Last Updated: 9 July 2017
Silvery moonlight filtered on the still, moss-covered trees. The towering giants surrounded a large, vacant clearing. Within their gnarled grips sat a gleaming pool in the centre. Beside the pool loomed a huge, jagged boulder, one that had been eroded over countless seasons. If a cat peered closely, they would see that it was covered in many tiny, glowing scratchmarks. The scratchmarks of ancient cats.
Without a rustle or a hiss, starry warriors, young and old, slipped through the torn undergrowth. Three young cats scraped their broken claws against the hard surface, muscles straining at the effort of such a simple task. The largest was a dark brown tom flicking a torn ear. The second was a wiry ginger she-cat, also with a torn ear. By far the smallest, a scrawny grey apprentice owned wild blue eyes darting from side to side, as if expecting an attack.
The she-cat comfortingly nudged the apprentice, as the tom bellowed, "Warriors of StarClan, we gather here tonight to discuss an event so catastrophic, even we weren't able to prevent it!"
This prompted yowls of fear and panic amongst the gathered cats. The frightened cries of kits and the howls of elders mingled into one bone-chilling yowl, one that would give even the most cold-hearted of cats nightmares. Spines shivered.
"Calm down, everybody!" he yowled above the dreadful noise. "Like the Great Battle seasons ago, there is a way to stop the Dark Forest from overrunning us!"
A white, ginger-tailed she-cat swept her three kits closer to her, mewing with agitated worry, "How, Oakwhisker? If we can't stop this, then no cat can!"
This caused more cats to yowl in despair.
"Gingertail, nothing is impossible. Nothing. Now, only the cats gathered here managed to escape from the battle that rages on behind us. You will be the ones to hear the prophecy given to us-"
He motioned towards the other two cats, to the grey tom in particular.
"-and Greypaw here knows it the best. Please tell them what you know."
"Go on. Everything will be okay," prompted the she-cat, blinking warm green eyes.
"Thanks, Goldenpelt," he breathed in a quiet mew. He then took a deep breath and meowed in a shaky voice:
"Cats of StarClan, in the middle of green-leaf, I received a prophecy for our loved ones living beside the lake. A short time later, the Dark Forest was seen amassing in great numbers near the border and so, stupid me, I prioritised investigating this over warning the Clans... My foolishness has caused several Clan cats to have joined our ranks sooner than expected, and has caused this current battle to be worse than it should be. However, let's not dwell on the past; the prophecy goes as foretold:
"Admist the growing ruins of the once tranquil lives,
There is revenge sought in the hearts of evil and deception.
But if the infant and the ancient shall come together,
The broken Clans may survive once again.
"The prophecy still needs proper decoding both StarClan and the Lake cats, but, I fear the path to complete it will be riddled with many challenges in the moons to come."
Far from any howls or yowls, Greypaw's speech had plunged the whole clearing into silence, so silent in fact, a cat could almost hear battle cries in the distance. The small meow of "Well said, young warrior" from an elder broke the silence and encouraged the other cats to murmur amongst themselves. Goldenpelt brushed her furry tail along Greypaw's back and purred, "I'm proud of you, brother."
"It was nothing," he dismissed modestly, but he was purring all the same.
"Okay," Oakwhisker's deep mew made the whispering cats pay attention, "Our comrades are out there, fighting for their lives, so we need to return-"
"But wait!" Gingertail interrupted, "How will the Clans receive the prophecy?"
Oakwhisker hesitated for a moment. "StarClan will hold another meeting after the battle."
"But who-?"
With that, Oakwhisker bounded off the jagged rock and raced into the bushes, "Let us fight with our loyal Clanmates!"
"For the Clans, for the lake, for peace!" The other warriors and apprentices yowled the StarClan war cry, following him into the undergrowth. This left the queens, elders and kits with injured warriors to guard them. As Gingertail gathered her young and herded them into a tree hollow, she muttered under her breath, "Inexperienced warriors. Always putting their emotions before common sense. That's what kills them so quickly."
~~~~
It's a truth that in love and war,
Worlds collide,
And hearts get broken.
I want to live like I know I'm dying,
Take up my cross,
Not be afraid.
Is it true what they say, that words are weapons?
And if it is, then everybody best stop steppin',
'Cause I got ten in my pocket that'll bend ya locket,
I'm tired of all these rockers sayin' come with me.
It creeps in like a thief in the night,
Without a sign, without a warning,
But we are ready and prepared to fight,
Raise up your swords,
Don't be afraid.
Wait, it's just about to break,
It's more than I take,
Everything's about to change.
I feel it in my veins,
It's not going away,
Everything's about to change...
The War of Change - Thousand Foot Krutch
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Warrior Cats: Fallen Leaves
FanfictionGenerations after the main series, the five Warrior Clans become scattered by countless enemies cooperating in a large-scale attack. They have only recently recovered and rearranged themselves. Only, they are then confronted with a fatal pathogen wh...
