Starlight

Prologue

Breathe in, breathe out.

A soft breeze from the sea ruffled his whiskers, his ocean blue eyes shut tight against the cold pricking at his pelt. The faint roar of the waves out on the sea were blocked out by the tom's calming thoughts, forgetting all the tire of leading an entire clan to victory pushed aside.

Welcome home.

The tom's muzzle turned up in a small smile, taking another deep breath. He could feel the soft wind rustling his pelt, and he didn't mind it. He allowed the breezes to play with his fur, and he soon opened his sapphire eyes to face the seashore. His head turned slightly to glance behind him, wondering if a cat had tried to speak to him in his time of meditation.

To his relief, no one required his presence. The tom turned back to the scenery before him, curling his grey tabby tail over his white paws. The tabby tom watched as the golden orb of the sun slowly slipped into the sea, leaving behind only darkness.

Long after darkness consumed the territory, the tabby tom caught the scent of another cat. He sprung to his bleached paws, looking out into the grasses that lead straight to camp, holding his breath for a couple moments.

"Crowtail, is that you?" The tom called out into the darkness, his voice quivering, despite the tom's fearlessness.

From behind the tall grass, a silvery figure of a cat appeared, her gold flecked eyes locking to the miniature ocean in the tom's irises. The she-cat appeared to have been there for quite some time, her fur flattened from laying.

"Greetings, Miststar." The she-cat's voice was startlingly sharp, her words almost spat onto the sand and grass below the tom's paws.

Miststar found himself shrinking beneath the she-cats gaze. "State your business." He growled, sitting up straighter.

The she-cat's mouth upturned into a small smile, narrowing her eyes. "I bring great news to you and your new clan."

"Great news? And what "great news" could this be?" Miststar stood up, his tabby tail flicking slightly, the only evidence that the tom was troubled.

"Shoreclan will thrive in the future, as the darkness takes over the seas and plagues their minds." The she-cat hissed as she spoke, though there was a hint of hope in her eyes. "However, fur as red as the autumn leaves will bring the sun and replenish the stars."

Miststar stared at the starry she-cat, underwhelmed by the seemingly important prophecy that had been laid before him. He shuffled his paws, looking up at the starless night.

"Are you...one of them?" Miststar's voice lowered to barely a whisper, his curiosity flourishing in his mew as he stared at the nearly transparent figure of the hazel eyed she-cat before him.

The she-cat flinched at the question, as if she was offended. Her silvery paws lightly touched the ground as she stepped back, her confidence slipping for a moment.

"Why, of course I am, Miststar." The she-cat's eyes narrowed. "You can't avoid StarClan forever. You know who we used to be, you know what happened to us." Her eyes glowed again, and Miststar, losing his confidence, cowered below her starry form.

"Your ancestors forgot about our guidance, and your clan will suffer from it." The she-cat continued. "Fur as red as the autumn leaves will bring the sun and replenish the stars." She yowled into the night, lifting into the air above the clan leader.

"Don't you let your clan forget, Miststar. Don't you pass without sharing the word to the young." The she-cat hissed, before beginning to disappear, fading slightly into the night, her fur becoming as clear as a pool of water.

"Wait, who are you?" Miststar cried out, his ocean eyes lighting up against the glow of the star before him.

The she-cat snarled, before fading out completely, leaving a gust of warm wind brushing against the leader's whiskers and face. Stepping back, Miststar stared at the grasses before him, his heart caught in his throat.

The faintest of whispers echoed in his ears, however, leaving him standing there with his small smile returning. He listened to the whisper, his ears straining forward. To his surprise, he could make out the faintest word. A name.

"Hazelberry."

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

Hey, welcome to my new story! I got a whole bag of stuff I want to unpack about this new series/book. Sorry that this chapter is going to be the shortest one out of all of them, I don't want to give away anything yet!
Chapters in the future should turn out to be somewhat over 1500 words, most likely reaching 2500 at most.

Be sure to vote and comment on this as you read, it really means a lot to me!
-hazelmxxn