Chapter 1

Reaper shook out his long, seal tortoiseshell point fur and rubbed his deep blue eyes with his paw. The tom had a nick in his right ear, a small scar on his chin, and a long fluffy tail. A young she-cat suddenly rubbed up against him with a flirtatious purr. "We're going to miss you, Reaper… especially me."

The tom only snorted and pushed her away. "Back off, Fendi. And the feeling's mutual," he muttered, starting to pace around the bare clearing he and his group called home. "And I'm just glad to get out before the twolegs decide they want this awful side of the garden. Where's Alpha?" Fendi pointed towards a dirty puddle where Alpha, a huge black tom with shredded ears, was drinking from.

Reaper padded up his leader and dipped his head. "It's time I left," he meowed mundanely. Alpha nodded and looked down at the puddle.

"Inferno and Cinders have gone hunting, but I'll tell them you said goodbye. Are you sure you know where their camp is?"

"I'll just keep walking till I smell the stench of rat-hearts and start there," Reaper shrugged, earning an amused snort from his leader. As he dipped his head a final time to Alpha, Fendi, Blitz, and Karma, the longhaired tom padded out of their camp and started towards the forest.

"Don't let Polar or Simba down! Remember them!" Alpha yowled before he and the other loners raised their heads in yowls of farewell. Flattening his ears, Reaper picked up his pace until he could smell the scent of pine.

As he padded through the dense and brooding pine forest, Reaper jumped at every sound, afraid a patrol would run into him before he made it to camp. The stench of nettles and fur overwhelmed him as he drew nearer to an area of brambles and low-hanging branches. A small pool lay near towards what Reaper assumed was ShadowClan camp. All of a sudden, a yowl startled him and caused him to fluff up his fur.

Before he could say anything, a patrol of a calico she-cat, a red tabby she-cat, and a pale gray tom with a dark belly stood facing him with their hackles raised. "What are you doing on our land?" the red tabby barked, her yellow eyes blazing.

"Maybe he got bored of being fed kittypet slop and laying around all day," the calico jeered. Reaper suppressed a hiss and forced himself to calm down.

"I'm not a kittypet, and I was actually hoping to meet you. ShadowClan, I assume?" he asked, trying his best to keep the mockery from his voice.

The patrol stiffened. "We are warriors of ShadowClan… but why's a scrappy rouge like you supposed to care?" the gray tom hissed.

"I'd like to join your Clan," Reaper purred, enjoying the shocked glances the patrol shared with each other. He heard hushed whispers and tried not to fidget in annoyance. At last, the red tabby raised her head and signal him closer.

"We'll bring you to our leader and see what she has to say about your… suggestion," she sniffed, turning tail and leading Reaper and the patrol back to camp. These crow-brains have no idea what they're getting into, Reaper thought smugly, resisting the urge to unsheathe his claws and dig them into the spongey, nettle-covered ground.

"He wants what?" a blue lynx point she-cat with dark blue eyes asked calmly to the patrol.

"He wants to join ShadowClan, Poolstar…" the gray tom, Flintbelly, replied. Poolstar held her warrior's gaze for a heartbeat longer before snapping her eyes to Reaper.

"Why…"

"Reaper," he finished for her, earning a few silenced gasps from the ShadowClan gasps.

"Reaper… why do you want to join ShadowClan? Was kittypet life too soft for you?" she taunted.

"I'm-" he snapped, forcing his fur to lie flat. "I'm not a kittypet. I lived with a group of loners near the twolegplace, but I was tired of their way of life; always moving and never settling. Plus, I've seen the way your warriors hunt and fight- it's impressive." He swished his tail pleasantly at his ability to lie through his smile and pleasant attitude. Don't worry, mother… I'll avenge you and Simba.

Poolstar beckoned a fawn smoke tom close to her and whispered in his ear. Reaper glanced around the camp. Two old cats near a close-knit pile of branches… must be some resting place for their old and useless. A sleek silver tabby she-cat sat outside a large and covered den near the old cat den, her belly wide and eye protective of the unborn babies in her belly. A birth den. Two dens, one larger than the other, stood near the entrance where warriors and younger cats padded in and out of. Sleeping dens for warriors and their… kits? There was a hollowed-out clearing covered in dry pine needles with the sharp scents of herbs and a cinnamon torbie she-cat with a twisted muzzle sat. Healer den… just like mine back in the park. Finally, there was a small opening into the brambles with a large, thick branch overhead- the same branch Poolstar sat now with the fawn-colored tom. Poolstar's den…

After more heartbeats of thick silence, Poolstar cleared her voice and raised her head high. "Reaper… you may join ShadowClan under the circumstances that you train as a warrior apprentice for 6 whole moons. Mothleap will be your mentor."

Reaper turned to see a golden tabby she-cat with dark legs and pale green eyes looking less than pleased. Still, Mothleap padded up to him and touched noses with him. She crinkled her nose and whispered in a sharp voice, "Make sure to clean the stink off of you!"

Poolstar raised her voice again. "Reaper, from this day on, until you earn your place and full name as a warrior of ShadowClan, you will be known as- "

"Wait a moment," Reaper interrupted, Poolstar glaring at him furiously. "I'd to keep my name as Reaper. My name is special to me, for my mother gifted me a name of power and dominance." And death…

"Very well then," Poolstar growled. "You shall be known as Reaper!"

"Reaper! Reaper! Reaper!" the warriors of ShadowClan warily chanted half-heartedly. Reaper grinned widely, relishing his new Clanmates voices. I will soon have power over all of you…

"Thank you for taking me on a tour of your territory, Mothleap." He dipped his head to his mentor, while she merely grunted and signaled him away to, no-doubt, gossip about him to her Clanmates. Reaper only shrugged and grabbed a lizard from the fresh-kill pile and padded towards a shadowy patch and flopping down to eat.

Before he could even take a bite, the cat with the twisted muzzle poked him gently. "Welcome to ShadowClan- I'm Twistednose, the medicine cat." Reaper took a bite of his lizard before sitting up and flicking his ears.

"Lovely to meet you," he mewed. "Would you mind giving me the camp tour? Mothleap forgot to."

"Glad to," Twistednose smiled. She sat closer to him and pointed at the old-cat den. "That's the den where our elders, Hollyfur and Raggedscar, live. Apprentices check them for ticks, gain wisdom, feed them fresh-kill, and get scolded by them," she purred. "They may be grumpy, but a Clan is nothing without its elders."

Twistednose then pointed to the den where four young cats were sharing tongues. "That is the apprentice's den. The pale gray tom is Rockpaw, the tortoiseshell she-cat is Shadepaw, the red Abyssinian is Pebblepaw, and the black tom is Sootpaw. They've been apprentices for about two moons, so they'll be warriors before you. And that huge den over there is the nursery. The silver tabby is Darkear, and her kits should be here in about a moon."

"You know everything about your Clan, don't you?" Reaper asked. The medicine cat nodded and smiled before continuing her tour.

"The den with the huge branch over it is Poolstar's den, and the one similar to the apprentices' den is the warrior's den. And finally, the hollow clearing is my den-the medicine cat den!" Twistednose let out a huge yawn and rested her tail on Reaper's shoulders. "I ought to get some rest, and so should you. Goodnight, Reaper."

Reaper watched her pad away before finishing his lizard and walking into the apprentices' den and settling into an old and slightly smelly nest. Shadepaw padded in and settled into her nest beside him.

"Sorry," she mewed sleepily. "That's was Beetlefang's old nest. You can make your own tomorrow. Try not to die from his stink," she purred before wrapping her tail over her nose and falling asleep.

Letting out a soft snort, Reaper curled up into a tight ball and thought about his mother until he fell asleep.