Mistletoepaw grasped a colorful bird between her jaws, and dragged her fresh-kill to her den.
Commotion arose from the FogClan camp nearby. "We saw Vineclaw on our territory!" Some cat exclaimed.
Mistletoepaw crept to the edge of the cliff that her den was on and gazed down at the FogClan camp. A patrol was gathered around a brown she-cat with an orange tail, and a speckled gray tom.
"Parrotfang. Is Vineclaw out of our territory?" The tom asked, his whiskers twitching with annoyance.
The orange she-cat meowed, "Curlstar escorted him away, Frogclaw."
The brown she-cat with a ginger tail dipped her head. "Good."
Mistletoepaw crept away as the report ended. Vineclaw must be wanting to go home. A sudden thought struck her, making shivers creep along her back.
Do I want to go home?
Vivid memories from her dream blurred her vision.
The apprentice remembered how her father, Flurryheart, had delivered a message. In the jungle you must wait, for there will be the answer.
Still puzzled, Mistletoepaw shook away the memories. The she-cat curled up in her nest, and shoved away her prey.
"Good night, Leechbite, wherever you are." She sighed before drifting away into sleep.
*************
Mist wreathed around Eightball's paws, and musty air drifted around him. The tom glanced around, surprised at the endless loom of tree trunks.
Eightball flexed his claws in and out, seething with fury. That murderer killed me! He yowled inwardly.
Eightball padded forward, unable to see his paws through the thick mist. The mist seemed to be rising higher, choking the tom.
Eightball let out a feeble cough, and the mist swirled back down. As soon as it had moved, it rose back up, higher than before.
Unable to see, Eightball let out a yelp of surprise as he tripped over his own paws. Falling deeper into the thick fog, the black tom let out a screech, "Help!"
The sharp tang of blood floated into the air as Eightball felt his head hit something sharp.
His vision flashed, drifting from black to reality.
Eightball touched his paw to the top of his head, and warm, sticky blood stained his paw when he looked at it. Eightball could barely see his paw through the choking fog, so he set it down on the ground.
The black cat glanced around.
Eightball scrunched his face up with confusion as a flash of black and gray fur ran past him.
"Hello?" He called out, mystified by the appearance.
The fog was blocking out all of his senses as he padded forward, deeper into the forest.
"Hello?" As Eightball repeated his question, a branch snapped nearby. The small tom let out a yowl of cold fear, as he heard claws unsheathe.
Every hair on his pelt prickled with terror as he turned around another towering tree trunk. Eightball let out a shriek as something brushed his pelt.
Something brushed his pelt, and he felt it fall to the forest floor. He turned around. His vision blurred for a moment before he focused on a dried leaf. Crackly brown edges snapped as they reached the ground.
Eightball let out a sigh, for he couldn't even watch the leaves of leaf-bare fall to the ground. Sharp pain jerked away his thoughts.
Shouldn't have fallen, Eightball! A voice inside of him snarled.
"Stupid mist." He muttered, and Eightball padded forward.
A blur of dark brown fur brushed his muzzle, and all of a sudden, a familiar scarred muzzle was thrust into his face.
"Barkpelt!" Eightball exclaimed, stepping back.
Through the mist, Barkpelt disappeared. "Come back here, mange-pelt!" Fury burned through his pelt, stinging the tips of his ears.
Eightball stormed through the mist, it swirling back to the ground and then rising back up again. Eightball's fur bristled with shock as a cat stood in front of him.
"How did you get there?" He growled.
The she-cat flicked her tail before running away into the thick white that surrounded them. Pawsteps began to ring in his ears, and they grew louder with every heartbeat.
Blood roared in his ears, his heart seeming to race his legs as the tom darted between tree trunks.
Barkpelt appeared between a two tree trunks. Eightball let out a screech of terror, and turned to the next two trunks of trees.
The black and gray she-cat was there, blocking him to go anywhere.
What do these cats want with me?!
Eightball slid across the slippery grass, falling head-first into the mist.
Through the choking mist, claws seemed to be floating. Eightball jumped to his paws, glancing around, alert in all ways.
Blue eyes gleamed in the darkness, no muzzle shown. Eightball let out a gasp, fear getting the best of him.
W-why are there eyes floating, and claws down in the fog?
Eightball looked towards the eyes again, and saw a silvery-gray body as the mist swirled to the bottom of the floor.
"Don't run, Eightball!" A voice called out.
"You can't escape the four of us!"
"No one can!" Someone added.
Eightball glanced around, his eyes stretched wide with horror.
Cats were closing in on him, their blood-stained fangs glinting in the gloom. Blood ran from wounds across their body as they grew closer to him.
"Welcome to the Dark Forest."
"Welcome."
"You have arrived at your nightmares!"
Eightball crouched down, his paws tucked in closely beneath him. The black cat stiffened his tail, afraid of giving away his position.
"Where'd he go?" The tom heard Barkpelt meow.
Fear pricked the fur along his sides. Blood roared in his ears, and Eightball took in huge gasps of air. Eightball heard a stiffened gasp, and pawsteps grew louder.
"I heard him over here!" A loud yowl startled him.
Through the mist that surrounded him, Eightball glimpsed claws unsheathing and sheathing furiously.
The black stepped closer towards him, the claws a whisker away from his nose.
"Where are you?" A voice muttered, and Eightball knew they were looking for him.
What do they want with me?
All of a sudden, searing pain jerked him from his thoughts. Eightball let out a shriek of surprise as he was abruptly lifted in the air, teeth yanking him by the scruff.
Malignant amber eyes met his as he rose above the thick mist. Whiskers twitched with amusement, brushing his ear fur.
Eightball whipped his head around, searching for the cat who had just walked past him.
"What do we have here, Swiftleap?" Eightball growled as Barkpelt stepped in front of him. The brown tom searched his eyes, and Eightball realized that the cat had grown since he had taken him away from his Twolegs.
The tom stiffened with shock, his neck fur bristling.
"Eightball." He snarled.
At once, a black she-cat with gray tufts of fur appeared from behind Barkplelt.
"Wildstar." Barkpelt beckoned the she-cat forward, and she obeyed quickly.
"Swiftleap. Set this kit down." He ordered.
At once, Eightball was dropped, plunged feet-first into the mist. The swirling white engulfed him, and it blurred his vision. It's not fair that I'm smaller than those fox-hearts...
Eightball stretched his head up, and caught a glimpse of the gathered cats. A white tom that Eightball had never seen before stood beside Barkpelt and Wildstar.
Who are all of these cats? And what do they have to do with me?
As a growl rumbled deep within his throat, all of the cats turned to look at him.
"Sparrowcall, go retrive Eightball."
A black tom padded out of the shadows, his fur standing out against the white mist.
Sparrowcall's glowing yellow eyes glowed in the darkness as he walked steadily towards him.
Eightball caught a glimpse of the tom's blood-stained teeth as he turned and ran towards the place he had come from. His paws slipped on the grass, and Eightball lost his footing.
The black tom watched as Sparrowcall grew closer and closer to him, walking at a steady pace. Eightball quickly scrambled up a tree, his claws gripping the slippery bark.
The stench of blood foiled the air around him as Eightball scrabbled to the next tree branch.
Sparrowcall glanced around before carefully placing his front paws on the bark. Instead of watching, Eightball began to climb to the next branch. The slippery bark seemed to want to make him fall as Eightball inserted his claws.
Carefully, he moved one paw up followed by the next. The next branch was a fox-length away, and Eightball was getting closer with each heartbeat. The black tom looked down.
Sparrowcall was underneath him, claws tail-lengths away. Eightball began his routine again, much quicker this time. Maybe I can reach the branch from here.
Eightball stretched a paw towards the branch, extending his claws to the maximum. He barely made a scratch mark in the branch's bark, so Eightball began to climb once more.
Eightball's claws dug into the branch, and Eightball hauled himself onto the sturdy wood. The small tom looked down, his eyes growing wide with horror as he saw Sparrowcall only a mouse-length away from his branch.
"Get away from me!" Eightball screeched, hoping to scare the tom away. A snarl formed on the black tom's face as he grew closer to Eightball.
Sparrowcall was almost to his branch, and Eightball's claws dug into the rotten wood even more.
The black tom clenched his teeth, and narrowed his eyes as the scarred black tom moved to sit beside Eightball.
"You have to come with me." He growled, his fur fluffing to twice it's size.
Questions tumbled through his head, his heart pounding as he asked, "I will go with you on one condition." Before the tom could answer, he continued. "Answer my question. What do you—all of you—want with me?"
Sparrowcall hesitated, his jaws clamped shut. "All Dark Forest cats eventually find their place. Barkpelt makes sure that all newcomers obey him." Sparrowcall meowed quietly, glancing around warily.
Eightball nodded with approval, glad that he finally understood.
*******************
"Grayheart! I want to go play with Creekkit though!" Chillkit complained, his gray fur fluffing up with indignation.
The silver-gray tom shook his head, his dull blue eyes shining with disapproval. The StarClan cat gave a glance at Chillkit's friend, water splashing the tom as Creekkit played in the river.
Chillkit puffed out his chest fur as the whiskers of cats around him twitched with amusement. The gray tom-kit stormed off, his white paws stirring up leaf-litter.
Grayheart is no fun!
As the kit began to quicken his pace, a soft whisper began calling his name. "Chillkit." It called out for him.
Surprise tingled in his paws, his fur rippling with anxiety. What in StarClan? The tom-kit pricked his ears, waiting for the meow to call his name again.
Chillkit let out a gasp as an eerie glow began to shine from a bush. Scarlet light poured from between the leaves. The red glow began to grow brighter, almost as blinding as starlight.
Glancing around, Chillkit stepped towards the hazel bush. The glow sparkled brighter, its scarlet color beginning to cover Chillkit's white paws.
"Chillkit." The voice was louder now, and noises began to sound from the bush.
Loud thumping noises began to sound over the roar of blood in Chillkit's ears, and the gray kit walked to the bush.
The scarlet light drifted across his pelt, turning his fur blood red. Chillkit let out a screech as all of a sudden, claws raked down his pelt. His star-streaked fur began to bleed, his gray pelt stained gold now.
Chillkit let out a squeak of fear as blue eyes glinted from under the bush. The kit leaned towards the bush, for clearly the cat was meowing something to him.
Now Chillkit could smell the stranger's foul breath, and understood his words. "Follow me." The cat hissed. The stranger disappeared.
Where'd he go?
Chillkit peered under the long, lanky branches of the bush, careful to not let it brush his already bleeding pelt. The kit stepped into the bush, the scarlet red dying away as he entered.
Chillkit let out a sharp gasp, but his mews were quickly silenced.
Something thumped against the kit's head, and Chillkit began to see spots filling his vision. The gray kit fell to the ground, his paws limp in front of him. Cats seemed to crowd around him, their jaws moving.
W-what?
As though wind were roaring in his ears all sounds were muffled, a buzzing in his ears.
The black continued to spread across his vision, and the last thing the kit saw was the gleaming blue eyes glittering with amusement.