Chapter 1 | Battle
It was sunhigh in WaterClan. Lightningcub happily ate a mouse, feeling as though the world was perfect. He dashed back into the nursery and blinked up at his mother, Quailfur. "Quailfuh!" he said, adorably getting her name wrong. "Tell me a story!"
Quailfur laughed gently. "Once upon a time, a long, long time ago, lions lived in WaterClan with the wolves."
"What are lions?" Lightningcub asked curiously.
"Lions are big cats. They're like wolves but they are related to cats more than wolves. Anyways, the lions disappeared from a mysterious sickness. They still live today, but not here. They live in a hot place far away from here, past the sun-drown-place.
"The dead lions still live in MoonClan with the wolves today. But recently, your father Stormstar went into Twolegplace."
"I know!" squealed Lightningcub, delighted that he knew something.
Quailfur laughed and went on. "The Twolegs have captured a lion-"
Screams echoed from the clearing. Quailfur froze, her fur spiking up.
"What's wrong?" Lightningcub asked.
"Nothing- Lightningcub, stay here and do not come out." She raced out into the clearing. Lightningcub huddled down into his nest.
Despite his mother's warning, though, his curiosity got the better of him. Lightningcub peeked outside to a sight he would never forget: a massacre. Huge, foreign wolves fought his mother and the rest of WaterClan. Heart pounding, Lightningcub watched as she fell. She didn't get back up again.
Lightningcub bit down his scream of horror. He didn't want the invaders to get him too.
Soon the camp was leveled. Lightningcub hid in a bush so the attackers wouldn't get him. His parents were gone and his world was falling apart. The only thing left for him was revenge. Revenge and duty. He needed to somehow build his Clan and get revenge on the attackers. He didn't care how he did it; the only certainty in his life was that he was going to make the attackers regret their actions.
"I'm sick and tired of this zoo. I want to be wild and free, hunting mice and rabbits, don't you, Swiftbreeze?" Yellowtail muttered to Swiftbreeze, her friend.
"Of course I do, Yellowtail. Every night I dream of escape," Swiftbreeze responded. Swiftbreeze and Yellowfang were captive lions in a zoo. They were best friends, the only ones to look out for each other. Yellowtail was a great hunter, and Swiftbreeze had great healing skills.
"Maybe we can escape," suggested Yellowtail.
"Escape?" snorted Swiftbreeze. "And how do we escape, exactly? There are walls and guards everywhere."
"Well, when the feeder opens the door to feed us, we could escape."
"True… but where would we go? We have nobody but each other," said Swiftbreeze.
Yellowtail pondered this question in her head. She hadn't exactly thought about that.
Swiftbreeze wasn't concerning herself with this problem. She had a matter-of-fact way of thinking, and she knew escape would be impossible. "Look, there's no way out. We can't escape from here," she said reasonably.
Yellowtail was hurt by Swiftbreeze's lack of faith. As she curled up in her nest that night, she couldn't help thinking of ways to escape. It was her dream to see the wild, to be in the wild, to be a part of the wild. She stalked over to the pond to get a drink, and looked at her reflection. In the background she saw the mountains. Oh, if only she could go to the mountains… the mountains! That's where they could go!
As Yellowtail dipped her head to take a drink, she tripped over a stone and fell into the pond. She struggled to get out, but her head was stuck under something. No matter how much she pulled her head, she couldn't escape the thing that she was stuck under. Her head was beginning to feel woozy, her eyes closed, and she knew I'm dying. Now I will never escape…
Suddenly, Yellowtail felt fresh air on her face. She could breath! Standing beside her was Swiftbreeze, who furiously began pumping her chest to clear it of water.
Yellowtail began to say "Thank you", but Swiftbreeze demanded, "WHAT HAPPENED?!"
Yellowtail responded, "My head got stuck under something… that, I think, right there." She pointed with her tail to a pipe, which let water into the pond.
"That?" asked Swiftbreeze, puzzled.
"Yeah, that." Yellowtail looked at the pipe, then at the mountains. "I wonder where the pipe leads to…" she began to say.
"What are you talking about? Where would the pipe go?" interrupted Swiftbreeze.
Yellowtail looked again at the pipe, and said, "Maybe we could swim through the pipe and escape-"
"What?!" spluttered Swiftbreeze. "Are you trying to tell me… wait a second, that is a possibility..." Swiftbreeze studied the pipe and exclaimed, "Yellowtail, you're a genius! We could swim through the pipe and find an opening to get out!"
Yellowtail looked modestly down at her paws, and said, "Well, should we try it?" However, her excitement grew, and without waiting for an answer, jumped into the pond and swam through the pipe. Her head didn't reappear.
Swiftbreeze was starting to get worried when her friend didn't come back. She too splashed into the cool water and swam through the pipe.
Swiftbreeze was quickly swept away by the current. Thoughts of panic entered her mind, but she banished them and focused on finding Yellowtail. After a while, she was sure that Yellowtail wasn't in the main pipe; maybe she'd gone down one of the branching pipes. Then she saw Yellowtail's fluffy golden tail bobbing in the water.
Adjusting her eyes, she could see that Yellowtail was desperately trying to keep her head above the water and was trying to float. Swiftbreeze paddled up to her and gasped, "Come on, we have to get out of here!"
They both swam on and finally the water level started to drop and the waves became less violent. Eventually, after more swimming, Yellowtail and Swiftbreeze came to the end of the pipe and found themselves in a small reservoir in the mountains.
"Thank goodness we survived that!" gasped Yellowtail.
"Yeah," breathed Swiftbreeze. "I thought I had lost you for a second."
"Well, at least we're here together and safe," sighed Yellowtail.
The two lions rested their heads together and watched the sunset dapple the beautiful reservoir. Swiftbreeze broke the silence first. "So... are we staying here, or finding somewhere else? I don't know about you, but the mountains are too... rocky for me."
Yellowtail cocked her head thoughtfully. "Why don't we stay here, and explore, and later we can decide whether we want to stay?" Swiftbreeze agreed with this idea, so the two lions settled down under a little overhang next to the reservoir.
That night in MoonClan, Yellowtail and Swiftbreeze's warrior ancestors were in turmoil. You see, Yellowtail and Swiftbreeze's ancestors were acquainted with the wolf clans, but had not interacted with them for hundreds of generations. Once upon a time, they had worked together in the same clans, and the lions and wolves shared MoonClan.
And right then, MoonClan had an argument (a short one, of course).
"Come on!" whined Cloverpaw, who was Swiftbreeze's cousin's sister. "Just show MoonClan to Swiftbreeze already! She's got medicine lion skills, she needs to communicate with MoonClan!"
"But the poor lion will die of shock before she can put her skills to use," countered Elkstar, the former leader of WaterClan. "We need her at full capacity, and Yellowtail doesn't know which herb will cure shock... what is it again?"
"Thyme," responded Oakfur, an ancient medicine wolf who was nearly transparent. Shifting to an arguing tone of voice, he snapped, "If Swiftbreeze is to join WaterClan, then she'll need the guidance of MoonClan!"
Just then, Mousepaw, Cloverpaw's sister, dashed up. "Stop arguing! FrostClan has launched an ambush against WaterClan, and it looks like a massacre! FrostClan has never liked the warrior code, but this is murder, unprecedented, unfair, caught WaterClan off guard, we've got to do something-" Mousepaw stopped talking as MoonClan raced to see the battle with mounting horror. "Now," Mousepaw completed sulkily, and stomped off to see the battle in his own little place.
On the edge of MoonClan, WaterClan's ancestors looked down at the battle with horror. Only one sturdy little wolf cub had survived, and was growling slightly in a bush. No one noticed the cub as they celebrated their victory.
"Look at them," whispered Elkstar with disgust. "They enjoy this."
"It's disgusting, I know," muttered Oakfur, "but what's that cub's name? He could be the only chance at bringing WaterClan back."
Cloverpaw combed through her memory. "Lightningcub, I believe."
"Lightningcub," murmured Graypelt, an old elder. "Good. Strong name. All our hopes ride on you, little cub."
"Well," said Cloverpaw briskly, "it's settled, then. We'll show ourselves to Swiftbreeze to guide her to WaterClan. A good medicine lion that's established well with MoonClan will definitely help WaterClan. The other lion, Yellowtail, is welcome to come as well."
"How is she going to explain that she knows the way to Yellowtail?" countered Elkstar.
"We will send a dream also to Yellowtail, telling her to trust and protect Swiftbreeze and obey her," replied Oakfur.
"But..." muttered Elkstar, then she realized the wisdom of their decision. "Fine. But one more thing. WaterClan needs a strong warrior in Lightningcub. Yellowtail is a fine hunter, but she is not that great at fighting skills. We need a suitable mentor for Lightningcub."
"You seem to forget, Elkstar, that Lightningcub's father was a fighter wolf, and his mother had the best known hunting skills. Lightningcub, of course, has inherited these skills. However, because he is so young, we can multiply his skills so that his strength, size, and abilities are greater than that of his parents' so WaterClan will survive," reminded Stormfur, a sturdy-looking lion.
"That does seem like a good idea," admitted Elkstar. "This cub does seem a bit out of the ordinary, and his heritage should not be forgotten."
"Of course," purred Cloverpaw. "Can I visit Swiftbreeze now?"
"No," Stormfur chided gently. "We should present her with the full glory of former WaterClan so she'll know the great power of her Clan."
"All in favor?" roared Elkstar. Every single wolf and lion in the clearing howled in agreement.
Swiftbreeze snored lightly under the overhang. Yellowtail slept deeply behind her. Cloverpaw padded quietly up to Swiftbreeze, and prodded her softly. "Wake up," Cloverpaw hissed. "This is important." Mistaking Cloverpaw for Yellowtail, Swiftbreeze sprang up. "What is it? What happened?" Then she noticed Cloverpaw and her tone changed to distrust. "Who are you?" Swiftbreeze asked suspiciously.
"I am Cloverpaw, bringing an important message from MoonClan, the Clan of your ancestors," replied Cloverpaw. "The Clan from which you have descended from, WaterClan, has been destroyed by FrostClan. Only one special wolf cub, 5 moons old, has survived. You must travel through the mountains to WaterClan and stay with the cub, whose name is Lightningcub. He alone, with the help of Yellowtail and yourself, can restore WaterClan. Please," she pleaded, "you must help." She gazed pleadingly up into the eyes of Swiftbreeze, who was gaping in awe at the figure before her.
"Wow," Swiftbreeze breathed, "are you really from MoonClan?''
"I am," responded Cloverpaw, "and we desperately need your help. You need to raise Lightningcub, with the help of Yellowtail."
Swiftbreeze gave herself a shake, and firmly answered, "I will." And with that, Cloverpaw faded away.
Yellowtail rose to her paws, and exclaimed to Swiftbreeze, "The most awesome thing just happened! A lion from MoonClan, named Stormfur, came to me and told me that we're supposed to go to WaterClan and help raise a cub named Lightningcub, and that I must obey you and do whatever you ask!"
Swiftbreeze stared at Yellowtail and said, "Really? I had a dream too! I don't feel tired anymore, let's go find Lightningcub!"
And with that, the two lions bounded up the mountain and started the long journey toward WaterClan and Lightningcub.
By sunhigh, both lions were exhausted. All they'd eaten were a mouse each before their journey. But WaterClan lay just beyond the last, small hill that stood between the lions and the WaterClan camp and Lightningcub. With her last bit of energy, Yellowtail snagged a rabbit running through the forest, while Swiftbreeze carefully picked marigold, oak leaf, and horsetail to fight infection in a small cut she'd gotten.
The lions shared Yellowtail's rabbit, feeling the strength return to their limbs. Swiftbreeze applied the poultice of herbs to her cut and to Yellowtail's scraped paw, just in case.
"We're almost there, can you believe it?!" exclaimed Swiftbreeze.
"I know, I'm so nervous and excited. I can't wait to meet the cub, and WaterClan!" replied Yellowtail. "I just hope Lightningcub likes us."
"Me too," responded Swiftbreeze, "I do too."