Chapter 2

Sparrowpaw fluffed up his pelt against the cold as he settled to sleep. The tree he was hiding in felt uncomfortable, but he didn't care. Struggling to get more comfortable, he glimpsed the circle of stones the voice had told him to come to. Sighing, he tried to close his eyes, but the rush of battle kept coming to him at random times, like a thorn in his nest pricking his pelt. I have to fight again!

His claws itched with excitement, but eventually, dark tendrils invited him into the dark corners of sleep.

Sparrowpaw awoke in a clearing, his eyes widening. Where am I?

"Good question," a voice mewed. Sparrowpaw's ears pricked. That's the voice!

From behind the trees came a tortoiseshell she-cat, her amber eyes flashing with recognition. "Welcome, Sparrowpaw."

Sparrowpaw tried to identify his surroundings. He was in a dark forest of some sort. The trees were blackened and their roots were twisted and gnarled. The sky, or what he could see of it through the thick roof of trees, was pitch-black, without any stars. He shivered.

Suddenly he collapsed, his paws buckling underneath him. With a thud he crashed into the ground and flattened his ears. Scrambling to his paws, he hissed ferociously at the she-cat who was staring at him with innocent eyes as she sat next to a dark, twisted tree.

"What was that for?" he snarled, his claws unsheathing. The she-cat grinned.

"You are in the Dark Forest," she spat, her eyes glinting. "This is where cats come to learn moves that StarClan are too clueless to know and Clans are too stupid to learn. You think you can get away with being a daydreamer?"

Sparrowpaw's curiosity was peaked. Dark Forest? Is that the opposite of StarClan?

The she-cat's eyes seemed to know everything he thought, although she made no mention of it. She gave Sparrowpaw a strange vibe, as if she could be a better mentor than Scorchgaze ever was and teach him things that would make him leader of ShadowClan… but at the same time be his downfall.

"Are there any other cats here?" Sparrowpaw asked. His tail-tip twitched. He hadn't seen any other cats, although he had noticed dark shapes flitting amongst the shadows when he arrived.

"Too many," the she-cat thought for a moment before continuing to groom her chest fur. "We walk in solitude here, although StarClan can't monitor us like they watch over their precious Clan cats." She spat at the ground when she said this, her eyes narrowing as if seasons of revenge wouldn't be enough to satisfy her thirst for vengeance. "Many are as scared as a mouse of coming here, but they don't know the true opportunities they could uncover."

"Great," Sparrowpaw mewed eagerly. "When can we start?"

"Now, if you wish." The she-cat stopped grooming and stared at him, her gaze stony. "If you truly want to be the future leader of ShadowClan, you must first learn to withstand as much pain as possible."

Sparrowpaw's heart thudded in his chest, his paws shuffling.

"Well?" she mewed. "Didn't I tell you already that being a daydreaming kit wouldn't help you at all?"

"I'll do it," he mewed.

"Good," she purred. Her tail flicked to a stream, murky and dark. "See that stream over there? I want you to swim."

"Swim?" he echoed, his eyes widening. "I'm not a fish-brained RiverClan cat!"

"But you may face them in battle one day," she hissed. "The river is full of surprises that those slimy RiverClan cats will take advantage of. If you don't learn to swim, you'll drown to them."

"Fine." Sparrowpaw trotted towards the bank and tentatively reached into the water with his paw. A hard shove from behind knocked him into the swirling water. He churned his paws as he tried to get to the surface. Just as he was about to breathe, his head was pushed under again.

Struggling, Sparrowpaw finally managed to get above enough to breathe, but he was pushed down again. In a blinding moment, Sparrowpaw bit down on the paw that pushed him and pressed until he could feel bone. A watery yelp was heard, and he swam hard enough to get to shore, panting and taking in huge gulps of air.

As he struggled to breathe, he had a glimpse of a blue-gray tom that slid out of the water, his eyes narrowed with pain. "He bit me!" the tom yowled, holding up his paw. Sparrowpaw observed as the she-cat from before padded over. She sharply cuffed him over the ear, and then glared at him.

"You're not a kit, Hollowdusk," the tortoiseshell spat, turning to Sparrowpaw. "I tested him, and he's proved that he could defeat the whiniest RiverClan warrior in history."

The tom hissed and began licking his wound. Sparrowpaw's lungs finally started feeling like they weren't filled with stone, and his heart thudded with fear and… exhilaration? I could've died!

"Roseclaw!" a voice made Sparrowpaw turn. A small, skinny brown tabby tom with a ragged pelt stepped over to her, his yellow eyes narrowed with suspicion.

"What are you doing with my apprentice?" he hissed, his tail lashing. The she-cat turned and shrugged.

"I'm only teaching your apprentice how to actually fight," she mewed coolly. The tom glared at her, before turning to his apprentice.

Sparrowpaw's tail-tip flicked as he stared at him. I was only trying to defend myself! He thought. If it were a fair fight, I would've shredded him.

"There's no such thing as fair fights in the real world," a familiar hiss sounded behind him. So she can read my mind.

"Come," she mewed. "It's time to learn real battle moves that those snobby RiverClan cats don't even know."

Sparrowpaw nodded and followed his mentor through the twisted, neverending forest.

…

A/N: Up until now, this is how far I've written (As of posting this). I do write fast though, so that might be an advantage. Remember to suggest plot points and try to come up with your own theories of what the prophecy might be! Or you can just be a reader, that's fine too!

By the way, this story is set way before the Clans (hence why SkyClan is here). The idea is that there was a forgotten era when the Clans still retained most of their traditions, but resided in different territories. Eventually they move back to the forest territories. I'll leave the reason why they left and came back as a mystery for now, but to be honest I don't think the territories have much to do with the plot. SkyClan, however, plays an important role in the later series. (Which I am planning to do.)

Thank you so much for reading this story and, as always, remember to provide feedback!