Kitten of the Dark Forest

Ch. 10: The Attack

Tinykit sat on top of the rock he had first addressed all of the cats of the Dark Forest on. It had been more than a moon since that day, a moon and a half to be exact. But unlike the first time, none of the cats were at all displeased to be his audience. His backstory had quickly spread throughout the forest, and he suspected that each time it was retold, new details were told that had not a thing to do with his past. But Tinykit knew that each new detail made him seem more fearsome than ever, and that was a good thing. "To think, once you were a tiny, tiny kit, at the complete mercy of his siblings. But look at you now; a murder and a ledgend," Tigerstar purred. Tinykit smirked. He certainly had become much more popular here than in his old home. He cleared his throat, then spoke out. "Hello, cats of the Dark Forest!" he began. "In the short time since I first stood on this rock, you all have trained to become ruthless killers!" Yowls of agreement met his ears. And what Tinykit said was true, for the cats had all trained obsessively since his first speech. "It has been a moon and a half since I first spoke to you all like this, and I think we are finally ready to take on ThunderClan!" he continued. "We strike tomorrow! We show no mercy! All cats that refuse to pledge their complete allegiance to us shall DIE! The Dark Forest shall finally rule the living world!" The cats yowled, snarled, and hissed in excitement. They all longed to feel the blood on their fur again, to slice living cat's flesh open with their claws. And that time was nearing with each passing second. The thought of even causing pain to a Clan cat, winning the battle not included, and making themselves feared again was enough to make them follow Tinykit, even if the avatar of Tigerstar hadn't shown up. "Get some rest, for tomorrow will be our redemption!" Tinykit finished as he jumped of the rock. Mapleshade came up to him, and together they walked back to the tree in which they, along with Thistleclaw, Darkstripe, and Clawface, slept under. Mapleshade curled around him, like a mother around her kit, and together they fell asleep.

Tinykit was in the living world in ThunderClan territory. He was fighting savagely, ripping cats open as their blood spilled onto his fur, painting it a crimson red. He was having so much fun, and soon became lost in his savage glee. Then he heard the barking. He turned around and saw his mother-no, Silverpelt, for she was no longer his mother- and Mapleshade fighting fiercly as they hurled insults at eachother. Then a huge black dog converged upon them, and with no way for the two she-cats to escape, ripped them both to shreds. Tinykit tried to run to them, tried to scream, to fight, to cry, but he was rooted to the spot. Then the dog rushed towards him, and the last thing Tinykit saw was the dog's slavering jaws as they closed upon him.

"Tinykit! Wake up!" said a voice as Tinykit continued to yowl. He woke up, panting in fear, and burrowed himself deep inside Mapleshade's fur, crying softly. Mapleshade curled her tail around him and spoke in a soothing voice. "There there, what was the nightmare about?" she asked. Tinykit wept some more, then sobbed, "I-I was fighting cats, and then I heard barking, so I turned and saw you and my mother Silverpelt fighting, and then a big dog came, a-and and," Tinykit continued to sob into Mapleshade's fur. "I-I just don't want to lose you." Mapleshade started to lick Tinykit's fur, and he soon stopped crying and settled down. "I'm not going anywhere. I certainly would never lose to something as easy as a dog, you don't have to worry," she said as she comforted Tinykit. "let's go back to sleep." Tinykit nodded and settled back into a sleeping position, and Mapleshade curled around him, once more. This time, they passed through the night undisturbed by dreams.

Silverpelt stretched and yawned, standing up as she shook of the sleep that had overtaken her a few hours ago. It was moonhigh, but she had heard something and wanted to go check it out. She walked out of the warriors den, stifling a yawn as she crossed the camp. As she passed the apprentices den, Silverpelt paused to look inside it. Her gaze rested upon her four kits, and a pang of sadness struck her heart. It had hurt her enough to have Juniperkit die, but it broke her to find out that Juniperkit's own brother, Tinykit, who had been the runt of the litter, had murdered him in cold blood. She winced as she remembered the day Tinykit had died, frozen to the spot as she watched her kit become surrounded by the ghost of a monster and fight Bramblestar. As Silverpelt looked upon her four remaining kits, she felt determined to make sure they survived long enough to become a warrior, and maybe even have a mate and kits. She turned away from the den, and walked up to the camp entrance, guarded by Cherryfall and Snowbush, who were talking quietly. "Hey did you guys hear something not too long ago?" Silverpelt asked them. "Actually, yes, we did," Cherryfall replied. "In fact, Snowbush and I were just talking about whether or not we should check it out. I mean, it could just be something unimportant like a mouse or something, and there's no need to worry. But then again, it could also be a rouge or even a cat from an opposing Clan, and that wouldn't be good. So Snowbush and I were just deciding on- hey, what's that terrible smell?" Silverpelt lifted her nose up and sniffed. She wrinkled her nose and pulled back as she scented a foul, rank stench. She was about to voice her concern when something crashed through the entrance and leaped onto Snowbush. There wasn't even time to yowl for help. Shadowed cats flowed through the entrance and into the ThunderClan camp, snarling and yowling with savage, bloodthirsty smiles painted on their faces. Silverpelt fell to the ground as a tortoiseshell-and-white she-cat with a white muzzle, and amber eyes jumped onto her. The she-cat laughed and said, "So this is Tinykit's mother. Ha, your name certainly matches your looks. But when I'm done with you, your name won't fit you anymore. So I'm just going to call you Redpelt after you die. By the way, I'm Mapleshade, you're son's true mother and the last cat you'll ever meet!" Silverpelt's attacker then lunged forward for her throat, but Silverpelt moved her head out of the way just fast enough, just narrowly missing the lethal teeth. Silverpelt rolled out from under Mapleshade, then stood up and met her attacker face to face. As the two she-cats attacked each other, from somewhere in the chaos Tinykit was laughing as the ghost of Tigerstar surrounded him, chuckling darkly. The attack had just begun.