It's another challenge! Woot woot!
Title: Who's There?
Description: This is a twist on the popular imaginary friend/talking to ghosts. Consider the conflicting emotions of wanting to believe the best in someone, or wanting to defend someone. Let your imagination run wild with the 'deeply troubling thing' they overhear. A rational explanation for the ostensibly invisible cat? Or is it supernatural? If you've written another challenge using a cat speaking to someone that appears to not be there at all, try writing the same situation from another perspective!
Just letting you all know, this is a depiction of extreme gaslighting; viewer discretion is advised.
Who's There?
Waspgaze was a good warrior.
Or so his Clanmates told him.
He never complained about hunting patrol in the snow, cheered up every cat on dawn patrol with his wicked sense of humour, and voluntarily did the elders' bedding when there were no apprentices available. Hazelstar had entrusted the training of partially deaf Blizzardkit to him, and she had become a warrior alongside her littermates all the same.
But Waspgaze was not so convinced of his own virtues.
Because he had a secret that might make all of his Clanmates rethink exactly what they thought of as a 'good warrior'.
He was desperately in love with Cherrybloom.
She took his breath away; her sparkling eyes as she told a joke, her furious commitment to her Clanmates, her indomitable energy in the face of adversary, her easy confidence that set even the most distrustful, skittish cats at ease…
Her skill with herbs.
Her connection to StarClan.
Her absolute untouchable status.
The medicine cat of CliffClan was the most intelligent, kind, warm, brilliant, charming soul that Waspgaze had ever known, and there was absolutely nothing he could do about it.
Hopeless. I have no hope.
Which was true, for two reasons.
A medicine cat would never love a warrior.
Or if she would, and if it happened to be an arrogant tom like, say, Thorndusk, Waspgaze would wait until Thorndusk was guarding the CliffClan camp alone, make a noise just outside the camp, stay still until Thorndusk came to investigate it, and then make him choke on his own blood.
Correction; Waspgaze had waited, he had made a noise, had stayed still,and had made him choke on his own blood, and had made certain that Cherrybloom would not be breaking the code with any tom.
She didn't take it well.
The moon where she had been utterly inconsolable, supposedly because while she was slumbering, she had unknowingly condemned a Clanmate to death, had been one of the hardest times in Waspgaze's life.
Seeing his precious love in the pain that she had caused him by all the gazes at Thorndusk and choosing him to guard her as she collected herbs… well, he told himself that he'd lived through it and so would she. It rang hollow as he saw the broken look in her glowing golden eyes day after day, but piece by piece, she put herself back together.
It had been about a moon since that vile tom had been put out of his misery, and it was on one such green-leaf sun-high that Waspgaze found himself escorting Cherrybloom to the patch of goldenrod that grew in one of the inlets by the cliffside.
Nearly every cat has forgotten about Thorndusk, he reflected with a bittersweet pang. Well. I suppose I won't ever…
A ghost of a smile flickered across his face and he cast his eyes back to Cherrybloom, feeling a familiar happy jump in his stomach as he took in her lithe ginger and brown mottled form. So beautiful.
"What?" Cherrybloom asked with a flicker of a frown.
"Huh?"
"You were- staring," she said bluntly, glancing away again.
"Just making sure nothing's ambushed you yet," he joked, trying for a casual grin. "You medicine cats. Always getting yourself attacked by this or that."
"Yeah," she agreed, but her mind seemed elsewhere.
"Are you alright?" he asked, softening his tone. Did some cat actually hurt her? I'll tear his pelt off. "Is it…"
"One moon ago, I went to sleep thinking I was a good medicine cat and I could help my Clanmates," Cherrybloom said bitterly, gritting her teeth. "And now…"
"Thorndusk's death wasn't your fault," he told her gently, considering pressing his pelt against hers 'comfortingly' and deciding against it. "It was tragic. No cat could've seen it coming."
Cherrybloom sighed, glancing down. Waspgaze's stomach twisted as her golden eyes filled with tears. Time to press my pelt against hers comfortingly. Despite the gesture, she continued to stare at the ground helplessly.
"You can help cats, and you do!" Waspgaze told her, but nothing seemed to be helping. "Cherrybloom, I love- what you do… and how you- um, sacrifice yourself every day for your Clanmates. No cat could ask more of you. Thorndusk would be proud of you."
She exhaled softly, glancing upwards and sniffing.
"I appreciate that Waspgaze," she said, and he tried to conceal a little tremble as her sweet voice lilted over his name. "But until I see him again, I don't know if I'll truly be at peace."
The immediate swing from delight to anger nearly blinded him. Be at peace?! She doesn't need him! I got rid of him! He took a deep breath, clearing the thoughts.
"At peace? Are- excuse me, but are you really only upset about losing a Clanmate?" he hinted, then registered how cold and calculating he sounded. Well, if she was so enamoured with Thorndusk, maybe she likes not-so-nice toms.
Cherrybloom's golden gaze snapped to his immediately and she stared straight into his equally yellow eyes for the first time during their outing. "StarClan, no. I'm a medicine cat, or have you forgotten?"
He didn't miss the subtle emphasis on 'you'. "I'm just trying to support a grieving Clan, but it seems it goes deeper for you. Maybe I'm imagining things," he offered.
"Maybe you are."
Did I imagine Thorndusk's smirks? Did I imagine your flustered demeanour around him? Did I hallucinate every time you asked him to escort you to the herbs? Was I dreaming when I saw you two in the underbrush around the border, tails entwined?
"There's an old badger set around here," Cherrybloom suddenly told him. "Sometimes stoats and other sorts of nasty creatures can hide in there and then creep up, up-wind of us, while we're collecting herbs. Would you watch the entrance while I get the goldenrod?"
"Sure!" he agreed enthusiastically, immediately dropping the cold-accuser act.
She sighed, glancing at the clouds mournfully. "Thorndusk knew all this. I suppose I'll just have to teach you all of it too…"
And I can replace him. Precisely.
He quickly tracked down the badger set, which was actually further than she'd made it out to be, and sat down in front of it, giving it his best intimidating stare. No foxes, weasels, or stoats on my watch. Or any other furry animals that would go for the throat.
It was quickly becoming clear to him that this was a useless job.
If there was something in there, I'd have smelled it, he thought irritably. But my love told me, and so… But what if…
And then the part he kept trapped in the deepest, darkest den of his mind, a jealous fox, began to poke its nose out into his thoughts. Or she got rid of you on purpose. So she could go meet with Aspenrunner, Raincreek, Otterswirl-
He cut himself off with a firm shake. No. She's just getting herbs. Trust is important in every relationship.
But she's been gone for awhile now…
I'll just check on her quickly.
Just quickly.
But that didn't explain to him why he was stalking through the bushes like he was hunting something. I don't want to give her attacker an advantage, he told himself, but there weren't any sounds of struggle up ahead.
Just a soft conversation.
And it sounded like it was about him.
…
Cherrybloom stared at the blurry-outlined form that stood before her in the previously empty clearing. It was a familiar one, but one she thought she'd never see again.
A broad-shouldered, muscular dark brown tom with streaks of warm brown and green eyes that, when carefully examined, revealed flecks of amber and gold.
"Thorndusk," she breathed, feeling the swelling storm of love, grief, and everything in between threaten to erupt all over again.
"I'm so sorry I left you." He sounded the same, the same warmth and confidence of a tom that knew who he was and wasn't afraid to be it. "I'll never stop wishing things were different."
"I"m just glad to see you," she whispered, not confident in her ability to speak normally without bawling in front of the one cat whose opinion she cared about.
Unable to stop herself, she darted forwards and tried to press her cheek against his. But her muzzle went right through him.
"You're not really here," she said flatly. "You're… a ghost? A StarClan cat?"
"I came to tell you something," he said, but the look in his eyes told her that he was equally pained by their inability to touch. And she had thought that there couldn't possibly be anything that separated them further. "Cherrybloom, I… I didn't get killed by a fox."
"Then… did you survive? Is this-" She broke off with a sob. It can't be true. He's gone, and I can't try to hope that he isn't or I'm going to break my own heart all over again. "Thorndusk, what's going on?"
His gaze slid past her, and she glanced back, but the clearing remained empty.
"I heard a noise, I left the camp to check it out, and Waspgaze tore my throat open," Thorndusk said flatly.
"Waspgaze-" she echoed, and drew such a sharp breath that she felt light-headed. Or was that because she found out her warrior escort was a murderer? Could be either, really. "...Killed you?"
"Strength, sweetheart, you have to be strong," Thorndusk said urgently. "You have to get back to camp right now and tell Hazelstar, and-"
He broke off with a horrible, wet coughing. Coughing turned into choking, and then with final, tearing choke, his throat split and red stained the chest of her beautiful warrior-
"Waspgaze!" she whimpered, whipping around to see the broadly-built yellow tom step into the clearing with a cold look in his yellow eyes.
The eyes of a killer.
"Cherrybloom, were you talking to yourself?" he asked, but it didn't sound like him at all. So empty and unfeeling.
"I know what you did to him," she whispered, backing away.
A horrible gleam entered his eyes, then his face crumpled into the concerned expression of any good warrior. "Are you okay? Did you hear something?"
"I heard something," she said, baring her teeth. "Something very interesting about the circumstances around Thorndusk's death."
He blinked comfortingly. "I'm sure it sounded very real. But it's over now. Why don't we get you back to camp?"
"There is no we," she spat.
"What? What are you talking about?" Confusion flickered over his face.
"Is that why you did it? Waspgaze, I don't love you."
"You're confused, it's alright, why don't we go back to camp and have a nice talk with Hazelstar?" His warm, concerned look took on a tiny hint of menace. "Think carefully about what you're going to say to her when you get back. After all, it's dangerous on the territory. Stoats, weasels. And foxes."
Cherrybloom did not intend to roll over and die.
"Like the fox that killed Thorndusk?" she demanded boldly.
"A tragedy." But the barest ghost of a smile tugged at the corner of his lips.
"You killed him!" she shrieked, and flew at him. The basic defensive training moves that medicine cats learned were far from relevant in the moment of blind anger. Duck and roll away were nothing compared to hook your claws into his pelt and don't let go until he can taste his own blood.
"Cherrybloom! Waspgaze! What's going on?!"
Smokewater, CliffClan's esteemed deputy, stormed into the clearing, her amber eyes alight with confusion. "Let go of Waspgaze, Cherrybloom! Get a hold of yourself!"
She inhaled sharply, realizing how it looked. She had attacked him, and that much was obvious in the way that Waspgaze was on his back with a spitting-furious Cherrybloom standing over him.
She stepped off of him, unable to look away from the horrified-seeming Waspgaze who had concealed the gleam of triumph in his yellow eyes well.
"I didn't- he- I-" she exclaimed, trying to make her fur lie flat and failing.
"Cherrybloom, how could you?" Waspgaze whispered woundedly, his wide-eyed yellow look telling the deputy all she needed to know.
"We're going straight back to camp," Smokewater decided and nodded at one of the warriors in her patrol. "Gullstream, help Cherrybloom back."
The burly gray and white warrior fell in step with her, looking hesitant but unwavering.
"Gullstream, I didn't," she whispered pitifully, but the other she-cat's blue gaze was fixed straight ahead.
Waspgaze didn't say a word either. She twisted her neck to stare at him, unbridled hatred ripe in her eyes, but knew saying anything risked worsening the situation. He's going to twist it, I know he is, but Hazelstar will believe me. Won't she?
"Keep walking," Gullstream grunted.
"I-" Cherrybloom faltered, and closed her eyes, tightening her resolve. She will believe me.
As they reentered camp, it was only heartbeats before whispers broke out at the strange arrangement of the patrol, with hard-eyed Smokewater leading them, to Cherrybloom being tightly followed by a burly warrior, to Waspgaze trembling behind them with Bluescar comforting him in the back.
"Smokewater?" Hazelstar asked softly.
"We heard a shout," the deputy said grimly. "Upon investigation, we found Waspgaze being attacked by a seemingly-enraged and senseless Cherrybloom."
Hazelstar's eyebrows shot up. "Cherrybloom?"
The medicine cat choked off a sob. "I didn't- I wouldn't- he-" But it was hard to get anything out without erupting into tears.
"Get Sagepaw out here," Hazelstar ordered Raincreek. "Waspgaze, why don't you tell me your version?"
Trembling, Waspgaze slunk forwards, his gaze downcast.
"She… she was talking to some cat," he whispered. "She sent me off to stand guard, and when I went back- she-" His voice shook so much he seemed to need a heartbeat to collect himself before continuing. "She was standing in an empty clearing, talking to some cat… that wasn't there. And I- I called out to her, and she looked at me with this look in her eye… and then she started spitting nonsense about me attacking some cat or something, and she just leapt at me and-" He broke off, shaking his head with his eyes screwed up like it was too painful to talk about.
"I was so scared," he murmured. "It's like… it's like she wasn't even herself."
Hazelstar nodded gravely, sympathy clear in her eyes.
He really was an incredible actor. Who wouldn't believe him?
The whole situation suddenly seemed hilarious to her, and a hysterical laugh bubbled out of her throat, and before she could get a hold of herself, peals of choked laughter escaped her, escalating wildly until it was entirely tears and slight convulsions.
When it faded to ragged gasps, she saw that Gullstream and Smokewater were standing over her, staring. "I-" she began, but both she-cats immediately flinched away.
"Cherrybloom, are you alright?" Hazelstar sounded concerned. And… scared.
"I'm not!" she whimpered, scrambling to her paws and backing away from the yellow tom that stood in the centre of camp. "He- he killed him, and I'm not alright! Why isn't any cat doing anything?"
She hiccuped through her sobs, her head twisting from side to side as she tried to shake out the thoughts and images of Thorndusk pricking his ears on guard, Thorndusk padding out of the camp with his head swinging from side to side, the gleam of yellow eyes in the bushes…
"Eat this thyme." It was her apprentice Sagepaw, pawing some small green herbs.
"I don't need to calm down, I need to avenge Thorndusk!" she spat, flicking the herbs away with a swipe of her claws.
At the action, Hazelstar and Smokewater both tensed. Why are they acting like I'm the threat here?! Take out the murderer!
Waspgaze, now that all the eyes in the camp were fixed on Cherrybloom, had the smallest of smirks scrawled across his muzzle.
"I'm not crazy," she sobbed. "He killed Thorndusk. Please!"
"I'm sure it sounded real-" Hazelstar began softly, but Cherrybloom talked over her.
"He lured him out, and then tore his throat out!" she spat. "He's a killer! He's a monster! Look at him!"
The smirk vanished. The fearful, concerned Clanmate reappeared, and Cherrybloom choked back another sob.
How is this real? It's true! I saw Thorndusk! He told me! Didn't… he… it wasn't my imagination. He told me. I saw him.
"You're young for it, but it's possible to start seeing things that aren't there, hearing things-" Sagepaw began hesitantly, glancing at Hazelstar.
"He's a monster!"
"Cherrybloom, eat the thyme," Hazelstar said, her tone even.
"He killed him."
"Eat the thyme."
Tears pooling in her eyes, Cherrybloom ducked her head and swallowed down the tiny leaves. "He's a murderer."
Waspgaze's picture of innocence was only helped as he cowered in the face of the accusations and wept like a victim.
As heady calmness settled over her, she began to laugh once more. A dry, hollow sound. "You don't believe me. He killed him, and absolutely no cat cares."
But as the logic set in and her hysteria was shuffled to the side, she began to wonder. What if I imagined Thorndusk. What if I imagined the look in his eye, the threat, the menace, the act.
She swallowed hard. But I saw it!
And yet, her medicine cat brain wouldn't shut off. The afflicted can produce hyper-real hallucinations unconsciously and are unable to distinguish between the real world and their imaginings.
"Cherrybloom, until this is resolved, I think you should spend some time in the elders' den," Hazelstar said quietly after conferring with Smokewater for several heartbeats. "Waspgaze can bring you your meals so that you readjust to your Clanmates. He did not kill Thorndusk. Thorndusk's death was a tragedy, but no cat's fault."
She choked back another sob and nodded. "Yes, Hazelstar."
But she couldn't be imagining the triumphant spark in the eyes of Waspgaze, could she? It was real. Wasn't it? If I can't trust my senses… what can I trust? she thought numbly.
She allowed herself to be brought to the elders' den, didn't watch as an apprentice hurried in and brought her moss, didn't look up when every cat quietly and quickly hurried out of the den, leaving her all alone.
I'm not crazy.
…
It had been a quarter-moon of living in the elders' den before Cherrybloom was ready to explode. Left alone with her thoughts, she'd picked apart and reanalyzed the moment in the clearing until the point of insanity. Assuming I wasn't already there, she thought hysterically, her breathing coming in short gasps again.
It was almost sunset. Waspgaze would be bringing in her dinner any time now.
"Ready to eat?" the tom in question asked gently, blocking the fading light as he entered the den.
She remained mute as he dropped a robin on the floor of the den. The other elders were enjoying the last sun of green-leaf in the middle of camp. She didn't choose to subject herself to the stares.
"Oh come on, not even a little hungry?" he teased, drawing closer.
Her mouth drying, she rested her muzzle on her paws and closed her eyes.
I'm not crazy.
"Can't be easy, cooped up in here all day," he baited, but she ignored him. "After all, what cat wants to be punished for something they didn't do?"
She swallowed hard, but her mouth was like sand.
"All day alone with your thoughts, who wouldn't go crazy?"
She squeezed her eyes more tightly shut as his laughter filled the den, growing to a claw-sharp point. "Can't be easy at all."
"Especially since…"
His breath ruffled her earfur as he leaned closer. She flinched away.
"No one will ever believe you."
I'm not crazy!
Her head snapped up, and she looked into the devious eyes of Waspgaze, opened her mouth, and shouted, "Smokewater!"
With a last smirk, Waspgaze slunk further into the den, sliding past her.
"Smokewater!"
The deputy appeared in the entrance of the den. "Cherrybloom?"
"Waspgaze, he was just here, and he threatened me, and-" she sobbed, shaking her head viciously. "I'm not crazy!"
"Relax Cherrybloom, you're back in the real world," the deputy said soothingly. "Waspgaze is out on patrol. Gullstream will bring you something to eat tonight."
"But- but- he was just-" Cherrybloom craned her head around to peer into the shadows at the back of the den, but even in the setting sun's dusky light, it was obvious they were empty. "He brought a robin!"
But the robin was gone. Had he taken it? She couldn't remember.
"He was here!" she whimpered. "Can't you scent him?"
The deputy frowned. "You know the pollen makes my nose get blocked up. His scent is here from sun-high, so you're probably just smelling that."
"I'm not!" Cherrybloom protested futilely. "I'm not!"
"I'll send in Gullstream with your dinner. Try to get some sleep," the deputy advised softly.
As Smokewater hurried out of the den, eager to escape the mad medicine cat of CliffClan, Cherrybloom collapsed back into her nest like a dead leaf.
He was here. He was. I can scent him, all around.
I'm not crazy.
But this time, she didn't even believe herself.
Word count: 3532
~Akila