The gorge was quite beautiful, the moon was full and high in the sky, leaf-fall caused the leaves to turn crunchy and various shades of gold, orange and every color in between. the perfect night, the way the crickets chirped calmly, the way the grass smelled clean and fresh, but the way the air pierced with the smells of Twoleg place, how the noisy river crashed through in an almost harmonic way, pooling at the bottom of the waterfall, reflecting the moon. The gorge called out to the only one currently present, begging for its sights, noises and smells to be noticed, appreciated, worshiped. Yet, Sky didn't have the time for this.
The old tom knew just how important this might be. His mother told him the stories of their ancient clan, Skyclan. He had heard of Starclan. A place where after you die, your warrior ancestors greet you. They gave prophecies, remedies and granted nine lives to the leader of the clan. At the time, he thought that it was just to relieve him as a kit, but he knew deep down that this was true. The old tom gingerly padded into the cave, a giant glowing stone in front of him, he got closer to this mystifying yet beautiful stone, his eyes widened in awe, he felt a surge of tiredness strike him each paw step he took, by the time he was a tail-length away, he could no longer fight, and he fell asleep. Sky awoke, his eyes widened in fear, why did he just fall asleep? Where was he again? He searched around, if this was Starclan, it was nothing like he imagined. It looked like the whispering cave in the gorge. Sky's ear twitched, he turned to get up and face the other direction, a somewhat transparent white tom with gray splotches looking down upon him.
"Am, am I dead? Is this Starclan? Are you the cat who called me here?" His brows furrowed and his eyes focused on the small white tom with the gray spots.
"Worry not Sky, for you are not dead. I am Cloudstar, I called for you and I was the last leader of Skyclan from our time in the forest. I was also the leader when we were driven out of our home, and I settled us in the gorge." Sky didn't know what to say, this was one damn important cat.
"I have great news for you Sky, Skyclan is going to be reformed," Sky felt his heart soar, yet a feeling of unfulfillment and a bit of anger rose, before he could say anything, Cloudstar continued." Despite your age, you can teach newcomers how to be a member of Skyclan, by teaching them our hunting tactics, fighting strategies, and most importantly, the warrior code. I will teach you all of these skills and train you in your dreams." Cloudstar tipped his head down. Signaling that the other tom could speak, fortunately, Sky had some reservations.
"What? I mean, why now?" Sky felt the anger rise in his chest and spread his chest fur. He choked back a yowl of anger. "After all these seasons of waiting for my ancestors to return to this clan, now you decide to do it?" Sky felt his neck fur bristle and held back a snarl Cloudstar sighed, he seemed unsurprised, his wistful gaze pierced Sky's soul, causing his spine to tingle and he relaxed.
"To be truthful, not even I knew whether or not Skyclan could be saved," Cloudstar guiltily shifted his eyes. Cloudstar paused and craned his neck, waiting. Right before Sky could mention this, a light shone, and a silver molly rose from the light.
"You're the cat who was sleeping in front of the glowing stone!" She said in a shocked tone. She smelled nothing like the wilderness, not of tree, leaf, grass, nor dirt or rock, but rather, something rancid and strong, it smelled vaguely like a flower of some kind, but it pierced his nose, and he could only describe the uncanny smell as fake.
"This is Echo she shall train to be the clan medicine cat." Cloudstar explained. "She may not have warrior blood, but what is more important is that she is ready to be trained in our ways." Cloudstar gazed over at the she-cat who was currently gawking in awe by the realm.
"So," Sky took in a deep breath and met Cloudstar's gaze. "May I ask as to why we are only rebuilding our clan now?"
The Housefolk den was warm, the sun rose and cracked through the window, hitting Nutmeg directly in the eyes. Tired from the previous night, but still needing to get up, Nutmeg sat up and stared affectionately down at her beautiful kits. Nutmeg licked each one of her kits. She wanted to spend as much time with her kits before her housefolk would inevitably take them away. Sad but true, she'd most likely never know if her kits grow up and have kits of their own, she only knew this because of other mothers in her neighborhood, before having her kits she learned that after their birth she had at least 4 about moons before her housefolk were going to take her kits and give them away. The kits fell asleep, tuckered out from eating, now they slept. She watched their flanks rise and fall as they breathed. She hoped that they would live not too far away from her, so they could visit her when they're older.
"Nutmeg? You up?" A quiet voice came from her garden. A small, thinner than usual, black tom entered her den via her cat flap. It was Tiny! One of Quince's kits. After Jake disappeared and most likely died, both her and Quince became closer. Nutmeg noticed how her honorary son, Tiny, was treated by his bigger and meaner siblings and she always tried to make a safe place for him, away from his siblings. Concern flooded over her, he looked skinnier than usual, and his collar was ragged and dirty, with a giant yellowed tooth sticking out of it.
"OH SHIT! They've been born!" Tiny piped up before quieting down. Nutmeg thumped her tail on the floor, a slightly annoyed expression on her face. "Watch your language." Nutmeg snapped before going back to her worried expression." Come here, hun'," The tabby molly beckoned as she smiled at Tiny, whispering just loud enough for Tiny to hear.
"Kits, meet your big brother, Tiny." Nutmeg beckoned Tiny over with her tail, once he was a muzzle-length away, she gave the tom a comforting lick on the head." Now, Tiny, what have you come here for, kit?" Nutmeg was hoping he was going to tell her that he now had Housefolk. She just wanted to see the poor kit happy, yet the signs of his skinny sides, the grime, and the tooth in his collar… it just pointed to this not being the case.
"Um… Nutmeg," Tiny sheepishly mewed quietly. "I'm going to live out on the streets of Twoleg place and I'm changing my name to Scourge…" Nutmeg's eyes shot open as Tiny shifted in place. Scared of her yelping and waking her kits, Scourge continued, softer than before.
"I know it sounds really bad, okay? But you have to listen to me, alright, Nutmeg?" Nutmeg slowly nodded yet her terrified eyes stared through Scourge. He sighed. "You see, I can't live my life as a kittypet, I would never be able to protect myself or the people I care about, plus I'm no fan of Twolegs." Scourge took two paw steps towards Princess and the kits. He laid down next to them and looked Nutmeg in the eyes. "Nutmeg, I promise you; I will be safe, and I'll protect your kits with my life. I just wanted to ask if I could eat and sleep here tonight and tonight only?" Scourge cautiously looked over at Nutmeg.
"Of course you can, you can visit as much as you like, as long as my Housefolk aren't around, hun." Nutmeg felt like crying, she craned her neck to lick Scourge on the head.
Oh baby, they're not just my kits, but your siblings.