Chapter Text
Long ago, there was a battle. And this battle was between four very important cats and their clowders at the time, all through torrents of rain and the storm. It has been forgotten what the battle was about, or started over, but we do remember what these cats said, what they stood for.
Silverstar the Wise, leader of SilverClan, spoke for the cats of the plains and moors. “We fight for what is necessary,” she said, “and when we can win. And we can win this battle, so back down.” The other leaders did not listen.
Duskstar the Peaceful (although she wasn’t so peaceful then), leader of DuskClan, spoke for the cats on the mountain, used to living in the sheer cold and facing what laid ahead with acceptance and kindness. “We fight for what we need,” she said, “and when we must. Need is the strongest motivator, so we will take what we need to survive. Do not stop us.” But the other leaders did not listen.
Goldstar the Clever, leader of GoldClan, represented the cats of the caves, the deep caverns beneath the mountain, and the tunnels. “We know who will win this battle,” she signed, “and how they will. It’s us. So back off.” Again, the other leaders did not listen.
And finally, Dawnstar the Brave, leader of DawnClan, growled on behalf of the cats of the forest, of dense undergrowth and looming trees. “We will win this battle and the land,” she said, “and there is nothing you three can do to stop us. Now roll over and beg before we shred your ears.” The other leaders, once again, did not listen, and only continued the fight.
The blood of their clanmates had long since been spilled, but the four leaders did not care. They didn’t stop squabbling with each other, exchanging useless blow after useless blow, missing due to the slickness of the rain. During one of the pauses in their fight, during which they stood and glared at each other, they were distracted from their bubble by a new voice.
On a nearby rock sat a strange cat, not from any one of the clans, who regarded them with a cold glare. Her words were this.
“Each of you, as leaders, are petty fools and examples of why the leadership in the clans is corrupt. You are so invested in being right that you didn’t care enough to notice the wounded around you, so intent on winning that you didn’t care to search for alternatives, and so prideful you didn’t stop to call for a retreat for your clearly wounded warriors.
How many lives are going to be lost tonight because you leaders decided to ‘never give up’? The land you are fighting over could easily be shared. It is going to be shared, in fact, and the next cat to try to restrict access to water will be drowned by their self-importance.”
The rain overhead slowed to a stop, leaving all those present with soaked fur. The stars behind the strange cat seemed to glow even brighter, as the clouds quickly cleared overhead.
“Furthermore, while StarClan may still accept the warriors, medicine cats, elders, deputies, and so on, leaders of clans will no longer become members of StarClan. You will be restricted to one corner of the sky, while StarClanners will run free. It will not be as bad a fate as SunClan, being burnt and bleached by the very land you live on, but you will be able to see SunClan and StarClan both.”
The stranger, whose name was Moonfur, continued to speak.
“All leaders will now become members of MoonClan instead. You can talk to other leaders, but will be restricted from family or loved ones who did not also become leader. Maybe now you’ll listen to your warriors and consider the price of power.”
Moonfur lifted her her head, tail flicking with annoyance as she looked down on the four leaders. They accepted this, having realized what they did was wrong, and—
“Moooom! That’s not how it goes, Moonfur says a bunch more stuff like ‘StarClan raised me and brought me down from the stars above’, and ‘if you don’t do what I say, then peril will fall upon the land’, and she tries to stop the battle THREE TIMES before the leaders notice! You’re missing all the good parts!”
Silver looked up at her mother, annoyed at the liberties Jay had taken. Jay just smiled down at her kit, patiently. Rowan sat, listening, while Eagle laid down nearby, bored but tired of playfighting. Hawk and Bronze, meanwhile, tussled nearby. The underground den was dark, but warm and dry.
“And the leaders all took their clans after that, because that was when they split into clans, and GoldClan went under the mountain, the only way into or out of the valley! And DuskClan went up on top of the mountain on the other side of the valley, watching over the lands outside, because they proved they could be peaceful and not spy on the other clans! And DawnClan went to the forest, because that was where they blended in the best, and SilverClan went to the fields because they could find the most bones there!
And I’m gonna be the best leader of SilverClan when I grow up! I’m gonna be the wisest and give all the other cats lotsa food and keep everybody safe! I’ll be so good a leader they make me leader of the other three clans too!”
Silver spoke, getting more and more excited, practically buzzing at the thought.
“You’ll be able to live in the clans then, mom, and loners won’t be kicked out, and DawnClan’ll have to stop being mean then!”
Hawk and Bronze stopped in their tumbling to listen. They were both used to this vehemence from their sister, but she could get awfully loud when she was excited about something.
“And I’ll be the best deputy in the clans!” Rowan shouted as he tackled his sister Silver, grinning. “I’ll make sure everybody listens to you and be the most loyal cat and the best at organizing so you don’t have to worry about patrols!”
Silver gasped in surpise as she was knocked over, but ended up grinning. “Yeah, we’ll be the best leader and the best deputy and so cool StarClan will always come to visit us in MoonClan ‘cause you’ll be leader after me, Ro!”
Eagle laughed from the corner. “I can’t believe you two even want to become clan cats. All they do is be bossy and don’t let anybody else on their land.”
Silver stuck her tongue out at him. “That’s not true! GoldClan always shows us the way through their territory so we can visit dad, it’s only DawnClan that’s the problem, ‘cause DuskClan isn’t even around anymore and dad even leads SilverClan! He used to be a loner too, y’know!”
Eagle scoffs, ears tilted back as he sits back down. “You really think that’ll always be true? Someday he’ll be gone and the clans won’t be so nice anymore, and then you’ll see what happens.”
Jay leaned forward, interrupting Silver in her response to Eagle in order to diffuse the situation.
“I’m sure you will, Sil. The best leader there ever was. We’ll have to tell your dad when we visit him next after this sandstorm clears up; he can give you leader tips.”
Silver groaned, ears flicking back. “Mom, I don’t NEED my fur fixed! It’s fine, I just want to hear the rest of the story!”
Hawk piped up, “Or you can tell us another story about dad?”
Jay smiled, leaning back and looking down at her kits, feeling her small smile in her heart more than on her mouth. She would do anything for them, and was proud of how they were growing up into little warriors in their own right, even if they never decided to join the clans.
“Of course, Hawk. How about how we met? It was before he became the leader of SilverClan, before he even joined in fact! He used to be a loner like me, you see, and our parents were always traveling…”
The sandstorm outside raged on, a near-constant backdrop to the five kittens’ childhood. They all listened with rapt attention to the rest of the story, even Eagle. It was an almost perfect family moment and would have been made better only if their father, Goldstar, was there.