The wind felt... wrong, it sighed nervously through the camp and brought unease upon the only cat awake - Coldstar. He'd woken out of fitful rest and nightmares filled with shadowy cats to find the clan's silent medicine cat, Dovewhisper, missing. It wasn't unusual for the tom to vanish unannounced, sometimes for days on end, but this just felt... wrong. Ears strained against the sleeping night finally found signs of life - mewls and soft pawfalls against the ground. Could that be?
Coldstar hurried to meet the arriving cat at the entrance, blinking in surprise at the tiny, pale bundle struggling in Dovewhisper's jaws and the three thin scratches he bore across one lip, likely the result of stealing the kit away from its mother. Why would he ever... Coldstar shook his head and motioned for Dovewhisper to follow him, and the two made their way into the warmth of the nursery and quietly woke the sleeping queen there with a plea to take on one more kit. The loner was already nursing her own young, but she simply couldn't turn the helpless bundle away and tucked the kit gently against her side with a low, rumbling purr before sending the toms on their way with reassurances she'd let them know if anything happened.
Once more in the cool air of the camp, the two sat in heavy silence; Coldstar gathering his thoughts and Dovewhisper stewing in some emotion Coldstar couldn't decipher. Finally the leader spoke, his tired voice raw and unguarded in the presence of the cat he trusted with his life. "You will understand the difficult situation this has put us in? Not just you or I, but the entire clan. I do not fault you for doing it but... the clan must prepare for a war." He slumped a little with weariness, seeming every bit like the young, confused cat he was.
Dovewhisper stared at the ground between his front paws for a moment longer before lifting his gaze to Coldstar and shifting until their sides touched in a sign of solidarity not often seen from the typically stoic tom. He waited until Coldstar met his eyes then turned with a pointed look towards the Sun's Claws, to which Coldstar nodded in reply. He'd have to call a meeting. Still, it took him several heartbeats to stand and trudge across camp to the jagged slope that would lead up to the lone pine whose roots acted as a perch and den for the clan's leader.
Once seated atop the gnarled wood, Coldstar wasted no time in replacing his mask of wise leader before calling for his clan to gather, the ancient words taught to him by the starry ancestors that watched over their land reinvigorating him. "Let all cats old enough to see the stars gather below the Sun's Claws to hear my words." And he watched as, slowly, cats woke from their sleep and trickled into the clearing, blinking blearily up at their leader and wondering what in the world could be so important to call a meeting at such an hour.
"Brothers and sisters, you must all know of the clan of pretenders that calls themselves Strayclan at our southern border. They grow bolder, demanding territory and attempting to kidnap kits," this brought an angry murmur from the cats, and Coldstar paused to allow them their unease before continuing, "and now their unavoidable attack upon us will be swift. Dovewhisper has taken one of their kits, and I do not disagree with his actions. The kit is now within our nursery, safe from further harm, but there is much for us to do in preparation for an attack. Watchers will be doubled, brambles will be gathered and woven into the camp's walls and the riverbed at our entrance. A watcher will be stationed at the bear's den and within the nursery. All cats, no matter apprentices, warriors, or medicine cats, will receive basic training in battle and healing. Preparations will begin first sign of sun up, until then return to your nests and rest."
The clan shifted with worry, but accepted Coldstar's words and did as they were told, some with a couple less-than-friendly glances at Dovewhisper.
[ 700 words ]
Coldstar hurried to meet the arriving cat at the entrance, blinking in surprise at the tiny, pale bundle struggling in Dovewhisper's jaws and the three thin scratches he bore across one lip, likely the result of stealing the kit away from its mother. Why would he ever... Coldstar shook his head and motioned for Dovewhisper to follow him, and the two made their way into the warmth of the nursery and quietly woke the sleeping queen there with a plea to take on one more kit. The loner was already nursing her own young, but she simply couldn't turn the helpless bundle away and tucked the kit gently against her side with a low, rumbling purr before sending the toms on their way with reassurances she'd let them know if anything happened.
Once more in the cool air of the camp, the two sat in heavy silence; Coldstar gathering his thoughts and Dovewhisper stewing in some emotion Coldstar couldn't decipher. Finally the leader spoke, his tired voice raw and unguarded in the presence of the cat he trusted with his life. "You will understand the difficult situation this has put us in? Not just you or I, but the entire clan. I do not fault you for doing it but... the clan must prepare for a war." He slumped a little with weariness, seeming every bit like the young, confused cat he was.
Dovewhisper stared at the ground between his front paws for a moment longer before lifting his gaze to Coldstar and shifting until their sides touched in a sign of solidarity not often seen from the typically stoic tom. He waited until Coldstar met his eyes then turned with a pointed look towards the Sun's Claws, to which Coldstar nodded in reply. He'd have to call a meeting. Still, it took him several heartbeats to stand and trudge across camp to the jagged slope that would lead up to the lone pine whose roots acted as a perch and den for the clan's leader.
Once seated atop the gnarled wood, Coldstar wasted no time in replacing his mask of wise leader before calling for his clan to gather, the ancient words taught to him by the starry ancestors that watched over their land reinvigorating him. "Let all cats old enough to see the stars gather below the Sun's Claws to hear my words." And he watched as, slowly, cats woke from their sleep and trickled into the clearing, blinking blearily up at their leader and wondering what in the world could be so important to call a meeting at such an hour.
"Brothers and sisters, you must all know of the clan of pretenders that calls themselves Strayclan at our southern border. They grow bolder, demanding territory and attempting to kidnap kits," this brought an angry murmur from the cats, and Coldstar paused to allow them their unease before continuing, "and now their unavoidable attack upon us will be swift. Dovewhisper has taken one of their kits, and I do not disagree with his actions. The kit is now within our nursery, safe from further harm, but there is much for us to do in preparation for an attack. Watchers will be doubled, brambles will be gathered and woven into the camp's walls and the riverbed at our entrance. A watcher will be stationed at the bear's den and within the nursery. All cats, no matter apprentices, warriors, or medicine cats, will receive basic training in battle and healing. Preparations will begin first sign of sun up, until then return to your nests and rest."
The clan shifted with worry, but accepted Coldstar's words and did as they were told, some with a couple less-than-friendly glances at Dovewhisper.
[ 700 words ]