Coaldust :: black furred male with yellow eyes :: OakClan
Aspenclaw :: white furred female with filmy blue eyes :: OakClan
Blackheart :: black furred male with red eyes and red stripes :: Rogue, formerly of OakClan
Sunstar :: beige female with pale blue eyes :: OakClan
Brindletail :: brindled female with yellow eyes :: OakClan
Dovepaw :: white furred female with dark eyes :: Brindletail's apprentice :: OakClan
Warrior Cats belongs to Erin Hunter
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6 moons later…
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It had been 4 moons since the last attack allegedly orchestrated by Blackheart. Countless hardworking warriors were targeted. Each were savagely murdered in secret. No trace of the killer was found, but for the lingering threat of Blackheart when he was cast out of OakClan. In fact, no one was quite positive it was he who was behind the murders. They simply assumed so, just like they assumed Coalpaw – now Coaldust – would end this madness.
The leaders of the other three Clans – BirchClan, PineClan, and WillowClan – had been brutally assassinated. Only Sunstar of OakClan remained alive, still clutching her 9th and final life. It was well obvious she would be targeted next. Fearing for her life had driven her to paranoia. She shied into the shadows, flanked by her most trusted warriors. The rest she had left to fend for themselves. She no longer trusted them anyway. There was every chance that Blackheart's followers had infiltrated their Clan. They had been receiving a lot of newcomers lately…
In the center of the camp, a wide clearing ringed with great trees that shielded it from predators and rival Clans, the few cats who were spared from Blackheart's wrath lay sharing tongues. Their hushed voices tumbled over each other in their haste to shriek out rumors and spill their fear.
Near the fringes of the camp, Coaldust was busy doing absolutely nothing at all. He watched as another warrior, a tabby female called Brindletail, scuffled with a couple of young apprentices. Their screams of laughter echoed through his mind, shining like a sparkle of sunlight in the endless caverns of terror at the deaths that had occurred just moons ago. What was he to do about them? How could he possible conquer such a monster? He dithered by the entrance to camp, his fur trembling madly.
"You three are a wild bunch! But excellent fighting, really!" An excited voice came from the throngs of battling cats. Brindletail no doubt. She seemed exceptionally pleased by their progress and smiled at her own apprentice, Dovepaw, a milky white cat with dark eyes.
"Do you think we're good enough to fight Blackheart himself?" A chorus of "yeah!"s followed immediately after. Brindletail's grin slipped and she frowned at the three. Coaldust instantly made himself scarce, edging into the shadow of a large tree. Sharp twigs snared his fur but he paid them no attention. His eyes locked onto the four previously tussling felines.
"Now now. You three are much too young for that. You would be instantly incarcerated in the grip of death. This is a matter for Warriors, not young apprentices like you." The she-cat who was reprimanding the little apprentices appeared not to be Brindletail, for her voice sounded younger.
Coaldust tentatively sniffed the air. Aspenclaw? He slunk out of the shadows for a better view and instantly regretted it. Aspenclaw's hazy gaze was glaring into his eyes with as much fury as scarred eyes can produce. He interpreted that glare to mean: 'This is a matter for you, you coward.'
His head tipped in shame as Brindletail and the three apprentices accompanying her followed Aspenclaw's stare. Little did he know they were not the only ones unabashedly throwing accusing looks at him. For deeper into the wallowing shadows, another pair of eyes stared into his.
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Sunstar stared unflinchingly through the woods. Her hazel-beige fur was matted with sweat, and her lips were twisted into what could almost be a sneer. She stood there for a while, listlessly, before whipping around and forging deeper into the forest.
Pale sunlight dappled her already gold-touched coat as she threaded through the restrictive undergrowth. Fiery leaves crackled beneath her paws, announcing to the world that autumn had officially arrived. Thin breezes swept into the woods any way they could, but they hardly ruffled her already tangled fur. They did provide some cooling to her heated pelt. She wished she could pause to lick her fur and further the cooling process but this would do. She had no moment to spare on her journey today.
The sunlight began waning as she reached her destination. Here, the shadows reigned. All was dark and murky, like a cave of some sort. Sunstar's pale blue eyes had to strain to see much of anything. She waited a while, pacing the whole time. At last, soft pattering sounds could be heard, and a strange, blood-laced scent arrived. A dark form approached her, and she said in a low voice, "Hello Blackheart."
