~Clans Long Forgotten~

DISCLAIMER - READ BELOW TO UNDERSTAND THE STORY
Hello! "Clans Long Forgotten" is a fanfiction depicting the life of the forest cats from the very first book (Into The Wild) if there were no clans. Instead, the forest cats still exist, whether it be in small groups, in large packs, or completely alone. What would change? Who would die? Will this help the forest cats triumph over the land, or will it only pull them all into shreds trying? Read below to find out! I hope you like it :)

CHAPTER 1: THE ROGUES
Rusty awoke grudgingly as his twoleg owner shifted him up with his foot. The large creature wailed something that Rusty simply couldn't comprehend, and followed the twoleg over to his food bowl. The bowl made a loud ''CLINK! ''as the twoleg filled the bowl with bland, brown pellets. Nothing new, nothing special. Rusty lazily plopped over in front of the bowl and began eating the sad excuse for food. ''This can't possibly be what those twolegs consider food, can it? ''Rusty thought to himself. Nonetheless, he finished eating in a few good minutes. Right on routine, Rusty walked out of his little cat-door, and the small, irritating bell on his collar jingled.

Boy, did Rusty hate that bell.

He trotted onto the fence that divided two twoleg nests, and waited for his best friend Smudge to pounce up on the other side. While waiting, Rusty peered across the other side of the lawn and into the forest. A shiver almost immediately went down his spine. The horrifying stories that Rusty was told about cats in the forest killing each other for their own amusement, about how they would eat each other just to stay alive, and even how they would kill their own family members to establish that they were alpha... And yet, Rusty knew that even the forest life would be much better than his bland, ever-so-slowly ending, current life. While staring in the dark woods, Smudge pounced up onto the fence.

"What are you looking at, Rust?" Smudge asked, his little ears twitching. Rusty jolted up and fell off of the fence in sudden fear. He shook his fur and licked his paw in embarrassment. "How many times did I tell you not to sneak up on me like that?!" Rusty snapped, hopping back onto the fence. "Sheesh, sorry. But you didn't answer my question!" Smudge repeated. Rusty quickly glanced back at the forest. "It.. It was nothing. I was just looking at the view." Rusty replied. Smudge's small yellow eyes narrowed. "Don't tell me you were thinking about the forest again...!" Smudge cried. Rusty sighed. "It's just that, don't you think there's more out there than just sitting in these twoleg nests?" he said. "I just want to know what's out there... to see if the rumors are true." Smudge looked away. "You couldn't possibly be interested in living with those crazed savages, could you?" He whispered. "Maybe. I'd have to see the place for myself." Rusty answered, licking his bright orange fur. Smudge scoffed. "Well, maybe you'll also see hedgehogs fly if you think you're going to come back alive!" He retorted, jumping off of the fence. Rusty suddenly felt a pang of guilt. "I just can't live like this anymore..." Rusty silently whispered, knowing that Smudge couldn't hear him.

Rusty eventually jumped off of the fence and walked alongside the forest borderline, hoping that maybe he'd spot a mouse or a shrew. I've always wanted to find a shrew... he thought to himself. Suddenly, he heard a small crinkle in the bushes nearby. ''A mouse! It just has to be a mouse!'' Rusty quietly tip-toed to the bushes where he had heard the noise, and waited for another movement. And, before he knew it, he heard another, far louder bustle. Just as Rusty was about to leap, however, a large figure jumped up from the bushes and landed on top of him. Rusty screeched in shock, and began clawing at whatever was attacking him. The figure was much stronger and larger than him, and nipped at Rusty's small, fragile ear. Finally, the figure jumped off, and Rusty was able to make out a good view of whatever it was.

To Rusty's surprise, it wasn't a shadowy monster. A blue-furred, beautiful fluffy she-cat with ice-blue eyes stood before Rusty. She hissed at him, and was clearly about to leap again the second that Rusty dared to even flinch. After a good moment of staring at eachother, Rusty finally built up the courage to speak. "Who... Who are you?" He gasped. The she-cat stared at him and began to ease a bit. "Come out guys, this one is safe!" She yelled into the bushes. Almost instantly, four other cats flooded from the shrubs. A small, gray tabby cat, about the same age as Rusty, stood next to the she-cat. Along with him came a larger, dark-red cat with black splotches and mesmerizing orange eyes. Finally, a huge, dark-brown tabby cat with amber eyes cautiously tip-toed out of the shrubs with a sleek, gorgeous tortoiseshell cat with warm, topped with warm topaz eyes and a lithe tail. "I am Blue." The she-cat finally answered. She pointed towards the grey tabby cat and said "That is Stripes. The brown tom is Tiger, the tortoiseshell beauty is Spot, and this," She paused while turning towards the dark-red cat, "This is Red." Rusty took a good look at all of the cats. He could sense a small purr coming from Tiger, and his warm amber eyes shined. "Who are you?" Spot asked. Even her voice sounded heavenly. "I-I'm Rusty." He found himself choking on his own words trying to reply to the beautiful tortoiseshell she-cat. "Rusty," Gray scoffed. "What kind of name is that? You look like a Lion." "Or Fire!" Red interrupted, observing, Rusty's fiery-orange fur. "Fire.. I like that. You're Fire to me." Spot laughed. While Rusty didn't like the idea of having his name forcefully changed, he did like the name Fire far better than Rusty. "Follow us," Blue said, standing up and slowly walking back towards the forest. "There's so much more to see!". Rusty suddenly came to a halt. ''Leave everything? Right now? Never come back?'' He thought to himself. Everything was so sudden... Spot whipped across him with her soft, sleek tail. "Cummon', how bad can it be?" She smiled, jumping next to Blue. Rusty, or Fire, took a deep breath and paused for a moment. This is what I wanted. He thought once again, and took one paw-step into the forest with the new group.