Hello, from Guestpersonanonymous. I figure by now you guys hate me for being lazy and never updating. Sorry. I hope I can make it up to you all somehow!
head in the clouds
You'd always wanted to last forever, the voice inside Graywhisper murmured. The final image Sight had shown her still lingered in the pool, and was just now beginning to fade. The gray she-cat tensed as the sight of her nonexistent kits looking up at their mother admiringly as they received their warrior names faded, leaving the water clear and pure once more.
Reluctantly, Graywhisper pulled her gaze away from the pool, and looked up at Sight. The white she-cat seemed pleased, her smile smug. The gray warrior of old wasn't surprised; Sight seemed to easily read Graywhisper, and knew what Graywhisper would choose to do. Even the thought of seeing the she-cat's shock wasn't enough to pull Graywhisper away from her decision.
"Of course," Graywhisper purred, false warmth flooding through her voice. She still didn't trust the other she-cat, no matter how much she sweetened her words. She would have to make sure to tread lightly, and get what she was promised.
"Good," Sight meowed, her pleasure obvious. "You will forget the "whisper" that is attached to your name, and learn to be Gray."
Graywhisper hesitated before dipping her head in assent, casting aside the suffix forever, causing Sight to frown. "Surely you do not care for that part of your name? It represents everything you didn't want."
"It was a long time before I came here," Gray said curtly, standing.
"Of course," Sight meowed, clarity in her orbs. "I forgot that in the clans, you have an afterlife." The she-cat made her way around the pool and looked at Gray seriously. "You'll have to earn my trust before you'll be allowed to roam freely through camp. I think I shall assign Fox as your guard until then."
The white she-cat padded towards the entrance and ducked around the waterfall. Gray made to follow her, but paused to look back at the pool. It didn't even ripple anymore, completely devoid of any evidence that it had ever sported the images that had hinted at Gray's past. The she-cat slumped her shoulders, and turned away. A part of her wondered just how safe it was to follow Sight. Only time could tell.
When Gray moved from behind the waterfall, Sight was already waiting with the ginger she-cat, Fox. The muscular cat curled her lip upon seeing Gray, her distaste barely concealed. Sight narrowed her eyes at Fox, and the she-cat reluctantly regained composure. "You will be in charge of making Gray a loyal member of our group, Fox."
The ginger she-cat's eyes widened in surprise. "But Sight, I have already organized another group to go with me and see if there any other newcomers. We can't afford to let them escape. And I certainly won't be taken off duty to walk a selfish newcomer around. Hasn't Ember's behavior taught you anything!"
"Assign the patrol a new leader then," Sight retorted. "You will be Gray's escort, and the sooner you two get along, the sooner you can get back to your regular duties, Fox. Gray won't betray us this time, not after our talk." The white she-cat's gaze pierced Gray's fur, and she steeled herself against flinching.
"Mark my words, Sight, you'll regret this," Fox growled, flicking her tail angrily. She then beckoned Gray impatiently, turning and running to the center of the camp. "Come on, then, newcomer."
Gray quickly spurred herself after the ginger she-cat, not sparing a second to look back at Sight. She found herself struggling to keep up with Fox, and the distance between them rapidly grew. The gray she-cat finally stumbled to a stop beside the ginger she-cat, who was impatiently flicking her tail. "I suppose you newcomers are as weak as your honor," Fox growled pleasurably.
"What do you know about honor?" Gray asked bitterly, still breathing heavily after her sprint.
"You are one to talk," Fox said coldly. "All kits here are taught that newcomers committed such heinous crimes in their First Life that they are forced to live with their memories."
Gray flinched, and Fox grinned triumphantly. The gray she-cat recovered quickly and narrowed her eyes. "Wouldn't that be dangerous, though?"
Fox shrugged. "No one can ever quite understand the Gray World." The she-cat's lip curled then. "But that doesn't mean you're wrong. I do so very much think you are dangerous, and tainted beyond Sight's help. We should deal with you like we will Ember now that we have him." The ginger she-cat eyed Gray coldly, and glanced over at the tunnel where Ember was being held prisoner. She turned and began padding towards one large tree.
Gray loped after her, fear prickling at her pads. "And what will you do with Ember?"
Fox laughed, bitterly. "You'll see tomorrow." The she-cat turned and angled her ears up at the sky. "Speaking of which, Sight tells me that you have two different parts to your day cycle. One when there is something called a sun in the sky, and one where there is only the moon and the stars. Here, there is no sun. But when the forest glows, it is daytime."
Gray looked around, tense with fear, and frowned. "The trees aren't glowing."
"That's because it's still night!" Fox snapped. The ginger she-cat thwacked Gray over the ear with her tail and paused before the tree. Gnarly, huge roots sprang out of the ground, creating a perfect, yet intricately made, shelter. A worn nest of strangely black and silver-colored moss lay in the den that had been dug. Gray poked at the moss suspiciously, and frowned at Fox.
"Why is it colored that way?"
Fox looked at her in confusion. "What do you mean?"
Gray's eyes widened as she remembered how Fox didn't know about her First Life. "Oh. It's just, moss is green-colored in the First Life."
The ginger she-cat frowned at Gray's comment, and looked at her strangely. "That's . . . odd." She stared at Gray for a few moments and opened her mouth like she was about to say something, and then abruptly shut it again. Fox frowned, and whisked away from Gray.
"Stay here," she said, about to leave the den.
"Where are you going?" Gray objected, starting forward. "You haven't told me anything yet!"
"I'm going on patrol," Fox retorted, ducking her head back in to glare at the gray she-cat. "Don't go anywhere!"
"Sight told you to stay!" Gray pointed out.
"What she doesn't know doesn't hurt her." And with that, Fox disappeared, leaving Gray to her thoughts.
The she-cat growled and paced the hollow, frustrated. She had to do more waiting, after moons upon countless moons of waiting in the Dark Forest! Gray snarled audibly, taking a swipe at the strange black moss. She glared and paced more, slowing as her thoughts began to center on her time in the Dark Forest. She sighed, and paused.
That day, the day she arrived in StarClan. She'd been so determined to make up for she'd done . . . and the fall, what had happened when she came had been awful. She'd ran into the Dark Forest in shame, broken and regretful. She would never see her sister, or him ever again. Or so she thought.
Gray closed her eyes, trying to remember the battle between the Dark Forest and the Clans. It had all been so chaotic, and she remembered her frustration when StarClan had flooded into ShadowClan, pushing back the Dark Forest warriors. She tried to remember if any had fallen before her, if there was anyway to determine how the battle would have ended.
Wait a moment. Had others fallen? Were they here? What if they were!
The gray she-cat's eyes fluttered open, and she sprang to her feet. There could be dozens of them, running rampant in the forest! She would have to tell Fox! The she-cat skittered out of the den, looking around for the ginger she-cat, but she was no where to be seen. She must've left already.
A new plan formulated in Gray's mind. She would find them herself! If she managed to convince them to join Sight's group, the other cats might begin to trust her. With all those Dark Forest warriors to back her and the others, they might be able to eliminate whatever threat Ember's allies might pose. If she could pull it off, the reward would be great! First though, she would have to find a way to sneak out of camp.
Gray scanned her surroundings, her ears angled forward. Lush grass filled the hollow, and trees seemed to completely surround the cats. Groups of cats strolled the area, chatting absent-mindedly, eating fresh-kill, and grooming each other's fur. Some hung to the edges of camp, walking stiffly without talking, and their ears pricked forward. Gray got the feeling that these cats were the ones in charge of guarding camp. She turned, straining to find the entrance when she spotted two trees leaning towards each other over a space that led outside the camp. Beyond, Gray could see little, for the outside forest seemed to be shrouded in darkness.
She stalked forward now that the entrance had been located, and saw two guards sitting silently on either side of the open space. Gray wondered what she should do, and decided that she ought to pretend. Abruptly, she straightened her shoulder and began strutting confidently towards the guards, picking her feet up in the manner she'd seen in the cats who'd been patrolling the perimeter.
When she got right up to the entrance without resistance, Gray began to feel confident, and pressed onwards. Abruptly, though, she slammed into an invisible barrier. She heard a chuckle from the guard on the left, and she silenced him with a glare.
"State your business," the other guard, a brown tabby, said duly, looking like he wanted to take a break.
"Fox assigned me a patrol," Gray said, not missing a beat.
"Which one?" the tabby asked.
Gray paused, and twitched her whiskers. Hmm, why not tell the truth. "To search for more newcomers."
The tabby stared at her and then nodded. "Alright, you're free to go." He closed his eyes in something akin to deep concentration, and Gray got the feeling that the invisible barrier was no longer there. She was tempted to stretch a paw out to test for it, but that could raise suspicion. Straightening herself again, she marched forward.
There was no barrier. Gray passed through and on into the midnight-forest. She felt her eyes adjust to the gloom, and looked with interest at all the vegetation. Trees twisted into the air, and silver and black vegetation stood around her feet. Gray stiffened when she felt something creep up her leg, and was shocked to see a vine wrap itself around her paw, growing extremely rapidly. Even when she snapped it's stem from the ground, it continued to twist up her leg, covering it in spirals. She stared at the strange plant for a few moments and then continued on.
Murmurs and gurgles interrupted the silence on occasion, causing Gray to turn her head anxiously. Strange scents flooded her nose, and she wondered how she was ever going to find the Dark Forest warriors, if they were here. Her stomach groaned, and Gray realized for the first time in hundreds of moons, she was hungry. The she-cat wondered what sort of prey animals scurried along in this forest, and she decided to not think about what strange animals might occupy this world. The prey back at camp had seemed normal enough.
Grey continued on for a while, and began to grow frustrated when she was met with no signs of life. Her pads burned, and her flanks heaved with the effort to draw breath, so the she-cat decided it would be a good idea to take a break. She collapsed in the undergrowth, and was piqued to see that the vine was still tightly wrapped around her foreleg.
The gray she-cat had to admit she was utterly lost now. The forest stretched on around her for what seemed like forever, without break. She sighed, and wondered how likely it was she would ever see Sight's group again. Gray had no idea how big this world was; for all she knew, it stretched on into forever.
Suddenly, a gentle, blue light caught her eye. Gray spun around and saw a huge tree that she must've missed before. It stretched up twice the length of all other trees, and then some. At its great, gnarled base the she-cat saw the wood was alight with a soft, silver-tinged glow. Gray stared, fascinated, as the blue-silver seeped into the wood, and began to travel through the tree. Slowly at first, creeping through the bark and snaking along every branch and root it came across. Then, it quickened, rapidly spilling it's light until the whole entire tree glowed with the brilliance of a star.
Then, from where the roots ended, silver, gold, green, red, orange, yellow, purple, and blue bled forth into the undergrowth. All around her, tendrils of soft light sprang up, spreading from plant to plant, tree to tree, until every where Gray looked, the forest glowed. Suddenly, she was aware of the vine pressed against her fur warming, and she looked down to see it had taken on a silver glow. The whole of the vine lit up, and to Gray's shock and amazement, the glow went into her fur. Wherever it went, her hairs prickled with a pleasant warmth, and Gray gasped as the glow warmed her face. Her senses exploded with color, and the gray she-cat realized in a panic that she could no longer see anything but silver.
Then, it fell away, and Gray realized with a jolt that she felt strong. Like, she could lift an entire tree by herself, like she could run forever. The she-cat shifted eagerly, her senses sharpened.
A rustle, so tiny and slight that Gray might not have been able to hear it without the effects of the strange glow, reached her ears. The she-cat spun, her muscles tense as a dark tabby body suddenly lifted and hurtled toward her. The she-cat blinked, and almost laughed at how easily she could move out of the way. Gray shifted, and the cat went flying past her. A growl of frustration registered in her ears before the gray she-cat lunged, moving faster than she ever had before.
The tabby, who'd been about to stagger to his feet, let out a cry of surprise when she slammed into him. Gray purred with pleasure, and swiped a claw at his ear. Skin tugged against it, and a thrill passed through her body when her paw came free with a splatter of blood. Below her, the cat let out a hiss of pain, and struggled violently for freedom. To the invigorated she-cat though, her opponent's efforts were feeble.
She spun him around with a sharp yank of his shoulders, wanting to see the face of her would-be assailant. Gray stiffened at the familiar ice-blue gaze that met hers, and a name sprang to mind. Hawkfrost.
Apparently though, her once-superior wasn't as shocked, or maybe didn't even recognize her, because he took advantage of her shock to land a stinging blow to the side of her face. Gray snarled, and pulled the tabby down in the dirt. He wasn't going anywhere!
Abruptly, a body slammed into Gray, and then another, and the she-cat spun to meet her assailants. A tortoiseshell she-cat, and a dark tom, both of which she identified as Mapleshade and Brokenstar. The she-cat didn't know whether to be excited to see some familiar faces, or terrified that she might end up outmatched.
The two cats didn't give her a chance to make a decision, advancing quickly with harsh blows. They moved in synchrony, pushing Gray backwards. As great as she felt, there was no way she could beat them both. Claws tugged at her back, gouging into her flesh. Hawkfrost again. Hot, stinging blood trickled down, and the she-cat got the feeling the Dark Forest group had planned their attack before making their presence known.
Hawkfrost latched onto her shoulders, and the she-cat struggled not to be pulled to the ground. Once she was distracted, Brokenstar leapt, pushing down on her body. Gray fell backwards, Hawkfrost scrambling away just in time. Mapleshade moved forward, almost lazily placing a claw over Gray's throat.
"Now then," Mapleshade said, a smile of pleasure spreading across her features. "Tell us what this place is, and how we might get back to where we were."
Gray growled, frustrated. "Don't you recognize me?"
Mapleshade looked at her quizzically, and then clarity dawned on her face. "You're Gray-Graywhisper, right?"
Gray nodded vigorously. "I died earlier in the battle, so I must've gotten here earlier as well." She frowned as realized what the appearance of the Dark Forest leaders meant. "Did the Dark Forest lose the battle?"
Hawkfrost growled from behind her. "My brother is probably leading his clan of kittypets now."
"Do you know how to get back?" Brokenstar cut in bluntly.
Gray shook her head, getting to her feet as the dark tom moved off of her. "No, I haven't learned much. But listen there's this group of cats—"
"Now!" A voice cried, and suddenly, glowing bodies leapt out from the undergrowth. Gray looked around her in shock, barely registering how the group of cats had softly glowing fur and tendrils of vegetation wrapped around their body in some manner when a body slammed into her.
For not the first time, Gray flew onto the ground, her back stinging painfully where Hawkfrost had wounded her. Glancing up, Gray was met with the familiar face of Fox, who looked furious. "What-how? You aren't supposed to be out here!" Gray thought she looked almost afraid, but it was quickly replaced by anger once more.
"Who are these three?" Fox yowled angrily, gesturing to the three Dark Forest warriors, who'd been pinned to the ground with ease. Mapleshade was struggling madly, cursing the white tom who had a large paw firmly on his chest, Hawkfrost had his ears pinned and a growl in his throat, and Brokenstar looked almost thoughtful, a dangerous gleam in his eyes.
"They are newcomers," Gray explained hastily, wriggling out from the ginger she-cat. She found it was much easier to resist Fox now, and quickly got to her feet. "I went looking for them so—"
"So you could turn them against us?" Fox bristled, her face contorted into a snarl.
"No!" Gray cried, her ears going back. "I wanted to recruit them."
"Hah!" Mapleshade cried out. "I follow no one; I only want to exact vengeance on StarClan for taking the only thing that mattered to me!" The tortoiseshell's eyes were twin fires as she spoke, and the white tom above her was beginning to look alarmed.
Fox hissed, looking at Mapleshade disapprovingly. "See, Gray? You newcomers only bring discord. Your memories are full of hatred and darkness, and we do not wish your taint to spread to us!"
"I was trying to help!" Gray retorted, lashing her tail. Fox was an idiot if she didn't realize that these three influential Dark Forest warriors could be great allies!
Fox curled her lip, but said nothing. She turned to one cat who was not occupied. "Go tell Frost that we've found some, and that we'll bringing them back to camp."
The cat, an elegant-looking golden tom, nodded and sprang away into the glowing forest.
"Come," Fox said. The patrol circled Hawkfrost, Mapleshade, and Brokenstar, and Gray watched them march the Dark Forest warriors to camp. Gray turned to Fox, realizing something.
"Fox! Wait! There might be others!" Gray leapt forward to follow the she-cat, and found herself easily able to keep pace. Fox seemed to notice this too, and was miffed. "I'll handle that! You aren't supposed to be out here!"
"So you can keep me weak and helpless?" Gray spat.
Fox twitched her whiskers. "You're an idiot if you think I can trust any newcomer based on Sight's first impressions."
Gray opened her mouth to say a retort, but found herself unable to make a comeback. A triumphant gleam lit up Fox's eyes, and the she-cat turned away. "You'll be put through training tomorrow." Then, she leapt forward to join the front of the patrol, leaving Gray behind. The gray she-cat padded after, thoughtful. Hopefully, she would be able to learn more about this world tomorrow, whenever that was.