Soul Cats Book One: "Blood Moon"

🐾Prologue🐾

IceClan

A dark female tabby kit watched the sky as the blood moon rose. She had never seen a blood moon before, but it was rising right before her blue-green eyes. She didn't know whether it was an omen or a sign from SpiritClan. Its rays turned the ice red and somehow made it colder in this already cold region. Her mother, Bluecrest, stepped out of the infancy behind her.

"What is it?" She asked, looking up at the night sky.

"I-I don't know." She answered. Turning to face her mother, she saw a look of fear on her face "But I don't think it's anything good." The leader of their Clan also was looking at the sky with unease. He turned to his medicine cat.

"What does it mean?" Icenettle questioned. His medicine cat, Soulfang, still looked at the red moon.

"I-I think..." He trailed off not looking in his leader's yellow eyes. "It means it will be a very hard time for our Clan...."

FlameClan

"Is it a sign?" Asked Flamewing, as she looked at her medicine cat with unease.

"It will be a hard season for FlameClan." Rasped the old medicine cat. She looked at Leafwillow in horror of what he had said, her green eyes were full of astonishment. "A very bad season." He rasped again. She looked out at her camp wondering how bad it was going to be. Her mate, Flamefur, licked her affectionately on her forehead.

"It's going to be fine." He told her. "We will handle it together. No matter what."

BrokenClan

"Did we do the right thing?" Asked Sliteyes.

"I don't know." Owlfeather answered. She turned to Brokenquail: her clan leader. "Did we?"

"Of course we did." He told her. "BrokenClan always does the right thing." He turned to the body that lay in the sand. He nudged the little bundle and it let out a small meow. The kit looked up at the leader and meowed again. He licked it on the flank then they left the kit on the sand, stranded in the desert, as they walked back to their camp.

ForestClan

"What is that!?" Darktree asked as he came out of his den.

"Well. I don't know. Don't ask me next time." His mate, Goldmeadow, meowed. "You should ask Applevine." Applevine was their medicine cat, she was watching the red moon with a gaping mouth at the foot of her den. Darktree half ran toward her half tripped. She glanced at him, smelling his presents.

"Yes? What do you want?" She asked looking back at the moon.

"I was wondering..." He gasped. "What that thing is." He said pointing his mussel at the red-moon.

"It's called a blood moon." She said, "It's an-an omen. An omen of misery. Until some cat stops it."

"Where's Forestheart?"

"His den." She mewed.

"Okay. I'll be right back then."

"Please don't come back to me. Unless you need to."

"Oh, uh... Okay." He meowed.

He walked to Forestheart's den and meowed a greeting.

"Enter." Rasped Forestheart.

"I came to warn you. Our medicine cat says that the blood moon is an omen of misery." He mewed. Forestheart didn't answer so he continued. "She says that we will have a very hard time until someone stops it." He paused waiting for the leader to answer again, but he didn't. "What do you want to do?"

He looked at him for a moment and mewed. "I will go to GreatOak to decide that. Tell Willowfur I want them to come to my den."

"Yes sir." He walked out of Foresthearts den and to the place where Willowfur was grooming himself. He sat down next to him and mewed a greeting.

"Oh. Hi." He mewed awkwardly.

"Forestheart wants to see you in his den." He told the brown tom.

"Okay." He meowed as he got up. Darktree looked after him as he trotted away and out of sight.

SkyClan

Skylight saw it rising and called a meeting. When all of SkyClan had gathered at her rock she started to speak. "Mine Clan!" She mewed in the darkness. "Silverpelt is dead." She drooped her head then continued. "He was a very good medicine cat. Now I must choose a new one! If you are interested in having this role, step forward and sit at the foot of the CenterRock." Four cats stepped forward and sat at the foot of the rock. Glowingheart, Duskpelt, Dawncrest, and Twilightpetals looked at her and mews of excitement past between the Clan. She knew that she would have to choose the new medicine cat but it wasn't tradition.

"When I say your name please step back." She meowed. "Duskpelt." He got up and walked to his brother, Sunsetfur, and sat down. "Dawncrest. Please step back." She got up obediently and sat down further away. That left Glowingheart and Twilightpetals. "Err... Glowingheart." She meowed finally. Glowingheart got up with a big 'Hmm-f', and stalked off to her den. "Twilightpetals you are our new medicine cat. Do you promise to do whatever it takes to save our Clan?"

"With my life." She answered coolly.

"Then, please. Go to the SkyRock. Sleep under it. Then thee will be a true medicine cat. Knowing all that you need to know." Twilightpetals nodded and went to the camp entrance. "Good luck." She meowed after her retreating back. "And ask SpiritClan what the moon means!" She yowled as she disappeared.

OceanClan

Blueriver, an OceanClan queen, stalked out of the Infancy and out into the night air. The moon rose but it was red. She stared in bewilderment at the red-moon. Her fur glowed red with the light of the moon, she held her gaze when Oceansight stepped out of the Infancy behind her. The queen stood next to her, her brighter pelt shone a radiant red and her gray eyes were slits as she looked up at the strange moon. She glanced at Blueriver and looked back at the crescent moon.

"Do you know what it means?" She asked.

"No." She replied. Oceansight walked back to the Infancy, her belly bulging, glancing ones more at the moon she was out of sight.

StormClan

Starfur, an Elder in StormClan, watched the moon that had killed so many rise in the sky again. For the second time since she had been alive. Only one other cat was awake in their camp but nether spoke. The moon would be larger here. On the mountain top of which they lived. But again this was no ordinary moon. It was the moon that had killed her mother. The moon in which her mate had died. And as well as them many other cats had lost either kits, mothers, fathers, or mates. She herself had lost one of her kits in this rare occasion. The other cat whom was awake finally got up and walked over to where she sat.

"I'm not sure I should be asking this but... I can see the expression on your face and it looks sad. Is it because of the moon?" Meowed Thundercloud hesitantly.

"I was not aware of myself making a face." She meowed back. "Yes. It's because of the blood moon."

"Blood moon?!" He yowled. "What's a blood moon?"

"What we're seeing right now." She answered. "The last one my mate died."

He looked taken aback by her words but he didn't question further. "So this moon is an... an omen then?" He meowed finally.

"What do you think?" She asked.

"So it is an omen."

Starfur nodded, and Thundercloud went back to the spot he had gotten up from.