"Dirtkit!" Stonefur frowned at the brown kit. "What are you doing?"
The tom looked up from where he was playing with the small fish. He mewed.
"That's our only catch!" grumbled the RiverClan deputy. Paw steps behind him. Echopaw was back.
"What do you think you're doing?" growled the apprentice. She stepped up beside Stonefur. "Dirtkit! That's our food!"
The kit whined.
"No! You're not allowed to play with our food."
The kit blinked with wide teary eyes.
"No."
Dirtkit mewled.
"Our. Food."
He hung his head and dragged himself off to the shade of a couple of reeds.
Stonefur sighed at the sight of the dust-covered fish, little claw marks covered its scales. "Did you manage to find anything? Have any fish come back?"
Echopaw shook her head sadly. "I guess it's too early. The twoleg attack did only happen a few sunrises ago." she prodded the fish. "I guess... we'll have to eat this."
"StarClan, send back the fish." murmured Stonefur as he turned and limped off to the reeds where Dirtkit had gone.
"Alright!" Echopaw beamed at Dirtkit and Stonefur. "To take our minds off things, I'm going to tell you two a story!"
Dirtkit jumped up and down, his half a tail swishing from side to side. Stonefur rolled his eyes.
"Ok! My mother told me this one!" Echopaw ears twitched excitedly. "Once, a long time ago, at the very edge of the universe there was a planet. No one knew about the planet. This planet was Earth. there was nothing on the Earth except land and water. No grass, no trees, no cats, no prey, no nothing. Well, there was one thing." she paused. "A lonesome thing that held no form yet was there. It was powerless to help it's home planet. But, a creature came. A magnificent creature, with long silver fur and stars in its pelt. It had long golden antlers, and piercing black eyes. It walked on four legs, and had tough brown hooves. It's tongue was long and forked, and it had a scaley tail, and from the tip of it's tail grew long blades of grass. It's teeth were sharp and it had a set of fangs, while it's ears were triangle-shaped and curved. Portruding from the creature's back were two huge feathered wings, which started silver, like it's fur, but faded into gold-"
"Hold on!" Stonefur stopped her. "There's no way in StarClan this creature existed."
Echopaw lifted her chin. "You believe in StarClan, do you not?"
"Yes, but that's-"
"Well this is way my mother told me and what I believe." insisted the black and white apprentice. "Anyway, the creature found the earth, and it took pity on it. Taking the planet in it's hooves, it galloped further into the universe, so that it was amongst other planets and near the sun. It left it there, hoping cells from the other planets would travel to Earth and things would grow. When nothing happened, the thing on Earth cried out to the creature, hoping it would hear it's calls." smiling slightly, she continued: "The creature heard the thing's despaired calls, and travelled back to the planet. When it found it still a barren place with only the thing on it, the creature was dismayed. It had the power to do something, but it didn't know what to do. The thing saw it's chance and cried out to the creature,
'Oh great and powerful being, won't you prick some grass from your tail, and scatter it across my Earth to grow plants? Oh great and powerful being, won't you shower tiny shards of your heart across my Earth to create animals? Oh great and powerful being, won't you build piles of ground on my Earth to create mountains? Oh great and powerful being, won't you breathe your icy breath across parts of my Earth to create snowy parts? Oh great and powerful being, won't you stay and breathe and thaw ice across my Earth to create seasons?'
The creature, it's heart full of sympathy for the lonesome thing, plucked blades of grass from the tip of it's scaley tail and threw them across the barren Earth, grass and plants and trees growing rapidly across the planet. The creature, it's heart full of hope for the once barren planet, pulled a piece of it's own heart out, broke it into tiny shards and scattered the shards across the earth, animals forming with various different features from the creature, snakes had it's long scaley tail and forked tongue, deer had it's long antlers, dogs had it's sharp fangs, cats had it's curved, traingle-shaped ears, birds had its feathered wings, horses had it's tough hooves and many other creatures had other features. The creature, it's heart light, dug various tunnels from the Earth's dirt, creating caves, and used the dirt to create mountains. The creature, it's heart high in it's chest, breathed it's icy breath across parts of the planet, snow and ice forming. The creature gazed across the no-longer-barren planet in joy. The thing asked about it's final request expectedly, but the creature shook it's head.
'I cannot stay,' it said. 'I must continue my travels. But I will give you a form and the power to change the seasons yourself.'
The thing, delighted, asked how. The creature picked up the thing and threw it into the sun. The thing screamed in pain and hurt at the thought that it had been betrayed as it hit the sun, and it's soul flew away from the sun. The creature grabbed it's soul, having not actually betraying the thing, and gave the escaped soul a form. It's form was was huge and made of rock. Pulling a large chunk out of it's heart, the creature gave the thing the chunk, bestowing upon it the power to change the seasons for it's Earth. It placed the thing in the sky. As a goodbye and good wishes gift, it shook the stars out of its fur and scattered them in a thick line across the sky, creating what we call Silverpelt. Then it galloped off."
"Where go?" asked Dirtkit, his eyes wide.
Though he tried not to appear intrigued, Stonefur pricked his ears. The apprentice's belief was new and interesting, and he wanted to hear the rest of her story.
"I don't know." Echopaw answered the kit gently. "The great creature was never seen again. But, the thing now had a form and the power to change seasons. It curled up in the sky, creating," she stopped to cause suspense. "The moon."
Instantly, Stonefur lifted his head to look at the moon. It was only half there at the time. Could it really be a living creature?
"It slept." the apprentice said. "It slept and slept, but woke up every now and then to check on it's home planet. Right now, it is only a little awake. When it is fully awake, it will only be just a thick, curved line. Then it will fall back into it's slumber, it's sub-conscious changing the seasons for us." She grew silent and Stonefur blinked.
"Is... is that the end?" he asked.
Echopaw shook her head. "It is nothing near the end. This story is still going, and it will still be going for years and years now. For this story isn't about the past or the present or the future, it is about all of them at the same time. It ends when the Earth is destroyed and it has nothing more to tell. But who knows," her eyes twinkled, "maybe the creature will come back after that, and a whole new story can begin."
Echopaw trudged along with Dirtkit hanging from her jaws. He hung limply, not wanting to struggle. Stonefur limped silently along beside the apprentice. Suddenly, a shape moved beneath the water of the river. Echopaw's head snapped towards the water. The shape swam across again. The apprentice dropped Dirtkit on the ground and leapt into the running water.
"Echopaw!" Stonefur yowled. "The current's too strong!"
Echopaw sunk. Sunk and sunk down near the bottom of the river. The current wasn't very strong down there, and though her eyes stung she could see the shape swimming back and forth infront of her. She tried to lunge at it, but the water slowed her movement. How the heck do they fish down here? She lashed out, but again the water slowed her movement. Her lungs screaming, she couldn't help gasping for breath. Water immediately filled her mouth and throat, and she tried to yell. Snapping her mouth closed, the fish swam by just as she did and it's bones crunched in her jaws. Eye's wide with surprise, the apprentice kicked off the bottom and up to the top. Immediately, the current ripped her along and she yelped as she hit a rock, but managed to grab the fish in time.
"Echopaw!" Stonefur yowled. "Hold on!"
The apprentice shook her head and tried to clamber on to the rock. She slipped and slid and the current was against her but she managed to get on. On shaky legs she leapt on to the shoor and spat out the fish. Her lungs were half-full with water and she coughed and choked. Water dripped out of her mouth. Stonefur limped up and struck her chest. Echopaw shrieked and water flowed out from her mouth. She heaved and gasped.
"I..."
"What is it?" Stonefur asked in concern.
"I got the fish."
Echopaw's story practically wrote itself! I was very happy with it. It doesn't relate to the plot at all, I just felt it was a nice touch, as Echopaw likes to tell stories her mom used to tell her and it would take their mind off things.
~Bubble