If you are to sit at the edge of the sky above
And you stare at the cats, long, and loved,
Gathered and living strong within a cliffside basin
You will meet the Pebbleclan cats
They look at the stars: purring in joy
Their hope is based in a small mewling kit
The queen is outstretched with fourkit
Named for the three that died before.
Ignored, and standing replaced, is the paw to later be
Stoneflower
And these are his life and times.
You may have heard rumors about this terrible cat
Terrible, or horrible, adorable, or just stoneflower
Some may proclaim him to be sour
He was misunderstood some explain
Rarely should they be accepted as sane.
Stoneflower was not a monster
He was of average size
Stoneflower was the leader’s foster
Don’t believe all the chatter:
He was a cat; he was found under a cedar.
Stoneflower was a wandering 'paw.
He spent much time wondering the stars
So Silverstar, being very smart, kept him by his side
And with all his heart, swept him under his wing
Stonepaw was quite the hunter
Though his mind was often more focused on something
Something else so small, he'd forget to bite
The scrawling prey crying like a locus
It would twist around and fall right out of his jaws
Perhaps, said the elderly healer Vastfeather
He is meant to be found for a realer role
But Stonepaw couldn't speak to the stars above
He stared back into the darkness; he was to meet me instead.
Hi young paw, what's your law?
Afraid of what a cat like me could do?
Relax, come on, hear the crow caw
Believe me when I can say I could make your dreams come true.
I don't have much dreams
I don't see a crow
And I think maybe I should go
I don't recognize you.
Are you someone I should know?
My name is Rabbistripe
Let me exercise your mind
I'm a curse
And you're my number one
I doubt you're a curse
But again, I have no dreams
I bet I'm much worse
Wait. If you could,
Would you tell me where I'm meant to be?
I couldn't tell as such!
But I can let you know where you're meant to go
And if you listen, though I know you won't
I can give you dreams
Or I can make it seem
Like your nightmares are going to hasten
And break you in two.
That's not necessary
That's not right
If I'm meant to go
Am I meant to fight?
So the apprentice went to his father
Who sat with his queen and kit
Tired in the moment of the stonepaw menace
"Stonepaw, sit, what's on your mind?
That look on your face, you look like a fiend."
Stonepaw tipped his head, and fired off,
"I want to fight. I want a battle."
Silverstar outstretched, "You're young." He rattled, "but, alright."
The Pebbleclan cats had long been in skirmish
With a group of rogues based away the basin
They lived in big bin
Next to an abandoned chicken coop
Their pelts were thin
And their fur the color of sand
Silverstar gathered the clan cats
or at least all the strongest ones
The ones that mattered
And Stonepaw
Stonepaw longed to see the land
And Silverstar began his speech to his humble cats
"We will sit outside the tree!
We will tumble and rumble
Make noises and ride it out
Until the rogues come to see
Their choices will be dumb.
And we'll have won!"
Silverstar, sleek and sure he was speaking for the voices
Of the stars above,
let out a mighty purr,
"See, my cats, to battle is to rattle
The cats must be swept off their paws
we must be as frightening as bats
they're just as adept
But what makes us different, and this is a must–"
The cats tipped their head, as Silverstar closed his eyes, and no cat spoke, except for silly stonepaw, who cried,
StarClan is who we trust!
"Stonepaw, shush!" Silverstar said.
Stonepaw's ears pinned, and remained even as they found the tree
He felt a strange sense of dread.
Silverstar softened and lead Stonepaw, and the kit now Fourpaw, away to a trench,
"Pray, over this prey." He said, "My sons. It is what I always do, and I would like for you to do too."
They pressed their bodies together in the mud,
and Stonepaw felt their warmth,
as they began to say,
"Oh, StarClan. Let us succeed.
Oh, StarClan, save the damned."
But as his father and his brother kept their eyes closed
Stonepaw couldn't find it in him to rave,
He just stared out, and he saw me, in kind.
"I will live for your glory!" meowed Fourpaw
"I will try not to make you sorry." Said Stonepaw.
the cats sat by the tree all day
The heat so hot they wished they could swim
Until they could see the sand colored cats coming their way.
The battle was bloody
attacking the cats like they were rats
And all the while, Stonepaw thought
Even as he fought
Did they really want him dead?
Well, poor Stonepaw proved that to himself
and silly as it was, he was dragged back to the bin
by a tall soft tom, whose long tail sagged,
And who was seeing red.
"May you be an example.
may your clan know what they've done wrong
but, enough with the preamble." Said the tom,
"hear the bird's song."
All Stonepaw heard was the crow caw
As he was lead to the edge of the camp
Leaning over the pool of dark muddy water
the rocks so covered in moss it was like they had fur
He was on the edge, about to be drowned,
When Briarpaw, pelt of stars, appeared to him,
Briarpaw, my kit of a brother
Drowned in the water
Moons ago
And so stars dropped from his pelt
And gathered by his eyes and the permanent welts as he wandered the territories
Saving all he could
Or at least all that should
From drowning with a burst of inspiration
And he dared to say to Stonepaw, shocked by his stars,
Hey kit, don't be scared
Hold your breath, dive right in
Swim swim swim, until you're within
A river or stream as fast and sweet
as the air in which you'll need to breathe
And he looked me in the eyes
And he hooked his claws
And he swung around
Slapped the tom with the palm of his paw
blood welling right up
and then he booked it
Into the water
Learned to swim
until he knew he could win
Rising in the bog
Just as the sky filled with morning fog
Stonepaw stepped out into the clearing
His body thin: his ribs very visible
He found the clan cats mourning
And why?
Stonepaw was back!
Though his pawsteps were wary
And well older now,
His shaggy fur dull
Fourpaw, now Fourbeam
gleamed at the sight of his brother
Licking his ear,
And carrying him to the boulder in the center of camp
Free from fear, Stonepaw rested for half a moon
till Silverstar entered.
"My son, your foolish behavior nearly got you killed. But, thanks to the savior of StarClan, you returned, and so I think you've earned…"
A flower able to burst from a rock
It's roots finding their way through cracks
Searching for ways to quench their first
it's petals shooting up to the sun, trying to stay on the colorful track
A flower in the stone is full of power, it's pushed its way through the impossible, but it remains completely alone,
and a single flower often looks much duller,
But nonetheless the flower has survived
And perhaps, with a burst of wind to carry some pollen
It may even thrive
So our young stonepaw gained his name, Stoneflower, for the miracle that gave him fame.
Stoneflower was now very glorious
and the cats decided to take him serious
Though he still could not hunt
Or speak to the stars
Or fight
and as the sun lightened and dimmed
Moons carried him to mediocrity
Poor Stoneflower, his glory died too soon!
Cats looked at him with disappointment:
He lived and for why?
He may have been more wonderful if he died
He lived for his clan, but his clan can without him
Poor Stoneflower, he can't do anything right
Hour after hour, he stuck by the side
He was in a rut:
Where was he meant to go now?
And we met again, we began to confide
You could bother to bow to me, kit
After all, I was the one who sent you back
You're hiding in this dark den
Waiting for me.
Rabbistripe, it's a funny thing
I'm not sure what to do
Even as we sit sunning
I'm sitting far away
From the other cats
I don't know why I find it so hard
Well kit there's more for you
You've gotta get going, see something new
There's more stars passed the clan
Passed the twolegs, too, in the bottom of a ravine
There's something to be seen,
If you'd only listen to this task,
Though the walks a little far
Stoneflower returned to his father.
Who sat in cool moonlight, looking out over the cats, but before Stoneflower could make his case,
"Vastfeather has seen something, and I believe it may be right for you." Said Silverstar,
with a shiver, "To see if StarClan can be reached, in a river, in a stream, at the bottom of a ravine. Though you are not a superb healer, and hunting is not your sorting, I mean to say, perhaps travel is your forte, and I know you can run!"
Stoneflower felt pleased, it even sounded fun!!
"Bring your brother, and some others…" Silverstar said, "Show us why StarClan bothered to let you live."
Stoneflower began his quest, head held high,
And I was sure to stick by his side.
Though there are many cats who think they could tell you the rest
Cats who tell a story of a day and a half of a trip
To three camps, former clans,
And how Stoneflower found them,
Alone, hiding in a tunnel, and how he ran!
StarClan was not there, but he met a cat.
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