Kitten of the Dark Forest

Ch. 4: The Plan

Tinykit sat onto of the rock that overlooked the territory that held the Dark Forest cats, the large gray moss-covered tree that held Tigerstar's group, the large clearing that held the largest group, the group of cats that just stayed together for the 'safety' of it, and the thick, hollow tree that held the cats who were the oldest of them all, who had been there since the dawn of the Clans. Tinykit sighed in content. Being up there, it made him feel like a leader. But in a way, he was. He had the evil of four cats coursing through his veins, two of them were the most evil leaders ever to lead a Clan. Oh yes, Tinykit was a leader all right. And he would make sure the other cats knew it. "I love the way you think," Tigerstar said. "Yes," another voice, Hawkfrost, said. "You have the power and maliciousness of any other Dark Forest cat, but more savage," "more bloodthirsty," Brokenstar continued. "and you are defiantly smarter than any other of these cats," said Shredtail.  "Well, everyone except Mapleshade. She could teach you more." Tinykit basked in the praise of the dead cats. With their help, he would become the fiercest and most feared cat the Clans have ever seen. He looked at the bottom of the rock, where Mapleshade stood. She was by far the most loyal to him, acting as his deputy, but then again, was it something more than loyalty? Tinykit felt a pang in his heart, as though remembering the good part of a memory he had long tried to forget, the feeling of it an emotion he had long tried to forget. Tinykit shook his head. No, he was a Dark Forest cat, he could not indulge in the luxuries of the past, of his family, and the emotions he had once felt. He heard Tigerstar purr in approval, or maybe it was all of them, but Tinykit did not pay close attention, for Mapleshade was speaking. "Tinykit, Thistleclaw and the rest are returning," she said. "and from the looks of it, it seems like he, Darstripe, and Clawface have gotten every other cat that lives here." Tinykit looked around, and saw that Mapleshade was indeed right. Tinykit had told Thistleclaw, Darkstripe, and Clawface to gather every cat that lived there, and they did their job well. The cats all looked grumpy, and none to happy to be brought there by the orders of a kit. Thistleclaw and the other two were looking ruffled, and Tinykit knew that the other cats had not come easily. Silverhawk and Maggottail were looking mildly interested, Rabbitsplinter was edgy, and the four old cats looked too lost to care or complain. Snowtuft, Sparrowfeather, and Redwillow, however, were looking as if they wanted to tear Tinykit's pelt off. Tinykit cleared his throat. "Everyone, I'm not the most patient cat right now and will only say this once, so shut up!" This got the cats' attention. Sparrowfeather jumped forward and yowled, "Why should we listen to you? You're only a stupid kit!" Mapleshade leaped forward, stopping Sparrowfeather from getting to the rock, and hissed furiously. Sparrowfeather backed off a bit, but not before muttering, "Mapleshade? I thought you were smarter than this."

Mapleshade starred at Sparrowfeather intently as the she-cat backed off. If she were defensing a regular leader, she would have probably just stepped in front of the rock. But defending Tinykit was different. She felt a closeness to him, but she couldn't remember when she had felt this before. Living in the Dark Forest had kept her from feeling any positive emotions, but this one was reawakened by Tinykit.  Mapleshade did not know why, but she did know that she would find out, some day.

After Sparrowfeather had backed off, Tinykit sighed and began again. "Well,  now that that's over with, it's time I said what I need to say," he started. "We have just recently lost the Great Battle, and with it some of our finest cats, such as Tigerstar, Hawkfrost, Brokenstar, and Shredtail. Tigerstar was your great leader, but now he is dead, and you are scattered like a bunch of stupid mouse-brained prey. So, I will be taking his place." Angry yowls broke out, and Mapleshade stood in front of the rock defensively. "Why you?" "A stupid kit can't lead us!" "We'll be doomed under your leadership!" "I'd rather die than be led under you!" The cats called out. Tinykit waited until they calmed, then continued. "I know you believe that a kit is not fit to rule a bunch of cruel, bloodthirsty, fox-hearted cats," the Dark Forest cats smirked in approval at that, "but even in that statement there is a reason why I should be leader. You see, I am the first kit to ever be sent here by StarClan, proving that I am very capable of committing unspeakable acts if evil. And how I became this evil, you ask? Well, let's just say I was guided by some of your fallen comrades. Tigerstar led me to become who I am today, and for that I am grateful. And if that isn't enough, I know how we can attack the Clans again, and win. The reason you didn't win in the first place, well, let's just say I figured out your mistakes. You brought in  Clan cats to learn our moves, and Redwillow was the only one who was actually loyal! You brought in spies, for StarClan's sake! To avert that mistake, we simply stick with who we have now; all of us, no one more, no one less. Another mistake, you stupidly decided to attack all four Clans at once. Over 100 cats at once! Seriously! So we don't repeat that mistake again, let's just attack ThunderClan first, hmm? And after they're defeated, we attack the other Clan's one by one! We may recruit cats from the Clans we've already defeated, ruling over them with fear and threats, but we'll cross that river when we get to it. And the last major mistake; not everyone fought! Silverhawk, Clawface, Rabbitsplinter, and you four old cats, I'm looking at you. But this time, no one flakes out. No exceptions. Well, those are all the major mistakes, so back to the original problem. You need a leader, I can be your leader. Any objections?" Tinykit expected to hear all the cats caterwauling insults and objections, but to surprise only heard one; Snowtuft. "Why you little...Do you really think this scrap of fur can lead us?!" he yowled furiously. "All that talk of being led by Tigerstar and the others, what mouse crap! I bet he's just trying to intimidate us into doing what he wants! Well, I wont have it! I'm going to tear his worthless little flea-ridden pelt to shreds!" And with that Snowtuft leapt forward, intent on climbing up the rock to teach Tinykit a lesson. But before he could even reach the rock, Mapleshade savagely attacked him. Tinykit watched this, frozen, and began to feel furious. Not for how Snowtuft had disrespected him, but for how he was treating Mapleshade! Though Mapleshade could surely beat him, she would be left with some nasty scars. His anger, his fury, began to shape something around Tinykit. Something with a scar on it's nose. Tinykit jumped down from the rock and began to walk toward the two fighting cats, his anger only growing stronger. Mapleshade saw him, and immediately stopped fighting Snowtuft and retreated behind Tinykit, for she saw one thing the rest did not. A faint avatar of Tigerstar surrounded Tinykit, as thought they were one. As Tinykit neared Snowtuft, the avatar became visible to the rest of the cats as well. They shrank back in fear, and Snowtuft was rooted to the spot. That's when Tinykit spoke. His voice was different, as it was mixed with Tigerstar's. Tigerstar's voice grew like his outline, and it was all Snowtuft could do to keep from mewling in fear like a kit. "You've disrespected me, and attacked Mapleshade," Tinykit and Tigerstar said in unison. "If I ever, EVER, catch you disrespecting me, or attacking Mapleshade again, it will be the last of you. Understand?" The two cats held out their right front paw and unsheathed the claws, making Snowtuft's eyes widen. He began to mewl pitifully, the rank stench of fear coming off him strongly. "I-I, understand," he whimpered, than began to weep. "I understand! I'm sorry! Please, please don't hurt me!" Snowtuft buried his head into the ground, a clear sign of submission. Tinykit and Tigerstar laughed, then leaned in to Snowtuft's ear. "Remember," they whispered. "I've always been here, only for one thing; revenge. And you wouldn't want to become part of that, would you? Heh. I'll let you off with a warning this time, but never, EVER, stand in my, our, way again."