A New Path

Chapter 1 (pt. 3)

Flamepaw flicked his ears. It had been an hour, and Dewpaw still hadn't returned. Flamepaw had no remorse for what he had said. Checkers had deserved it.

"'Sexy little shit'?" Flamepaw muttered to himself. "Well, I appreciate being called sexy, but damn kittypet, you got only a fraction of what you asked for."

"I don't think you're psycho," Reedpaw, another apprentice, murmured, "But talking to yourself about how sexy you are isn't exactly a good example of your sanity." She settled down next to Flamepaw.

Flamepw, despite his main goal being Dewpaw, liked Reedpaw. She was too damn witty and alluring for him to resist. He allowed the brown tabby she-cat to rest her head against his shoulder. Flamepaw couldn't help curling up next Reedpaw.

Flamepaw ran through the mist. Gnarled trees rose up around him. The ground was slimy and peaty. Flamepaw sprinted straight through what seemed to be a shadow of another cat.

The shadow was undisturbed. It flickered and turned, revealing a tomcat. His fur was matted and his silhouette was hard to separate from the grotesque scenery behind it.

The tom's fur looked like it was speckled with dead stars; the supposed-to-be-glowing specks were dull and dripped with gore.

His eyes had a more evil tinge, they had once been bright and lively, but no longer.

"Ah, the 'antagonist,'" the tom murmured smoothly. Flamepaw quivered.

"You were wrongly chosen for the role, but Checkers is the one to decide this. If you have been brought to my realm, than Bluestone has cast you out," the tom continued. His ginger fur was speckled with brown and black like little sand grains.

"What the hell?" Flamepaw panted, trembling fiercely.

"Well, the 'hell' in question is where we are. I am a cat of the Dark Forest, Shardfire."

"Dark Forest?! What in the actual literal name of fu--" Shardfire held up a paw for silence.

"Hush, my obscene little pawn, all will be explained once I am sure that you want the power that comes with accepting me as your teacher."

"No! The Dark Forest is a place for evil cats, and you called me antagonist! That. Means. EVIL." Flamepaw bristled. Shardfire chuckled.

"Dear Flamepaw, you will have power. You will be loved by the clan. I was unfairly blamed for a crime I did not commit. StarClan, being the self-righteous asses that they are condemned me to this hellhole. You can trust me. I'm sorry for being so terrifying earlier. This place, it corrupts you..." Shardfire gave Flamepaw a melancholy look. The image of the cat flicked, revealing a more StarClan-like version of him, but Shardfire didn't seem to notice.

"I-I..." Flamepaw sighed. Power, loved by all, the knowledge that he outdid Checkers, that mattered. Not namby-pamby your-beauty-is-on-the-inside shit.

"Okay."