Chapter 1: Border of Choice

He was lost within the forest again.

This wasn't a surprise to him. As he fell asleep on his comfy, soft bed, he often found himself in this starry forest, filled with mouthwatering scents and the faint sounds of birds chirping and rushing water. He had, on previous nights, had seen a starlit field and a place that many rivers flowed through. It was almost perfection.

However, and the scars on his back inched at the thought, there were other cats living here. Cats that had stars lining their many-colored pelts and hiding behind their strangely colored eyes. He had seen many different cats with varied body shapes and sizes: from the lean to the muscular. However, all of these cats had something in common: all of them could and would beat the crap out of him.

He shivered as he remembered all of the times that he had to avoid these fierce cats.

Like the one time that he had to hide in a bush as two muscular dark brown tabby toms dashed by, growling as they so. He was lucky that the two were more focused on each other, yelling about kits. For a moment, the ginger tom thought that he saw gills coming from the younger cat's neck, but then it was gone.

Nothing could compare to the time that he had been chased by one of these cats. His fur was ragged as his claws dug into the soil before. He had been mumbling under his breath when the ginger tom had accidentally stumbled onto him. Pale blue eyes snapped towards him as foam began running out of the mad cat's jaw. However, before he could even act, the speckled gray tom leaped at him with unsheathed claw and fang out. He ducked under the attack and bolted, fear nipping at his paws. He even failed to notice the mad tom's shouts nor where he was going in his panic.

He awoke that time, his fur shaking with the cold. He had gone and cuddled with his twolegs as fear continued to rake through his body.

He was unable to sleep for the rest of the night.

However, this was the first time that his white paws had taken him to this area, where something seemed… odd. Different.

It was the same old forest on this side of the river: the light of the stars blanketing the forest with a soft, heavenly light. The shadows were small, failing to hide even the smallest bits of prey. Everything was soft and inviting.

However, on the other side…

"Just… What is going on here?" the young ginger tom wondered. "Why… Why is that side so… Dark? Bloody? Sharp? Just what is the point of this?"

…It was the opposite of what he had been used to. Sharp thorns barred entry into that side of the forest where any light failed to shine. The scent of blood entered his nose, causing him to cough from the suddenness of it all. Looking as close as he could, he saw blood dripping down and bits of fur. The fur on his back rose as he noticed the jagged, sharp bark on the trees. In fact, everything that he saw was perilous and unwelcoming, hidden within the darkness.

"If the cats in this place are unfriendly," the tom thought worryingly. "Then… Just are the cats in that place going to be? What kind of cat do you have to be to live in a place like that? And… Why would anyone live there? Why not come over here instead? Despite the mad cat, this cat would be better…"

"Hello! What are you doing here?"

The ginger tom leaped straight into the water, fur flying in all directions and the bell from his collar ringing. Water splashed as he yowled as his white paws touched the water. However, to his great embarrassment, he soon found out that the river wasn't very deep at all. In fact, the water only went up to his belly and that was only because he was shorter than most cats. Laughter came from the cat on shore.

"Oh great… Way to go, Rusty!" he groaned, water hanging from his whiskers. "You get scared by this random cat and go straight into the water near the creepy place. Well done! You are going to be a great Knight! Running at the first sign of danger!"

"Hey!" the voice called out, breaking his thoughts. "Get out of there! You don't want to be near the Dark Forest!"

A white paw reached down towards him, to help him back up. He bit it, trying not to dig his teeth into the white paw while also not wanting to have that paw's claws in his short fur. Then, as the other cat pulled him up, he quickly climbed back up the side, not wanting to cause them any more pain than what is necessary. Soon enough, he was back on the starlit side of the forest. He turned to thank the other cat for their help but was met by an pair of angry yellow-green eyes.

"You mousebrain!" the white molly with tortoiseshell patches shouted, her tail fluffed up and waving in anger. "What do you think you are doing so close to the Dark Forest? Do you want to get yourself trapped in there? And what kind of a kit goes wandering off from the queens…"

"I'm sorry?" shuttered the ginger tom, stepping back from the furious molly. "Queens? Dark Forest? Just… What are you talking about? And… I am seven months old! I'm not a kit! I'm… I'm…"

"Wait a moment," the molly mewed, narrowing her eyes as she glared at his collar. "You are wearing a collar… The mark of the twolegs… You're not one of us! You are a kittypet!"

"A kittypet?" the ginger tom questioned, echoing her words out of shock. "I mean, yes I live with twolegs but…"

"But what?" she growled, unsheathing her claws. "Run along kittypet where you can wait for you twoleg to join you… Or I will make you!"

"Wait, wait, wait!" shuttered the ginger tom, curling up to try and protect himself from her. "I think that this is a huge misunderstanding! I… I can't help but be here!"

"Then you better find a way to fix your 'mistake'," she hissed, stepping ever closer to him. "Or I will drag you before the StarClan council myself and let them tear you to little pieces!"

"NO!" the ginger tom shrieked out, covering his eyes with his paws. "Please don't hit me! I.. I can't help it! I have come here every night since my twolegs bought me home! I have no control over my power!"

He shut his eyes, hoping that the pain would be swift this time. That this attack would not add to the scars on his back. That he would survive another day in a world that seemed to hate him.

However, the blow never came. There was no blood, no pain, no claws.

After a few frantic heartbeats, the ginger tom carefully opened his eyes, pushing his face from the dirt. The molly was sitting down, staring down at her white claws. Her eyes looked thoughtful, which was better than the murderous stare she had been giving him earlier.

"So…" she slowly mewed, causing the fur on his back to rise. "Little, lost kittypet… You are alive, correct?"

"Yes, that is correct…" he echoed back nervously, eyeing the slightly bigger molly. "I just… end up in this forest every time I sleep… To me, this is a dream…"

"A dream," she hissed back, fur puffed up, looking stunned. "A kittypet… With a connection To StarClan… That… That…"

She looked so frustrated and confused that he wanted to try and comfort her. However, he was very sure that would go other very poorly. He liked not having blood on his pelt for once.

"I get enough scratches from the other housecats!" he mentally added. "Well, except for Smudge… But… He just doesn't get it…"

"It should be impossible!" the tortoiseshell and white molly shouted, disturbing him. "There should be no way that a simple kittypet could enter StarClan so easily! That is a right that should only be given to the medicine cats! Unless… Do you happen to have some clan blood in you?"

"No?" he answered, stepping back. "I am sure I would have heard about that from my family by now if that was the case… But… Medicine cat? StarClan? What are those?"

"You ended up here and don't know..? By StarClan's whiskers!" the molly yelled, rolling her eyes. "You kittypets don't know anything! StarClan is the home for the fallen from the four Warrior clans! As for medicine cats, they are…"

"Wait!" he interrupted, ears flicking. "The fallen? You mean...? You're dead?"

All he got in return was a blank stare. Then, she used her tail to point at her own star-studded pelt as if he was the dumb one.

"Honestly, the fact this place is for the dead shouldn't have been that much of a surprise," he mentally shamed himself. "I mean… I have seen the spirits of dead cats before… But before coming to this nest, I just ended up in a dark area that seemed… Sad."

"Hey! Are you even listening kittypet?"

"Sorry," he mewed in return, shaking his head to clear his thoughts. "No, I was lost in my thoughts…"

"You mousebrain!" she stated, letting out a loud sigh. "I was asking what your name was!"

"Oh… right," the ginger tom said. "My twolegs call me Rusty."

"Rusty? Strange name…" the molly mewed. "I am Sweetpaw, a former apprentice of ThunderClan."

"Apprentice?" Rusty echoed. "ThunderClan?"

"Oh! Is that the group of cats that live in the forest near by Twolegs's nest? The ones that Smudge is always complaining about? The ones that eat kittypets and sharpen their claws on bones of their enemies?"

"… And then there is ThunderClan, the best of the four clans!" Sweetpaw boasted, having been speaking while he had been lost in his head. "We live in the forest and stalk the undergrowth for our prey! Unlike fishy RiverClan, weak WindClan, or stinky ShadowClan, we are brave and strong, able to take on anything that threatens us! I was going to be a great warrior, just like my brother… But… One bad mouse and I was gone. It is so maddening! I was so close to becoming a warrior!"

"Er… Sorry?" Rusty mewed, not knowing what to say in this situation. "That you never got to live your dream…"

"It wasn't just a dream!" she snarled, getting into his face. "It was my life! It was my future! And… And I… Just wasn't strong enough to survive. Unlike my family…"

Rusty wanted to comfort her but had the feeling that Sweetpaw would just slap him for that. She seemed like a tough molly that could handle her own problems.

"So… You mentioned a brother," Rusty began, trying to distract her. "Is he still living?"

"No," Sweetpaw sadly answered. "Thistleclaw is dead… And he is over there."

He followed her line of sight to the dark, bloody forest on the other side of the river. Where it was hard to see anything, yet everything seemed sharp and perilous.

"Oh… sorry," Rusty stated sadly, wondering what her brother did to end up on the other side. "That seems…"

"I mean, I know that he did bad things," Sweetpaw sighed. "He is bloodthirsty, rude, harsh… He was murdered near the RiverClan border, blood on his fangs and claws… And what he did to Bluestar… But… But! Despite everything, he is still my brother: one of my littermates. One of my biggest supporters… And, in the end, he was a loyal ThunderClan warrior that could have been a great leader! If only…"

Rusty felt lost. Sweetpaw clearly loved her brother yet seemed to understand that he had done wrong. He tried to imagine if one of his littermates did something so terrible that they had to disappear, and his heart broke at the thought.

Even if most of his littermates disliked him and did their best to distance themselves from him, Rusty didn't want them dead nor banished to a dark, pointed place where threats most likely lurked around every corner. Even if they had claimed that he had ruined all their lives just by having strange star-like marks on both front legs.

"I didn't ask to be born looking like my much-hated father!" he snarled. "I didn't ask to be a small tom, so much so I keep getting mistaken for a three- to four-month-old kitten! I didn't ask to have powers that I don't understand… And causes many, many cats to want me dead!"

"Hey… Rusty. What is that?"

Sweetpaw's worried tone snapped Rusty out of his thoughts. Glancing over towards the river, he froze.

Two sharp green eyes stared back at him, ringed by black. The figure stood in the shallow river, their long tortoiseshell and white fur dripping with water, skin stretched over bone and muscle. Unlike Rusty's short fur, which was already dry from his dip in the river, the new figure's fur was drenched, as if they never left the water. Small, bloody scratches covered the legs and face, the thick black blood staining the fur. There was a lily pad on their head and other water-based plants in their fur. However, it was the bloody jaws and those unnatural eyes that horrified Rusty.

"Oh no… Is that what I think that is?" Rusty thought as he unsheathed his claws fearfully. "A Nightmare here?! How can we fight that?"

Fear rooted him to the spot as the figure walked over to them, eyes trained on him. Their unnaturally long claws dragged against the pebbles below with each step.

"LeAvE tHiS pLaCe!" they growled, black blood dripping from their maw. "YoU dO nOt BeLoNg HeRe!"

"Ahhhh!"

Rusty bolted. In his fear, he leaped onto the Nightmare's head and bounced off it. Slipping off the lily pad, he ended up behind them. Quickly standing up, Rusty found himself pinned by sharp green eyes as the Nightmare's head snapped towards him. Dread rooted him on the spot as the thin, bony cat approached him.

"Rusty! Run! Get out there!"

Sweetpaw's words snapped him out of his stunned state. He quickly slashed towards the Nightmare's eyes, trying to blind them in order to give him some time to escape then leapt onto the nearest bank. However, when the thorns began to cut into his skin, he realized that he had gone onto to the wrong side. The scent of blood and rot hit his nose as he struggled his way of the sharp thorns, leaving bits of fur behind. Now standing on the other side of the thorns, he glanced around nervously, tail tucked between his hind legs.

"This place is worse than I thought!" Rusty thought in alarm. "It stinks! And… The darkness… It feels… Oppressive. Thirsty. Hungry…"

"Rusty! Are you okay?" Sweetpaw called out, worried. "You're not hurt, are you?"

"I am okay!" Rusty called back, turning towards her voice. "Is that…?"

"WaTcH oUt!"

Pain blossomed in his shoulders as he was picked up. Rusty yelled as he was forcefully dragged away from the border and further into the treacherous forest. His paws dragged against the rotten leaves as he was taken. Rusty tried to claw at his kidnapper, but his legs was too short to reach their body. On top of that, the kidnapper had him by the scuff of the neck which was forcing his body to relax against his will.

"Someone… Help me!" Rusty panicked. "I… I can't get away! I don't want to be here! I don't want to die! This is why I hate being so small! I need… I need to become stronger… So, no one can hurt me again!"

Glancing down, Rusty noticed, with horror, one leg of the cat carrying him was furless with small red lines that resembled a tree running down that leg from their chest area. However, from what he could see, the other leg was a normal black and ginger. He felt their fangs digging into his flesh as they continued to drag him deeper into the woods.

"Why was I taken?" he wondered, helplessness sinking into his bones. "I am nothing! I am nothing more than a cursed kittypet! I am nothing special."

Without warning, Rusty felt himself being thrown. He landed on his side beside a half-rotted log. Moaning, he carefully stood up, making sure to keep his claws out. The log that he landed near strangely no bugs, just light, sickly green mushrooms that let out a soft glow. Rusty reached out to touch it but was pulled back by his tail. Then, he was knocked over and pinned.

"Now, listen here little kittypet," hissed an unknown voice into his ear. "You don't touch those. In fact, you don't touch anything here without permission, got it? If you want to make it out of here in one piece…"

"Ripplestar, just what in the world are you doing? Who did you drag into the Dark Forest this time? I can smell their fear from other here!"

The figure pinning him down growled but stepped off Rusty. Rusty went to bolt again but was stunned in place he got a look at the cat that kidnapped him.

He was a short and lean tortoiseshell tom, yet still taller than Rusty himself, with sharp yellow eyes that glimmered with delight. However, it was the fact that the tom was missing fur on one side of his body that horrified the young ginger tom. There was a black on his shoulder on the furless side, scorched almost to the bone with blood slowly leaking from it. The red, tree-like markings that he had seen earlier shot out from the wound, covering the skin, with the darkest marks being closest to the wound. Even his face was half furred and half furless.

"What… What happened to you?" Rusty asked before he could truly think about his words. "Why do you look that that?"

He flinched as soon as he said that and cowered down, expecting to get slapped for such a statement. However, he was surprised to hear a meow of laughter coming from the kidnapper.

"You're bold, little one!" the tortoiseshell tom purred. "I like that! I can see why those star-loving freaks have an interest in you!"

"Er… What?" Rusty's thoughts floundered at the other tom's words. "Interest? Me?"

"Ripplestar!" the second voice growled out in frustration. "You mousebrain! Did you seriously go into a kittypet's dream, bring them here, and dragged them here? Have you learnt anything from your experiences? Are you trying to bring StarClan's wrath down on us?"

As the tortoiseshell tom turned to face the newcomer, Rusty took the time to examine the new cat. They were long and lanky, with large ears and long legs and tail. Their pelt was short-furred and mostly white, with black stripes running down his black. Several bite marks covered his neck, slowly leaking blood to the fur around it. Rusty then noticed that they had a light green fang mark on their chest that had what looked like small droplets coming from it. The cat also had sharp, light green eyes and long fangs that seemed to be dripping something from them.

"…Even now, after what your clan did, you are still defending them and StarClan!" the tortoiseshell tom snapped. "They sent you here without listening to you, so why even bother?"

"Because they were right!" yelled back the black and white cat, furious. "I deserve to be here! I hurt my littermate, my precious sister, and forced her to become an elder early… Then, when I was trying to heal one of my clanmates, I… I bit them and ended up killing them!"

"And yet, it was an accident!" Argued back the tortoiseshell tom. "They should have given you the chance to speak! A good medicine cat doesn't just start killing off cats for no reason! You were just trying to pin them down to help them!"

"They were rightfully grieving, Ripplestar!" snapped back the other cat, a tom. "One moment they were alive, the next they were gone! And with my bitemark on their shoulder and the poison coming from my fangs, well, it wasn't hard to see who did it! And grieving cats don't act within reason! If my death helped out…"

"You are too kind, Poisonbite," the tortoiseshell tom purred sadly. "And it is a shame that you trained as a medicine cat. You could have been a quick-footed yet powerful warrior with your… Blessing."

Rusty noticed that the black and white tom had flinched at the name Poisonbite and the mention of the blessing.

"Was that not his original name?" Rusty wondered from his spot by the rotting log. "Do the forest cats change names like kittypets do? I mean… With kittypets, you have a birth name until you are taken by a twoleg. Then, you are to accept the name that the twolegs give you, no matter how dumb or stupid it sounds. Though, if I was to become a Knight, I could choose to retake my birth name… Oh no!"

Rusty flinched when he noticed that the two toms had turned their sights onto him. He curled up, puffing out his short fur and unsheathing his claws.

"Now, now, young kittypet," the one called Poisonbite softly mewed. "We are not going to harm you… Now, besides this mousebrain grabbing you, how did you end up in the Dark Forest? Kittypets don't usually find their way into the skies of the Warrior's ancestors."

"I'm sorry," Rusty began nervously. "But I don't understand it myself. Ever since I was brought to my twoleg's nest, I have always ended up in the starry forest. In different places sure, but always the same forest or nearby it. However, tonight was the first time that I even saw this dark, bloody place… I… I panicked and ended up in here by accident."

"By accident," echoed Poisonbite. "How do you 'accidently' cross from StarClan into the Dark Forest."

"It was that strange tortoiseshell tom again," Ripplestar stated sternly, answering before Rusty could. "You know, the one that looks like Mapleshade? Mostly black eyes, wet-logged pelt, long claws?"

"Oh," growled Posionbite. "That's… Understandable."

"Yes… That Nightmare is the reason that I jumped over here," Rusty mewed as he shivered. "I… It… It was following me… It… Spoke to me…"

Both toms exchanged a glance that was a mixture of worry and confusion.

"A Nightmare?" questioned Poisonbite. "What is that?"

"What is the problem?" added the tortoiseshell tom, unsheathing his claws with pride. "There is nothing that could hurt us here. Warriors are trained to fight!"

"Not with Nightmares!" Rusty answered fearfully, trying to recall all the information that was told to him by his family. "No one can stand up to a Nightmare on your tail! They are unbeatable! There is no way to kill them, and if you happen to be one of their targets, well, you might as well say your goodbyes! All you can do is run!"

"Surely these 'Nightmares' are not that tough!" the tortoiseshell tom scoffed. "Get a group of strong warriors and surely any cat would run away!"

"Says the cat that thought it was a good idea to anger StarClan at the Gathering!" snapped back Posionbite. "Like seriously… Did you leave your mind at home that night?"

"What did he do?" Rusty quickly asked, wanting to get away from the topic of Nightmares and the fact that he might be haunted. "How did he anger StarClan?"

"Ripplestar bought all of his warriors to a Gathering which is a time of peace between the clans," began Poisonbite, giving the tortoiseshell the side-eye. "Then, he ordered them to attack everyone: elders, apprentices, even possibly queens! Some of them couldn't fight back!"

"No one was expecting it!" interrupted Ripplestar with a purr. "It was a brilliant plan! Besides, my clan was suffering, and the other clans were not listening. So, I had to do something to help them!"

"Or is that something that you keep telling yourself to make yourself feel better about what happened?" retorted Poisonbite. "Anyways… This mousebrain was boasting about himself to one of the other leaders then started fighting on top the Great Rock! Then, as punishment, StarClan sent down a bolt of lightning down on him, killing him. Of course, thanks you his own actions, he was sent here in the Dark Forest."

"Oh, that explains why he is half furless," Rusty thought. "That must be the side that the lightning struck him… However, I still don't understand why he took me. He seems proud, stubborn, and bloodthirsty… And Poisonbite… What is his story?"

However, Rusty was beginning to understand why the Dark Forest was the way it was. From what he heard, it was a place where cats that had bad characters in life were sent to as punishment. That explained sharp thorn near the riverbank, the bloody and rotten smell, the star-less skies.

"However, is living here their only punishment?" Rusty mentally added. "Or is there something more to this? That being said… I don't want to be here."

Rusty stood up and tried to sneak by the two toms. However, his tail brushed up against some dead leaves, causing rustling. Both toms turned their sights onto him from the sound.

"Now… Ripplestar!" Poisonbite sternly stated, pointing his tail at Rusty. "Again, why bring him here? You know how dangerous the Dark Forest is for the living! And a kittypet at that! There are several cats here that hate kittypets and would tear him to pieces!"

"Here the thing, Poisonbite," Ripplestar mewed seriously. "StarClan has their eyes on him."

"What? Why?" questioned Poisonbite, looking disbelieving at his words. "StarClan themselves don't care for kittypet blood. In fact, in some ways, they are worse about it than some of the Dark Forest's cats! Having pure clan blood is key to acceptation within the clans."

"And yet, StarClan has sent a prophecy to the living cats about this young tom," Ripplestar pointed out. "For some reason, they want this kittypet in the clans! And so, I thought… Why should those mousebrains have the final say? Why don't we help this poor, helpless kittypet protect themselves?"

"I am not helpless!" Rusty snapped, feeling sick of these cats talking like he wasn't here. "And I don't need help from someone that thinks it is okay to kidnap cats for their own purpose!"

"This is why I want to become a Knight!" Rusty mentally added. "Why I want to be with my uncle Dreamweaver! I am my own cat: not my father, the cat that used my mother. I am not just something to be thrown away, to be killed. I want… I want…"

Rusty was startled by Poisonbite's meow of laughter. Unlike Ripplestar, who looked furious, the black and white tom was… Amused, pleased?

"Okay," Poisonbite purred. "I like him. Now, what is your name, kittypet?"

"Rusty," Rusty answered. "I am called Rusty."

"Rusty," echoed Poisonbite. "Strange name… But… I am guessing that you don't want to be in the Dark Forest, correct?"

"That is right," Rusty stated with a sigh. "This place… Well, it stinks! And… It is dark and bloody… And I would like to not be attacked, thank you!"

"Poisonbite, are you serious?" Ripplestar probed with disbelief. "You are just going to let him go back to StarClan and not do anything? You are not even going to try get back at the cats that punished you?"

"As I have stated before," began Poisonbite. "I deserve my punishment. I do not want to earn StarClan's wrath again. Messing with StarClan doesn't end up well for us Dark Forest cats."

"Poisonbite," mewed Ripplestar, moving toward the other tom. "Wouldn't you like to reclaim your name? Would you like to be Badgerleaf again?"

Rusty noticed the mixture of emotions flutter across his face: sadness, disappointment, longing, and a hint of fury. He felt guilty. Rusty walked over to Poisonbite and put a white paw against his shoulder.

"I'm sorry," Rusty mewed. "I do not know what had happened to you but…"

"It is fine, Rusty," Poisonbite quickly stated, as if he was trying to forget a memory. "It is in the past and there is nothing that I can do. It is what it is. Now… to get you out of here…"

"Poisonbite, I am telling you, you are making a mistake," Ripplestar warned with a hiss. "This could your chance to repent, to make a change! It is better than sitting around moping, thinking about what you did wrong!"

"Ripplestar!" Poisonbite roared. "Mind you own business, you mousebrain!"

As Poisonbite began to tear into Ripplestar with harsh words, Rusty yawned. He felt himself close his eyes and lay down. Then, he quickly reopened his eyes and found himself in his soft nest. The familiar wall of his twoleg's nest surrounded him. It was comforting to be back.

"I hope that I don't go back to that place again!" Rusty thought with a yawn. "While Poisonbite wasn't that bad, Ripplestar seemed like an idiot. I would be happy to never see him again…"

As he stretched out, pain blossomed in his back and neck. In surprise, Rusty glanced back and saw that his pelt had been torn. With growing horror, he licked the wounds, trying to keep them clean.

"How did this happen?" Rusty worried as he tried to reach the back of his neck. "I was fine when I fell asleep! I was only injured in my dream…"

Fear stopped him. In alarm, he just remembered that this was the first time that he had been hurt while asleep.

"Oh no… So I have been visiting the lands of the dead while asleep!" Rusty groaned, putting his head down in his bed. "And they can hurt me! This is bad… How are my twolegs going to react to my wounds?"

"More importantly… How do I explain this to my family? To my Uncle Dreamweaver?"