Warrior Cat Clans 2 (WCC2 aka Classic) is a roleplay site inspired by the Warrior series by Erin Hunter. Whether you are a fan of the books or new to the Warrior cats world, WCC2 offers a diverse environment with over a decade’s worth of lore for you - and your characters - to explore. Join us today and become a part of our ongoing story!
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He had left several days ago. He hadn't told his family; he wanted to, but he knew they would try and stop him. Instead, he'd left Ghosttoad to deliver the message, and he left alone. He visited his old haunts along the way, spoke to the cats he had met so many moons ago, remembered a life long gone by; he followed the thunderpath that had stolen him, rested only when he had to, and hunted for himself.
The storm had begun a day and a half ago, and it showed no sign of letting up. Drifts of snow piled up around his legs and dragged at his belly fur; beneath, the slush invaded the gaps in his paws with an icy numbness. His dark coat was bogged down with flakes and his head hung heavy between his shoulders as he struggled onward. The wind was a whistling howl as it rushed through the streets, and he could barely see a few cat-lengths before his own muzzle. He was alone, isolated in an unforgiving world, and he was struggling to continue to care. The icy claws had faded into a dull numbing cold that permeated his entire body and subdued his every motion. His paws responded sluggishly to his own commands.
But the memory had not faded. His head turned back, slowly, to take in the spectacle of his temporary home with a rush of relief. His concerns about being allowed back ebbed away; for now, all he needed was a place to lay low for just a few moments, to rest and warm up. Then he would take his chances about staying for good.
The former warrior slumped heavily against the entrance to the twoleg den, panting for breath. He was exhausted from the long journey, and he had to take a few moments to gather his strength enough to call out and quash his fears. Then he lifted his head and called out, his voice cracking like ice underpaw.
"B-Brizio? Calliope? Is anyone still here? It's--it's Dragonguard."
His head dropped and he coughed. His throat was raw.
Like a miracle from above, a figure finally appeared on the other side of a large bay window, the silhouette of a cat standing out against the bright lights of the room within. The cat quickly took notice of the half-frozen tom leaning against the building, and its eyes widened in shock. It was too difficult to tell whether the cat was Brizo or Calliope, but the stranger bolted away regardless, only for the distant sounds of scratching and meowing to be heard. As the meows for attention grew into frantic yowling, the loud, lumbering footsteps of twolegs began to accompany them, followed by a strange click.
Without warning, bright light flooded Dragomguard's vision, as a door only a few feet away flew open. Immediately following was the rustle of pawsteps bounding across the snow, as the cat from earlier finally reached him. It was a young she-cat, a kittypet, as the first thing he took notice of was the dark blue collar hanging around her neck, covered in markings that appeared to resemble stars. Glancing upward, her eyes were a striking golden, glimmering in the light around them, but clouded with concern. Her fur was short and embodied the color of soft sand, with tan tabby stripes decorating her back. If it wasn't for her eyes, she would be the mirrior image of Brizo. But it wasn't her, nor Calliope.
"Sir? Sir, are you alright? Hang on, okay? My twolegs will take care of you."
Before he could argue with her, strong arms took a hold of him and lifted the warrior into the air, carrying him into the den, with the she-cat following close behind.
He ducked his head against the light, squeezing his eyes shut. He forced them open again when the kittypet appeared, but she looked... wrong, somehow. "Brizo?" he murmured uncertainly. It looked like her, but the image was off; in his exhausted state, it was hard to place exactly what - the age, the stripes, the color, her eyes, he knew this was not her, but he couldn't think of a name either. Finally he just closed his eyes again and nodded meekly, tensing as the twoleg took hold of him and forcing his limbs to stay still.
The twoleg that had adopted him all those moons ago before he met this family had tried to carry him, but he had fought. In the end, they had made it work - he was rarely picked up, but when he did he kept his complaints to a minimum. This was different. He let it happen, because if he fought, he guessed he might end up back out in the snow, and he couldn't let that happen. He couldn't relax either, but stared out of their arms around the den, taking it all in. Slowly, the warmth began to rush back into him, giving his eyes clarity and his mind focus.
Dragonguard had insisted he was a warrior for a long time, but he knew he could grow used to this life. It was always so warm and comfortable, and he had been fed and taken care of. Even if this family didn't want him, he could find another, his old owner perhaps; they hadn't minded that he had a few scars. It would be a lazy life, but maybe he could do it. Anything was better than staying where he had, going nowhere, finding nothing. At least for now, this would have to do.
"Where are they taking me?" His head rolled back to look down at the tabby, blinking.
"It's alright, it's alright. They're going to help you."
As the door slammed shut behind them, the bitter chill of the blizzard vanished, replaced by a flood of warm air filling his senses, along with the distinct smell of fresh pine. The twoleg who carried him, who was decidedly an old male of the species, barked out something across the room, and a slightly smaller woman twoleg with short curly hair quickly scurried off, returning moments later with arms filled with a large pile of cloth. The man then turned and marched over to a long brown sofa, on the exact opposite side of the window Dragonguard had first seen the she-cat and set him carefully down on a fuzzy blanket atop it. The woman pushed forward and began to pat the soaking wet tom down with her cloth, fluffing and drying his pitch black coat. All the while, the tan kittypet remained close by, eventually hopping up onto the couch herself to watch over him.
After a long while of fussing over him - including presenting him with fresh water and a bowl of dry kittypet food - the pair of twolegs finally seemed convinced that Dragonguard was alright, and left the room, leaving him alone with the she-cat who saved his life. The two sat in silence for a few seconds, before the kittypet finally spoke up again, her voice soft with an almost dream-like tone to it. "Are you feeling any better? You gave us all quite a fright, you know...you're lucky I spotted you when I did."
She glanced over her shoulder out the window, where the snowfall outside appeared to have increased in intensity. If they listened closely, they could hear the eery howl of the wind, gently lifting up waves of snow in the whirlwind. The she-cat frowned as she watched it, before turning back to the warrior, shuffling her paws before giving him a nervous smile. "U-Um...when we were out there...you called me 'Brizo', right? She's my mother, so I understand the mistake. My name is Urania, it's nice to meet you."
As he allowed his senses to return to him, he was silent and still, uncomfortable with all the contact with twolegs but aware he could not stop it. By the time they let him go, he had to admit he was far warmer and more comfortable. Dragonguard pushed himself up and shook out his dark fur, flexing his paws appreciatively against the soft surface. These soft skins probably wouldn't last long out in the clans, but he would have loved to have one to curl up in for his nest. The whole den would be much happier if they could snuggle up with some of these. He ignored the water and food for now, and the she-cat as well, looking around him in silence. Everything was bright and color and stung his eyes, and strangely enough, there seemed to be trees inside the den.
Dragonguard was tempted go investigate, but Urania startled him, and he stopped to look back at her. Now that his mind was clear, he could tell this was definitely not the kindly she-cat he had mistaken her for. Still, they were quite similar, and he wondered why he hadn't seen her before. She was as beautiful as her mother had been -- was this a different litter than the young cats he'd met last time, or had she just kept this one away from him? It troubled him to know that her mother wasn't here, and he prayed that he had just come to the wrong place, not that she had passed on. Kittypet life was supposed to be safe and long, right?
"Yes... Brizo, is she here? I-- I wanted to see her." He paused. When had he gotten so rude? His parents would have his tail for that. "I'm sorry, that was... let me start over." Separating himself from the blanket, he paced further across the couch to be close to her, then bowed his head respectfully. "Thank you for helping me, Urania. It's a pleasure to meet you as well. I'm sorry for barging in like this, I meant to be a bit more... appropriate, but then this storm hit and I needed to get out of it for a while. I'm a long way from home. I didn't know where else to look."
Dragonguard smiled at her, but it was tinged with sadness. He was making his best effort to become something more than he was - to step into the paws of the cheerful tom that had charmed Foxstar and put this stranger at ease. But he was beginning to realize he didn't know who he was anymore, nor had he ever. Foxstar had been the one to entice him, not the other way around; he didn't regret it for a moment, but it was strange to know he lacked the natural charm he thought he'd been in possession of. He'd been nothing more than a fool cracking jokes his entire life, and not he wasn't even that. Just another traitor to the clan, like they all thought before. I guess they were right.
In spite of herself, the young she-cat let out a small snort of amusement as the stranger stumbled over his words, but smiled back at him appreciatively. "It's no problem at all sir," she answered, looking a bit more comfortable knowing that the tom meant no harm. Though she had saved his life without hesitation, there had been all sorts of unsavory cats wandering about the twolegplace lately; you never knew who you were inviting into your home. While the harsh weather of leaf-bare kept most of the rouges at a distance, Brizo had grown more strict with her daughters that lived with her, insisting that for the time being none of them left the den alone. "I'm just glad that you're feeling better." With that, a brief awkward silence fell between them, with Urania at a bit of a loss for what to do.
The handsome tom in front of her was obviously expecting to see Brizo, but that left her in a bit of an odd situation. Of her family, she was probably the least adept at social interaction. She believed herself to be friendly enough around other cats, but when a situation like this one happened to occur, it was usually her mother or Calliope that took charge and came up with a plan. But they both were gone right now, so that left her to decide how to deal with this loner. Summoning all the courage and self-confidence she could, she sighed and stood up on the couch. Her feet wobbled for balance with such a cushy surface underneath, but she managed to meet his gaze clearly.
"Listen...my mother is unfortunately out right now; visiting my sister Clio's twoleg den with my other sister Calliope. They left this morning, but with a blizzard like this, it's unlikely they'll return before tomorrow..." She stole another glance out the frosted window, her brow furrowing in worry. Even if the snowfall managed to stop by morning, the trek back home would be far more difficult for her mother and sister then it was when they left. Though Clio's home wasn't too far away, it was a fact that Brizo just wasn't as agile as she used to be. "My twolegs probably wouldn't mind if you stayed the night with us to wait for her," Urania continued, turning back to him again. "I'll even let you have the first choice of the beds in that helps, mister...I-I don't believe I ever got your name?"
He glanced away from her as silence fell, his coat prickling. He knew he ought to say something, but his graces were lacking. It had been too long since he properly interacted with someone, he was ashamed to say. But if he wanted to stay here, he needed to change that. It was half the point of his leaving. Taking a deep breath, he turned back to her, but as he opened his mouth to speak she started again. He snapped his jaw shut again to listen to her, nodding a couple times, relieved to hear Brizo was alright. Calliope, too; he hadn't interacted with any of the kits much, but he remember her and her odd ways of speaking clearly. It reminded him of Swangrace. A flash of grief caught him as he thought of his sister. What would she think of him coming here? They weren't close, but maybe... maybe she'd be happy. Maybe she would understand he had to do this. If anyone in their family could, he thought it would be her.
"Dragonguard." He kept a careful eye on her expression, wondering if they'd had the company of other clan cats. It hadn't occurred to him before now that they might have seen others, but if Brizo was from the Regime, then it would make sense. Would she still remember him, then? He shook the thought away and went on. "That's really nice of you, Urania, and if you wouldn't mind I do want to stay here and wait for her. But I don't need one of your... beds. Anywhere will do; I can sleep on the ground." It would be warm, and that was more than he was used to. The cave could get chilly at night, especially during leafbare, when his fur was still wet.
The former warrior looked over his shoulder at the decorations, frowning slightly. "Mind if I ask a question?" He looked back at her. "What's with the, ah, trees? Inside your nest?"
As the mystery tom gave his name, Urania's eyes lit up in realization and awe. "Oh! You're from the clans then? That is far." It would probably surprise Dragonguard later to discover that former warriors really weren't uncommon at all in the twolegplace. As they both knew, Brizo was formerly one, and had raised all of her kits on stories of the wilderness beyond the fence; of cats that lived together in giant tribes, overcoming varied but incredibly challenging climates by working as one. It was a life fulfilled by the knowledge that every cat had a role to play, and everyone around them, regardless of blood relation, was family. But Brizo also warned that clan life was a harsh one not for the faint of heart. She told of how the different clans were almost always on the brink of war with each other, and pushed themselves to their limits to fight starvation or dehydration every time the weather shifted. Many clan-cats, Brizo included, just weren't able to endure such a harsh world for any longer, and made the choice to leave to become loners or kittypets. "There's no need for you to sleep on the floor when we have good beds here," Urania retorted, feeling more compassion for Dragonguard now that she understood where he came from. "I insist that you take one of the beds. Most of my sisters have gone to new twoleg homes, so there's several that are unused."
It took a good second for his question to register with her, and even then she had to turn her head and follow his gaze to recognize just what he was asking about. Sure enough, on the far side of the room sat a smallish pine tree, at least, shorter than the ones either of them had seen in the forest. It was covered in small, glittering lights that reminded her of fireflies, though when she had investigated as a kit it was clear they weren't alive. Around the room similarly decorated pine branches and poinsettias were scattered here and there, filling the air with a wonderful scent of a crisp pine forest. "Oh, those? The twolegs put up a fresh pine tree every leaf-bare; it's a tradition, we think, since apparently almost every twoleg does the same thing around this time of year. As for why...you'll get a different answer from every cat you ask. Personally, I think that they're attempting to replicate a Green-leaf forest inside their dens, to make up for the fact that everything is dead outside."
So she recognized his name, but only because she knew of how clan names were built. That was fair enough. He suffocated and stab of anxiety that Brizo wouldn't recognize him either: it made sense that she wouldn't go around telling his name to all of her its, but that didn't mean she had already forgotten him entirely. Surely that arrogant, terrified co-deputy that had arrived here all those moons ago had appeared dramatically enough that she'd remember him? If not, he just had to hope she was as kind as she had been last time and would still let him in.
His head tilted as he listened to her tale, and it only confused him more. "They put up a tree during the cold moons, then get a fresh one for the net leafbare... does that mean it dies when newleaf comes?" Dragonguard mewed skeptically. "That doesn't make any sense." He sprang down from the couch and trotted over to examine it up close, sniffing the trunk and scrutinizing the spindly branches. They looked too weak to hold a cat, except for maybe when they neared the trunk and grew in thicker, but even still. There was no way a twoleg could fit in there, so what was the point? He reached up on his hind legs and placed his forepaws against one of the lower branches, giving it a testy little push, then nudging one of the firefly-like lights. It felt way too hard to be a real bug or anything remotely tasty.
"Honestly? Nothing they do makes any sense." She laughed as she leapt off the couch and trotted along after him, finding amusement in his apparent confusion. Urania stopped right beside him, and their pelts brushed together as she peered upwards at the spectacle of the tree and its mystifying tiny lights. "But that doesn't mean we can't enjoy it anyway." Ever since she was a kit, or tyke, as her mother called them, she had always looked forward to this time of year. The tree and everything that came with it was both enchanting and facinating to her, and she could find herself just staring at it for hours. At night, she used to lie beneath it and pretend that she was watching the stars...
Swiftly reminding herself of her guest, she snapped herself away from her wandering thoughts and focused her attention back on Dragonguard. "Oh! Would you like to see something else interesting?" She pivoted and padded around him along the outside of the pine, scanning the lower branches earnestly as she looked for something. "Ah! There!" Pointing with her paw, she drew attention to a flat, round object hanging from a branch just above their heads. Though it was a bit high, they both could make it out clearly; within the circle were two extremely tiny twolegs standing in what was assumed to be an embrance. On close inspection, the figures looked very similar to the pair of twolegs who rescued Dragonguard. "We call these Reflections," the kittypet explained. "Because that's what they really are. Somehow twolegs have the ability to preserve their own reflections with the use of a little box that captures and freezes them, I've seen them do it. You'll find similar ones all over the den."
Maybe she was right. He didn't understand why they would have brought a tree in front the outside, but he did like the reassurance of having a familiar nature scent around him. It was like a little slice of home brought in with him, to keep him grounded, so he wouldn't be so lost in the foreign land. He turned and followed her gesture to the strange object hanging from the tree. It was small and round and at first he didn't understand why she pointed it out; wasn't it just another light like the others, just not bright? Then he recognized the tiny shapes within were something else. Twolegs? That didn't make any sense either. They were clearly not real, but why - and how - did they make such tiny Reflections of themselves?
The black warrior was fascinated. He reared up and raised one paw to bat at it, then froze a whisker-length from touching it. "Can they see through it? Do these... Reflections feel things? Do they move?" It seemed a ridiculous thought, but you never could tell with twolegs. He didn't want to accidentally hurt one of them and get kicked out into the rain again.
