Chapter One- In The Darkness

A day had passed since Stormtail was named as ThunderClan deputy. He was still getting used to the idea of organizing patrols and the respect younger cats showed him. Some warriors had shown signs of hostility towards him. The open looks of hatred Flareheart or Sagetail sent him could not have been more obvious. Others such as Gingerheart and Maplefur had been more than ready to accept his position. The two she-cats were looking at him now, eyes narrowed into tiny slits as they began to whisper to each other.

The gray and darker gray tom just shook his head. The last thing he wanted was trouble within his Clanmates, but it seemed as though a rift had already formed between them. Flareheart and Sagetail were sitting in the farthest part of camp, ignoring any patrols he sent them on. Flareheart had even made an attempt to point out that Rainstar was playing favorites. Because Stormtail was her son she was simply choosing him over any other cat who might betray her trust.

I wouldn't put it past Flareheart if he tried to overthrow me, he thought with a lash of his tail.

"Stormtail, can we do any battle training today?" His thoughts were interrupted by the enthusiastic mew of his apprentice. Stormtail looked down to see that Winterpaw had approached him warily, as if she didn't know how to treat the new deputy.

"I don't see why we can't," he replied with a shrug. "I've organized all of the patrols and the fresh-kill pile is well stocked."

Winterpaw's eyes glowed with happiness as he rose to his paws. He chose not to tell Flareheart, the senior warrior, where he was going. The dark ginger tom might try to take advantage over his absence. He wasn't surprised to see Owlpaw, Flareheart's apprentice looking down at his paws in disappointment.

"Owlpaw, why don't you come with us?" Stormtail called. The apprentice looked at him in surprise. "We could use extra paws for battle training."

The light brown tabby was at his side in an instant. Stormtail forced back the urge to smirk when he noticed the glare Flareheart sent him. If the senior warrior wasn't going to take Owlpaw's training seriously than he would.

Once they were outside the forest he felt at peace. He had not gone out with his apprentice since the night Quailfeather's body was found. He could still remember the sense of dread he felt when Grainwhisker announced that she was dead. A warrior had killed her by the WindClan border. No cat knew who had caused her death, and Stormtail had originally thought it was a ShadowClan cat who killed her. He was determined to find out who had killed Quailfeather.

When they reached the sandy training hollow Owlpaw was the first to make his move. Stormtail was impressed with the way he ducked and rolled as Winterpaw took a swipe at his muzzle. When Owlpaw's belly was exposed Winterpaw jabbed her paws at it. The light brown tabby gasped in surprise at Winterpaw's sudden change in position. He struck Winterpaw by the shoulder with his teeth and held her down. Both apprentices were panting by the time they were finished.

"You did well," Stormtail meowed when he broke them apart. "Although springing into action right away is sometimes not the best choice. I'd recommend judging how large your opponent is before you strike."

Owlpaw tilted his head to one side and nodded. "Winterpaw, you're great!" he purred.

"You weren't bad either, Owlpaw," Winterpaw murmured in embarrassment. "Can we try that again?"

When Owlpaw gave a tiny nod Winterpaw beamed. The two of them continued practicing their fighting moves well past sunhigh. Stormtail watched from the side lines, content with the way his apprentice had grown up.

Winterpaw had been training for almost six moons now. She was long overdue for becoming an apprentice, but she had a good reason for waiting so long. Just a moon ago she had only recovered from a near fatal injury that could have killed her. It was only thanks to the help of Grainwhisker and Nightpaw that she survived today. No signs of her injury were visible either. She had a slight limp to her leg every now and than, but that was about it.

Once they were finished Stormtail told them to go hunting. Even though the fresh-kill pile had been restocked the other day, he knew it would be almost empty by the time they returned. It wouldn't hurt to find any prey lingering in the forest.

The gray and darker gray tom slipped away from the training hollow after he told them to meet him there by dusk. It was well past sunhigh now, which gave them little time to search for prey. He on the other paw had already found sources of prey hiding about in the undergrowth.

His ears were pricked forward with keen interest as he spotted a squirrel nibbling on an acorn it had found under an oak tree. The squirrel was too interest in the acorn to notice that it had caught the attention of a predator. He kept low to the ground; his tail brushed against the ground occasionally, but the squirrel's chewing was too noisy for it to hear. Without hesitating he sprang forward, claws colliding into the rump of the squirrel. It dropped the acorn and squealed in alarm, but by than it was too late. He dealt the killing bite by snapping it's neck.

When he returned to the training hollow with the squirrel he saw that Winterpaw had come back as well. At her paws were two mice and a shrew. Her expression was filled with pride when he gave her a gentle lick between the ears.

"I wonder where Owlpaw could have gotten to?" he asked when they waited long after it got dark out.

"He and I went in different directions," Winterpaw explained with a shrug. "I'm not sure where he went."

There was the slightest hint of worry in Winterpaw's mew. Stormtail looked down at his apprentice before his eyes scanned the darkness. The whole forest was surrounded in shadows. By now the sun had disappeared, and it was difficult to see without having the keen eyesight ShadowClan was known for.

Did something happen to him? Stormtail wondered as he gave a guilty shake of his head.

You must follow your heart, Stormtail. Stormtail stiffened when he heard the voice. He looked down at Winterpaw, but she just gave a loud yawn. You made a promise that you would avenge my death... I will hold your word to it, and I will help you find Owlpaw. He is my son after all.

Stormtail tilted his head in confusion. He recognized that voice. Suddenly his eyes widened when he realized it belonged to Quailfeather. Only she would have known that Owlpaw was her son. No other cat had known she secretly gave birth and gave up her kits to become deputy.

Quailfeather... I'm so sorry about what happened, he whimpered.

Stop acting like a sniveling coward and think about where Owlpaw could have gone! Quailfeather snapped. Now, where do you think his favorite place to hide is?

Flareheart never gave me any hints. But I think the WindClan border was his favorite place to go because of the stream. Stormtail tried to swallow those words after realizing that was where Quailfeather's body had been found. A sudden blast of fury had been swept over him when Quailfeather heard that.

Yes, I remember taking him there on several occasions, she whispered softly. That in itself was my second mistake.

Stormtail wanted to ask her what her first mistake had been, but he held his tongue. He looked down at Winterpaw, who looked like she was ready to fall asleep. With a sigh he gave his apprentice a sharp nudge with his nose.

"We need to get back to camp," he murmured.

"But what about Owlpaw?" Winterpaw asked. Her voice was muffled by a half-yawn as she tried to keep it hidden.

"I'll go find him on my own," he reassured her. "For now you need to get some rest, you're exhausted."

Winterpaw made no complaints after that. He managed to carry the fresh-kill that she had caught while keeping an eye out for Owlpaw.

The moon was out by the time they made it back to camp. Every cat was worried when they came back. Winterpaw was greeted by Nightpaw, who glared at Stormtail coldly. He simply ignored the glare and dropped the fresh-kill on the pile.

"Owlpaw's missing," he announced after reaching Rainstar.

The ThunderClan leader's eyes widened in dismay.

"We were training and I decided to make them go hunting... I guess he... got lost," Stormtail confessed.

"It's not your fault," Rainstar whispered. "You were only doing what you thought was a good thing."

Her words didn't reassure him. They only made him feel worse.

"I think I know where to look for him though," he added when a deathly silence fell between them. "Would you mind if I went on my own?"

"Why on your own?" Rainstar raised an eyebrow, looking more worried than annoyed.

"It's... it's important," he replied.

Rainstar nodded and touched his muzzle with her forehead. He stiffened under her touch. He could feel the mutinous glares of his Clanmates as they watched them.

"May StarClan guide you to him safely," she whispered.

Stormtail blinked when she pulled away. He had not heard those words since he became a warrior. Rainstar had already padded up the slope to her den behind the Highledge.

With a sigh he turned towards the thorn tunnel, but he was stopped by Gingerheart. The ginger she-cat's eyes were glowing with something other than friendship when she looked at him. Stormtail shuffled his paws in embarrassment as he felt his fur grow hot.

"I was wondering if you could use an extra paw in your search," she murmured.

"I'm not sure if that's a..." He broke off when her ears flattened. "Actually I could use a keen nose like yours," he added quickly. "You're one of the best trackers I know."

Gingerheart looked as though she was ready to burst with pride at his words. Together the two of them left in search for Owlpaw. He knew it was risky to bring Gingerheart along, but Quailfeather did not tell him he could bring an extra Clanmate with him.

Their world was plunged into darkness as they crept through the undergrowth. Stormtail could only rely on Gingerheart now that his sight had failed him. He could hear frogs croaking in the distance. The land where ShadowClan lived in was covered in marsh, which was ideal habitat for frogs. He wondered how Gingerheart could stand it as she listened to the sounds.

"We're getting closer," she whispered after she had been silent for so long. She suddenly reached a bush behind a birch tree. The bush itself was twisted and gnarled in places where it had dried out. Stormtail was afraid that one touch with his paw would shatter it to pieces. "That's strange," she murmured after coming to a halt. "His scent ends here but it's..." She trailed off after realizing what the other scent was. Stormtail didn't miss the stench either.

Blood, was all he could think of.

"Oh StarClan, what could have happened to him?" Stormtail demanded when he bounded towards the source of the scent.

Gingerheart was quick to follow him. He nosed the frail looking body gingerly, hoping for signs of life. Owlpaw's fur was coated in blood now. The stench of it was overwhelming, and all he could think of was who could have done such a thing.

"I smell WindClan as well," Gingerheart snarled. The venom in her voice was so strong that it seemed to cause the ground to tremble.

"They must have found him and attacked without warning," Stormtail hissed. He noticed patches of fur where the fight had occurred.

Owlpaw must have gone hunting here, he realized. What a mousebrained thing to do!

"Didn't Flareheart tell him not to hunt so close to the border?" Gingerheart scoffed.

"I doubt it," Stormtail replied with a shake of his head. "Flareheart has been shirking on his duties as a mentor."

Gingerheart's pelt brushed against his. Once again he was reminded of how much she had changed since she became an apprentice. He stiffened under her touch and picked Owlpaw up carefully. The apprentice groaned when he was picked up, and Stormtail noticed the claw marks and teeth bites around his body.

Who ever did this will pay, he thought bitterly. No cat deserves to be wounded like this. Owlpaw will forever be scarred.

When they returned to camp the Clan was in an uproar. Rainstar had been woken from her sleep when she heard the commotion from outside her den. Owlpaw's body had been taken back to the medicine cat's den after they came back.

"Who did this?" Rainstar demanded.

"All we know for sure is that he was found in the same place Quailfeather was found," Gingerheart explained. "He must have been hunting close to the border." She glared at Flareheart accusingly, but the dark ginger tom returned her glare.

"Are you blaming me for something that the deputy did?" he snarled. "I wasn't the one who told him to go hunting."

Stormtail bristled at his words, but Gingerheart jumped to his defense. "And who is it who tells their apprentices not go hunting in certain places?" she demanded. "You should have been more keen on where your apprentice goes hunting!"

"Enough!" Rainstar's cry made all of her Clan silent. "I see now that we can deal no punishment. For now I want you to work hard on training your apprentice, Flareheart, if he even recovers." The dark ginger warrior flinched when she mentioned 'if'.

Now he fully understood the condition of his apprentice. Stormtail just hoped it wasn't too late for Flareheart to ask for forgiveness. Owlpaw's fate was in the paws of StarClan now.

Once the meeting was drawn to an end Stormtail found himself returning to the warrior's den. Gingerheart was quick to follow, ignoring the mutinous look her father gave her. Stormtail was shocked by how Flareheart had reacted when Gingerheart stood up to him. Yet he was glad that one cat supported him even now.

He was exhausted by the time he curled up in his nest. It had been a long day for him, especially with the evening trek he had to take. He welcomed the warmth Gingerheart provided as she curled up beside him. For the first time in moons he had accepted her approval, and was happy to have someone to sleep beside.

AN: Wow I'm surprised at how popular this is already. Three reviews! And this chapter is just the beginning of the longness...if that's even a word. I'm aiming for sixty K, or one hundred K if that's possible. Anyways, I'll need all of the support I can get for this series. Thanks to MaeVin194, Nicki Anne, and Tallstar07 for your reviews! You've all received Quailfeather plushies!