It was hard to differentiate how much time had actually passed since the Smokekit incident. Could've been minutes, could've been moons. Ultimately, it didn't really matter because by the time Little Lark arrived, Wolverine had worn a path of pawprints into the muck from all his pacing.
He was furious! Angry that Smokekit had done this, and angry that it was SO in line with the family to do something so stupidly reckless. "He takes after you, you know! The second you get your mind set on something you throw all rationality out the den and do stupid things! There's a reason he didn't make it past kithood to begin with, 'n a reason you hardly made it to kitting! Holy hell!"
Lostspark hadn't been getting much sleep lately, what with her kin dropping left and right. Any sleep she did get was riddled with nightmares or constant waking up drenched in sweat. So of course, when she did find unconsciousness long enough to be swept into a dream, it just had to be something just as chaotic as the rest of the current waking world.
For a while, Lostspark was too stunned into silence to speak. She took in Wolverine, the scenery around them, and then the path worn into the ground because of his relentless pacing. Yeah, she supposed her grimace of unease was well-earned. That was until it sank in Wolverine was talking about a 'he' that was related to her, and there was only one cat who fit that description. Stars and the starsdamned be damned.
One cat who was very obviously missing from this scene. "Where the hell is Smokekit?!" She wasn't aggravated - more of panicked, already dreading her something-grandfather's reply, knowing she would not like it.
"I should be asking you that!" Wolverine snarled, but in truth his anger wasn't for her. "Playing with wishes only reaps pain, that has always been the cost!
"But no, none of you seek to understand the consequences of your actions before it is too late. Your freckles has seen him off, but has failed to understand the gravity." A growly rumble in his throat, a consideration of what he should offer.
"In dark depths he spies,
Awaiting passing paws to lie.
Seek the waters of the mire,
But doing so will cost you dire."
There. Maybe it wasn't as fancy as some of StarClan's, but it got the point across well enough. He wasn't no damn poet.
Usually when Treetiger awoke in these areas, it was more peaceful and less... icky. This seemed like the real deal, like she was truly in the Dark Forest, so perhaps she was? This was where Thrush dwelled, hm? She'd have to take a look around.
The Bengal started to stroll about, desensitized to the whole thing. However, this didn't stop the dark feeling dwelling within herself. She could feel her friend working its way up, wanting to come alive around her. It always did here, she couldn't stop it. She was vulnerable here, this entity escaping her was an escape from the dream world. An escape to the waking world where it could haunt her, she just didn't know it yet.
Slowly, it's claws would cling to her shoulders, a prickling feeling causing the fur on her shoulders to rise. She'd crouch down half-way, prowling now as her paws led her step by cautious step through the territory.
Bogtumble knew what dead cats looked like. This one was far from it. Alive. Solid. Warm. An eerie aura about her, sure, but still fresh.
"Youuuu are newwwww." The sing-song voice came from above Treetiger. Bogtumble lounged in one of the trees - though could it really be called lounging, when he still looked wild and tense. "Not dead, no, not at all. Who are you?"
No. No no nonononoNO! It wasn't FAIR! Denied?! HIM?! On THOSE grounds? Stars, they acted like he'd tortured his meals before he'd eaten!! They'd been dead, long dead, and now while he STARVED in this- this HORRENDOUS pit of death and despair, they lounged and judged and ruined. It wasn't fair!
Angry tears had long soaked half of his face since his denial. And he had screamed and shouted and wailed. And he had paced. Through the dim forests, amongst the shadows that grabbed at his thin coat, round and round until he had dizzied himself - until he'd found himself at the veil.
The veil.
Its shimmering corporealness lit up his good eye as he stared at it, pupil shrunk to a sliver of darkness. The veil. He wanted back at them. This kept deteriorating, and it wasn't getting better, and they clearly didn't see it as urgent if it hadn't been taken care of yet. Could he tear it down further? Make them realize he was something to consider, instead of just to give a passing glance?
His tail flipped. He trailed the border until he found a spot where it had been worn through considerably, the edges of the gaps ragged and wavering. With one forepaw, he reached out and tangled his claws in the edges, and yanked.
A pull. Nothing tore, but there was friction. Bogtumble's breaths were shaky and uneven as he tried again. Yellowed talons pierced the veil, curled, and wrenched backward.
Shreds of something white came off between his claws and floated to the ground before disintegrating into stardust.
His eye lit up.
"You'll see me," he breathed. "As more than just some- some heretic!"
And with a sneer, he reared up on his hind legs and went to town, shredding, ripping, hacking away, until he had made several large tears in the boundary meant to separate the dark and the light. "You'll see me! I'm not WORTHLESS!"
"S-sir... that's not... I don't t-think you're s-supposed to be..." Wide, mismatched eyes watched as some feral cat made a shredding of the border. She'd just been passing through, wondering what it was that she kept forgetting, but now the short, fluffy molly was just hesitantly tiptoeing after the angry brown cat, her voice so soft she wasn't even certain he was aware of her presence.
Ears flattening against her skull at the starved cat's screech, Berryfrost considered curling up into a tight ball and attempting to disappear, but... she couldn't exactly do that when she was pretty sure the border wasn't supposed to be... "Y-you're not s-supposed to be tearing that... that... I don't think... o-oh..." Blue and green eyes widened with shock as she watched the veil disintegrate starry fleck by starry fleck.
Was it... supposed to do that? Her gaze flitted to the Dark Forest of the border, dread dawning as the other side became... clearer. She could see it better now, through the gaps. It wasn't filmy, wasn't... Surely, no one could pass through it just like that..? Gulp.
Heaving - that's what he felt like doing. Hurling his guts up onto the dirt had never felt so appealing. It was as if the starlight he shredded and disintegrated had wound its way into his soul, and not in the way he wanted. Bogtumble staggered sideways and vomited several timed onto the gnarled roots of a rotting oak.
He hated it. Why had he done that? His stomach twisted with discomfort far more vile than even his undying hunger had forced him to endure. The veil was sacred. It was not meant to be tampered with, not meant to be destroyed. Bogtumble leaned his forhead against the oak's trunk, sides heaving as he fought to catch his breath.
...But it had worked.
Attention.
Bogtumble's wild yellow eye swiveled in the socket to lock onto the newcomer; the left one, the blind one, remained stuck in its off-center position, pointing at the ground
He ran his tongue over his lips, collecting left-over flecks of bile, and slowly lifted his head. "No one's said I wasn't allowed to touch it."
Bogtumble knew what dead cats looked like. This one was far from it. Alive. Solid. Warm. An eerie aura about her, sure, but still fresh.
"Youuuu are newwwww." The sing-song voice came from above Treetiger. Bogtumble lounged in one of the trees - though could it really be called lounging, when he still looked wild and tense. "Not dead, no, not at all. Who are you?"
The prowling came to a sudden halt and anxiety crept up over her quickly. Green eyes flickered upwards towards the stranger in the trees above her. The tension behind his stance only made her fur rise further, fluffing up to appear larger than she already was.
The entity fed on that, though. It would creep further and further into this realm, Treetiger unable to hold it back. Its presence was visible here. A shadowy figure embodying a feline-ish form. Daggers dug into the shoulders and spine of the Bengal, a black mask covering a majority of her body from the angle Bogtumble was staring down at her.
Beneath, Treetiger still stared upwards, not blinking as she processed those words. The tone in those words. "Treetiger of ThunderClan. I'm not yet, no. Not a new visitor either..." the molly spoke, trying to hide the fear behind her words, glaring with defiance at the other. She could see her friend hovering over her, but she wasn't aware that Bogtumble would be able to here. No one saw it in the living world. This whole... situation was new to her still. She hadn't seen Thrush since she'd made the wish to never be alone.
The prowling came to a sudden halt and anxiety crept up over her quickly. Green eyes flickered upwards towards the stranger in the trees above her. The tension behind his stance only made her fur rise further, fluffing up to appear larger than she already was.
The entity fed on that, though. It would creep further and further into this realm, Treetiger unable to hold it back. Its presence was visible here. A shadowy figure embodying a feline-ish form. Daggers dug into the shoulders and spine of the Bengal, a black mask covering a majority of her body from the angle Bogtumble was staring down at her.
Beneath, Treetiger still stared upwards, not blinking as she processed those words. The tone in those words. "Treetiger of ThunderClan. I'm not yet, no. Not a new visitor either..." the molly spoke, trying to hide the fear behind her words, glaring with defiance at the other. She could see her friend hovering over her, but she wasn't aware that Bogtumble would be able to here. No one saw it in the living world. This whole... situation was new to her still. She hadn't seen Thrush since she'd made the wish to never be alone.
Bogtumble let his head loll to the side until it thumped against the branch. His yellow eye, the pupil shrunk to a n impossibly small pinpoint, rolled in the socket with the movement until it fixed on the shadow hovering above Treetiger. He dug his claws a little deeper into the bark - then he slid sideways off the branch and hit the rotting ground with a dull, unceremonious thump, and settled for lounging there instead as he stared up at her.
"Seems you're a package deal!" Giggles made his words wobble, only they sounded devoid of any joy; tainted. "I thought ThunderSquirrels were all a bunch of tree-hugging, lazy little insects hardly worth playing with." He flexed his claws, as if imagining a pelt beneath them instead of the leaf litter. "If all of you can do this little party trick, though, I might have to change my opinion."
He tilted his head again, this time focused on the feline-esque shadow, and lifted a paw to wave at it. "Does your trick have a name? Can you teach me? I'm terribly bored. Daddy never comes to visit, and there's nothing warm to eat here. I need something to pass the time if I can't sink my CLAWS into something." The corners of his mouth stretched into a too-wide grin. "Pretty please? For your new best friend Bogtumble?"
...Berryfrost was going to throw up. There were a million butterflies - and not the good ones - fluttering around in her, wingbeats frantic and uncoordinated. She also wanted to cry when the cat turned on her, while simultaneously wishing she could forget this instance like she'd been forgetting... something else... something important... what was it?.. lately. What was she. . . forgetting?
"N-no one- n-no one..." The pale-furred molly backed up several steps, anxiety sparking in her mismatched eyes. She didn't like it. Wanted away. "They shouldn't h-have to tell... y-you..." Berryfrost stammered out. "S-sorry I- I mean, d-do you need help? Do you want me to call someone for you?" Her voice both sped up and lowered nervously at the last part, gaze darting over her shoulder towards the starry meadows StarClan owned.
Just looking at the Dark Forest was giving her jitters.
"IT'S NOT A RULE!" came the immediate harsh shriek of a response, right before something squeezed at his insides again and he ducked his head to keep himself from gagging. Could he do ONE thing around here without feeling like he was on the cusp of a second death??
Bogtumble didn't even realize he was shaking, but he was - fullbody tremors that had him gripping the dirt with his claws to keep himself stable as he stared wide-eyed at Berryfrost, jaws agape with each ragged breath. Her backpedal made something spark in his gut, and his back legs jolted in place as if they wanted to propel him forward but were being locked down.
"By all means," he rasped out. "Call someone. Call everyone!Then maybe Daddy will finally come visit like he's SUPPOSED TO!"He swatted at the veil again, claws sliding harmlessly through the shimmer this time. "He's gone." A step toward Berryfrost that he isn't really aware of. "Gone!" A second. "GONE!" A third, quickly closing the distance as his eye tumbled around wildly. "Left me here to STARVE! AND THEY WON'T LET ME OUT!"
Re: Dark Forest Territory
