Greysight blinked wearily, not entirely surprised to see the darkness in front of her. The only reason she knew she wasn't awake was because of the overall sense of nothingness. There was no sound, no scent, or even any sign of light in this darkness.
'It's only a dream.'
She told herself this each time she was once again met by this void, it was the only way she could reassure herself that she was fine. She took a few steps forward, feeling more comfortable walking than just standing in the dark. It almost felt as if she was fading away when she did nothing, just blending into the abyss.
Her ears twitched as she listened to her pawsteps echoed around her, being the only perceivable noise in the area. The blind she-cat continued on, trying to ignore the feeling of anxiety growing in her chest from the sound. It wasn't until she took another step forward that she froze completely.
Stiffening in horror, Greysight slowly removed her paw, trying to ignore the warm, sticky substance now covering the bottom of her paw. Her eyes widened as she looked down to see blood seeping from the ground. Greysight backed up quickly as it began to grow, its stench filling the air.
Turning around, the black she-cat prepared to flee, but was stopped when she saw the trail of blood running towards her from behind, seeping up from the black ground like blood from a wound.
"Greysight!"
Greysight flinched at the sound and jolted awake, her paws scrabbling over the ground awkwardly as she tried to rise to her paws. Browneyes cocked his head slightly at her animated reaction while Greysight gave a quick lick to her pelt in embarrassment.
"...Dawn patrol right?" she meowed after a moment of collecting herself.
Browneyes nodded. "...Yeah, you get to go with Raggedear and Thistleprick. Darkpelt is sending me and Lostheart out to hunt. I think they're already waiting for you outside of camp-"
"What?! Why didn't anyone wake me up sooner?"
Browneyes opened his mouth to respond , but was cut off once again.
"Oh, never mind. I gotta go!" Greysight meowed, jogging hurriedly out of the warrior's den, pelt bristling at the sudden cold chill in the air. It was already halfway through leafbare, luckily for them it had been a relatively mild one. 'But it isn't over yet.' Greysight reminded herself, she needed to stay focused for the clan. It was not good to dwell on dreams-or rather, nightmares.
Her paws drummed against the earth, their shockwaves vibrating around her as she ran. She could feel Raggedear and Thistleprick standing outside the tree tunnel, and slowed her pace when she felt them turn towards her.
"Hey, sorry to keep you waiting. Let's go." she meowed heavily, still trying to catch her breath. Raggedear nodded and Thistleprick sighed airily, rolling back his head to look up into the dark canopy of the trees. Only small bits of gray sky were visible through the holes, causing him to frown slightly in discomfort.
He hurried forward as Greysight and Raggedear padded ahead, leaving him behind. "Don't get lot of light here, huh?" he meowed. "Hmph. Reminds me of twolegplace in that sense."
"I wouldn't know."
Thistleprick blinked, focusing on the she-cat ahead of him for a moment before laughing awkwardly. "Right. Forgot, sorry 'bout that."
Raggedear shot his brother a look, but said nothing to either of the cats. Greysight chose to ignore them for the most part, instead focusing on the ground, scents, and sounds around her. The earth beneath their paws was soft, it couldn't be a good sign. They were approaching the OceanClan border, and in doing so, walking past the swampier bit of their territory.
"Looks like the water level in the swamp has risen again." Greysight meowed. Raggedear turned to look through the trees, eyes squinting as he tried to see the ground that lay ahead in the darkness.
"There's not much light today, so its hard to tell." he replied. Thistleprick looked as well, but like his brother, he could see nothing.
"Hey, Greysight."
"What?" Greysight asked as she continued forward, listening to the sound of the ocean as their patrol wound through the trees.
Thistleprick eyed the black she-cat carefully. "You never did tell us what exactly is going on around here. What's Willowstar's problem anyway?"
Greysight blinked, realizing that they still didn't know. Sighing heavily, she shrugged. "I can't tell you why, but Willowstar has made it clear that he wants nothing more than to watch our clan suffer. He used to be part of DarkClan, but he murdered our previous leader and left."
Raggedear and Thistleprick were both equally surprised, and the two glanced at each other from behind Greysight.
"He's Sunstar's brother. There's definitely some bad blood between them, maybe that's why." Greysight shook her head. "If we want to live in peace, we can't let Willowstar terrorize us. And now he has LightClan on his side too!" Greysight's voice had become a deep growl, "Because of him I lost my mentor, and apparently that wasn't good enough. His clan was already the largest in the forest, was forcing LightClan to join him even necessary?!"
Her claws were now embedded deeply into the ground and Greysight had become eerily silent. Thistleprick had known their situation was bad, but this...
'We don't stand a chance.'
Thistleprick swallowed heavily and spared his brother a glance, but Raggedear seemed to be off in his own world.
"We should keep moving." Greysight said impassively, a dark shadow now covering her face as she turned to step forward. However, she paused as she felt the approach of rapid pawsteps. Raggedear and Thistleprick recognized her familiar reaction, "What is it?" Thistleprick meowed curiously, turning to look through the trees around them.
"Greysight!"
A flash of white stood out from the dark expanse of forestry, and the three warriors could only look in surprise as Roseclaw came running towards them. Thistleprick let out a wide grin and was prepared to call out something to the medicine cat, but stopped abruptly when he saw her expression.
Greysight quickly padded to his side as Roseclaw approached them, breathing heavily. "What's wrong?" Greysight meowed anxiously. Roseclaw's blue eyes met Greysight's dull, sightless ones.
"Its Longtail..."
Greysight froze, and she could feel her paws beginning to tremble under her. "What's wrong with her?!" she demanded.
"I don't know what happened!" Roseclaw meowed defensively. "We thought she was getting better with the catmint, but...when I went to visit her at sunhigh..." The threat of tears began to show in Roseclaw's eyes, "She's not going to make it Greysight." Roseclaw's voice cracked and she let out a small sob. "She's calling for you."
Roseclaw could only blink away the tears now filling her eyes as Greysight rushed past her in a flash of black fur. Thistleprick and Raggedear had remained silent for the most part, hanging back. Thistleprick shook his head, a new sorrowful expression on his face, one that did not suit the tom.
"...not the old bat..." Thistleprick whispered sadly to Raggedear. Raggedear blinked at his brother's words and turned back toward Roseclaw with a small frown as he saw the tears now dripping from her face. Thistleprick brushed against his brother's pelt lightly before padding over to the medicine cat.
"Don't cry Rose..." he meowed sympathetically, looking down at her with an unusually soft expression. Roseclaw ignored the tom, too upset to bother with him. Thistleprick looked to Raggedear, but he said nothing.
"We should hurry back too."
"Mom!" Greysight's heart beat loudly in her chest as she burst into the elder's den, head turning around wildly, searching for any sign of Longtail. It was not hard to locate the she-cat, her pained breathing almost made Greysight recoil.
"...Greysight...?" Longtail's head slowly rose to look up from where she lay on the ground. Greysight hurried over, her mother's pain already bringing tears to her eyes."I'm here Mom."
Longtail smiled as Greysight padded to her side, and looked up at her daughter through tired green eyes. "I'm glad you're here Greysight..."
Greysight stood impassively by her side, her mouth quivering in a thin line. "I remember you told me that I was lucky because I would never have to see the pain of the cats around me..." she meowed, her voice quivering, "But... I'm sorry, Mom. I should've done something-I- this is all my fault...Please. Don't go."
"Hey..." Longtail's voice was a quiet whisper, her throat preventing her from speaking loudly. "You've never let me down..." She flicked the brown tip of her tail against Greysight's flank. The blind she-cat opened her mouth to speak, but was quieted when Longtail shook her head.
"Promise me...you'll look after your sister..."
"Don't say things like that! Everything is going to be okay!" Greysight meowed shakily, "I'll look after the both of you, just like I promised." The den became silent, the only sound Greysight could hear was the beating of her own heart and Longtail's haggard breaths.
"...Mom?"
"...StarClan knows this clan needs help..." Longtail's voice trailed off, her eyes falling slightly. "Greysight, I have to tell you something...important..."
'Something...important?' Greysight echoed, unable to bring herself to say the words out loud. Longtail's eyes were nearly halfway closed, but she hung on in determination.
"Greysight...I love you so much...I...always have." her voice was a quiet whisper as her vision began fading in and out.
"...Mom?" Greysight whispered, a single tear rolling down from her clear, gray eyes.
"...I'm not...your...real...mother..."
Greysight froze completely, even her tears seemed to stop in place as she stared wide-eyed down at Longtail. "...what?"
"...Greysight..." A single tear rolled down Longtail's cream colored cheek and her eyes closed shut as she let out a final breath. Greysight opened her mouth to call out to her, but it was too late. She was in StarClan now.
The den was completely silent as Greysight stood in front of Longtail's body, her eyes now wide and her paws frozen in place. Shakily, she took a few steps back. '...What?'
Her pelt was still wet with tears as she blinked in an effort to collect herself.
'...What?'
Greysight shook her head and began backing rapidly out of the den, stumbling slightly as she did so. Her clanmates looked up as she stumbled into the clearing, eyes wide in shock and mouth hung open in a slight daze.
"...Greysight?" Roseclaw meowed hesitantly.
Greysight didn't seem to hear her, and the she-cat's sightless eyes remained fixed on the ground.
'Everything I've known...has all been a lie?'
Their concern rose as Greysight started shaking slightly.
'Who...am I?'
"Greysight?" Roseclaw meowed, padding forward to comfort the blind she-cat. She knew Longtail's death would have a great effect on her friend, and it was all she could do to help her through it.
"It's all been a lie!" Greysight exclaimed, pushing past Roseclaw and running off into the woods.
"Greysight!"