A Star Forgotten - Warriors Fanfiction

Chapter 2

The white cat stood idly for a moment, taken aback. Her amber eyes shined wide with terror, shock, and bewilderment. "What?" She yowled at last. 

"I'm sorry," Mewed Ashstar, backing away, "I-"

"No, no! Don't be sorry, um..." The white cat blinked her eyes, lost in thought, and then flicked her tail in annoyance. "Wait," She hissed lightly, "Ashstar, is this some sort of trick?"

Ashstar gulped in surprise at this cat's sudden anger, "No...N-no it's not," She meowed, "I swear upon..." Ashstar suddenly stopped, trying to remember the phrase she felt she had spoken often, but it didn't come to her.

"StarClan! StarClan!" The white cat wailed, "You're supposed to say you swear upon StarClan!" The white cat looked up at the sky of stars in despair. The white cat closed her eyes solemnly, "I should have seen this coming," She mumbled, "StarClan told me you'd change once your ceremony was finished, but I never thought...I never thought you'd change like...this! I assumed you were to be more courageous, or kind, or increased in a quality. I never thought...StarClan would take your memory! This is a disaster!" She opened her amber eyes and once again stared back at Ashstar.

Ashstar stared back at this cat, wondering what she should do. Should she trust her? She only just met her. But this cat seemed to have known her before, and besides, Ashstar would have nowhere else to go then with the white cat. She cocked her head as she realized she had yet to ask for the white cat's name.

"May I ask you a question?" Ashstar spoke at last.

The white cat, eyes suddenly full of hope, gasped, "Yes?"

"What is your name?" Ashstar questioned awkwardly.

The white cat's spirit seemed to fade away into devastation. "You-you don't even remember my name? You don't remember...all the times we spent together, our apprenticeship and how we trained together, our warrior names, or...or how much we loved each other?" The white cat's voice cracked, tears filling her amber eyes. "Please, Ashst-Ashleaf, please try and remember!"

Ashstar felt all her own hope fall away by seeing how much this white cat cared about her. Losing her memory must have done a serious number on this cat. She wondered what she could have done before to make this cat have such a bond with her. "I'm sorry," She murmured, "I can't. Now, please, what is your name?"

The white cat let out another caterwaul of sadness. She looked up again to the countless stars above. "Snowsong," She whispered, "My name...is Snowsong."

"Snowsong," Ashstar echoed, "That's a beautiful name."

"I know," Snowsong whispered, grief lacing her voice, "Lightstar chose it."

Ashstar looked at Snowsong curiously. "Who is Lightstar?" She asked, genuinely curious, hoping maybe she could remember something.

Snowsong turned to Ashstar in utter defeat, "You really don't remember anything, do you?" She mewed sadly, "Hm, I guess I have much explaining to do before we return back to camp."

"Back to camp?" The memory-less cat replied.

"Back to the StormClan camp. Which you are now supposed to lead." Snowsong sighed. "Sit," She signaled with her tail next to her, "I never thought I'd be doing this, but I'm going to have to tell your life story."

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The two cats sat along the edges of the cave, the stars overhead watching them closely. "Where do I begin?" Snowsong meowed.

"Start with all this 'clan' nonsense," Ashstar replied firmly.

"Great StarClan," Snowsong muttered, "A Clan is a group of cats that live together in the wild. Simple enough?" The white cat sighed. Ashstar nodded. "There are supposed to be four Clans in this meadow, but here there are only three. That is why this meadow was destined to fail. There was a prophecy many moons ago that a cat from MeadowClan would stop this from happening."

"She sounds magnificent!" Ashstar gasped, "What's she like?"

"We'll...get to that later." Snowsong mewed quietly, flicking her tail. "There are many rules and regulations in the warrior code, but we'll get to that later as well. You...you are supposed to be the leader of the Clan. Where you were when you awoke, you were supposed to be recieving your nine lives from StarClan. But now, I don't know if..."

"If what?" 

"If you recieved your nine lives," Snowsong murmured, "There's no way to know if StarClan interrupted the ritual and took your memory, or if it went through, and then you lost your memory. I'm afraid I can't even call you by your leader name, since there is no way to tell."

"My leader name?" Ashstar asked again.

"Ashstar. I can not call you Ashstar." Snowsong meowed pitifully. "I must call you by your warrior name, Ashleaf."

"Explain these names. Please explain the things you've been talking about, warriors and apprentices and leaders!" Ashleaf commanded.

Snowsong smiled weakly, "You're beginning to act like your old self again." She mewed.

"Is that a good thing or a bad thing?" Ashleaf asked, squinting her eyes and flicking her tail.

Snowsong, finally beginning to cheer up, let out another mrrow of laughter. "That's a good thing!" 

Ashleaf looked up to see the faintest hints of dawn stretching over the horizon. "Morning is coming," Ashleaf observed.

"Yes," Snowsong confirmed, "We must begin our return to camp before the sun rises."

"But I still need to know more! How am I supposed to lead a Clan without knowing what I am doing?" Ashleaf asked in horror.

"I will explain more along the way," The white cat smiled, "And don't worry. I shall help you through your journey."

Then, the two cats set off, down the hill and into the fields below.