A Forest's Memory

Prolouge

A large cream she-cat looked up at the ranks of starry cats around her.

"I don't understand," She meowed confusedly. "Am I dead?"

"No," A tom whose pelt was the brilliancy of flame answered. "We are Starclan."

"Firestar the great," The she-cat murmured in awe.

Firestar dipped his head to her and stepped back to stand beside a light ginger she-cat.

"You must listen!" A mouse brown she-cat hissed. "It is important to your clan!"

The cream cat shrank back. "I don't know-"

"Rosestar," a she cat with blue eyes and starry grey-blue fur padded toward the cream she-cat. "Remember this;"

All of Starclan seemed to join in saying, "With a blazing heart and a clear mind will come salvation."

Rosestar awoke suddenly. Blazing heart, clear mind. She wondered about that for a moment.

"Was your nap good?" A cream-and-brown she-cat was standing in the entryway to her den, her green eyes glowing in amusement. "You slept until almost moonrise."

Rosestar stretched and padded out to look over her clan from the Highrock. She could see her Clan in small groups below her sharing tounges. Willowleaf's kits, who had been born a half moon before, were tumbling around with Poppycloud's kits. The fresh-kill pile was well stocked, so no cat would go hungry tonight.

"Get Ferntail! Clearpool's starting to kit!" A brown tom raced into camp, his green eyes glowing with fear and excitement.

"What? How is she not in camp?" the cream-and-brown she-cat demanded. "Never mind, where is she?"

"This way Ferntail," The brown tom raced back out of camp with Ferntail close behind.

Other cats began to come into the clearing, murmuring and pacing.

Clearpool. A thought struck her. Clearpool is Blazeheart's mate! With Clearpool and Blazeheart will come salvation! Rosestar needed to tell someone.

"I had a dream," Rosestar said to a yellow tabby tom. "One of these kits will be very important to the future of the Clans."

"All kits are precious Rosestar," chided the tom.

"Yes Bluesky, but there has not been such an important cat since the days of Firestar the great. All the others were groups," Rosestar flicked her tail impatiently.

"Yes, but there were some important cats. Take the Three for example," said Bluesky. "There was Lionblaze the strong, Jayfeather the wise, and-"

"Dovewing who listened. I know. But still, I will be watching them," Rosestar mewed.

They sat on the highrock, watching their clanmates hurry around below them in the dimming light of the dusk, the tranquil peace shattered by the excitement. The fiery colors of the sun lowering, giving way to the moon, brightened one last time, as if to go down with pride. And through the sudden silence, one could hear a tiny cry echo across the forest. A kit had been born.