[ Art by FoxyEverdeen  ]

Shadowpaw. That was Cougarkit's new enemy. The mysterious apprentice had killed his own mother. He wanted to tell someone - but he was just a kit. He didn't want to get in trouble or be ignored by his Clanmates. I must keep this a secret, Cougarkit thought. I can't even tell Silverkit.

He had begun to notice Dewpaw, the medicine cat apprentice, begin to sulk around. Cougarkit hadn't known Ottertail had been the orange tom's mother. My mother died too! He growled in his head, and I'm not sulking around. He needs to get his head together!

Cougarkit felt a pang of sympathy for the tom - he didn't have a cat to watch all the time, or a mystery to solve. Unlike Cougarkit.

The tan tom had heard of what had happened at the gathering last night. Apparently Crocodilestar, leader of RiverClan, had lost a life from Sharkstar. Cougarkit remembered a gathering was a time of peace, and he wondered why Sharkstar had taken a life from Crocodilestar.

"Cougarkit! Snap out of it!"

The tom turned his head to Silverkit, who purred. He batted at her playfully. Since the death of Fawnfur, Cougarkit had been staying in Kinkfur and Silverkit's nest so he wouldn't have to be alone. Kinkfur groomed his pelt when she finished Silverkit's.

"Today is your apprentice ceremony," Kinkfur pointed out. "Shouldn't you be excited?"

"Oh yeah! That's why you're grooming us!" He broke free from Kinkfur's rasping tongue and jumped around. "I'm going to be an apprentice! I'm going to be an apprentice!"

"All cats old enough to catch their own prey, gather beneath the Highrock for a Clan meeting!" Greenstar called out.

"Oh, look at you," Kinkfur sighed. "Your pelt is a mess. Whatever - embarrass yourself all you want." The brown queen purred, exiting the den with the two kits. Silverkit walked forward slowly and constructively, while Cougarkit bounded to the middle of his Clanmates. Kinkfur joined Driftflurry and Rockhide, watching the kits.

"Today is a very special day! We are going to have new apprentices." Greenstar looked down at Silverkit. "Silverkit, you have reached the age of six moons, and it is time for you to be apprenticed. From this day on, until you receive your warrior name, you will be known as Silverpaw. Your mentor will be Slateleaf. I hope he will pass down all he knows on to you." Greenstar watched as the black tom made his way to where Silverpaw was.

"Slateleaf, you are ready to take on an apprentice. You had received excellent training from Ottertail, and you have shown yourself to be intelligent and calm. You will be the mentor of Silverpaw, and I expect you to pass on all you know to her." Slateleaf bent his head down and touched noses with Silverpaw. The silver she-cat winked at Cougarkit as she went to join the crowd. Cougarkit felt his ears become hot. When was Greenstar going to make him an apprentice?

"Cougarkit, you have reached the age of six moons, and it is time for you to be apprenticed," the brown tabby leader finally began. "From this day on, until you receive your warrior name, you shall be known as Cougarpaw. Your mentor will be Clawflank. I hope he passes down all he knows to you." Cougarpaw watched in awe as the large tom made his way from the crowd to him. He had a sturdy build and a chocolate brown pelt, his green eyes filled with pride. "Clawflank, you have trained your past apprentices well, and I expect you to pass down all you know to Cougarpaw." The tan tom stood on his toes to reach Clawflank's nose.

"Welcome to ThunderClan as an apprentice," Clawflank meowed, pulling away and leading Cougarpaw away from the crowd. Cougarpaw noticed Blazefur padding up to him.

"I'm so proud of you! You're already an apprentice. It goes by so fast," his father stated, purring and kicking the top of his son's head. "You'll be a great warrior, I know you will." Cougarpaw purred in return and followed Clawflank to the apprentices' den.

"We aren't going to do anything right now," the chocolate brown tom meowed to his new apprentice, "so you might as well rest or chat with the other apprentices and get to know them." Cougarpaw felt dread inside of him - he'd have to meet Ashpaw over again. And... Shadowpaw.

You can do it, Cougarpaw.

Silverpaw bounded to his side, purring. "Come on, let's go inside." She padded inside and Cougarpaw held his breath as he followed her. It was pretty dark, but the light illuminating from outside sure helped. He could see that Darkpaw and Tigerpaw were here, but didn't see Ashpaw, Shadowpaw, or Lightpaw.

"Hi!" Tigerpaw exclaimed, looking from Silverpaw to Cougarpaw. "It's nice to have some new apprentices in here."

"It's nice to be in here," Silverpaw replied back. Cougarpaw felt a little tried, although he didn't know why. Darkpaw, a light gray she-cat, rolled onto her back and yawned. "I'm tired," the she-cat complained.

"Then go to sleep," Tigerpaw snorted.

"I will," Darkpaw grumbled. She closed her eyes and Tigerpaw let out a purr. Silverpaw and Cougarpaw found nests - there were only two left. Silverpaw of course wanted to be by Lightpaw, so that stuck Cougarpaw by Ashpaw and Shadowpaw.

Oh great StarClan, I'm really dreading this now. He felt a rush of anger at Shadowpaw, and knew he could avenge his mother's death. I can and I will.

Cougarpaw laid down in his nest, trying not to get distracted with Tigerpaw's and Silverpaw's chatter. Soon he found himself drifting off to sleep. When he opened his eyes, he was in a forest. Not dark or gloomy, but full of stars and a blue sky with clouds. He was in StarClan, that's all he knew.

"Cougarpaw."

The tan tom turned his head. A lithe, calico she-cat stood there. Her blue eyes showed immense pain and suffering but she stood up. "You haven't forgotten the prophecy, have you?" The she-cat inquired.

Oh, no! The prophecy! I totally forgot!

"Oh... Well..." Cougarpaw let out a nervous laugh but the she-cat narrowed her eyes, clearly not amused. "Cougarpaw, you must remember. StarClan and the Clans in your region depend on it."

"Well..." He thought for a minute, remembering the cat that had told him the prophecy. "Spiderhawk can just come and tell me-"

"Spiderhawk is dead!" The calico she-cat spat, her fur ruffled.

"Well, I know that, but-"

"No, Cougarpaw. He was killed. In StarClan. He's gone, forever."

Cougarpaw's eyes widened. "Killed? By who?"

"A Dark Forest cat named Russetstar." The calico bent her head. Cougarpaw felt sympathy for the poor StarClan cat. "Maybe if I show you, you'll understand better." Cougarpaw tilted his head but nodded slowly. He followed the she-cat out of the clearing and into the bushes. No scent was familiar, but when they reached the edge of the forest, Cougarpaw was filled with horror and dread.

A bit of StarClan's land was dead and withered, the sky above the dead StarClan fields a crimson color. Dark trees covered the area, and it looked like whatever it was wasn't stopping.

"This is horrible!" Cougarpaw exclaimed. The calico nodded. "This is the doings of the Dark Forest. They are taking over StarClan, and we cannot stop it. The fate of everyone depends on you, Cougarpaw. You have an enemy in ThunderClan, as if StarClan and the Dark Forest are battling down there. You have a heart brighter than StarClan, but your paws may lead you in the wrong direction." She stared at him dead in the eyes. "You must not fail, or StarClan will be destroyed forever!"

Cougarpaw felt the world becoming dark, but heard one last echoing voice. 'Of bright and dark, two cats shall be brought down from our ancestors. Only time can tell when they will figure out who they really are, but they shall meet in battle. If the brightness that shines loses, no cat will be safe anymore.'

DEAR STARCLAN I'm so sorry this chapter didn't come out sooner guys! I've been so busy and didn't have much time in the past few days. I've finally finished and I do hope you guys enjoyed it. The story is a bit boring right now but it'll get better after Cougarpaw attends his first gathering.

So anyway, please vote and comment what you thought, and may StarClan light your path!