Chapter 8

I'm a complete mouse-brain. As soon as I was sure everyone was asleep I crept out of the den. I snuck through the dirt-place as to not get caught. I kept on guard as I headed back to Tall Tree. If Grasstail knew more than me about my problems I'm willing to see what he knows, even if it isn't a good idea.

I saw him already waiting when I got there. I contemplated going back for a moment as I realized the full extent of my idiocy in doing this. I didn't have much time to make a decision.

"I'm surprised you came," Grasstail said. "Go ahead, come on out."

I slowly stepped out into the open. Something was telling me I made a big mistake, but I ignored it. I just have to be careful. I still can't trust him.

"What do you know that I don't?" I asked.

"A lot. Are you alone?" he asked.

"It doesn't matter," I said.

"Just answer the question if you want some answers," he told me.

"I'm alone," I answered.

"Good," he said. "Here's the deal. Every question you ask is another poopy seed I stuff down your throat."

Great. So this is a threat to my safety. I could've guessed, yet for some reason I came anyway. I am not the smartest cat, that is for sure. There was one thing I was not sure about.

"What do poppy seeds do?" I asked. I'm not a medicine cat, don't judge me.

"They cause cats to go to sleep, though I'm not sure what undesirable side effects there are if you have too many. I'm pretty sure there is one though," he said. "I mean, worst case scenario you die."

"Flurrytail is a lot better at this whole thing than you are," I commented.

"Yeah, she's got this whole thing together. But I still have you in my grasp so obviously I'm not that bad at it," he said.

"What's to stop me from walking away then?" I asked and then realized I should have just ran instead of asking him that.

"I have a few cats there that could stop you," he said.

I'm pretty sure I heard Coldclaw say "Hi" somewhere behind me. These toms were mouse-brains yet somehow I ended up more mouse-brained than both of them. Wow.

So I either deal with Coldclaw and whoever else is hiding back there or ask a few questions and get knocked out. Who knows what after that. I'm honestly regretting my choices right now, choices I knew I'd regret yet I made it anyway.

"Why is she doing this?" I asked.

Grasstail looked surprised, and pleased, with my choice. "To get revenge on some tom who rejected her," he answered.

One poppy seed, considering it has medicinal uses I should be fine.

"Is Flurrytail working with her?" I asked.

"There's an alliance, but they're working on separate goals," he responded.

Two poppy seeds, probably not going to cause any problems.

"Why did she choose me?" I asked.

"Because of your similarity in situations and it'll help with her revenge," he answered.

Three poppy seeds, probably pushing the limit at this point.

"What does she want me to do?" I asked.

"Listen to her," he replied. "Do as she says. Become like her."

Four poppy seeds, on the dangerous side of things.

"How do I get her to stop or stop it myself?" I asked.

"You don't," he answered. "You can't convince her to stop. Just accept it and it'll be easier."

Five poppy seeds, possibly my death. We'll see.

"That's all my questions," I said.

"In that case," he held up five tiny black poppy seeds as he spoke, "let's see what happens. It's better you do it on your own free will than me forcing it."

I licked them off his paw and ate them. If I die I won't have to deal with Lightstar anymore. Unless I go to the Dark Forest. It was one time and I didn't want to be there. Hopefully not. Drowsiness began to overtake me. This might be my last waking moment. At Tall Tree with Grasstail, not how I imagined it happening or how I thought I'd go down. My eyelids felt heavy. I more or less collapsed onto the ground.

"Sweet dreams," Grasstail sneered as I closed my eyes.

I woke up and I recognized where I was by the smell. The Dark Forest. I looked around to see Lightstar behind me. I asked the question on my mind.

"Am I dead?" I asked.

"No, you aren't," she responded. "At least not yet."

So I still have a chance for StarClan. That's good. Though it looks like I'm going to spend some time here. That is not good.

"You didn't come the past couple nights. Were you trying to avoid me?" she asked.

"Yes, I was and I was planning on avoiding you tonight too, but Grasstail arranged a meeting between us," I said.

"You more or less agreed to it," she said. "I'm just trying to help you."

"Don't lie to me. You're trying time get revenge on some tom who rejected you," I told her. "Though I'm still trying to figure out how turning me evil will help with that."

Well, if the cat was close to me in some way it would be revenge, but that still leaves who.

"Yes, this would be of benefit to me, but also I want to help you. You can get anything you want, you just need a little assistance," she told me.

"If I wake up. Otherwise, this is pointless," I said.

The cat would probably be closer to her age, and she probably has tried revenge while alive.

"True, but we can remain hopeful," she said. "Just like we can remain hopeful Songheart will die."

"You may be hoping those things, but at this point I'm just hoping StarClan takes me so I don't end up here," I said.

Tom who's older and she wanted revenge on. One who was close to me. I think I know this.

"StarClan doesn't want cats like us! Get used to it here because when you die this is where your staying," she told me. "Might as well give into your dark thoughts, it won't change a thing."

"Duskpelt," I said.

It took a moment, but she fully registered what I said.

"Don't you say that name!" she yowled. She jumped at me, but I was prepared and stepped out of the way.

"You had a crush on Duskpelt," I stated, turning to face her. "Before you knew about Silk you were okay with it because you thought he was being loyal to his Clan. But when you heard about her you realized he did break the code, but not for you."

She walked up to me and stood above me. "Don't you dare say another word," she growled.

"That's why you tortured Silkshade, since she was his daughter with Silk. And you made a point to throw jibes at him too. You didn't mess with me until I made you mad," I said. "I'm told I remind cats of him so maybe a bit of that was in there. You killed him, but that wasn't enough. You want to turn me against the Clans and land me here to get your ultimate revenge. Truly taking one of his daughters away. So when you saw me in a similar situation you came up with the idea. And when you realized my bad thoughts you decided to strike."

I can't believe I figured all that out after falling for Grasstail's obvious trap.

"You ungrateful jinx," she snarled, pinning me to the ground. "It's not like anyone actually cares for you. They just feel responsible for looking after you because you can't seem to get yourself out of trouble and are alone in the world. All you are is a curse to the cats remotely close to you. Why do you think they keep dying? You see the pattern, don't you? Do you think it was a coincidence your prefix was Death? It never was. Oh, you're going to live through this and you're going to wish you died now. You are going to suffer through every moment of your life, so don't say I didn't warn you. It will never be over, Deathfire. Never."

Her face was in mine. I felt myself trembling under her. For a moment all I could hear was my heart pounding. Was what she said true? Was I a curse? Would I suffer through the rest of my life? Was she just trying to scare me?

Her expression softened. "I'm just trying to help you, Deathfire," she told me, her voice now calm and caring. "The truth is needed, even if it is harsh. Life won't be easy, but you can take control and make it what you want. All you need is some help. But don't talk about him here. Ever. Okay?"

No words would come out so I nodded. She got off me. I scrambled to my feet. My legs still shook beneath me.

"Just listen and there's no need to be scared," she told me.

"You expect me to not be scared?" I asked quietly.

"If you would've stopped when I asked I wouldn't have done that," she said. "You didn't so of course I got mad. It's not like you've never got mad."

"I've never attacked a cat I was supposedly helping!" I exclaimed.

"Now you know better. Obviously it's the best teaching method for getting through to you," she said.

"Just leave me alone," I said, almost begging.

"Oh, I'll be here for a while. Who knows how long you'll be unconscious?" she asked. "We might as well get to know each other."

This will be a long however long it's going to be. Let's hope I don't wake up to something worse.

Author Note: I guess this is an itty bitty cliffhanger. Oh well! I guess it kinda is Deathfire's fault... The moral of today's story kiddos is don't trust a cat who has attempted to kill you on several different occasions. Bad idea. Also two Deathfire chapters in a row? Don't worry, Silkshade will be back for the next chapter. Reviews are not mandatory, but strongly encouraged! I'll see you next week where we hopefully find out if Deathfire gets saved or not!

-Everly W.