Darkstar's Wrath - A Faith's Journey Super Edition

Chapter 25

Darkblood's fur prickled. His mind was whirling. 

'A cat cannot be made without having mentored at least one apprentice...'

'The deputy will become Clan leader when the leader dies, retires, or is exiled...'

I could train others in the ways of the Dark Forest... We could rise... We could help cats become greater warriors... Darkblood thought, his eyes going wide. Once Mistberry's kits are grown... I could mentor one of them... One step closer to leaderhood... But for now...

Darkblood met Shadowripple's gaze, his claws sliding out of their sheath. They shone in the gloom around the two cats.

"I know it will be a while before I have an apprentice in the waking world... but who do you have in mind?" Darkblood asked.

Shadowripple's lips turned up into a twisted smile. "Follow me, Darkblood." With a swish of his black tail, he turned and pushed through the dark fronds behind him. Darkblood padded after him, his heart beating faster with every step.

After a while of silent walking, Shadowripple came to a halt in the entrance to a clearing. Darkblood stopped next to him, their pelts brushed against each other's as Darkblood exhaled.

Darkblood glanced over at Shadowripple. His mentor had closed his eyes and his claws were dug deep into the ground. Shadowripple's breathing was even as he remained still as stone. 

A surprised yowl caused Darkblood to turn his head. There in the clearing were two apprentice sized cats. Darkblood's eyes widened as he recognized them from gatherings. One was a brown tom with dark green eyes, his name was Pinepaw. He was an apprentice of DuskClan. The other cat looked fresh out of kithood, just over six moons old. This cat was Silverpaw, named in honor of her silvery pelt. Her dark blue eyes were wide as she gazed around the dark woods.

Shadowripple had opened his eyes and took a couple steps toward the apprentices. Pinepaw's and Silverpaw's gazes snapped toward him. Pinepaw slid out his claws and crouched in an attack position. A fighter... Darkblood thought. Silverpaw was backing up slowly, until her back hit a tree stump.

"Don't be afraid.. We won't hurt you...." Shadowripple purred, lowering his head down.

"Why should we trust you!" Pinepaw shot back at him, his tail beginning to lash.

"We have something to offer you two..." 

"W-We?" Silverpaw stammered in a small voice. 

Darkblood came up to his mentor's side and the two apprentice's eyes widened as they recognized him. 

"The Dark Forest has something to offer you." He replied.

"And what's that?" Pinepaw snarled, his claws tearing up the grass beneath them.

"We can make you both great warriors..." Shadowripple explained in a silky tone. "We can give you special training so you can serve your clans to the upmost greatness. You both want to be special, don't you?" Shadowripple locked eyes with both apprentices. Darkblood brushed past his mentor and paused in front of the pair of cats. "Let my new clanmates help you... You'll become more you can even dream of here..." He murmured. 

Silverpaw bit her lip while Pinepaw spoke up. "When do we start? Who's going to train me?" 

Shadowripple turned his head to gaze at Darkblood. He flicked his ears to the brown tom and nodded. Darkblood nodded back. I'm ready for this... 

"I'll be training you." He stated, raising his chin.

"Will we be breaking the warrior code...?" Silverpaw asked hesitantly, glancing quickly to the side where Pinepaw's eyes were watching the dark warriors with interest.

"No, young one." Shadowripple replied. "I'm sure StarClan and the warrior code would approve... After all, you're training to help your clans and that's what the warrior code wants you to do..."

Silverpaw took a deep breath. 

"I accept."