CHAPTER 4: Dreams

The rays of dawn peeked through the green roof, which had stones of some sort woven into it. The cats in the nursery were still asleep as I looked around. The world that lay beyond the entrance was all but a mystery to me, and I wanted to see it. With a last glance at my mother and Dawnflower, I left the nursery. As soon as I left I stopped in my tracks. The camp was alive with energy and more cats than I had ever seen before. Some were licking each other's fur, a few were eating, and others were talking and grouping together. 'Wow.'

As I padded through the camp, my eyes taking in all the sights, and my nose working to take in all the smells, a cat tripped over me. They fell on their shoulder and I too was knocked over. Dirt was kicked up and got into my fur. I shook my fluff and turned to see who tripped over me. He too was shaking out his fur, growling he spun around and I froze. 'Tigerstar?' Except it wasn't. Icy blue eyes glared at me and a growl escaped his throat.

"You ugly kit, get out of my way!" His tail lashed and he towered over me.

'Don't be afraid.' Tigerstar's words echoed in my head. I stood up tall, puffed my chest out, and retorted, "Maybe you should watch where you are stepping." It came out more as a squeak, but still.

"What did you say to me? You ugly piece of foxdung, I wish I killed your mother when I had the chance, but now the clan got landed with you and your worthless mother." The tom hissed.

Tears swelled up in my eyes. How dare anyone say that about my mother. "Who do you think you are? You are the one who is nothing, but a worthless piece of fox dung. You don't know anything!" The smart thing to do would be to run back into the nursery, but I wasn't about to let this bully talk about my mother that way. I ran up to his leg, my tiny claws unsheathed and started batting his leg in an attack. The male cat simply swatted me away and I went rolling backwards.

"Stay away from me kit. And for your information, my name is Hawkfrost," he growled as he stalked off. Tears continued to come and soon my lids could not handle the water. They spilled out of my eyes and I ran back into the nursery, running head first into the nest. I dove in, attempting to hide myself from the world. Why didn't I belong?

I sat there for a long while thinking. None of the cats liked me. No one. It was Songwing and I against RiverClan. My mother lay there silently, watching me cry. She didn't know what to say, but I knew she understood how I felt.

I drank milk and stayed curled up in my nest for the rest of the day. Night descended on the camp. Voices quieted down. Mother only left once to get a mouse, she never talked to me much. In a way I was glad. I didn't know how to talk to anyone, but sitting there that night I decided that the only way I was going to be someone was through Tigerstar. He wanted to help me, or so it seemed. I wanted to see the massive tom, I wanted him to train me. To become stronger so I wouldn't cry or feel weak. Closing my eyes I relaxed every muscle in my body, clearing the ambitious thoughts from my mind.

Sure enough when I opened my eyes, a forest of darkness surrounded me. The sky was black, nothing shown in the black abyss. I stood there breathing in the air, which made my nose burn in pain. The air smelled rancid. Like death. From the fog, a broad shouldered, dark brown tom appeared. This time he didn't sit down, but merely stood and stared.

"Are you ready?" Tigerstar asked.

"Yes," I even surprised myself by talking in a surprisingly calm voice.

His amber eyes narrowed at my response, "Follow me." With a flick of his bushy tail he beckoned me to follow him. I did. He led me through the thick trees to another clearing. It too was empty, but it was larger than the last. Logs lay in random spots, soggy and rotten as the wood peeled off of them. The fog lay low on the ground, but as we walked it seemed to be getting thicker. I was sure that the fog had consumed me for I could barely see Tigerstar ahead. The circular clearing never seemed to end. Were we ever going to stop? Finally, Tigerstar halted and sat down.

"Alright, I have no idea what you can do. So first, in order to see what we need to work on, you will track me. This fog is thick enough to cover me, and this clearing is large enough where, without proper use of your nose, one could be searching for hours." He abruptly stood and paused for a brief moment, "Stay seated here, until you can honestly no longer see me."

With those words he turned and sprinted into the fog, leaving me alone. My senses seemed to be frozen and fear traveled through my body, suddenly I was cold and was shivering. 'Don't be afraid,' Tigerstar's voice echoed in my head so clearly it almost felt like he was actually there.

Why did his words always make me unafraid? I pondered. With a sigh I gave up sitting and waiting until my nerves finally calmed down, I stood and opened my mouth to taste the air. His scent was strong, but the rancid air of the forest also filled my mouth and nostrils, making Tigerstar's scent hard to distinguish between, still I tried my best.

Concentrating hard I closed my eyes and tried to place each individual smell, it was hard and I couldn't do it, no matter how hard I tried, the scents here were each too strong. With a shaky paw forward I began to walk and sniff my way through the fog.

Tigerstar was in here someplace and I knew that I had to figure out where, I wanted to be like him. I would show Hawkfrost that he was nothing compared to me. Onward my paws took me, the fog never lifted and only seemed to get thicker.

The expansiveness of the clearing and the space that I could search was too big, overwhelming. Tigerstar was here somewhere. His scent was extremely hard to separate from the others, but I tried to follow what I thought was a trail. After about five minutes of following it lead me to a tree.

Huffing in frustration I sat down with thump. 'I don't know what to do anymore, I can't even track a scent.' Paws landed on the ground behind me, I whipped around and a saw a large paw, swatted me on the belly, knocking the breath out of me.

"When I tell you to do something you do it, don't just sit there like a lost kittypet!" Tigerstar growled.

"I tried!" I pleaded, once air finally returned to my lungs.

"Obviously not hard enough!" His voice was low and condescending. My pelt heated with embarrassment. "Next time we meet you had better search until you find me. Don't make me regret putting my time and effort into training you. Remember Darkeyes it was you who dared step foot into this forest!"

My heart sank into the bottom of my stomach. I felt sick and out of breath from the blow, but it felt even worse now. Tigerstar had stalked away, leaving me alone in the fog covered terrain. I still didn't know how to wake myself up from these dreams, but nonetheless I curled up into a small ball against the tree that I had scented out earlier. I closed my eyes and dreamt of nothing. The cold still seeped through my fur and my bones shivered in response, but nonetheless I laid there.

When my eyes opened I was in a warm nest beside my mother. The camp was dark like the sky. I wasn't tired, but more exhausted. My side ached with pain, though I couldn't remember getting hurt, the only time I had been swatted in the side was when Tigerstar hit me.

My eyes widened in shock and I stared at the ground. Impossible, it was only a dream right? Anything that happened there could not be possibly transferred to the world of the living? Could it?

Hey everyone, Moon here. I feel like these chapters are getting a bit repetitive don't you think? I am currently working on the next chapter that will not be the same as the others 'cause I'm pretty sure you all get the idea of what is going on. Oh by the way which writing style do you prefer? First or third person? I need to know lol. It kills me when I write in two styles and I can't decide which one is better. :D

xMoonx