Post by seabiscuit on Aug 30, 2007 20:12:29 GMT -5
I would post this under the StarTree but I don't know the code
Dawnstream sat beside Talonstar halfway up the mountain. They were waiting for Flametail and his apprentice to come back from their search for a loner that had been scented. A squeal rang out from above them.
“ROCKSLIDE!” Dawnstream looked sharply at Talonstar.
“That was Flametail!” Dawnstream mewed, her eyes wide with fear. Talonstar leapt to his paws.
“Stay here Dawnstream!” He ordered.
“No!” Dawnstream protested. “He’s my brother!”
“Stay here!” Talonstar repeated and then leapt up the mountain in long strides.
Dawnstream desperately wanted to follow but dared not disobey him. She paced around nervously. Her head snapped up as she heard the rumble coming from above her.
“Talonstar! NO!” She yowled at the sight of her leader tearing down the mountain, falling rocks at his heels.
“Dawnstream! RUN! Warn the Clan!” Talonstar yowled as one of the rocks caught him. Dawnstream looked around widely and saw Flametail standing horrified off to side, out of the path of danger.
“Flametail! Run! Warn the Clan!” She wailed.
“Right!” He roared back and took off, his apprentice at his side.
Dawnstream moved off to the side, where she would be safe to wait for an opportunity to rescue Talonstar. She cringed as she heard his yelps of pain. She saw him roll to the edge of the rock slide. She wasn’t sure if she could get in and rescue him without being swept into the rock slide as well but she had to try. She launched herself into the air and tried to aim for right in front of Talonstar. She almost landed on him but she twisted her body just in time. She grabbed him by the scruff of his neck and dug her claws into the dirt, getting firmly rooted before she leapt out of the path of the rocks, dragging Talonstar with her. Her paws scrambled widely for footing but she couldn’t make a smooth landing. Dawnstream lay gasping on her side, Talonstar’s head between her paws. She struggled to her feet.
“Talonstar? Can you hear me?” The tom didn’t move. “Talonstar!” Dawnstream yowled. His eyes fluttered.
“Dawnstream, I thought I told you to run.”
“And leave you? Never,” Dawnstream said gently. “Just hold on, Flametail went to warn the Clan. Nightwind will be here any moment.”
“It’s too late, MoonClan is calling me home. I’m on my last life. You will now be the leader of MistClan, Dawnstar!” Talonstar said, his body shuddering with every word.
“No Talonstar, don’t leave us! Don’t leave me!” Dawnstream yowled.
“I’m sorry, Dawnstream. Goodbye.” Talonstar closed his eyes for the final time.
“NO!” Dawnstream yowled so loud, every cat in the camp could hear her.
“TALONSTAR!”
“Come on Dawnstream, its not much farther,” Nightwind called from up ahead where he sat, just past the SunClan border. Dawnstream sighed, she knew she was going very slowly but she was doing it on purpose. She wanted to prolong her last moments as a warrior, before she became a leader responsible for the entire clan. She trotted a little faster as she crossed the border.
“Don’t worry, you’re going to be a great leader,” Nightwind said. Dawnstream flattened her ears.
“How do you know? How can I ever measure up to Talonstar?” She snapped.
“Because he chose you to be his deputy, he chose you to lead us after him,” Nightwind meowed.
“How do you know he didn’t make a mistake?” She meowed. “How could it be me?”
“You’ll understand everything once we reach the Star Tree,” Nightwind meowed and took off. Dawnstream sighed and bounded after him.
Dawnstream could see the Star Tree when Nightwind signaled her to stop with a flick of his tail.
“Okay Dawnstream, see that giant knot hole up in the branches?” He pointed with his tail to a hole that was nearly five fox lengths off the ground. Dawnstream nodded.
“Yes. That’s where I go, right?”
“Yes, just climb up there, don’t use your claws at all, and curl up in the hole, with your forehead against the trunk. MoonClan will put you to sleep and come to you in your dreams. I will be waiting on the roots. And from this moment on, neither of us must speak.”
Dawnstream dipped her head respectfully and padded slowly to the giant tree roots. She made sure her claws were sheathed before she leapt onto the lowest branch. She sprang from branch to branch as carefully as she could. The ground was a long way down and she couldn’t claw her way up the trunk like she normally would. Even without her claws, leaping between the branches was not very difficult. Her father had taught her to climb at a very young age and she had always been gifted with good balance. She launched herself upward one more time, onto the branch just above the knot hole, and gently eased down, sliding into the hole. Then she pressed her forehead into the trunk and closed her eyes.
Dawnstream was shivering, it was so cold. Something must be wrong, she thought and opened her eyes. She sat up and nearly fell over in shock. She was in the Crevis, beneath the full moon even though the full moon had just passed. She looked around widely as cats began to descend from above. There were so many, she had never seen the Crevis so full. She gave a yowl of surprise when they all stopped moving. She knew these cats, or at least some of them. There were both her parents and Talonstar, the cats she had missed so much!
“Welcome Dawnstream. Are you ready to receive your nine lives?” All the cats seemed to speak at once. She managed to nod respectfully. A light colored, silver cat stepped up to her.
“Petalheart!” She gasped, delighted to see her first mentor. The mighty she-cat had been killed when lightning struck a tree and she was crushed by a falling branch. She had been out looking for an herb to cure a sick kit.
“With this life, I give you courage. Never be afraid to take risks for what your Clan needs.” Petalheart said and touched noses with her.
Dawnstream felt a bolt of fire race through her and the image of a sick kit flashed through her mind. Her paws felt weak beneath her and it took her a moment to refocus her eyes. Petalheart still stood there, staring at her with loving eyes.
“I’ve missed you so much,” Dawnstream whispered.
“I missed you too, little one. You’ve grown up so strong, I’m so proud,” Petalheart told her, before turning around and padding away. She was replaced by a cat much darker in color.
“She is not the only one who is proud,” Oakfur, the warrior who had taken over her apprenticeship after Petalheart’s death, stood in front of her. Dawnstream felt a purr in her throat. Two moons after she had become a warrior, Oakfur had been slain in a battle with TreeClan. She heard him purr slightly too.
“With this life, I give you justice, use it to judge all cats fairly, be they your Clan or another.” He bent forward and touched noses with her. She felt ice fill her blood. Once she could see again, she felt incredibly drained, and she still had seven lives left.
“You had the chance to kill the TreeClan warrior that claimed my life but you did not take it. I’m so proud, you learned not to cause unnecessary death. That is the most valuable lesson any warrior needs.” Oakfur said as he left her. A shining white she-cat was next, her eyes sparkled mischievously,
“I never thought my sister’s apprentice would be my successor. Well done,” Snowstripe said, her beauty restored and her body whole. The last time Dawnstream had seen her, she had been missing an ear and blood had poured from her sides, thanks to a pair of foxes.
“With this life, I give you loyalty. Always serve your Clan with all that you are, show them loyalty and they will stay true to you forever.”
Dawnstream felt joy running through her body. She felt so much love for her Clanmates, she thought her heart would burst. A pale silver tom with glowing eyes stepped up next.
“Dad?” Dawnstream gasped.
Darkeyes stood in front of her, looking younger and stronger than she had ever seen him. The exhausted old cat that had died rescuing a kit from the river was gone.
“With this life, I give you tireless energy. Use it well to serve your Clan.” He touched noses with her, energy shot through her body. She felt as if she could run forever.
“You never seemed to stop moving as a kit; don’t let that change now,” Darkeyes said, padding away. In his place came a dark she-cat, Moonlight.
“I never thought I would be the mother of a Clan leader,” She purred.
“With this life, I give you the gift of protection. Use it to look after your Clan as a mother cares for her kits.”
Dawnstream braced herself, she had seen her mother fight to protect her and her brothers as kits, a mother defending her kits was the most dangerous thing in the forest. Moonlight had died giving birth to her second litter of kits, and Dawnstream felt that anguish as her mother touched noses with her.
“I look forward to seeing my grandkits,” Moonlight purred, following her mate.
A tiny, spotted cat replaced her, it was Creekpaw, Icestorm’s first apprentice. She had always been rather small, making it easy for her to catch greencough.
“With this life, I give you the gift of mentoring. Your Clan will need warriors, but first they must be apprentices. Train them well.” Creekpaw had to stretch to reach Dawnstream’s nose but the little cat sent shivers through her pelt.
A dark tabby appeared. It took Dawnstream a moment to recognize him. She had only seen the cat once, as an apprentice.
“Brackenclaw?” The NightClan warrior had died on the Thunderpath, by knocking her out of the way of a monster.
“With this life, I give you the gift of compassion, do not forget to give it to cats outside your own Clan.” Dawnstream felt a crushing pain on her right side and she saw black, how Brakenclaw had died.
“I’m so sorry,” she meowed.
“Don’t be,” Brackenclaw answered and padded away. A silver tabby was next, and Dawnstream let out a yowl of horror.
“Smokestrike!?!”
“I believe you are mistaking me for my son.” The tabby said with a purr of amusement. It took a moment for Dawnstream to calm down and think of Smokestrike’s mother, killed in battle several moons ago.
“Shadepelt?” She asked uncertainly. The tabby nodded gently.
“With this life, I give you the gift of love. Show every cat in your Clan love to the fullest extent.” Dawnstream felt the same joy that she felt when she was with Smokestrike, and for a moment she could smell his scent. As she left, Shadepelt meowed.
“I look forward to seeing my grandkits as well.”
The final cat was one Dawnstream knew well but he was somehow younger and stronger, Talonstar.
“Dawnstream, my deputy and successor; I knew you would become a great warrior the day you became an apprentice and I knew I made a wise choice placing you as my deputy.” Talonstar bowed his head to touch noses with her.
“With this life, I give you the gift of nobility, certainty, and faith. Use it well as you lead your Clan in the ways of MoonClan and the warrior code.” Dawnstream felt spasms echo through her body; agony, joy, fury, and pain ran through her pelt. She felt like her legs would give underneath her but she somehow stayed on her paws. Talonstar stepped back and the nine cats reappeared, circling around Dawnstream. All of the other cats rose to their paws. Talonstar meowed loudly.
“I hail you by your new name, Dawnstar. Your old life is no more. You have received your nine lives and are a true leader, and MoonClan gives to you the guardianship of MistClan.”
“Dawnstar! Dawnstar! Dawnstar!”
The warriors of MoonClan chanted. Dawnstar purred gently, but then felt a sharp pain down the right side of her face and then she knew no more.
Dawnstar woke up in the knot in the StarTree. She climbed out as quickly as she could without using her claws on the sacred trunk. She felt blood trickling from a cut on the right side of her face. As she approached Nightwind, he glanced anxiously at the cut.
“What happened? Did you receive your nine lives?”
“I’m not sure about the cuts, but yes, I received my nine lives.” “Then we can worry about the cut later.” Nightwind meowed and began padding back towards MistClan territory.
Dawnstar drew her paw over the cut. Whatever had happened, she knew it was not good.
Dawnstream sat beside Talonstar halfway up the mountain. They were waiting for Flametail and his apprentice to come back from their search for a loner that had been scented. A squeal rang out from above them.
“ROCKSLIDE!” Dawnstream looked sharply at Talonstar.
“That was Flametail!” Dawnstream mewed, her eyes wide with fear. Talonstar leapt to his paws.
“Stay here Dawnstream!” He ordered.
“No!” Dawnstream protested. “He’s my brother!”
“Stay here!” Talonstar repeated and then leapt up the mountain in long strides.
Dawnstream desperately wanted to follow but dared not disobey him. She paced around nervously. Her head snapped up as she heard the rumble coming from above her.
“Talonstar! NO!” She yowled at the sight of her leader tearing down the mountain, falling rocks at his heels.
“Dawnstream! RUN! Warn the Clan!” Talonstar yowled as one of the rocks caught him. Dawnstream looked around widely and saw Flametail standing horrified off to side, out of the path of danger.
“Flametail! Run! Warn the Clan!” She wailed.
“Right!” He roared back and took off, his apprentice at his side.
Dawnstream moved off to the side, where she would be safe to wait for an opportunity to rescue Talonstar. She cringed as she heard his yelps of pain. She saw him roll to the edge of the rock slide. She wasn’t sure if she could get in and rescue him without being swept into the rock slide as well but she had to try. She launched herself into the air and tried to aim for right in front of Talonstar. She almost landed on him but she twisted her body just in time. She grabbed him by the scruff of his neck and dug her claws into the dirt, getting firmly rooted before she leapt out of the path of the rocks, dragging Talonstar with her. Her paws scrambled widely for footing but she couldn’t make a smooth landing. Dawnstream lay gasping on her side, Talonstar’s head between her paws. She struggled to her feet.
“Talonstar? Can you hear me?” The tom didn’t move. “Talonstar!” Dawnstream yowled. His eyes fluttered.
“Dawnstream, I thought I told you to run.”
“And leave you? Never,” Dawnstream said gently. “Just hold on, Flametail went to warn the Clan. Nightwind will be here any moment.”
“It’s too late, MoonClan is calling me home. I’m on my last life. You will now be the leader of MistClan, Dawnstar!” Talonstar said, his body shuddering with every word.
“No Talonstar, don’t leave us! Don’t leave me!” Dawnstream yowled.
“I’m sorry, Dawnstream. Goodbye.” Talonstar closed his eyes for the final time.
“NO!” Dawnstream yowled so loud, every cat in the camp could hear her.
“TALONSTAR!”
* * * * *
“Come on Dawnstream, its not much farther,” Nightwind called from up ahead where he sat, just past the SunClan border. Dawnstream sighed, she knew she was going very slowly but she was doing it on purpose. She wanted to prolong her last moments as a warrior, before she became a leader responsible for the entire clan. She trotted a little faster as she crossed the border.
“Don’t worry, you’re going to be a great leader,” Nightwind said. Dawnstream flattened her ears.
“How do you know? How can I ever measure up to Talonstar?” She snapped.
“Because he chose you to be his deputy, he chose you to lead us after him,” Nightwind meowed.
“How do you know he didn’t make a mistake?” She meowed. “How could it be me?”
“You’ll understand everything once we reach the Star Tree,” Nightwind meowed and took off. Dawnstream sighed and bounded after him.
Dawnstream could see the Star Tree when Nightwind signaled her to stop with a flick of his tail.
“Okay Dawnstream, see that giant knot hole up in the branches?” He pointed with his tail to a hole that was nearly five fox lengths off the ground. Dawnstream nodded.
“Yes. That’s where I go, right?”
“Yes, just climb up there, don’t use your claws at all, and curl up in the hole, with your forehead against the trunk. MoonClan will put you to sleep and come to you in your dreams. I will be waiting on the roots. And from this moment on, neither of us must speak.”
Dawnstream dipped her head respectfully and padded slowly to the giant tree roots. She made sure her claws were sheathed before she leapt onto the lowest branch. She sprang from branch to branch as carefully as she could. The ground was a long way down and she couldn’t claw her way up the trunk like she normally would. Even without her claws, leaping between the branches was not very difficult. Her father had taught her to climb at a very young age and she had always been gifted with good balance. She launched herself upward one more time, onto the branch just above the knot hole, and gently eased down, sliding into the hole. Then she pressed her forehead into the trunk and closed her eyes.
Dawnstream was shivering, it was so cold. Something must be wrong, she thought and opened her eyes. She sat up and nearly fell over in shock. She was in the Crevis, beneath the full moon even though the full moon had just passed. She looked around widely as cats began to descend from above. There were so many, she had never seen the Crevis so full. She gave a yowl of surprise when they all stopped moving. She knew these cats, or at least some of them. There were both her parents and Talonstar, the cats she had missed so much!
“Welcome Dawnstream. Are you ready to receive your nine lives?” All the cats seemed to speak at once. She managed to nod respectfully. A light colored, silver cat stepped up to her.
“Petalheart!” She gasped, delighted to see her first mentor. The mighty she-cat had been killed when lightning struck a tree and she was crushed by a falling branch. She had been out looking for an herb to cure a sick kit.
“With this life, I give you courage. Never be afraid to take risks for what your Clan needs.” Petalheart said and touched noses with her.
Dawnstream felt a bolt of fire race through her and the image of a sick kit flashed through her mind. Her paws felt weak beneath her and it took her a moment to refocus her eyes. Petalheart still stood there, staring at her with loving eyes.
“I’ve missed you so much,” Dawnstream whispered.
“I missed you too, little one. You’ve grown up so strong, I’m so proud,” Petalheart told her, before turning around and padding away. She was replaced by a cat much darker in color.
“She is not the only one who is proud,” Oakfur, the warrior who had taken over her apprenticeship after Petalheart’s death, stood in front of her. Dawnstream felt a purr in her throat. Two moons after she had become a warrior, Oakfur had been slain in a battle with TreeClan. She heard him purr slightly too.
“With this life, I give you justice, use it to judge all cats fairly, be they your Clan or another.” He bent forward and touched noses with her. She felt ice fill her blood. Once she could see again, she felt incredibly drained, and she still had seven lives left.
“You had the chance to kill the TreeClan warrior that claimed my life but you did not take it. I’m so proud, you learned not to cause unnecessary death. That is the most valuable lesson any warrior needs.” Oakfur said as he left her. A shining white she-cat was next, her eyes sparkled mischievously,
“I never thought my sister’s apprentice would be my successor. Well done,” Snowstripe said, her beauty restored and her body whole. The last time Dawnstream had seen her, she had been missing an ear and blood had poured from her sides, thanks to a pair of foxes.
“With this life, I give you loyalty. Always serve your Clan with all that you are, show them loyalty and they will stay true to you forever.”
Dawnstream felt joy running through her body. She felt so much love for her Clanmates, she thought her heart would burst. A pale silver tom with glowing eyes stepped up next.
“Dad?” Dawnstream gasped.
Darkeyes stood in front of her, looking younger and stronger than she had ever seen him. The exhausted old cat that had died rescuing a kit from the river was gone.
“With this life, I give you tireless energy. Use it well to serve your Clan.” He touched noses with her, energy shot through her body. She felt as if she could run forever.
“You never seemed to stop moving as a kit; don’t let that change now,” Darkeyes said, padding away. In his place came a dark she-cat, Moonlight.
“I never thought I would be the mother of a Clan leader,” She purred.
“With this life, I give you the gift of protection. Use it to look after your Clan as a mother cares for her kits.”
Dawnstream braced herself, she had seen her mother fight to protect her and her brothers as kits, a mother defending her kits was the most dangerous thing in the forest. Moonlight had died giving birth to her second litter of kits, and Dawnstream felt that anguish as her mother touched noses with her.
“I look forward to seeing my grandkits,” Moonlight purred, following her mate.
A tiny, spotted cat replaced her, it was Creekpaw, Icestorm’s first apprentice. She had always been rather small, making it easy for her to catch greencough.
“With this life, I give you the gift of mentoring. Your Clan will need warriors, but first they must be apprentices. Train them well.” Creekpaw had to stretch to reach Dawnstream’s nose but the little cat sent shivers through her pelt.
A dark tabby appeared. It took Dawnstream a moment to recognize him. She had only seen the cat once, as an apprentice.
“Brackenclaw?” The NightClan warrior had died on the Thunderpath, by knocking her out of the way of a monster.
“With this life, I give you the gift of compassion, do not forget to give it to cats outside your own Clan.” Dawnstream felt a crushing pain on her right side and she saw black, how Brakenclaw had died.
“I’m so sorry,” she meowed.
“Don’t be,” Brackenclaw answered and padded away. A silver tabby was next, and Dawnstream let out a yowl of horror.
“Smokestrike!?!”
“I believe you are mistaking me for my son.” The tabby said with a purr of amusement. It took a moment for Dawnstream to calm down and think of Smokestrike’s mother, killed in battle several moons ago.
“Shadepelt?” She asked uncertainly. The tabby nodded gently.
“With this life, I give you the gift of love. Show every cat in your Clan love to the fullest extent.” Dawnstream felt the same joy that she felt when she was with Smokestrike, and for a moment she could smell his scent. As she left, Shadepelt meowed.
“I look forward to seeing my grandkits as well.”
The final cat was one Dawnstream knew well but he was somehow younger and stronger, Talonstar.
“Dawnstream, my deputy and successor; I knew you would become a great warrior the day you became an apprentice and I knew I made a wise choice placing you as my deputy.” Talonstar bowed his head to touch noses with her.
“With this life, I give you the gift of nobility, certainty, and faith. Use it well as you lead your Clan in the ways of MoonClan and the warrior code.” Dawnstream felt spasms echo through her body; agony, joy, fury, and pain ran through her pelt. She felt like her legs would give underneath her but she somehow stayed on her paws. Talonstar stepped back and the nine cats reappeared, circling around Dawnstream. All of the other cats rose to their paws. Talonstar meowed loudly.
“I hail you by your new name, Dawnstar. Your old life is no more. You have received your nine lives and are a true leader, and MoonClan gives to you the guardianship of MistClan.”
“Dawnstar! Dawnstar! Dawnstar!”
The warriors of MoonClan chanted. Dawnstar purred gently, but then felt a sharp pain down the right side of her face and then she knew no more.
Dawnstar woke up in the knot in the StarTree. She climbed out as quickly as she could without using her claws on the sacred trunk. She felt blood trickling from a cut on the right side of her face. As she approached Nightwind, he glanced anxiously at the cut.
“What happened? Did you receive your nine lives?”
“I’m not sure about the cuts, but yes, I received my nine lives.” “Then we can worry about the cut later.” Nightwind meowed and began padding back towards MistClan territory.
Dawnstar drew her paw over the cut. Whatever had happened, she knew it was not good.