Darkening Moon

this is the first book of Warriors shadow of the storm series. you can read the full book here

Darkening moon
Enjoy people


 * WARRIORS


 * SHADOW OF THE STORM


 * Darkening Moon


 * Darkmoon25

ALLIEGIANCES

Darkclan

LEADER

DARKMOON: massive black tom with white paws, Extremely long saber-like claws, and amber eyes

TRAINEE, MINTLEAF

DEPUTY

SABERSTAR: large brown tabby tom with huge front teeth WARRIORS

SCARNOSE: thin brown tom

SPIDERFANG: small black she-cat

ROCKFIRE: grey tom with fiery amber eyes

TRAINEE, HAWKTALON THORNLEGS: grey tabby tom with a ragged leg

TRAINEE, MILKPELT

WHITELEAF: beautiful Siamese she-cat with a bright white coat and black points

RAINDROP: silver tabby she-cat

LEAFBRANCH: grey she-cat. Mother of Darkmoon and his siblings

TRAINEES

HAWKTALON: brown tabby tom

MILKPELT: milky white she-cat

MINTLEAF: brown she-cat with minty green eyes

MOTHERS

MOUSEBERRY: brown she-cat with a big bushy tail mother of Scarnose’s kits: Diamondstone (white she-cat) Longshadow (black tabby tom) and Voletail (brown tom) ELDERS

ONE-EAR: black tom with one ear. Father of Darkmoon and his siblings

LITTLEROOT: small brown tom

HEALER

MOONSTONE: slender grey she-cat

Lightclan

LEADER

LIGHTMOON: white she-cat with bright amber eyes

DEPUTY

WINDSTAR: black and white she-cat

WARRIORS SWIFTLEGS: grey tabby tom with long legs

TRAINEE, SOFTPELT

TALLFUR: brown tom with a long tail

GOLDSTONE: light brown tabby she-cat TRAINEE, SMALLFOOT

TAWNYCLAW: tortoiseshell she-cat

SLASHCLAW: large grey tom with very sharp claws

OWLFEATHER: brown she-cat

TRAINEES

SOFTPELT: big tabby she-cat

SMALLFOOT: small tortoiseshell she-cat with red eyes

ELDERS

PACHTAIL: long haired tabby tom with no tail

HEALER

STARLIGHT: grey she-cat with gold eyes

Waterclan

LEADER

RIVERMOON: silver tom with blue eyes

DEPUTY

SUNSTAR: golden tabby she-cat WARRIORS

SMALLNOSE: small brown tom

YELLOWPOPPY: big grey she-cat

MOUNTAINCLAW: tortoiseshell she-cat

DUSTCLAW: grey tabby she-cat

LONGCLAW: large tom with one long claw

MOTHERS

FROSTAIL: silver white she-cat, mother of Rivermoon’s kit: Treebranch (brown tom)

'ELDERS

GRASSTAIL: small grey tom

HEALER'

WATERFLOW: grey tabby she-cat

Mudclan

LEADER

MUDMOON: brown tom

TRAINEE: SHARPCAT

DEPUTY

SWAMPSTAR: brown tom

WARRIORS

MUDWATER: grey tom

TRAINEE: MUDMIST

MUDCLAW: brown she-cat

TRAINEE: DIRTPAW DIRTFACE: calico she-cat

DIRTNOSE: grey tom

DIRTCLAW: grey she-cat

CROCDILE: evil looking brown tom

CLAWDEATH: grey tom

TOOTHKILLER: skinny ginger tom

BRITTLEFUR: spotted she-cat

MARSHWATER: black tom

TOADFANG: grey she-cat

ASHDUST: black and grey tabby tom

ALLIGATORTOOTH: spotted tom with huge jaws

TRAINEES

MUDMIST: brown tom

SHARPCAT: brown tabby tom

DIRTPAW: grey she-cat

MOTHERS

MOSSGRASS: grey she-cat. Mother of Crocodile’s kit: Bloodriver (blackish red she-cat)

Chapter 1

Dark felt a shiver run down his spine as he jumped onto the dog. The black tomcat could feel its bones. His brother Saber and sister Moon were beside him hissing and screeching as they attacked the dog with their claws. The dog had attacked their father as he was bringing some prey back into their den. Suddenly the dog howled in pain and ran, and Dark chased him. He had been born a full black cat with white paws, while his brother was a brown tabby, and his sister was grey. All three of them were only 6 moon cycles old. Finally the dog ran out of sight. Dark raced back to the den the wind blowing through his fur. He arrived just in time to see his father get up. He had lost an ear and had dog bites all over him. Dark felt that shiver again as his father fell into his nest. To escape that feeling he left the den. While he was out of the den he heard a crackle, then out of the shadows stepped a white Siamese cat. Dark was stunned; in all his life he had never seen another cat besides his family. Then he noticed a collar on her neck. She was a kittycat. Then Dark noticed her trying to rip the collar off. Dark then began to stalk her. She hissed and launched herself at him. Dark unsheathed his claws and as she came down at him he moved and slammed his paw on her head. She hit the ground and whipped around at him, she slashed his legs out from under him and cut the side of his chest, following that Dark sank his teeth into her shoulder and tripped her. Weakened she fell to the ground. “What are you doing on my territory kittycat?” He hissed angrily. The she-cat howled in pain and hissed at him. “Running away,” The kittycat retorted. Dark hissed and growled at her. “Run back to your no-claws,” He told her angrily. She purred with amusement. “If liked my no-claws why am I running away?” She asked. Then she whipped around and slashed Dark’s face. Dark howled and hit her with a paw. She flew a good length and hit the ground hard, she groaned. “How did you do that?” Then Dark chuckled. “With this,” He hit her again with his paw, and then he disappeared into the shadows. When she got up she spoke to him “Believe me I am running away from those no-claws! I am making a den around here so I’ll see you around... maybe.” Then she left. Bruised and battered Dark climbed into the den and sunk into the soft rotten material that his father had found when he and his siblings were born.

In his dreams he saw cats, lots of cats walking together as though they were looking for something. Then the cats came over a ridge that looked as high as the stars. The sun was beside them slowly sinking into a huge body of water. On the other side of the cats there was a huge expanse of land that offered perfect opportunity as a home for all the cats. A loud howl as loud as thunder woke Dark from his peaceful dreams then he felt his brother nudge him and yowl in fear and pain as though his tail was on fire. “Get out now!” He roared. Dark immediately bolted out of his bed and dragged his father out of bed and helped him up everyone was already out of the den. Then Dark heard an earsplitting crack that sounded as thought the ground and no-claw camp behind their den was splitting and collapsing. Dark yowled for help as a huge piece of flaming debris fell on the den. The roof of the den began to sag and buckle under the weight of the flaming debris. Desperately Dark began to claw at the tons of flaming debris blocking the way out of the den, but Dark instantly recoiled the debris was flaming hot. Then Dark heard a yowl of pain that sounded like a cat had just rammed into the debris. The debris fell away to reveal the she-cat that Dark had seen the day before. Her pelt was smoking. Then she yowled at Dark. “Get out of here you no-claw brain! Or I’ll rip you to pieces if you survive!” Dark grabbed his father by the scruff and dragged him out through the debris. Dark helped his father to his feet and raced away with the she-cat hard on their paws. As they reached the rest of the family Dark’s mother covered him and his father with rough licks. “What took you so long? I was so worried about you two,” then Dark’s mother noticed the she-cat. Then she snarled. “Who’s this?” Dark’s mother meowed. “My name is White,” The she-cat introduced herself. Then Moon sniffed the air and meowed with a tone of worry in her voice. “Kits,” The minute Dark heard the word he was off. Using his powerful sense of smell he located the kits in an instant. Then another smell disturbed him it was the scent of raccoon. Dark ran even faster. He ran so fast he felt as though the wind could not even match his speed. As he reached the kits he saw the raccoon lift its deadly paw and swipe is paw at one of the kits. Dark immediately launched into battle. His enemy had the advantage of size, yet Dark had the advantage of speed. He whipped around his enemy and slashed its muzzle with his claws. The raccoon backed away with blood dripping from its muzzle. The raccoon backed farther away from Dark and let out a whimper of fear. Then it backed into the shadows and disappeared. Dark picked up the kits by the scruff and carried them over to the other cats.

As soon as Dark returned his sister began to lick the kits and began to wipe a chewed up herb on the kit’s scratches. For the first time Dark got a good look at the kits. One was white with bright amber eyes, another was silver with blue eyes, and the last was orange. For the first time since Dark found them the kit with the orange fur spoke. “Thank… Thank you,” He whimpered as like someone who had just met their greatest fear, and their fear had defeated them. “Where is your mother?” Dark meowed to the kits gently. Then the smallest kit, the one with the white fur motioned her head toward the killer-path. Dark picked up a scent in the air. It was the scent of blood mixed with the smell of killers. Dark realized what it meant. “Your mother is dead?” he asked. The silver kit nodded slowly and mournfully. Dark’s father spoke for the first time in what seemed like years “What are your names?” he meowed. Each of the kits looked at each other and shrugged. “Then now you shall have names,” Dark meowed. First he looked at the white kit. “You shall be known as Light,” He meowed to the first kit. For the first time the white kit spoke. “Thank you” she meowed in a clear voice.He looked at the second kit, with the kit’s river blue eyes there could only be one name for it. “From now on you shall be known as River” he meowed loudly. There was a gleam of happiness in the kits eyes. “Thank you” River purred. His eyes full of happiness. Then finally Dark looked at the third, the kit looked back at him, there was a hunger for power in his eyes. “You shall be known as Blaze,” The kit did not respond just smiled evilly. Dark worried that there might be something bad lurking in this kit.

Chapter 2

After the naming Dark wandered off from the group, worry was clawing at him like a raccoon ripping him open. He thought he heard a quiet mewl in the distance but ignored it. Then more clearly he heard the same mewl again. It was louder and clearer then before, it was so loud and so pitiful that it filled Dark with more pity then he would ever have in his life. He raced toward the sound as he ran he wondered what was making the noise. As he reached the source of the noise he realized there was a killer-path between him and the source of the mew. Dark was awed and horrified at the same time. Killers raced back and forth across the path, even the smallest stone under their feet was crushed and destroyed. The roar of the killers and their horrible scent was almost more then Dark could bear. Then Dark realized he would have to cross this horrible strip of stone. Dark braced himself. He braced himself so much that he thought that no killer would be able to harm him. As soon as the stream of killers slowed down Dark bolted across the path. Then he heard a loud honk of a killer, there was one coming right at Dark. At the last second it swerved crazily to avoid hitting Dark. It wheeled over in front of Dark, and Dark executed a huge pounce and landed right on the muzzle of the killer. There was a no-claw in the killer, which shouted in surprise looking through the back of the killer. The killer swerved around even more wildly, it smashed into another small killer, and the smaller killer was crushed under the bigger killer’s fat black feet. Dark sunk his claws best he could into the killer’s muzzle. The killer smashed into the path on the other side of the killer-path and tipped onto its side throwing Dark off the muzzle. Dark smashed onto the path and lay still. Dark awoke a little after his fall. He shook his head to clear it up. His muscles were aching, and he had a few scratches, otherwise he was ok. Dark looked up and saw a Ragged looking brown she-cat. The she-cat looked at Dark. Dark noticed the look of horror that crossed her face. “Were you calling for help?” Dark meowed questioningly. “Yes,” The she-cat whimpered in a frightened voice. “What is your name?” Dark asked her gently. “My name is Mouse.” Then Dark heard a squeal from under her bushy tail. Two wails followed after. Dark gave a good sniff and realized something. “You have kits. Don’t you?” He asked her, even though he already knew the answer. “Yes,” the she-cat meowed with worry in her tone. “I met my mate a few moon cycles ago. Last cycle he was bringing me prey and a bunch of pelt-heads captured him and moved him into that pelt-head den over there.” She told him and pointed with her muzzle to the large den beside them.

Dark thought for a moment then an idea formed in his head. He knew from stories his mother told him that the no-claws kept captured cats in a cube of hard shiny mesh. The no-claws put a feathery kind of material on the cube to keep it from opening. Dark’s mother had said that a cat could bite through that, but the no-claws covered the stuff with something only a dog could bite through. He looked at Mouse and realized that by her look she would do anything to get her mate back. “Come. I will take you to my family,” Dark told her. Dark picked up two of her kits by their scruffs and carried them across the killer-path. He did this crossing less chaotic then before. There were absolutely no killers this time, except a few sleeping ones, and some no-claws that were inspecting the dead killers. Dark carried the kits over to his family. The kits he had already brought were wrestling and playing with each other. As soon as the saw the new kits they squealed with joy, and raced over to the new arrivals. Dark batted them away with his paw. “You can play with these kits when they are older. They are too small and too young right now.” He meowed sternly to them. The kits halted and looked at Dark they looked at each other and nodded. Then they raced back near Moon and continued wrestling. Dark placed the kits down and woke White and Saber. “This cat here needs help. Her mate is trapped by no-claws in the camp across from here. I need your help to free him.” He meowed hoping they would help. Saber looked at him and nodded. White did the same. They both got up and followed Dark while he explained the plan. As they got to the killer-path White and Dark raced across the path in a swift run. Saber crossed to but walked slowly. “You should see this place when there are killers on it,” White meowed when he reached the other side. Then White pounced at Saber. This was the first part of the plan, both of then began to screech loudly. Dark hid in the shadows and watched as the entrance to the den opened and no-claws began to come out and try to catch them. Dark bolted in and raced toward on section that had a strong scent of dog coming from it. As soon as Dark bolted into the room a guard dog chased him out. Dark ran into the section that had strong cat scent in it. “When a dog comes in mock it,” Dark ordered the cats. At the same time Dark jumped on top of a pile of mesh. The dog raced in and noticed the cats mocking it. It jumped at the different cages and began to bite open each one, Freeing the cats. The cats stampeded out of the den and raced across the killer-path with Dark close behind. Dark reached the lead and led the cats toward the fallen no-claw den, which was the cat’s new home. Dark’s mother, sister, and father had already heard what was going to happen. They did not protest or wonder what happened. Cats began settling around the rubble and began to talk to each other. Mouse had settled herself next to a brown tom.

Dark suspected that was her mate. Dark snuggled down into an empty patch of ground and began to fall asleep. In his dreams he saw the huge expanse of water again, but this time something was different. He saw the territory next to the water consumed by a blaze. Then darkness fell over the whole blaze, as the darkness cleared the blaze had extinguished. Now a fury of howling and barking started and as it grew so loud that Dark thought he would go deaf. Then a crack of lightning shot thorough the territory destroying the howling. Finally waves of mud began to swamp the territory, but a furious storm started, water began to dissolve the mud, light came from the clouds and began to disintegrate the mud. Darkness came from it all, joined with a massive bolt of lightning it destroyed most of the mud. The last wave that remained was clawed apart by a lion with thorns covering it. Dark looked at the whole scene with wonder. Suddenly the scene blurred and Dark awoke to see all the cats he had brought from the den sleeping happily away. Now Dark realized that his dreams had a connection. Dark knew that now he would have to take these cats to those territories.

Chapter 3

Dark stood up and gathered his breath he knew he would need it. “I have something you all need to hear,” Dark meowed loudly to the huge amount of cats. All the cats looked at Dark as he explained what he wanted to do. When Dark finished all the cats one by one agreed to journey for a new home. As cats began to get ready for the journey Dark realized something. “We need food. I will take 5 cats along with myself, and we will hunt some prey for everybody,” Dark shouted to the cats. Five cats moved away from their friends and began to walk toward Dark. The first cat introduced himself as Rock, the second was named Scare, the third was a she-cat named Twist, the forth was named she-cat Spider, and the fifth was a tom kit named Thorn. “Aren’t you a little small to hunt?” Rock mewed gently to the kit. Thorn turned around and looked at Rock rage burning in the kit’s little eyes. The kit pounced forward and sank his teeth into Rock’s shoulder. Rock pushed the little kit off and growled. “If you want to hunt you can come. Just keep your teeth and claws to yourself,” He growled at the kit. Dark and Rock left the group as it split up to hunt. “What do you think we will catch?” Rock mewed to Dark. “I don’t know. Maybe we’ll catch a couple of rats, and a few pigeons,” Dark replied. “Yes, but will it be enough for all those cats?” Rock asked Dark quietly. Dark noticed that Rock was a very fast runner and Dark had to run to keep up with him.“It depends on how much we catch for everybody,” Dark answered. Suddenly Dark detected the strong scent of a flock of pigeons. Motioning to Rock with his tail to be quiet Dark dropped into a hunting crouch, and began to swiftly stalk toward the pigeon flock. When Dark was 5 cat lengths from the flock he stood up and raced toward the flock. The flock scattered in panic and began to take flight. Dark pounced into the air and tackled two pigeons at once. He squashed them and broke both of their necks. At the same time Rock jumped from the bushes and sank his claws into a pigeon’s neck and killed it with a swift slash of his claws. The two of them picked up the dead birds and walked into the bushes to hide their prey. Emerging from the bushes they noticed two ducks in a pond and quickly raced toward the pond and pounced toward the pair of ducks. As they landed the ducks dived deep under the water to avoid the cats. Dark hit the water and plunged down into the depths. Dark spotted the birds and sunk his claws into one of the duck’s throat. He sank his claws deeper and deeper. Suddenly he felt a painful jolt in his paw, and his claws shot out even further then they could. At first Dark thought his claws had come off his paw but he looked down at the duck and he felt his claws still flexing in the duck’s neck. He pulled the duck to the surface and onto land and pulled his claws out and looked at them. They were long, wide, sharp, and thick. They were like Saber’s teeth only thinner. Dark walked over to rock and shook water out of his fur. “Look at my claws!” Dark meowed to him. Rock looked at Dark’s unsheathed claws and measured them to his own. “They’re twice as long as mine! And twice sharper then mine as well,” He meowed to him. They both took their ducks, and picked up the pigeons on the way back. When they returned they dropped the pigeons in the center of the clearing and took the ducks for themselves. Rock moved over and sat beside Spider, and the both of them began to share the duck. White came up to Dark and purred. Dark who since he met her had become a close friend to her purred back and they ate the duck together in silence. When everyone had finished eating they stood up and waited for the signal to leave. Dark moved forward toward the front of the group of cats. Dark looked opposite the sunset. Then he looked just diagonal to that in the far distance above the smell of no-claws and wildlife Dark smelled water. “That is the way we will go,” Dark told the group. The group moved slowly at first. Dark thought they would never speed up. They traveled for a long time until the moon had risen high up into the air and was well above the cat’s heads. They had to look up to see the moon. Dark looked up and saw the moon was beginning to set. “We will stop here for the night,” Dark told the tired group. A huge sigh came from the whole group who plopped down hard on the ground and each began to fall into a deep sleep. Saber stayed up though. Dark asked him if he could stay up as watch and Saber agreed. Dark settled down into a spot between his mother and his friend White. He thought about the home he had seen. Dark woke up quite early the next morning and began to groom himself. Dark washed the dirt out from his fur, cleaning his paws, and picking fleas and ticks out of his fur. When Dark was finished doing that he went hunting. As Dark walked the scent of water grew. Dark scented a mouse next to him and pushed himself low to the ground. The mouse was in a pile of leaves looking for seeds, it never saw Dark as he stalked up behind it and killed it with a swift claw blow. Dark picked his prey up and dragged it into a clear place. Dark sat down and took a bite of the mouse. This was Dark’s first time eating a mouse, and its flavor seeped into his belly and tongue. It tasted so delicious that Dark wished he would never lose that taste in his mouth. It was like a rat, only softer and had none of that rotting taste that a rat’s flesh had. Dark devoured that mouse in hungry gulps and started farther away from the camp. After a small while he reached a massive body of water. Yet this water looked nothing like the one in his dream. The water of this lake was dirty and brown. Unlike the other one that had a blue color and clean water. Dark ran back to the camp and told them of his find. “This lake is huge. Yet I have decided that we shall move around this body of water until we can find a home.

After all the cats ate they began to walk toward the massive body of water. As they reached it they began to turn toward the sunrise but a little diagonal to that. At the end of the day they had traveled a good distance from the spot where they had started. The cats were extremely tired from their journey but no one complained. Dark had made it so they couldn’t. All he had to do was make them walk all day so they were too tired to talk. As Dark sat down for bed a storm blew in and began to pour rain. The freezing rain poured down. It soaked through everyone’s pelt, and drenched them completely. The cats ran for cover. Staying together as a group they moved for an overhang in a cliff. The rain poured hard, overflowing the lake and flooding the shore. The water did not reach the overhang because it was too high from the lake. The rain was also kept out, but wind came in like a claw. Cutting through every cat’s pelt and chilling them to the bone. The storm grew in power and prevented the cats from going to sleep. The night was long and cold. No cat slept at all. When the storm calmed and the morning came Dark did not get up, nor did any of the other cats. They all fell asleep as soon as the storm ended. Dark did not fall asleep though. Neither did River and Light. They stayed up like their adopted father and began to try and hunt. River waited at the waters edge until a fish came toward the surface. River pounced into the water, and returned with the fish in his jaws. River’s eyes gleamed with happiness. “Well done. Mind if I share it?” Dark meowed to him. River nodded Dark bent over and took a big bite of the fish. The fish had a watery taste to it. But the meat also was very rich in flavor. Still Dark preferred the taste of mice or bird to the taste of fish. River devoured the whole fish quickly and started hunting for more. Meanwhile Light was chasing a rabbit, which she quickly caught and began to eat. Dark scented a mouse nearby. He crouched down and began to slide his paws across the ground. Making sure that his belly fur brushed the ground he stalked the mouse’s smell toward a clearing. When Dark reached the edge of the clearing he pounced. His paws pinned the mouse, and his claws killed it. As Dark took a bite of the mouse he wondered if they would ever find the territories he had seen.

Chapter 4

The next day was fresh and bright. The group started off in the same direction. The lake looked like it would never end, yet still the cats continued. Never stopping to eat or drink. They only slept for a little while in the night. Anyone who tried to sleep during the middle of the journey was left behind. They only ate or drank in the morning or right before sleep. Dark had no trouble with this. He was used to staying up through the whole night: because he usually had when he was a kit. For many cycles it was like this, until the cats reached a rushing river. The river flowed into the lake where they came from. If they wanted to leave they had to go opposite this river. “We will now follow this river back towards its source,” Dark told the group of cats. They turned as they reached the river and began following the river away from the place it was going to. Turning when the river turned, and running when the river ran faster. They traveled like this for the rest of the day and at night they saw something in the distance: It was a massive waterfall. A cat standing next to it would be smaller then a mouse compared to the largest fall. The falls came from the river and fell over a cliff, which emptied into a huge basin of water, the basin then flowed into a second river that moved away towards the lake that they had come from. Dark noted that they could not climb up the cliffs on the sides of the river because those cliffs were straight down. Yet in the distance there was a huge tree that the cats could use to get up the cliff. “We will move along the river until we reach that tree. From there we will head on using the no-claw paths,” Dark meowed. “But that is up the cliffs. No cat can climb up these cliffs,” One cat protested. “No worries. I have a plan,” Dark meowed. “We will walk down the edge of the cliffs until we reach that narrow forest by the cliff. From there we will jump onto the trees and climb up until we reach the no-claw path,” Dark explained. The cats nodded and began to walk down the edges of the cliff. By the time the sun was beginning to set they had reached the forest. “Watch and learn,” Dark meowed. He jumped into the air. He landed on the lowest branch of the tallest tree. Dark climbed from branch to branch until he reached the highest branch. He jumped to the ground and called down toward the others. “It’s safe to come up.” He mewed. One by one the cats jumped down and reached the ground. As the last cat jumped down Dark started off following the river. They traveled along the river until they came to the point that was right beside the falls. It was separated by a large stone fence. One cat climbed up to the top bar of the fence. Suddenly she lost her balance and fell into the river. “No!” one cat screamed as her daughter fell over the falls.

Dark turned away and walked away from the falls. The cats followed. They traveled for days until they reached a huge lake. It was larger then the first lake. Dark could see a ridge in the distance. It looked like the ridge in his dream. The cats looked out at the lake, gasping in awe. “Dark are we going to live here?” River asked him. River and his siblings were full grown cats now, and were very leader like. Ready to take charge and defend someone they trusted. Blaze was different though. He was hungry for power. He always wanted to take charge and lead everybody. Every time Dark had rested on the journey Blaze had taken command. He treated every cat with cruelty though. He would not hesitate to leave cats behind. Yet Dark saw a great leader in him. “We will move that way,” Dark motioned with his tail toward the ridge. “If we cannot find a home there we will look for a place to rest,” He explained. Dark led the way as the cats moved over the ridge. When Dark reached the top he saw what he had seen in his dream. The territories stretched out in front of the cats. Dark knew that this was the home for all of the cats. Dark knew now that the territories could not hold all the cats in one place. Any place he saw fit for the cats to camp was too small for all these cats. “We now need to divide into three groups,” Dark told the cats. Then Dark explained what he had thought over in his head. “I now need three leaders for the three groups. I will not lead one myself,” Dark meowed. “We will call these groups clans,” “River will lead one clan. Light will lead a second. And Blaze will lead the last one,” Dark mewed. “Last of all we need new names for everybody. Cats must rename themselves, but it must be a name like Leafbranch, or Rabbitear. Now finally every leader needs a deputy. Who takes the word star on the end of their name,” Dark meowed. “This is to make the deputy stand out from the rest of the cats,” He meowed. “Leaders should stand out too,” Light told him. Dark thought this over before replying. “Leaders will have moon at the end of their name,” Dark replied. The cats nodded then began to separate into groups. Lightmoon took the cats that were the fastest. Rivermoon took the cats that could swim and used water to hunt. Blazemoon took the cats that could hunt at night. This included Saber (who changed his name to Sabertooth), White (now Whiteleaf) Moon (now Moonstone) and the newly named Darknight. Darknight’s parents were there also, along with other cats that Darknight got to know. The group moved down the ridge crossing through a swamp to get to the forest in the distance. On the way they were attacked by a brown cat. Blazemoon told him about the new clans moving here. The brown cat listened and decided to make his cats into a clan named Mudclan.

At the same time Blazemoon named his clan Darkclan, after his adopted father. They continued on after this and reached the forest with no problems. They walked into the center of it and discovered a clearing inside a border of rocks and hills. The entrance to this new home was a hollow log. Inside there was a thicket where the Fighters and the cats that were being trained could sleep. Mothers could sleep in a comfortable den in the cave in the rock border. Elders had a hollow tree stump. There were even two hollow spaces under two trees at the end of the clearing that their healer Moonstone slept in and used to heal sick cats. On the other hill there was a cave that the leader slept in. Darknight knew they had found their new home.

Chapter 5

Darknight stalked slowly through the dead undergrowth. A fat rabbit was in front of him He slowly moved toward it. The rabbit was scuffling in the leaves that had fallen onto the ground. It was looking for grasses and weeds that still lived under the dead leaves. It never noticed Darknight until he pounced. By then it was too late. Darknight’s claws tore through the rabbit’s throat killing it quickly. “Nice catch Darknight. “The clan will eat well tonight,” Rockfire (formerly Rock) congratulated. “Thanks Rockfire,” Darknight Meowed. Darknight night heard a small squeak behind him. He whipped around as fast as lightning and caught the mouse on the head with his massive paw. The mouse squeaked an alarm but the squeak was cut short when Darknight broke its neck with his paw. Darknight purred with amusement. When Dark returned to the camp the sun was setting. A hole had been dug in the ground by the trainees to store food in. Darknight and Rockfire dropped their prey into the hole and took some prey for themselves. Darknight took 2 mice, a vole, two robins, and a rabbit. As Darknight ate he noticed Blazemoon climbing up to the ledge above his den. He usually did this when he wanted to announce something to the clan. He didn’t disappoint Darknight. “I have been on a spying mission by myself to the other clans,” He told the cats in the camp. Darknight was surprised. He did not remember him leaving the camp at all since they arrived. “I have seen their prey stores. Their prey piles are twice as large as ours. Every cat can take as much prey that they want, and there is as much left as the pile we have everyday,” He told the cats. “It is not fair that they get so much prey while we suffer,” He yowled. “We should be the ones who can gorge ourselves on prey! We should have what they have!” Blazemoon yowled so loud that the clearing was filled with his voice. “So I have decided that we will get rid of the other clans,” He meowed lowering his voice. The clan did not protest. Darknight kept quiet also. The thought going in his mind were very troubling. Darknight knew that this was the wrong thing to do. “I don’t think we should do this,” Sabertooth mewed quietly to Darknight. “Neither does me,” Darknight answered. After the meeting Sabertooth and Darknight padded into their den. Both Blazemoon and his mate and deputy Twistedstar needed to be killed. Sabertooth had told everybody else in the clan about this. They agreed with this and would not help the cats though. Sabertooth slunk out of his den When he heard Twistedstar return from bat hunting. He pounced on her when she came into the camp.

The two cats rolled around the clearing hissing and ripping at each other. Blazemoon heard the fight and came out. “Who has organized this rebellion against me?” He roared.“I have,” Darknight answered. As soon as Blazemoon heard this he pounced toward Darknight. He landed in front of Darknight. The two cats circled around each other snarling angrily. Darknight pounced at his leader. They crashed into each other. Darknight dodged a claw blow and charged under Blazemoon’s belly. Blazemoon was thrown off balance and fell to the ground. Darknight did not miss the chance. He raked his claws along Blazemoon’s belly. Blazemoon got to his feet and jumped right back at Darknight the two cats rolled over one another. Ripping and slashing at each other. Darknight ran into the forest Blazemoon followed. Darknight hid himself in a bush. When Blazemoon moved in front of the bush sniffing Darknight pounced out of the bushes, his claws tore a ragged cut in Blazemoon’s side. Blazemoon whipped around, and slashed Darknight in the chest and bit his shoulder. Darknight fell to the ground. He was back up in an instant, but Blazemoon was ready for him. Blazemoon struck out with his claws. One claw slashed Darknight’s ear. The other ripped a gash on his muzzle. Darknight jumped forward and ripped a long gash in Blazemoon’s neck and side. Blazemoon slashed Darknight on the leg and as Darknight fell he jumped into a dead tree. Just as he was about to jump down for the death blow a huge bolt of lightning stuck the tree. Blazemoon’s scream of pain echoed throughout the forest. It was full of pain and anguish. The tree burst into flames and turned to ashes. Darknight saw nothing as the tree’s remains fell onto the ground. Darknight knew now that Blazemoon was dead. Darknight stumbled back into camp. Sabertooth and Twistedstar were still fighting. Sabertooth lunged at Twistedstar’s neck. She yowled in pain as Sabertooth’s massive teeth sunk deep into her neck. There was a loud snap as Sabertooth’s fangs broke her neck. Sabertooth released her neck. The limp body of Twistedstar fell to the ground. Moonstone rushed over to the two fighters. She began wrapping leaves and other herbs around their wounds. “You are our leader now Darknight,” She meowed. Darknight knew that he was the only one that could now lead Darkclan. “I am now Darkmoon,” Darkmoon told all the cats who were watching. “My deputy shall be Saberstar,” Darkmoon announced. Raindrop who was Saberstar’s mate rushed over to him. She licked him on one of his wounds. He responded by licking her back on the ears. She meowed something in his ear. A purr came from Darkmoon’s brother. Darkmoon knew by that purr that Raindrop was carrying kits. Also Mouseberry’s kits were almost ready to become trainees.

Whiteleaf came to Darkmoon with a purr coming from her. “I’m carrying kits,” She purred. “They are my kits right?” Darkmoon asked. “Yes they are your kits,” She purred happily. Darkmoon felt happy. He would soon be a father. He got up from the nest of leaves and licked his mate. Soon Darkmoon knew there would be more kits for his clan. He beckoned with his tail for Whiteleaf to come and sleep with him.

Chapter 6

Darkmoon walked out of the camp. The full moon was above him and his trainee Mintleaf was walking behind him. Mintleaf was formerly Twistedstar’s trainee, but after her death Darkmoon had taken her. “This is the best spot to hunt for bats,” He told her. “When Insects come here to feed the bats ambush them and eat them,” He meowed. “Watch me catch as bat,” He purred. Darknight climbed onto a tree and waited. A dark shape flew in front of him. Darknight pounced from the tree and grabbed the bat. Clawing its wings he forced it toward the ground. As it neared the ground he flipped off its back and landed right after it did. Darkmoon lunged forward and killed with a bite to the neck. Mintleaf looked impressed as Darkmoon took a bite out of the bat. It tasted like a mouse mixed with a bird. “Want to try?” he asked Mintleaf. She nodded and bent over to finish the remains of the bat. “Can I try to catch one now?” she asked him. Darkmoon nodded and she bounced into a tree. As a bat flew by she jumped from the tree and Mintleaf killed it in midair. When the bat hit the ground she landed and raced back into the tree for another. Darkmoon climbed into a different tree. The two of them caught five bats each. When they walked back into the camp they heard a loud cough. Darkmoon dropped his prey and raced over to Moonstone’s den. Scarnose was lying inside. Every second he let out a violent cough. Next to him his kit Voletail was meekly coughing. “They have a new sickness. Which I’ve never encountered before,” His sister told him. “There are two more cases!” Rockfire meowed from outside the tree. He brought in the trainee Milkpelt, and the elder Littleroot. They lay on the moss beds and Moonstone began to treat them. Quite while later Rockfire stumbled in coughing loudly. Darkmoon did not notice however. He was sick as well. Darkmoon’s throat was already sore from coughing, His chest also ached. Moonstone helped him over to a nest and helped him lie down. Darkmoon realized that she had the sickness as well. She was coughing as loudly as everyone else in the den. Darkmoon tried to tell her something but he could not. His throat was very soar. Moonstone fed him some honey and gave him some leaves to chew on. This helped his throat and cough. His chest sill ached though and his cough started up again. Darkmoon looked at Scarnose he coughed very weakly. Finally his body gave one last cough and moved no more. Next to him his kit Voletail had already died. Littleroot lay in the far corner. His body shook with every cough. Finally he also stopped coughing. In another part of the den Milkpelt was yowling in pain. Her yowls grew weaker and weaker until they ceased.

Moonstone came to Darkmoon and put a mixture of different herbs in front of her brother. Darkmoon ate them and managed to swallow them. As he did his chest ache lessened, he stopped coughing hard and his throat felt better. Moonstone saw this and prepared a lot more of the herbs. She began feeding it to every cat and the endless roar of coughing quieted. Then she gave seeds to every cat and told them to eat them. As Darkmoon licked up the seeds he felt drowsiness wash over him. Then Darkmoon fell asleep. When Darkmoon awoke the first thing he heard was a loud wail. Darkmoon got up from the nest. Mouseberry (formerly Mouse) was in the den mourning over her lost mate and kit. Mintleaf and her brother Hawktalon also mourned over their dead sister Milkpelt. One of Darkmoon’s greatest Fighters Thornlegs who was trainer to Milkpelt, and the son of Littleroot, was also in the den. Darkmoon left the den and padded over to the prey storage. He pulled out three mice and two bats. Darkmoon sat down and ate the mice and bats in hungry famished gulps. Suddenly a voice came into the camp. “Darknight, Blazemoon help!” the voice yowled through the hollow tree. Which Darkmoon recognized as Lightmoon’s. Suddenly Lightmoon and all the rest of Lightclan raced into the camp. Each of them had deep wounds on their bodies. “Mudclan attacked us! They forced us out and killed my deputy Windstar.” Lightmoon panted. Darkmoon rose to his paws. Then Darkmoon noticed that Lightmoon was carrying kits. “Go to the healers den. Moonstone will heal your wounds,” Darkmoon ordered. The Lightclan cats obeyed. Darkmoon padded over to Saberstar. “Get Mouseberry, Mintleaf, Thornlegs, and Hawktalon to go bury the dead bodies,” He ordered. “Then take Spiderfang, Raindrop, and our mother Leafbranch out hunting,” He meowed. “The clan will be hungry after the sickness,” He explained. Saberstar nodded and padded over to the cats Darkmoon had told him to take. They stood up and padded out from the camp. Darkmoon looked at the cats in Lightclan they were picking through the prey storage looking for rabbits or in Moonstone’s den for healing herbs. Darkmoon spotted Lightmoon and padded over to her. “Come into my den. I want to know how Mudclan attacked.” He explained to her. She nodded and followed Darkmoon into the den. On the way Darkmoon picked up a bat and a mouse and got into the den as well. Darkmoon sat down and began to eat as she began. “Last night the clan had gone to sleep as usual. I left one of my Fighters on guard. When I woke up I heard a yowl of pain. I rushed out but in was too late. Mudmoon had killed the Fighter. I yowled the alarm and raced into battle. The battle raged until morning. In the morning Mudmoon stopped all the fighting and told us to leave our territory. When I refused he pinned down my deputy Windstar. And killed her to show us what would happen if we did not leave. After that I ordered a retreat. Every cat left and we came here,” She told him.

“Then now we shall fight back. Together,” Darkmoon meowed. Days passed and Darkmoon explained the plan to his fighters. That they would take Lightclan fighters as well and attack Mudclan. Something else happened as well: Lightmoon moved into the nursery. She also named her new deputy: Swiftstar, who was also her mate. A day after that Lightmoon had her kits. Darkmoon went into the nursery to see the new kits. Swiftstar was there looking over his kit with happiness on his face. “Have you named them?” Darkmoon asked as he padded in. “Yes,” Swiftstar answered. “That one is Sunray,” He meowed pointing to the golden colored tom. “This one is Honeycomb,” Lightmoon purred pointing to the white she-kit with gold eyes. Suddenly Darkmoon heard a loud yowl of pain. He raced outside the den. In the center of the clearing his mother Leafbranch was lying on the ground. There was a massive gash in her side. Saberstar raced toward his leader. “We were attacked by Mudclan. They stole our prey and injured most of the patrol,” He told Darkmoon. “Get as many Lightclan Fighters, and our Fighters who are willing to fight,” He ordered. “Tell them to come to the camp entrance now!” he ordered angrily. Now it is time to attack. Darkmoon thought unhappily. In a few moments all the Fighters from Darkclan and Lightclan had met him at the camp entrance. Darkmoon signaled with his tail and the cats charged out of the camp. “When we reach the camp kill or force the Mudclan cats out,” Darkmoon commanded. The two clans finally left the forest and raced through the hilly Lightclan territory. They reached the camp by nightfall. In it Mudclan cats were gorging themselves on rabbits and tons of different prey. Darkmoon let out the signal and Lightclan and Darkclan attacked Mudclan. Darkmoon pounced on a fat Mudclan tom. He ripped his claws down the tom’s side and broke his shoulder with a powerful bite. The tom went screeching away but Darkmoon paid no heed to him. Spinning around he slashed a Mudclan she-cat on the shoulder. As he did three Mudclan trainees attacked him. Two of them began climbing his back, and the final one was clawing at his foreleg. Darkmoon turned his head and locked his teeth on the trainee’s foreleg. He ripped the trainee off his leg and spun him around ripping at his side as he spun him. Darkmoon threw the trainee a great distance and rolled over. One of the trainees on his back jumped off, but the other one was crushed. Leaving that one, he attacked the other one fiercely. He ripped both his claws deep into the trainee’s side, spattering his paws with blood. The trainee screeched but Darkmoon did not wait. He whipped around and ripped his claws down the trainees face. The gash he ripped was instantly covered in blood. Defiant to the end the trainee bit down on Darkmoon’s neck. With the teeth in his neck Darkmoon tore his claws into the trainee’s throat

Instantly the grip on his neck was released. And the trainee fell over. Choking and gasping for breath. The next moment the trainee gave one last breath and lay still. The leader of Mudclan: Mudmoon saw the dead trainee and gasped. “Mudclan retreat,” He ordered. The battling Mudclan cats stopped and shoved through the Lightclan camp to pick up their dead friends. Suddenly the Mudclan leader slammed into Darkmoon’s side and picked up the crumpled body of the trainee. “This isn’t over,” Mudmoon hissed through gritted teeth. Then Mudmoon vanished into the hills heading for his territory. Darkmoon looked at the Darkclan cats none of them had serious injuries. “Darkclan cats, let’s go home,” He told them. Swiftstar nodded his thanks as the Darkclan cats left. Darkmoon knew that now maybe the clans could live in peace.

Chapter 7

1 cycle passed and after that something happened. Darkmoon woke up and looked out from his den. The clan was very peaceful right now Whiteleaf and Raindrop were sunning themselves on the boulders over the nursery. Their bellies full with prey and kits. The two new trainees: Diamondstone and Longshadow who were the two surviving kits of Mouseberry were practicing fighting moves in the center of the camp. Suddenly Thornlegs ran into the camp. “Deer!” he yowled “There are deer in the forest!” he meowed excitedly. Darkmoon bolted up. “Get two patrols of five cats in each,” He ordered. Instantly Thornlegs collected 2 patrols one with five cats in each. Darkmoon joined the fifth one. “When we reach the deer my group will chase them toward your group,” He meowed pointing with his tail to Saberstar’s group. “Then jump on one deer and go in for the kill,” He finished. The two groups ran into the forest scenting out the deer. When they got close enough, Saberstar and his group hid in the bushes in front of the herd. Darkmoon took his group behind the herd. Darkmoon gave the signal and his group bared their teeth and ran toward the herd. The effect was instant: the herd scattered and ran toward Saberstar’s group. When they reached the bush Saberstar jumped onto a large deer and sank his teeth into its back. At the same time Darkmoon directed his group onto the deer’s back. Saberstar’s group also jumped on, they clawed and bit, trying to get to the deer’s neck. Mintleaf reached the neck first. She hooked her claws into the deer’s windpipe and also bit the neck open. The deer gave one last bray of pain and fell. All the cats jumped off to avoid being crushed. “Pick this deer up and take it back to camp,” Darkmoon ordered. The cats took up different parts of the deer in their teeth and dragged/carried it back to camp. When they reached the camp they laid the deer down in the center of the camp and began to eat. Darkmoon took a huge bit and let the flavor seep through him. It tasted good, almost as good as mouse. The feast went well. Every cat joined in and the deer was finished completely. The clan began to sun themselves on the boulders. Suddenly Darkmoon heard a loud yowl of pain. Saberstar was in the clearing battling with a thick Mudclan tom. More Mudclan Fighters were streaming in from the entrance to the camp. Darkmoon jumped down from the boulder and slashed a Mudclan cat on the side. Darkmoon toppled the cat over and attacked another one. This tom was brown but had an evil look in his eyes. Darkmoon fell as the tom slashed him on the shoulder. Rearing up on his hind legs the tom prepared for the kill. Suddenly Darkmoon pounced up. He stabbed his claws into the tom’s neck and ripped his belly open from neck to tail. The tom screeched in agony. Blood spattered on Darkmoon’s paws and muzzle. Darkmoon did not stay to watch the tom die.

He noticed Mudmoon fighting a cat whose pelt was covered in so much blood that Darkmoon could only see those minty green eyes. He instantly realized the cat was Mintleaf. Mudmoon reared up for the death blow. Then Darkmoon attacked Mudmoon and ripped a long gash in his side. Then Darkmoon clamped his teeth on Mudmoon leg and broke the leg with a good twist. Mudmoon screeched in pain and ordered a retreat. He limped away on three legs. His clan followed behind him. The battle was over and Darkclan won. Moonstone raced out of her den and began to help the injured cats toward her den. Darkmoon crawled into his own den. Not bothering to lick his injuries. Darkmoon settled down in his nest. When Darkmoon awoke the next morning he saw three bats and a mouse lying in front of him Darkmoon ate them in hungry gulps. Darkmoon picked himself up from his nest and walked over to the medicine cats den. In it Mintleaf was resting. “Mintleaf you fought bravely in the battle today. You deserve to become a Fighter,” He told her. “Thank you Darkmoon,” she purred. He smiled up and padded out of the den. 1 cycle later Frost-sky was at its worst and prey was scarce. Darkmoon decided that he would take some cats hunting. Darkmoon took Rockfire, Thornlegs, and Saberstar out for some hunting. They made there way to the corner of their territory. “Look!” Thornlegs shouted in horror. There was a waterfall and at the bottom of it there was a massive bridge of stone. That was not what had horrified Thornlegs though. Sitting on top of the bridge with his orange fur scorched and a scar showing under his pelt was Blazemoon. Darkmoon stared in horror at his old enemy. Blazemoon looked up at him his eyes cold with hatred. “Greetings Dark…moon,” Blazemoon growled evilly. “How are you still alive?” Darkmoon asked, all his muscles tensing before attack. “I survived because I got out of the tree before it burned to ash. After I gathered cats from everywhere into one clan: Deathclan,” “Where are they? I don’t see any Deathclan.” But even as Darkmoon asked he saw cats coming out of the trees. There were more cats then he ever had seen in his life. They were mangled, ragged, and evil. Suddenly Darkmoon realized that there were Mudclan cats in Deathclan. “Leave the territory now Darkmoon. Or you must meet Deathclan in battle by midnight,” Blazemoon ordered. “Very well,” Darkmoon hissed back. Flicking his tail for the others to follow he stalked off into the forest. “We are going to battle right Darkmoon?” Saberstar asked. “Of course we are,” Darkmoon retorted.“Rockfire go to Waterclan. Tell them to meet us at the waterfall at midnight. All of them!” “Thornlegs, Do the same with Lightclan,” Darkmoon ordered. The two cats took off and when Darkmoon reached the camp he climbed onto the ledge above his den and made an announcement.

“There is an old and yet new threat that challenges us. Blazemoon has returned with a new clan: Deathclan. If we have any chance of defeating this new threat we need the other two clans. You have until midnight to prepare for the attack. So eat and rest,” Darkmoon announced. The clan then began to hurry in a hustle and bustle of action. Rockfire and Thornlegs returned. They reported that the other two clans would meet them at the rock at midnight. Darkmoon walked into the nursery. “You can’t come to the battle,” He told Raindrop Whiteleaf and Spiderfang. We understand Darkmoon,” Whiteleaf answered. Darkmoon nodded and walked out of the nursery. It was almost midnight. But Darkmoon knew he had one more thing to do. Darkmoon ate a few scrawny mice and climbed onto the ledge. “Before we leave I must make two new fighters. From now on Longshadow and Diamondstone are Fighters.” He announced. “Darkclan follow me,” Darkmoon commanded. As they headed toward the river Darkmoon told them the plan. “The plan is simple. Kill every enemy who gets in your way.” He ordered. When they reached the fall a snowstorm had begun. Looking through the snow Darkmoon saw Blazemoon on the bridge of stone. The cats of Deathclan were behind him. Aware of the other leaders beside him Darkmoon stepped forward. “We will never give you the forest Blazemoon!” Darkmoon roared over the howling wind. “Darkclan, Lightclan, and Waterclan, Attack!” Darkmoon roared. “Deathclan kill them!” Blazemoon roared back. The two clans surged at each other. Darkmoon charged for Blazemoon but a Deathclan she-cat got in his way. Darkmoon slashed his claws through her side and shoulder. Then tested a new move he had taught Mintleaf. Darkmoon reared up on his hind legs and fell toward the she cat. Suddenly Darkmoon hooked his claws in the she-cat’s side and spun around. Biting her hind leg and tripping her with his hind leg. When she fell Darkmoon brought his claws down across her throat as the death blow. Following that he attacked a Mudclan trainee. His claws ripped through its shoulder and neck. She staggered ad fell into the freezing water. Then suddenly a pair of green jaws lined with rows of teeth. The trainee screamed. Her scream was cut off when the jaws closed. Darkmoon turned away and attacked a Deathclan tom. He bit down on the tom’s neck and clawed his throat out. The blood that dripped out of him began to freeze. Suddenly a brown body slammed into him. Mudmoon began to claw chunks of fur from Darkmoon’s side. Darkmoon whipped upwards and threw Mudmoon off balance. Darkmoon charged and slashed a deep gash in Mudmoon’s throat and leg. When Mudmoon fell over Darkmoon stabbed his claws into the side of Mudmoon’s neck and tore the neck open. Blood spurted out of Mudmoon’s neck and soaked Darkmoon’s white paws. Mudmoon gave a choking sound, shook and lay still. Turning away from Mudmoon Darkmoon scanned the battle for Blazemoon’s orange fur.

He saw the fur and raced toward it. Then Darkmoon saw a white she-cat battling Blazemoon. He realized it was Diamondstone. She fell to the ground and Blazemoon tore her neck open, killing her instantly. Darkmoon charged at Blazemoon. He slashed his claws down Blaze moon’s back Blazemoon turned around and ripped his claws through Darkmoon’s side. Darkmoon screeched and reared up on his hind legs. Darkmoon hooked his claws into Blazemoon’s neck instead of his side and spun around. Tripping Blazemoon and biting his leg. Then Darkmoon pulled away from Blazemoon and pounced over him. Slashing his claws through Blazemoon’s ears and tearing them open. Blazemoon howled in pain and Darkmoon ripped open Blazemoon’s shoulders. Yet Blazemoon was prepared he pounced on Darkmoon and sunk his teeth into Darkmoon’s neck. Darkmoon began to rip at Blazemoon with his front claws. Tearing of chunks of fur and flesh in the process. Then Darkmoon with the teeth still in his neck stabbed his claws into Blazemoon’s side. Darkmoon ripped a long gash in Blazemoon’s shoulder, but still Blazemoon would not release his neck. Blazemoon reared up and prepared to deal the death blow. Yet Darkmoon saw Blazemoon’s belly and remembered how he killed the brown Mudclan tom in the camp. Darkmoon twisted himself free from Blazemoon and stabbed his claws deep into Blazemoon’s neck. Blazemoon screamed in pain as Darkmoon ripped his claws through Blazemoon’s belly. When Darkmoon pulled his claws out of Blazemoon’s belly they were dripping blood, but still Darkmoon was not finished. Darkmoon used both his paws and ripped a ragged hole in Blazemoon’s neck. Blazemoon screamed even louder. Then his screams grew quite and he lay still forever. When the Deathclan cats saw what had happened to their leader they panicked. One by on the Deathclan cats retreated. Blood was dripping from all of their wounds. Some of them rushed toward Mudclan territory but most were killed as they tried to escape. Darkmoon looked out over the whole battle and knew that after today there would finally be peace.

About seven suns later…. Darkmoon paced impatiently outside the nursery. His brother Saberstar and friend Rockfire were also waiting. Suddenly Moonstone padded out of the nursery. “Go on in now. All three of you are fathers,” She meowed. Darkmoon did not wait. He ran into the nursery and looked at his kits. “You have one daughter and two sons,” Whiteleaf purred. “Why don’t we name that one Lightingbolt, Because of that gold zigzag stripe going down his back,” Darkmoon meowed resting his tail on the black kit. “That one can be named Flameclaw, because of his jagged claws and flame orange fur on his head.” Darkmoon purred naming his other black son.

“I would like to call that white one Snowstorm,” Whiteleaf purred naming their white daughter. Darkmoon settled down next to his mate and kits and fell asleep. He was so deeply asleep that he did not hear the savage howl in the distance.