A/N;;The lyrics that are featured at the beginning of each character are 'Bring Me to Life' and are by Evanescence. I do not claim any ownership/affiliation over this group, nor over Warriors. However, the plot of this fanfic is solely mine. ^_^
How can you see into my eyes like open doors?
Leading you down into my core
Where I've become so numb without a soul my spirit sleeping somewhere cold
Until you find it there and lead it back home
Drip
Drip.
Drip.
Hollyleaf wakes. She is on the hard, and wet floor of the tunnel. All around her is darkness, and it would have been silent had there not been this insistent dripping noise. How she got there, she cannot remember. Why she is here, she does not know. All she does know, is that she was running from something, something terrible, and that something is dripping onto her head. She glances up, and a water droplet falls from the ceiling and lands on her black nose, causing her to sneeze.
Where am I? she thinks, and finds that she has no answer. Who am I? My name is Hollyleaf, but...there was something more...
She shudders, pushing the feeling of overwhelming panic away from her, towards the back of her thoughts. Why can't she remember? What is wrong with her? She aches all over, and it feels like something is gnawing on her hind legs, causing immense pain to flash up them and to her spine...
The black shecat looks behind her, to her legs, and gasps in horror. She cannot see them. They are covered by a huge mound of earth and dirt and rock. This explains the pain, and the creeping sensation of numbness that is spreading across her.
Her breath comes in short gasps, and she struggles to pull herself out, to free herself, to get out of this prison, this cave. She knows that she has to get her legs free quickly, or else she might end up loosing them permanently. Attempting to quell her panic, she curls around and scratches at the dirt with her claws. Her emerald eyes can hardly see in the dim lighting, but she can feel the moist dirt tumbling off of the mound past her body and to the floor. The water drips onto her head again, running down her ear, making her shake her head to get rid of it. It feels like forever, but soon, she has loosened the dirt enough to get her legs out. She tries to kick them, but they do not move. She tries to move them, just a tiny bit, but they refuse to work properly. Instead, she receives a huge amount of pain that runs up her spine and up to her skull, nearly knocking her out again.
Were they always like this?
Seeing that pushing herself out isn't going to work, she turns around and pulls herself out with her front paws. With every movement, sparks of pain flash in front of her eyes. Finally, she is out, and she crawls a few paces away from the mound.
They're broken. I'll have to make some sort of a splint, and I'll need a dressing of marigold petals, I think... she realizes, and then wonders how she knows. Whatever...I just need to get out of here, though. I'm starving, and I doubt there's any prey in these tunnels...
She attempts to stand up again, but to no avail. Her legs are truly and completely broken. Or maybe just fractured; she's not too sure on this. Either way though, it's not good, and is going to hinder her greatly. So now she'll just have to drag herself from place to place, until she can get the proper materials to make a splint.
And that is what she does. It takes a while to get used to having to use only two legs instead of four, and it takes even longer to even get out of the particular cave that she's currently in. She takes a rest here and there, in order to keep the pain from killing her, but she goes on. Along the way, she keeps seeing flashes of memory. If she presses too hard they disappear, but if she lets them flow through her consciousness, she is able to see them, if only briefly.
A flash of grey fur and pale blue eyes flit across her vision. They are blind eyes, she knows, and yet, does not know. The eyes are accompanied by a set of bright amber ones that are framed by gold tabby fur and are soft and kind compared to what comes to her mind next. A flash of claws, a hint of fangs, and hard, cruel deep blue eyes that she once could die looking into and yet hate with the most terrible of vehemence.
She breaks out of her thoughts at the sound of something rushing, something roaring, just at the bend ahead.
Hollyleaf pulls herself up to the edge of a rock, and sees where the sound is coming from.
Below her is a rushing waterfall. The waters plunge down at least six, seven feet and they race away in a torrent of fast moving water. The sight frightens her, and yet thrills her at the same time. What would it be like, to rush along with it? She does not want to find out, but in a twisted way, she does. Either way, the subterranean water leads to the surface in some way or another, as she can see rays—they are faint, sure, but all the same, it is light. She decides that it's going to take way too long for her to continue on just two legs. Perhaps she should test her hind legs, to see if she was wrong, and that they're just badly bruised, and not broken. She staggers up, and is not surprised when she falls back down again. But… her right leg didn't hurt as badly. Her heart leaps. She attempts to flex her leg, and grins. It hurts, but she can move it. Letting her left leg go limp, she stands on three paws and hobbles back down the rock overhang.
For a few paces, she walks alongside the water, captivated by its color and sound and power. But it's mostly the power of it that excites her. What would it be like to just charge through any sort of obstacle without fearing, without even thinking? Has this power always been so…alluring to her, as it is now? She doesn't know. But she does realize that power has to be matched with intellect to prevent it from getting out of hand. And for once she knows; intellect is something that she has never been short on.
Suddenly, she loses her footing and slips.
She falls, her mouth gaped open in a scream that no one will ever hear. She falls, her paws frantically scrabbling in the air, her tail lashing from side to side. She falls into the roaring waters, unseen and unheard.
But really, she is seen and definitely has been heard
In fact, she is not the only one in the tunnels.
Sol is there, carrying a bough of pine in his jaws. Why pine? It has a very sharp scent, and the needles fall off very easily. It's perfect for leaving a trail. He had been very pleased to discover an old fox tunnel—or what he thought was an old fox tunnel—just outside of the abandoned twoleg place, his temporary home. These had to be the tunnels that he had heard of during his time in ShadowClan, these had to be the ones that caused so much trouble. So of course, he just had to explore them. But he had to take certain precautions, thus explaining the pine needles. He is deep in thought when he hears a scream. It echoes through his mind, and strikes a chord in his soul.
He runs towards the sound, still carrying the pine.
What could she be doing down here? And what had happened? He had never heard a more terrible sound in his entire life!
He is at the waterfall, almost having fallen in himself. He looks down, and gasps.
The water is suffocating, this is worse than anything, anything in the world. She manages to kick her way to the surface, only for a moment, and gets a mouthful of air...
He sees her head push its way above the surface. He waits a second, hoping…but it doesn't return. The tortoiseshell and white tom sighs heavily, dreading going into the water. But he does, thankful that after the floods, Leafstar had everyone learn how to swim. It wasn't easy, though, and that was about the time Sharpclaw started to follow his sister around. Luna didn't like it, and neither did Sol. To put a long story short, it had been a messy affair to deal with. He hoped that things would work out a little smoother than that time.
His body is moving gracefully in the water, his entire self emitted confidence. But will swimming like a RiverClanner be enough to save her? He can see her just a fox length away. She spins around, pulled by the current, and for a single second, her emerald eyes meet his gold ones. Then, she falls back into the water, her slim form lost in the current and foam.
Knowing that it is the last possible moment to save her, he plunges forwards and (dropping the branch, which has miraculously stayed in his mouth the entire time) sinks his sharp teeth into the scruff of her neck. It will hurt, he knows, but he has other things to worry about than leaving her with some bite marks.
Even though she is essentially deadweight in his jaws, he manages to use the current to his advantage and rides it to the shore.
He collapses on the rock in a messy heap, his ordinarily immaculately groomed fur spiked and soaking wet. Hollyleaf lays besides him, looking pretty much the same. He glances over at her, and is relieved to see that she is breathing. Certainly, her breaths are ragged and a tad irregular, but she's alive, that's a good thing. He feels a glow of satisfaction, the sort that he experiences when he has managed to 'influence' a particularly difficult cat. It's odd to feel this now, but he accepts the new feeling. And he cannot help but relish it. Sol settles down on the ground, and begins to groom himself. He briefly considers doing the same to Hollyleaf—the poor thing will catch a cold if her fur is left soaking. But still, he doubted that she would be pleased if she woke up. No doubt she would get quite angry. Perhaps it would be best to leave her to her sleep.
She looks quite peaceful in her sleep. Almost…cute. Well, almost. He muses to himself as he washes his tufted ears.
She may look peaceful, but do not forget, she is dreaming.
They are not the good sort of dreams, but more of the nightmarish type, the one that will wake her out of breath and shaking. The water is cold, and it is suffocating her. It swirls around her, the colors are bright and confusing, flashing on and off. She can smell something …blood…but not just any blood. It has something to do with the handsome grey tom with piercing blue eyes. He walks up to her, seemingly unaware of the waters that bind Hollyleaf in place. Her heart cries out to stop, to stop this torture, but she says nothing. He sneers, and his eyes grow larger and larger and it feels as if she is within them. She sees flames, rising against a stormy sky. There are three cats huddled behind them, their only path to flee is blocked by the same grey cat. A smaller ginger shecat crouches in front of him, pleading and begging. The tom laughs maniacally, and the flames grow larger, and they pounce on the three. Their shrieks and cries wake Hollyleaf.
Sol jumps as Hollyleaf staggers to her paws, screaming. She looks around her, panting, her green eyes wild with panic. He notes that one of her legs is held carefully, and that its opposite is twisted awkwardly. He feels as if he should do something.
But what? he thinks. He has no experience whatsoever with cats coming out of nightmares. And so, he sits and waits for her to calm down.
It takes a moment for Hollyleaf to get her bearings. The last thing that she saw after passing out was a set of brilliant gold eyes…and the same pair of eyes are staring at her, wondering if she's alright.
Where am I? I thought that I was drowning...and who is this?
Sol stares into her eyes, waiting for her to show some sign of recognition. But she just stares at him, bewildered. Finally, she asks, "Who are you?"
Sol blinks. Something is wrong, terribly wrong. He looks into her eyes, searching her memories, but he finds none. Well, almost none. There are a few fragments, but nothing that her consciousness will pick up. They may appear in her dreams, but that will be it. Just so as long as nothing triggers them to come back, that is...
A wicked look spreads across the cat's face, and it scares Hollyleaf. The expression only lasts for a second, but it still unnerves her. She presses back, her eyes wide.
"Why do you ask? You of all cats should know my name," Sol says, standing up with a flourish of his tail.
"Why should I know your name?"
"Don't you remember?" purrs Sol, padding towards Hollyleaf and sitting beside her.
"No," says Hollyleaf, feeling a little uncomfortable as his fluffy tail curls around hers. "I really cannot remember anything."
"But surely you can remember me, just a little bit?" he says, and feels a wave of cunning wash over him as he sees something flicker in her eyes. She can remember his eyes…gold and luminous like the sun, only brighter than the star…filled with power…
"I can remember…a little…"
"Can you remember my name?"
"Sort of…"
"Does Sol ring a bell?"
Hollyleaf does not know what a 'bell' is, but the name 'Sol' does click…why yes, the handsome cat in front of her looks quite familiar. She feels she can trust him. And he knows it. He intends on taking advantage of her blind trust.
"Wonderful…" he purrs, pouring as much charisma as he possibly can into his voice. Sol can see the change in her eyes, the way her pupils dilate and how the flecks of gold shine like diamonds. She is perhaps the only one he has encountered who reacts to his charm like this. And she is the only one who he would risk ruining his fabulous plans in order to make her happy. Even though he hardly can recognize this weakness, he is subconsciously wary, and seeks to master it.
"Let's get ourselves out of these horrible tunnels, shall we?"
Hollyleaf nods, and tries to stand, but she staggers a few steps and falls back to the hard rock. Her legs are already mangled (though not beyond repair) and the trip down the waterfall has weakened her greatly.
"Lean on me."
Hollyleaf looks up at Sol. He is no longer sitting, but is standing, his tufted ears flicked forwards.
"Go on. You can't walk alone in your condition." He adds as she hesitates. "I don't bite. Most of the time."
Gritting her teeth, she obliges, and they walk out of the tunnels together, following the scent of pine. She hates to feel dependant on someone, but the tortoiseshell has a point. There is no way she could walk, or even find her way out of these tunnels.
Uncharacteristically, Sol feels an urge to engage the young shecat in aimless conversation. Why, he doesn't know. But he does know that perhaps he had better keep his trap shut, seeing that Hollyleaf probably won't care to hear him. She looks quite tired, and even as they reach the end of the tunnel she doesn't look up. He decides to just walk and plot. He already had a good—no, excellent—set of plans, but now that he has Hollyleaf…well, that changes everything, now doesn't it?