The Dawn of Moonclaws: The Rising Fog

'''A/N: So, yeah, Mystical Moonstone here. I thought of this, and I'm trying it out. It takes place shortly after the Dark Forest Battle, like two moons or so. I'll try to continue this everyday, so hope you like it!'''

PROLOGUE
A ginger she-cat stalked forward, her eyes glinting cruelly in the pale light. Behind her, six cats padded, all looking coldly at the small brown tabby she-cat that was standing bravely, head held high.

"Did you really think you could get away with it?" the one in front hissed menacingly, her claws slipping out of their sheaths.

The she-cat glared back. "I did what I thought I had too, and I'm proud of it!"

A low growl rumbled in the ginger she-cat throat. "You'll pay for doing it, and it will be long and painful!"

The brown tabby refused to back down. "I don't care. What you're doing is wrong, and I'm not going to stand for it anymore!"

The ginger cat shook her head sadly. "Then you're a traitor. And if you act like a traitor, you'll die like a traitor." She flicked her tail at her followers, and two of them slid out of line and stalked toward the brown tabby.

There was a pause, then a flash of claws, and one of the two sank down to lie on the street.

The brown tabby froze, her eyes growing huge as she realized what she had done, then, without a word, she turned and spun away.

The ginger she-cat watched her, a mocking look on her face. She motioned with her tail at the fleeing she-cat. "No backbone, that's her problem."

A pure black cat padded up to stand beside the ginger one. "Should we follow her?"

The ginger one shook her head. "Not yet." She started to walk away, turning back once to add, "It's a shame she turned traitor on us. My daughter was worthy of both the name Moonstone, and the name 'daughter of Slash'."

And with that, she left, the remaining five cats silently falling into step behind her.

CHAPTER ONE
The young she-cat slipped through the forest, looking for a place to hide. Just to the side of her, the pine trees seemed to shelter a dip, and she instinctively swerved for that, praying she would be safe there.

She burst through without a moment's thought, and found herself staring at a bunch of cats, most of which were eating or groom each other. She gulped in fear, and shrank back, wishing desperately that she could just start running again.

One of the cats, a mottled brown tom stood up, his eyes glittering with distrust. "Who are you?"

Her slim body quaked with fear. "I... I'm M--"

A strong ginger tom padded forward, his tail raised commandingly. The young she-cat pressed against the prickly bramble wall in fear, ready to fight for her life.

"I'm Rowanstar. If you aren't an enemy, then we wish you no harm."

Several cats yowled in outrage, and the mottled tom hissed furiously, "Are you mad? She's an intruder! Of course we wish her harm!"

A mottled brown she-cat flicked her tail angrily at him. The two were so alike that the young she-cat wondered briefly if they were related.

"Just hush for a moment, Toadfoot, and let Rowanstar speak!"

The ginger tom waited until silence fell, and meowed, "Can you explain why you're running?"

A black-and-white patched tom stalked forward. "Unless you'd prefer to just leave?"

She raised her head high, refusing to cower in fear anymore. This was a confrontation and she was no stranger to those. "I am only passing through, and I wish you no harm--if anything, because the last I need are more enemies."

A dark tortoiseshell pushed out of the crowd, whiskers twitching in amusement. "Well said. Crowfrost, I think that we should give her a bit of space."

The black-and-white tom lashed his tail at her. "You would, half-Clan!"

The ginger to turned, eyes glinting with anger, but a dark brown tabby tom beat him to it. "You take that back, or you're crowfood!"

Her pelt prickled with worry, and she realized that a battle might not be too far away. No! I can't handle another battle so soon! She stepped forward, set upon distracting the bristling cats.

"Clan? What's a Clan?" she mewed innocently.

The plan succeeded, and most cats glanced her way. The ginger tom swiveled back around to look at her. "A Clan is what you're in right now. Around this lake, there are four Clans. This Clan--" he waved his tail proudly at the cats surrounding him "--are ShadowClan."

Her eyes were wide, and she stared at him in wonder. "You mean you all live here in peace? No fighting, no troubles, no hunger?"

He tipped his head to the side. "We fight with the other Clans, if they threaten us, and there's plenty of hunger in leaf-bare. As for troubles, we've had our fair share. But as long as we rely on each other--and the Warrior Code--we can survive through anything."

Her fur was on end in awe, and she wished fiercely to be part of what he was describing. She didn't know what the Warrior Code was, but if it kept them together through all of that, it must mean something.

The dark tortoiseshell gave her a strange look. "Perhaps you'd like to join us?"

Her jaw dropped. "Can I? I mean, you'd let me?"

The ginger tom nodded. "I don't see why not. I think you should live here with us for a few days, and seeif it works for you. After that, you can decide if you'd like to live her permanently or not. But, you'll have to work hard, and prove that you can be a dedicated and loyal member of ShadowClan. Otherwise, I see no reason to let you join."

She nodded eagerly, ready to do anything to join. She could tell that if she did learn how to live here, then it would be a new chance, a new life, and she wasn't about to let it slip through her paws.

The ginger tom waved his tail, and slowly, the cats starting going about their business again. The dark tortoiseshell slipped up, the dark brown tabby tom just behind her. She blinked welcomingly. "I think you'll love it here. I'm Tawnypelt, and this is my son, TIgerheart. I thought that he could help you while you get adjusted to Clan life.

She dipped her head and turned to pad away, before glancing back. "Oh, wait. I almost forgot to ask, what's your name?"

The young cat dropped her gaze, pushing the fear to the back of her mind, and mewed quietly, "Moonstone. It's Moonstone."