Mah Art Book 5.0

why skyclan moved

ADDING ONTO THE LAST CHAPTER

ok so this would go with the allegiances thing I made btw

so since the clan was so low on warriors, they couldn't catch enough prey, but fortunately didn't have many mouths to feed either. but still, they couldn't patrol the borders and hunt every day without certain cats getting worn out. and so, they began to take in kittypets and loners, to help out with daily duties like border patrols and hunting. the first few moons were peaceful, these new cats helping quite a bit.
     but, on the night of the full moon, when the clan was gathered on the skyrock, stormwhisker received a terrible omen while looking over the camp. she saw the floor and walls stained in blood, the river flowing red, with bodies of dead cats scattered about. she quickly pulled the leader and deputy aside to tell them.
     after a few days of pondering, they finally found the answer, when a storm brewed and flooded the camp. one of the cats who'd been a kittypet before got swept away into the water and stabbed by a branch, staining the entire flood blood-red. they took this as a sign to leave the territory, as it wasn't safe.
     the clan gathered up their supplies, which took nearly three days, before setting out. they first tried to cross the thunderpath, but with one of their queens having recently kitted, they instead followed it down into the forest.
     after a painful and terrifying trek that lasted nearly a moon, the clan found a place to live.
     they rested for a day, then went to explore this new home. one side was covered in dense woodland, while the other a sweeping moorland, and at the far edge, the ground dropped away to meet a vast, endless lake where the sun sank away each passing night. it was perfect.
     after finding a place to sleep, in a wide meadow between the forest and moor, they were awoken rather rudely at moonhigh.
     it turns out that skyclan had sheltered at the current two clans' - pineclan and moorclan - gathering place.
     after a rough, short discussion between the leaders, sparrowstar explaining their journey to this wonderful place, skyclan was accepted to stay. but, they would have to hunt and survive on the beach and cliffs, as that was the only territory available.
     skyclan hastily agreed and settled in.
     the first moon was the hardest of all. the two clans were still getting used to their new neighbor, and skyclan couldn't get the hang of fishing for prey and patrolling in the sand.
     and the first gathering with skyclan was even worse. they had to postpone it by at least an hour, with sparrowstar and the others trying to figure out sitting spots, and when it finally started, the clan cats began to boast about who had been born here and who hadn't, starting quarrels. it eventually ended early, and the three clans were sent home.
     sparrowstar fell ill quickly, during their third moon of life on the beach, after eating a poisoned fish. stormwhisker desperately tried to cure him, but couldn't, and finally decided to consult the other medicine cats during their half-moon meeting at the star-cave.
     luckily, the moorclan medicine cat agreed to hand over a few herbs, while the pineclan medicine cat was too busy sorting out her new apprentice to pay attention.
     sparrowstar overcame his illness with this new cute, but did loose a life.
     the next four moons were usual - patrolling, hunting, the occasional border quarrel. nothing special. but, on the fifth moon, when the clans were getting used to sharing territory with skyclan, the sky fell.
     well, not really. meteors showered across the sky, leaving it bleak and dark, as the clouds swiftly covered up the stars. moorclan and pineclan assumed this was a sign to drive out skyclan, even if they hadn't done anything wrong.
     and so, the next evening, all the warriors and apprentices of both clans attacked skyclan at their camp. because of the sheer shock and surprise, they won the battle and told skyclan that if they weren't gone by dawn, they wouldn't live to see sunset.
     that moon was spent in turmoil. skyclan refused to leave and roam once more, and the other two clans refused to believe it wasn't a sign from starclan. finally, at the half-moon gathering, starclan spoke.
     they stated that skyclan belonged here, and that the medicine cats must save them. the four returned to their homes that night shaking with their newfound knowledge.
     after three grueling moons of trying to convince their leaders, they finally broke through, and the three clans slowly returned to normal, though skyclan didn't trust the other two longer than their whiskers.
a little past their first year of living in the still-new territory, skyclan lost its first cat.
while on a hunting patrol, sparrowstar suggested they climb up onto the grassy ledges on the top of the cliffs, as pineclan wouldn't mind as long as they didn't step paw into the forest. they made it to the top, but this place was the highest cliff, and one of the warriors - rednose - leaned too close to the edge. he lost his footing and plummeted down, down, down, until he hit the sand with a deafening thud.
the patrol hurried down to his body, but rednose had died on impact.
they dragged his body back to camp and explained what happened. sparrowstar sat vigil with rednose's body until dawn, along with the warrior's family, his mate and kits.
     in the morning, he was buried right outside the cave, so that his spirit may still walk with them in times of trouble and peace.
     sparrowstar felt guilty for rednose's death. he renamed the cliff 'the drop-off', and every day he dropped flowers on the warrior's grave, frequently visiting his mate and kits. although rednose's mate seemed to like sparrowstar quite a bit, the leader refused to betray rednose by taking his mate.
     dozens of moons have passed by since then. cats have died, friendships have been made, and battles have been fought. sparrowstar and stormwhisker still keep their high ranks, and remember bitter-sweetly their old home among the gorge caves, trying to keep the memory of it alive like a small flame sparking in the darkness of everything else. the clans are at peace currently, but nobody can tell when the next battle will spring up.