Warriors #6: A Kittypet's Destiny

Prologue

Everything was quiet except for the soft ripples of the small pond that glittered beneath the tall oak trees. There wasn't even the slightest blow of the wind that would cause the leaves or grass to shake. And although the sky was dark, the stars seemed to shimmer as brightly as even the most radiant greenleaf sun.

The stillness and silence were suddenly broken as a blue-gray figure emerged into this clearing through the bushes, their shadow looming over the pool. The she-cat sighed, furrowing her eyebrows and narrowing her eyes as she stared down into the water, images of a home she had never actually called her own reflected beneath the water.

The cat was so immersed into her study of the pool that she barely flinched when another rustle came from the shrubs behind her. She didn't even avert her gaze as another cat settled down beside her.

The older, more ruffled-looking she-cat let out an amused snort. "Hm, checking up on your old Clanmates again, Bluestar?"

Bluestar let out a huff, finally turning to look at the cat next to her. "I very well think that I should be, Yellowfang," the blue-gray she-cat muttered in reply before returning her gaze to the pool. "The four Clans haven't been living here by the lake for very long, and they've already experienced their fair share of adversity in just a few moons."

"Sure," Yellowfang murmured, shrugging. "But since the badger attack, I don't think I've seen even a mouse tail's amount of danger lurking down there."

Both she-cats looked up as yet another figure appeared into view, a white tom. His yellow eyes were gleaming with humor. "Ah, Yellowfang. You've always been one to settle," he purred as he sat down on Bluestar's other side. "Come on, there's no harm in taking a glance, is there?"

"Always the voice of reason, Whitestorm," Bluestar meowed, lightly nudging her kin as she continued to look over the territories where ThunderClan, ShadowClan, WindClan and RiverClan presided, and had been since their old forest territory had been destroyed by Twolegs and their monsters.

To Bluestar's relief, the lake looked peaceful, just as Yellowfang had pointed out. She hadn't even spotted anything as minor as a border skirmish in the past moon. But things were that peaceful that a twinge of anxiety touched Bluestar every time she thought about it. She wondered how long it would last. Whitestorm is right, the old ThunderClan leader told herself. There's no harm in checking.

Bluestar's gaze had been immersed on a tawny-colored squirrel quickly making its way up an oak tree when she felt Yellowfang tap her shoulder with her tail. "Look there," the old she-cat meowed, nodding her head towards the greenleaf Twoleg nest that lied just a little ways away from ThunderClan's territory.

Bluestar shifted her gaze as Yellowfang had commanded, and she noticed a petite figure emerge from this nest - a tabby-and-white she-cat. Once her paws settled onto grass, she slowly stretched out and shook out her fur, clearly enjoying the brightness and heat of the sun.

Yellowfang let out another amused grunt beside Bluestar. "It appears that another kittypet has come to visit," she murmured, her eyes following the housecat as she then padded through the yard. "Lovely."

This wasn't a surprise at all to Bluestar, for housefolk staying by the lake was nothing new. Most of the time, these Twolegs would even bring their dogs or cats with them. Sometimes resulting in something else for the Clans to worry about... Bluestar realized, beginning to watch as the kittypet then leaped up to the top of her fence. To the StarClan cat's surprise, this cat didn't seem to be staring fearfully into the forest as most housecats did. Rather, her gaze seemed contemplative and curious as she stared up at the trees and out towards the lake.

Whitestorm seemed to notice this as well, and let out an intrigued grunt. Bluestar glanced at the tom to see that his eyes were also on the young she-cat, his eyes narrowed. "Hm, I rarely see a kittypet doing that," he murmured. "You'd think she was staring at a new toy her Twoleg got for her."