The Storm

This story is for the Winter Tournament, Round One.

This story may be a little longer than intended. I tried to make it short while still telling the story I want to tell, and this was the result. My apologies if its too long, I really didn’t mean for it to be this long, I tend to struggle with keeping things short.

## SwiftClan

**Leader**: Jaggedstar - dark brown tabby tom with a white spot on his chest fur and dark brown eyes

**Deputy**: Spiderspot - sleek, black tom with green eyes

(Apprentice - Flightpaw)

**Medicine Cat**: Palepuff - curly-furred cinnamon she-cat with light blue eyes

### Warriors:

Sparkfeather - thin-furred spotted tabby tom with amber eyes

Lynxstripe - glossy-furred red spotted tabby she-cat with white paws and face

Firedust - thin, gray tom with blue eyes

Bluespot - torbie she-cat with bright eyes

Smokegaze - brown and ginger tom with blue-green eyes

Frostthroat - long-haired pale cream she-cat with green eyes

Sharpfang - pale ginger tom with hazel eyes and one visible fang

Darkleaf - white tom with brown tabby patches and green eyes

Shadethicket - fawn spotted she-cat with yellow eyes

Kestrelsnow - cream and white she-cat with amber eyes and round ears

(Apprentice - Aspenpaw)

Eelsplash - white she-cat with gray patches and dark amber eyes

Moonpath - deep ginger she-cat with blue-gray eyes

Starlingfur - small tuxedo she-cat with green eyes

(Apprentice - Seapaw)

### Apprentices:

Seapaw - young, dark blue-gray and white tom with light blue eyes

Flightpaw - brindled golden she-cat with blue eyes

Aspenpaw - young, white tom with yellow eyes

### Queens:

Meadowchirp - ginger she-cat with green eyes

(Mother to Firedust’s kits, Patchkit, a gray and white she-kit, Hawkkit, a spiky-furred dark gray tabby she-cat, Toadkit, an adorable ginger and white tom, and Fallenkit, a dark gray tabby tom with pieces of hay in his fur)

Cavernriver - speckled light brown she-cat with blue eyes

(Mother to Darkleaf’s kit, Fleetingkit, a brown tom with hazel eyes)

### Elders:

Chestnutclaw - pale brown she-cat with a heavily scarred face and brown eyes

Fireflyyawn - solid sandy gray she-cat

Silverrain - black tom with a silver-tinged muzzle

Starlingfur stretched out her paws, the morning light dawning over her black and white pelt. As she opened her eyes, she felt a paw prodding her awake. It was Bluespot, and Starlingfur’s apprentice, Seapaw. His eyes were full of excitement, tail swishing behind him.

“Sorry to wake you, Starlingfur.” Bluespot snorted. Starlingfur shook out her pelt, stepping out of her nest with a wide yawn. She was not a morning person.

“That’s okay. I assume Seapaw wanted to go out?” She looked to her young apprentice. She had been assigned him just two sunrises ago. She purred at the thought. The leader of the clan, Jaggedstar, was her mate. She had had so much pride at proving to him that she was worthy of an apprentice.

“Yes. Jaggedstar wants to go with you two.” Bluespot mewed, dipping her head. Starlingfur felt surprise make her pelt rise. Already? They had hardly trained. She knew she could trust Jaggedstar, but the idea still made her queasy. Seapaw, however, seemed delighted at the idea.

“Come on, Starlingfur! I can show him how good I’ve gotten.” He promised, a pleading look in his eye. She rolled her eyes. Seapaw could hardly be good when he’d just begun. She sighed.

“Okay. Tell Jaggedstar we’ll meet him by the willows.” She agreed. Bluespot nodded, before trailing out of the den.

Wind blew through the area as the three cats trudged through the forest. Seapaw kept close to Starlingfur while Jaggedstar walked on her other side. The two shared a look, a dull purr rising in her throat. Jaggedstar gave her a silly look, causing her to giggle. Seapaw rolled his eyes beside her, before he sprang forward into the open.

“Come on, you guys! I want to show you what I can do!” The apprentice squeaked with joy. Jaggedstar laughed at Seapaw’s excitement. He had a low voice that was both authoritative and kind. It was one of the many things Starlingfur admired about him.

“Alright, Seapaw. Show us what you can do.” Jaggedstar mewed as he stopped underneath a willow tree. Its branches swung gently in the breeze. The air was cold, which was unusual for SwiftClan. She supposed it wasn’t bad though. A welcome change, even. Jaggedstar wrapped his tail around Starlingfur, purring. He clearly didn’t expect this to be good. Starlingfur didn’t either.

“Will do, sir!” He squeaked. He scaled one of the willow trees quickly, his sharp little claws digging into the bark. Seapaw was brave, Starlingfur would give him that. Skilled was another conversation. She felt a cold wind brush her fur. She shivered under the sudden cold, giving the sky a worried look. Would it rain? She looked over at her mate. Jaggedstar seemed not to be upset by this, so she forced her fur flat and made herself pay attention to Seapaw. He stood at the edge of one of the branches. His chest was puffed out proudly, with a pleased expression on his face. He had his eyes closed, though he soon opened them to look up at the sky. His expression quickly swiveled to one of alarm as he took a step back.

“Uhh.. Jaggedstar? Starlingfur?” He squeaked out. His gaze was sharp with pure terror. Starlingfur gave him a concerned look, fur fluffed out with fear. Jaggedstar looked worried as any leader should be. He quickly yelled back to the ‘paw.

“What’s wrong, Seapaw?” He called back. Seapaw forced his eyes down to SwiftClan’s leader, ears pinned back. Jaggedstar began to climb the tree as Seapaw responded.

“What’s that?” He asked in a trembling voice. Jaggedstar took a look in the direction Seapaw had been looking. Horror flooded the leader’s expression as he quickly looked down to his mate.

“It’s a storm, Starlingfur. A horrid one,” His voice was ridge. “Worst of all.. It’s coming straight for us.” Jaggedstar quickly leaped down from the tree, forcing Seapaw down as well.

“What?! Storms have never come this far before!” Starlingfur yelled. The wind had begun to howl in her ears, chilling her to the spot. Jaggedstar looked fearfully towards the sky.

“I know. StarClan.. They must be angry!” He rushed, before looking to Seapaw. “Seapaw, you’re the fastest of us. Run back and warn the clan!” Jaggedstar yowled. Seapaw nodded, swiftly taking off in the direction of the clan, his paws throwing up dirt as he ran..

“What are the two of us going to do, Jaggedstar?!” She hissed, fear making her lost to her senses. Her mate locked eyes with her.

“We’re going to meet StarClan.”

“Jaggedstar, I’m not sure this is such a good idea!” She yelled. The two had been trekking through the woods for what felt like moons. She felt that with every pawstep, the storm seemed to get worse. Jaggedstar flicked his tail in front of her.

“This isn’t natural, Starlingfur! We’re going to talk to StarClan at the Mooncliff.” Jaggedstar yowled as he swished his tail. Wind howled in their ears, and communication was limited. Rain had begun to crash around them, freezing them to the bone and making their trek even harder.

“We could be killed! Let’s just head back before anything happens!” Starlingfur pleaded with her mate. Jaggedstar turned around, analyzing Starlingfur. Unlike Jaggedstar, she was a shorthaired cat. Jaggedstar was longhaired and fluffy. He would be okay for a while longer, but she wasn’t sure she would.

“There’s no point now. The cliff is in that clearing. Can you make it back?” Jaggedstar gave her a worried look, rushing backwards through the mud to be at her side. She pressed her damp fur against his side.

“I’ll be okay. Let’s just hurry.” She nodded her head. Jaggedstar let his face harden into a determined one, nodding back. The mates trudged through the mud into the clearing. The edge of the cliff was dazzling. Shiny, pointed crystals filled the cavern, glowing faintly in the rain. Starlingfur couldn’t admire its beauty, however. Water slipped past her ankles as the forest began to flood. Waves crashed down the side of the cliff. She cast a panicked look at her mate before it engulfed her, sending her streaming down the side of the cliff.

“Starlingfur!” Jaggedstar shrieked, immediately jumping in behind her. He tackled her falling body, the two lovers sharing a heartbroken look.

“It’s okay, Jaggedstar. You’ll have 8 more lives. This isn’t the end.” She promised, holding him tight as the ground came closer and closer to them. Jaggedstar’s eyes watered as he pressed his damp nose against her head.

“There is no life without you, Starlingfur.” He murmured. The ground was just below them now. Just before impact, Starlingfur saw a faint glow in the darkness of the cavern.

Then, it all stopped.

Starlingfur opened her eyes with a gasp. She gagged up water with a cough, body trembling. Beside her stood Jaggedstar, eyes round with surprise.

“Jaggedstar.. I should be dead. What’s going on?” She murmured in a hushed tone. Her mate’s ears were pinned back in fear. There was a glow out of the corner of her eyes. A starry cat, glowing soft lavender.

“It’s nice to meet you, Starlingstar.” They mewed, eyes dark.

Anddd that’s the end. What happened to Starlingfur? Who’s the mysterious cat? We may find out. Or we may not. Who knows?

I hope you enjoyed the story. I’m sorry for my exaggerated use of the comma, that’s how I write and I honestly can’t help it.