Disclaimer: I don't own warriors, or any of the ideas that come from the books. I do, however own this plot and the characters.

Chapter 2: The Blackness

Swirlpaw padded out of the apprentice's cave, yawning as the small light that fell through the Moon Crevice hit her lightly. She felt a light push from behind, and turned to find Yarrowpaw standing behind her.

"You're too slow," she mewed, a smile lighting her eyes. Swirlpaw poked her tongue out, before looking around the camp. The two new warriors were stretching at the entrance, waiting for an older warrior to tell them their vigil was over. Swirlpaw watched as Kindnest walked over to them, the light tabby tom mewing that they could go rest. Mudclaw and Dirtstorm nodded, and headed over to the warrior's den.

"I can't wait," Swirlpaw heard Yarrowpaw mew.

"You've only got about another moon, don't you?" she asked, and Yarrowpaw nodded.
"Mudclaw and Dirtstorm was only a moon older than me," she mewed, looking at Mudclaw as he disappeared inside. Swirlpaw looked back at the apprentice's den, a purr rising in her throat as she realised Spiderpaw was still asleep. She padded away from Yarrowpaw, towards the nursery, just as Patchfoot, Sierralight's mate, padded out.

"Hello, Swirlpaw," mewed the black and white patched cat. Swirlpaw looked up at the tom.

"How are Deerkit and Palekit?" she asked, trying to poke her head past him. Patchfoot purred.

"They're fine. Are you off to visit your brother and sister again?" he asked, and Swirlpaw nodded. "Very well. Go on, but be quiet. Deerkit's still sleeping, and he gets awfully cranky when he's woken." He turned and padded away from the nursery, off to find Tinderfoot. Swirlpaw padded into the nursery, and seeing Sierralight licking her daughter, she mewed. Sierralight looked up, and smiled.

"Hey, Swirlpaw," she mewed, before looking over at the other nest that was being used. "Wake her up, she needs to eat." Swirlpaw looked over at the black she-cat that lay in the bed. The two kits who lay there, a black tom and a light brown she-cat curled up together. The light brown she-cat looked up as Swirlpaw turned to them.

"Swirlpaw!" she mewed and Swirlpaw sat down next to them.

"Hey, Flightkit," Swirlpaw returned, licking her on the head. The movement woke up the black tom, who had similar swirl patterns on his back to Swirlpaw, except his was brown swirls and black fur, the opposite of Swirlpaw's.

"Go back to sleep, Flightkit," he mewed, curling back around into his mother's stomach, causing the brown tabby she-cat to look up.

"Good morning, Swirlpaw," the she-cat mewed, looking at the rabbit that had been placed at her head.

"Tinderfoot left you a rabbit, Duskmint," she mewed, licking her mother's head.

"He still feels bad about his brother's death..."

Swirlpaw dipped her head. Her father had died just before Flightkit and Spiralkit had been born, and Tinderfoot, Spintail's brother, blamed himself for it.

"Mother, why does Deerkit sleep all the time?" Flightkit asked, padding over to the dark brown kit that slept under Sierralight.

"No, Flightkit! Don't wake him up!" Duskmint mewed, but it was too late. The small kit looked up at Flightkit, before swatting her in the face.

"Deerkit!" hissed Sierralight. "Apologise to Flightkit this instant!"

"Why?" the tom mewed. "She's the one that woke me up."

"Well, you shouldn't be sleeping the day through! What happens when you become an apprentice, and you have to get up early for a dawn patrol?"

"Well, then I'll wake up. Do I have to go on dawn patrol now, mother?"

"Well, no...

"Good. I'm going back to sleep," he mewed, before slowly padding to the other side of Sierralight, and curling up. Swirlpaw purred in amusement.

"He's going to be a handful as an apprentice," she mewed, and Sierralight nodded.

"I feel sorry for anyone who has him," she mewed, before curling up. Palekit, Deerkit's light pelted brother, padded over to Flightkit.

"I'll play!" he mewed, and Flightkit's eyes lighted up with a smile.

"O.k.! You coming, Spiralkit?" she asked, calling over her shoulder.

"No thanks. I'm with Deerkit. It's way too early to be up." He curled back up against Duskmint, as Flightkit and Palekit began tumbling around.

"Swirlpaw!" came a she-cat's voice, and Swirlpaw turned to look out of the nursery. Gingernose was standing there, her paw tapping against the ground. Swirlpaw turned back to Duskmint.

"Go on, she'll want to train you extra hard after what Hazelstar said," the queen mewed, and Swirlpaw nodded, racing out of the den, and nearly running into Gingernose, the tall ginger she-cat looking down at her.

"I was going to ask Peachtail to join us with Spiderpaw on our hunting lesson today, but if you'd rather spend the day in the nursery..."

"No no! I'd rather go hunting!" she meowed, and Gingernose purred in amusement.

"That's what I thought."

The four cats padded down the mountain to the base, where RainClan's trees met MoonClan's mountain. This was the best place for hunting on MoonClan territory. Spiderpaw bounced ahead, energetic as always to hunt.

"Come on, I want to get the first squirrel!" he yowled, causing a purr of amusement out of Peachtail.

"You've been trying for a quarter moon now!" Spiderpaw poked his tongue out at her before turning to Swirlpaw.

"You believe I can do it, don't you?" he asked, and Swirlpaw nodded.

"Of course!" she mewed, as Spiderpaw rushed off to the trees at the edge of the mountain.

"Watch out for RainClan!" Peachtail hissed after him, before sniffing the air, looking around.

"The prey's getting low," she mewed to Gingernose.

"Yes, I noticed. Leaf bare's getting closer," she replied, and Peachtail nodded, before turning to Swirlpaw.

"Why don't you go after Spiderpaw?" she asked. "You know how easily he gets in trouble."

"Yes Peachtail!" Swirlpaw mewed, before running off after Spiderpaw.

As the hunting patrol returned to the crevice, they dropped their prey in the fresh kill pile, before taking some for themselves.

"Swirlpaw, take some over to the nursery," Gingernose told her apprentice, and Swirlpaw nodded.

"Spiderpaw, take that squirrel to the elders," Peachtail mewed, but Spiderpaw groaned.

"I wanted to share my first squirrel with Swirlpaw and Yarrowpaw!" he mewed, and Peachtail bowed her head.

"Ok, but then you have to take them the big rabbit you found."

"Ok!" he meowed, and grabbed the rabbit before bounding off. Swirlpaw took one of her own rabbits, and dragged it over to the nursery, just as Sierralight stepped out.

"Oh, did you bring that for us?" she asked, and Swirlpaw nodded. "Oh, thank you! I was just about to get something and see if Patchfoot wanted to eat with me, but I bet Duskmint is hungry. She never did touch that rabbit Tinderfoot gave her. I ate instead so it didn't turn to crow food. Deerkit's asleep again."

"Thanks, Sierralight. I'll try to be quiet."

"Oh, no need for that. Palekit and Flightkit have been falling all over him all day. That kit can sleep through anything."

Swirlpaw padded into the den, and found her mother with her head in her paws.

"Duskmint?" Swirlpaw asked attentively.

"Oh, Swirlpaw. You brought me a rabbit," she mewed, looking at her daughter. "Did Tinderfoot ask you to bring it?"

Swirlpaw shook her head. "No. Gingernose told me to bring it to the nursery." She knew her mother would be more inclined to eat it if it wasn't brought especially for her. She set it down, before turning to Spiralkit and Flightkit.

"You two being good for Duskmint?" she asked, and Spiralkit shrugged his shoulders.

"She hasn't complained," he mewed lightly.

After spending most of the evening with her mother, Swirlpaw decided to go to sleep. She walked over to the apprentice's cave, and looked inside. The two newest apprentices, Beetlepaw and Nightpaw, were curled up together in one corner, while Yarrowpaw and Spiderpaw were curled up in another. When Swirlpaw padded in, Spiderpaw looked up.

"About time you came. You need your sleep," he ordered, and Swirlpaw padded over to him and swatted him on the head.

"I don't need you telling me what to do," she mewed, before curling up on the other side of him, and falling asleep.

Swirlpaw woke to find herself surrounded in blackness. At first, she just thought that she had woken up too early in the morning, and that her head was buried in Spiderpaw's pelt. But when she moved, she could see herself perfectly.

"Where am I?" she asked no one inparticular.

"If we knew that, we'd tell you," came a voice that Swirlpaw didn't recognise.

"Who's there?" she yowled, and a light grey she-cat appeared to her left. At first, Swirlpaw thought it was Azurepaw, but soon realised that her pelt was more silver then blue.

"Mistpaw?" she asked attentively, and the she-cat nodded. "But you're dead!"

"Yes, I know," she replied, looking at her feet. Swirlpaw looked around. This wasn't the StarClan she imagined.

"Where are we?" Swirlpaw asked, and Mistpaw looked around.

"It's alright, you can come out," she mewed, and a small grey tabby kit padded out from the blackness. "This is Smallkit. He was killed also by Hazelstar in cold blood."

"What does cold blood mean?" Swirlpaw asked, not taking her eyes off the small kit.

"It means that the opponent was defenceless. My mother's sister, Rubystone, was also killed in cold blood." A dark ginger she-cat stepped forward.

"And you were too?" Swirlpaw asked, and Mistpaw nodded.

"We all sacrificed our lives so the sun could return. But we didn't realise it would bring us here."

"Where is here?" Mistpaw looked at her paws.

"we don't know, Swirlpaw. That's the thing. We've come to know it as the Blackness, because that's all that's here. Black."

Swirlpaw looked around. She could hear the scared mews of other cats from what sounded like all ages.

"All the cats..."

"That have been killed in cold blood are here," Mistpaw finished. Swirlpaw nodded, and turned back to Mistpaw.

"What does this have to do with me?" she asked, and Mistpaw shrugged.

"I don't know that. If I knew that, I would tell you. Sorry," she mewed, as she started to disappear.

"Wait!" hissed Swirlpaw. "What about Azurepaw?!"

"Just help her when she asks for it!" Mistpaw hissed back, as Swirlpaw fell to the ground.

Swirlpaw woke with a start. Had that just been a dream from StarClan? Or something more? She turned to Spiderpaw, who was snoring lightly at her side. She sighed, before curling up against him again, and falling into a dreamless sleep.

Mistleaf: Well, that's the second chapter. And thank you to my first review for any of my warriors fan fics. I took your advice into consideration, and changed that which needed to be changed. I even got a second opinion on it! Great advice. R&R!!