Post by Goldenstar on Jul 15, 2021 12:44:20 GMT -5
Shadowstar's Choice
Shadowstar woke with a jump. He looked around in the leader's den, comforted by the sleeping forms of Rowanstar and Cinnamonstar to his left and his right. But something was off. There was a miss. He lifted his head and flicked an ear. There should have been sounds- crickets, water, leaves blowing in the wind, the gentle hum and lull of the camp breathing as they dreamed. But there was nothing. No noise and no true light- as he realized the glow that was cast into the leader's den was an eerie gray. Something was wrong. Shadowstar pushed to his paws and felt unsure in his steps as he headed from the den. Something ached in his chest and he reached up to touch his Spirit Stone. His heart plummeted when he realized it was cold as ice. The black tom whipped around to see with horror that he had stepped out of his body- for his physical sleeping form was still curled up in his nest, flanks rising and falling slowly with the motions of the night. Something stronger than dread began to sink into Shadowstar's chest and he turned without thinking and bolted out of the den- heading straight for the nursery.
The entire camp was so still and the silence itself seemed to be a monster that was rising from nothingness to suffocate him. There was no moonlight- no stars. The sky itself seemed to be made of smoke and fog and a ghostly gray glow was all there was of anything that may have resembled moonlight. Shadowstar took a deep breath and plunged into the nursery, his heart racing. He looked around the spacious den, counting the Queens and their kits as they slept. There was the oldest nursery resident- Witheredleaf- and her two newborn hairless kittens, curled tightly against their mother. He saw Ambercreek with her massive litter of ten- all of them old enough to be apprenticed within the next quarter moon. But he didn't relax, no not truly, until his molten eyes rested on the brown speckled pelt of the she-cat who held his heart.
Alderthorn's flanks rose and fell steadily as she lay back to back with her first born- Treeheart- who had her tail curled tightly around her three young sons. Tucked into Alderthorn's belly were three precious kits. His kits. Despite the fact that Shadowstar could see his family- almost all of them- with his own eyes, something in the den made the fur along his hackles rise. He was about to turn to go when he caught something out of the corner of his eye- the slow tapping of the tufted end of a long, thin tail. Materializing out of the darkness, a paw formed out of shaded brambles and shadow. One step in front of the other, a creature melted itself into the form of a tall, skeletal thin Warrior. Shadowstar's pupils nearly swallowed his irises in fear and he took a step back when harsh, acidic green eyes bore into his own. He knew this cat well- even though he had only met him a pawful of times and heard his name whispered in stories. The green gemstone about his throat, the white face, and long canine fangs cemented the thought and the thought into a name.
"Talcshade!" Shadowstar hissed through gritted teeth, his ears pinning back as the otherworldly tom began to walk around him in slow, patient circles. "What are you doing in my clan?!"
"Your clan?" the nasally, gritty voice made the hairs on the insides of Shadowstar's ears ache and he bared his teeth as the former Berylclan Warrior stopped behind Alderthorn and curled his thin, rat-like tail around his paws. "My boy, this may be your clan... but it is my world. Welcome to the sub realm of the Gray Wood."
"The... Gray Wood?"
"A place between Starclan and the Dark Forest. A kind of purgatory, if you will."
Shadowstar shook his head, hissing as he tried to take a step toward his family. Fear and panic gripped his entire being, freezing him to the core. No matter how hard he tried or how much he willed it so- his paws would not move. He was stuck in the position he had been in when he first saw Talcshade step forward. He could move his head, his mouth, and his eyes, but his feet wouldn't budge an inch. Talcshade saw the wild look of terror on his face and let out a loud, unnerving laugh that shook Shadowstar to the bone. All around them, the Queens and kits seemed none the wiser, as they slept deeply and soundlessly. Talcshade tilted his head, peering down at Shadowstar's family with pupil-less eyes. He reached out a long, bony paw and caressed Alderthorn's spine, something that made her shift uncomfortably in her sleep.
"Leave her alone!" Shadowstar cried, rage building where the fear had been. Talcshade flicked an ear in amusement but continued, tracing his paw along Treeheart's shoulders before slowly circling back to Shadowstar's only son- Tigerkit. When the tom laid his paw upon the brown and orange kitten, he began to squirm and his face showed an expression of panic.
"What are you doing to him?! Stop it! Leave my family alone!"
"And who shall stop me, Shadowstar? You?" Talcshade's voice was taunting as he moved on to the next victim, placing a paw on Citrinekit's head. The black and orange she-cat let out a faint whimper and writhed under his touch.
"What are you doing?! Please! Talcshade, I swear to the stars, I'll..."
"What?" Hissed the tom tauntingly as he came to the final child- the smallest in the litter. Rosekit. Talcshade unsheathed his claws and pressed the tips of them against the she-cat's flank and she looked instantly fear-stricken, letting out a cry that could have woke the whole camp but not a single member of the nursery so much as stirred a wink. Shadowstar felt angry tears roll down his face and he closed his eyes, unable to withstand anymore. "What. Will. You. Do?!"
"Anything!" Shadowstar cried at last, opening his eyes to stare at Talcshade with hatred swirling in his molten depths. "I'll do anything... Just please leave them alone!"
"Ah... a bargain, I see." To Shadowstar's relief, Talcshade removed his paw from Rosekit and she calmed reasonably but still tossed and turned as if trying to escape something. "You see, Shadowstar... I have more power in death than I ever did as a cat of flesh and blood. Stealing the Spirit Stones of the lives I took gave me... something incredible." Talcshade began to pace, weaving around the nursery Queens, leaving a trail of smoke and ash with each step he took. "I can walk in dreams... I can weave nightmares from the smallest insecurity. I know what you fear. What every one of you are afraid of. Spellfaith was afraid of falling... I pushed her off a cliff."
Shadowstar's world began to spin as Talcshade explained himself. He felt he might vomit when the murderous Warrior mentioned Cloudclan's late Medicine Cat- who had 'died mysteriously in her sleep' with nearly ever bone in her body broken. Stars... it had been him...
"Rasperryglade was afraid of drowning. I held her head under water until she stopped breathing."
"Starclan, no..."
"Jadefire was terrified of being buried alive. I watched her suffocate in a muddy ditch."
"It's been you the whole time!"
"Yes!" Talcshade screamed, coming face to face with Shadowstar, his eyes just endless pools of burning, toxic green. "And I will continue. Again and again and again. Feeding on your fear, ending your pathetic existence until there is nothing left in this valley but pain and loneliness. If I kill you in your dreams, Shadowstar... you die in real life." The tom turned to glance at Alderthorn and he gave an unearthly chuckle. "She fears losing her kits... if they all dropped dead, do you think she'd die of a broken heart?... I could give her a little push..."
"No! You bastard- I said I'd do what you want! The bargain- you said we could bargain!"
"Ah, so I did." Talcshade turned back to Shadowstar, molten hues meeting unforgiving chartreuse pools. "I have unfinished business in the valley, Shadowstar. There are some cats that I cannot reach because something is guarding them. Some cats that need to taste their fate. But I cannot do this from the Gray Wood. I need... a vessel. Something of flesh and bone."
Something settled in Shadowstar's soul as he stared into Talcshade's hideous face and he gulped down his fear with a dry mouth full of anxiety and rage. "Go on."
"If you make a deal with me... I will leave your family alone. And I won't touch another hair on anyone's pretty little pelt. No more killings."
"... And what do I have to do on my end?"
Talcshade clicked his tongue against the roof of his mouth. "Give me your body."
"What?!"
"I can't do it all at once... it doesn't work like that. Too much spirit in a living body at once will rot the flesh. I... need to do it over time. Bit by bit. Of course, you won't die. You'll be there too. Just less and less of you... as there is more and more of me."
Shadowstar looked into his void eyes and knew without a moment of hesitation that there was no other way. If he said no, Talcshade could kill his entire family right here and now and the clan as well if he wanted. If he refused... he'd be damning them all anyway. This way... there was time. And there would be peace while Shadowstar tried to figure out what to do. And how to stop him.
"I have your word?"
"A deal is a deal. On my honor." Talcshade lifted his right paw and extended it to Shadowstar. For the first time in what felt like eons, the Cloudclan leader realized he could move. He exhaled and shifted the weight to each of his paws. He looked past Talcshade at his sleeping mate and kits then back at the spectral tom. He looked him in the eyes and slid his paw into the phantom's own. They shook. As the bargain was made, a cloud of dark green smoke streamed from Talcshade and swirled up Shadowstar's arm. It sept into his fur, into his mouth, nose, ears, and eyes. Shadowstar felt himself suffocating and he fell to the nursery floor, pressure beyond belief threatening to crush him from the inside out. He closed his eyes and let out a piercing cry. A bright light of green so intense it came from everywhere threatened to blind him and burn the world ten times over. Then it was all gone, melted away into nothing.
Shadowstar opened his eyes back in the leader's den, curled tightly in his nest. He looked around frantically then caught again a green twinkle out of the corner of his eye. He looked down at his Spirit Stone- something that had been tanzanite before... and still was. But now, through the center of the gem, there was a line of pale green.
A deal is a deal, Shadowstar. He heard Talcshade say from some dark, quiet place inside of himself. Losing your family may be what you fear the most... but it won't happen now. Thanks to you. Rest now... there will be no more nightmares for you. Not for many nights to come.
The entire camp was so still and the silence itself seemed to be a monster that was rising from nothingness to suffocate him. There was no moonlight- no stars. The sky itself seemed to be made of smoke and fog and a ghostly gray glow was all there was of anything that may have resembled moonlight. Shadowstar took a deep breath and plunged into the nursery, his heart racing. He looked around the spacious den, counting the Queens and their kits as they slept. There was the oldest nursery resident- Witheredleaf- and her two newborn hairless kittens, curled tightly against their mother. He saw Ambercreek with her massive litter of ten- all of them old enough to be apprenticed within the next quarter moon. But he didn't relax, no not truly, until his molten eyes rested on the brown speckled pelt of the she-cat who held his heart.
Alderthorn's flanks rose and fell steadily as she lay back to back with her first born- Treeheart- who had her tail curled tightly around her three young sons. Tucked into Alderthorn's belly were three precious kits. His kits. Despite the fact that Shadowstar could see his family- almost all of them- with his own eyes, something in the den made the fur along his hackles rise. He was about to turn to go when he caught something out of the corner of his eye- the slow tapping of the tufted end of a long, thin tail. Materializing out of the darkness, a paw formed out of shaded brambles and shadow. One step in front of the other, a creature melted itself into the form of a tall, skeletal thin Warrior. Shadowstar's pupils nearly swallowed his irises in fear and he took a step back when harsh, acidic green eyes bore into his own. He knew this cat well- even though he had only met him a pawful of times and heard his name whispered in stories. The green gemstone about his throat, the white face, and long canine fangs cemented the thought and the thought into a name.
"Talcshade!" Shadowstar hissed through gritted teeth, his ears pinning back as the otherworldly tom began to walk around him in slow, patient circles. "What are you doing in my clan?!"
"Your clan?" the nasally, gritty voice made the hairs on the insides of Shadowstar's ears ache and he bared his teeth as the former Berylclan Warrior stopped behind Alderthorn and curled his thin, rat-like tail around his paws. "My boy, this may be your clan... but it is my world. Welcome to the sub realm of the Gray Wood."
"The... Gray Wood?"
"A place between Starclan and the Dark Forest. A kind of purgatory, if you will."
Shadowstar shook his head, hissing as he tried to take a step toward his family. Fear and panic gripped his entire being, freezing him to the core. No matter how hard he tried or how much he willed it so- his paws would not move. He was stuck in the position he had been in when he first saw Talcshade step forward. He could move his head, his mouth, and his eyes, but his feet wouldn't budge an inch. Talcshade saw the wild look of terror on his face and let out a loud, unnerving laugh that shook Shadowstar to the bone. All around them, the Queens and kits seemed none the wiser, as they slept deeply and soundlessly. Talcshade tilted his head, peering down at Shadowstar's family with pupil-less eyes. He reached out a long, bony paw and caressed Alderthorn's spine, something that made her shift uncomfortably in her sleep.
"Leave her alone!" Shadowstar cried, rage building where the fear had been. Talcshade flicked an ear in amusement but continued, tracing his paw along Treeheart's shoulders before slowly circling back to Shadowstar's only son- Tigerkit. When the tom laid his paw upon the brown and orange kitten, he began to squirm and his face showed an expression of panic.
"What are you doing to him?! Stop it! Leave my family alone!"
"And who shall stop me, Shadowstar? You?" Talcshade's voice was taunting as he moved on to the next victim, placing a paw on Citrinekit's head. The black and orange she-cat let out a faint whimper and writhed under his touch.
"What are you doing?! Please! Talcshade, I swear to the stars, I'll..."
"What?" Hissed the tom tauntingly as he came to the final child- the smallest in the litter. Rosekit. Talcshade unsheathed his claws and pressed the tips of them against the she-cat's flank and she looked instantly fear-stricken, letting out a cry that could have woke the whole camp but not a single member of the nursery so much as stirred a wink. Shadowstar felt angry tears roll down his face and he closed his eyes, unable to withstand anymore. "What. Will. You. Do?!"
"Anything!" Shadowstar cried at last, opening his eyes to stare at Talcshade with hatred swirling in his molten depths. "I'll do anything... Just please leave them alone!"
"Ah... a bargain, I see." To Shadowstar's relief, Talcshade removed his paw from Rosekit and she calmed reasonably but still tossed and turned as if trying to escape something. "You see, Shadowstar... I have more power in death than I ever did as a cat of flesh and blood. Stealing the Spirit Stones of the lives I took gave me... something incredible." Talcshade began to pace, weaving around the nursery Queens, leaving a trail of smoke and ash with each step he took. "I can walk in dreams... I can weave nightmares from the smallest insecurity. I know what you fear. What every one of you are afraid of. Spellfaith was afraid of falling... I pushed her off a cliff."
Shadowstar's world began to spin as Talcshade explained himself. He felt he might vomit when the murderous Warrior mentioned Cloudclan's late Medicine Cat- who had 'died mysteriously in her sleep' with nearly ever bone in her body broken. Stars... it had been him...
"Rasperryglade was afraid of drowning. I held her head under water until she stopped breathing."
"Starclan, no..."
"Jadefire was terrified of being buried alive. I watched her suffocate in a muddy ditch."
"It's been you the whole time!"
"Yes!" Talcshade screamed, coming face to face with Shadowstar, his eyes just endless pools of burning, toxic green. "And I will continue. Again and again and again. Feeding on your fear, ending your pathetic existence until there is nothing left in this valley but pain and loneliness. If I kill you in your dreams, Shadowstar... you die in real life." The tom turned to glance at Alderthorn and he gave an unearthly chuckle. "She fears losing her kits... if they all dropped dead, do you think she'd die of a broken heart?... I could give her a little push..."
"No! You bastard- I said I'd do what you want! The bargain- you said we could bargain!"
"Ah, so I did." Talcshade turned back to Shadowstar, molten hues meeting unforgiving chartreuse pools. "I have unfinished business in the valley, Shadowstar. There are some cats that I cannot reach because something is guarding them. Some cats that need to taste their fate. But I cannot do this from the Gray Wood. I need... a vessel. Something of flesh and bone."
Something settled in Shadowstar's soul as he stared into Talcshade's hideous face and he gulped down his fear with a dry mouth full of anxiety and rage. "Go on."
"If you make a deal with me... I will leave your family alone. And I won't touch another hair on anyone's pretty little pelt. No more killings."
"... And what do I have to do on my end?"
Talcshade clicked his tongue against the roof of his mouth. "Give me your body."
"What?!"
"I can't do it all at once... it doesn't work like that. Too much spirit in a living body at once will rot the flesh. I... need to do it over time. Bit by bit. Of course, you won't die. You'll be there too. Just less and less of you... as there is more and more of me."
Shadowstar looked into his void eyes and knew without a moment of hesitation that there was no other way. If he said no, Talcshade could kill his entire family right here and now and the clan as well if he wanted. If he refused... he'd be damning them all anyway. This way... there was time. And there would be peace while Shadowstar tried to figure out what to do. And how to stop him.
"I have your word?"
"A deal is a deal. On my honor." Talcshade lifted his right paw and extended it to Shadowstar. For the first time in what felt like eons, the Cloudclan leader realized he could move. He exhaled and shifted the weight to each of his paws. He looked past Talcshade at his sleeping mate and kits then back at the spectral tom. He looked him in the eyes and slid his paw into the phantom's own. They shook. As the bargain was made, a cloud of dark green smoke streamed from Talcshade and swirled up Shadowstar's arm. It sept into his fur, into his mouth, nose, ears, and eyes. Shadowstar felt himself suffocating and he fell to the nursery floor, pressure beyond belief threatening to crush him from the inside out. He closed his eyes and let out a piercing cry. A bright light of green so intense it came from everywhere threatened to blind him and burn the world ten times over. Then it was all gone, melted away into nothing.
Shadowstar opened his eyes back in the leader's den, curled tightly in his nest. He looked around frantically then caught again a green twinkle out of the corner of his eye. He looked down at his Spirit Stone- something that had been tanzanite before... and still was. But now, through the center of the gem, there was a line of pale green.
A deal is a deal, Shadowstar. He heard Talcshade say from some dark, quiet place inside of himself. Losing your family may be what you fear the most... but it won't happen now. Thanks to you. Rest now... there will be no more nightmares for you. Not for many nights to come.