Birth of a Clan

Leaf-bare had descended upon the forest with unforgiving persistence; trees did not provide camouflage, the scents of the yet-to-arrive newleaf did not provide cover, and despite their desperation for food, prey were doing too well a job of eluding the forest cats. The temperature was also dropping drastically at an exponential rate. Billowing clouds blotted out the light from the sun, icy winds from the high altitude bombarded cats without shelter with whitecough, and a dense mist hung like a blanket in the air and created a pilfering fog that cascaded until it filled every inch of space, displacing the vicinity with its gaseous vapor. Howling snow buffered even the slightest possible communication between any creatures within a foxlength of each other.

At the rate this weather's been continuing, the forest will be stripped of all living organisms by the next moon! Aurastorm dreadfully pondered from where he sat in his den of a bush as he peered out at the barren, inhospitable landscape, unable to fall asleep with his mate, Spottedphyre, unconscious beside him. He could hear their stomachs growling fiercely, dissatisfied with hunger. The once-abundant scents of the well-stacked fresh-kill pile were absent. What lingered in the stale, chilly air was the scent of smoke carried over from the Twolegplace to the north. He could imagine it now— kittypets and Twolegs snuggled together by a warm fire, enjoying large buffets of piping hot food.

Blinking away the sands of sleep from his eyes, he wiped the now-noticeable drool away and rose to his paws. With a nice, long nap so defiantly far, Aurastorm proceeded to exit the safety of the bush, pushing through the frozen tendrils and branches that were now so bare that soon they'd have to relocate if they wanted to escape the merciless influence of leaf-bare. Eventually, the thicket-like entanglement gave way to a captivating but forsaken wasteland of sleet and snow. No sunlight shone through the dome of fog overhead and the sound of rippling water from the river was absent, or at least deafened by the howling winds. As he took his first step, his forepaw immediately sank into the seemingly rigid pillow of snow. Unfortunately, due to his deprivation of sleep, his upper torso also followed, leaving his lower body to hang there above ground. Flailing his hindlegs and flicking his tail, the tom hauled himself onto a sturdier patch of snow. More cautious, Aurastorm slowly placed paw after paw in front of him, testing the integrity of the walkway. Not a moment later, his paw sank again, but this time he managed to withdraw it before it sucked him in.

Great StarClan! I can't even tell what's what! One wrong step and I'm crowfood!

Suddenly, an idea donned on him. He experimentally dug his claws into the ground and found that chunks of snow easily crumbled from the pressure. He was also pleased to see no shards of ice when he retracted his claws and began digging, tunneling his way under the deceiving notion that he could simply walk his way to the river. The walls of snow broke away easily from the force of his claws and there was plenty of space for him to crouch through without the slightest discomfort. After a few peaceful moments of digging, it felt unusually warm. Though he couldn't turn around to inspect his fur, he could feel the stinging cold of melting snow dripping onto his pelt. Fortunately, the warmth emanating from him wasn't enough to cause the whole tunnel to collapse. With this in mind, he pressed on until he hit solid ice. The ice wall's circumference covered the entire perimeter of the hole and after experimentally digging around the sides, it seemed to go on further than he thought.

Backing up a few pawsteps, Aurastorm turned around and began tunneling upward through the roof, leaping up as soon as he'd made enough room and fixing his claws into the tight, circular wall that stretched all around him. Building up all his energy in his legs, he heaved himself above ground, launching himself through the encompassing snow and landing on his flank on the slick, blistering cold of the frozen river. The tom panted with exhaustion, ignoring the urge to give his side some relief from the freezing ice. After a moment's rest, he poked open an eye and glanced upriver to where he could see a very dim but faintly noticeable reflection of light. Suddenly intrigued, Aurastorm hauled himself to his paws and leapt onto the riverbank before traversing alongside the frozen mass of water.

It wasn't until after he realized that the inclined hill seemed to rise into the heavens that he heard the intensive growling of his stomach. He hadn't eaten for a quarter moon and his exposed ribs and bones and frail body made enduring the harsh weather all the more difficult. After what seemed like an eternity, the slope leveled out and he came upon a large collection of boulders that stretched up over five tail-lengths and sparkled against the shroud of darkness that clung to the territory. Between some of the boulders higher up there were icicles, suggesting that water tended to naturally flow or leak from inside in warmer weather. And directly in front of him was an entrance, barely held together by the enormous boulders, where the path inside was paved with ice. Envisioning greenleaf, Aurastorm could imagine cats walking inside, their paws splashing the liquid water as they entered. However, something instantaneously crossed his mind: this wide mass of rocks is sitting here on top of the stream that feeds the river, and there's not a mountain in sight, so where did they come from?

His thoughts interrupted by a gust of icy wind, Aurastorm quickly took cover inside, watching his steps as the pads of his paws clacked against the frozen water leading inside. The cavern was unusually warm and expectingly dark. Just before he took another step, the echoing of his pawsteps caused him to halt. Reaching down with his paw to feel the space in front of him, he noticed that if he had taken one more step, he would've plummeted into freefall. Opening his mouth to inhale the surrounding scents, the smell of moss was all that reached him. Churning his head to his right, he followed the scent until his nose bumped against the hard stone of the wall.

Recoiling in surprise and slight pain, he noticed that not only was there a patch of moss growing along the edge, but the scent delved to a deeper level and that with each pawstep along the wall, the path descended deeper and deeper into the darkness. At one point, the pathway had crumbled away and Aurastorm, scenting moss less than a foxlength away, took a leap of faith to reach the other side where the path continued. Trusting his senses to guide him, the tom resumed his endeavor to reach the bottom. His concentration was broken when the next step he took was flat and the scents of moss remained behind and above him. In front of him he felt the large, thick roots of a tree, dug deep underground, but they weren't shriveled up or dying. As if on cue, the howling of the wind outside ceased and sunlight peered through a moderate-sized gap between the boulders forming the ceiling, illuminating the cave to the point where a large willow overshadowed him. Its trunk, tough and rigid, was encompassed by a large pool of water, which explains how the tree has managed to stay alive at such a depth. Following the flowing current, he could spot several tiny streams leaking from every boulder at every floor that proceeded to trickle water down the edge of the spiraling steps and feed the pool.

Taking one careful pawstep at a time, Aurastorm padded into the shallow pool that splashed gingerly at his paws as he came to the base of the giant willow. Something shiny reflected off the bark. Narrowing his eyes against the light as he leaned closer, he discovered that it was a small deposit of sap leaking through a vaguely small crack near the base of the trunk. Now suddenly curious, he stuck out his tongue and lapped up a small sample. A sweet, savory, delectable flavor overcame him and made his whiskers twitch with satisfaction. All at once, he felt as if he'd been eating like it was Greenleaf for all his life, full and brimming with energy. He felt he had the strength of the strongest warrior, the wisdom of the oldest elder, and the speed of the fastest photon of light in his paws alone. Amidst the surge of power coursing through him, he could hear the faintest whisper containing a familiar voice. Heed our warning; when the stench of death pierces the forest, return to this sacred place.

As the whisper faded away, Aurastorm came to his senses. The howling of the wind had stopped and sunlight was peering through the ceiling; he could be spending this time hunting. Remembering the lick of sap he had, he realized that his augmentation of energy was still pulsing through him and, with a kick of his hindlegs, doubled back up the spiral staircase and thrust himself out the cavern of boulders. The river was still frozen and thick carpets of snow still covered the undergrowth on both banks, but the mist and fog had dissipated since the last time he was outside. However, something else was present that wasn't there before. Parting his jaws to inhale the air, he detected a shockingly alluring scent. It wasn't one that he recognized, but something in him got his legs kicking and he found himself making his way to the southern side of the forest where the main river bisecting the territory cascaded as a waterfall down to a larger body of water that coalesced with a smaller river from the west that lie at the bottom of the ravine where Aurastorm had almost fallen during the pursuit. A little farther down river, the two combined bodies of water opened up to a large horizon of water as far as the eye could see. All around the rivers below him were thickets of trees and shrubs providing cover for potential prey. Right to the side of the waterfall's edge where Aurastorm's paws lie was a narrow, inclined path of snow-covered rock that jutted out of the side of the cliff that zigzagged in and out from behind the frozen waterfall and eventually led to the base of the falls.

Suddenly, he heard someone call his name. Perking his ears, he glanced around before he found a golden brown, green-eyed, slender she-cat with a white underbelly and chestfluff, white eartips, and a white -tipped tail making her way up the path with ease. She was very lithe and agile as she kept her balance until she managed to leap up right beside him. When she did, the she-cat tackled Aurastorm to the ground and covered him with incessant licks, causing him to instinctively push her off of him and roll onto his paws. A few feet away, the she-cat stood in shock.

"What're you doing?! Who are you?" Aurastorm pressed, his tail swishing with the eagerness of driving her off the territory.

"What're you talking about, Aurapaw? It's me! Hazelpelt!" the golden brown female urged him to remember, her eyes sparkling in growing disbelief.

Aurapaw? My apprentice name? "I'm sorry, but I'm afraid I don't know who you are," he hissed in return. "Now leave!"

"Whoa, Aurapaw, hang on there!" a new voice emerged from the edge of the cliff. A moment later, a blue-gray-colored tom with dark amber irises, each with a yellow sclera, leapt gracefully over the edge and landed beside the she-cat. "What's the matter with you?"

"Who are you two and how do you know my name?" Aurastorm inquired, keeping close to the ground, suddenly feeling both defensive and vulnerable. "And why do you claim you know me?"

"You don't remember us? Not even me? Blueshadow?" the tom meowed. "Not after everything we went through?  Don't you recall? It was the day of your warrior ceremony and you vanished on us! Everyone was worried! Your father demanded that we search as far as StarClan would guide us and bring you back. I never imagined we would find you, but Hazelpelt here never gave up hope."

"My father?" Aurastorm echoed, his eyes stretching wide.

"Deathstar," Hazelpelt meowed. "The leader of our clan; your father. Do you seriously not remember ANYTHING?"

"I don't know what you guys are talking about!" Aurastorm reiterated, beginning to back away toward the safety of the bushes behind him. However, as he did so, he detected movement coming toward him rapidly and rolled out of the way before a large black and white tom sprinted out from the forest behind him, pursuing a tenacious squirrel.

"Jaybird! Look out!" he managed to call out in warning when he assessed the danger of his brother slipping the cliff and missing the stone path, freefalling to the land below. His heart sank when he saw the tom's ears fold back and his eyes widen in fear as he tried to skid to a halt. Too late, Jaybird tumbled headfirst off the edge, his limbs flailing desperately as he vanished from sight, his yowl fading into a diminuendo.

"WAS THAT JAYPAW?!" he heard Blueshadow exclaim in both astonishment and fear as the three of them peered over the cliff, expecting to see a lifeless body among the patches of snow below. Aurastorm's fear was realized when he did in fact see Jaybird's body sprawled out on a flat, snow-covered rock not too far below them. The black and white tom's chest was heaving severely as the cat tried to regulate its breathing. If he didn't get immediate help from Brightfire, Aurastorm's sister and medicine cat, he could go into shock and die.

Forgetting all about his own safety, he frantically leapt down toward the stone jutting out of the cliff where his littermate could very well be on his way to joining the ranks of StarClan. Gently gripping Jaybird's scruff in his jaws, he began tugging him toward the inclined path leading back up the cliff before the injured tom let out a piercing yowl of pain. Aurastorm immediately let go, wincing as he heard the tom's grunt as he fell onto his side. With reconsideration, he knew it was too risky to drag Jaybird all the way back up in the condition he was in. Jaybird would have to remain here until Aurastorm could fetch Brightfire. However, the medicine cat was on the other side of the forest. How could he retrieve her and bring her back to Jaybird in time to save his life?

"A-Aurastorm," he heard Jaybird whisper in a shaky voice accompanied by a labored breathing. "H-Help me...i-it hurts..."

Unable to conquer the despair spreading through him, he buried his face in Jaybird's pelt and felt tears beginning to leak out his eyes. "I-I don't know what to do, Jaybird," he admitted in defeat, the vulnerability in his voice sucking away all hope of saving his kin.

Moments later, through the suffocating pain, he felt a tail rest on his shoulder. Lifting his head and blinking his tears away, he saw the faint, starry outline of a strong, muscular cat sitting adjacent to him. Its entire body glimmered with moonlight, its muzzle touched with the gray of old age, its long-haired, milk white pelt covered in swirling patterns and streaking stripes of black, its fluffy, silver tail majestically painted with similar stripes of black, and its eyes glowing a compassionate amber. He knew at once that this was a cat of StarClan.

"Go," the starry ancestor meowed. "I'll care for him until you return."

This voice! It's the same one I heard back in the cave! he recalled. Though he didn't want to leave Jaybird's side, something about the cat's tone melted his doubts. With a respectful nod, he doubled back up the inclined path; his pawpads scraping uncomfortably against the hard, rigid stone of the cliff-side that had begun to reveal itself as the snow melted. In a matter of seconds, he was back on top, facing the other two cats once again.

"What happened? Is he okay?" the one called Hazelpelt asked with concern.

"He'll be fine," Aurastorm sharply exhaled, casting a glance down the cliff to check on Jaybird. The StarClan warrior stood over him, ever vigilant, his tail swishing delicately over his back, leaving glittering starlight in its wake. "Uh, Blueshadow, please watch over him for me. I have someone I need to fetch."

"Will do," the dark tom acknowledged, making his way down the side of the cliff with just as much agility as when he ascended it.

"Hazelpelt, I need you to go in that direction," he gestured with a flick of his tail toward the southeastern end of the forest, "and find a she-cat by the name of Spottedphyre. My scent is very prominent around the bush she nests in, so I don't think you'll have too much trouble looking for it if you know me as well as you claim to."

Feeling he'd already wasted too much time, Aurastorm sprinted as fast as he could toward the northern end of the forest, zigzagging through the familiar grove of trees until he arrived at the main river. Surprisingly, though the sunlight melted the pillows of snow that he otherwise would've sunk through, the water was still frozen solid. Taking a careful step forward, he pressed a forepaw against the chilling ice to test its integrity. One paw at a time, he eventually began slowly padding toward the other side of the river, well aware that if he wasn't careful, he could sink right in. There was a fancy Twoleg bridge that one could use to venture to the other side of the river, but that was further upriver, and he hadn't the time. All of a sudden, the sound of cracking ice broke his concentration. He froze. One wrong step and he'd be plunged into the harsh, unforgiving, icy water. All at once, the ice surrounding him gave way under his weight, sending him under. Encompassed by the pinching pain of the freezing water, Aurastorm found it difficult to fight against gravity, to resist the force pulling him down further. Trying to keep his eyes open against the stinging cold water, he stared at the large hole directly above him and saw what appeared to be a large branch being lowered toward him. Taking what might be his only lifeline, he kicked with his hindlegs until he was able to reach for the stick, sinking his claws in as deeply as he could. Not a heartbeat later, an immense force withdrew the stick from the water, taking him with it as he exploded from the depths of the river. He collapsed on his side, coughing mouthfuls of water before transfixing his gaze on the tabby cat sitting directly beside him, their colored pelts matching almost perfectly.

"Aurastorm! Are you okay?"

"I-I'm fine, Brightfire," he grunted between coughs, slowly rising to his paws.

"We need to get you somewhere warm, otherwise you could end up ill—"

"I'm afraid that's the least of our worries," Aurastorm interrupted the tabby medicine cat, pushing her away with a paw when she stepped closer to lick him dry. "Jaybird's fallen near the falls and he's too injured to move. I came here hoping to find you, and—"

"JAYBIRD FELL?!" she exclaimed in anguish, dashing over to the northern bank of the river and grabbing a bundle of herbs in her jaws before rushing over to the southern side, calling over her shoulder. "HURRY UP!"

"So, what were you doing so close to the river when your nest is further north?" he inquired when he caught up with his sister and they were both sprinting side by side to the falls.

"Herb collecting," she mumbled through the bundle in her jaws. "The ones I was looking for tend to grow near wet ground, but I had forgotten that the river had frozen over. I managed to find what little I could near the ravine, so it'll have to do until we can get Jaybird back to my nest."

The familiar scents of Blueshadow and Hazelpelt up ahead alerted him that they were near. Spottedphyre's fainter scent was also present, accompanied by her distinguishable fear-scent. Pushing through the barrier of bushes shielding the cliff from view, Aurastorm noticed Blueshadow waiting for him, guessing that Hazelpelt and Spottedphyre must be tending to Jaybird.

"You're back!" the dark tom meowed. "Did you find your friend?"

"Yeah, thank StarClan," he responded, turning to watch the medicine cat slink through the bushes and into the open.

"Alright, where is he—" she began before she froze, dropping her bundle of herbs to the ground, her eyes wide. "Blueshadow?"

"Brightfire? Is that you?" the dark tom gasped.

"Wait, you two know each other?" Aurastorm prompted, his curiosity piqued.

"I-I can explain later," the medicine cat meowed, still staring at Blueshadow. With a blink of her eyes, she picked up her bundle, turned to her brother, and nodded. "Take me to him."

Leading her down the cliff-side, he watched as the other two she-cats were crowded around Jaybird, licking him fiercely to keep him warm against the snow-covered rock. Narrowing his eyes against the warm, blinding light of the afternoon sun, he scrutinized the area around them, hoping to find the StarClan warrior. There was no sign of him.

"Out of the way!" Brightfire ordered, nudging Spottedphyre and Hazelpelt out of the way, though she seemed a bit gentler with the latter. She immediately broke open the sealed bundle and began applying a series of cobwebs and herbs, even attempting to snap Jaybird's bones back into place.

Aurastorm turned and glanced at Hazelpelt and, as expected, saw a look of total astonishment on her face. "Brother, isn't that...?" he heard her whisper to Blueshadow before the tom covered her mouth with his tail to silence her.

Spottedphyre came forward and pressed her cheek against his, worry being compromised in her tone. "Will he be alright?"

"Not if we don't get him back to my den," Brightfire murmured, almost to herself. "You two," she flicked her tail at Spottedphyre and Hazelpelt, "carry him for me; and be gentle."

Aurastorm watched helplessly as the she-cats slipped themselves underneath Jaybird who let out a tiny grunt of discomfort as they lifted him onto their backs and began making their way up the cliff-side.

"I suppose now would be the best time to explain," Brightfire sighed, signaling to Aurastorm and Blueshadow to follow with a swish of her tail as she followed the she-cats up the path. "I don't expect you to remember, Aurastorm, but the so-called "clan" of cats that you grew up with who recently tried to assassinate you is not your birth clan. You, Jaybird, and I were born to our leader and father, Deathstar. It was in his clan that we grew up, safe and loved. The warriors and apprentices there were always watching out after one another, even in the harshest leaf-bare."

"What? B-But I don't remember any of this! And what about Moonmist's clan? Something must've happened for us to have ended up there!" he retorted, finding it hard to keep up as they began trekking through the forest.

The medicine cat let out a sigh. "A halfmoon after I was given my medicine cat name, I was shown a sign by StarClan that warned me to get myself and my littermates out of the forest and as far away as we could possibly get, as destruction was forthcoming. You and Jaybird understood my desperation and we left."

"That must've been on that day!" Blueshadow put in, turning to Aurastorm. "You disappeared a few sunrises before your warrior ceremony! Everyone was worried, and when we found out that Brightfire and Jaypaw were also gone, Deathstar prompted Hazelpelt and me to search for you guys!"

"And then?" Aurastorm turned to Brightfire.

"Not long after we left, you fell off a large rock during a hunt and hit your head. We couldn't wake you up, and I couldn't find any useful herbs nearby; we thought you'd die. I immediately went out to search for something that might help, and that's when Rainfall found us. She saw how miserable we were, suffering from malnutrition, and offered to take us in. After a few sunrises, you woke up, but couldn't remember a thing about your past or even us! I made Jaybird swear that day never to tell anyone about this, and eventually we settled into our new clan, hoping to give you a new, happy memory. Up to the day when you were supposed to be killed, I felt guilty and dubious about that camp being our new home, so I tried to convince Jaybird that we should leave, but he seemed to have completely forgotten where he'd come from and didn't listen, so I did all I could to help you escape."

That did seem to explain why his brother had been so violent toward him when they almost killed him that day. He was glad that Jaybird decided to stay with them, but one other thought bothered him...

"S-So, wait, what about Hawkpaw?" he whispered. "Does this mean she's not...?"

Brightfire shook her head. "You and she got along so well, and she didn't have any other kin, so Moonmist figured that it'd be best if you two were deemed kin. That and your pelt coloring matched to such a degree that no one would question your relation."

Aurastorm froze where he stood. This was all too much to take in; the life he'd been living was a lie! His father was a clan leader! He was actually respected in his birth clan! "But what about these two?" he meowed, pointing to Blueshadow and Hazelpelt.

"I," the dark tom began, "was your father's deputy. Hazelpelt was...well...everyone expected you to take her as your mate after both of you had your ceremonies. She was beyond devastated when she learned that you were nowhere to be found. She was the first to volunteer when Deathstar proposed we send a search party out to find you, and your father designated me as her guide. He figured that he could care for the clan himself, seeing as everyone respected him, and Hazelpelt never gave up even when we found ourselves in unknown territory. I almost doubled back and gave up on many occasions when all hope seemed lost, but I could never face Deathstar and tell him to his face that I left one of his own warriors for dead. Heh, I swear, I thought that she-cat was going to be the death of me."

Transfixing his gaze on the golden brown female, he tried picturing the two of them as a couple, their tails coiled together. Now he understood why there had been pain in the she-cat's eyes when they met at the cliff. He glanced over at Blueshadow once again. He hoped that if he did in fact lose his memory, he could force it to surface.

"So, Jaybird, did you say it was?" Blueshadow meowed to Brightfire as they crossed the long, wooden Twoleg bridge that rose like a small hill over the river. "He looked so much different when I saw him...before the incident. And what about you?" the dark tom smiled warmly at him. "You did receive your warrior name, right?"

Suddenly, a thorn of pain stung his heart. Moonmist had personally given him his warrior name. Was he wrong to keep it? Did he truly want to keep his link with the clan that forced him to exile himself? "It's Aurastorm," he murmured, keeping his head down throughout the rest of the trek through the forest.

--------------------

"Lay him down here," Brightfire meowed when they arrived at her nest— a tree hollow near the base of a large oak's trunk where she could store her herbs— where she prepared a makeshift nest of moss for Jaybird to rest in. "I'll check on his wounds frequently, but Spottedphyre, I need you to fetch Goldenfeather near the southwest of the territory; she knows where most of the best herbs grow, and we'll need them since Jaybird might be more susceptible to illness and infection, considering his fractured limbs and scrapes."

Aurastorm, who'd been waiting outside the tree hollow, signaled to Spottedphyre as she emerged. "I need you to fetch the others— all of them. I need to make an urgent announcement and I need them all present."

"Oh? And what's that?" she inquired, her eyes glowing in the moonlight.

"I need to propose the creation of a new clan. I mean, you saw what happened to Jaybird! The very same thing could happen to any one of us and without some form of quick and reliable communication, we could all suffer the same fate and none of the others would even know about it. We have to work together, and I, as Deathstar's son, have to do my best to guide them."

Seeming to notice his anxiety and stress, the tender she-cat pressed her flank against his and licked his cheek affectionately. "I'll support you every pawstep of the way."

As she slipped away into the bushes, Aurastorm curled up with his tail over his paws, trying to get that sleep he'd tried to attain earlier that morning, but it never came to him. As the commotion in the tree hollow died down, he heard the crunching of snow underpaw and he opened his eyes to see Hazelpelt pad over to him and curl up beside him, a purr rising deep in her throat.

"I thought I'd lost you," she whimpered, a tear streaking down her cheek as she stared longingly into his eyes. Before he could say anything, she buried her nose into his flank and wrapped her tail around him. "Promise me you'll never leave me again."

Could it really be true? Could he and Hazelpelt have actually been an item? If so, how could he break it to her that he was with Spottedphyre now? Or what if his dormant love for her resurfaced? Would he be prepared to take her back? And who was that StarClan warrior he saw back on the cliff-side? Was there some connection between him and his father? I've got to get my memory back...

"I promise."