Author's Note:
Okay, I'd like to give credit to this oneshot to rainystormystarry, also known as Spire. Her review on the Curse of Beauty inspired me to write something more mature. :D
And in my opinion, this is by far the most beautiful yet horrible thing I've ever written. It includes a character that I created for a story also called Horizon that I deleted, but the character was so good that I decided I hadn't finished with him yet. Aso includes two other of my OC's but all the other cats are proper characters.
Oh yeah, and I tried to get names that would fit the characters appearances… in case you're picky about that. :)
That's all I'm gonna say because I don't want to give anything away.
Note, this may turn out to be quite a short story, but I'm hoping it will be of a good length.
Please RR.
Horizon: (Book One)
No one knew why Amberheart was in the Dark Forest.
It baffled everyone. Even cats in StarClan were puzzled: it just seemed illogical. How could a cat so kind, so loving, so likeable and so handsome, be so evil that he had to be cast off into the shadows, amongst the likes of Tigerstar, Brokenstar and Hawkfrost? It was a mystery that no one had been able to solve for generations, ever since he appeared in the Dark Forest. And all the cats in StarClan that could've of possibly remembered him had all faded away moons ago, so there were no cats that had the knowledge to tell the story. No one except Amberheart.
But the strange thing about it, was that he never seemed to fade.
The punishment of the Dark Forest was that there was no water, no food there. The cats banished to the place were starved of water and food for the time, no matter how big or small, they had to serve. It was torturous, and almost cruel- but never as cruel as the crimes the cats had committed in their lifetime. The time they served as penance in the Dark Forest was determined by how how long the cats in the living world remembered them by.
And Amberheart had been there for so long that no cats in heaven or hell could say how long he had been truly alive in memory. Perhaps his crimes were so horrific, and so outrageous, that he lived on in the nursery stories and rhymes that the elder's repeated to the kits, and the kits repeated to their kits.
The mystery was only solved when a cat of StarClan was sent as a messenger into the Dark Forest with an offer to make.
Skytail sat at the border between StarClan and the Dark Forest, twitching her paws hesitantly. She stared forward into the trees and shadows where she had been made to promise never to go unless on strict orders from StarClan. Suddenly, she found herself wishing she had never accepted this mission. Her long tail (the feature which had given her her suffix) curled over her paws and her sky blue eyes looked up, searching for any light projected from the sky in the Place of No Stars. But of course, she found none.
She closed her eyes and thought of the previous day.
...
'Skytail.'
A female voice echoed into the she-cat's eardrums, making her jolt awake from her daydream. She sat alone, a good few metres away from everyone else who was dozing underneath the light of the stars. She realised she must have fallen asleep, and quickly she broke into a fit of frantic washing.
'Bluestar!' She said, nervously. 'I'm sorry, I didn't see you there.'
Bluestar purred and flicked her tail over Skytail's ear. 'It's alright,' she replied, before sitting down beside her, 'I wanted to talk to you anyway.'
Skytail couldn't help but feel almost honoured. Bluestar, though she would never admit it, had a large amount of power and influence in StarClan. To be honest, it was slightly hypocritical, because in StarClan everyone was supposed to be equal; whenever someone needed to take the lead, however, the cat was always Bluestar, or someone of her stature anyway.
'Really?' Skytail asked, her sky-blue eyes prickling with interest. Why would anyone as important as Bluestar want to talk with me?
She asked Bluestar why, and quickly Bluestar stiffened and her eyes contracted a little. She turned her head. 'Well, um,' she paused before continuing, 'I'm certain you're aware of the situation we have in StarClan at the moment.'
Of course Skytail knew about the problem. She'd be surprised if anyone didn't know about it. It was the only thing that cats had been talking about for days.
Twelve days earlier, Squirrelflight, a previous deputy of ThunderClan, had seemingly disappeared completely. At first, no one had really cared, but when she didn't reappear in two days, cats had started to get worried about her. Search parties were sent out into the furthest corners of StarClan territory, but still, she wasn't found. The situation only elevated, however, when another cat went missing. A young apprentice of ShadowClan named Birchpaw. At that point, whispers had started to go round- rumours of a StarClan cat going on some kind of sadistic murdering spree. And at the point when another cat disappeared, yet another apprentice called Swiftpaw, previously of ThunderClan, StarClan had been swept into widespread panic. There hadn't been another disappearance for four days now, but still cats were edgy, and protests were going round that no actions were being taken as precaution.
Skytail shook her head a little and nodded at Bluestar, signalling for her to continue.
'Well,' Bluestar said, 'a group of us got together and decided that it was time to take action.' At this, Skytail breathed a sigh of relief. 'And though some of us didn't think it was a very good idea, a solution has been devised.'
Skytail felt her pelt prickle with satisfaction. Finally! She felt like yowling. We can actually sleep knowing that we'll be safe soon. Though the she-cat felt a spark of confusion in her stomach. She still didn't know why Bluestar was telling her about this.
'And what is this… plan?' Skytail asked eventually, her ears pricking up.
Bluestar eyes shifted almost nervously from side to side, and she leaned in close to whisper in Skytail's ears. 'Bearing in mind we're basing this plan on the fact that the cause of the disappearances is, um, a resident of StarClan, we'll need a cat who can help us to catch the one responsible. And since no one in StarClan really has any experience with how a cat like this would act, we need to find someone who does.'
Skytail took a moment to process this. Bluestar was being extremely cryptic; Skytail thought that she understood though. She was saying that-
Skytail's eyes widened in shock, and she backed away a little. 'You mean,' she spluttered, 'this plan of yours, involves going to find another cat like this? Another cat- someone just as dangerous as this?'
Bluestar looked down, as if she was suddenly having doubts about the plan. 'Yes.' She answered finally. 'We came to conclusion that it takes a… murderer-' Bluestar seemed particularly hesitant to use this term- 'to know a murderer.'
For some reason, the white she-cat felt herself shudder. She could almost hear everything in her mind clicking into place as she started to understand. 'But the only place you'll find a murderer here is in the Dark Forest...'
...
She sighed, suddenly feeling extremely stupid. Why in the Clan's name did you accept this? She scolded herself mentally. Skytail remembered why. As soon as Bluestar had asked her whether she would like to be the one to act as StarClan's messenger into the Dark Forest, Skytail had felt her adventurous side start to whirl. Ever since kit-hood, her adventurous side had always got Skytail into trouble. As an apprentice, she remembered when she had chased after a badger and nearly got killed. Now, because of the same reasons, Skytail had once again put her life at risk.
She tried to shake off the uneasy feelings in her gut, and she reached forward with her paw to step into Dark Forest territory. She did so slowly, like a fawn taking it's first step. But slowly, she pressed her paw down on the uneven grass of the Dark Forest. She took a deep breath and stepped over fully into the Place of No Stars, leaving StarClan's glittering territory behind her.
She focused on her paw steps, ensuring that she just kept moving forward. Nerves flew around in her belly, but she forced herself to keep moving forward. Though Skytail couldn't help feeling somewhat curious as well. She had never been in the Dark Forest before, and ever since she had made the journey to StarClan, four seasons ago, she had been desperately bored. She had no experience with murderers and traitors either: she had died of old age, and had had a long, reasonably happy, life.
The trees were tall and their bark was rotten and black. No light seeped form the sky and down onto the ground. The branches of the dying trees smothered whatever light glowed from StarClan's lush territory. Skytail's eyes darted around slowly, searching for an assailant that could be hiding in the darkness of the undergrowth. As a ThunderClan cat, Skytail would have usually taken comfort in being in a forest, but this one just set her on edge. There was something evil about the place. Something that mirrored the sadistic minds of the cats who lived there.
Suddenly, she heard a twig snap, and instantly Skytail spun around to face the noise. She stared at the bush where she had heard the snap. 'Who are you?' She called out, her voice shaky.
When she received no reply, Skytail's voice hardened. 'Answer me!' She shouted.
Slowly, the she-cat began to back away from the undergrowth. She turned her head, looking to see if there was anything else nearby. She couldn't see, nor smell, anything. And when a long low growl echoed out from the first bush, Skytail only hastened her pace. She began to brake into a run when the growl turned into a snarl, and then suddenly-
'Stop!'
A commanding voice echoed through the forest. Skytail looked forward to see the shadow of another cat standing by the bushes in front of her. She couldn't see the cat, just a long shadow.
Skytail licked her lips nervously, before placing a paw step in front of her. But the voice came again.
'No!' It yowled. Now, Skytail realised it was the voice of a tomcat. It was a soft voice, full of confidence, and also urgency. It was hard to describe. Though there was a note of tenderness behind it, it was also somewhat firm and strong at the same time. 'Don't take another step.' It ordered.
She hesitated, before withdrawing her paw and standing totally still. She wanted to glance backwards over her shoulder, to see what was behind her, but the voice had told her not to move. She closed her eyes, thinking about the situation she was in. 'Why?' She called out, addressing the shadow. 'What is it?'
There was moment of quiet, before the voice came again. 'If I told you now, you'd probably panic.' It said, almost matter of factly.
Skytail shivered, but she continued to resist the urge to move. For some reason, she couldn't help but automatically trust the voice. She didn't know what it was, but she got the sense that whatever this voice was was friendly… hopefully more than whatever was behind her. 'What do I do?' She murmured.
'The thing behind you detects sound.' It replied. 'But it's sensors only have a limited range. If you can get away from it without making too much noise, you should be okay.'
Skytail processed the information carefully, before nodding. 'Okay.' She said back. For a second, she hoped that the voice would give her some reassurance, but when she received none, she closed her eyes. Right, just move slowly, she told herself, struggling to stay calm, and everything will be fine.
Gingerly, she placed her paw forward and took a step. She heard a small growl from behind her and she instantly winced. Once more, she found herself seeking reassurance, but none came. Skytail took a momentary breath to ready herself, before starting to move again, even more cautiously than before. Her paws moved in rhythm like clockwork. Right step. Left step. Right step. Left step.
It wasn't long until she was standing next to the bush in where she knew the caster of the shadow was hiding. Her ears pricked when finally she heard the voice again, just above a whisper.
'Good job,' it said, relief tainting the voice. 'Now, just duck behind the bush with me. You'll be out of range by that time, and then and only then, we can make a dash for it.'
Skytail didn't say a word out of nerves, though her tail kinked over her back in a sign of acceptance. Almost instantaneously, the shadow disappeared, like the caster was stepping backwards. She shrugged her unease and the made the small paw steps that took her around the bush. She wanted to look behind, to see whatever was helping her, but something held her in place. Another part of her didn't want to.
Suddenly, there was a high pitched squeal. Skytail backed away, surprised by the sound. She realised it was the thing that had been following her, and she dropped into a crouch to hide her appearance. She squinted through the gaps in the thorn bush, trying to make out what it was. The darkness in the forest was traitorous, and didn't let her see it in full. But there was a strange cold eminence coming from it, something foreboding and evil.
'You were lucky to survive that.'
Skytail remembered the matter that was on her paws. Quickly, she turned around to take in the figure behind her.
It was another cat, thankfully. A tom. He wasn't that big, however his muscles were clear beneath his frame. His pelt was mix of white and brown, though it wasn't splodges of brown on a white background. The two colours blended into each other nicely, and his fur was very long and rich. His body was littered with battle scars that seemed to writhe like cornered snakes, but they didn't make him seem threatening. If anything, his appearance made him seem quite comforting and friendly. The only thing that Skytail didn't like about him were his eyes. They were deep amber, like the sun in the morning, and they were flecked with gold. They weren't disturbing, or anything like that, there was just something… unsettling about them.
'Yes.' Skytail replied finally, facing the tom. 'I suppose I am.'
He tilted his head to onside, as if he was assessing her. It occurred to her that he wasn't sure whether she was friendly or hostile either.
'Thank you.' Skytail quickly added, remembering her manners. 'I don't think I would've survived that without you.' She wasn't sure whether being polite to a Dark Forest cat was the correct thing to do or not-
Her eyes widened, and the memory hit her over the head like a sledgehammer. He's a Dark Forest cat! She backed away, before realising that the thorn bush was in the way of her and escape. 'I- um-' She stuttered. 'I guess, I'm sorry to have bothered you. I'll be on my way-'
The tom stared at her, looking confused, before a glint of understanding entered his eyes. He shuffled his paws. 'Oh!' He exclaimed. 'I see. You're afraid of me because I'm a Dark Forest cat.'
What he said made Skytail pause for a moment. How did he read me so well? She wondered, before another voice in her head spoke. Well you did back away from him with a terrified expression on your face. She gathered herself before addressing him again. 'I'm not afraid of you.'
He snorted. 'Then why do you look so scared?' He said, almost challengingly. He didn't wait for her to answer before he continued, staring at the floor. 'Well, I suppose you would be. I'm sure other cats in StarClan tell you about some of the things that the residence of the Dark Forest did.'
For some reason, Skytail felt herself grow in confidence. She stood up to her usual height again, and stared him right in the eyes. 'And what makes you think that I'm a StarClan cat?' She demanded.
The tom's eyes contracted a little, before a bemused expression crossed his face. 'Not too hard too work out.' He commented, before beginning to groom his whiskers. 'Why else would you have stars in your paws?'
Skytail glanced at her paws; it crossed her mind what a glaring contrast the glimmering stars in her pelt would be to the gloomy darkness of the Place of No Stars. She glanced back up the tom, trying to hide the embarrassment in her face. He smiled at her.
This stopped her.
That small sign of affection was the one thing that made her think differently about the tom in front of her. Her logic was screaming at her internally, telling to get away from the cat, telling her that he was dangerous. He was a Dark Forest cat, after all. But… the only thing was that he didn't seem dangerous. At all. He was smiling at her in such a kindly way, a way that only displayed a cat that had, believe it or not, saved Skytail's life.
Gratitude filled her body as the thought crossed her mind. He saved my life.
'What's your name?' She asked, sitting down upon her haunches comfortably. She had made the decision to trust this strange tomcat… for the moment, while she got to grips with her situation, anyway.
'My name?' The tom said, almost questionably. He sat back, looking a little surprised. 'In the Dark Forest, we don't usually use names, since no one really talks to each other.' His tail flicked from side to side. 'However, I remember in my first life, my clan-mates used to call me Amberheart.'
'Amberheart?' She repeated the name, before looking at his deep amber eyes, which she guessed was part of the inspiration for his name. 'The name suits you.' She added, finally.
Amberheart frowned, before unsheathing his claws inspecting them casually. 'I guess.' He murmured. Skytail couldn't help but feel self-conscious, and a little nervous, as she eyed the length and sharpness of his white claws. 'What's your's?' He offered.
The idea of revealing such a personal fact set her on edge a little, especially since she was revealing it to a complete stranger. Mind you, he had told her his, and it seemed childish not to. 'My name is Skytail.' She replied.
There were a few moments of silence, where the two cats just looked at each other. The unnerving quiet was broken by another high pitch squeal, similar to the one Skytail had heard earlier. She glanced around her, checking to see that there was nothing close. She looked back to see a worried look in Amberheart's eyes.
'It's not a good thing for a StarClan cat to be in the Dark Forest.' He said, darkly, before turning away from Skytail. 'You're drawing too much attention to us, and I can't allow you to head back for the border alone.'
Skytail's ears pricked at this, and she gazed at him, puzzled. 'Why not?' She snapped. 'I can take care of myself.'
He looked back. 'You're my responsibility now.' He replied simply, a note of sympathy in his voice. 'What would happen if you never went back to StarClan? They'd assume that one of the cats here killed you. That would lead to a huge scandal.' He rolled his eyes, exasperated. 'I remember the last time something like that happened. There were so many meetings…' He shook his head, realising he was becoming distracted. 'Look. You can't go back alone, because you'd probably get killed. That means you're gonna have to come with me.'
Now Skytail may have been okay with simply talking with a complete stranger from the Dark Forest, but she was most certainly not okay with going anywhere with him, let alone deeper into the Place of No Stars. She shook her head frantically. 'No.' She retorted bluntly. 'I won't.'
Amberheart stopped walking, and very slowly turned his head. Skytail stepped back a little. It was obvious that Skytail was trying his patience. 'Do you really want go down that line?' He asked, with an icy edge to his voice. Quickly, he controlled himself and continued. 'I promise I won't hurt you, is that alright? Upon my existence in the Dark Forest.' He raised his paw. 'As soon as morning breaks, I'll take you back to StarClan.'
Skytail had been a little shocked by the sudden icy edge to Amberheart's voice, but she guessed she could see the situation he was in. He had unnecessary danger on his paws, considering he had just saved a cat's life and apparently she was officially in his responsibility. Again, she found herself torn. One part of her was fine with following him, since he had saved her life, but the other was telling her to just make a dash for it.
Whether it was the right or the wrong decision, she decided on which path to take.
Slowly, she took a step forward, and began to follow Amberheart deeper into the Dark Forest. All of a sudden, she was far more aware of the fact that she felt like she was being looked at. Skytail glanced back at the rapidly moving figure in front of her. 'Where are we going?' She shouted.
'To my base.' He replied, before shaking a bit of dirt from his paw. 'Or what is my base at the moment.'
Skytail didn't feel like questioning his judgement, since his judgement had proved to be pretty good over the past few minutes. She quickened her pace so that she fell into step beside him, and she eyed him warily. 'How do you know when morning breaks in a place so dark?' She asked him.
'Easy.' Amberheart replied. He twisted his head and nodded to the left. 'You can see the light from StarClan through the branches.'
Skytail followed his gaze and saw that he was right. Through the gaps in the trees you could just about see some of the light seeping in from StarClan's territory. It was somewhat faded, since it was night and they were quite deep into the Place of No Stars. Bluestar will probably be awaiting my return. She mused.
Then she remembered. Bluestar! My mission! In the Clan's name, I completely forgot about that! She shook her head in annoyance. Great. Just great. The cats who decided on that stupid solution are probably thinking I'm dead now, and I'm wondering further away from safety with a cat I don't even know- hang on a second. She recalled why she had come here. I have to find a murderer to help StarClan's cause… what about Amberheart?
It was then that Amberheart's voice interrupted her thoughts. 'We're here.' He said.
Skytail looked up to see a straggly, makeshift den hidden underneath a large boulder. The entrance was covered in leaves, obviously being used as camouflage. Skytail took a sniff at it. It didn't look that comfortable. Neither did it look like there was enough space there to satisfy the needs of two cats. Amberheart had already ducked into the den and flicked his tail as a gesture for her to follow, but Skytail paused before she entered. For some reason, she got the feeling that the decision of entering or not was going to have a lager significance upon her life that she assumed.
She shook her head. That's silly. She thought, before carrying on in through the entrance.
It was dark inside, and as she had guessed, not that comfortable. The floor was covered with moss, but she knew that moss in the Dark Forest surely wasn't going to be that welcoming. She peered through the shadows until she made out the shape of Amberheart. He had sat down upon a small nest at the very back of the den, and he was eyeing her cautiously.
'I know there's not that much space, but you'll have to bare it.' He said at last. 'Like I promised, I'll take you back to StarClan at dawn. But you're going to have to promise me something as well.'
'And what is that?' Skytail returned.
'That you won't leave this den until dawn.' Amberheart said simply, raising his back leg and beginning to scratch the fur upon his cheek. 'I've already explained why, and now that you're in here, you're scent will be all over my den. That points the accusing paw towards me, don't you think?'
Skytail didn't answer. Her eyes never left Amberheart's shape: there was no way she was going to let him attack her unawares. It was just a precaution, but she was going to take it anyway.
As soon as Amberheart got the picture she had, though not verbally, agreed with him, the atmosphere of the conversation settled down considerably. He sat back, as if he had been assured of not only her safety but his own safety and flashed her a smile through the darkness. 'So what's a StarClan cat like you doing in the Dark Forest?' He asked, his voice taking a friendly tone.
Skytail blinked. His invitation to have a conversation was to her, most definitely unexpected. 'Um… well.' She began. 'I'm kind've of on a mission from StarClan authorities.' She said, choosing her words carefully.
'StarClan authorities!' Amberheart laughed. 'That makes it seem very official. What are you, some kind of spy?'
For some reason, this made Skytail blush. 'Not exactly.' She shuffled her paws awkwardly.
He tilted his head to one side. 'Well I guess what ever "mission", you're on, must be pretty important and also pretty desperate. Is that why you where hesitant to come with me, because you had to get back to your buddies in StarClan?'
Skytail frowned. He did it again. Amberheart seemed to have a special gift for making very accurate predictions and deductions. 'What makes you think that?' Actually, Skytail was quite curious herself.
He shrugged. 'Obvious.' He replied. 'No offence, but when I saw you, you didn't exactly look prepared for this, meaning that you were probably sent on short notice. And it must be urgent for them to only send one cat instead of a patrol into the most dangerous place around.'
Skytail frowned. She was suddenly very aware that StarClan were making quite a bold risk in sending her into the Dark Forest alone. For the first time she asked a question. Why me?
Amberheart stretched his back out luxuriously. 'There's no chance you'll give me a bit of a brief on this mission of yours?' He asked. She heard the crack of his spine as he stretched. 'It sounds rather exciting.'
This is your chance! Skytail knew that she didn't really fancy meeting any of the other cats in the Dark Forest, and she doubted that any of them would be as friendly as Amberheart. Really, it was a miracle that she hadn't bumped into anyone that wasn't hostile. 'Actually, it's very convenient for you to ask.' Skytail said.
Amberheart stopped stretching and sat up, looking intrigued. 'It is?' He replied. 'Why?'
Skytail inhaled a deep breath, like she was about to tell a story. And in some sense, she was. 'In StarClan at the moment…' she stopped, searching for the correct word. 'We have a situation.' When Amberheart gestured for her to continue, she carried on. 'A residence of StarClan, Squirrelfight, disappeared about seven sunrises ago. There was little speculation as to where she was at the time, but when she didn't return after two days, cats started to get worried. Later, two other cats, apprentices, also disappeared.' She glanced at Amberheart, but his expression remained intrigued. 'Bluestar and a few other cats devised a solution to the problem. They assume that a very dangerous cat is on the loose in StarClan, a killer, and since none of them has any experience with how to handle serial murderers, they need to find someone who does.'
Skytail stopped and waited for a reaction from Amberheart. All he did was nod his giant head very slowly, still processing the information.
'So that's why you're here.' He said at last. The tom raised his head and stared at her with those unnerving amber eyes. 'StarClan sent you into the Dark Forest to try and find a cat to help them?'
'Yes.' Skytail murmured. She shuffled forward, closer to Amberheart. 'And since you're taking me back to the border at morning, and you probably won't allow me to go and find any other cats, you're my only option.'
There was silence in the den. Skytail peered at Amberheart, searching for a sign, any kind that would convey some sort of decision that he was making. The pupils of his eyes darted around, back and forth and side to side, thinking about the offer he had been asked.
Finally he spoke. 'Skytail…' He said, his voice suddenly much more serious than the nonchalant and cheerful Amberheart that she had been talking to earlier. 'When I saved your life back there, I must say, I definitely wasn't expecting this to confront me.'
Skytail didn't move. She was still tense waiting for an answer.
He sighed. 'It's one of those moments, isn't it, Willowfeather?'
Though the she-cat would never admit it, all of a sudden, Skytail felt like she was intruding upon a very personal and emotional moment that was taking place in the den in the Dark Forest. Amberheart had been friendly, but because of that one sentence, which Skytail probably wasn't supposed to have heard, she got the impression she was talking with a very different cat. A dark cat. One with secrets. One where he had done bad things. Terrible things.
The phrase not only touched her, but she instantly realised the wisdom behind them as well. One of those moments. She had sensed it earlier. The same kind of thing. Just before she had entered the den. The moment where she had decided whether to go in or not had felt overwhelming huge, as if her whole life was revolving around it. And perhaps it was. She knew that Amberheart was experiencing one of those moments as well. Whether to say yes or-
'I accept!'
Skytail jumped up, surprised by his outbreak. Her eyes widened with disbelief. 'What?' She echoed, not quite believing that Amberheart had already made his decision. So fast? She thought.
'I accept.' Through the darkness, Skytail could make out the crystal white of his smile. For some reason unknown to her, he seemed absolutely thrilled that the offer had been proposed to him. 'We'll leave in the morning.'
'But- what-' She spluttered, before coughing and recovering herself. 'I mean, are you sure?'
He nodded. 'Definitely.' He grinned from ear to ear. 'This is an ace in the hole for me.'
Her eyes contracted as she stared at the tom. She struggled to understand why he would be so pleased, and to be honest, it made her suspicious, but who was she to complain? She had completed her mission. She had found a cat who could help them bring the murderer in StarClan to justice. She ignored the nagging feeling of insecurity, and flashed him a small smile.
'Good.' She replied. 'StarClan thanks you.'
He stopped smiling. For th first time, she noticed how little Amberheart blinked. His deep amber eyes always seemed open, staring into her soul, ripping her apart layer from layer. It was like he was reading her mind. 'StarClan?' He said, bluntly, before shaking his head. 'Don't talk to me about StarClan.'
Once more, Skytail became aware of the burning tension between the two of them. No matter how welcome Amberheart had made her feel, she had always got the sense that he was somewhat bothered by the fact she was here. Skytail understood that she didn't belong here, in the Dark Forest. Not one bit.
But by tomorrow, it would be Amberheart trespassing upon her domain.
Amberheart had already curled up into a ball and muttered a good night to her by the time Skytail felt the first sign of exhaustion hitting her. The exhilaration of the day had finally made an impact upon her body, and she felt a force lulling her to the mossy floor of Amberheart's den. It would be madness to fall asleep in the Dark Forest, with a cat she didn't understand sleeping near her, but what other choice did she have?
Slowly, she lay down, rested her head upon her paws, and closed her eyes.