Natureclan: Hidden Shadows

Teaser

A black and white she-cat watched her clan, sorrow filling her aqua blue eyes.

Another she-cat, pale gold with darker stripes and a white underbelly, approached the cat.

"Moonstar?"

The black and white she-cat shook her head. "They have no idea what's coming."

"Natureclan has always survived anything thrown at them. They will come out having survived through this."

"Lightstreak, they aren't prepared!" Moonstar said, turning to the pale gold cat. "They barely know how to fend off rogues and loners, they're practically welcoming them all in to join!"

A large brown and tan tom with amber eyes appeared from the shadows.

"Lightstreak, Moonstar, has it started?"

Moonstar shook her head. "Not yet, Bearclaw, but soon. It's inevitable, I just wish we could help them."

Bearclaw opened his mouth to say something when Lightstreak unintentionally interrupted him.

"Why wouldn't we be able to help them?"

"You know very well our connection with them has been severed ever since the great storm that killed you two." Moonstar pointed out.

"They don't seem so worried about it now." Bearclaw mumbled. "It's almost like Starclan has become "just a kit's tale" along with everything else early Natureclan faced."

"Well that's just stupid, not believing in Starclan? Where do they think their loved ones go when they die?" Lightstreak said.

Moonstar looked down into Starclan's side of the Mooncrystal. "Not all cats have lost faith."

A single apprentice was curiously sniffing the Mooncrystal. The cat looked around the cavern. "Starclan? Are you there?" The cat asked, not knowing how this worked.

Lightstreak and Bearclaw looked as well. "Yes, there are a few others in the clan as well. Not even half the clan though, and none as curious as this young cat."

Lightstreak shook her head. "It frustrates me that we can't communicate with them!"

A brilliant gleam of moonlight filled the cavern and the apprentice, who appeared to be a she-cat, shielded her eyes and stepped back.

Once the light dimmed, Moonstar realized they weren't just looking through the Mooncrystal, they were able to look straight at the apprentice. The young she-cat's eyes widened in disbelief and wonder.

"Who are you?" The apprentice looked around. "What just happened?"

All three Starclan cats looked a bit surprised as well, but Lightstreak stepped forward almost immediately.

"There's no time to waste, young one. We are Starclan, and though we haven't been able to communicate with Natureclan in a while, we need to warn you." She said a bit quickly.

The apprentice looked puzzled. "Why couldn't you communicate with us? We were starting to think you didn't exist!"

"Of course we exist!" Lightstreak snapped partly from stress and partly from wanting to hurry things along.

Bearclaw gave Lightstreak a look. "We do exist, the three of us are actually part of the original cats of Natureclan. Moonstar here was actually Natureclan's first leader."

The black and white leader stepped in. "The point is, something grave is coming to Natureclan. You need to warn everyone."

The she-cat apprentice shook her head. "Bad things don't happen to Natureclan. They never have . . . right? I mean, all those stories about Flash and the twolegs and the tribe, those are all just stories . . . right?"

"No, all of those are true. Where do you think the stories came from?" Bearclaw confirmed for the young cat.

The apprentice's eyes widened. "But if something bad is going to happen-"

The young she-cat was cut off as the cavern was filled with light again. Moonstar raised her voice as the she-cat began to fade.

"Help them remember! Prepare for the dark that will come!"

The young she-cat was alone in the crystal cavern again, and the Starclan cats were only watching her through the crystal. The apprentice looked confused for a bit before exiting the cave.

Bearclaw looked at Moonstar. "That was really all you could think to tell her? You couldn't come up with a prophecy?"

"Give me a break, It's been a while!" Moonstar said.

Lightstreak gazed after the she-cat. "Do you think she believed us? Do you think she'll be able to warn them?"

Bearclaw and Moonstar looked back through the Mooncrystal. "We'll just have to wait and see." The black and white leader murmured.

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Natureclan: Hidden Shadows