Warriors: The Looming Darkness (trigger warning in the prologue.)

(MAJOR TRIGGER WARNING IN THE PROLOGUE: MAJOR GORE!! DON'T READ IF THAT MAKES YOU UNCOMFORTABLE!!)

Prologue:

“RiverClan! Attack!” the battle cry sounded, fierce as ever, as RiverClan cats poured into the SkyClan camp.

Surprised yowls sounded as SkyClan woke up from their sunhigh dozing, and they leapt up.

The RiverClan cats leapt into battle with teeth bared and claws unsheathed. Blood sprayed, claws glinted, and teeth flashed as the battle raged through the SkyClan camp like a forest fire. Creamstar of SkyClan was locked in a fierce scuffle with Berrystar of ThunderClan.

“What is the meaning of this?” Creamstar snarled, the she-cat’s pelt matted with blood. “What is wrong with you? We’ve done nothing!”

“Prey-thieves will not go unpunished! You have no right to hunt on our territory! No more prey will be stolen on RiverClan territory!” Berrystar spat fiercely as his claws ripped through Creamstar’s fur.

Yowls of pain and fury echoed through the clearing, and someone yowled, “Bramblethorn is dead! Bramblethorn is *dead!*”

Creamstar kicked Berrystar off of her, and leapt at his underbelly. With unsheathed claws, she ripped open a wound from his neck to his belly. He spasmed, his jaws open in a final roar of fury, but no sound came out. Berrystar writhed, but his struggles were no good.

He gave one last shudder, and flopped onto the floor. Blood pooled out from the open wound, his ribs and organs visible. His entrails spilled out of the wound, his eyes starting to glaze with his final emotions.

Blood dripped from his open maw, and pooled underneath him. He went limp, his struggles to stay alive dieing with him. The star on his forehead blazed brightly, then faded. His auburn pelt was matted with blood, and his blue eyes were dull.

RiverClan’s deputy, Autumnleaves, pushed through the Clan’s gathered cats. The fight had halted.

She stopped when she saw Berrystar’s lifeless body, and her gaze hardened with pain and fury. “You.. you killed my father. My leader! He hadn’t killed *ANY* your *precious* clanmates, but you *killed him*!” she wailed, and leapt at Creamstar.

The she-cats rolled on the floor, spitting and snapping. The blood frothed into red clouds as they clawed, snapping at each other’s legs and tearing at their flanks. “You think I meant for this? SkyClan is innocent!”

Autumnleaves snarled, tears streaming down her cheeks. “I fought so hard for his approval.” she spat viciously. “I tried to win his praise, but he kept overlooking me! He made my *sister* deputy first, that useless lump of fur!” Autumnleaves paused mid slash, and looked at her paws, sobbing.

Creamstar hissed, and snarled, “Why fight for a deadbeat’s approval, when you can earn the approval of your clanmates?”

Autumnleaves’s head snapped up, and her eyes turned cold with pain and fury, and endless suffering. She unsheathed her claws again, and looked up at the sky. Autumnleaves yowled to the sky, “This is for you, Berrystar!” as she leapt away from Creamstar, and then pounced at her neck.

Her sharp claws ripped through the leader’s neck, and Autumnleaves yanked her paw upwards. Her sudden movement decapitated the leader, the bone snapping horribly, and her headless corpse fell to the ground. Her head was a gory comet of cream colored fur and blood, and then it thudded onto the sand in front of Autumnleaves.

Paws scuffled, and the SkyClan deputy ran up. Lakeripple saw his leader’s headless body and wailed. “Creamstar! No!” his dark fur spiked, and his gray eyes rolled wildly.

“This will be settled elsewhere.” the SkyClan medicine cat, Streamsplash said, running up to Creamstar’s body. Her apprentice, Bushpaw ran up beside her, and stopped dead in his tracks when he saw his leader’s body.

“Go, leave!” Lakeripple suddenly spat, his eyes still rolling wildly. “‘Else there’ll be more dead bodies.”

RiverClan trotted up the ravine, and Autumnleaves stopped, and turned to glare coldly at Lakeripple. “I tried to dissuade him. Berrystar wouldn’t listen. I tried to avoid this.. This.. this hellish ending, but I failed. I hope you can understand that.” She then turned tail, and ran.

Chapter one:

“Attack me.” Autumnstar said, bracing herself.

Pearlpaw winced, and said, “Are uh.. Are you sure? I don’t.. Know any battle moves.”

Autumnstar snorted. “Use your instinct. After we’re done sparring, I’ll teach you some moves.”

Pearlpaw had been made an apprentice a day ago. At dusk. She and her brother, Ripplepaw, were practically kits.

She didn’t like to think about that, though. Just because a day ago they were named Pearlkit and Ripplekit doesn’t mean they were still kits. No, they were apprentices. Pearlpaw’s mentor was Autumnstar, and Ripplepaw’s was the RiverClan medicine cat, Silvermist.

They were greatly rewarded for being alive, even though they had done nothing to deserve it.

Pearlpaw crouched, and charged forward. Autumnstar leapt up to pin her, but Pearlpaw was faster. She charged underneath the RiverClan leader, and raked a paw on her underbelly, with claws sheathed. Autumnstar halted midair, and crashed down.

“Autumnstar! Are you ok? Did I hurt you?” Pearlpaw rushed to her leader’s side.

“Where did.. Where did you learn that move?” Autumnstar asked coldly, the warmth leaving her eyes.

“Wh-what move? I just.. Used my instinct.”

“That.. that move.” Autumnstar snarled, getting up and shaking the sand from her pelt. “That move was the one that killed Berrystar!

Pearlpaw shrank back, terrified. She had heard about Berrystar’s death, and how Creamstar of SkyClan had torn his belly open. How the former SkyClan leader ripped the life from him, and let his blood spill out of him in a gory mess, and how Autumnstar had gotten revenge on her.

“We’re done for today. Go hunting with Ripplepaw or something.” Autumnstar turned around, and stalked away.

“But I don’t-” She tried to say, but Autumnstar didn’t listen. “I don’t know how to hunt..” she said to nobody, and sighed grumpily.

Who knew being an apprentice was terrible? Her first day officially training, and she was being scolded for using a move she hadn’t even learned?

“Well.. I’m alone now.. Maybe I should.. Adventure to the lake!” Pearlpaw’s tail flicked uneasily. “But.. I don’t know where the lake is..”

The wind started to pick up, and the leaves on the trees rustled quietly.

*Lake… get to… lake…*

Pearlpaw spun around. “Huh? Who’s there?” her silvery pelt fluffed out, and her amber eyes widened. “If you’re an invading cat, come out! I’m a seasoned warrior.”

No cat came out. Instead, the mist seemed to be getting thicker. *Mist? It wasn’t even misty half a heartbeat ago!*

The mist swirled, and an elegant she-cat’s figure was standing before her. Stars glittered from the she’s fur, and her pelt was a blueish-grayish color.

Her eyes opened, and the mist cleared for a few heartbeats. There was a star emblazoned on her forehead, a hot white against the blue fur.

“*Hello, Pearlpaw.*” the she-cat said, stepping forward. “*Do you know who I am?*”

Pearlpaw tried to think, but she didn’t recognize this cat. She seemed familiar, but Pearlpaw couldn’t recall ever meeting her. “Uh.. no?”

The she-cat’s eyes glimmered, and two more shapes appeared beside her. Another starry she, and a tomcat. The tom and the new she-cat looked similar to the first cat.

“*I am Mistystar, the former leader of RiverClan. My deputy before I died was Berrystar. He chose well, choosing his daughter to lead the Clan.*”

Pearlpaw stiffened. Mistystar was practically the best leader the elders told stories about, and the elders told about all the evil cats Mistystar had helped defeat. The wicked Tigerstar who had brought city cats to murder all of the lake cats, when they had originally lived in the forest. Pearlpaw only knew of the forest from the stories.

The forest had then been demolished by twolegs, forcing the cats to flee. They eventually found the lake, and all sorts of tales come from them getting there!

“*This.*” Mistystar spoke again, snapping Pearlpaw out of her daze. “*This is my mother, Bluestar. Do you know of her?*”

Pearlpaw thought, but shook her head. “N-no, ma’am. I only know of the stories passed down from my great-great-great grandfather’s great-great-great granddaughter, Silvermist!”

Mistystar’s eyes glittered with amusement. “*She was one of the greatest ThunderClan leaders ever known to our history. Her successor, Firestar, was almost as great as her.*”

Mistystar turned to the tom. “*This is my brother, Stonefur. He was murdered before he could make any great achievements. Have you heard of him?*”

Pearlpaw yelped, and took a step back. “Stonefur? I think he’s one of my ancestors!”

Chapter two:

Ripplepaw was sorting the herbs that Silvermist had given to him. She told him to sort them as best he could, and afterwards she’d fix any mistakes and tell him how to identify the different herbs.

“How’s it goin’ in here? Make any progress?” Silvermist ducked into the den, and crouched beside Ripplepaw. Her breath was warm with the scent of shrew.

Ripplepaw nodded, eyes glittering with hope. “I think so! I organized these piles, and the leaves and roots seem to look similar.”

Silvermist examined his work, and nodded. Her silver fur shimmered and her yellow eyes shone with amazement. “Yes! You got most of the herbs sorted correctly! Now, see this herb here?” she hooked a leaf from one of the neat piles Ripplepaw had made. “This is chervil, we use it for...”

Ripplepaw pricked up his ears. “Huh? What’s the matter?”

“Autumnstar is back. But.. Pearlpaw isn’t with her.”

Ripplepaw stiffened, his eyes clouding. “What? Isn’t Autumnstar supposed to be training Pearlpaw?”

Silvermist snarled. “She.. she got emotionally overwhelmed by some random battle move Pearlpaw used.. But I can’t sense why..”

Ripplepaw blinked. “Sense? What d’you mean?”

Silvermist backed him into the herb store underground, and sighed. “There’s something you need to know. There’s… a prophecy.”

Ripplepaw gazed at her curiously. He had heard of the Three’s prophecy, the one that foretold the Dark Forest coming to attack. Then, the Three became Four and they defeated the Dark Forest easily. Jayfeather could sense emotions and walk through dreams, Lionblaze couldn’t be beaten in battle, and Dovewing could hear things on the other side of the territories!

“I see you getting excited.” she hissed. “But it’s nothing to  be excited about.”

Ripplepaw tilted his head. “Do you have special powers?”

Silvermist hissed again. “Yes! I can.. Sort of see the future, and look back at the past. You and Pearlpaw are a part of it, but I wasn’t.. I.. I was supposed to protect you.”

“Protect me from what?” Ripplepaw asked, backing up into the deathberry store. Small red berries rained down on his pelt, and he jumped back.

“From the truth! I couldn’t let you get sucked into this.. This curse!”

*Curse? What in StarClan is she talking about?*

 “You and Pearlpaw have some kind of powers, I just don’t know what, or I’d protect you!” Silvermist wailed, sitting down.

“Who else knows?”

“Autumnstar and her deputy, Oceanstar.”

“Why doesn’t everyone know?”

“Because if everyone knew, they’d freak out! ...You need to find Pearlpaw.” Silvermist suddenly snapped back into focus. “You need to bring her here so I can tell her!”

Ripplepaw was racing out of camp, and tasted the air. Pearlpaw’s scent hit the roof of his mouth, along with the scent of wet stone, sharp and cold. *Huh? That scent isn’t familiar. Is a loner attacking Pearlpaw?*

 Ripplepaw crouched, and peered through the bushes. He saw Pearlpaw, and three cats. Except.. Two of the cats were transparent, and he could see through them. The one in the center seemed to burn the brightest. Stars glittered in their fur.

*StarClan cats! Why are they here? HOW are they here?*

 “*Pearlpaw, you must understand.*” The less transparent one said. “*You’re part of something huge.*”

Pearlpaw was shaking like a leaf. “What’s s-so important that you need to t-tell me now? Why not wait ‘till I was asleep or send a sign to Silvermist?”

The more faded she stepped forward, her blue eyes fierce. “*If we waited any longer, we might not have been here.*”

Pearlpaw’s eyes grew round. “W-what?”

The tom stepped forward, and Ripplepaw felt some sort of energy crackle through him. “*We’re* fading *Pearlpaw. When StarClan cats end up being.. Forgotten, we fade, because nobody that remembers you is alive or even capable of remembering you. Fewer and fewer cats know the names Bluestar and Stonefur, because so few cats who knew us are alive!*”

Ripplepaw inhaled sharply. *This* was Stonefur, *this* was Mistystar, and *this* was Bluestar. Ripplepaw has finally gotten to see them, but now they might be gone forever.

Chapter three:

Bluestar’s head shot up. “*Someone else is here. We must go now.*”

“Wait!” Pearlpaw yelped. “Why *do* I need to go to the lake?”

“*Someone is waiting.*” All three cats seemed to be speaking. “*You must go and find them.*”

Pearlpaw turned to run in the direction of the lake, but remembered that she hadn’t thanked the starry cats. She turned around, and mewed, “Oh, and thanks Mistysta-” she stopped. They were gone.

“Pearlpaw, what was *that*?” her brother’s familiar scent drifted over her.

Pearlpaw spun around, trying not to look guilty. “Did you see all that? Those were our ancestors! Stonefur, Bluestar, and Mistystar!”

“I know! Hey- where are you going?” Ripplepaw meowed, sounding alarmed.

“To the lake! Duh!” Pearlpaw’s silvery pelt gleamed in the sunhigh light. “Mistystar told me to go there, so I obviously have to!”

“Who do you think’ll be there?” Ripplepaw asked, trotting beside Pearlpaw.

“Maybe someone can tell me what Mistystar meant!” Pearlpaw gasped, and skidded to a stop. “Do you smell that?”

Ripplepaw stopped, and tasted the air. “Huh? That’s cat-scent.”

“Unfamiliar.. It smells sorta like a rogue or loner.”

“Hm. Thmart kitth.” A voice said, and a cat stepped through the leaves. “How did you find me?”

The cat that emerged was a light creamy color, dappled all over with spots of red and orange. His pupils were a darker pinkish color, and the rest of his eyes were a lighter pink.

Pearlpaw bristled. “We’re no kits! We’re apprentices. I’m Pearlpaw and this is Ripplepaw.”

“Hm. I’m no clan cat, tho why should I call you by your.. ‘Clan nameth’? For the time I’m here, I’ll call you Pearl and Ripple.”

“Uh? No, those aren’t our names!” Ripplepaw growled. “And why do you talk like that?”

“What do you mean, talk like thith?”

Ripplepaw sounded confused. “Why are some of you words sounding that that?”

The loner shrugged. “Thith how I talk. You’ll either lithen to me or not get the athithtance you need.”

Pearlpaw giggled. “I think you’re milking it.”

“I am not! Thith ith how I talk. Tho, Pearl.” the tom said, directly to Pearlpaw. “You retheived a methage from ThtarClan? You came to find me, and theek my knowledge?” the tom lisped.

“First, tell us your name.” Ripplepaw said, pushing Pearlpaw aside.

The tom blinked. “My name? My name ith Calico.”

Pearlpaw blinked back at him.. “That’s an interesting name. But we’re getting off-topic.”

Ripplepaw prodded Calico. “SO? You have knowledge?”

Calico nodded. “Yeth. I can help. Firth, you need to know the prophethy.”

“Prophethy?” Pearlpaw repeated, confused.

Ripplepaw elbowed Pearlpaw. “He means ‘prophecy’.” Ripplepaw said smartly.

“If you’re done, you’ll lithen to me.” Calico said sternly. “The prophethy is important, and you need to know it. Did ThtarClan tell you what it wath?”

“N..no.”

“The prophethy…” Calico thought for a moment, and closed his eyes. “When the moment cometh that the windth show their true power, the false prophet shall mark the rithe of nature and an age of mithfortune.”

“When the moment comes that the winds show their true power, the false prophet shall mark the rise of nature and an age of misfortune?” Pearlpaw repeated.

“Good! Now, hurry back to your Clan. They’ll be looking for you.”

Pearlpaw brushed against Ripplepaw. “Ok. Thanks- thank*s* for the prophecy!”

Calico waved his tail. “Good luck!”

Chapter four:

Autumnstar was pacing back and forth in the clearing when Ripplepaw and Pearlpaw returned. She turned, and her eyes sparkled with relife. “Pearl Paw, I’m so sorry I was that hard on you! I did tell you to use your instinct, but the move you pulled surprised me, and great StarClan *where have you been?*”

Pearlpaw widened her amber eyes. “We went to the lake to look at it-”

Silvermist barged out of the medicine den. “*WE*? Ripplepaw, where did you go?!”

Ripplepaw wriggled his shoulders, feeling uncomfortable. “I went to find Pearlpaw, and we found a cat named Calico, and he gave us a prophecy-”

“*I* gave you a prophecy. What was this cat’s mumbo jumbo?”

Ripplepaw took a breath, and recited the prophecy. “‘When the moment comes that the winds show their true power, the false prophet shall mark the rise of nature and an age of misfortune.’”

Silvermist and Autumnstar went still. “You are forbidden to ever speak of that again!” Silvermist sputtered, clearly shook.

“Autumnstar, there they are!” Oceanwave trotted through the camp barrier. “Where were they?”

“At the lake.” Silvermist snarled. “And Pearlpaw didn’t chase off a stranger. They were listening to his mumbo-jumbo.”

Oceanwave shrugged. “As long as he’s gone before I send out patrols, we’re all good.”

Silvermist whipped towards Ripplepaw. “You. Medicine den. Grassfrond is complaining about her ticks.”

Ripplepaw groaned. “Fine.” he growled, frustrated. Why were the elders such a nuisance?

(I'll write more as I write more)