Maplepaw snapped her eyes open and when she came to her senses, the dark trees of the Starless Forest came into view before her. She inhaled the stale scent of death that continuously lingered over the ground, evaporating into the air to form a rolling wave of mist that hovered above their heads, whipped her head around, trying to see if she could find her mother.

"Scorchflame?" Maplepaw called.

An elegant flash of black, ginger and white flickered in front of her eyes and Scorchflame appeared before her eyes in mere seconds.

"Welcome, my dear," her mother meowed smoothly, "We're glad to have you join us again."

"We?" Maplepaw asked, querulous. She sniffed the air and sure enough, the bitter, foreign scents of many other cats could be smelt under the dead, decaying odour of rotting leaves.

Almost as though on cue, several cats slid out from among the branches, between the boughs of trees and through the tall, dead, blackened grass, all sharing something in common; malice and hatred practically radiating off them.

"We've been waiting for you for a long, long time now, Maplepaw. We're your new family," Scorchflame purred, gently nuzzling Maplepaw.

Maplepaw felt her mother pull away and looked at her as she straightened up. 

"However, I have some cat that I'd like you to meet tonight, my darling," Scorchflame said, Maplepaw watched as her mother tilted her head upwards and yowled to no one in particular.

In a second, a hulking mass of fur and leaves slammed onto the ground and Maplepaw came face to face with a large, bulky tortoiseshell-and-white she-cat, a scar across her muzzle and several more littered across her pelt, which was ragged and patched. The fur around her neck was thicker than that on the rest of body, almost as though it seemed like a mane. She stood nearly twice the height of Maplepaw. Her amber eyes choked with grief, anger and resentment.

"So this is your kit?" the she-cat drawled, voice was full of stones and came out icy, cold and bitter. 

"Yes," Scorchflame purred.

The bulky amber-eyed she-cat examined Maplepaw and narrowed her eyes before looking directly into Maplepaw's green ones.

"Do you know who I am?" she meowed, her voice guttural, her thick, bushy tail flicking from side to side.

"I should perhaps introduce you to the queen of the Starless Forest, the one who has pioneered dark deeds and led us all, Mapleshade," Scorchflame mewed, stepping in, as she dipped her head submissively and perhaps also due to awe.

"Mapleshade, indeed, that's who I am," the tortoishell-and-white she-cat smirked, the livid scar on her mouth twitching slightly.

Maplepaw, for the first time in her life was speechless.

"You named her after me?" Mapleshade meowed with a sincerity that could almost pass as genuine...almost.

"Well...my mate did. Not me. I have the honour of training her in our ways, in your ways, though," Scorchflame replied.

"I see," Mapleshade narrowed her eyes at Maplepaw and meowed,

"I shall be overseeing your training, kit. I hope you don't disappoint."

Before Maplepaw could blink, Mapleshade slipped away into the dark undergrowth, leaving her with her mother and the rest of the Starless Forest cats.

"Should we begin training?" her mother glanced back at her.

Maplepaw nodded and took a step forward, finally able to stretch her limbs and walked behind her mother.

"Ah, Lionpaw, haven't seen you in quite some time," Scorchflame purred at a stocky golden-furred tom, her eyelids half-closed, flicking her tail-tip under his chin and weaving slowly around him.

"Uh-hello," the tom stammered, having fallen into Scorchflame's trap.

"Perhaps since you have the time to gossip, you'd like to spar with my apprentice here?"

Maplepaw's heart sank. She was going to battle with a tom nearly as large as Mapleshade, and a muscle mass double of hers. By the motion of the tom's rippling muscles, she could only hope there would be pieces left of her to bury after the spar was over.

Scorchflame pulled away from Lionpaw and pushed him towards her. Maplepaw's next breath died in her throat as she realised the enormity of the situation.

"Fight!" Scorchflame yowled, or rather, commanded, and with such force that no cat could disagree. 

The bulky apprentice shot towards Maplepaw and caught off guard, hit the ground with full force, before a ringing sound pervaded in her ears. Lionpaw lightly swatted her face, laughing, no doubt, at the vulnerable position he had her in. Growling, she stared into the yellow eyes of the tom and though pinned down, wriggled sideways slightly, freeing one of her back legs before tearing down the length of the tom's stomach.

Screeching in pain, Lionpaw let go and doubled over, licking at the fresh wound now gushing with blood. When he looked up, his muzzle bloody, he snarled, and almost seemed as though he'd gone feral. Launching forwards, he tore at Maplepaw's pelt and bit down on her shoulder. Maplepaw bit down on the yowl that was threatening to emerge from her and swiped her claws blindly at thin air, until it came into contact with something hard. Shaking herself into focus, one of Lionpaw's eyeballs stared back up at her and she flicled it off before looking at the apprentice writhing on the ground in pain. 

Some unknown force took over her and she rushed forwards, ready to bite down on his neck, to end his life. She paused slightly and withdrew, tilting her head as she surveyed the fallen apprentice, a gleam flashed across her eye. No, she would make his death painful, unforgettable. She'd put on a show for everyone to witness.

Opening her mouth, she relentlessly bit down on Lionpaw's foreleg, shattering it. With the fresh, salty, metallic taste of blood in her mouth, Maplepaw unsheathed her claws and slowly peeled off the fur from Lionpaw's pelt, resulting in a long, rich, fluffy golden pelt dangling from the tips of her claws. The screams of agony from Lionpaw didn't bother her, rather, it was almost like music to her ears. After kicking the pelt away, she turned back to Lionpaw and dragged her claws through the skin of Lionpaw, revealing the deep, rich crimson flesh and blood underneath. She tore the muscle away, revealing rib bones underneath. Maplepaw leaned froward and clasped her teeth around a rib before brutally snapping it, the crack of the bone resonating through the clearing.

Maplepaw withdrew, and circled the apprentice, pride blossoming in her chest as she surveyed her work. Her eyes connected with Lionpaw's single yellow one, dilating rapidly from the pain. As boredom washed through Maplepaw, she snapped Lionpaw's neck and sat, watching his body slowly cease to move.

"Good job," Scorchflame appeared in front of her and linked her tail with hers. 

A cackle slowly filled the clearing and Maplepaw raised her head, realising that Mapleshade had been watching all along.

"I'll tell you one thing, Scorchflame. Your kit certainly will achieve things beyond what even I have been capable of, so long as she continues down this path," Mapleshade smirked, flashing sharp fangs and amber eyes gleaming.

Wake up, an incessant voice rang in her ears.

Maplepaw, wake up, the voice intensified.

"Close your eyes, my darling. It is indeed time for you to wake up," Scorchflame purred and tenderly licked Maplepaw's forehead.

Maplepaw obeyed and sank down to her stomach, closed her eyes, and allowed herself to be transported to the real world again.

"Maplepaw!" a voice screeched.

Maplepaw snapped her eyes open and came face-to-face with Ophiuchus.

"What?" she growled, and sat back.

"Your face," he mewed, voice quiet.

"What's wrong with my face?"

He was silent as he led Maplepaw to a small stream, gently rippling and flowing with the wind's movements.

She peered into the pool and gaped at herself. It was littered with cuts of varying sizes, however, an exceptionally deep wound on her nose still bled.

"I'm alright," Maplepaw meowed, taking small sips of water before facing Ophiuchus.

He sighed, and much to Maplepaw's surprise, barked out something indecipherable.

"Dog-language," he meowed simply.

Sure enough, a large, black dog with russet unders came bounding towards them. It stood over Maplepaw, slobbering as he sniffed her.

Ophiuchus barked again and the dog lay down, whimpering slightly, as though it was apologetic.

"Dog language?" Maplepaw meowed, incredulous. Dogs were dumb mutts, surely they couldn't speak in a manner like cats, could they?

Ophiuchus must've read the expression written on her face and smiled slightly,

"Yes, they do have a language. much like ours. Learning it isn't as difficult as it may seem, though to the untrained eye, it is as foreign as two-leg language is to us."

Maplepaw eyed the rising sun before standing up and said,

"I'll need to leave. If I don't return they might think I've completely died and perhaps will throw a party because of that."

Ophiuchus looked questioningly at her but said nothing and replied,

"Very well. If you must. I hope we cross paths again, Maplepaw."

Maplepaw dipped her head and began walking towards MistClan's border, towards the place where she took her first steps outside the clan...to freedom. A tight feeling started to build up in her chest as she felt the regret sinking in, growing deeper with every pawstep, every pawstep closer to MistClan.

I believe in you, my dear. For fear doesn't shut you down; it wakes you up, Scorchflame's voice tickled her ear. 

With that, Maplepaw didn't hesitate as she took confident strides back towards MistClan territory.