Hazy (By Mossfur8)

= Chapter 1 = The trees shook as a flash of fur swiftly moved from branch to branch. The cat leaped with grace and precision as she bounded across the treetops. Her fur was brown with specks of green across her back. She came to a place where the branches wove together so that she could comfortably walk. There was a cat that came to greet her. He was a tom with white-blue fur that spread across his whole body and bright blue eyes that glimmered in the moonlight. “Welcome back Mossfur,” he said with a smile.

“Hi, Cedartail,” Mossfur replied. “I’m happy to see you out and about today. You should come out of your den more!”

“I would, but these old bones aren’t what they used to be,” he said to his daughter with a sheepish grin. Mossfur looked at her father playfully. “Stop saying you’re old!” she joked, batting him with her paw. “Mossfur! You’re back!” meowed an energetic voice from behind them. Mossfur turned around to see a beautiful she-cat bounding toward her. “Dewdrop! I’m happy to see you,” said Mossfur, walking up to her friend. “I was just going to go look for you. Will you help me bring this new bedding to the warrior den?” Dewdrop nodded her head, smiling. “No problem,” she replied. Dewdrop had been Mossfur’s best friend ever since she was a tiny kit. She had a blue-gray pelt with white and black speckles along the side of her body with shiny gray eyes, looking almost like silver. She would do anything for Mossfur, even at the cost of her own life. The two cats walked over to the warrior den and got to work. Crickets chirped below them, singing their song while leaves rustled softly in the breeze. They got to work, placing the moss down on the floor and lining the edges with twigs. “I think that’s it.” Dewdrop beamed down at the soft, comfortable bedding. “Thanks for helping me,” said Mossfur. “You know I’ll always help you,” her friend replied. Dewdrop left the warrior den and started walking across the woven branches for one last patrol. The moon shone brightly in the sky as Mossfur slowly drifted off to sleep.

Mossfur awoke to the sounds of rain pattering on the roof of the warrior’s den. She sighed and looked around. Dew glittered on the moss that lay on the floor, catching the light that peeked through the gaps in the walls. The sun was just visible above the horizon and the sky was a burnt orange color. Mossfur stretched her back into an arch and gazed forward sleepily. Silently, she padded into the middle of camp, ready for the day to start. Raindrops dripped off the leaves of the forest and onto her pelt, sparkling as if from StarClan itself. Mossfur looked down at her paws, giving them a quick lick before making her way into the medicine cat’s den.

The hut was medium-sized, about two fox lengths from end to end. The walls were woven together with vines and sticks, much like the floor below. The top was covered with a canopy of bright green leaves, intertwined to cover the top of the den. Lichen draped over the entrance, creating a divider between the inside and the outside. Mossfur walked over to the hut. “Mistypool?” Mossfur said in a soft voice. A cat with one eye emerged from the den. Her long, brown fur was matted and smelled of tree sap and herbs. “Ah, Mossfur,” the old cat rasped. “Come in.” Mossfur slid through the lichen and into the little hut. Dry grass covered the bottom of the hut, acting as padding so it’s softer to walk. In the back, medicine of all kinds lined the wall. There were poppy seeds, herbs, even moss soaked with mouse bile. These were stored in baskets woven together with vines, each holding a different type of medicine. There were two beds made of bracken, ferns, and moss on both sides of the wall for cats that were sick or injured. Mossfur looked around the room. “No Petalshade today?” Mistypool shook her head. “She got here a while before you came, complaining about her headache. I thought you might like to deliver them to her. Can you fetch her some poppy seeds?” Mossfur smiled and nodded. “Yeah, I’ll get her some.” She walked over to the basket with poppy seeds in it and grabbed a mouthful. “I’ll come back to get the mouse bile. At least one of the elders has to have fleas.” Mistypool smiled softly. “Ok, that’s fine.” Mistypool turned away and started sorting herbs again.

Mossfur padded over to a wide fallen tree. The wood was rotten and smelled of vanilla and maple and the dark brown bark was slowly falling off. She weaved through the dead branches of the tree and into the trunk. Three cats lay inside, all of them sleeping but one. “It’s about time!” hissed the cat. She had a yellowish-whitish pelt and black on her eyes, mouth, and ears as well as her paws. Her piercing blue eyes were as cold as ice, her pupils only slits staring straight at Mossfur. “My head has been hurting all morning,” she complained. “Not to mention the aches in my bones. You have poppy seeds, right?” Mossfur nodded her head and dropped the poppy seeds in front of her. “You shouldn’t be so demanding Petalshade,” she said sternly. Petalshade ate the poppy seeds and looked snootily at Mossfur. “Don’t tell me what to do,” she said. Mossfur rolled her eyes and started walking out of the den, then turned back. “Does anybody have fleas?” she asked. Petalshade shifted her gaze to a cat with a snow-white pelt and a dark brown tail. “Oakfur sure does. Those fleas are the size of berries!” Mossfur looked over at Oakfur, who was across the other side of the log. Tiny black flecks about the size of a mouse’s eye were jumping all over his bright pelt, making them easy to spot. She sighed and padded over to the medicine cat’s den once again to grab the mouse bile.

***
Mossfur looked up at the sky, surprised to see it was already sun-high. She walked over to the warriors den, deciding to take a rest. Taking the fleas off of Oakpelt was tiring work, and Petalshade was complaining about her aching joints the whole time despite the poppy seeds she gave her. Suddenly, a tortoiseshell with one green eye and one blue eye bounded up to her. “Mossfur?” he said. Mossfur jumped, startled by the sudden sound. She whipped around, then relaxed. “Nettlebrook, it’s only you.” Nettlebrook nodded and smiled awkwardly. Silence filled the air, both of them waiting for the other to speak. “Um… I came to ask if you would join the hunting patrol,” Nettlebrook said. Mossfur got up and looked at Nettlebrook. “Ok. Who else is coming?” she asked. “Thrushfoot, Barkshine, and me, I think,” Nettlebrook replied. “They’re outside right now.” Mossfur walked out of the den and into the clearing to see two cats standing there, one looking as bored as ever and the other excited and ready to patrol. “Are you ready yet?” said the excited one to Mossfur. “Barkshine, do you have any patience?” Barkshine looked at her brother playfully. “I just love going on patrols! Don’t you ever have any fun Thrushfoot?” Thrushfoot rolled his eyes. Nettlebrook walked out of the den. “Barkshine, you can lead,” he said. Barkshine smiled at him. “Ok! Let’s go!”

Barkshine climbed down one of the trees that held up PineClan camp while the others followed. She turned left, weaving in between the pines, oaks, and birch trees that filled up the forest. All of a sudden, she stopped, tasting the air. “The StreamClan border is close. I can smell it.” Mossfur nodded her head, agreeing. “We should spit up,” said Barkshine. “Thrushfoot, you can go with me to patrol the StreamClan border. Nettlebrook, you can patrol the StoneClan border while Mossfur patrols over by the wooden twoleg nest by the back of camp. We all meet back at PineClan camp at sundown. Got it?” Everyone nodded their heads and headed off in different directions.

Mossfur looked forward at the big, wooden twoleg nest that lay before her. The rogues across the big river that StreamClan had founded their camp said that where they lived, the twoleg nests were all made of stone or weird, shiny panels layered over one another. Mossfur had never seen one like that before and she found herself wondering what they looked like. This was the only twoleg nest for miles though, and the chances that she would get to cross the river into the city in her lifetime was very slim. Suddenly, Mossfur heard a meow coming from behind her. “Who’s there?” she said. “Wow, a real wild cat!” the voice mewed. Suddenly, a pastel calico dropped down from the treetops. The tom waved his tail in greeting and smiled. “Hi! I’m Twig. I live in the twoleg nest right over there.” He pointed to the wooden nest behind them. “Kittypet,” Mossfur muttered to herself. Twig ignored her hostility and kept talking. “I’ve seen you and your tribe of cats walk by my home every day, but I’ve never actually talked to you! You’re the one that’s here all the time though, always to collect plants or samples of nature around here.”

“Ok, for one, they’re called clans, not tribes. Second, why are you spying on us? You don’t have any business eavesdropping on PineClan.” Twig shook his head and smiled. “I wasn’t eavesdropping, I was just watching from a distance.” Suddenly, Twig’s eyes lit up. “Come on, I need to show you something super cool!” Before Mossfur could protest, Twig’s tail intertwined with hers, pulling her towards wherever he was going. Mossfur’s eyes went wide and her cheeks turned bright pink under her dark brown coat. Suddenly, Twig stopped in front of a hollow tree stump. “Come inside!” he said, slipping through a crack in the bark. Mossfur wanted to turn around in the opposite direction, never to be seen again, but something stopped her. It was as if every muscle in her body wouldn’t move, and every thought that came to her mind was to stay. So Mossfur walked inside the stump and gaped at what she saw inside.

Flowers, herbs, and mushrooms of all kinds were planted and growing inside. Sweet scents of flowers filled Mossfur’s nostrils while bright green grass tickled at her paws. “This is my collection,” said Twig. Mossfur looked around, speechless “Wow,” she said softly. “This is amazing.”

“Thanks,” replied Twig. “I’ve always had an interest in nature. My twoleg has a garden, and sometimes I steal her seeds when she’s not looking. I use nearby moss to soak up water so I can hydrate the plants… I don’t know, it’s not that good.” Mossfur shook her head fiercely. “No, this is great! I really like plants too. Sometimes I study them when I don’t have to do my warrior duties.” Twig looked up and smiled. “We’re really alike.” Mossfur blushed and looked down at her paws. Then she remembered; she had to be back at camp by sundown! She looked outside and saw that the sky was a bright orange color, and she could see dark blue streaks at the top of the sky with stars lining them. “I have to go,” said Mossfur. Just then, a twoleg kit screamed from outside. “I have to go too. My twolegs are calling for me.” Both of them walked outside, feeling the new-leaf sun shining warm on their backs. “This time tomorrow?” Twig asked. Mossfur paused. She knew it wasn’t right, but something about him was different than the other cats. “Sure,” she replied. Twig’s pelt brushed Mossfurs’ as he ran to his twoleg kit. “Bye!” meowed Twig as he was carried away by the twoleg. Mossfur felt warm, but this time it wasn’t from the heat.

= Chapter 2 = Mossfur looked around. She was in a field with tall, silky grass and wildflowers in all different colors. The sun shone brightly in the sky, but when she looked up she could see the stars. The stars made shapes that looked like cats. To Mossfur’s surprise, they started moving. The cats came down from the sky and started chanting her name. Mossfur… Mossfur… Mossfur…

***
“Mossfur! Wake up you mouse-brain!” Mossfur looked up and saw Willowstorm hissing at her. Her amber eyes gazed impatiently at Mossfur. “Ugh, finally. Come on, Fernstar wants to talk to you.”  Mossfur stretched out in an arch and yawned. Remembering the dream, she stared at the sun rising in the sky as she pondered what it had meant. “Well, are you coming or not?” Mossfur shook the thought away and padded out of the warrior den.

The two warriors made their way to the HollowTree, where Fernstar lived. The tree was so big around it could fit about five cats inside of it, and it was almost all hollow. Vines draped over the entrance like a door, and the outside of the tree was largely covered by moss. Where there was no moss, most of the bark had fallen off leaving the outside soft and easy to climb. Mossfur thought about how her warrior ancestors had the power of controlling plants, trying to imagine how hard it would be to build their whole clan just with their mind.

Willowstorm’s spotted pelt disappeared as she padded into the tree. Mossfur followed her inside and saw her sister laying on a fresh pile of moss. As soon as she saw that visitors had come, she sat up straight and meowed, “Ah, you’re here! Thanks for bringing Mossfur to me, Willowstorm. You can go now.” Willowstorm looked taken aback. “But- I thought- '' The clan leader looked at Willowstorm with uncertainty. “Look, I know you want to stay, but this is important to me. Please, you have to go.” This time Willowstorm obeyed, slumping out of the huge tree with her head down. As soon as she had left the room, a worried look began to wash across Ferntar’s face. “Fernstar! Are you ok? What’s wrong?” Mossfur rubbed her side against her sister, trying to calm her. “I- I had a dream,” Fernstar said anxiously. “From Starclan.”

“What is it? StarClan sends you dreams all the time.” Fernstar shook her head. “This one was different.” Fernstar’s pale brown pelt stood on end. “Mossfur, this one was about you.”

***
“What?” Mossfur couldn’t believe what she was hearing. Why in the world was StarClan talking about her? She hesitantly asked, “W- What was it about?”

Fernstar looked at her sister and then looked away. Tears were building in her eyes as she mumbled something to Mossfur. “What? What is it?” Mossfur meowed at her sister with desperation in her voice. “I need to know!”

“They said you wouldn’t be a warrior for long,”

Fernstar said softly. Tears were streaming down from her green eyes and onto her pelt. “You mean… all that training, catching mice, learning to fight, all of that was for nothing?”

Mossfur looked at her sister with saddened eyes. “Everybody said I would grow up into a cat that would be remembered for something special, something amazing.”

She looked back at when Leafstar, the leader of the clan when she was born, saw the gold specks in her deep green eyes and said that she would grow up to be the most important cat in PineClan. Mossfur gave her sister a quick lick across her ear before she sat down with her. “I don’t know what to do!” said Fernstar. “I know you’ll just tell me to get it together because I’m a leader and I have to do everything right, all the time! But I don’t care! I’m not ready to be a leader!” She looked at her Mossfur, her heart beating rapidly. “I’m not ready… to be a leader.” Fernstar sighed and looked at her sister. The tears were starting to stop, but she still looked as sad as she was before. “I’m sorry, I’m wasting your time.” Mossfur shook her head, but before she could protest Fernstar started speaking. “I should probably start a hunting patrol. Can you fetch Brightfoot and tell him to start one?” Mossfur got up and nodded her head. “Ok, I’ll tell him.” She started walking out of the HollowTree, then paused. “You’re a great leader. Never doubt that.” Fernstar looked at her sister and smiled softly. “Thanks,” she said.

Mossfur bounded out of the HollowTree and into the Warrior’s den. The thought of her dying weighed her down as if she was carrying a tree on her back, but she tried to ignore it. A small tom lay on the floor, his white pelt rising and falling as he slept. Mossfur nudged him with her paw and his bright blue eyes opened. He stood up on his feet and stretched, then looked at Mossfur. “Do you need anything?” He asked. “Fernstar wants you to lead a hunting patrol,” replied Mossfur. The tom yawned, then blinked at Mossfur. “I’ll go tell some of the other warriors!” he said as he ran out of the den. Mossfur wished she could be as happy as Brightfoot, always energetic as if nothing bad had ever happened to him. She walked out of the den, ready to start the patrol. Brightfoot and three other cats were already standing outside the den. Mossfur recognized them as Dewdrop, Birchpelt, and Alderpaw, the only apprentice in WoodClan. “Wow, you’re fast,” said Mossfur to Brightfoot. He nodded his head. “The more time we waste, the less prey we catch. Let’s go!” The four cats climbed to the top of the HollowTree, their claws sinking into the soft outside of the tree. They stopped at the top of the tree, their heads just visible in the leaves of the forest. “If we split up into twos, we can catch more birds. Dewdrop, you go with your apprentice, Alderpaw, and Mossfur and Birchpelt can go together too. I’ll go alone.” Dewdrop nodded her head at Brightfoot and whispered something to Alderpaw before they both took off. Brightfoot left in the opposite direction and left Mossfur and Birchpelt alone.

Birchpelt sprung at the crow, gracefully landing on the branch of a tree with the bird in his mouth. His pelt was a pale white with black splatters and sort of shimmered in the sun’s glow. Mossfur found it hard to concentrate on hunting in the heat of the day, but seeing Birchpelt do it with such ease made her snap back into focus. She pricked her ears, listening for the slightest twitter of a bird and crouched on the branch. At the corner of her eye, a flash of blue whooshed past. She quickly turned toward the bluejay, getting ready to spring. The bird spotted her and started cawing frantically, catching her off guard. Birchpelt pounced at the bluejay just before it flew away, then dropped it in front of Mossfur. She looked at the cat in awe, stunned by the perfect timing and poise of his leap. Birchpelt blushed and looked away, embarrassed of the unwanted attention. Mossfur placed the bluejay under a leaf pile, saving it until the hunting patrol was over. She managed to catch a few birds before she went back to camp with the others, but all of the praise went to Birchpelt as usual. She gathered up the fresh-kill and went back to camp with the others.