Message of Darkness

The pale moon loomed over Fourtrees, causing Fourtrees to have a spooky feel to it. The mist that gently clung to the ground wasn't helping, but it didn't stop Mapleclaw from stepping into the clearing, her eyes narrowed as she padded toward the middle of the clearing and to the base of the large rock. She had been unable to sleep so she had gone for a walk; just something to clear her mind and burn off  some of the energy she had but during her stroll, she found her paws taking her to Fourtrees instead. She gaze at the rock as she gently placed her paw on it, frowning slightly. Every full moon the leaders of each of the four Clans would stand there, and Mapleclaw was sure that one day she would be one of those leaders. Her eyes stayed fixed on the rock as she dreamed of one day being Maplestar of RiverClan, not caring what was going on around her anymore.

Exploding from the path that lead to ShadowClan's territory came an apprentice, well-built and appearing to be a tom. The white fur of his head glowed as the silvery moon light struck it, and he leaped for the Great Rock. He almost cleared half of it, and he scrabbled the rest of his way to the top until he stood in Sagestar's usual spot on the stone. He smiled, his tail-tip twitching. "I finally made it up here! It took forever." he stated, looking around at the ground. A patch of brown that didn't fit in with the green or the gray caught his eye and he peered over the edge of the rock. He curled his lip back in a snarl, growling down at the cat. "Who are you?"

Mapleclaw was pulled out of her daydream by somebody snarling at her. She lifted her head, her green eyes flicking in the moonlight as she looked at the apprentice. "My name is Mapleclaw, and there is no reason to be in a fowl mood. Last time I checked, this place didn't belong to..." she drifted off for a second as she tasted the air, frowning. "ShadowClan." Ugh, ShadowClan. Of course, it wasn't the worst choice. ThunderClan and RiverClan were still at odds over Sunningrocks, and she hated the fact that RiverClan had that treaty with WindClan...You know, ShadowClan had to be one of the best choices for her to run into. She took a few steps back to get a better view of the tom, tilting her head slightly. "Now, if you don't mind me asking, who are you?"

He lifted his head proudly at the question, ceasing his snarling and replying with a lofty mew, full of pride. "Eaglepaw, and I'm going to be the best warrior this forest has ever seen." he stated, sitting down and glaring down at her. His amber eyes glowed like fire in the light as he watched her carefully from atop the Great Rock.

A soft snort came from Mapleclaw as she backed up a few more steps and bounded onto the highrock so she was standing next to Eaglepaw. Her tail flickered as she sat down also, her eyes glimmering a bit. "You might want to be the best in the forest, but it is my dream to become the greatest leader of RiverClan ever...however..." she grew silent, unsure if she should really share her thoughts with this ShadowClan cat. After all, they were enemies and there was no way she wanted to hurt her Clan.

He scoffed, his tail swishing over the rock. "By the time you're leader, I'll already be Eaglestar and have the forest begging for mercy under my rule." he hissed, glancing up at the stars. "I'll have them all wishing they were never born, but once they see that my plan is the only way to go, they'll have no choice but to give in to my supreme leadership."

Mapleclaw glared at Eaglepaw, opening her mouth to say something, but closed it. Taking power by...control? It was an odd thought that had never popped into her head. She figured she had to slowly climb up the ranks, but...Her eyes narrowed in thought, her tail wrapping around her paws. "Are you saying you want to take over ShadowClan? Like...By force?" It seemed like a crazy...no, an insane idea! Sure she wanted to become leader of RiverClan, and she knew she could do better than Froststar, but if it meant attacking her own friends...She snorted, shaking her head. What friends did she have? She had always been an outsider, even thought almost nobody knew that she disliked water. The only real friend she had was Goldenpaw and Lightpaw...But if it meant leading RiverClan to the glory that they once had...would she be able to do it?

He nodded curtly, curling his lip back in a toothy grin. "If that's what it takes, I'll eliminate anything and everything that tries to stop me." he growled, an edge of dark joy in the deep sound as he spoke.

Silence came from Mapleclaw, surprise clearing showing on her face. He was serious? Sure she felt like she could do a better job than Froststar, but...Her gaze became hard as she went into her thoughts, wondering truthfully if this apprentice had the right idea. He had a point thought..."But..." she said softly, looking at the apprentice. She wanted to know how far he would go...Perhapes because she envied Eaglepaw; him not being afraid of taking control and already having huge dreams for just being an apprentice. "What if somebody to love is standing in your way...Would you take them out...?" She drifted off, a bit panic of what she would do if Goldenpaw stood in her way. Goldenpaw was really the closest thing she had as a friend in RiverClan, and seeing how they barely hung out, that was saying something. She couldn't dream of hunting her, or really any of her Clanmates but if meant stopping her from leading RiverClan back to its former glory...Would she...No, could she be able to do it?

Occ: Haha, now Mapleclaw is asking the greatest question of them all. How far would Eaglepaw truly go? If Nightcloud stood in his way, what would he do? Would he 'eliminate' her? I figure not only will this really help settle Mapleclaw on her choice (as I have a feeling Eaglepaw will boast yes no matter what he feels), but it will help you figure this out and settle the 'evil' level that Eaglepaw is resting on!

OOC: I see. I like that; very nice~

IC: He flexed his claws, scoring small marks in the stone bathed silver. "Any cat that cares about me- which I'm sure none do -wouldn't be stupid enough to try and stop me. And I don't care about any cat. But, once the Clan realizes how right I truly am, no one will stand in my way on the path to leadership. No one. And then, I can easily eliminate the current deputy and leader and nominate myself to be the new leader of ShadowClan." he said firmly, nodding. For a moment he thought about Nightcloud, then spoke again. "A few cats try to act like they care about me. Pretend to really be sorry. But those cats couldn't care less about me; they're just trying to get close to me so they can coax me into being strong." he added, his tail tip twitching.

"I...I see." A bit of distaste could be heard in Mapleclaw's voice as she watched the apprentice, turning her head slightly so she was looking toward her territory. "That sounds like a good plan. Having nothing to stop you, but I am sorry that you feel like nobody cares about you. Everybody needs allies." Her ears flickered as she paused on that final word. Allies...She didn't have any did she? Of course, she always had Eaglepaw but what would happen in the field of battle? They could never be truly allies, if you dare called them that, while Racoonstar and Froststar were standing against Sagestar. No, she would have to find some in her own Clan...Or maybe, or maybe even outside of the Clans if she had too.

"Allies don't need to care about you. Allies just need to trust you." he answered firmly, nodding as his tail stilled and he glanced towards his territory. "And I do need allies. If I'm going to take over this forest, I need cats to stand behind me without a second thought."

There was a bit of a silence from Mapleclaw, before she sat up straight. Her gaze stuck toward the RiverClan territory as she cleared her throat. "Cats you can trust...Can we trust each other?" It was an odd question, but she had started to like the tom. He had good plans and she liked the guts he had. Of course, that was it. He was cut off from the world, and she wondered how long he would be able to remain that way. "I don't want your marshy territory, and I doubt you want my river-filled territory. Perhaps, we can both achieve the greatness we were born to have if we stay out of each others way." She paused, looking at the tom. "Of course, if the day came we were ever against each other...I guess if we had a truce, we couldn't really call ourselves allies." As she waited for Eaglepaw to respond, she thought about the whole allies. She needed them. Perhaps a few in her Clan would see the right of her way, but she was sure that there had to be rogues she could find somewhere. Perhaps they would help her...of course, she would have to give them something but that would come later.

"I don't know-- can we? What are your plans; or are you just a regular warrior?" he replied, getting to his paws as he stared at her. She's hesitant-- I don't like that. But she may be good to have as an ally..

A snort came from Mapleclaw as she glared at the moon. "My plans? My plan is to become leader of RiverClan! I want to be the leader that everybody will remember! RiverClan isn't the same that it used to be, but I am planning to bring to back to being one of the most strongest Clans! Almost nothing will be able to stop us, and I won't let anything get in my way," she ended it with a snarl, her eyes dancing with glee. Yes, that sounded perfect. Not letting anything stop her. She would find allies in her own ways, ones she knew she could trust. She would become forever remembered as the greatest RiverClan leader, and StarClan would welcome her so fondly into their ranks as the greatest leader ever! "I will become Maplestar one day, and RiverClan will become the shining Clan it once was! Nothing will stop me! My name will be talked about in the generations to come!"