New Flight - a warriors story, Book #1 in The Winding Fates

Chapter 6

"What?!?" Owlpaws eyes shot open in disbelief. "Why!? Why here?" the cat was off Owlpaw and stepped to the side.

"Because you need proper training. For more than just your wings." the cat scowled. "To train you for a bigger battle." Bigger battle?  Owlpaw's mind was racing. "What do you mean?"

The cat snickered sinisterly. "Oh, innocence, I see." the cat raced behind Owlpaw, knocking his back legs from under him, causing Owlpaw to crash to the ground. "Oh, before you ask, I'm Jaggedscar." Owlpaw could see a large scar running from his ear to his muzzle, presumably what had killed him. If he died, how did he get that name?  Owlpaw wondered, hiding his wings so they wouldn't be torn. "I renamed myself, apprentice." Jaggedscar scowled as if he could read minds.

"O-Okay, teach me..." Owlpaw stammered. Jaggedscar leaped onto Owlpaw's back, holding his head with forepaws and knocking his hind legs out. Then he leaped and twisted, scoring Owlpaw's muzzle with claws. All of this happened in what seemed to be a heartbeat to Owlpaw as he panted on the ground.

Jaggedscar looked down at Owlpaw. "Pathetic. Get up," he growled.

Owlpaw shakily rose to his paws and tensed. He leaped over Jaggedscar and onto the tom's back, kicking his head with his hind legs, and clawing his tail with his forepaws. Jaggedscar let out a furious yowl and twisted back to nip Owlpaw on the leg. Owlpaw drew back his paw and kicked Jaggedscar, causing the tom to fall over. Leaping off, Owlpaw grabbed his tail and pulled it with him.

Jaggedscar let out another yowl as he skidded across the stone-like ground. Jumping to his paws, Owlpaw went flying, still holding on to Jaggedscar's tail. The tom's dark amber eyes gleamed with satisfaction as Owlpaw landed with a thud onto the ground. At this point, Owlpaw was driven of breath and was struggling to breathe. The other tom's tail lashed. "Meet my friends..." he growled and thousands of bodies outlined in red came padding across the clearing, many snarling. All of their eyes glowed with the same determination; get revenge.

How are so many cats here? Isn't this place cursed?  Owlpaw wondered, shrinking with fear. The warriors came padding closer to him, sneering and yowling at each other. Jaggedscar yowled, "Cats of the Dark Forest! I have brought a new apprentice for you." at those words the cats yowled with amusement and leaped toward Owlpaw, causing him to open his wings and fly above them. They all bundled into each other and Owlpaw looked down at them sadly shaking his head and meowing, "Tsk, tsk, you shouldn't have messed with a winged cat."

All the cats looked at him with anger blazing in their eyes, quickly replaced by the determination again. Leaping up to catch Owlpaw's tail with their claws, the cats soon had a competition to see who could get him. Flying over the black void, Owlpaw enjoyed this. "Ah, attention and helpless warriors that can't catch their prey." Owlpaw snickered and flew faster, into a border of mist and through that. He landed in StarClan, searching around.

"Splotchedstar?" he tried again, and this time that black-and-white leader flew immediately. As soon as he saw Owlpaw's scratches, his eyes lighted with surprise. "Where have you been?"

(just a side note I imagine Splotchedstar with a sort of J.K. Simmons voice, search him. He plays Stanford in Gravity Falls, )

Owlpaw chuckled nervously. "The Place of No Stars.." Splotchedstar looked at him in surprise. "There?! Why there?! It's dangerous!"

"I-I came here looking for you, but woke in there. I didn't have a choice." Owlpaw meowed, glancing back into the mist to make sure no cat was following him. Splotchedstar sighed and padded away. "Come on," he meowed, and opened his wings.

Owlpaw followed and yowled as Splotchedstar veered upward to avoid a mountain and Owlpaw smashed into it. "So, clumsy flyer, I see." Splotchedstar meowed from behind him. Owlpaw scowled and flew on, but glimpsed a faint dark grey cat that looked like Cliffstar. "Wait!" he yowled at Splotchedstar, "Is that Cliffstar?"

The black-and-white tom nodded. "Five of his lives are here. every time he loses a life, he gets more visible in StarClan." Owlpaw shivered as he thought of Cliffstar's spirit fully visible here, dead.

Splotchedstar flew downward and spread his legs to land in a clearing, and Owlpaw did too.

After a few moments of training with wings, Owlpaw woke back up on the rocks. He noticed the scratches from the Dark Forest still there, but dismissed them. He hobbled back to camp, not thinking about any of the things Jaggedscar had told him.