Here's the fourth chapter of a collab sotry with a friend! Make sure to read the previous chapters in case you aren't caught up.
Chapter 4
“Come on! Dropstar, can’t you tell us about the Froststar?” Elkpaw pleaded.
“I’ll wait,” said a soft, feminine voice. Creamwing emerged from the hollowed out medicine den built into a small rise in the ground. She shook the traces of some old leaves off of her round, small snout. The plump she cat blinked her clear hazel eyes. “I’m not very busy now. How about Dropstar teaches the story too us?” Creamwing suggested.
“I suppose. You really wouldn’t prefer battle training?” Dropstar turned to Needletoe, to see him and Goldenshine managing some hunting and water patrols. “Okay." She settled down into a divet on the Hailstone, watching all of the apprentices. " Since I’m a leader, you get taught this stuff a lot," she explained.
The apprentices turned to her with eager eyes in amber, hazel, and blue.
“So, a long time ago, before we even had the clan, there were still cats in the forest,” Dropstar began, recalling the stories she had been taught. She caught Wolfpaw sneaking into the group. “And these cats were in little, loose bands that constantly fought each other. Prey and water and warmth, the things we need to survive, were often scarce and sparked many skirmishes that turned into wars with no warning. We didn’t have a leader, only respected cats who got the most food, and thus could fight other cats for prey more easily, making this cycle of battle.
“Until once, there was this awful snowstorm. A complete white-out blizzard. Can you imagine not even being able to see the forest because of the snow in the air being as thick as the ground?” Dropstar always loved the visuals in this scene and the way it made the apprentices close their eyes and imagine extreme weathers.
“Mother told me that there was a storm right before we were born!” Sprucepaw piped up.
“That wasn’t nearly as bad as this. The story says the wind picked up cats and slammed them into trees, or they were simply buried under snow and couldn’t breathe. Some froze to death, while others got lost and starved. Some cats thought they ought to hid in trees, but falling out of trees or even having the branches break right off happened too. There seemed to be no easy way out,” Dropstar explained, watching the suddenly solemn faces of the apprentices.
“Until Frost came. He was lucky--his den was underground, in fact, you might know what it is, and slept through the initial onslaught. When he woke up, snow had blocked the exit to his den it was so high.”
“Why would we know what the den is? We’re just apprentices, we’re not that old!” Mosspaw exclaimed.
“It’s right behind you,” explained Creamwing. Three heads spun around to the sunken in medic’s den. “Oh,” muttered Elkpaw. Wolfpaw smirked at their surprise--he knew this tale.
“And then what happened? With Frost?” Mosspaw asked.
“He dug his way out to see the storm and its destruction. The first thing he saw was a cat lying on the ground--his mate. We don't know their name, but we know they died at some point during the storm. Frost later found his sisters and parents dead from frostbite.” Dropstar faintly recalled Deerbranch, her father, and the few flashing images of him she had. “And that really struck Frost, to wake up to see his family and friends dead, and so many more still suffering, when he was fine. And once he had gotten over the grief, something inside him told him to stop hiding in his den and get out to help other cats.”
“And he did, right?” Elkpaw asked.
“Yup,” Dropstar answered. “He found some prey he had buried in his den, and carried it through the white wasteland to any cats he could find still alive. Some had gotten stuck under tree roots while huddling for warmth, while others had been trapped by rocks or branches. He made sure they ate, and hunted what little he could. He offered to bury the dead, too.”
“That must have been hard,” whispered Mosspaw.
“It was. Seeing all of those dead and grieving cats, especially after his own family died, was difficult. But that’s what’s important. He put the needs of these cats who were strangers at best, or attackers at worst, above his own, only because he was physically well. And they healed. Frost brought them water, offered bedding, and saved all of these cats who would have died. And even after the blizzard had cleared and the snow melted, they stuck together, forming FrostClan. And that hollowed stump?” Dropstar flicked her bushy tail towards the greeting stump. “The tree that had fallen had been the one to block the worst of the cold winds from entering Frost’s den. They carried it out and made it into the pedestal and leader’s den. And they had kits, and those kits had kits, and eventually we ended up here, teaching the story to our apprentices,” Dropstar finished.
“Wow,” muttered the apprentices. Dropstar was always so attached to the story--even though she knew that it was probably an exaggeration, shifted over time by the slightly varied elder’s tales, she took it for what it represented--the strength of a group fighting against threats, helping the needy in times of need. Immediately the apprentices dispersed to mentors and Caretakers for who knows what, and Dropstar was left with Creamwing.
“Is there anything new going on?” asked Dropstar awkwardly. She never quite knew what to say to the medicine cat--she had known the she cat well enough for her to be more than just another member of the clan, but at the same time they weren’t friends like she was with Needletoe or Snowwhisker.
“Oh, I don’t know. Pretty uneventful. The queens Foxtuft and Glacierstorm are set to give birth in a few moons, and--”
“Creamwing? Can I speak to you?” Dropstar turned around to see a soft pale grey she cat standing behind her, twitching her whiskers.
“Snowwhisker! Are you okay?” Dropstar asked.
“Oh I’m fine,” the warrior murmured. Me and Falconflight just wanted, you know, a check up.”
“Of course!” cried Creamwing, sounding a little too excited to finally have a patient.
“Alright,” Dropstar said. “I’ll go join a hunting patrol.” She inhaled. It seemed nice to finally be back into a regular life, but craning her think neck to see the dark hazy mountain in the distance put her on edge, especially when no one else around her knew what might be happening up there.