A dark brown tom slid from the undergrowth, his green eyes glowing in the unnatural light. There were no stars or moon to cast a glow over the gnarled, dead trees. Fog coiled around the roots of the trees, parting with each of the tom's footsteps.

"Ah, Darkstar. You kept us waiting long enough." The cat who spoke stepped from the fog and snarled.

The tom, Darkstar, was unfazed. "I care not about your anger and lies. They don't surprise me. The Dark Forest is a place of evil." His tail stirred the fog which had just begun to settle around the two. "I am well aware."

"You're no fun," growled the second cat, taking a seat. He licked a black paw and chewed a long, vicious-looking claw.

"We have a deal, recall? A plan?" Darkstar said coolly. "Or had you forgotten, Crowstar?"

"I have not. And perhaps I should find another living cat to corrupt. You are proving more and more horrible as the days go by."

Darkstar's whiskers twitched. This cat thought he was better than Darkstar, just because he himself was dead? What a ridiculous notion. "You will find no cat more devoted to your cause than myself," Darkstar meowed.

"Our personal disagreements aside," Crowstar began, but despite the peaceable statement, the look in his eyes said: remember, I'll kill you once and I'll kill you again once you get here. "Starclan is working against us."

"Obviously," Darkstar said with a snort.

Crowstar chose to ignore Darkstar's arrogance for the moment. "We must begin the take over, or risk being taken over ourselves."

Darkstar considered for a moment. "Do you know any of their plans?"

This time, it was Crowstar's turn to be arrogant. "If I had known would I have not told you? You think I am so stupid, and yet your head is so obviously filled with cobwebs."

"Think that if you wish," Darkstar commented curtly. "But I shall not stand for any arrogance…" He dragged the word out obnoxiously. "Except that of my own, which is well justified."

With that, Darkstar turned and faded into the fog and shadow.

Claws slashed Scorchpaw's muzzle, reopening the shallow wounds from the day before. Blood spattered the ground beside her.

She turned to hide the pain on her face from Lionscratch, her mentor. However, he only took this as a further sign of weakness. "You little disgrace," he snarled. "Darkstar expects more from you. The day you were born, he said you held great promise. He was right. Great promise," he paused. "Of failure."

For all his supposed skill in battle, Lionscratch could be a real mousebrain. His comments no longer stung nearly as much as his claws. Scorchpaw stood and shook droplets of blood onto the snow.

She tensed for Lionscratch's attack. It came, and the training session was back on. Scorchpaw's life had gone this way for many moons. Apprenticed at the early age of four moons, she learned young to be the strongest or be beaten. And she was the strongest, at times. At others, she was beaten.

So how did you like chapter one? I'd love to hear your thoughts. I have a lot planned for this story but I figured I wouldn't give you a headache with an endless page of typed words. I'll try to keep the chapters short.

CrimsonWarrior9785