled to get up, but Sharpclaw rested his tail on his shoulder. Sharpclaw saw that one of Mintpelt's ears was shredded, and there was almost nothing left. Blood came out of it easily, and it looked painful.
"You've done your job," He said, "Everyone, back off!" He roared, and all the cats disappeared off of the Monster. It stared at Sharpclaw, and Sharpclaw stared back.
"You're about to pay for Leafstar's life that you took," He whispered, "And pay for it times over and over again." Sharpclaw tightened his body and sprang, his teeth and claws aimed for the exposed neck of the Monster. He reached the thing before it had time to move, and he sank his teeth into the neck of the creature. Blood squirted out of the wound, hitting Sharpclaw's fur. It howled in pain, and fell forward, falling on top of Sharpclaw. He jumped out of the way before the creature landed on him, and he stood aside as the thing withered in pain and then was still. Blood still flowed from multiple wounds on its body, but not so much as the one on the Monster's neck. It stopped moving eventually, and Sharpclaw let out a triumphant caterwaul.
"WE DID IT!" He cried, "We kill the monster!" Excited meows filled the air, but stopped when the saw the dead Silversnow and Rainfall. New cries of despair and grief filled the forest, shaking it to its roots.
Icywind ran up to her sister and cried out, "Why Silversnow? Why?" While Twanyheart came up to Rainfall and pressed her nose into her mate's fur. Sharpclaw glanced sadly at the two she-cats, but he held up his head,
"Let's get back to camp. Someone help carry these two." He turned and left the meadow, his cats following him. Suddenly he remembered something, and he broke out into a run, splashing through the mud.
"Lead them home Mintpelt!" He cried, blasting off into the trees.
Oh, Leafstar…don't die…Leafstar!
He quickly made his way into the gorge and quickly down to where the nursery was. He found Birdpaw sitting with her sister Fawnpaw, both of their faces contorted with pain.
"What's wrong?" Sharpclaw demanded, "Is Leafstar-" Birdpaw let out a pitiful mewl and Sharpclaw's eyes widened. No…NO, NO, NO!
He charged into the small den, and saw the horrible sight.
Leafstar was on her side, her breathing heavy. Much more short than before. Her eyes were glazed over and she almost looked dead. Almost.
"Leafstar-" Sharpclaw choked, "We did it, Leafstar! The Monster is dead!"
Leafstar still lay unmoving, but her jaws parted a bit, "I knew you would," She rasped, and she started to cough, "Take…care…of…Swift…kit…"
"Wait- Leafstar- who's Swiftkit? Is he? Leaf- LEAFSTAR!" He cried. Her chest had stopped moving. Her eyes lost focus, and she shut them.
"Good bye Sharpclaw…" She said with her last breath, and that was it. She was dead.
"Leafstar!" Sharpclaw cried out in anguish, "Don't leave me! Please! Swiftkit, he-" Suddenly he turned to the two apprentices behind him, "WHERE IS HE?!?!?!?" He roared, and the two apprentices cried out in fear,
"He is with Echosong!" Fawnpaw gasped, and Sharpclaw took off again, heading for the medicine cat cave.
"Where is my son?!" He shouted as he entered, and he saw Echosong sitting by a little ball of fur. He was a dark tabby, and was unusually large for a kit. It let out a huge yawn, and it started to cry out. Echosong made a movement to comfort Swiftkit, but Sharpclaw glared at her. He moved over to his son, and put his nose in his fur. The kit silenced instantly, and squirmed closer, towards his father's warmth. A purr rumbled from deep down in Sharpclaw's chest, and he closed his eyes, taking in the little miracle.
"I love you," He whispered, "And I know that your mother does too. Someday you will meet her in Starclan, but until then, you have me. Sleep well little one." He whispered, and he gently picked up the kit by its scruff.
"What are you doing?" Echosong asked, and Sharpclaw turned back to look at the pretty she-cat. He put down his son for a moment, and answered her question.
"I know that Cherrytail will look after my son," He said, "So I intend to take him to her." With that he picked up his son and went out into the cold rain, and Echosong sighed.
"What a hot-head…" She muttered, and she followed him out of the cave.
X~x~X
A tabby tom made his way through a dark forest, scenting his way towards his leader, his father. He picked up the familiar scent and traced it to where a large tabby tom was sitting, his deep amber eyes staring intently on the white-pawed tabby.
"Tigerstar," He said, "It has been done. He has been born, and looks exactly like you."
"Excellent Hawkfrost," Tigerstar growled, standing from his spot where he was sitting, "Now, if you excuse me, I need to go meet my extended kin." He started to walk off when Hawkfrost stopped him,
"Can't I come too? I'd be of help to you in training him." Tigerstar thought for a moment and then nodded,
"Fine, now, let's go." The two toms padded off into the dark forest, back to where the could rule the skies of Skyclan.
Did you like it?! This is sort of dedicated to Mudfur6264! Go check out here Warriors Guide! It has all sorts of stuff like ceremonies and fighting moves and herbs- you know what just do find it and read it! NOW! GO! NOW!
There is a story of a little green button.
He was used for reviewing.
Peopled loved to use him, and he didn't mind.
It was his job.
And now it is yours.
It's right there.
Go for it.