Interlude: At Starclan's Border
Starclan's ever pleasant ethereal winds ruffled Snake's coat giving a pleasant cool feeling. A death at Riverclan was usually Snake's way of scheduling a habit. Ever since his life with Snowtuft, he'd spend at least one of his brief stays in Starclan scouting its edges hoping to see his friend again. He'd been told many times that it is a useless endeavor. It had been many lifetimes. In the Darkforest, cats don't tend to last long unless they're either the sneakiest or the strongest, but Snake still held hope. He wanted to help Snowtuft even if he was beyond saving. Snake owed Snowtuft everything, for giving him a sense of purpose, for proving that his endless existence wasn't meaningless, for giving him a chance to be more, be better.
Snake's eyes attentively watched the hazy fog that drifted along the Darkforest's border, looking for the slightest flash of white fur. It was the longest of long shots, but Snake would never give up until either Snowtuft was found or confirmed to be faded. The fog billowed under Snake's watch. Some cat was moving out there, but there'd been no hints of white. Likely just one of the ferals. Those things that had long ago lost their sense of self.
Someone approached Snake's side. A very familiar tom still boasting an offset jaw sad down by the immortal. His fur was sleeker than the last time Snake had seen him. The many scars that spanned his pelt were but faint lines now, present but now just cosmetic. He no longer carried that slow lope that came with arthritis or the shortness of breath from his heart condition. It was Crookedstar who now sat with Snake.
"Funny seeing you here. I thought you'd last in Riverclan a bit longer. Even more surprising to see you here at the border. You looking for something?" Crookedstar queried.
Snake's tail swished in response. Snake didn't really want to talk, but he at least owed it to Crookedstar to give an explanation. "I'm looking for an old friend. He's a pure white tom, rather small and skinny initially from Shadowclan. We did awful things together, but I owe him much. We carved a bloody path that would have made Brokenstar flinch, and yet, I know that Snowtuft only did that for me. He was my master, the one who taught me that my life mattered and that I could make a difference, even if we went negative to start. All the good I've ever done for the clans can be traced back to him. I want to find him. I want to free him from the Darkforest. He is owed a place in Starclan at minimum for his fierce loyalty"
Crookedstar looked ponderously at the swirling mist beyond the border. "How long have you been looking for him?" He probed gently.
"Today is the sixteenth time I've watched for him. I always watch for him after a life in Riverclan, hoping to finally see him again before I move on to Shadowclan." Snake answered.
Crookedstar quickly caught on how long Snake had been waiting to see his old friend. It had been lifetimes upon lifetimes, and Snake still held hope to see his former master. Crookedstar had to wonder how far did the pair really go to inspire that kind of desperate loyalty in Snake. Snake was always the type to just move from one life to the next. To have that level of attachment meant the pair had once had an intense bond. It was both impressive and sad all the same.
Snake decided to change topics away from his fruitless vigil. "What brings you out here?" Snake asked.
"There's been reports that Mapleshade has been seen at the borders. Knowing what I know about that monster, I know she's scheming something, planning to hurt or manipulate someone else. When I'd first heard her legend, I had pity for her. Now, I believe it was all lies, words planted by her to make her seem the victim to justify her crimes." Crookedstar growled.
"No. Her legend is mostly accurate. You can blame the Darkforest itself for her personality shift." Snake commented, earning a head tilt from Crookedstar.
"What do you mean blame the Darkforest?" He asked.
"I mean that cats subjected to the Darkforest change. The Darkforest isn't necessarily alive, but it has a will. This will is one of anger, wrath, mindless violence, and temptation. The Mapleshade you see in there is not the same one from life. I speak from experience from being in there a couple times. That place erodes your inhibitions. It makes you want and crave violence. Those ferals you see wandering around, they're cats who didn't have enough willpower to maintain a sense of self. Even those who do usually are changed and warped by the place. Their minds make leaps in logic, justifying manipulation and violence when it has the slightest connection to what drove them in life and what keeps them together. If I remember correctly from the legend and my few interactions with her, Mapleshade lived to be a mother. Her pain and justification are intrinsically linked to kits and those of her ex's line. That happens to include you and Silverstream." Snake explained.
"Are you trying to defend that thing?!" Crookedstar growled.
"No. By all rights, the Mapleshade in there is a monster. I'm just saying that she may not have always been a monster. I've always hated the Darkforest. Starclan treats it like some sort of punishment, but it isn't. Punishments are meant to make a cat regret their actions. The Darkforest does the exact opposite. It makes them worse, more sure that their evil was justified and correct." Snake ranted.
"Then… why do we use it?" Crookedstar queried.
"It's because Starclan has a will as well. Both the Darkforest and Starclan exist as an extension of those within it. If you pay close attention, you'll find your own behavior is a bit different than what you had in life. It's not really a bad thing per say, but since Starclan is an extension of all the cats in it, allowing a cat with a drive of revenge or selfishness can reflect backwards, making Starclan worse. While one cat may make little difference, if Starclan let more in, it'd corrupt the will of Starclan. Starclan exiles wicked souls into the Darkforest, not for some nebulous reason like a cat being undeserving of Starclan's grace, but rather to protect Starclan." Snake mewed, his tone morose.
"Isn't there a better option?" Crookedstar asked. "Shouldn't we try and redeem who we can?"
Snake gently shook his head. "We would if we could. The founders and I have fought with that idea for a long time, looking for a means to do it, but we haven't found anything. If you wish, you may join them in the search. Maybe fresh eyes will see what we cannot. As it stands, the Darkforest is growing more powerful and more wicked with each generation. A mortal even dreaming of the place will feel the corruption of their minds. You yourself must have experience with this, feeling its malaise shift your thoughts, convincing you to make choices you'd regularly not make. I fear that eventually the Darkforest will find just the right cat or a small hole to the living world and share their torment, the Darkforest's will, with the rest of us." Snake mewed in a haunting monotone before shaking his head. "Look at me rambling like an elder. I'm letting possibilities run away with me. The Darkforest's will is so powerful that those in there can hardly put together anything like a plan. It'd take a creature of indomitable and selfish will to possibly control the Darkforest. We need not worry."
Crookedstar, alarmed at the very idea of a Darkforest attack, simply nodded in response. "I think I will take up that offer to look for a solution. What you just said frightens me." Crookedstar mewed.
The two sat together in silence for a while longer before Snake felt the pull of reincarnation. It wasn't an instantaneous process, allowing him to say a few words to Crookedstar. "Thanks." He mewed softly.
"For what?" Crookedstar asked, seeing Snake's form slowly fading out of sight.
"Thanks for sitting with me through my vigil. If you come back here, if you see him, let Snowtuft know that Starclan will allow him entry. The founders promised me that if we ever found him, we'd try and rehabilitate him and grant him the afterlife he deserves. Even with the threat to Starclan's will, they agreed that one cat who deserves redemption, him, is worth the risk." Was the last thing Snake mewed before disappearing back into the living worlds, leaving Crookedstar alone to watch the mist and think on Snake's words.