The sun hovered in the middle of the sky, its invisible wings keeping it high above the land below, a golden glow of light in the middle of the set of endless blue waves that lapped against it. A few thin black specks sliced through the air beside the sun, the highlights of a three birds in the midst of their flight. Just like the sun, the birds remained constantly out of reach, only a tiny part of the everlasting blue yonder.

Sometimes, when he had managed to snag a break from his duties, he had gazed up at the pale blue sky and seen those daring birds doing their mesmerizing twists and dips and dives, and he had wondered what it was like to fly so high up that, when you looked down, the land was no more than a blur beneath you.

It was moments like those where he had pondered where the world truly ended and where the line between possible and impossible was drawn. Had he been older, he might not have thought so freely and wished so highly with the experience he would have gained from facing various hardships.

Still, even then, he had always had his curiosity. Even as a kit he would stare around, pestering his mother with his endless questions and learning wherever he could. Despite his quirks, every cat knew he would be smart.

There was always the question, though, of whether a cat with so many ponderable ideas and far-fetched thoughts, could remain loyal in his world of experiments and deductions.

To the point where, sometimes, when he could snatch himself away from sky gazing, he asked himself where his heart truly lay. The best answer that he could come up with without lying was that he didn't know, an answer that neither pleased nor displeased him. Still, he had learned it when such hard-thought answers needed coming about, it was best for him to just leave them be. Later an answer would come to him- it had always worked that way.

With his kit-like curiosity, though, he would venture where he shouldn't and journey farther then he was supposed to. He wanted to know what came after the forest and what came after the thing after the forest and so on until there was nothing more.

If an outsider had looked at him and heard his side of the story, there truly would have been no surprise that he had fallen into the wrong paws. He was so eager to learn and so curious to know about everything he saw and did that it was easy to bribe and persuade him- something of which made him think about where his loyalties lied more then he cared to.

It was no ordinary enemy that swept him away- in fact, it was quite different from a normal enemy. In his dreams he had met shadowy cats who promised to teach him all the things about battle they knew in return for one thing.

One thing that he had never heard. He had agreed, so enthusiastic about becoming smarter, that the other cats had never gotten to tell him what it was he was agreeing to. It was a fact that they accepted most heartily.

And from that moment on, he had begun his life as an apprentice of the Dark Forest. He, himself, was taught by a scarred and battle-hardened tom called Sunheart, an unusually bright name for one who had walked a path of shadows.

Sunheart was a good mentor, yet a viscous one. Each day he had woken up with wounds and bruises and aches from his nights with his mentor, but every day he knew he was not only growing smarter but he was growing stronger. For him, that was worth constantly being tired, and it was more than enough to make him truly feel like he belonged somewhere because of how noticed he felt when he walked in his dreams.

Now the ponderous tom leaned against a tree, his fur carefully groomed to hide his cuts. His flanks heaved rapidly as he caught his breath, one paw held above the ground as if he had twisted it slightly earlier.

"Oakpaw? Oakpaw, where are you, you big lump of fur?" The voice came from a tortoiseshell she-cat as she weaved through the ferns, her dappled pelt ruffled but not matted or tangled.

The tom answered, the fact that his voice sounded like it got little use perhaps the reason why his voice was unnaturally high for a tom of his age, mewing, "Over here, Robinpaw!"

"Where's here?" Robinpaw responded somewhat tartly, her tone making the tom flatten his ears.

"Somewhere where a brown tabby tom with green eyes can apparently stand unnoticed," Oakpaw snapped back. "Also known as I'm beside a tree."

Bursting out of the ferns beside the tree, Robinpaw toppled into the brown tabby tom and the two fell to the ground, one letting out an apologetic mew while the other let out a more frustrated and annoyed one.

Oakpaw's voice rose a note higher as he staggered back to his feet, shaking the dust off his coat. "Really, Robinpaw? Really? I was thinking, for your information, when you just had to crash into me!"

Robinpaw flinched as if his words had stung her and drew herself up to her full height. "Well, fluff-brain, you can keep staring up at the clouds or you can live in the real world! And guess what? In the real world, cats don't cry over getting knocked to the ground!"

"Wow, what a great sister you turned out to be," he shot back, voice suddenly dry with distaste.

"Well, if I'm so bad, then there isn't a word to describe how terrible a brother you are!" Robinpaw exclaimed. Spinning around, she lashed her tail and bounded away.

Oakpaw sighed and turned away.

It wasn't that he was mean; in fact, he was nearly never in a bad mood and normally had a very pleasant temper. But recently he had started to become sharper and fiercer, a factor of which Oakpaw believed was rubbing off on him from the cats he met in the Dark Forest.

Glancing up, Oakpaw let out a frustrated grunt. It was still daytime, which meant he couldn't go to sleep and talk with Sunheart, but the brown tabby couldn't think of anything he had to do for once. Still, he would always welcome a peaceful nap where Sunheart and the other Dark Forest cats couldn't disturb his sleep.

The brown tabby curled up between two of the larger roots of the tree and rested his chin on his paws, determined to get a good rest. For a moment, he stared up at the sky, his eyes fixing on the thin scratches that marked out the far-away birds. The next, he was deep asleep, his flanks rising and falling peacefully.

…

When Oakpaw awoke, it was to his mentor crashing through the trees yowling for him. The tabby was unsure of how to react; he didn't want to get in trouble, but he was just as reluctant to end his nap. The sleep had been good for him, and he felt more rested then he had for nearly two full moons now.

Rising to his feet, the tabby reluctantly let out a small call of 'Here!'

"Oakpaw!" the pale golden tabby exclaimed, stalking into the clearing. Her pelt was bristling and her tail was lashing, and her amber eyes blazed angrily. "What do you think you're doing? Don't you know you were supposed to be on patrol?"

"I do now," he said wistfully, glancing back towards where he had been sleeping. After a moment, he shook himself rapidly, sending scraps of leaves and twigs flying off him.

The pale golden tabby leapt backwards to avoid the shower. "Look, Oakpaw, I'd rather help you become a warrior sooner than later but at this rate no one can help you! Ivystep's kits will become warriors before you do!"

Oakpaw flinched as if he had been dealt a physical blow. "Can't you have some sympathy, Briarwing?"

"If I have any more sympathy, my fur will fall off!" Briarwing hissed. "Besides, what is there to have sympathy about? You're just like any other cat, except, well, dreamier."

"So make allowances!" Oakpaw retorted, before suddenly growing quiet. He didn't know why he was so angry; normally he was shy and passive. His mentor seemed to realize that as well, for she dipped her head.

"Why don't you take the rest of the day off, Oakpaw?" Briarwing stated simply. "I think you could use a break for a little bit. Just, please, bring something back to camp with you for the fresh-kill pile."

Oakpaw rigidly dipped his head. "I'm sure I can do that," he mewed icily.

Inside, his head was spinning. Where was the calm, curious, question-asking brown tabby tom he normally was? Ever since he had joining the Dark Forest, he had felt… different. Stronger and more confident, yes, but, angrier. Angrier and more frustrated.

Some of the littlest things were ticking him off, and it was all very strange, but even if he did make the decision to leave the Place of No Stars, he was stuck there like a fly in a web with no escape. Besides, it surely couldn't be the Dark Forest? They were nice enough to him.

"Shush," he told himself. "Just rest, get some rest, sleep… Get some sleep… All will be fine."

…

It felt like only a heartbeat had gone by when he felt claws clutching at him. Oakpaw shuddered and jumped to his feet, jerking away before spinning around and crouching with claws unsheathed.

Sunheart. Just as he had expected.

The large golden warrior raised one forepaw, his claws reflecting the dim light of the Dark Forest. Oakpaw took a small step backwards and bowed his head, waiting for Sunheart to let out a mew to signal he could rise.

It came quicker than expected, with a quick, short, "Up."

Oakpaw straightened, meeting his mentor's golden gaze evenly. "Greetings," he responded.

Sunheart flicked his tail. "Too many words of peace," he growled. "There's more need for violence. Stop that dillydallying; we have a meeting to go to."

"A meeting?" The brown tabby tom answered, astonished. When had he ever been invited to meetings before?

He raised his head, proud that he had been given the honor of attending a Dark Forest gathering. Then, Oakpaw felt the pride be chilled as he realized this meant they trusted him to be loyal to them more then to his clan mates.

Yes, Oakpaw knew who the Dark Forest really was. They were evil cats plotting revenge, and was on the path to helping them. But Oakpaw's path twisted and curved in ways he couldn't foresee, and so he had always assumed that things would be alright. Besides; the Dark Forest truly trusted him, and he really was stronger than a lot of his clan mates. The Dark Forest had made him a better warrior.

"A meeting of the senior apprentices and their mentors, plus Ashstar and Fernclaw," Sunheart responded evenly. "And me, of course, but I was already coming as your mentor."

Oakpaw nodded slowly, mind racing. Was it more than coincidence that his mentor was one of the leaders of the Dark Forest? Or was it something more? He sure hoped it was nothing more than a pointless event; it wasn't like Oakpaw even knew what it could mean if it was pointed.

Sunheart flashed out a paw, knocking the unexpecting Oakpaw to the ground.

The brown tabby staggered back to his feet, glaring at Sunheart, and spat, "What was that for?" Then Oakpaw rolled his eyes as if he knew the answer. "Never let yourself be caught by surprise. Always be ready."

His mentor nodded before bounding into the forest, the mashed up tangle of wood and leaves. Instantly, Oakpaw followed, stretching his legs with every bound until he was starting to gain on Sunheart.

When they reached the meeting, most of the cats were already there. Sunheart split from Oakpaw with a flick of his tail and headed towards where a dark gray tabby and a tortoiseshell she-cat stood. A few of the other Dark Forest cats had to scuttle out of his way. Everyone dipped their heads respectfully.

Oakpaw shrugged and joined the edge of the crowd where a few other apprentices were gathered. He was the only ThunderClan cat in the group of apprentices he had come up to stand with, but the others were all friendly enough.

Minnowpaw and Troutpaw of RiverClan nodded at him. "How's the training going, Oakpaw?" Troutpaw greeted, his deepening rumble reminding Oakpaw that Troutpaw was not only much bigger then Oakpaw, but he was nearly a warrior in RiverClan as well.

"Good, you?" Oakpaw responded, blinking a greeting at the duo.

"It's just fine," Minnowpaw answered. Her own mew was much lighter than her brother's, and it echoed with a sort of graceful and serene glow. "We'll be having our warrior assessment in a few days."

The brown tabby tom nodded. "Well, best of luck to you two!" He exclaimed before turning to the black-furred ShadowClan she-cat who stood a few mouse-lengths away. "Good day, Pinepaw."

"Good night," Pinepaw corrected curtly.

Oakpaw hastily reminded himself that she often seemed in a bad temper and after a few minutes she would lighten up to the group.

"Long time no see," Harepaw, the WindClan tom, mewed after a moment.

His clan mate, Gorsestrike, mewed agreement after a moment. "It's nice to see you again, Oakpaw. You think this meeting will end in some of us becoming Dark Forest warriors?"

"Maybe," Oakpaw shrugged.

"Come on," Heatherblaze, the final of the WindClan senior apprentices, urged him. "Sunheart's your mentor. You must know something!"

The brown tabby tom sat sharply. "I promise you, I know nothing," he repeated.

"Let all cats strong enough to kill their enemies gather here beneath us for a clan meeting!" Sunheart yowled.

Immediately, the clearing was silent, and Sunheart blinked approvingly. Then, the golden tom took a step forwards, flicking his tail. Fernclaw and Ashstar joined him and the mighty trio watched the group in silence for a few moments.

Then, at last, Fernclaw made a simple statement. "Today we are to be joined by our first living warriors."

Cheers broke out and Oakpaw cast a surprised glance at Gorsestrike for his well-guessed prediction. "You were right," he whispered.

"It has come to mind that not all our senior apprentices are ready, however," Fernclaw continued, shooting the crowd of apprentices and their mentors a harsh glare. "So three have come along just for the experience of watching."

Oakpaw lowered his head, remembering with a start that they weren't the only senior apprentices there. There were at least eight more, all scattered in different parts of the crowd.

Ashstar was the next to speak, his voice echoing throughout the hollow. "Of WindClan; Heatherblaze, Harepaw, Gorsestrike, Hollowfoot, and Skypaw. Of RiverClan; Minnowpaw, Troutpaw, Blackfish, and Sunshade. Of ShadowClan; Copperpaw, Rosepaw, Thornfang, Pinepaw, Cedarstripe, and Stonefoot. Of ThunderClan; Oakpaw, Grayfire, and Cloudpaw. Step forwards, all of you."

Quickly, like stream running downhill, the named cats flashed to the front. Oakpaw realized with a flash of unease that Ashstar had named every apprentice; he might still be one of the three who wouldn't be made a warrior.

"Most of you are young," Ashstar continued. "But you are strong, and your mentors have made you even stronger. You have been trained and you have fought well because of that. The Dark Forest has shaped you into one of its own. It is time that you join your mentors as proper warriors and begin training new recruits."

Oakpaw glanced at Sunheart, who was sweeping his gaze over the crowd of apprentices. Then, the large golden tom stepped forwards again to speak. "But, we can only have the strongest of warriors. So each of you will fight your mentor. If you can beat your mentor, you will proceed to become a warrior. If you fail… Then your spirit will join us as an apprentice."

Fighting down panic, the brown tabby fixed his eyes on his paws. He had to fight Sunheart, a leader of the Dark Forest, and win! How was he to do that? And would he really go to the Dark Forest when he died? Had he doomed himself to no longer go to StarClan?

But Oakpaw was a good cat, right? Wouldn't he go straight to the stars? Or would they turn him away because of where he spent his nights?

Fernclaw's mew cut into his thoughts. "Apprentices of Ashstar and Sunheart, you shall fight each other."

"And when we tell you to stop fighting, you had better stop fighting!" Ashstar yowled. "Let the trials begin!"

His green gaze darted over the crowd of apprentices as he contemplated who would fight first. "Rosepaw and Copperpaw, you two will fight your mentors first."

Four cats wove to the front of the crowd.

"You will fight your mentor and your mentor only," Ashstar added quickly. "And it all starts now!"

The four cats leapt towards each other, quick as lightning, and the fights began. Oakpaw wasn't sure which fight to watch; all four cats were brilliant fighters, he realized. The Dark Forest had made sure of that.

In the end, both Copperpaw and Rosepaw emerged victorious.

After about six more fights, the first apprentice was killed. Oakpaw dipped his head towards Harepaw as the black-and-white tom's body faded and his spirit arose to pad over to the edge of the clearing. But next was his turn to fight Ashstar's apprentice, Skypaw, and the she-cat was already hissing and spitting ferociously.

"Hello," he greeted simply, dipping his head.

Her response was cold, low, and angry, more like a Dark Forest cat's then a clan cat's, and Oakpaw found himself shrinking away.

"Three, two, one, go!" Ashstar yowled. "Remember, one survivor from this one!"

Skypaw crashed towards him and Oakpaw leapt up to meet her attack, but she used a neat tail flick to change her direction and avoid the collision. She landed sooner than he did, and Skypaw was more than ready when he crashed to the ground to leap for him a second time.

This time, aware of her skills in the air, Oakpaw slid underneath her and bucked up with his hind legs, making contact with her belly.

She landed heavily on her back a few fox-lengths away, and the crowd shuffled to the side to give them room, but there was no need. Skypaw was back on her feet in an instant, flinging herself back at him with a ferocious charge.

Oakpaw's fur was ruffled by her paws as the WindClan cat sped past but he had otherwise managed to dodge the attack.

Spinning around, Oakpaw chased after Skypaw, reaching out to grasp her tail in his jaws. She shrieked and came to halt, flashing back towards him and swiping at his face. One blow connect above his eyes and Oakpaw barely held back a squeak.

He let go and took a step back, trying to think of a plan to defeat Skypaw. She watched him through narrowed eyes, hissing, "That all you've got?"

"No, but it looked like you might need a breather," he shot back. "Weakling."

Skypaw bristled. "No one calls me a weakling and gets away alive!"

"I'm not so sure about that, weakling," Oakpaw responded, emphasizing weakling a second time in order to spite her. "Weakling isn't exactly a misnomer for you."

The WindClan apprentice leapt, claws unsheathed, and Oakpaw resisted a purr of triumph that everything was working out just fine. He slid to the side, slashed his claws alongside her flank, before dealing two hard blows to the joints in her hind legs, an old trick Sunheart had taught him.

She rolled onto one side and bunched up her legs to protect her belly but the brown tabby tom was more than ready. He reared and used the momentum to dive for Skypaw, and she rolled onto her other side, but he brought his hind legs down on her flank and began a steady slice and rip pattern.

The normally timid and curious Oakpaw had grown into a fierce and deadly tiger, with no kind or passionate thoughts about him. If he won this fight, he would be a warrior in the Dark Forest. If he lost, he would be dead.

Suddenly, Skypaw stopped trying to writhe free. "Go on. Kill me."

Oakpaw turned to stare, gingerly stepping off her as a flash of his old self returned. "What?"

"I said kill me." She repeated.

Skypaw drew in all four paws, directing them all towards his face and sending Oakpaw tumbling away.

Skypaw rolled to her feet and struck a paw down on his throat. "Got any final goodbyes?" she asked.

Oakpaw shook his head, took a deep breath of air, and brought his chin slamming down on her paw. At the same time, it sent her paw pressing into his throat, and Oakpaw hoped she would forget to unsheathe her claws.

But instead of taking advantage of her opportunity, Skypaw pulled her paw out and lunged for him.

The brown tabby apprentice was ready to kill now. He was in this fight, as a tiger, and he was facing her, the leopard.

He would fight, and he would win, because this was a battle he had to win.

"Final words?" he asked, diving for her legs as she reared up.

Successfully knocked off balance, Skypaw propelled all her falling force into Oakpaw, who merely kicked up his hind legs and sent her flying off.

Oakpaw pounded towards the winded apprentice and gripped her throat between his jaws. In only a few moments, it was over, and he stepped back.

Skypaw's body slowly began to fade as Skypaw's spirit rose and padded over to join Harepaw.

"Oakpaw, well done!" Sunheart spoke. "Cats of the Dark Forest, feast your eyes upon our newest warrior, Oakpaw!"

The apprentice-warrior didn't hear his former Dark Forest mentor. All he could hear were his own thoughts, echoing with horror as he tried to calm himself. Why?

He had killed a cat. A living, breathing cat.

That's right… Nothing unusual. Cats die every day. Dark Forest cats kill every day. This doesn't mean I'm a murderer.

But no matter how much Oakpaw told himself that, he couldn't shake the feeling that he had done something wrong, so wrong that he couldn't be forgiven despite all the rights he had done in his life.

…

Once the trials were over, the cats who failed were sent away with their mentors and all the dead Dark Forest warriors left, except for Sunheart, Ashstar, Fernclaw, and three others.

"Warriors, your duty now is to train with each other and make each other stronger. When the time comes, you must all know each other and their moves by heart so that, when you pair up with any, and I repeat any, of your fellow Dark Forest warriors, you two will be a perfect fighting pair.

"You are also responsible for training our apprentices. That includes senior apprentices, apprentices who have just joined us, and everything in between. In a few days' time, most of you will be assigned two or three apprentices, as tomorrow will be the recruiting day.

"On the recruiting day, all of you must be present. We will be finding, choosing, and picking as many apprentices, warriors, kits, elders, queens, deputies, and leaders as we can. Our ideal goal is thirty-six new apprentices to divide amongst you all and thirty-six new apprentices for our dead warriors.

"Your current orders are to train and help out with the other training sessions. Tomorrow, in the daylight, you must also look around your clan mates and find as many possible recruits as you can. Get your Dark Forest living clan mates to help you search the whole clan.

"Our last order of business are the stones. Each of you will take, and keep, a little green stone, so that everyone will know you are now warriors. If you do not have a green stone on you, you are not entitled to any warriors privileges and may even be punished, for every cat will need to know your level of authority by the time the final battles come.

"And remember. We will be keeping our eyes on you," Ashstar finished. "That means you may be ranked up and you may be ranked down. Scarlet stones are of the highest ranks. Next come black, then gold, then blue, and, at last, green. Keep this in mind when addressing others."

"Now," Sunheart growled, waving his tail. "Go back to your clans and remember your orders once you've grabbed a green stone."

They fell into a single-file line, all taking their turn to grab one stone and disappear into the bushes.

Oakpaw grabbed his stone and curled up beside a fern, holding the stone carefully in his mouth. If he lost this…

The brown tabby awoke with a start.

…

"Oakpaw! Oakpaw!" Briarwing's call jerked him awake.

It was dark now, Oakpaw realized, and instinctively looked up towards the sky. Through the patches in the leafy canopy he could see patches of the night sky and he shivered, feeling the wind snake through his fur.

"I'm here," he called, getting to his paws.

A little stone fell to the ground as he spoke and Oakpaw dove for it as it rolled to the side. He couldn't afford to lose it.

Briarwing burst out of the bushes, panting. "There you are! I was wondering if you were still here or not. Come on, we'd best get back to camp."

Oakpaw shrugged and straightened, rolling the stone from side to side with one paw. "Yeah, yeah, yeah…"

"And would you like to explain what that stone is?" Briarwing added, giving the stone a suspicious look.

"Just something," Oakpaw responded quietly, picking it up and carrying the stone

…

"Good morning!" Briarwing called from outside the apprentice den.

Oakpaw blinked sleepily, surprised to hear it was morning already, but not protesting.

Instead, the apprentice rose to his feet and gave himself a quick grooming, smoothing his ruffled fur and teasing through any tangles. He took extra care to brush fur over his scratches from the Dark Forest- if any caught on, he'd be in big trouble. Lastly, he picked up the stone and tucked it carefully in the side of his mouth like a chipmunk.

"What are we doing today?" he asked.

"An assessment," his mentor responded, seemingly full of enthusiasm and cheerfulness. "On your fighting skills. With Robinpaw and the senior apprentices, Leafpaw, Poppypaw, and Badgerpaw."

Oakpaw let out a rusty purr and stretched quickly. He knew this was an assessment he would pass easily, for despite the older age of the senior apprentices and their longer training he had the advantage of Dark Forest training. Briarwing seemed to sense his confidence for she let her tail trail over his shoulders for a moment.

"Don't get too cocky," she mewed, her eyes darkening into a more serious-looking manner. "These apprentices are a few moons older then you and they've had a lot more training. It's almost certain they'll beat you."

Rolling his eyes, the brown tabby tom pushed past his mentor and bounded towards the camp entrance. "We're going to meet at the grassy clearing, right?"

At her nod of confirmation he broke into the forest, weaving through the trees and sticking to the shadows. Even with his brown pelt Oakpaw was nothing less than perfectly hidden, supposedly an extraordinary feat to any cat who hadn't walked in the Place of No Stars. There was no doubt- not only had he learned to fight, but he had learned to be dark and to be stealthy.

He didn't have his kitten faults anymore. No, Oakpaw was a fully-fledged cat. If he was older, he might have been having his warrior assessment right now.

Just keep going forwards, he told himself. Don't pause. Stop daydreaming, that's what Sunheart would say.

Yet as he swerved around a corner something must have clicked in his head as he skidded to a halt. He had changed so much. Where was that dreamy, daydreaming apprentice who was extremely curious? What had happened to him?

When he looked in a puddle he saw only a strong, well-muscled brown tabby tom, fierce and cold and relentless. He argued diligently now, stubborn and a fight-picker. And Oakpaw didn't know if he liked this new self, but Sunheart had been right. He had learned, and he had learned a lot, too.

So nothing's wrong. Keep going on.

No. I'm different.

Oakpaw hesitated before letting the stone drop from his mouth. He rolled it under one paw, thinking fast. That was another change- he was more decisive and less ponderous.

"I don't need you, Sunheart. I don't need you Dark Forest." Oakpaw tried to say, making himself stand straighter.

Then he ducked and grabbed the stone again. "I'm physically strong," he whispered. "But my mental strength is weaker than ever."

Oakpaw bounded onwards, tail down and head down as he flew through the trees. Maybe he wouldn't ever give up the Dark Forest, but at least he was learning and now he could defend his clan better than ever. Hadn't everything worked out in the end? He had passed his assessment, he was a Dark Forest warrior, he made a fair opponent for practically every cat, and he was on the verge of ranking up. It was better just to keep on going.

Just don't look back.