Jayfeather sniffed at the stock of borage leaves, his fur fluffed out against the cold draft that seeped in from outside. Leaf-bare was wearing off to New-leaf, and the prey would be running about shortly. His tail drooped at the unlikely turn of events. His sister, Hollyleaf, had disappeared last night in the tunnels after revealing a secret at a gathering. Their mother was Leafpool, who was a medicine cat, and their father was Crowfeather of WindClan. Lionblaze and Jayfeather mourned their sister's death, but what now puzzled them was of an ominous prophecy. "There will be three, kin of Firestar's kin who have the power of the stars in their paws." The death of Hollyleaf signaled that she was not one of the three. But who is the third?
"Hi Jayfeather," a voice made him jump out of his thoughts.
"Hello, Dovekit," Jayfeather felt the young kit batting at his tail.
"I want to be like you some day!" Dovekit meowed; Jayfeather could picture the young kit puffing out her chest.
"Maybe when you're old enough," he chuckled, "why don't you go get Ivykit and bring the elders some fresh-kill."
"OK!" He listened to the steady beating of Dovekit's paws as she raced out of the medicine cat den.
Jayfeather licked his jaws and was about to get fresh-kill when he was greeted by Icecloud. "I, err, brought you this." She set down a piece of fresh-kill at his paws and scurried out. Jayfeather took a bite, mouse. He dug in ravenously and finished it in a few heartbeats. He tasted night approaching quickly and licked his jaws clean of the mouse. He ducked into his den, yawning. Turning around a few times, he plopped down and closed his eyes.
He opened his eyes, being able to see in his dreams. He blinked and stood up casually, like this has happened much before. "Jayfeather," a cat said behind him, "it has been a while." Jayfeather turned to a furless cat, his pink skin was baggy and his large eyes were blind, like his.
"Greetings, Rock." Rock dipped his head in acknowledgement.
"The third kin is coming. Look for the cat that has midnight in its pelt, and ice in its eyes." Rock meowed; his voice had a misty edge to it as the vision started to fade.
Jayfeather was about to say something when he was snapped back to reality. He was greeted by the cold blackness of being blind. He shook himself and groomed his matted fur before leaping up to go look for Lionblaze.
Meanwhile…
o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o
A young girl sat on her porch, watching the leaves fall off a tree in the forest and flutter onto her porch. Great, she thought to herself, more chores. The girl had short black hair, and her eyes were a clear blue. She stared at the sunset, propping out a paper-back book with a picture of a ginger cat at the front with a blue collar at its paws. Yes, this young girl was a Warriors addict (she'd read the whole series 5 times up to Sunrise.) She had no idea what was in store for her on her 13th birthday.
"Vanessa, come inside! It's getting dark and you'll catch a cold." Vanessa groaned inwardly.
"Coming, mom," she called and marked her page with a pink bookmark that said "I love cats" and carried her book (and partly herself) inside.
"Sit down, dear. Supper's ready." Her mother said from the kitchen, "help your sister set up the plates."
Her mom was a young and fairly pretty woman with curly blonde hair. Her sister was just like her mom.
"It's Zoe's turn, though!" Vanessa whined and her sister glowered at her from her position at the table while she set down the forks.
"Help your sister." Her dad said. He was plump and had greasy brown hair. Vanessa didn't look anything like her family.
"Come on Ice." Her sister teased. Ice was Vanessa's nickname because of her eyes.
"Okay, Z-z." Vanessa turned to her sister, taking three plates and setting them down on the plaid tablecloth. When everything was set, the family sat down. While Vanessa's mother brought over mashed potatoes and some chicken with gravy, all homemade. Vanessa licked her lips and served herself, digging in hungrily.
Her father cleared his throat, which made everyone look up, "To our little Icy, 13 years old." He held up his can of soda and Zoe and their mom raised their glasses of water, "To Vanessa." They all said in sync. Even their cat, Princess, meowed. Her three kittens were play-fighting.
Vanessa was heartbroken that they had to give the kittens away soon. They had lost the elder kitten of the litter a long time ago. Princess had three kittens; a brown tabby male named Max, a white male named Sammy, and a black female named Lissy. (Vanessa wanted to give them all Warrior names, but her family protested.) She liked the black cat the most and so did her sister, so they weren't giving her away. The black cat had fur that was identical to Vanessa's and ice-blue eyes like hers, the kitten was the only one who never moved, never meowed. Her mother said it's because she was shy, but Vanessa didn't think so.
Before Vanessa knew it her friends were over; Peter, Miller, Tonia, and Delilah. They each came with a present and a card. She reached for her sister's present and tore it open, pulling out a pair of neon blue socks (Vanessa's favorite color) and a shirt that said "Cats Rule Dogs Drule" They spelled drool wrong, which made her giggle.
She reached for her mom's present and tore that open; more wrapping paper. She tore it off again; more wrapping paper. She kept tearing and tearing, paper was flying everywhere in all directions. Finally, she reached a box. It was as big as her head, and sealed with tape. She pried open the box and found another box. This one was small and indigo colored. It was soft and velvety, like a wedding ring case. She opened the box, and inside was a necklace. The chain was linked and gold, with a powerful clip at the end to hold it together. The charm was of a paw print, a cat's. It was the same color as the box and was smooth. In the inside of the paw print was a flower covered in dew. She smiled and felt tears swelling up in her eyes, but she held them back as her friends crowded. Everyone was silent as her mother put the necklace around her neck. It was a perfect fit, just a bit below her collarbone. Vanessa kissed her mom on the cheek. "Thank you," she whispered and looked out the window.
Three cats were sitting on the fence, watching her with big eyes. One was a gray female with a lot of scars and a flat muzzle, the other was a tortoiseshell female, and the last cat, sitting in the middle of the other two, was a blue-gray female. They all had stars in their fur. Vanessa gasped and remembered from the Warriors books, Yellowfang, Spottedleaf, and Bluestar.
"What is it, hun?" She looked up at her dad and looked back. The cats were gone, leaving only a trace of the first three stars in the night sky.
"Nothing." She told her father and opened her friends' presents. They ate cake and soon went home, leaving her mother to clean up the mess. "I'm going to bed. Night." She yawned and headed upstairs, quickly changing into her monkey pajamas and settling down in her bed. She closed her eyes and imagined herself at the clearing in Fourtrees, like in the books. She fell asleep faster than she thought.
She was dreaming she was at Fourtrees, this time more vivid. Scents of summer and prey filled the scent glands on the roof of her mouth- WAIT. Since when could I smell like that? She sighed and flicked her tail. I have a TAIL! A TAIL! Vanessa glanced around and looked at her paws, they were midnight black like her hair and she guessed her eyes were ice-blue. She shook her pelt and her collar jingled. It read Lissy; she had become her cat!
"Greetings, Lissy." A smooth voice made her jump.
"Spottedleaf," she yowled and hopped up to the medicine cat with much enthusiasm. "I've read all about you! Firestar really liked you a lot and I've read a few fanfictions before and a lot of people think you should really back off and stop stalking Firestar-"She was cut off as Spottedleaf looked at her searchingly. If she had skin, she would be blushing tenfold.
"I know what you're talking about," she purred. Amusement glittered in her eyes. She obviously had not caught the last part because Vanessa, no Lissy now was talking too fast.
She sighed, "What am I here for?" Lissy meowed wearily, "am I just dreaming?"
"Yes and no," Spottedleaf flicked her tortoiseshell tail, "this is a very important message sent from StarClan." Lissy blinked and sat up straighter.
"You are the third kin; the third with the power of the stars in her paws." Lissy's paws itched to leap into the air and yelp for joy. That means she was related to Jayfeather and Lionblaze! Princess was Lissy's mother, and Firestar's niece, and Scourge's half-niece. Lissy purred to herself. She had a thing for the evil cats while she was a human, and apparently still did.
"What's my power, then?" Lissy asked a bit too hurriedly.
"You already have it; the wide expanse of knowledge that you learned as a Twoleg. You will not tell the clans of your former life, only when the time is right. That will be revealed to you in time." She purred and touched noses with Lissy.
Lissy bit her lip to stop from yowling in pain. The icy coldness that showered her felt more powerful than the color of her eyes. Spottedleaf started to fade.
"Wait! Who will replace me then?"
"Your old kittypet will. She will live a good life and StarClan will give her the same traits as you. From now on you will live as a cat at the lake. Become a rouge and the clans will soon come to you." Spottedleaf faded and a strong blast of wind nearly threw Lissy off her paws. She looked down and gasped.
Lissy was no longer in Fourtrees. She was in a dark cavern, and there was a puddle at her feet. The puddle showed a scene of the mountains. She was whizzing toward the lake territories. Lissy smiled as she passed the Tribe of Rushing Water's cave, and the forest near where Purdy lived. She watched as the lake came into view, glistening in the half-moon's light. The vision in the pool gave a lurch and stopped suddenly above the Moonpool. She leaned forward and the vision zoomed in above Jayfeather, and the other medicine cats.
Lissy purred and leaned forward more until her nose touched the still surface of the water. It sent shivers up her spine and she knew everything. The best way to catch a mouse, all the herbs, and the history of each cat she saw and read about. She sighed and ducked her head into the pool, stepping into it.
She walked down an imaginary staircase to Jayfeather, her cousin. All the medicine cats were asleep and her kittypet collar jingled. She scowled and began tugging at the stubborn piece of leather with her teeth. After a while of struggle, the buckle snapped and the collar hung limply in her jaws. She flicked her tail and left the Moonpool, placing the collar outside the entrance. She looked down, and saw that she still had on her mother's necklace and it wouldn't be on the new Vanessa. She sighed and picked her way down the slope, over the WindClan stream, and across the border into ThunderClan territory. Her paws guided her to the abandoned Twoleg nest where she settled for the night.