Side Story Central (Current: The Nightmare Hollow)

(Everyone wants a Birchpaw!!! He's irresistible!! )

Jewelfire turned and pounced on another mouse, this one smaller than the one before. "Yeah...I believe Birchpaw was his apprentice."

(Y'know, come to think of it Birchpaw was Stoneclaw's apprentice)

Sparrowblaze's paw shot out into the air, and his claw hooked that purple butterfly. "Hell yeah, I caught it!" He meowed happily, burrying it with his vole. He padde off in the opposite direction that Jewelfire was, soon sniffing out a rabbit. He leaped, caught it, and burried it. Soon after he attempted to catch a thrush, but failed, endding up falling on his face.

Thornheart had caught another mouse, on his way back. He flicked his tail in amusement at seeing Sparrowblaze trip. He quickly buried his prey, then curled up at the foot of the tree for a short nap.

( )

Sparrowblaze shook dirt off his pelt, and saw a blackbird pecking at the ground. He'd never been good at catching birds, but he would damn sure try. Slowly, he crept up on it, and sprang up. It's call of alarm was cut short by a quick bite the the neck.

Lavendermoon cocked her head, clueless. "Who's Birchpaw?" she asked, her sweet voice filled with confusion.

A very important cat's brother.

The sound echoed through the forest, though it was not really spoken.

A huge, black, shadowy dog-like creature stepped forward, revealing claws that, uncurved, would be about a foot long each. Its fangs protruded from its mouth, some sticking out sideways because there was no room for them. Burning red eyes glared at the cats maliciously, and the creatures long black tail swished from side to side. Its ears were long and twisted, seeming to eventually drift off like smoke. This was no ordinary creature...

"Holy shit!!! What in Starclan is that thing?!?!?!" Sparrowblaze yowled, heart pounding.

The creature lunged for the first thing that made sound- Sparrowblaze. With a yowl, Swiftfeather intercepted this course. She had climbed up to the low branch of a tree and as the creature jumped, she flung herself into its side, though she did not weigh enough to send it too far away from Sparrowblaze and he'd probably end up knocked over anyway.

Sparrowblaze swerved the the right, just enough to miss the outstretched claws. But the creature still hit him, and he was sent flying. He now lay sprawled at the base of a tree-the tree Thornheart was sleeping at. He pulled himself off of Thornheart and raced back to the monster.

Swlftfeather was hanging on for dear life to the creature's back, claws dug into its flesh. Where the creature should have bled, it let off disgusting black smoke.

Sparrowblaze leaped, his powerful hind legs propelling him through the air at amazing speeds. His claws slid out and dug into the beast's side, his back legs scraping the flesh away and his front claws keeping him from falling.

The creature roared and dropped to the ground, attempting to roll and smash the cats. Swiftfeather's foot was caught before the creature stopped rolling and she spun around, limping, to face it as it stood.

Sparrowblaze managed to leap off, but one claw was ripped out and stuck the the creature's side. He winced in pain as his paw started bleeding where the claw was now missing.

Billowing black smoke surged from the creature's wounds as it spun this way and that, searching for something to kill. Its long, curved claws lashed out towards Sparrowblaze.

Thunderfreeze snarled and attacked the creature's side, slashing viciously at it.

Lavendermoon dived onto the creature's head, and started slashing at it's eyes. "Grrrr!!" she growled, her usually soft lavender eyes, now bloodshot with anger.

The tip of one of the long claws raked Sparrowblaze's side, making blood flow from his side and cover the ground beneath him. But he still staggered up and bit down on the creature's hind leg.

Jewelfire stood in complete shock at the large creature, as did Birchpaw in front of the dog. She struggled to tell her body to move, but she remained stuck to the ground, her bluish tinted silver eyes wide with terror.

Thonrheart sat calmly at the base of a tree. He ran his tongue over one paw, cleaning it, as he watched in amusement.

Hawkscar stared down at the creature, trying to convince himself he was hallucinating.
(WB)

Lavendermoon hissed in anger at Thornheart. "Hey asshole, come help us!!!!" she yelled.

"It looks like your handling it fine, to me." Thornheart replied back, his paw dropping to the ground.

Lavendermoon kept slashing vigorously. "Well, it's a demon dog for crying out loud!!!"

Sparrowblaze swayed a little when he let go of the demon's leg. He lunged, and bit down on beast's tail.

Finally, Thornheart stood, and started padding in circles around the shadow dog, looking for a clear opening. There was a strange look in his narrowed eyes as he got a closer look at the dog. It was eerie and strange, a force unlike he had seen before. Although thoughts of Bane flickered into his mind, as his long, aggravated claws scraped against the ground.