This is a collaborative work between Stone and Fire.
Prologue (Fire)[]
The night was silent, as if the forest was dead and hollow, instead of being home to countless animals and plants. There was no wind, no breeze, and the leaves in the trees didn't seem to move at all, not daring to make a sound.
The forest was almost completely dark, the moon concealed in shadows high above in the sky. Trees and landmarks were obscured by a thick fog, swallowing up everything like a cloud too close to the ground. A cat was soundlessly moving through the woodland, ghosting through the grass like a spirit.
Her fur was long and disarrayed, almost at the point where it began to tangle. It was blacker than the starless sky, draping off the feline’s large, powerful body like weeping willow branches. Each step was calculated in seconds, and she was making quick time reaching her destination.
No voices were heard, but activity began to be known. Cats were standing in a large, open clearing, their mouths plastered shut and their eyes unmoving, although it seemed almost like they were searching. The she-cat’s tail rose with a confidence that none of the others had, and as she emerged into the sight of them, some flinched. Her whiskers twitched, and her gait was assertive. The majority of the ground was dusty and had no sign of life, likely from moons of cats padding across the surface and trampling the grass. The only signs of grass were in rows, as if every cat that entered and exited were in neat rows. Small clouds of dirt flew into the open air as the crowd parted in her wake.
The part of the camp that drew the most eyes was the rocky outcrop, jagged like the shining teeth in a dog’s open maw. A small tom was perched there, his searing yellow eyes and too-small pupils focused on her, although not aggressively. He was in a much lower position than her, after all, although his job was no less important.
He got up to his feet, his whiskers twitching upwards as his mouth moved into a little smile, although it was only etiquette. There was no doubt that he feared her like the rest of them, he had no reason to enjoy her appearance. That was just how she liked it. Her powerful legs took her body low to the ground as she prepared to pounce, muscles bunching. Launching herself into the air, she landed gracefully above the other cat.
They were an almost-matched pair; her coat was pitch black, while his was an unorganized mess of patches and streaks of white and coal-colored fur. It appeared that it alternated between expanses of one or the other, and then turned into a sea of hairs each a different tone from the one next to it. He had to keep from shivering at the sudden cold he felt as her paw approached his face achingly slowly, her dark claws unsheathed.
She hooked his chin in her grasp, and leaned downwards so they were face to face. Their comically large size difference was only added to due to the fact she was above him. Her voice startled him, and he couldn’t help but quiver, wincing as he felt a point puncture his skin at the movement. His pelt prickled with embarrassment at the look she gave him, as if she was looking at a small kit who had a thorn stuck in their paw. Mockingly sympathetic? “I trust that you’ll continue your work tonight?”
He knew that it was nowhere near a question, it was a command. It was a difficult job, although he also held the knowledge that he couldn’t refuse anyway. It was for a good cause, too. He had stopped wanting to say no. Although he shut his eyes at night, he barely slept. He found a way to function, much to the shock of the rest of their clan, if it could even be referred to as such. He almost let out an acknowledging hum, but quickly stopped himself. He doubted his leader would hold any smudge of joy if he responded so unprofessionally. Instead, seeing as she drew back her paw already, he respectfully dipped his head. “Of course, I plan on gathering more cats tonight.”
Seeming happy with his answer, she waved him off with a small movement from her bushy tail. “Off you go, my little dreamer. There are cats asleep as we speak.” Almost sighing, he stretched out before making his way off the stones in a jump that strained his legs. He hated that tone, but didn’t let it show on his face. He didn’t love performing the task, but the aftermath was worth it. After all, without him, there would be no cats streaming into camp. He was important. Squeezing into the cave beneath the rocks. He settled down and closed his eyes as soon as his belly brushed the moss. His body yearned for sleep, but as usual, it wouldn’t be getting very much, if any at all.
Taking a deep inhale, he curled into an almost-ball, his chin resting on his forepaws. There was a small scarlet streak on the white of his chin, beginning to slowly seep into the white hairs scattering on his forepaws. He let it all out in a sigh, knowing he’d forget about it by morning. He felt it coming, the unconsciousness of sleep beginning to take hold of his body. He was different from the others. He needed to help his great leader expand. His breathing was slow as he concentrated, and then he found his vision change from the dark behind his eyelids to something much different.
The stars were clearly seen in the sky, which was a picture of blues and purples. The full moon illuminated the soft, lightly-colored grass, almost feeling like fur. His paws were still, although they soon began to move. He knew where he had to go, and he had to make a grand entrance. They couldn’t get anyone if he didn’t seem grand, could they?
At last, the figure of a feline came into view, lapping unsuspectingly at the water.
This should be easy, was his final thought as he pulled a serene expression, and padded forward, ghosting through the grass like a spirit, just as he was supposed to.
Chapter One (Stone)[]
Fernshadow was stalking a vole through a dark, mossy forest. Approaching the prey, he drew in his hind legs and pounced, but one moment too late. The vole scurried off into the night. Fernshadow sat back, exasperated. “Fernshadow!” Someone called. Suddenly, with no warning, he was whirled into a cloud of darkness and everything went black.
Fernshadow jerked his head up, eyes open and wide, panting as if he had been running from a dog. He looked up, only to see a large, sandy-grey tom with broad shoulders standing over him. Bramblefur. Glaring at Fernshadow, he scowled, a look of disgust and hatred towards one single cat. “Alright, alright! I’m awake! You don’t have to do this every morning!” He sat up, brushing pieces of bedding off his pelt. He shouldered Bramblefur out of his way, unbalancing him.
Rainstar, too, was glaring at the scuffle beside the den. The awake cats milled around the clearing in the dawn light, some sharing tongues, some taking a bite of fresh-kill, and others just basking in the gradually warming sun. Fernshadow padded over to his mate, Feathernose, and head butted her in the side. He stood there, drinking in her scent, knowing that after today, they could not spend as much time together, after all, they were both getting apprentices.
“May all cats old enough to catch their own prey gather before the highrock!” Rainstar called to the clan. She paused, waiting for all cats to gather. “As you all know, we have today, an important ceremony in the life of a warrior. Redkit, Thrushkit, come forward, please.” Redkit ran straight up to Rainstar, while Thrushkit hung back a little bit. “Redkit, Thrushkit, do you both promise to uphold the warrior code and defend your clan, even at the cost of your life?” She looked at each of them, expectantly.
“I do.” Redkit pledged with the most sincere and solemn look Fernshadow thought he would manage in his lifetime.
“I-I do.” Thrushkit straightened up, looking proud of herself.
“Good, good,” Rainstar concluded. “From this day on, you will be known as Redpaw and Thrushpaw. Fernshadow! Please step forward. You will be mentor to Redpaw. I trust that you will pass all of your knowledge and intelligence onto Redpaw. Feathernose, you will be mentor to Thrushpaw. I trust that you will teach her all that your mentor taught you.” As Rainstar stepped back, the mentors and apprentices touched noses. “Redpaw, we’ll be a great team. They touched noses and the cheers began.
Chapter 2[]
The tawny-colored she-cat was sitting on a slight rise of ground in camp, chanting along with the rest of the clan. A new apprentice was always a grand thing to witness, and although she barely knew either of the younger cats, she felt pride swell in her chest. A golden tom was beside her, his head raised much higher than hers. Their pelts were brushing together, and his long tail was wrapped around her body, her small one just barely curling around the bottom of his. Although the rest of the clan was getting up and padding towards the deputy to receive their roles in the morning’s patrols, she didn’t want to get up just yet.
Taking in a deep inhale, she nearly toppled over, her head whipping around to see the tomcat standing with a small stretch and an unapologetic look in his eyes. She mock-glared, although she knew that she couldn’t stay angry for long, even if she was mad.
“Brindlefeather!” Called a voice, and she moved her head just enough to look at the source, ears twitching to show that she had heard.
It was the deputy, Thornfang. He looked gruff, as if he was chiding an apprentice, although not terribly upset. He was perched on a tree stump, above the other warriors and a few apprentices gathered around him to listen. A tom with sandy-tinted fur was beside him, looking confident and self-important. It was Bramblefur, she noticed idly. Motioning her and her companion over with his tail, his voice rose as he began to list off the cats that would be going on patrol.
“For the back of the territory, we’ll have Graybriar, Owlpelt, Boulderclaw…”
Brindlefeather let her mind wander, knowing that she’d perk up again once her name was called. Her yellow eyes drew themselves to the sky, the only visible clouds were just small wisps in the light blue sky. The sun was beginning to rise higher, and she guessed it would be almost afternoon when she got back, depending on where she was sent.
“Brindlefeather,”
Her ears twitched and she focused on the deputy again.
“Petalfrost, Silvertail, and... Snakewhisper will be making their way to ShadowClan’s borders today.” Willing herself to not look disappointed, she glanced at her mate. He noticed her watching, and gave her another goofy smile. “Thornfang called my name a while ago, you seemed zoned out. I’ll be over near WindClan territory.” Feeling silly, she mewed out an ‘oh’, before letting out a chuckle.
“We’re late too, all ‘cause of your daydreaming.” He snickered, lowering his head to her level so their foreheads touched. He was much larger than she was in terms of height and width, but she didn’t mind. It was actually nice, in her humble opinion.
“No, we’re late because of you, Goldenheart.”
Letting out a purr, he touched his muzzle to hers. “We can go hunting when we get back to camp. I’ll be sunning myself!” He had to call out the last sentence, he was already being dragged away by another clanmate. Brindlefeather heard a few jabs as the border patrol made their way out of ThunderClan camp. Deciding that she didn’t want to hold her own patrol back, she made her way to Snakewhisper, Petalfrost, and Silvertail.
Snakewhisper took the lead as they began to file out of the camp entrance, her long, whip-thin tail brushing against Petalfrost’s chest fur as a signal to take up the space behind her. Brindlefeather was beside Petalfrost, and Silvertail was behind the entire patrol. They walked in relative silence, the only noise coming from the leaves crunching beneath their paws.
They were moving towards the lake, and from there they’d make their way up until they hit the part of the territory that no longer connected to the rival clan. That would be a job for another patrolling team, and whoever else was on the border patrol there.
The grass was a pleasant, vibrant green- the morning dew on the long blades brushed against the cats’ bellies, making their fur and paws slightly damp. The trees were high and covered in many leaves, causing the sunlight to dapple their coats where it could get through the shield. Even in the abundant shade in the dense forest, it was still a pleasantly warm morning.
The cats walked in silence, not a word spoken between anybody. They were fast approaching the ShadowClan border, Brindlefeather could smell their relatively fresh scent marker. Although the entirety of their rival clan’s territory was shrouded in shadow, it seemed like they preferred to do their patrols at a later time. Startling the she-cat temporarily, a voice cut through the air like an eagle’s claws through a lake’s surface.
“Do you think it was them?”
“Who?” Asked Silvertail, his eyebrows furrowing in a telltale sign of confusion.
“ShadowClan.” Snakewhisper stopped, and a tense silence fell over them. ShadowClan’s scent wafted over them, making the conversation feel uncomfortable to Brindlefeather. She knew she wasn’t alone as she exchanged glances with Petalfrost.
“ShadowClan wouldn’t do that. Our leader and theirs are beginning an alliance, and you know that.” Petalfrost mewed, padding up beside the other sleek she-cat and placing her tail on her comfortingly, like she was saying everything would be okay.
“We’ll find Leaffall. We’ll find everyone in due time. We’ll be just fine.”
The rest of the patrol was spent in deathly, tense quiet.