Darkfinch's Story - Chapter 17

All the cats stared at Darkpaw. "Ever since coming here Darkpaw has learned a lot. He will be a great asset and use of the dark forest. He is now considered a warrior among us. Darkpaw your star is the star of Coxa. She is a new star and will live for many years. Use those years well to serve the forest. You also get a power. I give you the power to be able to walk on water." The leader grabbed a vial and filled it with water, the water seemed to shimmer. "Congratulations Darkpaw, you are a warrior here at last." All the dark forest cats turned and bowed to the new warrior. "Now as a warrior you are free to come and go. Your ranking will go up as you benefit the forest more and more. Currently I was like you to, go back to the clans and continue your training. I would like you to pretend that we threw you out, because you were no use to us any more. Cinder," she said nodding to the smoke cat, "Will visit in dreams to learn information about the clan. I want you to try to become the leader of the clan. If you do we can both benefit very well. When in the dreams you will be staying in the camp, no other cat can see you and we don't want you to have to travel back and forth each night." Darkpaw nodded and with a swish of his tail he shimmered until nothing remained. Darkpaw woke in the camp an padded back to the clearing. Cinderstar turned to look at him. "Good to see that you have come to your senses Darkpaw. You have been lying in that nest for over 5 days without moving at all." Darkpaw nodded. "I want to assess your skills and then I can consider making you a warrior. Mistlight by the way, you might want to teach Hollypaw some defensive techniques otherwise she may need be able to become a warrior." Mistlight nodded. Cinderstar turned away and beckoned Darkpaw with his tail. "No Darkenberry, I want to watch Darkpaw alone." he told the dark black tom who had gotten up to follow them. 

Darkfinch's Story - Chapter 16

Darkpaw turned and was about to hand the fish back to the warrior that Hollypaw had stolen it form when the leader of the forest cats intercepted him. "No," she commanded. "In the dark forest if you lose your power or talent you lose your rank. He lost his power to Hollypaw or whatever her name was, now he doesn't get to stay his ranking as a warrior. He is allowed to stay here until his star goes supernova but he isn't going to be picked first for battles, or given some information that the dark forest shares with it's most dedicated warriors. He won't get a new power but he won't be forced to leave." said the leader. "So who gets the fish?" asked Darkpaw. "You do. If another warrior finds the power they are allowed to keep it for themselves. Since Hollypaw doesn't belong here she wasn't allowed to keep the power. You took the fish from Hollypaw which means that you are it's rightful owner. If you aren't using the fish you can keep it in a store." said the leader. "A store?" "Yes, each tree has a name engraved on it. If the cat has a power, then the tree will open and you can put your token or whatever it is in the store. Only you can open the store, and if any body tries to steal from the store we will know who it is and they will be forced to give up their power. No one has tried to steal a power in over 1,750 years or so." Darkpaw was nodding along when suddenly he noticed a flash of red in the water. Darkpaw padded over to the water and dived in. He saw the glowing red object sink further in the water. He dove after it and when he grasped it in his paws he realized it was a flower. When he resurfaced all the cats were staring at the glowing red flower in his paws. Suddenly the leader spoke. "That is the sacred flower of Ruby. She was the leader before me. It holds great powers. Powers beyond dreams of anyone. Cats have been searching for it for years. I now announce that the sacred flower of Ruby now belongs to Darkpaw who has found it in the water. He will be the user of the sacred flower Ruby and no one is to use it, unless given permission." 

Darkfinch's Story - Chapter 15

Darkpaw leapt at his sister with a snarl. Hollypaw dove towards the river near by and lunged into it. She swam through the river and realized that Darkpaw was following her. Actually Hollypaw realized it was another cat. It was a black cat and in it's paws it was grasping a silver fish. She realized that the fish made the cat a very good swimmer. It made the cat be able to swim through the water like a fish. Suddenly a hunting tactic flashing through her mind. It was the fishing tactic. Hollypaw might not be able to swim very well, but Mistlight had tough her how to hold her breath. Hollypaw could chase fish under the water, of long periods of time. Slowly, but for a long time. Hollypaw ducked under neath the water and waited for the cat to swim above her. When it did she pushed off of the bottom of the water and snatched the fish from the other cats grasp. Once it was in her position she swam off away from the cat when another cat intercepted her. It was Darkpaw. He grasped the fish in his paws and turned and stalked up the bank. Hollypaw crouched and waited. Darkpaw set the fish on the bank and turned around to look at his sister. He swam confidently through the water until he reached his sister's side. He stood looking over at the dark forest cats, when suddenly Hollypaw fell on her side. Darkpaw had used a hind paw to pull her feet from underneath her. He jumped on top of his sister and bit down behind her ear. She wailed. Darkpaw kicked out with his hind legs hitting her in her heart. She gasped and her vision began to blur, the next moment she was sitting in the apprentice den with 2 very serious, and stern looking cats staring over her. 

Darkfinch's Story - Chapter 14

All the forest cats turned when they heard that there was an invading cat. They all prepared they were ready. They had trained for years. They were ready to fight. They were ready, they were prepared. They were about to go and take down this cat and when they got there they learned that it was kitten. All the cats turned to their leader who was sitting and watching near by. "Does anybody know who this KITTEN is?" She asked. The cats shook their heads. Hollypaw was outraged, a kitten A KITTEN. She Hollypaw was being called a kitten. Hollypaw looked around frantically for her brother, where was he she wondered. Suddenly a cat spoke, up. All she could see of it was it's moonlit shadow.It spoke with a cold, hard voice that said, "I know who she is. She doesn't belong here. She was never chosen. She has come searching for a cat. She has come to retrieve something. She wants to bring something back with her. She has come for no reason. Or at least a pointless reason. She knows that what she wants to bring back will never go back in the first place. She lives with the CLANS." All the cats laughed at that. It was Darkpaw. Hollypaw had never hated her brother more. "How dare you!" She hissed. "How dare I? How dare you come to a place that doesn't want you and never will." He said with the same cold voice. "But what about the clan? What about Princess? She would never have raised you if she knew what you were going to become. The worst kind of cat alive... A traitor." "Don't you dare speak about Princess. Our mother wanted us to be the best we could be." Snapped Darkpaw. "Oh? So being the best means killing cats and destroying anything in the way to power does it?" Hollypaw asked scathingly. That was all Hollypaw had to say. Darkpaw lunged at his sister. 

Darkfinch's Story - Chapter 13

"Who are you?" Cinderstar demanded. Upon seeing this new purple cat the smoke cat and Darkpaw bowed. "I am the leader of the dark forest." the new cat said commandingly. "Why are you here?" Cinderstar asked. "To retrieve 2 of my cats." "2 of your cats?" Cinderstar was outraged. "Darkpaw belongs to the clans." snapped Cinderstar. "How would you know, you don't follow him into his dreams. No one knows what happens in his dreams except for dark forest cats. Now if you don't mind I would like to take back some of my cats." With a roar she leapt from the rock perch she was sitting on and dived towards the ground. Her wings snapped open and she landed gracefully on the ground. With a flap she took to the sky snatched Darkpaw with her paws and flew higher and higher despite Hollypaw's wail. The smoke cat faded away as soon as the purple cat was gone. Cinderstar was still staring. There was no trace of the other cats at all. They were gone. The cats looked around for them but they found nothing. All the clan cats could remember the vivid purple cat with wings that had swooped into the camp and taken Darkpaw. Back in the forest Darkpaw was once again training. The smoke cat made him prove that he wouldn't stop swimming ever. Hollypaw was extremely distressed, it had been 4 days without a trace of her brother. So she decided that training or no training she was going back to the forest and no cat could stop her. Later that night there was quite a commotion for Hollypaw had stormed into the forest and demanded to see her brother.

Darkfinch's Story - Chapter 12

"Those cats are mean, horrible, and aren't merciful. You should stay with your clan," Hollypaw snarled at Darkpaw. "What do I get out of staying here?" Asked Darkpaw. "You get to be respected as a warrior." "I get respected in the dark forest." "Well we don't." Hollypaw shot back. "That's because you don't belong in the dark forest, you weren't chosen as a kitten." Darkpaw snarled his temper rising. "That's enough," called Cinderstar. "Lionstripe have you gotten a sign from our ancestors telling us what to do?" Cinderstar asked his medicine cat. Lionstripe shook her head, but I did have a dream. Last night when the cats were in the dark forest, I was in the dark forest, but I wasn't. Like I wasn't physically there, cats could walk through me but I could see all of the dark forest. I saw a golden cat with shocking purple eyes. I followed this cat around the forest. This cat was watching the clan cats curious. I believe that we need to find this purple-eyed cat. She may the only help and hope for our clan." The smoke cat nodded. "I know the cat that you are talking about." "Then help us," spat Cattail, the deputy. "Why should I help you? This cat only impacts the future of the clan cats. The future of the dark forest still remains clear. We know what will happen in our future. We all live until our star dies. Each dark forest cat when they become a warrior gets a power, and is assigned a new born star. When that star dies about 5 million years later the cat dies too. We know what will happen. Our life span is much longer then yours." Soon most of the clan cats were looking eager. "How do we join the dark forest?" one asked. "If you were born in a litter of 2 and weren't picked then you can't join. For litters of 3 we chose the middle born kits, who usually have the most potential and for litters of 4 we usually chose the oldest or the youngest. Then if you were the only kitten in the litter you don't get in. Now we don't chose from every litter now and we rarely if never chose from warriors." said a new voice. 

Darkfinch's Story - Chapter 11

"We tried to get him to return home Cinderstar, but he said that he had chosen the dark forest. We were incorporated into the training exercise and then we were thrown from the world. They were training in a dark underground cave. They seemed to have no mercy, towards invading cats, cats that didn't belong there." said Darkenberry. "Then what happened to Darkpaw, surely the dark forest cats realize that he does't belong in the forest." "That is where you are incorrect!" called Darkpaw, and standing next to him was the smoke cat. "I do belong in the dark forest." said Darkpaw "Out of every litter of 2 kittens one kitten gets chosen to come and train in the dark forest. When they complete their training they are given a power to help the defend their clan mates. I got to choose between Hollypaw and Darkpaw. I chose Darkpaw. He was the kitten that got to train in the dark forest. Then in the dark forest, they had a battle," she said pointing to Darkpaw and Hollypaw. "Darkpaw won which mean't that he got to keep his rank. If Hollypaw had won that mean't she would have gotten to train in the forest." "Then the training, because when they got back they were seriously wounded." questioned Cinderstar. "They were only a part of the training when they refused to leave. I said they could go home and not come back but all 3 of them refused. So I had no choice but have them fight. If they had left on their own accord when I asked them to, then they would have been allowed to leave unharmed but when they didn't the Dark forest had no choice but to have them leave the forest. Even Darkpaw wanted his sister to go unharmed." Suddenly Hollypaw interrupted, "I couldn't leave my brother in a place like that!" "What is that supposed to mean," spat Darkpaw. 

Darkfinch's Story - Chapter 10

"I won't leave here without my brother," spat Hollypaw. "No go, she's right you don't belong here." said Darkpaw. "I won't go!" snapped Hollypaw. The smoke cat looked at her again then called to the blue glowing tiger. "Go ahead practice a move or two." "On who?" came the tigers deep rumbling voice. "On any of the cats who don't belong," said the smoke cat pointing to Darkenberry, Mistlight and Hollypaw who had refused to leave the clearing. "You don't have to have limits, just let her survive," said the smoke cat pointing again at Hollypaw. The glowing tiger nodded. The tiger arched his back and spikes of ice appeared on his paws. Darkenberry let out a yowl and charged at the cat. Mistlight turned to her apprentice gave her some basic moves and flung herself towards the ice tiger. Darkenberry had a moments to rest and yowl at Darkpaw, "Get up and help us, these cats will kill us all." Darkpaw considered before gazing back at his mentor and replying, "No." Darkenberry narrowed his eyes, "Are you crazy, if we don't defeat these cats we will all die," he spat at Darkpaw. "No, the smoke cat made sure that Hollypaw will survive she asked him to make sure of that. Also, they won't kill me, they need me. I chose my home here. You brought this upon yourselves she was right you don't belong here." With that Darkpaw turned his back on his mentor and padded back to the smoke cat who was watching with narrowed eyes. Soon The tiger had won and was stalking away from the wounded cats, when the smoke cat spoke again. "You don't belong here, you are to return home." Then the smoke cat walked around plunging a claw into the heart of each cat. The clan cats were thrown backwards from the forest and back into the clan camp.