FrostClan: A Dark Tomorrow

(I know, right?)

Vieledmist curled up in the warrior's den, resting his head on his misty gray paws. His shaggy fur kept the cold out well so he dozed off comfortably. In his dream he was an apprentice again, pushing himself to train harder, beating himself up about every little mistake. He remembered his mentor always catching him before he passed out from exhaustion and telling him to go back to camp and get some sleep. Those were the days.

(he's kinda like Mysterion in a way.)

Moonpaw gave a silent nod with her head. Sitting down and wrapping her tail around her feet as she waited for the story to begin. As the other cats gathered together for the rare event of the story, Moonpaw watched each cat for a moment. It felt strange that she had never really gotten close to any of her clan mates since she was a kit. Moonpaw shrugged it off for now and waited eagerly for the story to begin.

(The party don't start till Moonpaw walks in.)

Ghostsong eye'd all the apprentices gathered around her, smirking slightly. "Well I've no choice but to tell it now." She purred, curling her tail in amusement.

Ghostsong tipped her head downwards and looked up at the apprentices in what she thought was a mysterious way. "Long ago before the separation of she-cats and toms in our clan their was a warrior named Smolderpelt. Though he was hard headed and acid tongued he was respected and soon after he became a warrior he was appointed as leader by StarClan. Many opposed his leadership but he stood strong against the onslaught." She rasped, beginning the tale in the most attention grabbing way she could.
(Oh gawd, I love messed up history.)
"His largest opponent was the former leaders Mate, Rosethorn. The warrior she-cat from the darkened alleys. She held tightly to the belief that her mate still lived and Smolderstar did not deserve the position. She used this conviction to cover up a secret love she held for the young leader, which he did not return."

(Rosethorn: GHOSTSONG I WILL PERSONALLY KICK YOUR TAIL WHEN YOU DIE.)

At the start of the story, the sister and brother sat quietly, Shadderpaw watching a beetle crawl over his outstretched paw, while Deltapaw tickled Cursekit with her the tip of her muzzle, but whenever the old cat had spoken about the secret lovin, their eyes grew wide and Deltapaw's head darted up.

"What?! How could she do that to the poor late leader?! He could probably see her from Starclan!" mewled Deltapaw pleadingly, her heart sinking.

"Yeah dude, that's just wrong. Love is supposed to be one of those things that remain eternal. I mean, that's just my perspective of the matter, not like I care. After all, relationships are such a drag."

Oldstep sighed contently as the story started, and he lowered his head onto his paws, relaxing as he listened. It was an old tale that Ghostsong told, and he knew it well. It had been one of his favorites when he was younger, though it had been rarely told. He could only remember listening to it once before. His eyes closed softly, as he listened.

Lavapaw's tail twitched as he listened to Ghostsong, his thoughts caught on the first sentence and he slipped into a daze of mystery. Before the separation of she-cats and toms? He had thought it had always been that way in his clan, to hear it had once been different. He supposed he had known all along, as it did not come as a big shock, he had just failed to ever acknowledge it.

Lavapaw's scarlet-tipped ears twitched as he focused his attention on Ghostsong once more. His head turned at the comments from his clanmates, and his ears twitched. He just wanted Ghostsong to continue, preferably without the interruptions from other cats.

Moonpaw lowered herself so that she was laying on the ground. She wanted to be comfortable so it didn't distract her from the story. Already it had her interest. Moonpaw had never known that there had been a point where the she-cats and toms hadn't been separated. The pale furred cat watched and listened intently, not uttering a word. Truthfully she wished the others would be quiet and not interrupt.

Smolderstar....Why does that name sound familiar? Cureskit thought, wracking her brains for the answer to her question. She listened intently to the story, thinking about how wierd that was. A cat falling for two leaders? That doesn't actually happen. She was either power-hungry or a lie. The crimson kit's eyes twitched slightly, still thinking of how much the name sounded familiar. She finally was able to shrug it off and tried to bury her self in Deltapaw's soft fur, laughing a bit when she was tickled.

"Do you want me to tell it or not?" Ghostsong meowed, turning her gaze to Deltapaw and her brother. She snorted and went back to the tale.
"Now... were was I... ah, I remeber.
During Smolderstar's reign FlameClan was given a new leader. The deserter Aigean, who was then known as Oceanstar. Oceanstar and Smolderstar had a bitter rivalry and it was said they met late at night to fight." She said.
"One day Oceanstar disappeared into the alleys. On her return she brought with her... Darkstar, the former FrostClan leader. Darkstar challenged Smolderstar to a battle and won, taking the leaders last life. Confused and heartbroken Rosethorn chased Oceanstar far from the forest for causing her such trouble, when she had finally begun to accept Darkstar's death."

"Because of the way he died, through betrayal and hatred, he could not move on. So Smolderstar, too good for The Place of No Stars and too hurt for StarClan was stuck in purgatory. Though over the moons that passed some members of his family tried to convince him to move on, he refused. He still wanders the territory, protecting his Clanmates as he did in life." Ghostsong finished, preferring not to elaborate, leaving the apprentices minds to fill in the details.

(Sorry about how convoluted it is. I threw this together just now XD. You can just say Ghostsong is too old to remeber it correctly.)

"D-do you know any of Smolderstar's descendants?" Cursekit asked, staring at the raspy-voiced elder with fear in her eyes. She was a believer of the paranormal. "What did he look like?"

Lavapaw frowned, he liked stories with happy endings. Which this story was not. But still, Smolderstar seemed pretty honorable. He would have liked to once know the cat. If only he could meet him. His eyes suddenly brightened, wait, if Smolderstar still wandered the territory. Maybe he could meet him?

Both Shadderpaw and Deltapaw sat back, looking a bit dumbfounded. Huh?! wondered Shadderpaw, his pale, discolored eyes looking blank and blunt. That just cannot be right. Somehow, the two siblings were sitting side by side, wearing weird faces. Well that's a total buzz kill. thought Deltapaw, looking just as blunt as her brother.

Relicheart walked over to the Elder's den and poked his head in, his smile seeming as warm as the sun. "Well hello there Ghostsong. Hello youngsters. I heard our pretty friend here was telling you a story. I expect it was better than one of my own." Shaking his massive, maned head, he added,"Off topic, sorry. Here, I was coming to bring you and Oldstep some fresh hare. Caught just a few moments ago." He pushed it forward and pulled his head out of the dark den, his large body still standing in front of the entrance way. "Hey Hellspire! What'd you think of the story?!" he chuckled out, hearing the false snores that had stopped resume once again.

(I'm gonna have to draw a picture of how Shadder and Delta look )

"Relicheart you know how to make an old she-cat happy." She jabbed Oldstep with her back paw. "You mind if the little ones join us, I doubt we can eat such a lovely hare all by ourself." She meowed, turning her head to look at her friend.

"Hmm? Wha'?" Oldstep asked stirring, he had dozed off as soon as his eyes had closed. "Oh sure, sure. I only eat a bite or two these days." his eyes settled on the hare, then glanced around at the young cats in turn. "Go on now, little ones. Dig in."

I'll ask her later. Cureskit padded a few steps away before stretching. A high-pitched yawn escaped her wide maw, making her jump back a little. The sudden sound had startled her even though she made it herself. She darted out of the den, heading straight to the forest.

While the others ate and Relicheart had said his goodbyes, Deltapaw and Shadderpaw seemed to remain in their linked trance of confusion, questions racing through their heads at top speed. That is so weird. The leader was never dead?! Wasn't Darkstar supposed to be a good guy? But Rosethorn had his kits, right? Does that mean Smlderstar's the bad guy? For stealing Rosethorn? Or is a gray zone? Is that hare kosher? Was Smolderstar killed right after becoming leader? How could he become a leader with having an apprentice? I thought, or used to think....Wait, wasn't some cat named Jewel his mate? Or was that the she-cat whom Darkstar was having an affair with? Or did Darkstar even ever cheat? The two now looked even more confused than they did before, their ear pinned back and an exhausted look on their faces. I must have be thinking too much...

(yes, they're sharing thoughts)

Moonpaw rested her head on her front two paws as Ghostsong continued on with the story. Listening intently. As interested as Moonpaw was about Star clan, the apprentice had never heard of a cat going to the place with no stars. She found it odd. Believing that every cat had to possess some good within them. Moonpaw stretched her back as she pushed herself onto all fours. "Ghostsong, what is the place with no stars? Is it like the night sky but without the moon and stars?" She asked. She hadn't seen a night sky without stars. Closest thing Moonpaw could think of were the nights when the dark clouds covered the sky and dropped annoying drops of water onto all of them from the sky.

"And if he's still protecting the territory, how come no one has seen him? How did the others talk to him?" Moonpaw asked. It was in her nature to be inquisitive and curious. She liked understanding what was going around her and it frustrated her deeply when she didn't.

"Actually, that's not how it happened at all..." A thickly accented voice called cheerily as Croi trotted towards the two apprentices. The Irish cat bounced up, twitching his whiskers and regarding the two young cats with a curious gaze. "Is that how they really tell stories here? Back in Blossomclan, the leader would hold meetings and- Ah, but you don't want ta hear about that, now do you?" The cat wore a mischievous grin on his face, as if daring them to ask him to tell a story.

"See here kits. This one asks all the right questions! Well dear the place of no stars is where all the evil cats go and yes it has no moons or stars. It is a perpetually dark and the cats must walk alone, not allowed to fill their constantly empty bellies or quench their thirst." Ghostsong meowed, taking a bite of the hare and swallowing. "As for Smolderstar, well he can't move on but he isn't exactly in the living world either, somewhere between. I've heard it said that if one goes to a certain part of the forest when the moon is black, that is when and where you can see him."

Ghostsong glared at the tom. "Do you often question your elders in that back water clan."

Ghostsong's words had pulled Shadderpaw from his daze and he asked,"Then what about that cat from those kithood horror stories, Cherrywing? If he's in the Sky of No Stars, how is it possible that he can come and haunt and steal the souls of bad kits?" He had always wondered about how livinh cats could cooperate with those from the past.

"Aha, now I meant no disrespect, but ya haven't heard a story 'til you've heard it from more than one point of view, eh?" Croi grinned in a disarming manner and sat himself down next to the apprentices. "In Blossomclan, we value our elders' words above our leader's. That's how it's always been, since the formin' of the four clans- Ah, I'm ranting again, aren't I? That's a story for another time..." Croi twitched his whiskers again, chuckling to himself.

His face fell as he heard the word 'Cherrywing.'

"Did ya just say Cherrywing? As in maite na gaoithe? Are we talking about the same cat? Who told you these stories, boy?"

"evil cats? But aren't good and bad different to each person?" Moonpaw was confused. "Or does Star Clan have it's own leader that decides what is good or bad?" When she thought about the idea of Smolderstar, it excited her about the possibility of seeing him. Moonpaw wanted to search the entire forest over next new moon just for the chance to catch a glimpse of the past leader.

Glancing at the nearby apprentices. She was trying to think of who may be a good cat to ask to come with her. There was no way it would be safe for a young apprentice to walk alone in the forest at night on their own. Sneaking out would also be very tricky as well. If they got caught, no doubt they would be in a lot of trouble.

Moonpaw was interrupted in her thoughts by the conversation between Cori, Shedderpaw and ghostsong. "Steal the souls of bad kits?" The idea of that made the young apprentice nervous. "they can't really do that right? It's just a story to get kits to behave right?" Moonpaw paused. "if it is true...what's to stop those cats from taking the souls from good kits if they are bad enough to go to the sky with no stars?"

Cursekit had stopped herself from dashing too far, and poked her head back to the elders' den. She had been listening.
"If Smolderstat were really watching, he'd talk to one of us. I bet if he had a connection, he could speak," She mewed tentatively, padding up to Ghostsong. "What was he like? Do you know?"

Croi tossed his head, probably a cat version of a casual hairflip. "Well, I want ta see this 'Smolderstar' for myself. I might just go camping- That reminds me, I think I know where we can find him..." It seemed that Croi already knew everything about the forest, but he wasn't from around here, so that would be impossible... right? The Irish cat chuckled quietly to himself yet again, rubbing his nose and stretching into a more comfortable laying position. "Any you apprentices 'ave a sense of adventure?"

"There is only one creature that could steal souls, Bane and it is long dead. Cherrywing himself got rid of it before succumbing to the evil within himself." Ghostsong meowed calmly. "No one is sure who or what decides if a cat is good or evil."

She turned her head to Cursekit. "If you a brave enough I suppose you could try, but I'm not sure how he would react. He is a ghost after all."



(OMGOSH STOP POSTING.

FUUUUUU)

( AGREE WITH ROSE, GAWDDAGNABBIN'SHIZNITBUTTERPECANRABBITSCHNAPPS.

-waits for another post like a jerk- )