Whispers of Promise [PLOT]

Every night, It would take another victim.

It had no name. Only It. Only the monster in the dark, the unseen hunter in the night, the shadow that haunted each and every cat's dreams, the thing that was only ever talked about in muttered whispers. Every dawn would shed light on a fresh corpse. Twisted bodies, rippled and slash apart by savage claws, with severed limbs, broken bones, pools of blood, and dead vacant eyes wide with alarm. It didn't matter how many watches were put up, or how many patrols there were or weren't. It always killed something every night, in each of the five Clans, no matter what. Their warrior ancestors had remained as quiet, cold, and distant as the stars in Silverpelt. Quiet until tonight.

A veil, shimmering and thin and clear as a flowing stream, was all that separated heaven from hell in this strange realm of the dead. Tendrils of mist threaded through it like snakes, but even through the fog, you could still make out the skeletal dead trees of the Dark Forest. Their bare branches scraped at the clouded gray sky like reaching hands, as if they were trying to dig through to find the starry sky far above, but somehow, the cats of this dead realm knew that no stars twinkled up there. There was only darkness waiting for those who had found themselves in the Place of No Stars. Only darkness, misery, and pain.

Eaglethorn... the wind whispered. The breeze cut through the twelve cats like a knife, whispering names and promises. The branches of the Dark Forest rattled with each breath of wind. Bringer of the dawn... It swirled around them all, scattered along the veil of mist, cold and biting. Fishpelt... Morningbreeze... Ryefur... defenders of light...

The names were as soft as sighs and eerie, sounding almost like moans. The wooden grasping fingers on the far side of the veil all swayed, beckoning them closer. Closer and together. They had to meet here, in the center. Deernose... Morningpaw... Lightningpaw... our morning stars... Featherpaw, Nightfire... flames in the darkness... Tigerclaw... help us... save us... The mournful voices, some so quiet you had to strain to hear, had begun to rise with the howling of the wind. Sunstreak... save us... help us... join us... come... come... come... COME . . .

A sphere of light danced among the mist like a firefly, flying on invisible wings as if through water. It glowed a faint golden light that seemed to meld and shift and flicker with every sigh. The light was no bigger than a small stone, yet in the perpetual twilight of StarClan's plains and the Dark Forest's permanent gloom, it shone as bright as a star.

It floated across Nightfire's sight of vision, gliding and jumping in the air with every breeze. "N i g h t . . . f i r e . . . . . ." it murmured, though that might have been the wind. Or perhaps their voices were one in the same. It was too difficult to discern. "Son . . . o f . . . f l a m e . . . D e s t i n y . . . a p p r o a c h e s . . . . . ."

The wisp of light began to waft towards the rows of trees on the dark side of the veil. "C o m e . . . h e a l e r . . ."

More lights drifted to the twelve cats near the Mist. "C o m e . . ." they called, in a dozen voices that spoke as one. "W a r r i o r . . . l e a r n e r . . . h e r o . . . s a v i o r . . . o u r . . . m o r n i n g . . . s t a r . . . C o m e . . ."

Morningbreeze woke with a start. She had dreamed of whispering fireflies floating around the forest...or at least she thought she had. The problem was, she was still dreaming. She stretched her legs and padded outside of the Warriors den. The thick night air hung around her, causing the She-cat to shake her pelt. The Sky was cloudy, with barley any moonlight showing. Morningbreeze padded over to a puddle for a drink. Once she looked down, she saw a faint light in the reflection. "What on earth..." She turned around, and there floated a tiny light, that shone bright in the darkness. It seemed to whisper her name. "Morningbreeze...Morningbreeze...come..." The words seemed to drill into Morningbreeze's skull and rattle her brain. She pounced onto the light, trying to make it stop, but it only moved further away. The calico took a step towards it, and it moved an inch away. She took another step, and the same thing happened. Soon she was chasing after the tiny firefly. "Stop! This isn't safe! I could get attacked," she yelled at her guide. "I don't want to be one of them! I want to live!" She continued on any way, as if she didn't have control of her body, like it was purposely attracted to the light, and would never stop. No matter what.

Lightningpaw heard whispering in his head, and his eyes snapped open. The apprentice found that he was bristling. Not wanting to disturb anyone else, he stepped out into the darkness. Lightningpaw started to pad out of camp, but as he continued farther into the tunnel, a small light came into view. It couldn't be the tunnel entrance...It seemed like the light was whispering his name. "L i g h t n i n g p a w!" it chanted. The tom closed his eyes and ran back into camp. When he opened his yellow orbs, the light was sitting in front of him. "L i g h t n i n g p a w....L i g h t n i n g p a w, c o m e!" it called as it started moving away from him. Lightningpaw had the strange urge to chase it. "No. I will stay here, in camp." he firmly told himself. However, he found himself running further away from the ThunderClan camp.

The last few days had been a mixture of worry and anger for the young warrior. Even now, as she slept, her dreams were muddled images of dead cats, marred and battered almost beyond the point of recognition. It wasn't, however, solely fear that drove her foul dreams, but frustration as well. There wasn't anything she could do. Every time Fishpelt and a patrol of warriors went to investigate bodies and the surrounding areas of the forest, they found nothing. Not a tuft of fur, not an unaccountable scent.. Nothing.

Suddenly, a coarse gale tore the she-cat from her dreams. Hissing quietly in annoyance, Fishpelt decided that she would leave the den to have a short walk. Perhaps she would try falling asleep with a clearer mind. She trotted across the camp and out the exit, Fishpelt suddenly realized what she was doing. Cats had been disappearing each and every day, and here she was, taking a stroll. A bolt of fear ran through Fishpelt's veins.

Just as the tabby turned to go back to camp, she heard a soft voice.  

"Fishpelt.."

Any sensible cat's reaction would have been to run, but for some reason, Fishpelt felt compelled to follow the voice. Turning yet again, the she-cat began a slow walk towards where she believed the voice to be emanating from, the mists of the summer night curling around her pelt.

Morningpaw laid still in the grass, her gaze low as she listened to the faint whispers around her. This was a dream; she knew it was a dream, but the voices...Why were they trying to lead her? Was StarClan speaking to her? But she wasn't a medicine cat...At least, not yet. Maybe they were trying to tell her she was to be Nightifre's apprentice? She was unsure as her name rang in her ears as she stared up at the small light that floated above her. The next thing she knew, she was on her paws as she drifted mindlessly after the light, knowing simply she had to follow it.


Ryefur also was asleep, but was awake in the realm of dreams if you so-wished to call it that. His gaze was low as he stared at his rippling reflection in the crystal-clear water that traveled across the star-lit clearing. Suddenly, his ears perked up as something, a voice, whispered gently to him. It called him as he turned his head away from his reflection, suprised to find a small light floating not far from him. A firefly? That was his first thought, thinking it was simply that until he noticed he it was simply what it was; a ball of light. He pulled himself to his paws as he took a step forward toward the floating light, watching as it slowly started to drift away.

The RiverClan tom frowned as he took another step forward, the ball drifting away again. Was it...Leading him? He quickly raced forward, hoping to catch the ball but it went faster as he did; always keeping out of his paw reach as he raced along. What was this? He had never seen a thing such as this in his dreams, so why had it appeared now? Had it been the one that had called to him; spoken his name in a soft whisper. He barely thought about it was he ran, swiftly leaving behind the field he was in to find himself in a forest; unknowing heading toward the Mist; the border between StarClan and The Dark Forest.

His name... flames in the darkness? Opening his dual colored eyes, the glowing orbs bounces along with the wind before his eyes. Whispers beckoning many names. His ears pricked as his name was called again. Voices continued, destiny approaches? What could that mean. The light set his eyes aflame, as he took a step forward. Was Starclan calling him? Come.... Healer.... Nightfire padded toward the light orb, looking to see darkness on the other side of this mist. His little stub of a tail twitched, and he continued. If Starclan led him here, he would do his job of following. Many deaths had come, and he was going to followed the sudden appearance of Starclan, or whatever light was beckoning him. Continuing to pad forward, he followed the light, his ears barely catching the voices behind him.

The last thing Tigerclaw remembered was being sent to bed early, having been the one to hold the vigil all that day along with Bearmask. In regards to the mysterious deaths around camp, that were nothing like the murders WindClan had committed - although the warrior was certain that had something to do with it as well, Thrushstar had set up double patrols, double vigils, making the clan's security as tight as it'd ever been. It was exhausting, but he never objected. It had to be for the best. He would never admit it, but he was afraid, afraid for his friends, his family, his clanmates... The she-cat he'd been curled up beside not a few moment before.

This place he'd had awoken to now was sickly and vile, and it left shivers down the large tabby's spine. His amber eyes narrowed, ears perking forward as he strained to hear the wind. He swore, with an uncomfortable feeling, that his name was being called. He'd never seen this place before. Was this some sort of trick, or a dream? Was he in StarClan? But then why? Yes, yes... It was definitely his name...

Tigerclaw saw a strange, wispy glow of light ahead of him in a deep, intimidating fog. Hesitation grabbed at him, forcing him back a step as he eyed the strange being, trying to comprehend - imagine what it could possibly be. Larger than any firefly, far more ghastly; however, it didn't take long for curiosity to get the best of him and he padded after the creature - noticing it lead him through the thick mist.

A mostly brown warrior tossed and turned in his sleep, tormented by nightmares. His face was contorted into a pained frown, by the visions of his clanmates; all dead, before him. No one was beside him. There never was, not anymore. A soft voice echoed inside his own head. Refusing to awaken, the voice got steadily louder until the warrior jumped to his black paws.

D E E r n O s E....n O s E.... d E E r n O s E!

It was calling his name. Confused and annoyed, he peered out into the night, orange-flecked gaze scanning for whoever called him. All he saw was the empty night, besides the two guards at the camp entrance. He called out to the pair of Windclan warriors softly, as to not break the silence of midnight. However, the did not hear him. Nor did they seem to know he was there. Flicking his tail, Deernose spotted something at the edge of his vision. A star seemed to be floating down from the sky, coming towards him. He stepped forward, curious.

The light floated closer, until it was floating only a tail-length away. The tom began to follow it in wonder, as it was constantly moving away from him. He ended up running after it, barely noticing the familiar scenery around him changing to something other cats only got to visit after their end.

Featherpaw's ear twitched, and her legs shuffled in her sleep. Dead cats, broken and tattered bodies were everywhere. The sky was dark and red. Alone The last thing anyone wanted to be. The dark tabby moved trough the plan careful not to step on any bodies. Each body she passed had a clan scent to them, each face she passed she knew. She choked back the terror she felt in her body. She knew that this was a dream, for it reoccurred every night. Every night she had to make her way through the land of death. This time was different. The bodies started to disappear and soon came a growl in the distance. Featherpaw froze in panic.

The sound grew closer until words moved through her head. Featherpaw.. It beckoned. Featherpaw finally spun to see light in front of her. It continued to speak saying names, and flames in the darkness but she didn't really pay attention. Fear grew as the growl came closer, and she swing her head back to the light in front of her, but only to notice it was moving away. Featherpaw looked back, and forward again. She drew back her fear and began chasing after the light into the mist.

Almost got it... Yes! Eaglethorn's eyes gleamed in satisfaction, a rabbit dead at his paws. This was the third piece of prey he had caught that day, and he had never felt more skillful at hunting than he did now. However, something was off... perhaps it was that light shining in his peripheral vision. Tilting his head to the left, he noticed an orb of light floating above the ground, shining across the moors. Well, guess that ended any thoughts of these catches being real. And then a voice began emanating from the light.

Eaglethorn... Bringer of the dawn... Eaglethorn had no clue what that was supposed to mean, but it sounded important, and it was about him, so that made sense. Then the light began to move, drifting away from him and from the grassy moors. Wanting to learn more of what it spoke of, the warrior quickly began chasing after it. Was it a message from StarClan? Why would it be sent to him and not to his father, or their lazy medicine cat?

When the light finally dissipated, Eaglethorn realized that he must have left WindClan territory far behind. There was still grass, at least, but it was a lot less sunny than he recalled, and he was faced with a wall of mist, shimmering almost like it was an illusion. Those words still rang in his ears though, and there wasn't anywhere else to go... Slowly padding forward, he stepped into the misty veil. Maybe this was where he would bring the so-called dawn.

Oh Starclan, Cinderfur couldn't see a thing. As soon as she had fallen asleep, her dreams took her here, although she was thankful they did. She could barely even sleep much anymore ever since those terrible dreams started and finding her dead clan mates. It was awful work, and no sleep and constant patrols were quickly dragging her down. Sure, she could handle it, but not for too much longer. And when this dream was different, she was relieved. She had never seen this mist before. It was so dense and eerie. It was like the light was being swallowed by the darkness, but it also looked the exact opposite. There wasn't the comforting feeling of Starclan, but it wasn't miserable or dreadful either. It was only uncertainty.

Looking around, she slowly padded around, looking for some kind of way to locate where she could be, but all she saw was a thick cloud of gray that stretched endlessly in front of her. After only a few minutes, though, there was a soft sound that drifted into her ears. It was a dull whisper that seemed to come from nowhere but everywhere at the same time. Over a short time, names finally became discernible, but none were her own. It was only when she began to see dark shapes in the distance of other cats did she finally realize where she was going. There was one at first. It was a cat she did not recognize. And then there was another, but still she did not recognize them. She had no idea where she was or who she was surrounded by, but they seemed to be going to the same place. Hopefully they had some kind of answer, so she kept her mouth shut and followed behind them quietly, keeping her paws light across the ground.

OOC: Reminder that this is all part of a dream. ;w;

IC: The lights gently floated past the Mist, and into the dark wall of trees that marked a territory that few cats knew of. Some had visited this place in dreams, but few enough. Only ghosts of the long-dead lived here, where the stars never shone, even so tantalizingly close to StarClan's territory. Even the bravest cat might have been too scared to enter... but the lights moved into the trees anyways, threading between the thick black trunks, and there was no choice but for the twelve—now thirteen—to follow.

"M o r n i n g b r e e z e . . ." the lights whispered. "L i g h t n i n g p a w . . . F i s h p e l t . . . M o r n i n g p a w . . . R y e f u r . . . N i g h t f i r e . . . T i g e r c l a w . . . D e e r n o s e . . . F e a t h e r p a w . . . E a g l e t h o r n . . . S u n s t r e a k . . ."

The forest floor was a tangle of gnarled roots and thorny brambles, with ghostly tendrils of moss drooping down from the twisted branches. Thistles bristled from the small patches of soil that could be glimpsed... if you could even see. The darkness was unnaturally deep here, and the only source of light were the lights that floated in the air, whispering names and forbidden words. "M o r n i n g . . . s t a r . . ."

After what seemed like an eternity, the group of cats met in a copse of trees around a dirty pool as black as ink, covered in a haze of fog. The lights all converged and melded together, uniting as one, growing, and shining all the brighter in the darkness, peeling away the gloom. It was difficult to look at the light straight on. "W e l c o m e . . ."

Morningbreeze was fearful when she came to some kind of mist. There were figures of cats all around her, and her heart was racing. What is this place? What if the other cats attack? Her heart raced harder as she came to a black pool, that sent chills down her spine. She looked around All the trees were dead, and inbetween the trees was blackness. Morningbreeze quickly turned her gaze back to the pool, afraid that a pair of eyes was going to stare back at her. The Skyclan she-cat tried to recognize some of the cat's faces, but saw no Skyclan cats. "Starclan, where have you brought me?" She whispered, fearfully.

Nightfire, continued forth, coming to an dark pool in a grove of dead trees. The light conformed, and he turned his head away, finally noticing the other cats. Squinting to the light, he padded forward more and whispered. "Starclan. What is it?" Many names were called, and he was said welcome. Welcome to what?

Surprisingly not tired from the continuous running, the Windclan warrior found himself in a place he did not recognize. The sky was completely dark and cold, same for everything else in this place. The devilish trees were blackened, much like the claws of a beast. Afraid to speak in such a frightening setting, he gazed around. Other cats had appeared, most he vaguely recognized from Gatherings.

Weary, Deernose padded silently towards the 'puddle'. A wave of horrible scents invaded his nose. The light he had been chasing was meeting with many others, until they all merged. A voice seemed to come from it, speaking to the cats it had led here. This definitely shouldn't be Starclan, in my opinion. 'Welcome?' "Well, welcome to where?"