Username: Legolas The Elf
Cat Name: Heronstep
Gender: Molly
Rank: Medicine Cat
Age: 29 moons
Clan: GullPrompt: (1000 words + 1 art piece max)
Heronstep trotted through the forest, her tail swinging lazily from side to side. It was her first solo hunting mission as a warrior, and she was sure she would not mess it up. She paused at a split in the road, both side well-trodden. Should she hunt mice, or fish. Heronstep turned right, trotting towards the river. Fish it was, then.
She stopped short at the river, studying the water for fish. When she saw them, she stalked forwards carefully, making sure her shadow didn't fall above them, and sat, her eyes keen for a flash of silver. Her paw darted in then out of the river, bringing a minnow with it. Hardly enough to feed a cat, but she would catch more.
Breaking it's spine and therefore killing the fish, Heronstep went back to waiting and watching. Again her paw darted in and out, this time bringing a young trout. Snapping her jaws around it's neck, it went limp and lifeless.
Heronstep turned back to the river again when a foul stench reached her nose. Holding her breath, she was sure that it was the trout she had just killed - she had never liked the smell of them. But as her paw darted in again - and missed - a crackling noise reached her ears.
Heronstep whipped around, looking for whatever was rustling the underbrush, but it wasn't moving. And the crackling was still there. Heronstep slowly looked up. Dark gray clouds were swirling above the forest, small for now, but Heronstep knew they would get bigger. And as flashes of orange and yellow peeked through the clouds, there was only one thought in Heronstep's mind -
fire!She let out a yowl of horror and abandoned her catch, running back towards camp, towards the fire. She skidded to a stop inside of it, almost crashing into the WolfClan deputy, Thornpad. The tom turned his head towards Heronstep, eyes wide.
"Heronstep, find your parents! As soon as this fire started, they grabbed your brother and ran to find you!" Heronstep's heart missed a bit, and she whirled to go into the forest as she heard Thornpad mutter, "I need to get all the cats out of camp! Where are the forsaken warriors!? Someone's going to die if I don't get help soon!"
Heronstep paused with indecision. She loved her family with all of her heart, but they were strong, they could survive. But the Clan would fall to ruins if Thornpad was one of the only cats able to help.
Heronstep bounded over to him. "I'll help!" She mewed, coughing on smoke that was now rolling into camp. Thornpad whirled towards her, eyes wide. "No! Go find your family! It's safer that way!"
Heronstep's indecision cam back, but she shook her head. "They may need help, but the clan needs it more. I'm going to go get the apprentices, whether you like it or not." She said, nerves rattling her insides.
She bounded into the apprentice's den, where two molly apprentices were trying to wake a snoring tom - Harrierpaw. Slashing the curly furred tom's side, claws unsheathed, and feeling bad, Heronstep woke the apprentice.
"Up! Get up!" She yowled. "Fire!"
The four cats ran out of the apprentice's den, and Heronstep changed course for the elder's den, sticking her nose inside to make sure the old cats had all escaped. "Heronstep, get out of there!" She heard Thornstep yowl from outside.
Heronstap backed out of the den quick as a fish, as the smoke rolled over it and the top started dancing with orange flames. As the fire spread to the nursery, the molly heard a small squeak from inside and gasped, but Harrierpaw lunged into the burning entrance. "Harrierpaw!" Some cat yowled, but it was no use.
As the camp caught up in flames, Heronstep ran to the leaders den, wondering why Dropletstar wasn't coming out to help. As she ducked into the cool rock den, she found the grey tabby leader lying cold on the floor, his fur singed as the fire outside continued to penetrate tiny holes in the rock.
Heronstep waited few moments, desperately hoping that Dropletstar hadn't lost all of his remaining lives to the fire, but it was no use and the molly backed out of the den just as the fire consumed it. "No one's left!" She called to Thornpad. "And Dropletstar is dead!"
"Out of camp then!" The deputy yowled. "WolfClan, get out of the camp!"
Heronstep ran after Thornpad, noting Harrierpaw holding a kit at her side. As soon as they were out of camp, Heronstep heard Thornpad yowling, "WolfClan, to me!"
She skidded to a halt beside him, Harrierpaw and his kit right behind her. Morningheart and her two other kits stopped as well, the queen gathering Harrierpaw's kit into her jaws. No one else came until Bluetalon skidded into the clearing, his eyes wide. "Petalpaw - Flowerpaw - dead." He gasped. "Tried to grab Dropletstar's body with Howlheart. He's dead to."
Thornpad bowed his head. "WolfClan is destroyed." He mewed. "We must - " But whatever we must was, it was cut off as a flaming branch landed on Thornpad's. Bluetalon and Harrierpaw lunged forward to help, and Thornpad's eyes met Heronstep's. "WolfClan is no more! Find family!"
Heronstep didn't need to be told twice. She ran away as fast as her legs would carry her, skidding to a stop only once she could not smell smoke anymore. Smelling the scent of her family, she followed their scent trail until her muzzle bumped against the body of a small kit. And not any small kit - her brother.
Heronstep slowly dared to look up, seeing the bodies of her mother and father as well. Her father was burnt pretty badly. but she knew they all must have died from smoke inhalation. Grief flooding through Heronstep, she realized she had made the wrong choice. Had she stayed with her family they would have lived. But WolfClan was destroyed as well, and Heronstep had nowhere to go.
(1000 words Im so sorry)
(Also Thornpad, Harrierpaw, Morningheart, Bluetalon, Petalpaw, Flowerpaw, Dropletstar, and Howlheart as well as WolfClan are all NPCs, there only for the purpose of Heronstep's story.
