Clanless Woods-a Fanfic by Hazeldust

First topic message reminder :

~Author's note: I haven't read all the Warriors books yet so I don't exactly know if my characters are real or fake! (Please don't make fun of me ) So, just go along with this, shall we...~

Nightstorm shot up an ancient oak tree delicately, and settled down in a cosy crook where two thick branches protruded from the trunk. Just as his eyelids drooped over his green eyes, a loud rustling noise from the ground woke him up. Hissing irritably, he shook himself roughly and crouched down, ready to pounce on an enemy. True, now there weren't any clans in the forest, after the many battles that tore apart the clans and destroyed them completely. It started when Shadowclan made an alliance with Windclan, and together they had pushed Riverclan out of their territory. But soon after their dark victory, Shadowclan turned traitor, and got rid of Windclan as well. A torrent of cats, both survivors from Windclan and Riverclan returned, ready for revenge, and Shadowclan still wanted Thunderclan's territory. The forest erupted into vicious battles, which ultimately ended all clans. Even the clan leader, MorningStar had died, despite her nine lives. The remaining cats roamed the woods freely, paying no matter to boundary lines and territories any more. Remaining cats such as Nightstorm, who still needed to watch his own back.

"Hey, Nightstorm! It's me! Are you up there?" A cheery voice piped up from the base of the trunk, and Nightstorm rolled his eyes, and climbed down the rough bark. "What do you want, Sorrelpaw?" He snapped at his former apprentice, glaring at his dusty brown-grey fur and wide, grey eyes sparkling with innocence, even after the bloody battles that lasted for several moons. "You promised that you'd still continue my training! I mean, sure, I probably won't ever get my warrior name now, but I still want to be a great hunter and a fiercefighter! Please, Nightstorm? You promised!" Nightstorm regretted his choice the day before, but he had given into his apprentice's wheedles and whines. "Fine," he growled, flicking his tail irritably. "Meet me here at sunhigh tomorrow." "Yes, Nightstorm!" Sorrelpaw yowled joyfully and shot out of view. Probably to go chase beetles or something, Nightstorm thought idly. Might as well go hunting, he thought feeling a pang of hunger prod his stomach.

He scented a tasty mouse, and he tracked the scent, tasting the air with his mouth open. He finally saw the brown mouse, who was nibbling a seed behind a gray boulder near the river. Stalking it silently, Nightstorm pounced, and killed it with one blow. Purring with anticipation, Nightstorm carried the dead mouse to a flattish boulder and devoured the mouse, crunching its small bones and tearing its delicious flesh. He left the remains on the rock, and leapt down to the ground to lap up some water in a small pool of water from the rain the night before. It was quiet, with the wind whispering through the treetops and and river gushing in the distance. No blood or enemies lurking around, ready to pounce on me, he tought contentedly. Feelin unused energy course through his legs, he bounded into the trees, heading towards Sunningrocks. Maybe he'll have his nap there.

He skidded to a halt, and leapt up a warm boulder, soaking in the warmth from the sun. Flopping down the warm surface, waves of exhaustion rolled over Nightstorm once more, and he was on the brink of sleep when another soft voice whispered, "Nightstorm?" Can't anyone get a clawlength of sleep around here? he thought, annoyed. He cracked open one eye, and saw a pearly gray she-cat with gentle blue eyes peering down at him. He scrambled to his paws, fighting off his sleep. "Dawnpelt!" He meowed happily, nuzzling her flank. He thought one of his best friends ahd died in the battles...but no, Dawnpelt was well and alive, right in front of him! "Nightstorm," she purred, licking the fur on his forehead. "I'm glad you're not dead," she murmered, and Nightstorm snorted. "As if. Those Shadowclan warriors would have thought a shadow with teeth fell on them, not a cat," he boasted proudly. Dawnpelt huffed quietly, half in amusement, half-annoyed. "Did you meet anyone else?" He asked, changing the subject. "Yes, Goldenstripe survived with me. We've been hunting together, and she tended to our wounds from the battles." Nightstorm sighed in relief. It was good to hear that their medicine cat had somehow survived as well. "That's good to hear," he replied earnestly. "Sorrelpaw also made it through," he added gruffly. Dawnpelt's queer blue eyes sparkled with amusement. "At least you had some company," she consoled him, flicking her tail. "I guess-" He tried to stifle an enourmous yawn, but failed. "Go to sleep. I'll be here," she purred, and started to groom him, licking his inky-black pelt. Nightstorm felt his eyelids droop once more, and he felt sleep conquer his mind.
But he would have preferred if he had stayed awake, because his dreams weren't exactly pleasant.

Nightstorm was running, running as hard as he could through the forest. Suddenly, the firm ground gave away, melting into dark nothingness. The trees disappeared, replaced by twinkling lights. Nightstorm skidded to a halt. Huh? Where am I? He turned wildly, trying to see where he was, but all he could see was blue-blackness and stars. "Nightstorm," a silvery voice whispered. He turned and yelped. It was a cat-one made up of smoky tendrils of mist and bright stars for eyes. But the pattern of his pelt, the flat muzzle, the pointed ears..."Smokefur?" Nightstorm murmered in awe. He had watched his friend get mauled by two wiry Shadowclan cats, but now here he was, greater and more dazzling than before. His misty, dark grey pelt streaked through with lighter stripes of silver was replaced with the hazy wisps of his spirit, and his bright yellow eyes were shining stars, but he was still friendly Smokefur.

"I look quite dazzling, don't I?" Smokefur meowed smugly. Nightstorm rolled his eyes and snorted-yep, Smokefur was still definitely himself, right down to the small crooked end of his tail. "But you are in grave danger." Smokefur's buoyant attitude suddenly vanished, leaving a dark seriousness that Nightstorm wasn't accustomed to. "What do you mean, I'm in danger? The battles are over. The forest is at peace again. No more boundary lines, every cat is free to roam the entire forest," Nightstorm purred. "Look where you are, Nightstorm. Look down," Smokefur meowed gently. Nightstorm looked around him, and realized he was in Starclan, surrounded by faint silver outlines of cats. Only him, with his dark pelt, blended in with the night sky. Then he glanced down, and saw himself lying on a boulder, with Dawnpelt pressing next to his flank.

"I-I see myself," Nightstorm stammered. "But how-?" "Your spirit is up here, with Starclan." "But I'm not dead!" Nigtstorm cried, thrashing his tail around in anxiety. "No, you're not," Smokefur said seriously. "But there is a great darkness looming ahead of you, far ahead. Too much in advance to outrun. You will face it when the time is right...but for the time being, you will be safe in the forest. Rest, Nightstorm. You will need power and courage to survive what is in store for you." "What? What darkness? Tell me, Smokefur!" Nightstorm meowed. "Gain your energy. Many things are predicted to befall your way. Be brave, my friend. Do not share the same cruel fate as I," he smiled ruefully. Smokefur started to seep away, melting back into the fathomless sky. "No, Smokefur! Come back!" Nightfur yowled, launching himself across the sky. "Be brave, Nightstorm," Smokefur's faint voice trailed back into Nightstorm's ears. Then he was falling, falling back to the earth. He struggled and writhed in panic, but he couldn't stop falling...

...Until the moment he nearly struck the earth, he was jostled from his sleep.

(Authors Note: Hopefully I didn't screw up. And this posts in the right place. There will be more...Did anyone like it? )

It was good!

Yay! Thanks.

~Note: Okay, I didn't read all the warriors books yet, so I didn't know that Dawnpelt and Sorrelpaw are real cats. So, pretend that the cats in my fanfic are different cats...without the same personality or any of that in Hunter's books. So just read it. ~

Sorrelpaw flicked a bit of dirt out of his ear. Jaystep, his new mentor, regarded him calmly. His dark grey pelt was streaked with misty blue stripes, and dark marks on his neck resembled the ones on a bluejay. His dark blue eyes glittered as he watched Sorrelpaw crouch down again, ready to stalk a rabbit. After a few moments, Jaystep purred proudly-Sorrelpaw was obedient and eager to learn. He excelled at fighting with new techniques, and was rapidly mastering hunting methods. Sorrelpaw blinked happily, sitting on his haunches.

“Well done, Sorrelpaw. In a few months, if you keep at this rate, you’ll be a warrior!” Sorrelpaw dipped his head in thanks, excitement filling his muscles with new energy. “Now go hunting. Stay within the boundaries, and be back by sunhigh,” Jaystep instructed. “I’ll find enough to feed all the elders!” Sorrelpaw claimed, racing into the forest. Jaystep smiled fondly at his new apprentice. New cats were always welcomed into Deathclan, especially because Moonstar would never let anyone suspicious or dangerous into the clan. Sorrelpaw was no exception-he was bright, lively, and cheerful, despite the fact that his old home was torn apart. He reminded Jaystep of himself when he was younger…

Jaystep padded into the Deathclan camp, and chose a plump thrush from the fresh-kill pile. Carrying it into one of the warrior dens, he settled down near Nightstorm, who was grooming himself. He nodded politely, and Jaystep returned the gesture. “Sorrelpaw is doing marvellously,” Jaystep ventured. Nightstorm looked up, interested. “Really? He was always too playful and distracted,” Nightstorm muttered sarcastically. “No, he’s really eager and obedient now,” Jaystep insisted, but Nightstorm just snorted. “Guess all the battles taught him a lesson of obedience,” he mumbled, licking his dark chest-fur. Jaystep shrugged, and tore a strip of meat from the limp thrush. A few moments later, Sorrelpaw tore into the camp, a frightened expression stretched over his face, two mice and a young hare dangling in his jaws. He dropped his prey, and screeched, “Stranger cats wandering in our territory!” Elders, warriors, and young apprentices clustered around the young brown cat.

Moonstar shouldered her way near Sorrelpaw, and the cats parted respectfully, their whiskers quivering in anxiety. Nightstorm wondered if they had attacks from cats who wanted to hurt them…“Where are the cats?” She asked gently, but firmly. Sorrelpaw took a deep breath. “I caught their scent near the south side of the creek,” he began, and Nightstorm’s heart skipped a beat. That was dangerously close to the camp…But surely, the whole of Deathclan could stand against an attack from any wandering cats, he reasoned with himself. “Then I tracked the scent down to the grove of apple trees. I saw about five cats, most of them muddy, I couldn’t see what their pelts looked like.” Sorrelpaw collapsed on the hard ground, evidently exhausted from sprinting with heavy prey. Moonstar pondered for a moment, but then called out, “Iceflight, Raggedflame, Jaystep, and Nightstorm, come with your apprentices,” she called. Nightstorm felt his pelt prickle with embarrassment-he didn’t have an apprentice yet, but padded over to her side obediently.

“Fawntail,” she addressed her light brown deputy, “Make sure the camp is well guarded.”
Fawntail called out, “Dawnpelt, go with Cloudbrush and guard the entrances. Sootstreak, go with Maplestream and your apprentices and scout the boundaries for any other intruders. All elders, queens, and kits must stay in their dens.” She trotted out to join Dawnpelt and Cloudbrush, a pearly-grey tom with a pure white tail.

“Come,” Moonstar murmured, and the eight cats set out at a brisk pace, jaws open for the strangers’ scents. It was silent except for the muffled pawsteps on the forest floor, which was lined with soft moss and fallen pine needles. The sudden pungent scent of mystery cats hit their noses, and they all tensed, scanning the surrounding trees. Nightstorm glanced at the treetops, in case they were up in the branches, ready to pounce. Like when the Deathclan cats first found Nightstorm and the others, he remembered, his tail twitching. Moonstar flicked her tail towards a clump of gorse bushes, and there were soft swishing sounds, like fur rubbing against leaves. The scent was so strong, it made Nightstorm’s eyes water after moons of Deathclan cats who only had faint traces of a scent. The other cats seemed fine, even Sorrelpaw, and he felt embarrassed that he was so weak, so easily affected by a smell.

The wind was blowing towards them, so the strange cats couldn’t smell them. Moonstar signalled to leap into the trees and surround them. Muscles tensing, all the cats pounced up into trees at the same time, circling the small knot of muddy cats. They were still oblivious to the Deathclan warriors; they were picking at a scrawny fish that they must have caught in the creek. Moonstar yowled: “You are in Deathclan territory!” The cats looked up, frightened, and shock spasmed across their dirty faces. They unsheathed their claws, but they were weak, thin, and outnumbered. “State your business here,” Moonstar commanded, her eyes narrowing suspiciously.

The smallest cat with small ears and a long tail had a warm, ginger pelt, hidden underneath cracking mud. Apparently, she held power over all her larger companions because she straightened up and addressed Moonstar loftily. “We did not know this part of the forest was inhabited by other cats. We are merely passing though, looking for a place to call home.” “Where are you from?” Moonstar replied testily. “I was trapped by Twolegs. I escaped, and gradually met up with these other cats.” “Who are you?” Raggedflame growled hoarsely. Nightstorm flicked his tail nervously. “I am Sunstreak. This is Dusty, Fern, Ice, and Skylight,” she turned to her companions, with faint traces of fur under caked earth. “We are loners. We have no home; we are searching for a place to call one.” Sunstreak swished her tail and gazed steadily right at Nightstorm, and he felt a prickle of apprehension ripple through his fur. He turned to Moonstar, who regarded them seriously, but when her shoulders relaxed, he felt a heavy weight lift off his heart. He didn’t want to know what would happen if Moonstar decided against them.

“Would you like to come into our clan?” Moonstar offered, and dropped onto the mossy ground, Iceflight, Raggedflame, and Jaystep following her. Their apprentices lurked in the shadows of tree trunks, silently keeping the circle tight. Nightstorm pawed the earth expectantly. “Thank you for your offer, but are you sure?” Sunstreak’s dirty face creased in a worried expression. “By the scent, two of your cats are still new, as if you had taken them in-like you are offering to us now.” Nighstorm flinched at her accurate sense of smell. Maybe the leaves did not completely mask his scent after all. Moonstar replied kindly, “Of course.” It was much shorter than when he had been offered a home in Deathclan, and Nightstorm was surprised. But he didn’t have a lot of time to think things over, until he was waiting in the mass of cats at Creekstones, waiting for Moonstar to announce their arrival to Deathclan.

“These cats were found in the forest, seeking a place to call home. They do not search to cause harm to any cat, I am sure. This is Sunstreak,” she nodded to the dirty ginger she-cat who seemed to hold herself with dignity, despite being covered with mud. “Dusty, Brook, Ice, and Sunlight,” Moonstar continued. “You will be known as your current names, for it would a punishment for you to carry apprentice names at your age, but you are not trained as warriors. When you qualify as a warrior, you will receive your new name.” Skylight looked wary, her pale green-yellow eyes narrowed, but Dusty and Brook seemed to be pounding with excitement. Ice seemed carefully withdrawn, glancing swiftly at the crowd. Nightstorm was immune to the chanting murmuring of their names, his gaze trained only on Sunstreak. Her name seemed like she was already a warrior…and with the delicate pride she held herself with, it wasn’t difficult to tell that she wasn’t a kittypet.

Later, after the evening patrol returned, and most of the cats were either sharing tongues or finishing scraps of prey, he noticed Sunstreak grooming herself. Apparently, she had taken a swim in the river, because her pelt was sleek and clean, catching the last rays of the sun in her fiery fur. She lifted her multicoloured eyes and regarded him quizzically, but he turned away swiftly. Something kept nagging at him…Sunstreak was simply a curiosity.

Later that night, when all the dens were silent, Nightstorm woke up abruptly. Blinking his eyes in the milky moonlight that filtered through the den, he tried to figure out what had wakened him. Feeling unsettled, he decided to go outside, maybe go on a walk. Judging from where the moon was in the sky, it wasn’t far past midnight. The patrol would have returned. Stretching his limbs, he padded quietly around the camp, hearing only faint murmurs from the elder’s den, and a single kit mewling quietly. He halted at the camp entrance, not knowing what had pulled him there, or what made him wait there either.

“You came,” a voice purred behind Nightstorm. He jumped violently, spinning around, ready to pounce. His eyes searched wildly, until they fell on a figure, hidden in the shadows of a tree. It walked out, the moonlight catching on the she-cat’s pelt-it was Sunstreak, her amber eyes glowing. Nightstorm’s neck fur settled, but a knot of nervousness curled at the pit of his stomach. “Sunstreak,” he mewed, determined not to show any sign of his uncertainty. “You have nothing to fear,” she mewed quietly, regarding him seriously. Nightstorm gulped. He nodded. “I assume you are wondering why I, ah, brought you out here,” she continued. Nightstorm nodded stiffly again. “You are different,” she stated bluntly, her eyes searching his expression.

“Something is not right,” she murmured, seeming frustrated. “Um-“Nightstorm interrupted. “No!” Sunstreak snarled, glaring at the sky. Her hackles were raised and her ears lay flat against her skull. “You cannot-urgmph,” she grunted, rubbing into the ground, as if an invisible force had pounced on her and held her there. “That is-not right,” she wheezed, struggling to her feet. Nightstorm watched with mixed terror, fright, and shock. It didn’t seem like Sunstreak was speaking to him-rather, someone with a higher rank than her, forcing her to obey. “You cannot,” she mumbled again, looking woozily at the sky. “No,” she whispered, and crumpled weakly onto the earth, a limp ball of fur and bones. Nightstorm started forwards, but an invisible force radiated around Sunstreak, making him stumble backwards. Cracking one eye open desperately, Sunstreak groaned a single word. “Sleep.”

( or ?)

That was REALLY GOOD!!!!!!!!!!!
Sunstreak is creepy though....
And there are already cats in the book called Cloudtail and Brook. Just saying

Good Job!

wat

Sure....

Fine...I changed Cloudtail to Cloudbrush, and Brook to Fern.

Thats good. Nice signature.

heehee. remember?

-hey, did anyone see my messed up harry potter?
-where? oh. there. ...
-saily: he gives voldemort some tough competitoin
-*look at voldemort* .........

Lol
THINGS I LOVE
Harry Potter
Percy Jackson
Books
Youtube
Kevjumba (WHOOT)
nigahiga
This site
More books
Computer
TV
Friends
More books
More Kevjumba!!!! <3

...

really. really. i'm pretty sure there are more things to love than stuff like nigahiga and kevjumba.

But Kevjumba and Nigahiga is awesome!!
Anyone know who they are?!?!? AWESOME
if you don't know, get ur catty rump out of ur nest and get on Youtube!!! <3

wat

Haha, Nightfrost just got SERVED! lol.

Shadowstorm wrote:

Nightfrost wrote:There is a mysterious diesases that makes them all die?

It's called cancer.....though AIDS would work too

But some people get better from Cancer, right?!?!?!

I think so. Like, if you get diagnosed really early before it's too severe. I once read a story about a lady who had a dog...the dog could smell that the lady had cancer in her leg, and kept nudging and licking it. So, the lady went to the doctor to see why her dog was attracted to her leg, and turns out she had cancer, but she didn't get it amputated or anything. She got better. Yay! Good doggie!

Brightstar wrote:You sound like a monkey.

hahaha! why do you think he chose the name monkeyface?

I'm still so ashamed... Ithought monkeyface was a female...:embarassed:

Monkeyface is a MALE???????

YES!!!!!!!!!!! WHY DOES EVERYONE THINK MONKEYFACE IS A GIRL!!!!!!!!!!!!!
sighs.
Good Doggie! I wish my dog was more like that.

Her name just sounds... I don't know how to describe it.

HIs name, whitefire

I think I thought he was female because there's this girl I know who loves monkeys.
So I assumed he was a she.

I DUNNO.

Thats a really GOOD fanfic!!! LOVE it!

write your own if you want to share your opinions. i bet it would start with something like... "nighttime was approaching. The silence was deafening. The world was illuminated by darkness..." or something. unless that's not your style.