As the two cats pad through what appears like eternal nothingness, Talon's mind feels heavy, trying to wrap around Scourge's words. Chosen to succeed the leader of Bloodclan… those words are as sweet as they are surprising. But then again, Scourge seems to share the criticism of many of his clanmates. Not yet ready. Joyous ego battles caution and worry in the grey cat's thoughts. This could lead him straight to his ambitions, but by the sound of it, it will take a lot of time and effort still. Then again, whom better to learn from than Scourge himself. Then again, if this fate was set in stone, he'd not need to prepare long still. It could all still be undone. Scourge himself said that difficult times are ahead. As uplifting as the news are, growing reckless now could spell disaster.

Talon's ever wandering thoughts are interrupted as he perceives that something changed. Looking around, confusion arising in him, he finds the void he was travelling to be no void at all anymore. Trees, large and bare of leaves rise up into a sky with no sun, moon or stars. Though there is no such light source, everything seems to be plunged into a light reddish light. When did they get here? Even in thoughts, he would have noticed if they had passed a treeline and at no point at one been in sight. Looking on, Scourge still pads on, not stopping a second time on Talon's account, causing the red eyed warrior to push on and follow his former leader still, now carefully observing these new surroundings. Small mushrooms grow here and there, a blue-ish glow emerging from them. Despite the trees being leafless, none seem to litter the ground, which is plastered with withering grass. As if his own did not suffice, Talon feels an unease in the very air surrounding them. This place seems… wrong. He tries to understand his own perception of it all, to find a reason for this feeling, but can't quite find any words that would accurately describe it. It is quite simply wrong, yet nothing about it is simple whatsoever. Talon stops himself just in time to not bump into Scourge, whom has ceased walking, his icy blue eyes piercing Talon.

„We've arrived…"

Talon looks around this strange landscape.

„Is this… the Starclan they prey to?"

Scourge shakes his head, looking into the distance ahead of himself as he sits down

„No. Starclan is further away still. We think this is where the forest clans drop their undesirables. Only purpose this place seems fitting for"

Talon nods slowly, before his ears perk up, dissecting his the small leader's words more carefully

„We?"

Scourge flicks his tail, lifting his white paw to behold his claws

„I kept busy…"

Talon tilts his head at this before his ears swivel towards some nearby bushes as they begin to rustle. For a moment unsheathing his claws and readying himself for battle, surprise and ease soon let him sheathe claws again as a hulking figure emerges from the leafless branches. As a massive white and black cat pushes through and towards the two, Scourge not bothered to even look.

„Talon. It has been a while"

Talon's eyes warm with marvel and happy surprise behold the large cat towering above him

„Bone! Heh, I should have guessed you'd be wherever Scourge went."

The two warriors sharing a chuckle and touching each other's shoulders with their noses in earnest greeting before they sit down.

„Not initially. We all landed somewhere separate. I am only here because Scourge found me and guided me back here. And not only me. We have since found most of the cats that fell in the forest battle. A few remain missing, but we are still searching for them and we're slowly getting better at navigating the void"

The large warrior raises his head, looking around, Scourge speaking once more

„Once you find this place, you always find your way back to it again. For now we stick to it's outskirts"

Talon hums, eyes wandering though the eery area before landing back on the former second-in-command

„Why is that?"

„We're not alone here. As Scourge said, dead from the clans are here. Many of them in fact. Luckily, they keep fairly central to this place as far as we can tell. They don't know we are here yet"

Scourge turns towards the two talking warriors

„And we keep it that way. Until we have the advantage over them, they do not get to know we are here."

Bone nods at Scourge's words

„Yes, it is more prudent that way. We are in luck however, for some reason the waters here allow us to view what goes on in the living world to a degree. That is how we remain aware of what goes on in Bloodclan for the most part."

„What an odd place this is… but still better than the alternative"

„It seems to work differently from it too. Scourge believes that the memories of the living maintain you more than your own in this place. There are still many things we don't fully understand"

Scourge flicks his ear, humming calmly

„When I first arrived here, I decided to check for any other cats. I overheard a few things from the dead forest fools. They call this the Dark Forest apparently. There are other things I heard that could be of use to us, but we need to spy on them a bit longer to get a better grasp on things here. That's how I learned to bring you here in your sleep"

Talon nods, tail laying over his paws as usual. His initial trepidation of this place passing, Talon's inquisitive nature comes forth more.

„Useful. So then, what now?"

Scourge shakes his head at the grey warrior

„Now nothing. Not yet. You lead your cats and make things work among the living while I do the same here. I will call you back here for training, both as leader and as warrior. Meanwhile watch your back, Talon. Your trustfulness could end up sending you here before your time."

Talon exhales and nods slowly

„I will keep an eye on Kestrel."

„Kestrel is far from your only problem, Talon"

Scourges eyes narrow at Talon, his tail lashing

„Kestrel did not learn of your dreams by sitting in your territory himself, did he? You will soon learn that loyalty is not as great a priority for every cat as it is to you. Beware the enemy you call friend, Talon, for his claws are always close to your throat."

Talon's mood darkens instantly. Is Scourge implying a traitor among his cats?

„Who? Who would betray me to Kestrel?"

Scourge's cold gaze remains on Talon before he turns away

„Remember what Bloodclan truly is, Talon. What it promises and what makes it able to keep those promises. The time will come when you prove yourself before the clan. Until then remain cautious"

Confused, Talon looks from Scourge to Bone, only to find the large warrior avoiding his gaze. Why wouldn't Scourge tell him who it is? Is this part of his ´training´ already, or does Scourge not know who it is either yet? Talon tries to open his maw to speak, only to find himself unable, the Dark Forest paling away into nothing within mere moments.

Talon gasps, his eyes wide open as he snaps awake in his den. The first rays of the sun are illuminating the den's entrance as the grey cat collects himself. His dreams… they were Scourge's first attempts at bringing him to him in his sleep. So it is true then, Starclan does exist, it and it's sinister counterpart in which his clanmates have found refuge. Thinking on it a while, Talon sighs. He wanted to speak of his dreams to his veteran warriors today to beat Kestrel to it. But how would he explain all of this now? He will have to choose his words even more wisely now. He cannot say that Scourge declared him not yet ready or in need of training, and any mention of Starclan would be unwise as well. Perhaps it is premature to talk about it now. Ironically now that the `dream` progressed to where he understands it's meaning, it has become even more difficult to discuss it with anyone. Who could he safely discuss it with? Bitterly Talon remembers Scourge's warning. Who would betray him? And how far might they go in their betrayal? The dark grey tom shakes his head. He cannot afford to fall into paranoia now. He still has cats to lead, cats that depend on him. After slowly rising from his nest and stretching, Talon leaves his den, blinking against the sun as he emerges. His eyes still adjusting, Frost approaches, having been waiting apparently beside Talon's den.

„Greetings, Talon"

„Greetings. Anything to report, Frost?"

The white tom nods

„Kestrel requests to speak to you. Apparently, something is going on among the factions. Also he mentioned having found `what you seek`. I imagine you know what he means."

„I do, I am surprised he managed so quickly though. But right now, that news of the other factions sounds more important. Where is he?"

With a displeased expression, Frost motions upwards, to the top of the wall. There Kestrel sits, calmly overlooking the alley.

„As if he owned the place already…"

Frost growls, Talon shaking his head

„Getting worked up over it is hardly worth it, Frost. I'll handle this. Thank you for telling me. Do stay around though. Get Silver and wait in my den, there are things I'd like to discuss."

Frost's ears perk up and he nods, dashing off to find his fellow veteran warrior. When he had to reveal his dreams to his own veteran warriors, it seemed to lessen the impact that at least one of them knew. Frost has served him for a long time now and Silver was the first in the know of things anyway. They should be safe to tell what he experienced in his dreams. Pondering what he learned from Ashfur, he considers for a moment if he should call Venom as well. She is among the most trustworthy cats here with ease and has always been kind and supportive of Talon, as well as being their healer. Talon decides against it for now however. Bloodclan is not a forest clan, and keeping the circle of cats who know smaller might be favourable for now. With those decisions made, Talon turns and leaps up against the wall, climbing it to the top and approaching Kestrel. The brown and cream coloured tom nods his head at Talon's approach

„Greetings"

„Greetings, Kestrel. Anything to report?"

The brown tom flicks his tail, humming

„Not much in our territory, a few warriors returning from food runs. Outside we seem to have more going on"

„So I heard. What's going on with the other factions?"

„Several things. None of them good I fear. I hear that Ice and Snake are in contact with rogues beyond Bloodclan's borders. I fear they might try to mass recruit outsiders to bolster their numbers. And Granite's cats have been hanging around a suspicious lot around the dog fight yard. I still don't quite know yet what that's about, but I got a bad feeling about it"

Talon sits down, humming in thought. This does not bode well indeed.

„The siblings growing in power is bad news for everyone. They faction was rather small so far, if that changes… they are reckless and cruel enough to do terrible things if they think they can get away with it. And Granite… nothing involving a large number of dogs is ever good news. It seems we have awoken them from their slumber by joining together"

„Now it begins. We all knew it must sooner or later. If it hadn't been us, it would have been someone else. At least we got the numbers advantage now"

Kestrel looks up to the thoughtful grey leader. Ice and Snake are not the most immediate concern, they'd have to go through Granite's territory to get to them. Then again, if they recruit enough rogues, these two would certainly not hesitate to sacrifice the lives of many cats for victory. If Granite thinks of setting free a large number of dogs, it remains to be seen if they are guided towards Ice and Snake's territory… or Talon's. And even in the best case even, it would in the aftermath mean that a large pack wanders Bloodclan territory. A grave and unpredictable danger for all cats. With a sigh, Talon has to acknowledge Scourge's words. Difficult times are ahead for Bloodclan.