In the tranquil of the night, something is lurking. In the darkness, you are never alone. These are the cats you should be wary of. They are not your friends.
It was a warm summer evening. A warm greenleaf night. It was just dark, not black dark of nighttime, but the cool darkness of late. There were fireflies out, and the grass was cool underpaw. But wasn't it always like this? She couldn't remember. She just knew one thing; she didn't belong here. This was the forest of loneliness, but she never felt lonely anymore. There was nowhere out. You sometimes scented prey, scented other animals. But you never saw them. You never saw anything except for the fireflies. It was always night. But it was not bad here. Not too bad at all. Yet she felt she was missing something. Her heart and head felt empty. She knew nothing of this forest, yet she knew she once did.
Time didn't seem to move here, nothing changed. But did it really happen in life before? All she knew was this dark forest. You never got tired here. She rarely stopped walking. So she spent her nights roaming. Was she once tired? Perhaps. But now life was nothing but silent trekking through the shadowy forest.
The night where everything changed was different from all the rest of the nights. But all the nights seemed to run together, and sometimes she felt as though it was one continuous night, and although she moved, everything else was still. For she stopped her roaming and sat down. Just sat down in front of a very wide tree. But weren't all trees wide? In this forest. This forest.
"Ahh, you came!" She jumped what was that? It was familiar and strange all at once. Then her memory came back. A voice. She searched her mind for anything else, but found nothing but a voice. You came. You came. Did she still know how to talk? She didn't remember. She turned around and saw a large black cat- yes, black! The color of her own pelt- standing behind her, his green eyes glittering in the sickly moonlight.
"Came?" Yes, her voice still worked. "I just sat down. I didn't go anywhere." Words were now familiar too. But still, her heart was empty.
The black cat sat down and curled his tail around his paws. There was something sinister about this cat, although he just stared at her with his green eyes. Unblinking, green eyes.... "Why would you do that? You have no desire to stop walking. And you are always somewhere." Simple, yet powerful words. She didn't trust him, though what not to trust? After all, there was nothing gained nor lost here.
She shrugged, not taking her eyes off of him. "Well then, what do you want?" he was making her nervous- yes, that was what she had felt in her old life. Nervous...about what? Still, her heart was very empty. She longed for something to fill it.
"Do you feel the void in your heart?" he asked. "Do you long for something when you have nothing nor want anything?" He was still just sitting there, his green eyes on her. How did he know?
She nodded, shocked that she had admitted that; then again, though he made her nervous she realized that she couldn't help but trust him. Yet she didn't trust him completely. No. Trust. Wasn't that something she didn't have much of in her own life? And he was still watching her. "Would you like it to fill up? Full as it once was, with new memories- memories of this forest?"
"Yes. Yes I would." She nodded again, flexing her claws into the soft grass. It was knee-high, and was always so lush and cool. "But how can you do anything. What about you? Are there others?"
"Others? Yes, I suppose you could say that. Follow me" he rose to his paws, his long limbs rippling with muscles. With one last glance at her, he padded off in the direction he came. She got up and followed him. It was weird to be with another cat again. Again- yes. She used to be with others all day. Did she enjoy it? She couldn't say.
Just like before, just trekking through the forest, although this time she wasn't alone. It seemed like forever or a heartbeat and they were there. It looked different from the rest of the forest. She couldn't remember was it was called, but there were no trees growing around it. In the center there was a rock, rounded to the ground.
"Welcome to Rockwhisper Hollow!" the tom raised his chin, turning back around to her. "If you wish to fill your mind-"
"Soulshredder!" A a bright ginger she-cat leaped into the clearing. A clearing! Yes, that was what it was. "What are you doing? You know that we shouldn't use this hollow for anything less than sacred!" How was there other cats here? She had never scented them before, but then this forest was very strange.
"Rainbowpelt, you can stop now." Names. That was how cats identified themselves in her old life. "I know. But don't you think that its time to have another? Mysticleaf agreed with me." Soulshredder replied calmly.
"The MistiCat has been gone for a long time." Rainbowpelt observed quietly. She had no idea what they were talking about, but Soulshredder turned to her.
"Look in the puddle at your paws." As she looked down, my fur tingled because as he spoke a puddle appeared. Her reflection gleamed back at her. Her narrow head and tall ears... and red eyes. It was always that way, she thought. "Red eyes." Soulshredder meowed. "We've been waiting a long time for you."
"Than why did I walk in that forest forever?" She asked challengingly.
Soulshredder dipped his head. "It was not forever. I came as soon as you arrived. But time doesn't exist here, so it doesn't matter. Come," he waved his tail. "Place your paws on this rock."
"Soulshredder!" Rainbowpelt lifted her tail angrily, but Soulshredder ignored her as she padded up and placed her two dark paws on the rock. Rainbowpelt sat down and watched, anguish in her eyes.
"I will fill the dark in your heart. Do you remember? Remember the cats? Remember the times? Do you remember, Darksoul?" As he said he name, everything came back. Darksoul. Darksoul.