Woodblaze's Destiny

WOODBLAZE'S DESTINY
ALLEGIANCES
LEADER
Fernstar, a thin, dark tabby she-cat with yellow eyes; mentor of Honeypaw.
Deputy
Flameface, a tall, broad-shouldered ginger tom with white paws and yellow eyes; mentor of Blazepaw.
Medicine Cats
Skywing, a tiny silver tabby tom with sky blue eyes; mentor of Breezepaw
Breezepaw, a dark gray tom with yellow eyes and a single white paw.
Warriors
Birchleg, a lean mottled brown tom with hazel eyes.
Riverscreech, a short, lean silver and white she-cat with pale blue eyes; mentor of Stormpaw
Birdcall, a sleek-furred, cream-colored tom with a stubbed tail and amber eyes; mentor of Nightpaw
Robinfeather, a ginger and white she-cat with hazel eyes.
Apprentices
Honeypaw, a sand-colored tabby she-cat with blue eyes.
Nightpaw, a long-haired black tom with yellow eyes and a white muzzle.
Woodpaw, a brown, tan and black tom with amber eyes.
Stormpaw, a gray tom with a black ringed tail and amber eyes.
Queens
Cherrytail, a dusty brown tabby she-cat with blue eyes; mother of Applekit, Duskkit and Featherkit
PROLOGUE
Casted shadows darkened the muddied soil, and a pale moonlight glowed above. A heavy chill had settled in, and it ruffled the pelts of the cats of ThunderClan; all whom had yet to head in huddled close and sat beneath the shimmering light of Silverpelt. The four whom remained awake, three toms and a single she-cat, perched at the very edge of a tall, sloped stone- one lay on his stomach, watching the clouds as they passed, while the others spoke in hushed, anxious tones. The she-cat, a scraggly, dark tabby with glowing yellow eyes, lifted her face and frowned, observing the tom rested on his belly. "Care to tell us what you are thinking, Skywing?" She asked curiously; the others turned their heads looked intently at Skywing, whom did not flinch under their gazes- he, in fact, hardly turned his gaze from the sky, and instead merely flicked his ear. His eyes, blue in color, were thoughtful, and his mouth was pulled into a taut frown. "StarClan does not speak to me. They have not spoken in many long moons.. Have we done something to upset them, I wonder.." He mused aloud. His companions shared a concerned look, and one- a broad shouldered tom with a blazing red coat, rose to his paws and stepped to Skywing's side. "How could we have done anything wrong? We've followed StarClan faithfully- perhaps they are simply.. busy." He said, resting the white tip of his tail on his friend's flank. Another tom nodded agreeably. "Yes, Flameface is right. We should not assume that StarClan have abandoned us- we should continue to await their guidance. Surely, they are to send help soon?" Offered the tom. Flameface gave his meow of agreement, but from where she remained perched, the she-cat looked hesitant. "We cannot simply sit back and wait for StarClan to assist us, Birchleg. How can we continue to watch our clanmates perish? It could be moons before StarClan decide to send us an omen, or any sort of help." She said thoughtfully, and Birchleg shot her a glare. "But what else are we to do, Fernstar? We must give the clan some hope! Have you lost your faith in StarClan? Because surely, they have not lost their faith in you!" He argued. Fernstar opened her mouth to retort, but just then, Skywing stiffened. His ears fell back and his tail lifted, and his green eyes misted in an expression of confusion, his eyebrows furrowing. All three cats gathered closely around him, and after a long moment of observation, it was Flameface whom spoke first.
"What is it, Skywing? Has StarClan sent you an omen?" He asked. Birchleg leaned forward hopefully. "Are we saved? Have they at last sent a sign to guide our paws? Speak!" He demanded impatiently. Fernstar touched her tail to the tom's shoulder and stepped forward; the two moved aside reluctantly, and allowed the elder she-cat to sit delicately beside Skywing, whom had yet to turn his gaze away from the sky of swirling clouds. She lowered her face so that their paws were a mere whiskers length a part, and that their breath mingled in the chilled air. "Tell me, Skywing; what did StarClan say?" She breathed. Skywing seemed to jerk out of the trance he had fallen into, and stared at the she-cat with wide, frantic eyes. "The midnight moon is when the hound will strike, and it will stop at nothing; only the storm and blaze can make it release its clutch on the forest." He said in a quiet, choked voice that made Fernstar's breath catch in her throat. She fell back on her haunches and stared at the shaking tom, and Birchleg and Flameface craned their necks forward, ears pricked. "What does it mean, Skywing?" Demanded Birchleg, but Skywing remained silent, staring at his paws; this had been the first prophecy the young tom had ever recieved, and his panic was understandable. Flameface, calm as ever, knocked Birchleg away and faced Fernstar, whom swallowed heavily. He ducked his ginger head and lowered his bushy eyebrows, staring at the tabby with gentle, concerned yellow eyes. "Fernstar? What do you think this means?" He asked. Fernstar blinked and exhaled sharply, forcing her ruffled dark fur to lay flat. She met first the gaze of Flameface, then turned her stare to Birchleg, before finally, resting her gaze on the sleeping camp before her. "ThunderClan is soon to face death and destruction we have not known since the time of our ancestors." She said, and added in a quiet voice, a tone so low that only Skywing picked up on it. "A struggle I am not certain we will be able to survive."
CHAPTER I.
Sunlight warmed the frost-bitten pelts of the ThunderClan cats, and from where he lay, Flameface stretched out onto his broad back and lashed his long, bushy tail, extending his belly toward the heat of glowing light. Surrounded by his clan-mates, all of whom lounged about the camp, Flameface purred and wriggled about comfortably, closing his eyes as he exhaled a soft sigh.
"Enjoying yourself, are you?" Inquired a light, melodious voice. Flameface cracked open an eye and was met with the gaze of Robinfeather. She stood leaning over him, her hazel eyes twinkling with amusement and her ginger and white pelt rippling. Her long tail curled over her back and she purred, tipping her head to the side. Flameface gaped his jaws in a yawn and reached up to bat at her muzzle, lifting his tufted ears. "Very much so. It's so warm out, I'm certain even shady ShadowClan would be out and lazing about!" He meowed. Robinfeather laughed and pawed his face in return, and that single movement turned into a full wrestle; their tustling sent sprays of dust flying, and they received a multitude of angry scolding from nearby cats as they were showered in dirt. "I would've thought our deputy would show a bit more dignity!" Chirped Cherrytail, who ruffled her fur indignantly. Flameface snapped his teeth at her playfully and rolled to his belly, and Robinfeather did the same. The ginger and white she-cat craned her neck around and smoothed down a patch of spiked fur on the back of his head and cast Cherrytail a smug look. "You're just grumpy you've been stuck in the nursery- how many times did the kits wake you up last night?" She inquired innocently. Cherrytail huffed and lashed her sleek tail, lifting her nose. "Must have been several. Applekit kept waking me up, which in turn woke up Featherkit, whom wanted to play with Duskkit- oh, I haven't slept a wink." She complained, gaping her jaws in a long, massive yawn. Robinfeather touched her tail tip to her friend's flank sympathetically. "Must be awful- I remember how fussy Honeypaw used to be. She certainly kept everyone on their toes, didn't she?" She purred, and Cherrytail nodded agreeably; Flameface snorted. "She still keeps everyone on their toes." He huffed. Robinfeather opened her mouth to speak in agreement, but before a single word could be spoken, a yowling could be heard at the top of the ravine, and they all whipped their heads around.
At the very top of the camp ravine, where thickets parted and thorns bushes were built into a wall of protection, two cats stood, panting and wide eyed; Birdcall alongside his newly named apprentice, Nightpaw. Neither toms appeared injured in anyway, but both looked panicked, and Nightpaw looked around with watery yellow eyes. At once, Flameface jumped to his paws and padded briskly to meet the cats, and he lifted his tail and knitted his eyebrows together, craning his head forward to sniff their pelts. "What happened? You smell of rats- were you attacked? Are either of you injured?" He asked worriedly, straightening his posture to observe his clanmates. Birdcall blinked into focus and pinned back both ears, shaking his head rapidly. "No, we're fine- it's not us who are injured." He reassured, though it sounded half-hearted. Flameface studied him, then flicked his tail and jerked his head to the left, in the direction of the medicine cat den- inside, the scent of herb was heavy and mingled with the smell of sleep. Flameface cast a glance at Robinfeather and smiled apologetically. "Sorry, love. Could you fetch Fernstar for me?" He asked, and Robinfeather nodded quickly, hastily whirling around and bounding off. Flameface gestured for Birdcall and Nightpaw to follow him, and trotted toward the medicine cat den.
Inside, a tiny, thin silver snoozed and mumbled, face tucked into the crook of his small paws. Half-buried in torn moss, he wriggled about and lashed his tail, muttering incoherently. Off to the side, a large apprentice tom bustled about the stores of herb, so intensely focused on his work that he did not notice Flameface, Birdcall and Nightpaw entering, and only turned his head when Flameface coughed politely. Straining his head around, mouth filled by a bundle of strong smelling herbs, he blinked in surprise and perked his awkwardly large ears. "Oh! Hello, Flameface. What can I do for you?" He asked in a muffled voice, carefully spitting out the bundle. Flameface nudged Nightpaw forward and sat down, giving his ruffled fur a lick before looking at the sleeping tom. "Can we wake him?" He asked. The apprentice nodded hastily and hopped forward, prodding the silver tom. "Wake up, Skywing! Flameface is here." He urged. Skywing stirred groggily and peeled open an eye, frowning at the surrounding cats. "What do you need?" He asked gruffly, stifling a yawn. Flameface hesitated and glanced at Birdcall, who swallowed nervously and stepped forward, lashing his tail nervously. "We.. we found two loners." He began hesitantly, and Skywing scoffed, dismissively flicking his ear. "So? We find loners all the time. Did you chase them out?" He inquired absently, smoothing down his sleep-ruffled pelt. Nightpaw shuffled his small paws and sidled up beside his mentor. "I-It's not the fact that we found loners, Skywing. It's that they were covered in burns, cuts and.." He trailed off and grimaced, ruffling his pelt in an anxious manner. Birdcall gave his apprentice a comforting lick and looked to Skywing. "There were just two of them. Two small, thin cats- and they're hardly older than kits. Most likely only just turned six moons." He frowned intently. "And they had these weird stones dangling from their ears- one red, one blue. That's what troubled me the most." Skywing looked at the pair with interest, and seemed to perk up at the mention of the stones. His long, feathery tail lifted, and he sniffed, tipping his narrow head. "Did they say what their names were?" He asked. Birdcall shook his head. "No, their unconscious. That's why we came here in such a rush-" He swallowed. "They didn't look so good, Skywing. I'm not sure they'll make it." He said in a hushed voice.