Becoming Shadows

Becoming Shadows is by BladeOfHope.

Fans of This Is the End: Becoming Shadows is the story of Mistyrain and Flamingsun.

Prologue
He exploded out of the bushes, knocking the she-cat over. The other cat grunted under his weight, and he felt a twinge of satisfaction. Seeing his distraction, though, his target was able to throw him off with a blow to his exposed stomach. He fell against a dark, gnarled tree and sank down onto the ground.

"Not such easy prey, eh, Nightseeker?" the she-cat teased. "You know you can't beat me."

Nightseeker rose to his paws and winced. "Owww. At least I managed to surprise you. I did better than last time."

"True," she conceded, padding over to him. She flicked her tail over his back. "We'll make a true Dark Warrior of you yet."

Nightseeker seemed to glow with her praise, and he didn't notice as another cat emerged from the shadows. "Are you ready, Wildwind?" the new cat growled.

Nightseeker nearly fell over with surprise, but Wildwind remained calm. "Of course, Stonestar," she said, dipping her head to the great dark tom. "We know, then, which cats we want?"

"Yes," Stonestar rumbled. "Three kits have been born recently in IceClan."

"Three?" Nightseeker repeated, regaining his balance. "But we only ever take two!"

Stonestar unsheathed his claws, looking like he wanted to slash Nightseeker's throat. "I know," he snarled. "The third is no use to us. We can claim the better two and maim the third. The are still young; no one will know any better."

Wildwind was nodding as Stonestar spoke. "It's a good plan," she noted when the muscular leader was done speaking. "Show me where they are. Nightseeker and I can go in and claim them."

Stonestar padded away, beckoning for the siblings to follow. Wildwind went after him, but Nightseeker stayed put, staring after his sister in dismay.

"Why is she so nonchalant about this?" he whispered, his voice hoarse with dismay. "We're ruining lives. Had I known what we were getting into, I would never have come here."

He reluctantly ran after his sister. Catching up to them, he panted, "I thought I scented Tigerstep, but he wasn't there." Although he tried to look like he agreed with the plans Stonestar layed out, he was thinking, ''We don't belong here. I could be helpful if Wildwind wasn't tied here. I wish we could leave, and join the great spirits who would never do something like this....''