The Telling [PLOT]

It was time for another Telling. Stoneteller had been anxiously awaiting this moment all day. He had mentioned that he was going to try to get in contact with their ancestors again, but as the time grew closer, the tom was slowly beginning to regret it. Already, he had hidden away that he had been unable to contact the Tribe of Endless Stars in the past, but at this point, he wasn't sure how long he could keep that from his tribe. What if one more failure cost him the rest of his tribe mates? No, he wasn't going to think about it.

As the moon rose in the sky and filled the cavern with light, Stoneteller stared at the pointed stones in front of him. With time, they began to glow just as they always did, creating a faint cold light that illuminated the walls of the cave just off of the main opening. As it slowly grew brighter, Stoneteller knew it was time. With a deep breath, he anxiously approached the stones, lying down next to them and gently pressing his nose against it. A cold shiver shot down his spine as he was suddenly forced into a deep slumber.

As his eyes fluttered open again, Stoneteller found himself standing in a place that he was familiar with but it had been so long that it felt almost foreign. Blinking to focus, he finally saw the lush green grass stretching endlessly around him as the stars gleamed brightly from above. There was a sense of peace that filled his chest and his belly as he inhaled the sweet scent of the field. "Tribe of Endless Stars," he called out as no one approached him. It was odd, but it happened from time to time. "Hear my plea. It has been too long! My tribe, we are struggling. Please give me your guidance!"

For a while, there was nothing but the rustling of the breeze through the grass. As the Healer stood there, the scene began to shift as the stars brightened, soon coming down from the sky and swirling into the shape of several cats, their bodies gleaming with serene look about them. As soon as Stoneteller saw them, his breath caught in his throat as relief washed over him. Finally!

"Descendants of Old SkyClan," one cat spoke, his starlit eye staring fiercely into Stoneteller's. He stepped up in front of the others, taking the Healer's attention. "Follow the brightest star. Let it lead you back home." As soon as the last word was spoken, the Endless Stars tom began to disappear, his body turning back into the stars. The others followed suit and all-too-quickly, Stoneteller was yanked from his dream, the whole scene turning back as his eyes flew open and he was back in the cave. Follow the brightest star? Old Skyclan? Nervously and excitedly getting up, the Healer darted out of the cave. He had finally heard from the Tribe of Endless Stars and he knew what they had to do. However, instead of stopping in the middle of the cave for the waiting tribe cats, Stoneteller instead ran right outside out of the cave, his eyes quickly shifting to the clear skies. Frantically searching, it didn't take long for the tom to find the brightest star. That must be it, he thought.

Taking a deep breath to compose himself, Stoneteller finally ran back inside, quickly finding his place in the middle of the cave. "Tribe of Endless Skies! Gather!" he yowled, trying to get everyone together quickly. It was late, but this was news he needed to share now.

Storm that Lights the Clouds was curled up in a corner far from his Clanmates, his head lowered and his chest rising in a steady pattern but he was far from asleep. It was hard to sleep with the pain of hunger so he wasted his time keeping an eye out on his Clanmates, one eye closed but the other keenly aware of every movement...Or at least it should have been. Instead, that one eye was trained on the cave in the back - the Stoneteller's cave. He was watching for movement, any movement from within. It wasn't just the hunger keeping him awake, it was the burning prayer for news - any news. Good or bad from the Tribe of Endless Stars.

His head shot up the moment he heard the sound of pawsteps as Stoneteller came bursting from his cave...And into the open air. There was silenced as Storm felt his pelt itch, his whiskers twitched. Then Stoneteller came darting back in and called for everybody. In an instance he was on his paws, quickly moving to take his place as his focused on the old tom. There was new life in Stoneteller's movements. He sat down as he curled his tail over his paws, all of the pain of his hunger being forgotten as he felt something he thought he would never feel again - Hope. Hope of the tribe surviving, hope for a new dawn.

With a groan, Pale Light of Dusk awoke from the lonely elder's den. It had once held two or three others, but not since the crippling Time of Frozen Water. She missed them, but it was when she was trying to sleep, she had to admit she didn't mind the quiet. Well, it didn't seem as though she'd be getting much sleep tonight. As she trudged out of her nest, she perked up a little at the sight of Stoneteller. She'd been around long enough to know what this meant: an omen. It had been a long time since she'd heard one of those. Pale smiled slightly. Whatever news, good or bad, the Teller of Pointed Stones had in store, she knew it meant one thing at least: The Tribe of Endless Stars have not abandoned us.

Whether it was an omen of good fortune or one of death, she didn't care. They were still there.

Ash's head shot up from the place he was resting, his ears pricked for the sudden noise. As he soon realised Stoneteller was yelling a command, he sleepily rose up to his paws, his eyes and tail drooping. He heard pawsteps echoing off the cavern as the tribe cats gathered before Stoneteller. Something was different about him, though. Every movement he made had new energy in it, new hope.

Ash smiled slightly, then quickly groomed his ruffled fur before settling down with his tribe.

Frost that Blankets the Brook's head shot up from her nest, and fitful sleep, as she heard Stoneteller's call. Immediately her heart began to race and her gaze flickered to look at her tribe mates. As a young to-be she wasn't exactly sure what this meant, but she padded forward to sit in front of their Healer. As far as she could remember, she had never heard Stoneteller call them to gather and, honestly, it frightened her. Frost's worried hazel gaze glanced at Storm, who didn't seem all that scared, if at all, and it did calm her nerves a bit, but only a little. Finally she let her gaze rest on Stoneteller, waiting anxiously for him to address them.

ooc: mobilee

Night of Stormy Gales was laying near the cave wall, his yellowish-green eyes half-closed as he drowsed.  The remains of a pitifully small mouse lay at his paws, but the tom's stomached still twisted with the now familiar hunger pangs.  Before the famine, Night was known to be a prey-hog, with a huge appetite but now the middle-aged tom-cat had manged to push that habit aside.  There was no room for pleasure eating in a starving Tribe, and he had learned to channel his frustration into hunting skill.  Hunger can be the ultimate motivation to bring back prey, and it seems to be working for me."  

The sudden appearance of Stoneteller snapped Night out of his slight dozing, and his eyes opened wide, gleaming curiously.  Rising to his paws, the tom jogged over to where their Healer stood in the middle of the cave with a frantic expression on his face.  "Stoneteller, what is it?  Have you seen something?"  Head tilted, he waited for an eventual response.

Berry that Falls from Bush had kept to himself that night, as usual, against one of the side cave walls with his cream-colored paws covering his muzzle. His flank rose each time he inhaled and fell whenever he let the breath out. When the call from Stoneteller drifted into his ears and was able to wake him up from sleeping, Berry groggily raised his cream head, blinking a couple of times to chase the sleep that was haunting his vision away, before bringing himself to his paws. The fact that the tribe had been called to gather must've meant that something important happened, and Berry was just as curious as his Tribemates were. With wonder gleaming in his eyes, he padded over to join the group and sat towards the back like he usually did. However this time, he looked more excited and eager when he usually didn't.

If this meant that Stoneteller had received a sign of some sort to help the tribe during this Time of Frozen Water, then Berry was ready to hear and listen.

Fox that hunts in the Night flicked his ears when the sound of the voice of his leader expanded for all the cave. The tom wasn't able to sleep because of the growls of his empty belly. He caught a prey this morning, but he decided to left it to another tribe member because he felt that the others needed to eat more than him, who was still young and strong.
With tired eyes, the spotted cat padded toward the group of cats that were meeting next to the Stoneteller. All of them were quite anxious because of the gather and Fox could notice that when he finally sat down. But he wasn't like all of them. The orange cat just looked serious to his leader with narrowed green eyes, ready for the words he would tell. He had fate on the cat that could listen to their ancestors and he would do anything for him.

Shadow of the dancing leaf's head perked up from the bird she was eating when she heard Stoneteller's call. Her amber eyes looked at her healer and back to her bird, wondering if she should finish it first or not... Hopefully this wouldn't take to long and she could get back to her bird. She needed all the strength she could get to go out hunting again for the tribe. After all they were running low on food, and she had to work all day to get some for the tribe.

The white and gray cat stood from her bird and padded over to the gathering of cats hoping for good news.

Screech of The Startled Eagle paused during his grooming at Stoneteller's call, tongue sticking out mid-lick as his large ears swiveled towards the Tribe's Leader. Unlike the rest of his Tribemates, the scrawny young tom did not scramble to his paws and hurry towards Stoneteller, instead he remained crouched closer to the outskirts of the ragtag collection of cats. What was Stoneteller going to tell them that they already didn't know? That the Time of Frozen Water seemed to be lasting longer than ever? That practically all of their tribemates were long dead? Shaking his head briefly, Screech's narrowed gaze fell upon Stoneteller as he waited for the tom to speak, shuffling his weak form awkwardly as he did so.

When most of the cats had crowded around him, Stoneteller looked at each one of them before taking in a deep breath, trying to gather his thoughts. All of his excitement suddenly drained from him as he looked around at all of the tired and disheartened faces of his tribe. 'Follow the brightest star,' they said. Was that such a good idea? Could his tribe even make the trip to lands unknown? Was there even anything past the mountain? He'd heard the stories, of course, but just as most cats believed, that's all they were -- just stories. However, he had to believe. It's what the Tribe of Endless Stars had told him, and if they stayed here any longer, there wouldn't be a tribe to look after.

When everyone settled down, Stoneteller took a moment to look around to find a higher vantage point. Quickly, he spotted a tall rock jutting out of the floor and clamored to the top. "Tribe of Endless Skies! I come back from a Telling with... well, news. After some moons, the Tribe of Endless Stars has given me new hope that our tribe will survive. However, this will come with some unknown dangers." He paused. "'Descendants of Old Skyclan, follow the brightest star. It will lead you back home.' This is the prophecy they gave me." Another pause. He was trying to let the news sink in. He knew that any thoughts of leaving would shake up the tribe, but it had to be done.

Storm that Lights the Clouds felt his heart make a leap when Stoneteller admitted to having been given a sign...But it dropped like a rock when two words left his mouth 'unknown dangers.' His expression quickly became guarded as his eyes narrowed, his tail flickering ever so slightly as he listened to the rest of their leader's words. Follow the brightest star? As in...Leaving? His mouth fell open as that thought registered in his mind, jumping to his paws. "You can't mean...We can't leave!" he wailed, his whole body tensing as he stared up at Stoneteller. "We have been living here for generators! What of all of the cats that gave their lives to that we could live here? What...What..." His voice started to die, his ears slicking back as he recalled the words he had spoken to his tribemates not long ago. "I...No. Forgive me for speaking out, Stoneteller. If you think we should leave, I will follow. I put all of my trust in you," he whispered as he sat back down, his gaze falling to his paws as he waited for more outrage from his Clanmates, already accepting what he had promised.

Night of Stormy Gales watched inquisitively as Stoneteller jumped up onto a high stone, and sat down to listen to their healer's wise words.  As the realization began to set in, the black tom's eyes began to widen, and his ears perked; did he hear that right?  Leaving the mountains?  The other day he had preached to a group about how that may be the best option, but now that it seemed to be reality the prey-hunter's mind began to protest.  But how could we leave here?  This is where we were all born; we've hunted here, reared kits here, and patrolled the borders here for countless generations.  This is our true home; how could our ancestors say that it isn't?

Taking a deep breath, Night closed his vivid eyes, and allowed himself to indulge in the painful memories and emotions he had managed to keep locked away.  He saw his parents and siblings, one by one all being taken away from him.  His brother and mother starving to death at his paws; his sisters being taken away, one by an eagle the other by her pain, and their father who had died from a mysterious illness.  I've been through so much here.....is it all going to be for nothing?

Well...I may be many things; but a hypocrite I am not.  Stepping forward with confidence, the dark tom-cat spoke up, his strong voice ringing around the large cave.  "We trust in you Stoneteller, and in our ancestors.  Both have never led up wrong before, so we need to trust them just as much now.  I already see that this path will hold many trials; but as a Tribe I am confident we will be able to overcome them together, with the strength of the stars behind us.  I will follow you to our new home."