❝POISON❞ → warrior cat fanfiction

prologue

Cardinalbranch padded through the dense undergrowth of the Dark Forest. The sharp branches of the bushes snagged his pelt and the dim light caused him to stumble over the roots of many trees. The cloud cover was intense, leaving the nonexistent sky an ominous grey that sent piercing wind swirling through the dead treetops. Shadows danced over the dry grass as it twitched in the gusts of air. The ginger tom halted in the middle of the large clearing, scanning the area for his comrades. No one emerged from the forestry that surrounded the arena. Cardinalbranch climbed onto a nearby rock to get a better view. He saw a cat materialize from the far side of the area. The tom waited patiently upon his rock as the cat approached him.

"Hello Cardinalbranch." The cat said as he slithered down the rock to meet them.

"Ah, Maplethroat. What a pleasure it is to see you. It has been a while since we last had a chat."

"Cut the chit chat." Maplethroat growled. "We've all been summoned to Fangstar's Rock. He sent me to find cats and bring them to him. So come on, lets go."

Cardinalbranch nodded, "Okay."

The pair ventured off across the open area at a relatively swift pace. They slowed as they reached the edge of the forest so they could pick their way cautiously around the brambles and thistles that crowded the area. Cardinalbranch could hear Maplethroat growl as thorns scraped her pelt and left chunks of her calico fur behind. The undergrowth thinned out and the two cats picked up a trot as they weaved between the trees. Cardinalbranch had forgotten how far he had traveled away from the main meeting areas. He had wandered off, not really searching for anything.

"Maplethroat." Cardinalbranch mewed. "Where's Gullpaw?" He was speaking of her apprentice; a timid young tom that had some potential to be a good Dark Forest warrior.

"Why should I know?" Maplethroat snarled. "We have a training session before sun-down. Other than that, I couldn't care less where that disgrace of an apprentice is."

Cardinalbranch just nodded and sighed. He would've made a great mentor to Gullpaw. His last apprentice Harepaw, now Haresnarl, was also timid, but he turned into a great warrior. He was one of Fangstar's favorites. Cardinalbranch's thoughts were jostled away as the two entered the clearing in front of Fangstar's Rock.

"Finally!" Fangstar yowled from his perch. "Now, we can get started."

All of the Dark Forest warriors had gathered into the vast clearing. They crowded around the front of Fangstar's Rock, gazing at him with wondering eyes and almost a little hope. The Dark Forest had been defeated by StarClan and the other clans twenty moons ago. Ever since then, Fangstar has been plotting his revenge with the other two Dark Forest leaders, Kestrelstar and Palestar. Cardinalbranch had wondered what they would attempt next. Their previous plan had seemed as though it would've worked, and it was working until StarClan interfered and killed half of the Dark Forest cats. Cardinalbranch wondered why the Dark Forest even bothered at this point, none of their plans had ever worked.

Fangstar yowled again to get every cats' attention. Cardinalbranch looked up at the Rock. Kestrelstar and Palestar were seated right behind Fangstar on opposite sides of him. The deputies, Fleetstrike, Dustmask, and Mumbleclaw were at the base of the boulder, scanning the Dark Forest warriors with piercing eyes. Scorchbelly, the Dark Forest's only medicine cat, was sitting next to the deputies with her tail lightly curled over her paws. Cardinalbranch liked her. She was very nice to apprentices and warriors. The previous medicine cat, Mosscry, was horrible and treated every cat like fox dung.

Fangstar began his speech.

"Welcome my warriors. I have a new plan to destroy the clans!"

All of the warriors howled in excitement. Cardinalbranch could see their tails whipping and their eyes shining as they thought of their revenge on the four clans.

"We are going to get them this time!" Fangstar continued. "Kestrelstar and Palestar agree that this is our best plan yet." Fangstar's eyes scanned the clearing, his tail lashing. "We will pick one Dark Forest warrior to go down and pick a cat from the clans to work for us. A cat that suffers, a cat that will listen... a cat that will help us destroy the clans!"

Every cat burst into excited yowls and they chatted eagerly, wondering who the Dark Forest warrior would be. Cardinalbranch didn't make a noise, staring blankly at Fangstar. He didn't care for revenge, but he didn't want to die again, so he would do as he was told.

One warrior, Birchblaze, then yowled, "who is the chosen one?"

Fangstar looked down upon his followers and made eye contact with Cardinalbranch.

"You."