A/N

I'm feeling motivated, and since I'm on winter break, I can write nonstop! Ha!

Guest: I don't know if I'll update Lost anytime soon. The writing feels choppy to me, but I don't feel like rebooting it. Right now, my active stories are the Stolen reboot and this one.

Chapter 3: Darkness

As the sun began to set, Skypaw picked a simple mouse from the fresh-kill pile to share with Poppypaw, but as she turned around, she bumped into Lionshadow. She had been avoiding him out of shame since she got back to camp.

"Skypaw-" he began, but she cut him off.

"I'm sorry, I don't want to talk," she said quickly.

"I wanted to apologize," Lionshadow said.

Skypaw stopped. "What?"

He looked down. "I was a rogue. I know they're not all bad. I know you're not bad. I'm sorry, Skypaw."

Skypaw blinked in surprise. She let out a sigh. "It's alright. I'm sorry I overreacted."

"Tonight's the Gathering, you know," Lionshadow said.

"I know," Skypaw smiled. "Fallenleaf told me new apprentices are rarely chosen, though."

"That may be true," Lionshadow admitted. "But I may have mentioned to Nettlestar I was impressed with your progress today."

"You what?!" Skypaw shrieked in shock. "B-but I barely did anything! I yelled at you…"

Lionshadow gave a deep chuckle. "You were right. I'm glad to have an apprentice that sticks to her opinions in the face of authority. Plus, I was talking about your previous blindness."

"Oh," Skypaw said. "I guess I did do okay."

"C'mon, he's called the meeting," Lionshadow said, nudging her up.

Skypaw ran to the base of the leader's den, where Nettlestar was addressing the clan underneath a low hanging hazel branch.

"The cats attending the Gathering tonight shall be: Starkwing, Goldenrain, Berryclaw, Fallenleaf, Minnowflash, Lionshadow, Thornfang, Icepaw, Snowpaw, Acornpaw, Mudpaw, and Skypaw," Nettlestar announced.

Skypaw could hardly believe it. Ashpaw and Bluepaw were giving her dirty looks. Fallenleaf trotted up to her. "This is going to be amazing! Your first Gathering! And on your first day of being an apprentice, no less!"

"I didn't really expect it…" Skypaw trailed off. She shot Lionshadow a glance, but he had gone to walk with Berryclaw and Thornfang.

"C'mon, we can all go together," Fallenleaf said as Goldenrain bounced up to them. She raised her tail in the air joyously. "The ShadowClan sisters!"

Goldenrain and Skypaw giggled. The cats set off out of camp, and Skypaw found it was a relatively short walk. "This travel must suck for WindClan," Skypaw snickered.

"It's a wonder they're never winded by the time they arrive," Fallenleaf said. She nudged Goldenrain. "Get it, get it?"

Skypaw was laughing like it was the funniest joke she'd ever heard in her life. However, she quickly cut herself off when she saw the cats jumping up on the large tree acting as a crossing point across the lake.

"Oh, right," she groaned. Goldenrain leapt up, and Skypaw followed nervously.

"I'll be right behind you, don't worry," Fallenleaf purred.

Skypaw gulped and gave a little nod. She summoned up some false courage and dug her claws into the trunk and steadies herself as she walked across. Her mind was solely focused on getting across safely until the moment her paws touched sand.

She gave a haughty laugh. "I did it!"

"It's pretty easy once you get the hang of it," Goldenrain shrugged.

It seemed ShadowClan had arrived before all the other clans, but Skypaw could see the silhouettes of what she assumed was RiverClan approaching in the distance.

She was right, when she caught the strong scent of fish. Some of the cats chose to swim across, which Skypaw found peculiar.

Skypaw noticed a grey-blue tabby tom who looked like he belonged in the nursery. He smelled of herbs rather than fish. She thought him odd, but was distracted by the arrival of ThunderClan. She found herself rolling her eyes.

WindClan arrived last, as she expected, and soon after the meeting began. Icepaw and Snowpaw approached her.

"Hey, want to sit with us?" Icepaw asked.

"Sure," Skypaw shrugged. She sat next to Icepaw and a wiry WindClan apprentice whose name she learned to be Spottedpaw.

"I shall begin," Swiftstar announced. He was the WindClan leader. "Green-leaf has been generous to us. Prey runts bountiful through our territory, and I am pleased to announce Nightpaw and Frecklepaw and are Nightmist and Frecklefur."

He paused to let the cats chant the new warriors names, and Skypaw noticed the two cats basking in the attention.

"However," Swiftstar continued. "One of our newer apprentices, Olivepaw, has gone missing. We suspect Twolegs, as we have seen more of them around and I warn the other clans to be cautious."

Duskstar, the ThunderClan leader, stepped forward. "Thank you, Swiftstar. But I'm sorry to say your warning has come late for us. One of our medicine cats, Leafwind, is missing as well. Other than that unfortunate news, ThunderClan is stronger than ever. We have three new apprentices, Stormpaw, Lilacpaw, and Lambpaw."

The cats cheered for them too, but Skypaw couldn't spot them, no matter how hard she searched. She assumed they were absent.

Nettlestar took his chance to speak. "Thank you as well, Swiftstar. I will warn ShadowClan to be more vigilant. We have both new warriors and new apprentices. Mothpaw and Lizardpaw are now Mothpond and Lizardwhisker. We also have Ashpaw, Bluepaw, Skypaw and Poppypaw, who has chosen to walk the path of a medicine cat."

This time, Skypaw got to bask in the attention of hearing the other cats cheer her name. She had to admit, it was satisfying.

Last was Featherstar of RiverClan. Her voice was soft and willowy as she spoke. "RiverClan shall keep an extra eye out for those nasty Twolegs," she confirmed. We have two new apprentices, Shellpaw and Puddlepaw, who has also chosen the path of a medicine cat.

Skypaw spotted the tiny tom from earlier. Oh, he's a medicine cat. No wonder he's so small. He looked uncomfortable with all the the cats staring at him.

Cats mingled for a bit, until RiverClan departed, and all the other clans followed suite. "C'mon, Skypaw," Fallenleaf said as she walked up to her. Minnowflash was at her side. She was a muscular she cat, with a deeper voice but a sweet personality. Skypaw was still sometimes intimidated by her.

"H-hi, Minnowflash," Skypaw stuttered.

"Hello, Skypaw," She rumbled. She was purring, leaning on Fallenleaf who nuzzled her back. A spark of jealousy found its way in Skypaw.

"Um, I'm gonna walk with Icepaw and Snowpaw," Skypaw grumbled.

She ran up to the identical sisters. "Hey, guys," she greeted them sweetly.

"We know you're only talking to us because you're jealous of Minnowflash," Icepaw said, rolling her eyes.

"I- what!" Skypaw gasped, caught off guard. "Preposterous!"

"Please," Icepaw groaned, rolling her eyes again.

"It's obvious," Snowpaw sighed. "You like her."

"Minnowflash? No way," Skypaw scoffed. "I mean, she's nice, but I don't like her that way."

Icepaw rolled her eyes a third time. It seemed to be her trademark. "No, not Minnowflash. Fallenleaf. You like her."

"I like… Fallenleaf?" Skypaw muttered. Her eyes followed the ashy she cat. Her form was nimble as she leapt across the tree trunk, and her laughter like a song. "Do I?"

"If you have to ask yourself, you should know the answer," Icepaw said as she jumped onto the tree, Snowpaw following.

Skypaw stood, paws stuck to the ground. She was going over the twins' words when a ThunderClan cat shoved her. "Hey, get a move on!" He snapped, pushing her out of the way.

Skypaw huffed and hurried along the tree trunk to where her clanmates were waiting. Acornpaw and Mudpaw followed after her, and they all set out. Skypaw trudged at the back, mind swirling.

Fallenleaf was the one to find her and bring her to ShadowClan. She was a strong warrior Skypaw looked up to, and if she happened to be nice and pretty, that was a bonus, and- oh no. Skypaw felt her heart sink. She did like her.

Out of all the cats to like, why Fallenleaf? She may have been objectively perfect, but now she had to worry about it ruining her friendship with her. Skypaw shook her head. Just because she knew now, doesn't mean she has to tell Fallenleaf.

She collapsed in her new nest once they arrived back at camp, legs and heart aching. She saw Fallenleaf and Minnowflash giggling together as they headed to the warrior den, and she buried her face in her paws.

"Skypaw?" Came a whisper. She didn't answer. "Skypaw?"

"Skypaw!" The voice said a third time. She looked up.

"What!" Skypaw growled. Poppypaw shrinked back.

"Geez, grumpy," Poppypaw sighed. "I stayed up to ask you! How was the Gathering?"

Skypaw grumbled into her paws. "Don' wanna talk bout it."

Poppypaw looked concerned, but he dropped it. "Okay, well, sleep well, sis."

Skypaw didn't respond. Instead, she dug out a scrap of white fur buried in her nest and twirled it in her paws. She hoped the stale scent of her sister would comfort her as she fell into a dreamless sleep.

It felt like she had just gone to sleep when sunlight spilled onto her eyes. She resented being a new apprentice, as it meant getting a nest close to the entrance so the more experienced apprentices could sleep in the back.

She grudgingly got up, stretching and burying the scrap of fur back into her nest. She was up before a few of the other apprentices, but she saw two nests in the back belonging to Vixenpaw and Redpaw were empty.

Skypaw walked out of the den and saw the two apprentices returning from the dawn patrol. They were the oldest, and would probably be made warriors in the following moon. Lionshadow was on the patrol as well, and he approached her.

"I'm surprised I didn't have to wake you," he noted. "Most new apprentices are a thorn in the paw to get up this early." He looked in the direction of Fallenleaf and Sootfall trying to drag Bluepaw and Ashpaw up out of their nests.

Skypaw suppressed a giggle. "I'm a bit of an early bird anyways." The crisp morning air ruffled her fur and she breathed in deeply. "What are we doing today?"

"Well, Gingerbreeze is going to give birth any day now, so Littlelight has asked us to fetch some herbs for her," Lionshadow explained.

Skypaw frowned a little. Lionshadow placed his thick tail over her shoulder. "Don't worry, we're going hunting right after. A cat's duty is to their clan, remember. Gingerbreeze's kits are the future of the clan."

"I know," Skypaw sighed, straightening herself. "Is anyone else coming?"

"Yes, Littlelight is sending Poppypaw, so he can learn more about the herbs needed," Lionshadow said. Poppypaw was dragging himself out of the den, yawning.

His golden tabby fur was tangled and he looked like he had risen from the dead. Littlelight came up to him with a herb and had him sniff it. It was apparently foul, as he recoiled and gagged, but he looked more awake now.

Poppypaw trudged up to Lionshadow and Skypaw. "That sure woke me up," he groaned, arching his back as he stretched. "Okay, so we're looking for borage leaves, burnet, and chervil."

"You know what they look like?" Skypaw asked.

He nodded. "Littlelight showed me last night. She's a bit firm, to be honest."

Lionshadow gave a hearty chuckle. "Ah, she always has been. Even when we were kits."

"Kits?" Skypaw echoed. "But didn't you join the clans?"

"Yes, with her," Lionshadow said. "Littlelight is my sister, after all."

"Oh!" Poppypaw exclaimed. "I didn't know that!"

"It's alright," Lionshadow shook his head in amusement. "Most cats forget because we're so different."

"We should get going," Poppypaw said meekly.

"Yes, correct," Lionshadow agreed. They marched through the brambles and past the large boulder in front of the exit and out into the forest. Morning dew had yet to evaporate on the leaves.

"We'll have to go to the edge of RiverClan to collect the borage, so we should be careful," Poppypaw warned them.

It was a short trek to the RiverClan border, and they luckily found some chervil growing around a cluster of large rocks. Poppypaw held the sweet-smelling herbs in his mouth great self-control, Skypaw was impressed. They smelled as if they'd taste good.

"I'll go across to check if there's a patrol nearby," Lionshadow said, walking across the strange branches. They weren't woven together, but hard and flat.

"I don't see anyone," Skypaw said, craning her neck. "Let's go!"

"I smell Twolegs," Poppypaw whined from where he was crouching in the tall grass.

"Fallenleaf did say Twolegs come here in green-leaf," Skypaw remembered. "But it smells a bit stale. I'm sure it's safe."

Lionshadow was sniffing the air suspiciously, and a twig snapping caught Skypaw's attention. Skypaw swivelled her head around, but a thin loop was put around her neck, and she yowled and struggled.

A Twoleg was holding a white stick with the loop at the end, pushing and pulling her around. Skypaw flailed her paws. "Lionshadow! Poppypaw!" She cried, feeling like she was being choked.

She looked and saw Lionshadow in the same predicament as her, and saw in the distance a strange monster with little dens inside it with silver vines in front of them.

The Twolegs dragged them towards the monster, and Skypaw struggled even harder, hissing and and scratching at the air. She saw Poppypaw hiding in the grass, terrified. "Help!" Skypaw shrieked, reaching a paw towards him. "Poppypaw, help me! Please!"

She was hoisted into the air and thrown into one of the little dens. "POPPYPAW!" Skypaw cried. The little den was cramped and cold. The silver vines were hard and she couldn't squeeze past them. She circled inside of the den, fear crawling over her.

She collapsed, curling into a little ball of fear and despair. The Twolegs closed the metal wall, leaving her in complete darkness.

A/N

Now the real story begins! Mwahahaha