Forest Dwellers

This story is set in the canon universe of the Dawn of the Clans series, but that series is still being written and therefore some or most points made in this fan-series may be proven wrong in books to come. Canon characters will appear and will be main characters, and the timeline goes alongside the books.

Chapter 1:My Hero
A small tom with splotchy brown fur rested beneath the sunlight. He sat beside a river, stretched out on some warm rocks nearby. The remains of a rabbit lay next to him, nearly bones after he had finished eating it. He felt completely relaxed, enjoying the warm rays pouring down on him from the sky...

Splash!

"Hey!" the tom stood, shaking some water off his pelt. Hey turned to face whatever splashed him, glaring into the blue depths of the river. At first, he saw no one. Then, a little downstream, he heard a muffled cry for help. He raced along the shoreline, trying to see who had fallen in. Just as he thought the source of the cry had drowned, the golden head of a she-cat surfaced.

"Help!" she spluttered. "Please, help!"

The tom certainly wasn't about to jump in the river, but he would help in any way he could. Spotting a large branch downstream, he grabbed it and stuck it out as far as he could. The she-cat desperately clawed at it, just barely managing to keep a hold. The tom dragged her back to land, and the she-cat flopped about in panic for a moment. After coughing up water for a good while, she finally managed to sputter, "T-thank you."

The tom walked over to her and helped her to her paws. Once he was sure she could stand, he raised a paw and sliced at her ear. "Hey!" the she-cat stumbled backwards, a little bit of blood dripping from her ear.

"That's for splashing me." with that, the tom turned and padded away.

"Wait!" the she-cat chased after him, then fell in his pace by his side. "I'm sorry I splashed you. I was stalking a bird on a tree branch but it took off and shook the branch and i fell in and I'm sorry."

"Stop rambling." the tom muttered. "Apology accepted, you can repay me by never talking to me again."

"My name's Sunrise." the she-cat ignored him. "I've got to catch prey or something for you, as thanks." She sprinted ahead when she spotted a rabbit, but it heard her long before she reached it because she was wearing a collar with a bell on it. She wasn't fast enough to catch up to it, and hung her head in shame. "Sorry."

"Stop apologizing." the tom reached up with a claw and Sunrise flinched, afraid he was going to attack her again. However, the claw was aimed at her collar, and bright acessory fell to the ground. "There, you can hunt without alerting the whole forest."

"Thank you again!" Sunrise purred. "But hey, I told you my name but you haven't told me yours!"

"You don't need to know my name."

"But why not?"

"Because if I can help it, we'll never meet again."

"That's not very friendly!"

"I'm not very friendly."

"What if I try to guess it? Harvey? Claws? Tree? Mouse? Harry? Mud?"

"It's Dew, just shut up!"

"Well, Dew." Sunrise grinned widely. "You're my hero! And since I owe you my life, I'll help you hunt and stuff! From now on, I'm your servant!"

Dew rolled his eyes.

Chapter 2: Just a Flesh Wound
A she-cat with a gray coat and blue eyes slowly stalked forward. She saw a mouse ahead, and was careful to make sure her fur didn't brush any undergrowth. Carefully and quietly, she put one paw in front of the other, the mouse getting ever closer.

Suddenly, a gray and white she-cat appeared from nowhere and landed on top of the mouse, claws slicing its throat. She reached down and picked up the mouse, turning to carry it away.

"Hey!" the first she-cat hissed. "That was my mouse!"

"You really want to challenge me, Thorn?" the second she-cat slid out her claws. Thorn backed up a bit, but remained in an attack pose. "There's more prey out there, and I didn't even know you were stalking this one. Go find your own." the second she-cat turned to stalk off, but Thorn slid out her claws and pounced.

The second she-cat dropped the mouse and rolled over, squishing the smaller Thorn. Thorn loosened her grip and the bigger she-cat stood, able to keep Thorn pinned. "Give me that mouse, Misty!" Thorn hissed.

"I'd say 'make me'." Misty said smugly. "But it seems you can't." She raked her claws down Thorn's side then ran off, picking up the mouse as she went.

Thorn let out a hiss of pain, attempting to stop the bleeding by leaning again a mossy tree. "Stealing prey from a pregnat cat is an all-time low for her." she muttered. Her tail curled protectively around her belly, which had only just started to bulge with kits.

"Hey, are you okay?" Thorn looked up to see a tortiseshell she-cat in the branches above. She noticed how well-fed and clean the stranger looked.

"I'm fine, kittypet." Thorn snarled. "Though I guess you've never seen blood before so this little scratch must be scary for you."

"There's no need to be mean." the kittypet carefully climbed down to stand beside Thorn. "I'm just trying to help. My friend's twolegs can heal you, they're vets. It's a bit of a walk but it's better than an infection."

"I don't need twolegs or kittypets to take care of me." Thorn turned to walk away, but stumbled and fell.

"Miss! Hey, are you okay?" the kittypet raced up to Thorn's side. The wild cat seemed to be hearing the stranger's voice through water, as it seemed far away and muffled. She blinked and her eyes closed as she fainted from blood loss.