Fiery Passion

Blurb

Long ago, before there was the existence of the five clans, there was a Clan- known for its territories that consist of caves, underground areas that contain tremendous amounts of valuable gems, and the powers the cats have. And one of their Lower Camps were a cave with a towering piece of quartz that stood in the middle. That, is currently known as the Moonstone. As a curious kit wanders into the Moonstone while GemClan had their gathering, the mysteries and adventure begins...

Prologue

'Who is this?' A sharp voice hissed. Applekit froze as a towering she-cat, which had bright green eyes and a black pelt, strode over.

'Emerald, it has ShadowClan scent.' An old blue-gray she-cat with bright, vibrant azure blue eyes mewed.

'Thanks for the information, as if I didn't know yet, Sapphire. ' Emerald retorted. She circled her, causing the hair on her spine to stand. 'Why did you come? Did ShadowClan send you?' Emerald questioned. Before Applekit could answer, Emerald commanded, 'Confine her.' And she sashayed back, waiting for two of her guards to drag Applekit across the clearing and out of the Moonstone.

Chapter 1

'Make sure she has no way to go back.'

Emerald's voice rang in my head. I shivered in a corner of the former Nursery, which was now a terrifying broken mess. Suddenly, soft chattering outside had turned into a yowl- Emerald's.

'Cats of GemClan! Today, we are going to vote- is that ShadowClan kit going to stay and become a part of us.' Her icy glare sliced through the prison entrance, into my pelt.

'If you agree with letting her join, place a pebble onto the quartz tablet. If you don't, place a pebble onto the earth.'

There were some muffling and mews, and as they cleared away, I could see that the pebbles on the quartz was at least twice more than the ones on the ground.

'Very well. The ceremony will be held this moonrise.' The cats padded away as Emerald leaped off the Tall Ice, as the cats called.

'Remember, be all tidy and clean after sundown. I expect to meet you at the Tall Ice as soon as the sunlight dies down.' Emerald's voice was exceptionally warm.

'Thanks.' I forced out a purr and she tossed me a few burgundy berries. 'These help you sleep. Take one.'

I sniffed them, their sweet scent filling my nose. I nodded and swallowed them, immediately falling into a deep slumber.

Chapter 2

'Lapis Lazuli, you're going to be her mentor. Bring her to the Camp of Ice,' Emerald mewed. 'Peridot can stay with you.'

When I stood in the oddly clear lake, which was called the Crystal Pools, Emerald beckoned a pale ginger she-cat over. 'Amber, please perform the ceremony.'

'As I call upon the ancestors of mine to look down onto this dear cat, I wish that you would give her a name that represents her.' Amber's clear yellow orbs stared down at me. 'Her old life is no more. Please offer her whatever power you wish to give, and may she thrive under your care.'

I stood there, transfixed, when a searing pain pulsed through me, from my tailtip to my nose. When the pain has stopped, I opened my eyes. Around me, the water had been touched into the brightest orange.

'My ancestors have spoken. Fire Opal should be your new name, for your curiosity and passion is as strong as fire, but your soul doesn't lack in grace.' She looked around. 'Does any cat disapprove?' The cats surrounding the Crystal Pools shook their heads, and Emerald stepped forward. 'Then, by the name of our ancestors, you shall be named Fire Opal. For the coming moons, Lapis Lazuli will teach you her skills and strength she has learnt from her mentor, Sapphire.' The black she-cat nodded to the old cat, who dipped her head.

'You may come up from the lake.' Amber's yellow eyes glistened with kindness and she softly purred. It took nearly all of my strength to scramble up from the lake. The water had turned back into a clear silver.

Lapis Lazuli padded over. She had wide blue eyes and a long-furred gray pelt, with an aura of blue light surrounding her. 'Call me Lapis.'

She took the lead and I followed, as she explained about the Ice Camp. 'The Ice Camp is a camp for apprentice training. You'd meet a lot of friends there. Also, the mentors and cats in charge are generally nice.' As Lapis continued talking, we walked and walked until we finally reached the Ice Camp.

Chapter 3

'Welcome!' A warm and friendly voice coming from a black and white she-cat. 'I'm Gemmie, who's in charge of the apprentices here.' As she saw Lapis, her eyes brightened. 'Lapis! I haven't seen you in ages!'

'Yeah!' Lapis purred. 'This is my apprentice, Fire Opal.'

'Well, what a pretty name! Haven't heard of one of those ever since Amber became the prophet.' She smiled. 'Peridot must be coming, too. Both of you have been inseparable ever since you were apprentices!'

As she finished her sentence, a black she-cat dashed over. 'Gemmie! Aren't we going to hunt today?' she looked at me. 'New apprentice! And also Lapis and Peridot. What's your name?'

'I'm Fire Opal,' I mewed. She seemed nice. I wondered who were her parents.

'Oh, my mom is Emerald. And my father... he's Shatter. You're not gonna see him, ya know, because he's dead. Oh, yeah, I'm Aquamarine, but everyone calls me Aqua.' She was really talkative.

'Oh. Um... Okay.' Behind, a silver- almost white- she-cat padded up. 'Aqua, you better clean up your darn bedding, for Stars' sake, it smells!'

'Pfft, that's just Crystal being annoying. She's real nice, but kinda annoying.'

'Excuse me, Aquamarine, you should be gathering moss right now.'

'Oh, that's Inferno. He's in charge of the Ice Camp. Don't mess with him,' she whispered and nodded. 'I'm going.' Gemmie nodded towards a fallen log, with vines and brambles hanging from the Ice cliff walls and attached to the log, creating a tent-like shape. 'You can sleep next to Drift. She's the gray she-cat over there. Be careful... she's sensitive to voices and she's jumpy. And she's... dangerous.' Gemmie nodded warily and ushered me in. I padded over to Drift curiously and she jumped slightly at the encounter.

When she finally looked up and returned my stare, I just realized- her brilliant blue eyes were as shocking as lightening, as icy as the coldest night of leaf-bare. Her gray pelt reminded me of the moon, in the shade of light silver and rippling with faint darker tabby patterns. Her expression was shy, bashful, even, and her mew was no more than a breath. 'You've came.'

Chapter 4

'You've came, you've came!' Her voice gradually filled with euphoria and also a hint of admiration that I could barely fathom.

'A-are you Applestream? ShadowClan cat? From the Clan who lives in the dark, with shadows cloaking their-'

'First of all, I was Applekit- I don't know my warrior name. Second of all, I'm from ShadowClan and we live in the dark, but we aren't some kind of demonic spirit that has auras of smoke around our faces.'

'Well, then, tell me about Tigerstar. The cat whose ambition had overpowered his thoughts? The cat whose mentor replaced his heart with ice? You must know him, right?'

'Well, I've heard of his story... He got killed by a cat called Scourge, with dog teeth studding his kittypet collar and replacing his claws.'

Drifts shivered.

'Hey, stop it!' a pale gray and white she-cat dodged a playful blow from a dark gray she-cat, with hints of green and blue.

'Fine!' the dark gray she-cat pouted, her teal eyes as wide as a kit's.

As they tumbled into the den, pawing each other, I whispered, 'Who are they?'

'The two cute best friends,' Drifts sighed. 'It's sad that they only share a platonic bond.'

'I heard that!' the two apprentices shook out their pelts and the light gray one stared at me. 'Are you the newcomer?'

'Yeah, news spread fast, huh,' I mewed. 'I'm Fire Opal.'

The dark gray one nodded. 'I'm Malachite, and this is my girl friend Delaney.'

Drifts sighed. 'Honestly, I don't care about the difference between girlfriend and girl friend. Remember when I told you Queenie and Amber would get together? See? They did! All of my pairings came true!'

'Complete fox dung,' Delaney snorted. 'What about saying that you'd be mates with a bright ginger she-cat?'

My pelt pricked with unease. 'Um...'

Delaney looked at me, 'Oh, I'm sorry.'

Drifts flushed. 'Don't you ever bring that up ever again!'

I shrugged. 'By the way, who even is that blue-gray cat who's with that black cat?'

Drifts's eyes glowed. 'Them! They're my top pairing.' She purred. 'And it came true.'

'The blue-gray she-cat is Violetta. The black one is Iricoe. Another word for rainbow for our 'code language'.' Malachite giggled. 'They're in my pairing, too.'

The two cats padded into the den. 'Hey!' Violetta mewed. 'I heard you're called Fire Opal, right?'

I nodded as Iricoe stayed silent.

'Oh yeah, this is my girlfriend Iricoe. She's... very antisocial.' Violette frowned. 'But honestly, she's the best at fighting amongst the apprentices.'

Malachite smirked. 'Troublemaker much?'

Violetta winked. 'You bet.'

Iricoe casted a glance at me. 'Who are you?' Her deep voice shocked me. Is she a real she-cat?

Malachite gasped. 'She's never spoken to me directly before! What on earth, Fire Opal?'

'Newcomer.' I hastily replied. 'From ShadowClan.'

'ShadowClan?' Iricoe's green eyes narrowed. 'Interesting.'

'That's the most she's ever said,' Delaney mewed enviously. 'C'mon, wanna explore?'

I nodded, excitement flooding me.

'The Camp? Sure!' I bounced up.