Warriors: The Light Within

Prologue

The young queen yowled in pain. She struggled in her nest, her chest heaving with contractions. Her eyes were screwed shut against the pain and struggle.

The ThunderClan medicine cat could do nothing but offer encouragement. He had given her multiple sticks to bite- and she had long since broken all of them. Now he could only wait and see what StarClan's bidding would be. Last Greenleaf, the clan had lost a queen in a similar kitting, and he silently prayed that Nettlestem, the cat in front of him, would not join that fate.

Nettlestem suddenly gasped as a powerful spasm gripped her body. The medicine cat pricked his ears, hope lighting in his chest. Finally, after what seemed like forever, the first kit came out. He excitedly nipped the case of this little kit-

Only to find that it had already lost its life. A little black tom, who never got to experience the world. Nettlestem lifted her head to see her kit, and a pitiful wail erupted from her mouth at the sight of the stillborn. The medicine cat's heart ached for her.

"You have more to come, you must save your strength," he meowed softly to her.

The other two kits came shortly after, all dead like their brother. Nettlestem was groaning softly. "Why is this happening, Fernshade?"

The medicine cat gazed softly at her. "I don't know. They play with StarClan now."

Fernshade's heart ached for the queen and he prayed to StarClan that she would have the strength to continue. After what seemed like forever, the last kit came out. He nipped at the sack like he did for the rest of them, and to his surprise, this final kit was alive. Fernshade got to licking with vigor, new hope filling his paws. The kit started breathing, and Fernshade let out a relieved sigh. Nettlestem groaned again, and he quickly looked over the queen, noting how lucky she was to be alive after such a difficult birth. He pushed the kit to his mother's belly, and the little cat started to suckle. Nettlestem's tail curled protectively over her kit, and her eyes fluttered shut.

"You have a tom," Fernshade purred. He looked back down at the kit, but something strange seemed to happen. The world around him seemed to suddenly dim around the edges. It was the telltale sign of a vision from StarClan, and he hardly had time to prepare himself before he was whipped out of reality.

The medicine cat was now looking at the camp. Bewildered, Fernshade looked around. To his surprise, the kit, now a full-grown tom, was staring at him. His eyes made Fernshade's stomach uneasy. He had never seen such a combination before in a cat. One eye was a piercing blue and the other a deep green. His face looked split, with half of it ginger fur, and the other half  black. It had to be a sign. The tom stood in the center, kneading the dusty ground with his claws. To Fernshade's horror, blood started to sleep from one paw, pooling around him and heading like a stream for the medicine cat. Fernshade leaped back with a hiss before the dark red liquid could stain his feet. A voice sounded in his head, deep and echoing:

"There will be a cat who's path lay split....a paw in blood and one in sun. A guiding hand will cause descent into darkness and death, and the clans will be at war."

All at once, the yowling and screaming of cats filled Fernshade's ears, so loud that he yowled himself. The tom just looked at him with no expression on his face, while blood continued to seep from the bottom of one of his paws. Heart pounding, the medicine cat turned and ran, desperate to get away. As he ran through the camp entrance, the dream faded away, and Fernshade was suddenly standing back in the nursery. His pelt stood on end, and his claws were extended.

Nettlestem looked up at him tiredly, smelling his fear-scent. Fernshade backed away, staring at the kit by her belly. He looked so innocent kneading his mother's belly with his tiny paws. Hardly something that could cause a war. But StarClan thought otherwise.

"What?" Nettlestem meowed, her voice weak.

"Nothing," Fernshade quickly replied, forcing his claws to retract, and his fur to lie flat. "I just thought I had forgot to collect some herbs for later. I'll be back." The exhausted queen laid her head back down, immediately trusting his words. The medicine cat ducked out of the den, his heart still racing. But he kept up his calm demeanor to his classmates, who anxiously approached him for news of the kitting.

"It was hard. One kit has survived. It's a tom. Only the father can visit today." Were his short replies to them as he shouldered his way to his den. Once inside he stopped, letting out a breath he didn't know he had been holding. Then, steeling himself, he began to look for the herbs Nettlestem would need. Once finding them, he hurried back to the nursery. Nettlestem's eyes were shut and her flanks rose and fell in an steady rhythym. The kit was doing the same beside her. Despite the peaceful looking scene, however, Fernshade could only feel a strong sense of dread settle in his stomach, and he suddenly knew that however outlandish the prophecy seemed, StarClan was right. How he knew that, Fernshade had no idea. But somehow this kit was connected with death for the clans, and the medicine cat could do little to stop the violent shiver that traveled through his body at the thought of it.

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It's back and this time it's better. :) I will be publishing a chapter every week. There is more overall to this story now, so I hope you enjoy! If you do, don't forget to vote and/or comment. Thank you for being patient.