Prologue (Written by Crazystar)
Fire. The one thing that can strike fear in the heart of every cat. The tongues of light that suffused the stone hollow with a red glow. The smoke that filled a warrior’s lungs and stole their breath. Trees and dens that burned in the heat, and in a way every cat knew the camp would never be quite the same again.
This was the experience ThunderClan had on a stormy morning in greenleaf. The deputy, a dark gray tom named Stormwhisker, poked his head in the nursery to check on his mate, Darkfur. They didn’t need to speak to express their affection for each other; a simple look could do that. “Get out of there, quick!”
The flames had already reached the camp entrance. It would not be easy for a she-cat expecting kits to climb up the secret escape route of the stone hollow, but Stormwhisker knew there was no choice. He pressed against her side and helped to steady her as they leapt up on the first ledge. Stormwhisker nearly slipped himself and momentarily scrabbled for a pawhold. They went upwards without any further problems, somehow scaling the cliff and reaching the top.
Below, the flames roared in the camp. The whole forest was ablaze; the fire had spread rapidly.
The two cats sprang up to the last ledge. Darkfur wobbled and nearly plummeted to her death, but Stormwhisker grabbed her by the scruff and pulled her back.
But that act made him lose his own balance. He stumbled backwards a few mouse-lengths and found nothing behind him but air. Darkfur screamed in horror.
Stormwhisker was falling for what seemed like an eternity. He twisted in mid-air to try to land on his paws, but he’d lost his sense of direction. His stomach lurched and his vision blurred. Right before he hit the ground, he blacked out. He landed on his side, and a loud snapping sound echoed off of the stone walls of the hollow.
Stormwhisker was dead.
***
A half-moon later, Darkfur gave birth to two kits, both light gray she-cats. Her eyes were still dull as she remembered her mate who had died to save these two tiny lives. She vowed to do everything she could do to help them in memory of Stormwhisker.
She was lying outside, since the nursery hadn’t yet been rebuilt, under the shade of the Highledge. The medicine cat, Leopardpelt, was bent over her.
“Thank you, Leopardpelt,” Darkfur meowed.
Leopardpelt nodded. “What will you name them?”
Darkfur pointed to the first one, the bigger of the two kits. “This one will be Stormkit in honor of Stormwhisker.”
Leopardpelt smiled. “He’d like it. What about the smaller one?”
Darkfur looked at the small bundle of fur with loving eyes. A feather landed on the tiny she-cat’s nose and she sneezed.
Darkfur chuckled. “I think I’ll name her Featherkit.”
StarClan watched, as StarClan always watches over their Clanmates that they left behind. Stormwhisker’s eyes glistened with sadness as he wished that he had been able to live long enough to help name their kits.
A flame-colored tom named Firestar padded up to Stormwhisker. “Stormwhisker.”
Stormwhisker spun around. “Yes?”
Firestar sighed. “You weren’t supposed to die. Darkfur was.”
“Why?” Stormwhisker felt that the only thing worse than him dying would be for Darkfur to have died. He never wanted anything bad to happen to her.
“Featherkit should’ve never been born.”
A/N: Not sure if it'll be me or Blake that posts the next chapter, but I hope you enjoyed! We'll have the allegiances up soon, we just wanted to get the prologue finished first.
