The Lost Warrior

Have you got a game, book or movie you'd like to make a story out of? Want to expand on a story or plot that stopped? Have an original idea for a story that you want to post somewhere? Here's where to do it. Basically an RPG where one player controls ALL characters in the story.

The Lost Warrior

Postby Hopeflower » Fri Jul 04, 2008 8:16 pm

I peered out of the Twoleg nest, my large white paws pressed against a sheet of unmelting ice. I stared at the forest, thinking of how it used to be. We--that is, the four warrior Clans--didn't always live in this valley, trapped by stone cliffs. I used to live by a beautiful lake, in a stone hollow with the rest of my Clan. Until, BloodClan came, led by a tyrannical leader, and tore our way of life apart.

We were forced to leave the lake and find a new home. So, when we first found the valley, it seemed like a sign sent by StarClan themselves. But it soon became clear that life in this valley was going to be much harder than we’d first thought. There were dangers everywhere, from Twolegs, rogues, and even the new kinds of plants growing in our territory. And of course, there was the battle of deciding where the territory borders would be set.

But my Clan mates are strong cats. They’d sooner die than disobey their leader. And they’ll live on. I know it in my heart.

My name is Lightstorm. I’m a proud ThunderClan warrior. And I’ll die before I allow myself to remain trapped here for any longer.


X…x…X

CHAPTER 1


I remember the day I first saw my brother, Fogpaw, as if it happened only yesterday. He was only a kit, but when he reached his second moon, one thing was clear to me from our play-fights:

He was a warrior.

Fogpaw and I became best friends almost immediately after that. I wanted him to be the best warrior he could be, so I began teaching him the warrior code and the ways of the Clan, even before he had reached apprentice age. And he was a fast learner. I was so sure that I’d be in the Clan long enough to see him made a warrior…If only I hadn’t been such a fool.


My Clan is surely gone…destroyed by the rogues… A picture of the Clan members flashed in the tom’s mind.

Fogpaw is gone… Lightstorm quivered in his sleep as Fogpaw’s image flickered in his mind.

And I’ve never felt so lost and alone. As Lightstorm started to wake, his brother’s voice yowled, “LIGHTSTORM!”

The white tom suddenly sprang up from his bed in the Twoleg nest. Dazed and confused, and scared in the wake of the dream he’d been having, he ran forward--and slammed into a wall with an audible thud.

“Ow…” the tom muttered, rubbing his jaw with a paw.

Still here…It’s not a dream. The white tom looked around mournfully. Why can’t it be a dream?

The tom sighed unhappily. I’ll go mad if I have to stay locked up in this place much longer!

I’ve been here, with the Twolegs, the other kittypets and their dog, for at least a quarter-moon. After those damned rogues got away, and my paw was broken on a Twoleg path, I was nursed back to health here. But…this place isn’t the forest…it’s not home.

I’m trying to make the best of staying here. The food is terrible, though--I can’t believe I’m expected to eat this stuff!


…But… The long-haired white tom turned to look out the window, at the pounding rain. It’s cold and wet outside…and it’s warm and dry in here.

The biggest of the Twolegs brought me here, to his nest after I was injured. He’s not going to hurt me, I don’t think. Lightstorm turned away from the window and approached the male Twoleg, meowing to get his attention.

As he was cuddled and held and petted, Lightstorm closed his eyes in content. I wonder--is this what Firestar’s life was like before she came to the forest?

Am I stuck here now?

The big Twoleg and his mate have a couple of kits. They like me a lot. I think they might even love me.

And the thing is…I do kind of like it here…


Is that wrong? I don’t know…Lightstorm flipped onto his back to let the Twoleg kits rub his stomach, and a picture of the ThunderClan camp entered his mind.

…Yeah, it is wrong. I’m locked up here. Lost.

Then, finally…finally, I get my chance!


Lightstorm looked up from dozing in the sun the following afternoon, in time to see the big female Twoleg opening the door to the Twoleg nest. She yowled something at him as he slipped past her leg and darted outside, into the garden.

Have to get away from here. Back to the forest. Back to ThunderClan!

Lightstorm suddenly slid to a halt. Except…

The sounds of Twoleg monsters, dogs, and Twolegs yowling to each other, made his ears ring. He screwed his eyes shut.

All the sounds…all the scents…

Lightstorm tried to block out the sounds, but failed. No! No! It’s too much! He ran back into the Twoleg nest, shaking and afraid.

The female Twoleg turned as he slid into the kitchen, and immediately bent to comfort him.

The female Twoleg thinks I’m scared…and she’s right…but not just about all that craziness outside.

The Twolegs kept me inside their nest too long…

…And now I can’t tell which way is home!


X…x…X

CHAPTER 2


Okay. New day. Time to try again.

Lightstorm slipped out of the Twoleg nest, looking around. He spotted a beetle on the ground, and his eyes glinted with excitement.

Hmm. This isn’t too bad… He began to stalk the insect, and pounced on it with a triumphant mew of “Gotcha!”

The two Twoleg kits burst out of the den at that moment, shouting things the tom couldn’t understand. As Lightstorm sat up, the beetle in his jaws, the Twolegs began speaking to him. Then, they dangled something over his head.

Huh? The white tom turned his head. Is that a mouse? They brought me a mouse! He spat out his bug and leaped after the mouse, hearing the Twoleg kits laughing, before the mouse was jerked away from him.

No more of that lousy fake food!

As Lightstorm finally caught the mouse and pinned it down, he got a good look at it for the first time.

Wait a minute.

He sniffed it, repulsed at the fake stench coming from it.

This is no mouse. He began trying to rip it to shreds, now furious.

This is a kittypet toy. And I’m no kittypet! The toy finally snapped in half, and Lightstorm leaped away from the Twoleg kits, onto the garden wall.

I’ve upset the kits. I feel bad about that. But I’ve got to stop pretending that I could ever live this way…and start exploring.

The longhaired tom turned and hopped neatly off of the fence, onto a hard Twoleg path. He chose a random direction and began walking.

Maybe I can find my way back to the forest…if I can spot a familiar landmark.

A low snuffling in the bushes made Lightstorm turn his head, in time to see a large dog come crashing out of a hedge with a loud booming bark. Lightstorm leaps back with a yowl of fear. “RRROOOWR!”

Luckily, the dog was too big to fit through the hedge, and merely continued barking as Lightstorm fled with a terrified screech: “MRREEEOWRRR!”

He swerved and very nearly collided with a small Twoleg monster being controlled by a large male Twoleg, who yowled angrily after Lightstorm as the tom turned and ran away, panting now. He crept onto a quiet dirt surface…only to realize too late that it was a Twoleg path, similar to the one he’d been injured on. A skinny two-pawed monster shot passed him, and he unsheathed his claws and backed away, screwing up his face at the smell.

Dogs…little monsters…big monsters…

The white tom crouched quivering in the doorway of his Twoleg’s home. He barely looked around in time to notice a pair of Twoleg paws reaching for him. “Whuh--”

It was one of the Twoleg kits, holding him close and murmuring words he couldn’t understand to him.

I’m never going to get out of here!

How long has it been now? Weeks? I can’t keep track of the days…

The kits think I’ll try to run away again if they let me out.


As he passed an open window, Lightstorm leaped up, getting a hold with his claws in the curtains to try and climb out. But the big female Twoleg shooed him down, and he ran off to try another idea with his ears flattened.

But they’ve got to realize…

He looked up at a table leg and unsheathed his claws in preparation.

…scary out there or not…

With a rough cutting sound, the white tom pressed his claws into the wood, baring his fangs in a growl.

…if I stay in here much longer I’ll explode.

This time, the Twoleg female hit him with something, yowling angrily. Lightstorm let out an angered hiss and ran away once more. He ran up the stairs, trying to think of a new way to get himself out of this mess.

I can’t take it here anymore! I just can’t! I--

He slid to a startled stop as he spotted an open window that he could reach easily. “Hello…” he purred. He leaped up onto the windowsill, and found himself staring out at the outside world. “Praise StarClan!” he meowed happily. He braced himself to jump onto a branch of a nearby tree. “I’ll show them.” He hit his mark and leaped lightly down to the grass below. “I’ll show everyone.” He scanned his surroundings, proud of his escape. “A ThunderClan warrior will not be held pris--”

A moth fluttering by caught his attention. He leaped after it happily, batting at it, and finally catching it between his paws. Suddenly his eyes widened, and he released the moth.

What am I doing? Only kits chase after moths. He turned away from the insect with an angry huff.

Being here is turning me into an overgrown infant!

Time to go. Now.


Lightstorm padded across the short-clipped grass, braced himself, and leaped to the top of the fence. He looked down at what he was leaving with a smirk, before he turned and jumped down from the fence into another garden. He quickly crossed that yard and leaped over the next fence with ease. As he landed in the next yard, he looked around.

So far so good…

He leaped over the fence and crossed the next yard, noticing they all were about the same size and looked pretty much the same.

One place like this after another…

He quickly leaped over the next fence, growing tired of the repeated action already.

How many of these things can there be?

The white tom swiftly climbed a tree in the yard he was currently in, and perched on a low branch, looking out over the Twolegplace.

Look at that…these Twoleg places go on forever!

My head starts buzzing like a hornet’s nest. It’s too much--too much!

Got to get down… The tom leaped down from the branch, still feeling dizzy. Find someplace to hide…someplace to think…


“And just what do you think you’re doing?” a hostile voice snarled, snapping Lightstorm out of his thoughts.

The longhaired tom turned to face the speaker, frowning. “Excuse me?” he mewed.

“This is my territory,” the black and white tom snarled. “Anyone comes or goes here, it’s by my say-so. And you don’t have permission.”

Lightstorm crouched casually, meowing, “Oh--I’m sorry. I don’t realize fat, lazy kittypets ever had territory of their own.”

That got under the tom’s skin. He bared his teeth in a snarl of pure rage. “Rrrrrrrrrhhh! HERE’S YOUR FAT AND LAZY!” He leaped at Lightstorm, claws unsheathed.

As his jaws closed on the back of the longhaired tom’s neck, Lightstorm let out an enraged yowl of his own. “RRRHIAOW!” He headbutted the tom off of him, baring his fangs in a snarl.

The tom let out a grunt. “Uhff!” But as he was falling, he fastened his claws in Lightstorm’s scruff, pulling the white tom to the ground with him.

“Hey--!” Lightstorm growled, letting out a hiss of pain as the black and white cat slashed his underbelly with his claws. The white cat swiped his claws across the bigger tom’s face, only to receive a sharp kick to the gut and be thrown off of his opponent. “Rrrhhh…”

The kittypet landed beside Lightstorm, snarling, “This fat, lazy cat’s about to rip your head off!” The ThunderClan warrior only just jerked his head to the side in time, and the black and white kittypet’s teeth snapped shut on thin air. Much too close for comfort.

Realizing this wasn’t a battle he could win, Lightstorm scrambled to his paws and ran to the opposite side of the garden, hearing the kittypet yowl after him, “Yeah! That’s right! Tail between your legs, you little runt!”

Run…run…gotta run…just keep going.

Lightstorm finally slid to a stop a good distance away from that…kittypet’s territory.

I can’t believe it! Beaten by a kittypet! Either that was the toughest kittypet ever born…or--

What if I’m losing my skills as a warrior? What if I’m getting soft?


As Lightstorm lifted a paw to lick his stinging pads, he heard a soft voice coming from a nearby tree. “I wouldn’t feel bad if I were you,” it meowed, revealing the speaker to be a female. Lightstorm looked up, searching for the speaker. “Nobody’s ever won a fight against Duke.” Ah, there she was. A light brown tabby with a white chest and paws…just like…

“I’m Felicity. What’s your name?” the she-cat mewed, leaping down from her perch, which was nestled comfortably between two branches.

Lightstorm swallowed uncomfortably, trying not to stare. She looked so much like Heatherpelt…his beloved medicine cat… “Uh…Lightstorm,” he meowed after a short pause.

“I’ve seen you around that house with the little boy and girl. You’re new in the neighborhood, aren’t you, Lightstorm?” Felicity meowed.

“Yes…you could say that…” Lightstorm mewed, clearing his throat. “You live here? You’re a…kittypet?”

“‘Kittypet.’ That’s funny!” Felicity meowed, purring with laughter for a moment. “Yes, I live here,” she mewed when she calmed herself.

She leaped down from the short wall under the tree to stand beside Lightstorm. “I haven’t spotted you this far from your house before. Do you know how to get back to it?”

“Um…well…that is…”

“That’s fine then,” Felicity mewed. “I’ll show you the way. Come on, follow me!” She beckoned with her tail and bounded off down the Twoleg path.

A short while later, they stood in front of an impressive-looking Twoleg den.

“Well, here we are,” Felicity meowed. “It was very nice meeting you, Lightstorm.”

“Thanks,” he mewed, not quite sure what else to say.

Felicity startled him, by brushing her flank against his as she turned to go home. “I’ll see you around then, yes?” she purred. As she left, Lightstorm stared after her.

Lose a fight with a kittypet, then get too lost to find my way back here? I want to curl up somewhere and die.

But Felicity’s the first friendly cat I’ve met since the Twolegs captured me.

I hope I get to see her again.

I dream that night. Part of me knows it’s a dream, but that doesn’t matter. I’m not about to wake up.


Lightstorm padded through a familiar forest. His old home. Oh, how he missed it…

Because in dreams, sometimes you can meet cats who are no longer with you.

And when I see the slim, beautiful queen coming towards me…
Lightstorm squinted through the mist, hardly daring to believe his eyes.

…part of me doesn’t ever want to wake up.

“Hello, beloved,” Heatherpelt’s soft, sweet voice purred.

“Heatherpelt!” Lightstorm exclaimed, stretching forward to nuzzle his love. “It’s so good to see you…I’ve missed you so much…”

“I’ve missed you too, Lightstorm,” Heatherpelt meowed, rubbing her face against the tom’s. “It’s been so lonely without you…”

“Oh, Heatherpelt…I thought I’d never get to speak with you again…Are you alright? Are you…are you happy…where you are?”

“My sweet warrior,” Heatherpelt purred. “You don’t have to worry. I am alive and well, in ThunderClan…waiting for your return.”

“And I will return,” Lightstorm meowed, nuzzling his beloved medicine cat once more. “Count on it.”

“Oh, I will,” Heatherpelt murmured. “I’ll be counting the days…waiting for you to rejoin me. But now I must leave you…”

“So soon? You just got here,” Lightstorm meowed sorrowfully, fearing he’d never see Heatherpelt again, except in dreams.

“Don’t fret, beloved…I will always be with you…and you will see me here again.”

Lightstorm slept the rest of the night with a soft smile on his face.

TO BE CONTINUED...
Last edited by Hopeflower on Sat Jul 05, 2008 2:04 am, edited 1 time in total.
"Gotta have a little sadness once in a while so you know when the good times come."
"Talent is a pursued interest. In other words, anything that you're willing to practice, you can do." ~ Bob Ross

"The future is always uncertain and painful but it must be lived." ~ Unknown
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Re: The Lost Warrior

Postby Iceking » Fri Jul 04, 2008 8:37 pm

Very good chapter, hf. I'm eagerly awaiting the next one.
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Postby Hopeflower » Sat Jul 05, 2008 2:04 am

Next chappie's up! :3
"Gotta have a little sadness once in a while so you know when the good times come."
"Talent is a pursued interest. In other words, anything that you're willing to practice, you can do." ~ Bob Ross

"The future is always uncertain and painful but it must be lived." ~ Unknown
Hopeflower
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Posts: 18702
Joined: Mon Mar 12, 2007 7:17 pm
Location: NY, USA

Postby Iceking » Sat Jul 05, 2008 2:42 am

The second chapter has asnwered alot questions in my mind about anything eventful that lightstorm may have done while he was living with the two legs.
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