Warriors: Creamtail's Virtue

Prolouge

    For the first time in many years, the beaches were silent. The slight shriek of the gulls echoed through the atmosphere, and there was the occasional rustle of the palm trees. But there were no voices, no mewls or meows. The abandoned deck, once heavy with sunbathing elders, was now eerily empty.

    The clans had been wiped out.
    ... but not quite.

    Firefly padded over to the sandy deck and gazed out into the iridescent ocean. The calm waves were beginning to swallow the sun, turning the sky a burning amber. Months ago, Firefly would comfortably lounge in the sun, gossiping with her favorite elders, then be chased away by the wild cats that lived here. The only remanence of the elders was the stale scent still wafting around the wooden boards.

"I didn't think I would ever see your patchy little face around here again."

Firefly whipped around at the sudden voice, then relaxed. She had seen that patchy grey-white fur from a distance many times. But never before this close.

"What did you think you would find here? It's all gone. There's nothing for your little kittypet mind to be boggled about. Go home Firefly."

The kittypet stayed silent, before finally mewing: "I'm sorry for your loss, Shellstar."

It was Shellstar's turn to stay silent. They stared out into sea for what felt like forever, watching the sun finally set. Then she finally said: "It's all gone, Firefly. My friends, my family, my home, my life. Not even those cursed medicine cats could save us. All they did was spat about clams and hearts while we tore eachother about!" She was spitting with anger and misery. Firefly curled her tail around Shellstar's foreleg. "Cutting off from the roots, broken hearts and broken shells." Shellstar's snorted. "I can't believe you even bothered to remember it." Firefly purred, "I can remember a lot, it's quite a talent." A small smile crawled up the leader's face, lighting an ember in Firefly's heart.

And at the wake of the moment- as if all the cats starclan themselves came down upon her, Firefly gasped. "The island!" Shellstar jumped back, knocking herself onto her paws. "The... island?" Firefly flew past Shellstar and scampered along the beach, running towards the beach side cliff. "F-firefly! Where do you think you're going!?" She finally caught up to Firefly, huffing and puffing. "The island, Shellstar..." She lifted her orange paw towards a blob in the distance. Although it was hard to see against the night sky, the two cats could make out the outline of a long, distant island. Several isles surrounded the side of it, lush with trees and bushes. Shelkstar blinked.

"It's an island. My clan is still dead. Now what?"
"We're gonna swim to it!"
"Excuse me?"
"You're right! That's ridiculous!"
"Glad we reached that conclusion–"
"We'll use a raft!"
"...Excuse me?"
"A raft! My feeder likes to float on it and go to all around the ocean! It'll get us to the island! And then we rebuild the clan there! Think of all the prey waiting for us!"
"I... um... wait- us?"

Firefly tilted her head at Shellstar, as if what she said made perfect sense. "Of course I'm coming along! You think I'm going to let you rebuild the clans all by yourself?" Shellstar sighed, but didn't fight it. She didn't have the energy to.

"So how are we gonna rebuild the clans, Miss I-know-everything-about-clans?"
"Are there any cats left; other than you."
"... Palmshadow, Sandnose, and Finpaw. That's what left of my dead clan"
"Perfect! Starclan will provide us with the rest."
"Ok. Sure. Have fun with that."

But Firefly didn't catch the last part. She could already see the new future- a future full of promise and happiness. New friends and foes. The return of the clans that once inhabited the abandoned beaches. Very softly, she whispered:

"This is going to work. And everyone will remember our names for generations to come, Shellstar."