Stars Of The Abyss - Promise Of Ice (Book 2)

Prologue

A cold, inert shape of fur was sprawled out against the soaking ground, their yellow fur dull and in tangles with evidence of battle. The body lay in a small hollow, the outside of the camp marshland and bog. A stream cut through the camp. The cat's eyes blank and glazed over like two rocks during winter. A second cat sat over them, his back hunched. Cats usually wouldn't mourn each other, and the death of another cat would be something to celebrate, a loss of competition, but these cats were familiar to each other. Clan cats. From the four warrior clans that birthed them and their lives. The second cat looked almost like that of a British cow, with long, extended ears, and a muzzle that reached slightly longer then the normal cat. His white fur was dappled with black, like he had been splashed with paint. He blinked his long eyelashes against the rain which patted the ground gently like a thousand hands. Cowslips grew inbetween were the cat was layed, but it was clear they had not grown around the cat, as the feline flattened some of the growth around it - dandelions, big-leaf'd yellow flowers, daisies, small-leaf'd white flowers, weeds, small traces of bindweed. This cat was dead. There was no doubt about it. And yet it was so curious how it's supposed, and natural, competition mourned for it. An owl called in the thick trees which found themselves haphazardly placed around the outside of this little hollow. The alive cat tucked his black tail over his paws, almost like he was placing a towel over a stain.

A owl swooped by him, and yet he still refused to look up - feverishly fidgeting and tinkering with a rock at his paw, his long, spindly legs powerful, and yet twitching. His pawpads were coarse with dry grass, and his nose was patterned with darker splotches of dusty rose. He slowly rose the paw he so happened to fidget with, and used it to smooth the dead's fur. A cowslip wavered, before falling flat as he accidentally crushed it. Wincing at his destruction of life in the presence of its absence, he casted a gaze to the starlit sky. Silverpelt. Where his ancestors retired too when they died.

As he gazed wordlessly up the sky, he felt a tremble underneath his black paw. He gave a pause, before he felt another ripple of movement and a twitch. He found his hackles lifting up in fear, before he hopped up onto his paws and jumped backwards. His spine arching, as he curled his blackened lips backwards towards the dead corpse, letting out a hiss of surprise, his tail spiking, and perking up into the sightless air.

The body of the cat's left front leg was twitching, almost in the manner of a spasm, similar to a seizure. There was a snap and a crack! As the leg straightened it's self up. It was almost as if the body was becoming re-animated right at the seams. The corpse's back right leg seemed to violently give a single jerk, before a creak! Exploded into the air, and the hindleg found it's self into a comfortable position. This process happened two more times to the remaining legs, before its tail began to quiver like a snake, and the rest of the body began to shake in a fit-like manner. The body's fur spiked up, and it's jaws opened up in a soundless caterwaul. The white and black tomcat watched in shock as the corpse regained movement, before slowly settling down in its violent movements.

Heartbeats of silence passed, and yet it felt like seasons, as the supposedly dead cat had stopped moving. The feline, who was placed in the role of being a spectator, straightened himself up, and gave a curious tip of his head - the gentleman's eyes had seemed to begin to water, either from the cold, or emotions threatening to overwhelm.

As he pondered his own thoughts, the body slowly regained movement, placing it's forepaws in a steady position, before heaving it's self up onto it's front. He thought to react, to panic, but he could not.

The re-animated cat gave a glance around, like she had not a clue of where she was, her gaze foggy with confusion, before she shook her head, her eyes landing on the white and black cat, "CowWaddle. I am back."

CowWaddle froze, his mouth dry as he spoke, "ThunderStar - I thought you were gone, I've never seen a leader come back from losing a life so slow.. And never seen it in such a disturbing.." His voice trailed off as ThunderStar got up on all of her paws, even the back ones, before she gave a large stretch, her jaws parting into a soundless yawn like she had just woken from a long sleep, crushing the rest of the cowslip under her paw. CowWaddle gave a slight wince, before ThunderStar straightened once more, and ran her cheek against his, "I could never lose you, my dear." She slowly purred to CowWaddle.

CowWaddle closed his eyes silently, taking in ThunderStar's scent, which covered up the smell of death in a matter of moments. He gave his mate a lick on the cheek, "When you were with them.." ThunderStar gazed at him curiously as he spoke, "..What did StarClan say?"

ThunderStar chuckled, pulling herself away, pressing her tail against his cheek as she turned to the side, "What StarClan knows isn't for me to tell, that's my poison."

CowWaddle paused, what had she meant by posion? He gazed at his mate, her movements slow and precise. He felt a shiver run down his spine, almost as if ThunderStar wasn't the same cat as he had known before. He shook his head, that couldn't be true.

But by the way she rose her paw, and carefully placed it against the dirty land, pressing ever so lightly, it was so eerie. He casted a glance to SilverPelt - something wasn't quite right here.