Warriors AU: Skyclan's Destiny

Prologue

The sun was going down, casting deep shadows over the gorge. A chilly breeze ruffled the surface of the river and whirled the last few shriveled leaves through the air. The only sound was the murmur of water that surged from a black hole in a pile of boulders, coiling into a pool before winding away into the darkness beneath the cliffs.

A dark tabby she-cat appeared at the top of the gorge, outlined against the sky. She paused for a moment, tasting the air. The dying sun shed blood red light over her pelt, touching a patch on her shoulder where the fur had been torn away. After a few heartbeats the tabby she-cat signaled with her tail and began to pick her way down a narrow track that zigzagged across the face of the cliff. Seven other cats followed her: A white tom stumbled awkwardly on three paws, the fourth a mass of blood-soaked fur held close to his chest; a long-legged black she-cat edged downward nervously, one eye closed and sticky with blood, a young ginger she-cat limped with both ears shredded. Not one of the cats was free of wounds.

As the eight warriors padded painfully down the trail toward the water's edge. Four more cats emerged from a cave a little farther along the gorge. The first was a young brown tabby she-cat who sprang quickly down the rocks to the foot of the boulders. Her paws worked anxiously in the sand as she waited for the warriors to arrive. The other three were elders who stumbled after her on shaky legs.

"Well, Spiderstar?" one of them rasped as the leading cat reached the bottom of the cliff. The elder's muzzle was gray with age, and every one of her ribs was visible beneath her thin black pelt. "What happened? Did you win?"

The dark tabby she-cat paused for a moment, then padded forward to touch her nose to the old cat's ear. "What does it look like, Nightfur?" she murmured in reply. "Brackenheart," she added to the young brown tabby, "I hope your den is well stocked with herbs. We're going to need them."

Before the medicine cat could reply, the long-legged black she-cat pushed up beside her Clan leader, her lip curling in contempt. "Of course we didn't win. This battle was lost before it was even begun."

A ginger tabby tom, who had brought up the rear as the battle-scarred cats made their way down the cliff, bounded up and glared at the black she-cat. "You can't say that, Swallowflight! We had to fight. Skyclan still has its pride!"

It was the white tom who replied, shaking his head sadly. "Pride in what, Honeyleaf? We can't feed ourselves because the rats have chased off all the prey. No kits have been born in moons. The only ceremonies we have now are to send our Clanmates to our ancestors."

The ginger tom's head whipped around, his green eyes narrowed to slits. "Look, Frostclaw—"

"Will we hold ceremonies for Sunpelt and Fallensnow?" the young warrior with the shredded ears interrupted. Her voice was trembling with grief.

"We will, Rowanfur." Spiderstar dipped her head to the young cat. "Their spirits are free now to walk among the stars."

"What?" A gray tabby elder rose shakily to her paws. "Sunpelt and Fallensnow are dead? Then where are their bodies? We must sit vigil for them and then bury them."

"Oakstep, we had to leave them behind," Swallowflight spat out with a lash of her tail. "We were too busy fleeing to save our own pelts to carry our fallen Clanmates." She turned away, her head bowed as if she couldn't bear to go on looking at the others.

Frostclaw padded up and sat quietly beside her, pushing his nose into the black she-cat's matted shoulder fur. "Swallowflight, there was nothing else we could have done for them. No cat could blame us."

"He's right," Brackenheart meowed quietly. "Our Clanmates hunt with Starclan now. They'll understand."

Spiderstar nodded, her eyes dark with pain and loss.