Berries Of Red

Those who you used to trust

You can trust no more

And even the darkest of nights

And the hottest of embers.

Must fall to the death

That's in the berries of red.

Prologue
Darkness resides in every cat

Even the ones that we trust.

A tom stalked through the night, his eyes narrowed in determination, he flicked his tail in slight annoyance when another tom followed a bit more clumsily.

"Shush, you're going to wake everything up in the forest!" the tom in front hissed, and continued on.

The tom got up and shook himself out, "This is pointless! What are we even doing?" he asked.

"We're going to find a way to teach Heronpaw that she is a Shadowclan cat, not a rogue, she should learn to start acting like one." the tom hissed back, and looked around.

"So.. What are we looking for anyways?" the dark brown-furred tom asked, tipping his head in curiousity.

"Something that'll bring Heronpaw to us." the other tom answered flatly, peering at every bush, and shaking his head at every one.

The brown-furred tom scoffed, "I want to see that, she was never a cold Shadowclan cat, we both knew that."

"This will make her realise that we were right, and she was wrong," the tom mewed, finally looking at a bush in delight, "I've found them!" he declared, turning to the other tom.

"No! This isn't right! She's a clan-mate!" the dark brown furred tom yowled in horror, backing away.

The tom rolled his eyes, "We're not going to kill her, mouse-brain, we're going to make it look like one of her friends tried to poison her." he mewed.

"It's still way too wrong! This doesn't seem right!" the tom growled at his companion, backing up some more.

The tom sighed, "Have it your way then, it doesn't matter, I don't need your help." he turned back to the bush.

He broke off a branch, whose berries were ripe, the colour of red blood, and the tom who had backed away only muttered one thing;

"Death berries..."

The tom nodded. "This will bring her back to us.. She's not mouse-brained, but she can be fooled." he mewed, looking into the dark night, blue eyes blazing with annoyance.

Chapter 1
Dreams are your reality.

Awake or not.

Heronpaw treaded the soft ground with her paws, her eyes darting nervously around, the darkness of the shadows creeping her out.

She heard a voice, as clear as the day, and it whispered the same thing... Over and over, it made Heronpaw feel like she was going to go crazy.

''Why would you forget me? Why would you leave me to die? I thought I was your friend.''

She wimpered, "Who are you?!"

But she never got an answer in return, but only the same repeated questions, over and over.

"Please! I don't understand!" she cried at the invinsible spirit, Is it even there? she thought horrified as she heard the voice again.

<p style="text-align:left;">She whipped around, seeing nothing, but still hearing the voice, she wailed, "Someone! This is just a horrible nightmare!"

<p style="text-align:left;">She flicked her ear when she heard something calling her away from the voice, as it seemed to slowly fade away as the voice got louder.

<p style="text-align:left;">"Heronpaw!" the voice finally shouted, and her eyes blinked open.

<p style="text-align:left;">"Ah!" she heaved up, smashing into her friend with force, who also grunted in pain.

<p style="text-align:left;">"Hey! It's me mouse-brain!" the tom yowled, staring at her.

<p style="text-align:left;">She blinked a couple times, and sighed, "Oh.. Sorry Coal." she looked up, Cyprus was stirring, obviously because of Heronpaw's scream, and Coal must have just woken up.

<p style="text-align:left;">Coal shook his head, and asked Heronpaw, "What now?"

<p style="text-align:left;">Heronpaw looked up at him, and raised an eye-brow, "What do you mean 'What now? she asked carefully.

<p style="text-align:left;">Coal just narrowed his eyes, then mewed, "If you don't want to tell me-"

<p style="text-align:left;">"Ugh, I heard a voice, that's it." she growled, sheathing and unsheathing her claws.

<p style="text-align:left;">Cyprus had finally woken up, he opened his eyes, and looked up at them with tired eyes, "Why are you all arguing? It can't be morning already..." he mewed.

<p style="text-align:left;">Heronpaw turned to him, and shook her head, "I don't know if it's morning, I don't raelly want to check." she mewed.

<p style="text-align:left;">Cyprus sat up and asked with a yawn. "Then why did you have to go and wake me up with your arguing? I'm not old like you two are." he mewed, settling back down.

<p style="text-align:left;">Heronpaw and Coal hissed, "I'm not old!"

<p style="text-align:left;">Cyprus ignored them, and mewed, "Well, fine, I'm not as old as you two are, I still need my sleep through the night."

<p style="text-align:left;">Coal mewed back, "Well, ignore us then, we 'old' cats are having a serious conversation." he flicked his tail, turning back to Heronpaw.

<p style="text-align:left;">Cyprus asked, "Yeah, I bet it's totally serious..." he drifted off.

<p style="text-align:left;">Coal raised an eye-brow, and asked quite loudly, "I wonder if a tired cat can take on a cat who's fully awake."

<p style="text-align:left;">Cyprus widened his eyes, jumping up to face him, "Want to test that theory!?" he snarled playfully, unsheathing his claws.

<p style="text-align:left;">Heronpaw backed up, surprise when the two brothers started fighting each-other, and she gasped when Cyprus stood up, standing beside her, and stuck his tongue out, and yelled, "Come catch me!" and ran out of the den.

<p style="text-align:left;">Heronpaw gasped when Coal jumped on her to chase after Cyprus, and she followed, rolling her eyes, what was serious turned into playing. Toms, she rolled her eyes.

<p style="text-align:left;">She caught up to them, facing a small over-hanging cliff, looking over the lake, and they had an evil gleam in their eyes when they turned to face her.

<p style="text-align:left;">"We all need cooling down don't you think?" Cyprus asked, his whiskers twitching.

<p style="text-align:left;">Heronpaw backed up a bit, "Um.. No thanks, I'm strictly dry fur." she laughed nervous as Cyprus walked towards her.

<p style="text-align:left;">Coal called, "Come on, what's a little water going to do to you?"

<p style="text-align:left;">Heronpaw snarled at Cyprus, "Fine, but you're going to have to be able to push me in."

<p style="text-align:left;">"Deal!" Cypruslaughed, and suddenly leaped on her, attacking her every which way, and she thought in horror as she fought back, Who taught him to fight?

<p style="text-align:left;">She found herself grappling him near the edge of the cliff, both of them fighting hard to push the other off.

<p style="text-align:left;">"Here I come!" she heard Coal yell.

<p style="text-align:left;">"What are you-" she turned to look at him, and almost screamed when he pushed both of them into the water.

<p style="text-align:left;">Heronpaw felt a water soak through her fur, she paddled fiercely to get air, and she gasped when she reached the waters surface, she saw Cyprus was already yelling, "Hey, no fair!"

<p style="text-align:left;">Coal was laughing at them from where he was standing.

<p style="text-align:left;">Cyprus huffed, and hurried up to the bank of the lake, rushing up to his brother, and shaking his fur, glaring at him as he threw waterall over his brother.

<p style="text-align:left;">Heronpaw felt some water tug at her fur, and called, "Guys come help me, I don't know how to swim, and I think I'm caught I'm in a current."

<p style="text-align:left;">Coal called, "Just paddle, it's a weak current."

<p style="text-align:left;">Heronpaw paddled, but she must have been a weak swimmer, because her paddling did nothing, and the current continued to push her farther from dry land.

<p style="text-align:left;">"I can't!" she called, worry edging in her voice.

<p style="text-align:left;">"Relax! It's not going to kill you." Cyprus yelled.

<p style="text-align:left;">Heronpaw huffed, she was Shadowclan! She shouldn't let water stop her.

<p style="text-align:left;">She started to paddle harder, and realised that she was finally starting to move against the current. She finally reached the bank, and shook out her fur, glaring at the brothers.

<p style="text-align:left;">'I'll forgive you this time." She growled.

<p style="text-align:left;">"Thanks." Coal sniffed, flicking his tail, and rolling his eyes.

<p style="text-align:left;">Cyprus shook out his fur again, and laughed, "Well, I'm hungry, I'm going to go hunt." he flicked his tail, and ran back into the territory.