Shadowsong was padding along side his two brothers, Riversurge, and Moonheart. They were walking through densely thick woodland. Trees only grew as much as three feet apart, and ferns covered the ground. The canopy was so thick that light never reached the ground. The brothers were all the same shade of black, and the same size. They were identical triplets, the only way to tell them apart was their eye color. They had chosen the Shadow Forest as their home, because the world outside was to hostile. They believed black cats were cursed, so they had come here. The thick growth discouraged trespassers, and kept them hidden. For them, the shadow forest was paradise. Suddenly, Shadowsong stopped. He scented the air, something wasn't right. He could tell the others had scented it to. "You don't think...?" Riversurge whispered. They ran toward the source of the smell. Pawstep for pawstep, they matched each other, eyes gleaming like fire, and whiskers quivering. They entered another part of the forest. This place was not as thick, and it was near the edge of the woods. It was here they found the source of the scent. "Tribe cats!" Moonheart hissed in a whisper. Riversurge now took charge, as he was the best strategist of all of then. "Ok, Shadowsong, you sneak up behind them. Wait for my signal, and you, Moonheart will take them from the side. I'll stay here." They nodded, and slithered off with barely a sound. Shadowsong perched in a tree downwind of the tribe cats. He could see Riversurge hiding in the thick grass, and Moonheart was camouflaging himself in front of a large rock of coal. Riversurge flicked his tail, and Shadowsong leaped down. "Well, if it isn't the Tribe of Fluorite Plains." He growled. The cats whipped around and bared their teeth. A silver-white tom stepped forward, his name was Storm, and he was the tribe leader. "Well, if it isn't Shadowsong of Shadow Forest." he sneered. "Where are your pathetic brothers?". On cue, Shadowheart flicked his tail, and Moonheart separated himself from the coal lump. "Here." He snarled. Riversurge stepped out from the grass. "Don't mess with us. Think before you strike." Riversurge was right to have said this, Shadowsong reflected. Not only their fur color separated them, believing to be "cursed", they were known as the trickiest and best fighting team. They were sometimes referred to as the "Shadow Ghosts".
Storm snarled at them. "The cursed must be destroyed, no cat of darkness can survive to let bad luck come. "Try us." Shadowsong snarled. Storm slitted his eyes. "Attack!" he yowled. Shadowsong, Riversurge, and Moonheart leaped into battle. In the dim light of the shadowy trees, claws glinted and fur flew. A bracken-colored she-cat had Moonheart pinned. Shadowsong charged and knocked her off. Moonheart gave him a glance of gratitude, and ran into combat. The brothers seemed to be flying wisps of shadow, They worked as one, matching blow for blow, and leap for leap. Shadowsong parried with a orange tribe cat. Blocking blows, he flicked his ears to Riversurge to get behind him. Riversurge slipped around and banged the cat on the head, nearly knocking him unconscious. One enemy down. Moonheart was battling alongside Riversurge now. They were trying to overwhelm two of the tribe's warriors. Shadowsong slipped between them and lashed out with his back legs, hitting one with each paw. all three of them fought back to back, slashing and blocking. Riversurge leaped into the air where everyone could see him. He did a backward somersault and angled his ears to the deep woods. they each understood the signal immediately. Retreat and regroup! They each turned tail and ran, he heard the tribe's triumphant yowls behind them. They met back up at an oak with twisting roots. "What'd you do that for? We were winning!" Moonheart hissed. "Calm down," Riversurge meowed. "It was a fake retreat, I have a plan."
Shadowsong crouched behind a prickly shrub. They were spying on the tribe cats who were still musing over their "victory". "Who would have thought they'd give in so easily?" "I've heard they have never lost a battle in their lives. why did they retreat?" "We should chase after them and finish them off!" Just as planned, he yowled, "Your the ones being chased!" Moonheart gave out a battlecry that sounded much like a wolves howl. It was their code for attack. "Rawoooooooooooooo" They burst out of the brush, and attacked. The tribe was not expecting their attack, so they were unprepared and fled. Now Riversurge leaped and did a forward somersault, pointing his muzzle to the deep woods. Chase them into the wood! They gave chase, and Shadowsong soon realized that they were not used to such thick undergrowth. They got snagged on bramble bushes, tripped over fallen logs, and slammed into trees. Were better at this. he thought, and it was true. he and his brothers moved like the wind, seeming to be only wind and shadow. They made barely a sound when they cleared fallen logs, left not a trace in the mud, and wound their way between the closely growing trunks. Catching sight of a flick of the ears from Moonheart, Riversurge and Shadowsong peeled off, they were going to trap them in the middle of a thicket of brambles. Just as the Tribe of Fluorite Plains burst into the opening, battered and scarred, all three of them erupted from the thorny screens that had hidden them. "LEAVE! This is our place!" Moonheart hissed. Storm shook his head, a glint in his eye that Shadowsong could not identify. "Attack!" He howled, and the tribe surged forward. "Now!" Riverheart yowled, and the three brothers ran forward. The battle was fast, the brothers had overpowered the tribe cats by darting in and out of fights to confuse them, sometimes confusing them so much that they fought each other. Yes, when in the Shadow Forest, they were the masters of deceiving among the shadows and undergrowth so thick it could trip a cat. They had the tribe surrounded now, pressing in and slashing at any cat that tried to break free. Shadowsong stepped forward, and growled at Storm. "Storm, leave. The Shadow Forest belongs to us!" Storm looked around at his battered and beaten warriors, and threw his head back. "Retreat!" He called. The tribe ran fast as they could towards Fluorite Plains, but Storm looked back and hissed, "This is not over!". Shadowsong, Moonheart, and Riversurge all came forward side by side, looking like reflections of each other. Moonheart spoke in a threatening and ghostly voice, "leave us, Storm. You know you can not win against the wolves." With that, The three cats stepped back, and Storm ran into the woods.
That next week, the Shadow Ghosts were walking at the edge of the Shadow forest, keeping watch on the plains. They spotted Storm on a patrol, watching their borders. Storm stopped in front of them. "Well, lookie lookie at who's here. Where are your wolf friends?" The cats behind him chuckled. "Nowhere, Storm." Shadowsong replied. "You know we could take you down right about now." Storm sneered. Riversurge leaped on him, and whispered hotly in his ear, "No, Storm. you are the one who will go down." Riversurge released him, and Storm scrambled up. He bared his teeth in a threat. "You really think so?" Moonheart spoke now. "Be careful Storm." Shadowsong took up the cue. "If you wrong us, you will never be safe in the dark." And with that, the brothers stepped back as one, and melted away into the darkness, unseen and unheard. The only sound was the whisper of the wind in the closely intertwined tree branches.
