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 Posted: Sun Jan 11, 2009 7:36 pm
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Posted: Sun Jan 11, 2009 7:39 pm
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Posted: Sun Jan 11, 2009 7:45 pm
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Prologue
A black darkness flew around the pool, reflecting a bright face in it. The cat looked down into the pool and shivered, staring back at him were the thousands of warrior ancestors that had fought in battles, led clans, and saved lives. In the throng of them was a single cat he sought out, her beautiful silver pelt emerged from the bunch of cats to loom over him, “Greetings Crowfeather” Crowfeather looked up longingly at the she cat he once loved so dearly, before, the Tribe of Rushing Waters had misjudged a prophecy sent to them by their warrior ancestors, foretelling a cat that would save them from Sharptooth, a lion that had terrorized the Tribe of Rushing Water until Feathertail had saved them and her friends.
Feathertail lay down next to him and nuzzled his fur, purring loudly. Crowfeather enjoyed the warmth of her body next to his, “But Feathertail” he whispered, “I… I’m sorry, but I’m in love with Leafpool now”
“Don’t apologize” she replied, playfully nudging him, “I trust her”
“Feathertail…” he purred
Suddenly the image of Feathertail and Moonpool dissipated, “Make her happy” she moaned, “But don’t forget about me”
“No! Feathertail, wait!” he cried
“Make her…” her voice was suddenly washed out by the sound of waves. Crowfeather jumped up panting, he whisked himself across the open plain, but there was nothing within range that could be identified. Crowfeather gasped as it became hard to breath, somebody called him from behind and he turned around. Off in the distance was a lean shape, the cat was bounding toward him and he froze. As the cat came nearer he could sent a sweet smell.
Finally, he found his footing and bounded across the vast plain up to the she cat. He snuggled her and purred loudly, “Leafpool, please… where am I?” he looked around the open space and shivered, not even the sound of prey could be heard over the loud sound of twoleg voices. Their strange words rose high above the two cats and seemed to circle around them; suddenly Leafpool dropped to the ground and lay on her side moaning.
Crowfeather dropped at her side and watched her bulging flank heavily shrink. Crowfeather cried her name, “Leafpool! What’s happening!” Leafpool savagely wheezed, “Leafpool!?”
“Crowfeather…” she gasped, “Go to the island…” unexpectedly she went unconscious and Crowfeather was left alone in the field.
He gasped for air, trying to get out of the field, he ran faster than he had. His paws felt light and he raced with the guiding wind.
His flanks grew cold as newer wind pushed against him, slowing him down. Crowfeather stopped and for a moment the wind seized its hold on him, but then the wind brought with it, the sounds of thousands of giant pawsteps. Over the horizon Crowfeather could see an army of dogs running towards him, as they got closer he could hear the blood-thirsty battle cries, see the massive rippling pelts, and smell the sickening of crowfood.
Underneath him the ground shook, he looked up and saw the gleaming gray and black pelts of them. He swiveled around and raced for safety, he could hear them gaining on him so he ran faster, suddenly he was flying over the ground, but so were they.
Crowfeather looked over his shoulder and they were gone, no savage teeth, nothing. All was quiet again, so Crowfeather muttered a silent prayer to Starclan, but just then another rippling pelt leaped o him.
Chapter 1
Crowfeather sat up gasping, his heart raced as he struggled to gain control of his head. Dogs, thousands of dogs had been there. But these ones were bigger, and rogue… Leafpool! Leafpool is in danger, he thought, the island! That’s it, she said to meet her at the island!
Crowfeather stumbled out of his bed and scrambled for the exit, but blocking his path was the muscular brown body of Onestar, Windclan’s leader, “Crowfeather? Why are you out?”
“I…I need water” he replied weakly
“Well, you certainly don’t sound yourself, why don’t you go with Webfoot?” Onestar began to look around for Webfoot when Crowfeather nudged him out of the way, “No, I can take care of myself”.
As Crowfeather left the camp, he was aware of his leader’s eyes burning into his pelt.
When Crowfeather was well out of sight of the camp and he had looked behind to make sure no one saw him. Once he was sure, Crowfeather pelted across the open stretch of land covering everything between horseplace and Windclan camp.
Crowfeather slowed his pace to a trot as he crept upon the treebridge leading to the island. When he reached the edge he leaped up onto the tree and dug his claws into the wood for stability.
Then, carefully, he padded across the bridge, and leapt onto the island.
Crowfeather pricked his ears and waited till’ a mouse that had been scampering towards him was gone. Then he crept into the trees and past small bramble thickets.
When Crowfeather reached the gathering place he spotted a cat’s large flank among the tall grass next to the great oak tree.
Crowfeather dashed over to the she cat’s side and sniffed, he relaxed when he realized it was Leafpool and she was still alive. He scanned her body and his eyes grew wide with shock to find her belly was heavy with a joyous yet forbidden burden.
Crowfeather licked her belly and whispered softly into her ear, “Are they mine?”
“Y… Crowfeather?” she stammered
“Yes”
“The…they are” she gasped, “H-help me! Get some poppy seeds now!”
Crowfeather stiffed as her flank grew rigid for a moment then shrank; he turned and darted into the bushes looking for poppy seeds. He swerved to avoid some closely packed brambles. He stopped in his tracks, there, a squirrel scampered through a pile of poppy seeds. Crowfeather crouched low and stalked up onto the squirrel and waited, it inched closer and Crowfeather sprang. The mouse scuttled away, but was to slow. Crowfeather rid of it in one swift bite.
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Posted: Sun Jan 11, 2009 7:59 pm
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Posted: Sun Jan 11, 2009 8:00 pm
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Posted: Sun Jan 11, 2009 8:35 pm
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Prologue
Tigerlegs sat by Hollystar’s side, as Hollystar labored to breathe Tigerlegs watched Waterfall struggling to make Hollystar eat the juniper berries, “Leave….me, Waterice….it is my….time….” Tigerlegs felt a painful aching beneath her ribcage, like a strong forceful grip on her lungs.
Hollystar groaned as she painfully moved her head to look up at her deputy, “Tigerlegs,” she sighed, as she swallowed the berries, looking up with her wise eyes, “Deathfire needed me to tell you this before I went, he says ‘One day I met a cat unlike any other, her name was Rockstorm…she was so beautiful like her mother Leafpool and she was as strong as her father Crowfeather’ he says that you, Tigerlegs, are his Rockstorm, reincarnated. He says Starclan saw his pleading and gave you back to him, he just wishes, hopes that he may come back…he says, he’ll ask for Starclan to send a sign to his mother…I think you’ll guess what sign that is…” Hollystar sighed and her last breathe left her in a stirring of the juniper leaves.
Waterfall looked up to Tigerlegs and sighed, “She told me to tell you that if she didn’t give you the message it would come in a dream, your first prophecy as leader…”
And it came…
Tigerlegs sat before her historic leader; Moonstar, Sunstar, Thunderstar, Shadowstar, Windstar, Riverstar, and Ravestar. The leaders of the seven clans. Tigerlegs was confused as she looked upon the first leader of Ravenclan, “Why are you here? I though the big cats of Ravenclan did not believe in Starclan?” Ravenstar looked at her as the starry form of his spirit, “Yes, Tigerlegs, we do not believe during our lives, but as we move on, we are sent here, we believe then…we have always been part of Starclan” Tigerlegs nodded with acknowledgement as she stepped toward the blind leader, “I am here to receive my lives…and I think I want to know who Deathfire was reborn as…and…who I was before I was Tigerlegs…”
The cats of Starclan were quiet for a moment, then Moonstar stepped forward , “You were Rockstorm before, daughter of Crowfeather and Leafpool, your siblings died before they became cats of the clans. And Deathfire…you shall know about him soon…” Moonstar waved his tail and nine cats stepped forward, including Ravenstar, “Now for you to finally lead the clan you should have led”
“I, Moonstar, present you with the life of wisdom; a life used wisely to guide your clan to new lands when the times come, and the wisdom to know when moon changes without the usage of eyes, use this life wisely!” Moonstar leaned in and touched noses with Tigerlegs as pain greater than any strike from a claw seared through Tigerlegs’s body making her quiver, but not cry out for fear of disturbing the ritual.
As the other cats gave her her gifts she could feel the pleasure and pain of what is was to be leader.
Moonstar; Wisdom
Ravenstar; Strength
Riverstar; Endurance
Thunderstar; Power
Shadowstar; Wit
Sunstar; Love
Windstar; Agility
Hollystar; Hope
Firestar; Integrity
Tigerstar was exhausted as she sauntered away from the cats, “Where do I go, now?” she panted, looking behind her at the quickly fading cats, “Go forward, Tigerstar, and think nothing of the past!”
Tigerstar sighed and sat down, lying down on the ground to regain her energy as the cats disappeared. Tigerstar waited as her lungs willed with beautiful air, the air of Starclan. Tigerstar looked around and moaned, a strange black cloud was moving towards her. Tigerstar scrambled to get up as it gained ground towards her and she ran, faster than she had run before, rejuvenated by the luscious air of Starclan. Tigerstar leaped over a log and looked around, the forest was strange to her, there were twoleg buildings on the borders of the clans and she could see ahead of her a strange place she quickly identified as the former Shadowclan camp, but more importantly known as Moonclan’s former frog hunting grounds.
For before the four clans; Thunderlcan, Windclan, Riverclan, and Shadowclan, had moved into the former forest, Moonclan had lived there, when no towleg buildings lived there. When the other clans had moved in,the Moonclan cats had happily given up some of their territory and their cats. But the clans had turned on them for Moonclan had the skills of every clan, for they had lived there for many many moons, since the time of tigers and lions.
Tigerstar bounded through the Shadowclan camp and jumped back as a twoleg building appeared before her as soon as if it had been there before. And Tigerstar knew this was the forest now. She turned and ran, dodging the building in her desperate search for shelter from the storm.
She looked to her left and mewed with relief as she swerved into the old Highstones and crawled quickly into the cave up to the Moonstone. The light that made the stone glow faded, and Tigerstar was left in darkness.
Tigerstar quivered and mewed helplessly, “Please, Starclan, get me out of here, I don’t want to be here anymore!” Tigerstar shrunk back from the hole in the roof and backed up farther into the cave, suddenly she bumped into something large and furry, but she didn’t get away from it. Instead she slunk up to it and cuddled into its soft warm fur. “Who…” it murmured, Tigerstar started and looked into the darkness into eyes so memorable she gasped, the storm overhead blew by and light struck the face, lighting up its beautiful fur. “Redfang?” and another voice came out of her mouth, Rockstorm’s, “Deathfire?”
Redfang replied in two voices, Redfang’s, “Tigerlegs?” and Deathfire’s, “Rockstorm?”
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Posted: Sat Apr 04, 2009 3:49 pm
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