Dark trees stretched up tall, choking eachother to reach the smoky abyss of the sky. Mud squelched beneath tiny paws as a small feline padded through the strange murky forest, fear-scent almost drowning the scent of decay.

It was impossible to tell which way was which, darkness crawled in every perspective. Ominous eyes flashed, and the swish of fur could be heard every 10 heartbeats.

The kitten who padded through the forest was black and dark grey, with a green eye and a blue eye. Her figure was slim, but her fur was thick and feathery, sleek like a warrior's. Dreamkit.

Dreamkit padded through the strange forest. "Hello?" She called, her voice small. Dreamkit's pads sweated and her heart seemed to beat in her head. Her pulse was quick and her body produced a strong odor of fear.

The body of another cat pelted past, his ratty, ungroomed fur brushing against her nose. She jumped back with a squeak. "Hello?" She cried out. She could sense menacing presences all around, threatening her with glares, poised to attack...

Sharp claws pierced her back, and a hot, fiery pain made her screech. As her attacker did so, a blinding light penetrated the eerie blackness of the forest.

A slim, calico she-cat leapt into the scene, light and speedy on her paws. With a screech of fury, she dragged the attacker off of her and cuffed him harshly around the ears. "Stay away from her you piece of fox-dung!" The strange she-cat snarled.

"We have to get out of here, quickly." The calico informed her, voice urgent and panicked. She scooped Dreamkit up and ran on dainty paws.

She was consumed by a terrible fog, but she sensed warmth and shelter up ahead. The calico slowed down to a small trot as the fog disintegrated. Dreamkit gasped when she saw the vibrant land.

"Holy StarClan! Where am I?" She gasped. "Your in StarClan." The calico feline purred with a chuckle. A sudden jolt of fear made her eyes stretch wide. "You mean- I'm-" "No, don't worry little one. But I do have a message for you."

"But first off, I am Fallenbreeze." The StarClan cat dipped her head. "And the message I bring you is not good." Fallenbreeze's eyes darkened.

Any motherly features dissappeared from her pretty face, which was now dark with diluted pupils that stared into nothing, fixed on something only she could see.

"One strides high, and one falls like the sun. Blood must meet blood in battle, before the storm destroys all." Her voice was a soft hiss, as if some other cat were speaking. A cold breeze stirred, and her heart began to beat faster.

"What do you mean?" She wailed, as the wind picked up, faster, stronger and harder by each passing heartbeat. She felt her paws leave the ground. The whole world seemed to break apart before her. The last thing she saw was a  flash of red, and a pair of sharp, amber eyes staring at her.

With a gasp, Dreamkit woke up. She let out a little mew of fear. She felt something stir against her small flank, and she looked down. There was her sister, Shadekit.

Her sister was the smallest out of them, completely black with amber eyes. On the other side lay her brother, Darkkit, the same as her. He was an almost-black tom with dark-grey freckles on his face, and flecks of dark grey all over his back. He had dark green eyes.

She pressed against her mother, Shadowedflame's, belly. She was curled up asleep around all three of them.

The den around them was vast but cozy. A thick-layered bush interwoven with twigs and brambles to keep any dangers and cold winds out. Careful not to disturb her siblings, she moved carefully away and out of the den.

The early dawn carried a chill that easily penetrated her kit-fluff. She looked around.

The ShadowClan camp was a vast clearing in a hollow, surrounded by thick bushes and pine trees, with an oak at the far end from the entrance. Just next to it was a smooth, tall rock that Redstar, who was the leader, would normally make his speech on.

Not too far from that was the elders' den at one side, a large bush, interwoven with the twigs of the fallen tree just behind it on the inside. Just on the opposite side was the nursery, where she was now. Beside the nursery was the apprentices' den, a cave underground where their nests lay.

Then just by the entrance was the warriors' den. A slightly wider opening to allow the warriors to come spilling out if there was an attack in the night.

The strong odor of other cats caught her attention. The dawn patrol had just returned. It consisted of Quietwhisper, Yarrow, Bluemist, Runningsky, Driftwood and Bumblefoot.

She spotted Redstar coming out of his den to meet them, and so did Hawkstrike.

"Your up early." She could feel the breath on her ear from the cat who had just spoken. With a start she leapt to her paws and turned around. It was Stormwhisker. "So are you." She argued. "I'm a warrior." Her father chuckled.

His dark grey pelt was sleek and thick, with strong muscles that rippled underneath. She glanced at her own tufty fur, all over the place and thin with the fluff of kithood. She stomped her small paw and snorted.

As Stormwhisker padded away, she resumed to the memories of her dream. She was so deep in thought she had not noticed Shadekit trotting up behind her.

"Boo!" Her sister tumbled her to the ground. With a squeak of surprise, she batted her away. "You made me jump!" She mewed indignantly. And loudly.  "Shhh!" Petalfur stuck her pointed face out, eyes sparked with annoyance.

"Yeah Dreamkit, shut up!" Darkkit followed, sneering. "Darkkit, that is rude." Shadowedflame scolded. "And Dreamkit, do try to be a little quieter. Shadekit, don't scare your sister either!"

"Warriors are supposed to be scary!" Shadekit stuck her nose up in the air. "Not to their own Clanmates." Dreamkit muttered jokingly under her breath.

 All around, her Clanmates were beginning to stir. She could imagine herself, long-limbed and strong, with a longer, sharper muzzle to replace her blunt kit nose, and piercing eyes that could frighten any intruders back across the border, with a patrol behind her.

"Hey, Daydreamkit." Shadekit poked her. Dreamkit jumped slightly. "We're going to the elders." Darkkit mewed with an excited flick of his tail. "But I thought you said they were boring and-" "Just shut up already!"

With an excited feeling rushed through her. She trotted alongside her dark-pelted sister, with her brother in the lead. Just behind the elders' den, there was a gap in the bushes that surrounded the camp.

Darkkit scrambled up the slope and held a branch back with his paw. "Our secret way out." He announced.

Dreamkit hauled herself up, digging her small claws into the earth. She squeaked as a thorn stabbed her in the nose, but kept going. She could hear Shadekit just in front of her. She wanted to reach the forest first!

Struggling through the bushes, she desperately tried to overtake her sister. But before she knew it, they had all burst out into fresh forest air. "Finally! You couldn't have gone any slow-" She broke off with a gasp.

The forest stretched tall around her. She could hear the rustle of prey, and see beautiful birds flying from tree to tree. Sunlight penetrated the canopy overhead, allowing sunbeams to shine onto the forest floor. The grass felt softer under-paw then it had in camp, and sometimes came up to just past her belly fur.

 "What are we waiting for?" Darkkit demanded impatiently. "Let's go!" Dreamkit yowled. She could be as loud as she wanted!

They charged into the forest, tiny paws pattering over leaves. The grass quickly thinned out into pine needles.

It wasn't long until Dreamkit's paws began to ache though. "I wanna go home." Shadekit whined. "We'll be the first ever kits to cross the border though!" Darkkit insisted. Dreamkit fell in beside Shadekit, head down, paws stinging.

A desolate feeling came over her and she just wanted to be in the warm den of the nursery, with the comforting presence of Shadowedflame. While she was wrapped up in her desperateness, Darkkit had stiffened.

"What is it now?" She hissed. On their journey Darkkit had already pranked them enough. And their Clanmates must be looking for them by now!

"You shouldn't be out, at such a young age." A smooth, silky but unfamiliar meow made her jump. With a sudden rush of anxiety, she spun around.

This cat's fur was thick and short. A jet-black with small, dark-red dapples splotching his body. But what spooked Dreamkit most of all was his sharp, amber eyes. So familiar. They seemed to burn into her body until she met his gaze.

His muzzle was long and sharp, with pointed ears and long whiskers. He was tall and had a long tail. Muscles rippled underneath his pelt.

"Your not from our Clan..." Shadekit mewed slowly. "Who are you?" Darkkit demanded at the same time.

"I'm Red. And yes, I am not from your Clan." The loner seemed to be amused. Dreamkit shook herself out of her daze. "Mother said it's rude not to introduce ourselves." She stuck her nose up in the air. "I'm Dreamkit. This is Shadekit. And this is our annoying brother, Darkkit."

"Annoying yourself!" He retorted. "Hey! You!" A hostile screech made everyone jump. Runningsky was leading a patrol of Wavepaw, Bouncefoot, Whitebreeze and Stormwhisker. Stormwhisker shoved them all back while Runningsky stood at the front, spitting at Red.

Red took a step back and bowed his head in submission. "I understand that I am tresspassing. I am deeply sorry but I could not help noticing your young ones wandering the forest." He sounded humble and submissive.

This only infuriated Runningsky. "This is an act!" She yowled. "Listen Blood. We are not falling for your tricks. Why don't you go back to Shadow, and stay in that wretched camp of Clanless termites!"

"I don't want to terrorize the Clans!" Red's fur began to bristle. "And I prefer the name Red!"

Runningsky lashed out at Red, slicing his shoulder. With a screech of pain Red launched himself forwards. He snaked underneath her at the last second and thumped his spine against Runningsky's belly, winding her.

Quick as the wind, he threw her onto her side and pinned her, jaws at her throat. "Who's Shadow?" Dreamkit whispered. "And why do they keep calling him Blood?" Shadekit whispered back.

"I want to know how he does that so quickly!" Bravekit pushed inbetween them. "Training. Lots and lots of training." Red growled from where he had pinned down Runningsky.

Red climbed off of Runningsky. "Keep the kits. I don't want them. I don't need them. I need nothing from you or your Clan. If you really want to believe I'm a bloodthirsty murderer, then believe what you want." Red- or Blood, as the other Cats called him- spat.

And with that, he spun around and fled. "Are you alright?" Bouncefoot asked Runningsky. "Yeah." The ferocious she-cat growled, obviously bitter at how easily she had been beaten.

* * *

"How DARE you escape like that! How DARE you put your Clanmates in danger, just because of your stupid, STUPID actions!" Redstar snarled at them. They were in his den, a little cave. His bedding lay piled up at one end, and a bowl-shaped piece of bark filled with water lay just next to it, with a piece of prey on the side.

"You must be punished." The ShadowClan leader growled, pacing his den. "Yes. The perfect punishment." He stopped, and with blazing eyes, glared at them.

"You must wait an extra moon before you become an apprentice."