A grey tom with darker grey flecks padded through a dark-looking forest. Night had fallen, but even the moon's gentle glow could not seep through the thin leaves and branches above. The tom's amber eyes glowed in the dark, serving as a small source of light.
Why am I here? The tom searched the brambles and ferns, hoping to find a sign of another cat, but no one lingered.
Wrenching his tail out of a bramble bush, he sighed, continuing onward. For moments at a time, he expected a cat to jump out at him, so he would plunge himself downward so that an imaginary cat would crash into the tree next to him.
The tom soon found light, and as soon as he noticed it, he lunged forward, nearly bumping into a large black tom.
The black tom grinned at the sight of the other tom, but it was certainly not a kind grin. "Ah, Ashpaw, just the cat I've been looking for…"
Ashpaw stared up at the tom in confusion, but the tom continued. "I am Nightshadow, and this is my home. I live here alone you see, but I wanted company. I have invited all the apprentices in the Clans to join us, see. Only the bravest will be able to get in, and, as you have gotten in, I see nothing against the description of brave."
Ashpaw shook his head, wondering if this would help get rid of this dark cat, but nothing happened.
"I've been watching you," Nightshadow snarled. "Ever since you entered my home, I knew you had been brave. I watched the way you trailed through the forest, making sure there were no cats around you as you traveled. Most cats would consider crouching down when expecting attack would be no less than cowardly, but not I. For your facial did not show fear, but readiness, and crouching like that can be helpful when a cat is prepared to leap at you. They will miss you with ease, and, what's more, they will only injure themselves as they crash into the tree behind you."
Ashpaw looked nervous. "W-well…"
They were interrupted by a rustling next to them. A beautiful tortoiseshell she-cat stepped into the clearing, covered in thorns.
"Ah, Tawnypaw," Nightshadow meowed. "What a wonderful apprentice you are. Now we can start. I have a prophecy to tell. A journey of the sun will rage forth. Three will become one but will part as four. A battle between the heart and mind will become more necessary than claws on a battlefield."