Darkest of Nights

by A Proud Bibliophile

Darktail and his rogues have been driven out many moons ago and peace has come to the lake. But now, an ominous force from within is destroying the stability. A warrior, an apprentice, an elder and a deputy are called together to save the Clans. But will it be enough? (Collaboration with DragonoftheStars1429)

ThunderClan

LEADER: Violetstar - gray tortoiseshell she-cat with yellow-green eyes

DEPUTY: Snowclaw - longhaired white tom with yellow eyes

MEDICINE CAT: Willowberry - small silver-gray tabby she-cat with amber eyes

MEDICINE CAT APPRENTICE: Badgertuft - longhaired black and white she-cat with orange eyes

WARRIORS: Mossfoot - longhaired calico she-cat with yellow-green eyes (Apprentice: Oakpaw)

Firesplash - ginger tabby and white tom with amber eyes

Owlfeather - skinny brown tabby tom with wide amber eyes (Apprentice: Beepaw)

Pinenose - gray she-cat with green eyes

Weaselstep - tortoiseshell tabby she-cat with yellow eyes

Daisyheart - longhaired white she-cat with one green eye and one blue eye (Apprentice: Ashpaw)

Marshwing - white tom with black patches and green eyes

Littlefern - small gray tabby she-cat with a white muzzle, chest, tail tip and paws and yellow eyes

Duskfall - longhaired dark brown tabby tom with green eyes

Frostfang - longhaired white tom with a gray tail and ears and blue eyes

Birchfang - light brown tabby tom with pale green eyes

Maplesong - longhaired tortoiseshell she-cat with amber eyes

Leafshade - skinny brown tabby tom with amber eyes

APPRENTICES: Ashpaw - longhaired gray tabby tom with amber eyes

Oakpaw - brown tabby tom with amber eyes

Beepaw - cream tabby and white she-cat with yellow eyes

QUEENS: Cloudpelt - white she-cat with amber eyes (Mother of Duskfall's kits: Whitekit, Sootkit and Barkkit)

Sparrowflight - brown tabby she-cat with a white chest, tail tip and paws and yellow eyes (Mother of Marshwing's kits: Icekit and Cloverkit)

KITS: Whitekit - longhaired white tomkit with green eyes

Sootkit - longhaired gray tomkit with amber eyes

Barkkit - brown tabby tomkit with green eyes

Icekit - longhaired white tomkit with yellow eyes

Cloverkit - brown tabby and white she-kit with green eyes

ELDERS: Splashpool - longhaired gray calico she-cat with blue eyes

Ferretnose - brown and white tom with blue eyes

---

ShadowClan

LEADER: Hazelstar - longhaired brown tabby she-cat with amber eyes

DEPUTY: Alderflower - gray tortoiseshell and white she-cat with green eyes

MEDICINE CAT: Icegaze - silvery-gray and white tom with icy blue eyes

MEDICINE CAT APPRENTICE: Birchstorm - creamy-brown tabby she-cat with amber eyes

WARRIORS: Stormfang - small, pale gray she-cat with green eyes

Marshpelt - dark brown tom with yellow eyes (Apprentice: Duskpaw)

Quickstep - skinny black and white she-cat with green eyes (Apprentice: Branchpaw)

Oakpool - light brown tabby and white she-cat with dark amber eyes

Yewface - longhaired gray tabby tom with yellow eyes

Wilddapple - gray ticked tabby she-cat with yellow-green eyes (Apprentice: Nettlepaw)

Boulderstrike - sleek black tom with green eyes

Crowspirit - black tom with bright green eyes (Apprentice: Rosepaw)

Timberclaw - skinny dark gray tom with amber eyes

Owlbranch - dark brown tabby tom with amber eyes

APPRENTICES: Duskpaw - dark brown she-cat with yellow eyes

Branchpaw - brown ticked tabby tom with amber eyes

Nettlepaw - silvery-gray tom with a white muzzle, chest and tail tip and green eyes

Rosepaw - cream tabby she-cat with clear amber eyes

QUEENS: Mallowclaw - gray spotted tabby she-cat with yellow-green eyes (Mother of Marshpelt's kits: Logkit and Featherkit)

Fawnflame - brown-point she-cat with blue eyes (Mother of Yewface's kits: Strikekit, Flashkit and Berrykit)

KITS: Logkit - dark brown tomkit with green eyes

Featherkit - white tomkit with amber eyes

Strikekit - black and white tomkit with blue eyes

Flashkit - brown-point and white tomkit with blue eyes

Berrykit - creamy-brown tabby she-kit with yellow eyes

ELDERS: Quietwhisper - gray ticked tabby and white tom with amber eyes

Pinefrost - chestnut-brown tabby she-cat with green eyes

Cloudedeyes (formerly Snowflower) - pale gray she-cat with blind yellow eyes

---

WindClan

LEADER: Lionstar - fluffy pale ginger tabby tom with yellow eyes

DEPUTY: Dovewhisker - pale gray tom with golden eyes

MEDICINE CAT: Blueleaf - dark blue-gray she-cat with green eyes

WARRIORS: Crowclaw - skinny black tom with orange eyes (Apprentice: Featherpaw)

Flamesong - ginger tabby tom with green eyes (Apprentice: Patchpaw)

Harestep - small brown she-cat with golden eyes and a short tail

Flywing - black tom with orange eyes (Apprentice: Cloudpaw)

Prickleshade - spiky-furred tortoiseshell she-cat with green eyes (Apprentice: Brindlepaw)

Rabbitfur - fluffy gray tom with amber eyes

Amberfang - ginger tabby she-cat with a white locket, tail tip and paws and yellow eyes

Grasstooth - fluffy gray tabby tom with amber eyes

APPRENTICES: Cloudpaw - gray and white tom with blue eyes

Patchpaw - black and white she-cat with yellow eyes

Featherpaw - black she-cat with green eyes

Brindlepaw - tortoiseshell tabby she-cat with green eyes

QUEENS: Flowerheart - silver tabby she-cat with a white chest, belly, tail tip and paws and green eyes (Mother of Rabbitfur's kits: Mistykit and Silverkit)

Smokeblossom - fluffy gray she-cat with golden eyes (Expecting Flywing's kits)

KITS: Mistykit - fluffy gray she-kit with amber eyes

Silverkit - fluffy silver-gray tabby she-kit with green eyes

ELDERS: Foxtail - longhaired ginger tabby tom with a white chest, tail tip and paws and yellow eyes

Hazelwhisker - gray tabby she-cat with orange eyes

Rosefire - ginger tabby she-cat with green eyes

---

RiverClan

LEADER: Froststar - old, frail gray tom with yellow eyes

DEPUTY: Petalwhisper - golden tabby she-cat with green eyes

MEDICINE CAT: Cherrysong - dark ginger tabby she-cat with light green eyes

MEDICINE CAT APPRENTICE: Cypresspaw - gray tabby she-cat with amber eyes

WARRIORS: Troutbreeze - dark gray tom with green eyes

Brackenmist - longhaired golden-brown tabby she-cat with yellow eyes

Tumblewing - longhaired white tom with yellow eyes (Apprentice: Mothpaw)

Marigoldfall - pale ginger tabby she-cat with bright green eyes

Oliveberry - light brown ticked tabby tom with amber eyes

Palepelt - cream tabby she-cat with light green eyes (Apprentice: Eaglepaw)

Copperfang - dark golden tabby tom with dark amber eyes

Meadowspots - pale gray she-cat with light green eyes (Apprentice: Bushpaw)

Whitetuft - fluffy white tom with blue eyes (Apprentice: Creekpaw)

Otternose - dark brown she-cat with amber eyes

Lichenblaze - longhaired brown tabby tom with dark green eyes

Foxstorm - ginger tabby she-cat with a white chest, belly, tail tip and paws and green eyes

Berryfang - gray tortoiseshell she-cat with amber eyes

Snailheart - skinny light brown tom with yellow eyes

Starlingstorm - brown tabby and white she-cat with amber eyes

APPRENTICES: Mothpaw - plump cream tabby tom with amber eyes

Eaglepaw - brown tabby and white she-cat with blue eyes

Bushpaw - brown tabby she-cat with yellow eyes

Creekpaw - light gray tom with green eyes

QUEENS: Snowsky - light gray she-cat with green eyes (Mother of Tumblewing's kits: Buzzardkit and Splashkit)

KITS: Buzzardkit - light brown tabby tomkit with green eyes

Splashkit - gray and white she-kit with yellow eyes

ELDERS: Morningfern - elderly brown tabby and white she-cat with green eyes

Fishtail - gray spotted tabby tom with green eyes

---

Shrewstar's breath came in short pants as she sprinted across the moor, starlight shimmering wherever her paws touched. Yowls and cries came from behind her, all cats vying for her blood. If she even had any left.

She crested a rise and skidded down the other side, but her paw caught on a rock and she tumbled down the hill. Her shoulder scraped against the earth as she rose to her feet again and continued to flee.

This had never happened before. They'd always been contained. And now they were free, chasing her down. There was no doubt in her mind that they'd kill her if they caught her. The cats of the Dark Forest were coming again.

"Shrewstar!" a voice hissed. She turned, locking eyes with Silverfang, her sister. "Come with me!"

The brown tabby she-cat threw herself into the prickly gorse alongside her sister and crouched down, flanks heaving. Silverfang pressed against her, steadying her pounding heart. The two waited in silence, and eventually, the caterwauls of her pursuers died down.

"Are you alright?" Silverfang meowed, rubbing her head against Shrewstar's. The tabby shook out her fur.

"Yes. But we've got to tell the others."

"What are we going to do?" Redberry wailed. Shrewstar narrowed her eyes at the melodramatic tom, but didn't lecture him.

"We've got to choose our heroes. We've got to warn them. And then we've got to hope that they can stop this threat."

A snowy-white tom stood tall above all the other cats in the hollow. His paws brushed over the grass and starlight danced in his eyes. He sat and lowered his muzzle to the pool below. Ripples spread outwards.

"To save my sacred Clan, I select an apprentice, brave and loyal." A cat's sleeping form appeared on the water and every cat leaned in to observe them. Murmurs of both approval and disapproval rippled through the crowd. Shrewstar dipped her head.

"She is an excellent choice Whitestar."

A scrawny gray she-cat approached next, her fur hanging in ungroomed clumps. She dipped her muzzle into the water and tossed her head back.

"I choose an elder, devoted and wise."

Her cry was met with more discontentment than the apprentice, but Shrewstar and Whitestar calmed the riled cats.

"She will know where her paws should go," Hawkstar hissed.

Shrewstar stepped forward next, dipping a paw into the water.

"I choose a deputy, young and inexperienced, but hard-working. He will make the hard decisions."

Finally, a large ginger tabby stepped forward, lowering his muzzle to the water as well.

"I, Reedstar, choose a warrior, bold and clever. He will not hesitate in the face of danger."

Reedstar's choice was met with the most pleasure from the crowd, and Shrewstar stepped forward to stand by his side.

"We must alert our champions to their new cause," she meowed. "And we must guide their pawsteps. The fate of the Clans depends on these cats."

Cheers went up around the pool, echoing throughout the stone hollow. Shrewstar closed her eyes. 'Please, let us help them.'

---

Author's Notes:

Fiona - Hi everyone! I hope you all enjoyed the prologue and allegiances of Darkest of Nights. Writing it was very, very fun for us. As you've probably seen from the summary, this story is a collab between me (A Proud Bibliophile) and Dragon (DragonoftheStars1429). We'll each be writing for two characters - mine are Beepaw of ThunderClan and Dovewhisker of WindClan. Please let us know what you think!

Dragon - Hey there! I'll be working on Pinefrost of ShadowClan (the elder) and Lichenblaze of RiverClan (the warrior). We've been planning this story for a long time and I'm glad we're sharing it! Enjoy!