PROLOGUE
CW: KIT DEATH, MANIPULATION ON STARCLAN'S END
(This takes place in the past! Not current day! The inbox is currently open for questions!)
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Five cats padded along a rocky, cliff-like surface. Dark clouds swirled overhead, and rain pelted down harshly on the travelers. Every now and then one would slip, but no-cat bothered to stop and help.
One of the cats, a white she-cat with patches of gray splashed on her fur, glanced up at the sky, then at the cat behind her, a small black kit with white paws.
“Raven,” She began, pausing for just a moment to speak with her kit. “Come here. Let me carry you.”
Raven scrambled beneath his mother’s belly, letting out a soft mewl as the she-cat lifted him by his scruff. He instinctively curled into the carrying position, and the two cats continued their travels.
Another one of the cats, a blue-gray tom, turned to the she-cat, his lips curled in a snarl.
“I told you to leave him behind, Puddle.” He growled, lashing his tail. His pelt was soaked, his ears flat against his ears.
“I can’t!” Puddle cried, her voice muffled by Raven’s fur. “I’ve already lost my other kits, Needle. I can’t lose him too.”
Needle’s gaze only hardened, and he turned away with a twitch of his whiskers. “We don’t have time for this. Just hurry up, we’re already almost there.”
Puddle lowered her head, and the cats continued on. The rain only continued to pour.
Soon enough the group of five was out of the cliffs, and in the forest. Trees loomed ahead, darkening the world around them and only making it harder to see through the rainy haze.
“Hawthorn, what’s ahead?” Another one of the members, an elderly white she-cat, questioned as she padded to the side of a dark ginger tom.
The ginger tom, Hawthorn, looked down at the elder. “Appears to be a river, Cloud.”
Cloud let out a hum of acknowledgement. “We’re making good time.”
Needle hissed, pushing past Puddle and stepping forward with bristled fur. “How do we know you can be trusted? We’ve been walking for hours and all we’ve gotten is sore paws and soaked fur!”
Cloud slowly turned her head to face Needle. Though her expression held a gentle smile, Puddle could see the annoyance in her eyes.
“Don’t be foolish, child,” She said, her voice a low grumble. “I know what I saw. The cat in my dreams told me to bring us all here. Now…Let’s cross the river. We’re almost there.”
“Cross!?” Puddle exclaimed, setting Raven down for a moment to speak. “Cloud, we can’t cross! We’ll freeze!”
“It’s the only way,” Cloud insisted, looking back at Puddle with a purr. “When we’re settled in our new home we’ll be warm…Safe. Raven will be happy there.”
Hawthorn and Needle let out murmurs of agreement and nods as Cloud spoke.
Puddle watched, ears flat as the other three cats began to cross the rushing water. Raven looked up at her, his blue eyes wide with curiosity and mild fear.
The gray and white she-cat leaned down, gently nuzzling her son’s dampened fur and purring.
“Don’t worry,” She murmured, voice soft. “Cloud is right. Where we’re going, you’ll be happier. I promise.”
Raven only smiled, and Puddle lifted him up by his scruff again. She took a deep breath, before plunging her body into the river.
The water was freezing cold, as she expected, and Puddle held back a yowl of surprise as the current tried to sweep her away. She took deep breaths and kept her grip on Raven’s scruff as tight as she could as she kicked her legs.
Everything happened so fast.
Puddle’s eyes widened as a particularly powerful rush of water sent a wave barreling towards her. Unthinking, she opened her mouth in a silent yowl as she was momentarily shoved beneath the water and pushed head-first into a rock. A combination of an earthy and metallic taste filled her mouth as she writhed and struggled, kicking her legs as hard as she could and forcing herself above the current, sputtering and paddling helplessly against the harsh flow.
A tiny, flowing streak of blood dribbled down her mouth as she looked around frantically, rain pouring down on her head. Where was Raven?
“Mama!”
The shriek, which could only belong to the black and white kit, sounded so far away.
No! Puddle swam to the bank of the river, where she was greeted by Hawthorn. The ginger tom’s expression was fearful as he gave Puddle’s pelt a few quick licks.
“Puddle-”
“No, no, no!” Before Hawthorn could finish his words, Puddle began to run. Her pelt felt heavy from being so damp, and her paws ached, but adrenaline was all that made her keep pressing forward.
The she-cat ran and ran, calling out Raven’s name and searching the riverbank for any sign that he had washed up. Maybe he got scared and ran away, wishing to dry himself off?
It felt like hours before Puddle’s energy finally ran out, and with shaky legs she collapsed onto the ground below her, panting heavily. Her body trembled violently from fatigue and grief. It was dark now, and even though it had stopped raining the queen’s vision was still blurred with unfallen tears.
“No…Oh, my son…My baby…”
“I’m sorry.”
An unfamiliar voice made Puddle look up. A cat stood before her, their ginger fur glittering with tiny stars.
“Please!” She pleaded, using the last of her strength to throw herself at the starry cat’s paws with a begging expression. “Have you seen my son? He-”
The starry cat cut her off. “Your son is gone.”
Puddle felt her blood run cold. She yowled in grief, burying her face into her front paws and letting violent sobs escape her body. The starry cat sat beside her, placing a white-tipped tail on her back.
“I know it hurts, but…Please, I must ask that you listen to me. You were brought here for a purpose.” They meowed, and Puddle glared up at them.
“How dare you!?” She hissed, swiping up at the cat’s face. Her unsheathed paw phased through, and the cat looked unbothered by the action.
“I know you’re hurting, and I know your pain will never go away. But if you could just listen to me-”
“My son is DEAD.” Puddle snapped back, fur bristling.
The cat blinked, and looked up at the sky. “You will meet him again, when you join the stars. Look up, don’t you see?”
Puddle looked up at the now-darkened sky. The clouds cleared, revealing a single twinkling star.
She gasped, “Is that him?”
The cat nodded. “Yes. I need you to gather others and form a clan. Your three friends have been told to do the same. Together, the four of you can form a community and bond. I will guide you along the way.”
“I can’t do that.” Puddle slowly laid on the ground again, tucking her legs beneath her body and flicking her tail. “My heart hurts so much.”
“Look,” The cat gestured to the front of Puddle, and she looked up.
She was sitting on a small cliff, a tiny waterfall leading to a small pool of water in the clearing below. The grass was bright, flowing gently in the breeze.
“This is where you and your kin will grow and thrive,” The cat explained, smiling gently. “The pain of your loss will become the energy you need to lead.”
Puddle considered the words, sniffling. The clearing was beautiful, and the thought of her future generations living there…Thriving there…Filled her aching heart with the smallest spark of warmth.
“Alright, then.” She finally meowed, sighing heavily as she lifted herself back onto her paws. “I’ll do this.”
“I knew you would. Come here, now.”
Puddle stepped in front of the starry cat, and they touched their nose to her forehead. She gritted her teeth and winced as a burning energy rushed through her body, intense and painful enough to make her dig her claws into the earth below her.
When the cat stepped back, they dipped their head. “I have given you the blessing of nine lives. From this day forward you shall be known as Puddlestar, leader of whatever name you choose to give your new clan. Use your lives wisely, and lead your clan to greatness.”
Before Puddlestar could say anything else, the cat turned and vanished into the night, in the direction she came from. Staring into the clearing once again, she considered a name.
RavenClan?
No. That was too much. She couldn’t even bring herself to mention his name.
She sat and curled her tail around her paws, pondering, before the name came to her.
CraneClan.
Yes. It was perfect.
Cranes were large, beautiful, powerful…
And her clan would be too.
