#leafheart

How do you take your coffee, baby?

The fluffy gray tabby awoke with a start, opening his eyes to find himself in a curious location. Although the moon hung in the night sky, stars glistening, the ground beneath his paws seemed to radiate a sort of warmth that was unfamiliar to him. He stood up, unsteady, shaking his head at his surroundings. A beautiful grove met his gaze, huge oak trees stretching as high as he could see, the scent of prey around every corner, beds of colorful flowers and herbs, and the ground littered with odd objects that the tabby didn't recognize. They were round and orange, with stems and leaves protruding from them. The tabby padded over to one, curious as to how it seemingly hung from the vines scattered across the grove. He prodded at it with its paw, startled to hear a purr of amusement as he did so.

"Who's there?" the tabby called, confused. He turned around, and let out a gasp of shock upon seeing a black-and-white she-cat standing behind him. She held his gaze, a gleam in her narrowed eyes. The tabby knew this she-cat. He knew her very well. And he didn't think he'd ever see her again. At least...not for a while. "Bloomstar," he breathed, rushing towards her to greet her properly. "Is it really you? It feels like it's been moons!"

As the she-cat purred, touching her nose to the tabby's, the tom couldn't help but realize how different his former leader looked. Before her death, Bloomstar had looked frail, thin, and weak, barely anything more than skin and bones. Her fur had clung to her frame, and she constantly looked like she was lost in a daze. Her death had been long, and painful. But now, she stood with her head held high, with bright eyes and a neatly groomed pelt - a pelt that almost seemed to shine in the moonlight.

Death...

The tabby blinked. "Oh. I understand now. This is StarClan, isn't it? I died."

Bloomstar sighed. "Yes, Leafheart, you did. You died from the same terrible sickness that led to my end as well. Fortunately, you will be the last. Shortly after your death, Galespeck found a cure. It won't be easy to get over it, and our once great Clan has been reduced to almost nothing, but I have faith. Bitterspeck will make a good leader. In fact, she'll be visiting here soon, to receive her nine lives."

"So...this is really StarClan?" Leafheart mewed, glancing around. "It is beautiful...but it's not what I expected."

"We view StarClan as how our camp used to look: before the Twolegs, before the droughts, before sickness and starving and hard times. Back when our home was beautiful, and we were strong and feared. Now our home is nothing but a dirty wasteland." Bloomstar spat out the words, speaking of their old home as if she'd seen it herself.

"I guess this is a pumpkin, then?" Leafheart asked, gesturing towards the orange object. Bloomstar purred.

"Quite right, Leafheart. A shame that the plant we were named for no longer grows in our territory. Maybe one day, they'll find their way back to us." Bloomstar shook out her fur, then nodded to Leafheart. "Come; it's time you met the others, and took your place upon the ranks of StarClan. We cannot stand reminiscing on the past forever."

Leafheart wanted to argue that Bloomstar was doing more "reminiscing" than he was, but he still had that instinct to immediately obey his leader. As Bloomstar padded away from the grove, Leafheart followed, feeling as though his own fur was beginning to shine with starlight.

-

Hello there, and welcome to PumpkinClan!

PumpkinClan, once a group of proud, beautiful cats who boasted their fine territory and large number of warriors, has been reduced to nothing but a few stragglers in a dump. However, this small Clan refuses to die, and no matter how many tragedies hit them, they'll always keep kicking!

PumpkinClan is a Clan I'm playing through on ClanGen (find them over at @ officialclangen), and I thought it'd be fun to give them a complete narrative and chronicle their journey over here on Tumblr.

Updates will be very infrequent as I am about to go on a trip and I have school, so just expect this to continue - whenever I feel like it!