Darkfinch's Story - Chapter 4

The cat stared down at him, then leapt down on to the sand next to the water. Then another cat came. It took one look at the cat standing over Darkpaw and fled. "No! Help me!" Darkpaw called after the cat. "No, help ME!" the shadow cat mimicked his call. Suddenly a new cat appeared. It was a dark black cat, that blended into the woods. The cat stared at Darkpaw, looked over at the cat standing over him and spoke, "he does not belong here, let him go home or he will no longer be an asset." The cat let out a hiss. Before the cat could do anything the shadow/smoke effect on the cat disappeared leaving a gray and white cat. The black cat stared before shaking his pelt. The black vanished leaving a glowing white cat. The cats lunged at each other, hissing with rage. "Let the cat go back to his clan.  The cat nodded and… "What exactly are you doing?" snapped a voice. "I have called you 3 times and you are sitting in here on your back with your feet in the air." it was Darkenberry. "We were supposed to be on the dawn patrol. Then the hunting patrol left without. So now we have to train in the sandy clearing with Hollypaw and Mistlight. The 4 cats trudged up to the clearing in silence. When they got their, Darkenberry turned to his apprentice. "What were you doing. Being a warrior means being an asset to your clan. It means being on time to patrols. Even if they are early. It also means being ready to fight, and hunting for the clan. Which means, you are going to get the last piece of prey today. Now attack me." "You?" questioned Darkpaw wondering how we was going to win a battle against the clans most battle-hungry, and fierce warrior. Before he could create any sort of plan, Darkenberry leapt at him. 

Darkfinch's Story - Chapter 3

Soon Darkpaw flopped on his side under the water. He felt the cat's claws snag his pelt, and pull him from the water. "That was to easy, even if I push you, you have to keep swimming. You can't stop swimming just because you change places. Say an enemy was coming at you and you stop swimming. If the water was over your head, you would sink and the warrior would hold you on the bottom of the river, or stream just like I did. You must keep swimming at all times. If your life depended on it." Darkpaw nodded trying to get the smelly water from his pelt. The cat hissed and clawed at his pelt. "Leave it." Darkpaw stared at her." "You deserve it. The water will remind you to never stop swimming." Darkpaw hissed at her. "You think you can fight me?" asked the cat. Darkpaw narrowed his eyes watching her shadowy shape move through the dark gray and dreary forest. "You think you can fight me because you are being mentored by the best cat in your clan. Darkenberry. Let's see if you learned anything." Darkpaw nodded and tensed ready to fight. Darkenberry hadn't taught him much, only how to leap through trees. The she cat gave a yowl and flung herself at him, slamming into his side. He stumbled backwards. The cat gave a triumphant yowl and started battering him backwards towards the water again. He cautiously stayed away from the edge of the water until a lunge from the cat made him stagger backwards. The cat slammed into his side again making him slip backwards over the rocks and into the water. He fell over on his back into the water, leaving the cat standing on the bank watching. 

Darkfinch's Story - Chapter 2

Darkpaw sat and watched as his sister caught voles. She quickly became a very good hunter. Her mentor took her a side to teach her more advanced moves, and hunting techniques more and more often. Soon Hollypaw was leaping into the air and snatching birds from the sky. After a little more training, Hollypaw could leap from tree to tree to catch a run away squirrel or she could plunge a paw into a lake and could grab a slippery, floppy, silver fish from the water. Soon Hollypaw only rivaled her mentor in hunting ability. Darkpaw watched with wicked envy. He started feeding off of jealousy and hatred. He took his training even more seriously. He started copying his sister, in time his hunting improved. He fought with wicked envy and rage, battling until he couldn't feel his paws. Darkenberry pushed him to his limits. Then one night a strange cat came to him. The cat seemed to be made of shadows. The cat brought him deep within shadows. The cat tought him everything it knew, or at least that was what Darkfinch though. The cat drilled Darkpaw each night, while Darkenberry mentored him  during the day. With Darkenberry he raced through the trees trying to catch his mentor, while at night the cat helped him swim. Darkpaw scrambled up a tree, while his mentor ran off into the tree tops. Darkpaw listened for any indication of his mentor. Suddenly he heard the crack of a twig and raced off in that direction. Suddenly he looked down. Hollypaw and his nighttime mentor were talking. Hollypaw was talking to softly for him to hear. Apparently Hollypaw was being trained in hunting techniques during the day and fighting techniques during the night. Darkpaw turned away and raced after the sound, searching for his mentor. Darkpaw listened again heard another snap, turned and scrambled higher up the tree and continued searching. Pushing Hollypaw to the back of his mind, Darkpaw ran through the trees in search of his mentor. Suddenly he saw the waving black tail, and raced on. He found his mentor sitting in a tree waiting for him. After the long exercise the two cats headed back to camp. During the night, Darkpaw dreamed. He was suddenly falling through the branches of a tree. He caught his footing and leapt down. His shadow mentor was waiting, she directed him to jump in the water. She padded towards him, trying to stay on the beach. She directed him to try to keep her away from the rock behind him any way possible. She tried to swat him away but he stayed in position. After 5 drills of this. She had him swim up and down the river a few times. When he was done, she pushed him off balance making him fall beneath the surface of the water. She seized her opportunity and jumped on top of him. Darkpaw gasped at the sudden weight and fought to return the surface. 

Darkfinch's Story - Chapter 1

"Darkkit you will be known from this day forth as Darkpaw. Darkenberry you will be his mentor, teach him all you know." announced the leader Cinderstar. Darkpaw padded after Darkenberry out into the forest. Darkenberry was known for his courageous and brave fighting skills, while his sister Hollypaw was given the extremely good hunter Mistlight as a mentor. Darkenberry didn't speak much just showed him the boundaries, from a holly bush to an old stump, a dead tree to a stream, a lining of birch trees, and the old, abounded human home to a rotting brick wall. Soon they ran into the Hollypaw. "Isn't our territory great?" she exclaimed. "Darkpaw was about to reply when Darkenberry beckoned with his tail to leave. Darkpaw quickly nodded and raced after his mentor. "Don't speak to the other cats?" spat Darkenberry. "Why not, they are my clan mates?" questioned Darkpaw.  "You never know when they might turn on you. You might make one wrong step and they all would turn their backs on you." said Darkenberry. Darkpaw nodded, he was on his way to being a warrior at last. Darkpaw woke early the next morning, and raced out of the den for training.  Darkenberry was waiting by the edge of the clearing. "We are going to be practicing hunting with Hollypaw and Mistlight today." Darkpaw nodded and followed the two warriors out of the clearing. Hollypaw turned and said something to Darkpaw but remembering Darkenberry's message he turned away from Hollypaw. Hollypaw let out a snort and turned away from Darkpaw. They reached a small grassy clearing scattered with leaves from the trees. "Watch Mistlight carefully now, she is one of the best hunters in the clan. She how she steps lightly, so the prey wouldn't be able to hear her footsteps. Also if you step lightly it is harder for your prey to feel the ground vibrations. Lift your tail so it doesn't drag on the ground. Keep your body close to the ground, and try to blend in. Stalk forward until you think you would be able to catch it. Lean your weight onto your hind legs, aim your pounce, steady your balance, and jump. If you land squarely on it kill it quickly before it gets away, and if you miss try to run after it." said Darkenberry. Darkpaw watched Mistlight catch a mouse and give thanks to the mouse, for letting her have it's life to feed her clan. Then he watched Hollypaw enviously as she catch 3 small voles. 

Book 7 - Chapter 5

"What exactly are you doing?" asked Cloud anxiously. The kittens shared a guilty look. "We are joining Darkfinch!" squealed Silver excitedly. "Why?" asked Mossfur who was leading the patrol. "You are to young to make this decision. You are going to come right back to the camp with me right now." stormed Cloud. "No," we like it here." "You like being a part of a group of cats, that murders. A group of cats that attacks an innocent group of cats that did nothing to them in the first place?" "Darkfinch's cats don't murder and they don't attack innocent cats." said Sun boldly. "Don't they? Don't you wonder how my friend Holly was killed? Darkfinch killed her. He killed his own sister because she refused to kill. Also, he doesn't attack innocent cats does he? Do you remember how I got this scar?" she showed them the long healed scars on the side of her back. "Hawkpelt, he attacked me, he nearly killed me. If it wasn't for his cats Mouse, your aunt and your mother would still be alive. We were both attacked. A little after you were born, her wounds reopened and she died. If it weren't for them things would have been different. You would have still had part of your family." snarled Cloud. The kittens looked startled. "Is this true." "In a way it is true. I didn't kill my sister because she refused to kill. "Then why?" "Only my side knows classified information." Birchtail growled. "What should we do?" asked Mossfur. "Bring them home," spat Cloud. "I am not so sure. True in a clan we support each other, but we also support those whom we think has the right decision. I believe the kits should be able to make the final say about where they would like to stay. I mean it will impact their further much more than it will impact ours." Mossfur was nodding along, with Birchtail's words. "That is true, Birchtail, but Cloud has a point. She is their mother, and legal guardian technically until they are old enough to make their own decisions and choices, which in a clan is when they become a warrior. Also though we have to look at the point of view of both sides. Let us start. Cloud why do you want the kits to come back to the clan?"