Default Title - Write Your Own

Chapter Two

The cat in the picture is Vincent.

"Goldenblaze!" Goldenblaze growled in frustration at the sound of a familiar, annoying voice. A fellow Dark Forest apprentice, Peartail.

"Excuse me," he growled, shoving Larkclaw away, ignoring his mother's disgusted hiss. "I'll be back as soon as I deal with this... annoyance, and interruption." Couldn't Peartail see Goldenblaze was busy training with his mother to become the strongest warrior the Clans had ever seen? He was WindClan's deputy now, he had control over everyone in the Clan apart from Moonstar. There are two deputies training in the Dark Forest now, Peartail. You're not alone.

"Be quick! That scrawny fool is irrelevant!" Larkclaw snapped impatiently.

Goldenblaze darted around the side of a tree, trying to ignore how uneasy he felt as he travelled through the darkness. He looked a lot more intimidating now, like a warrior with experience in battle. Both his ears were torn, numerous scars covering his body. Deadclaw really messed me up. He growled under his breath, frustrated as he remembered the ThunderClan warrior who had managed to beat him in battle. Ever since that failure, Goldenblaze had only become more determined to prove himself.

ShadowClan's deputy was crouching just behind the tree, eyes huge. Goldenblaze groaned. "Make it quick. What do you want?" He snapped irritably, feeling his claws unsheathe.

"Calm down!" Peartail squeaked. "I just wanted to tell you something, that being that I'm not going to train in the Dark Forest anymore." Goldenblaze snorted - the grey tom's fear scent was clogging up his nostrils, though deep down, the ginger and white tom felt a sudden, unexpected rush of admiration. He's doing what I want to do.

"No way are you leaving," Goldenblaze growled. "That would make you a traitor to the Dark Forest." There was no way he could let Peartail leave. Larkclaw knew that Goldenblaze had gone to speak with Peartail, and if Peartail left, the blame would lie solely on Goldenblaze.

Peartail paused, before suddenly letting out a hiss, "Lakeleap hates me because of the Dark Forest." His voice had suddenly become cold.

The WindClan tom remained silent for a few moments. He really didn't have much of an opinion on Lakeleap, but she seemed okay, and was clearly being treated badly by Jaggedheart. The ShadowClan warrior didn't train in the Dark Forest anymore, but Jaggedheart came back just to beat her up every night. When I do decide to leave the Dark Forest, I'll make sure to help Lakeleap if I can.

Suddenly, Goldenblaze heard a voice he hadn't heard in a while. "Goldenblaze, Peartail, it's a pleasure to see you both." Goldenblaze spun around, shocked at the sight of Vincent.

"Vincent?" he gasped, secretly relieved to see the grey tomcat. "You look... really well."

The rogue nodded, a gentle smile on his face. "I stayed with two rogues for a while, and they decided to spare me, thank StarClan. I should be back by the lake very soon. I already started travelling back."

"Isn't it difficult?" Peartail spoke, annoyingly obnoxious as he referred to Vincent's lack of sight.

The young tom shook his head. "No. I was born this way. I can hear and smell really well, which is a blessing."

"So, why haven't you been visiting the Dark Forest?" Goldenblaze challenged, feeling his fur bristling along his spine. "Not only are you a traitor to us, but we could have reassured Mistyheart you were alive. She's been worried sick." He felt a pang of sympathy as he thought of the young ShadowClan she cat. She wasn't a friend, but there were something about her he had grown quite fond of. I wish there was a way I could help her to be more confident.