Moon 3
(BODY HORROR AND GORE WARNING UNDER READ-MORE)
Eggkit listens to Heathersnout's stories and is fascinated.
"Tell me a story, Heathersnout!!"
Heathersnout lifted his head from his nest as Eggkit came scampering into the elder's den, purring in amusement and stretching his jaws in a wide yawn. "Well there goes my nap, you li'l rascal. What's gotcha so worked up, anyway?"
"I'm bored!" the round little kit squeaked, plopping down in a sort of splat right at Heathersnout's paws with her tail held high. "Emberkit and Shadowkit are all busy with warrior stuffs now, and renny's napping so I can't play with them!"
"Paw, not kit, squirt." he grumbled, gently batting at her with one paw to her delight. "They've got important new names now, gotta respect 'em."
"Okayyyokayokay, Emberpaw, Shadowpaw-tell me a storyyyy!!"
"Right, right, hold your hares!" he snickered, easily rolling her over as she squealed and kicked at his paw. "What kinda story you wanna hear? This old cat's got too many to choose from himself."
Eggkit rolled back onto her feet and shook herself off, bouncing in place as her eyes sparkled with excitement. "Tell me about the Tunnels!!"
…Heathersnout paused for a moment, cocking his head slightly. "Why ya wanna hear about them?"
"Cuz everybody's all worked up about them now, and Emberpaw and Shadowpaw know all about them, and I still don't know what they are!" she huffed, ears back with a pouty whine.
Heathersnout chuckled a bit, shifting himself to get more comfortable. "Well…I s'pose you're old enough to learn."
Eggkit leapt up with a happy squeak, running circles around the older cat as he shook his head. "Settle down, ya flighty li'l mouse! This is gonna be a very important story, and I need to know you're listenin'."
He waited until Eggkit had stopped bouncing around the den and settled in a little loaf in front of him, wide eyes staring expectantly, before he sighed, clearing his throat to begin his tale.
Long ago, generations and generations of cats ago, older than some of the oldest Twolegs even, there was Greylock Mountain, standing tall and strong. And deep within the mountain was…something. An entity, without shape or form, intangible and unfeeling. But its presence could be felt, and its influence stretched all over the mountain. The very air itself bent to its will, all of creation was in its paws. But nothing lived there. Mice didn't dart among the foliage, rabbits didn't burrow, even foxes and badgers didn't dare hunt in its territory. They were all scared of it, too afraid of its power to even go near it.
But one day, cats moved in. No one remembers if they were loners, rogues, or members of an ancient clan, but they needed a place to stay, and there was room on the mountain to sleep. There was no prey, but there weren't predators either, only the mountain. And someone could feel it calling them.
One day, after yet another failed hunt, a cat from the group climbed the mountain alone to do what no one had ever done. He was going to speak to the mountain.
"But how do you speak to a mountain??" Eggkit interrupted. "You said it didn't think, how're you supposed to talk to something like that?"
Heathersnout shook his head, giving her a playful bop. "I'm gettin' there, be patient."
He tried to talk to it as he climbed, to ask what it was and if it could help them, but got no response. He was about to give up and return to camp when he found something. A tiny hole, leading into the mountain. He somehow knew he had to get in there. He dug away at the dirt, scraping until his paws were sore, and eventually, the wall caved in…and he found it.
The Tunnels.
They led deep into the mountain, so deep that he couldn't see where they ended. The air was stale and thick with a scent he couldn't place. But something called him in. Something knocked. So he opened the door.
He climbed down into the Tunnels, and…no cat knows exactly what happened down there. Some say he was possessed by the Tunnels, some say he absorbed part of them, some say he was never a real cat to begin with. But whatever happened, he came back out…different. Changed. He looked the same, but he wasn't the same cat. Not anymore.
He went back to the group, and found he had remarkable new abilities, gifted to protect his clanmates. The ability to create with his thoughts alone, a fraction of the Tunnels' power to bend reality. He was the first to be chosen by the Tunnels, the first ever leader and the founder of Greyclan.
That cat's name…was Greystar.
"Chosen?" Eggkit mewed, completely enraptured. "Like Ghoststar? You mean he has cool powers too?!"
"Yes, he does." Heathersnout smiled. "But Greystar vowed to use his power responsibly, and so did every leader after him. He can't just go around manifestin' willy nilly, it's a leader's responsibility to only use the Tunnels' gift when it's needed. That's why it's a rule in the Warrior Code."
Eggkit looked disappointed, but seemed too engaged in the story to dwell on it for two long, pleading for more with a wide eyed stare. Heathersnout smiled and continued.
With Greystar's original gift, the prey of the mountain returned, and he is why cats of Greyclan have such an easy time hunting to this day. He also drove away the predators, so there are rarely any dangers on Greyclan territory. Legends say that he even sowed the seeds for the existence of Starclan itself. He created a paradise for generations to come, and we honor him for his sacrifice.
"Every leader since then goes down into the Tunnels for their gift an' their nine lives, if they're chosen to wield them. If they aren't chosen…well, that's a story for when you're older. All other cats, including you, can't go down there for your own safety. It's…dangerous down there, the Tunnels ain't somethin' to be messed with."
"What about medicine cats? I heard Mothgrowl talking about going in there!"
Heathersnout perked up, glancing out towards the medicine cat den for a moment. "Ah, that's another interesting story! One that's a bit more recent."
Many years ago, Greyclan was struggling. Twolegs had taken an interest in the mountain too, and kept stomping the herbs and driving off the prey. Even with the leader's gift, it seemed like there was no stopping them, only living with them. But how could we do that?
One day, a queen whose name is lost to time gave birth, and one of those kits would come to be known as Tawnycloud. She was very different from her siblings, she always seemed to be talking to thin air, she learned things without being taught, and she always seemed to have…very strange dreams.
During a hunting patrol one spring, a warrior was snagged in a metal Twoleg trap, bleeding heavily onto the dirt. At the same time, the young Tawnykit suddenly slipped away from camp and ran faster than anyone could stop her, somehow finding her way to the patrol with no experience in tracking. With precision unlike any kit-or adult cat, for that matter-she delicately disassembled the Twoleg trap as the patrol watched in awe, freeing the trapped cat and allowing the others to help them back to camp to be treated.
The leader questioned her when the patrol returned, and she explained why she had left camp and how she found the injured warrior. She had seen a strange shadowy cat that no one else seemed to notice at the edge of camp, urging her to leave quickly, which then led her to the trap and told her how to take it apart. This was the first known use of Sight, the ability to see Shadows, byproducts of the Tunnels' presence. Shadows can take on many forms, some comforting, some frightening, but only those with Sight can witness and hear them, receiving prophecies and knowledge that no cat could have ever known. Tawnycloud was the first cat to be born with Sight.
Over time, she gained more knowledge from her visions and pursued the role of medicine cat, devising new treatments and care regimens that none before her had even considered. Soon she was even acting as a sort of advisor to the leader, telling them things about Twolegs and the mountain that revolutionized how we interacted with them and our territory. New hunting methods were established, new procedures for Twoleg interference were carried out-Tawnycloud is the reason we know how to grow our own herbs, make leather from rabbit pelts, and use Twoleg things for ourselves when needed.
Then she had kits of her own. And suddenly, she wasn't the only cat with Sight. One of her kits could also see Shadows, and then two from her next litter. And when those kits grew up, their kits also had Sight. So to protect such a precious ability, the leader added a rule to the warrior code. All medicine cats, whether a queen or a tom, are required to have at least one kit that is capable of Sight. The Tawnycloud bloodline continues to this day, with Mothgrowl currently being the only member.
"What if a medicine cat doesn't have kits?" Eggkit mewled, rolled over onto her back and looking at him upside down. "Or if they go to Starclan before they do?"
Heathersnout tried to hide how he flinched, his eyes wandering for a moment. He was only a kit, but he still remembered watching a queen drag the bloody body toward the mouth of the Tunnels.
Their eyes only met briefly, but he could still feel the weight of the despair in her eyes before his mother quickly shooed him back into the nursery.
"…You don't need to worry about that, darlin'. That's a medicine cat's responsibility."
When Eggkit still looked downcast, he huffed, flicking his tail over his paws. "I actually knew Tawnycloud, y'know."
That seemed to bring the glimmer back to her eyes, and she quickly rolled onto her feet. "Really?!"
"Yup. Though I was only a kitten and she was very old, I didn't get to see her too much. But I remember her tellin' me stories of the old days, just like I'm tellin' you now."
Eggkit was delighted, a bright grin stretched across her face. But after a moment, she seemed to realize something, and her smile slowly faded. "…You said she had a lot of kits, right? Why's Mothgrowl the only one with Sight today?"
…Heathersnout froze. He could still smell the blood. He remembered that the most vividly, right above the stink of decay and gore. He remembered the shrieking of countless cats, the wails of strange creatures echoing through the forest. He was tucked too deeply against his mother's chest to see much, scruff held tight in her mouth as she ran, but as much as he wished it would fade with his other memories, the glimpses of camp he caught would be seared into his mind in deep, aching scars.
He could barely see the ground under all the bodies. He didn't recognize the vaguely Twoleg shaped things crouched over them, tearing off pieces with their teeth.
One turned and their eyes met briefly. There was no feeling in its empty sockets.
"EGGKIT?? I TOLD YOU TO STAY IN THE NURSERY!!"
Thank Starclan, Heathersnout sighed, as Hailthrush's cry sent Eggkit leaping to her paws. "AH-renny's awake, I gotta go!! Thank you for the stories, Heather!!"
Heathersnout purred a goodbye as the little kit scampered off, and laid his head down in his nest, his gaze slowly drifting back to the medicine cat den. It seemed like just yesterday that it was nearly full, the sobbing of dying cats echoing in his nightmares.
He didn't want to remember those times. He didn't want to.
He closed his eyes. And forgot.