the way down we go [closed]

Blackened hearts seemed to already have one paw dipped in the filth of dark forest. It was easier to lay your pads where they had already trodden. Scarletriver's blood-stained trail was true to her name. She had quickly drawn the attention of the late Windclan warrior whose eyes darted over to Riverclan every so often. He had his sights set on Windclan but ignoring the reality of his origins were impossible. Besides, it was hard to have split loyalties when true allegiance was only to his own wellbeing. If he were to stand at the head of both clans, power in his paws... oh the idea of being unstoppable made him salivate.

"Wake up, Scarletriver, I don't want to waste what precious time we have." He was growing impatient. With Ashfall, Slatethroat had been more methodical, wanting to entice her into their ranks. With Scarletriver, however, he wanting to push and see her capabilities before his own eyes. Before the she-cat, sitting among a rather plain and dusty clearing, was a handsome tom whose coat looked at if he had just resurfaced from under the river. When he moved, the dripping of his pelt never ceased - a perpetual curse. There was a myriad of fresh wounds along his side as well but they weren't very impressive and he moved in a way that kept them from easy view.

"Your history has caught my attention. And I wish to train you. It seems you have goals of your own, yes? Well, perhaps I can make those pursuit easier, if you give me a chance. My name is Slatethroat and I wish to show you power beyond what the forest could ever offer." The haste in the silken rasp of his throat was obvious. There was no more waiting to be had - the time for action was now, and Scarletriver was invited to join the fray.

Scarletriver's mind drifted into dreams, at least that is what she assumed would happen at first.  Instead, she seemed to awake immediately.  The feeling that came over her was similar to what she felt at the moonstone... but stranger.  She could not exactly describe what she felt in words.  Just a strange, surreal, worrying feeling.  A curse perhaps?  She knew that she would deserve anything bad that happened to her at this point.  She knew what she did was wrong, but in the long run she hoped it would work out.  Bad actions for a worthy cause... according to her and only her.

Words entered her ears, an unfamiliar voice.  Her eyes opened to the plain hard clearing around her.  She did not answer.  She stared blankly at his first comment.  She did not care about this other cat's time.  If he wanted her to answer, or not waste his time as he said, then he must tell her what was happening first.  However, she did have one reaction to seeing this new unfamiliar cat.  Immediately, she rose to her paws, taking a few steps away from whoever this was.  Her paws were unsheathed.  She knew not to trust anyone, until it was proved why they should deserve it.

The tom spoke again.  He appeared to be wet, for reasons she knew not, nor was that her main concern at the moment.  He seemed to know a bit about her already, while she knew nothing of him.  This could easily be her mind putting her in a dream state, but it did feel a bit different.  She had so many questions, but she was not about to ask them yet.  This must be a dream or something that was in her own head, so it could not be that bad.  Slatethroat was an interesting name, but she liked it.  

The offer was very enticing.  She could use any help she can get.  She thought about this a moment before responding.  If it was a dream, there would be no consequence.  If it was not, and this cat was telling the truth, then maybe they could help her a great deal.  If he was lying, well she has defeated cats more experienced than her before.

Her eyes narrowed.  A smirk crept up on her maw.  Plans already forming in her mind. "I'm listening."

"Self-righteous cats walk the afterlife just as they do in the forest. I want to inflict suffering on those who banished me here. They'll want to do the same to you too. But we can silence them under our claws." Slatethroat grinned a devilish smile. His claws unsheathed and he studied the soft glint to them that came from the ailing light. Everything was dark here, constantly. He craved to see the light illuminating the world around him once again. This thing that grew gnawed at his stomach like an insatiable hunger. His tail flickered as he found her eyes once more.

"There's a power growing when things have been silent for so long. I'm not sure what is coming but I will be ready for it, and I want strong cats on my side who deserve it. Other cats who find out what you are, what you've done, they'll be ready to condemn you. I'm not the same, my companions are not the same. You'll fit right in." He'd been certain about his decision from the start and he hoped that she would be too. There weren't other options. It appeared her desires couldn't be sated and that was what he needed - a relentless cat, someone who wouldn't let convictions get in the way.

"I'll train you. I'll teach you everything you need to know. And when it is time, Scarletriver, you'll stand above the rest."

Scarletriver was piecing together things as this cat talked.  "Afterlife"?  "Banished"?  Those words and simply the landscape around her gave informed her that this must be the Dark Forest.  This is what all the cats were afraid of going to and that she was too as a kit and even now?  It was not as bad as imagined.  Sure, she would not like to spend eternity here, that would be horrible, and Starclan would definitely be better, however it was not the torture that she had imagined.  Or maybe she just had not seen it all yet in all its glory.

Hearing the other cat inform her that Starclan wished for her to go here made her ears briefly flick back, but other than that she attempted to have no emotion showing.  She always hoped that Starclan would see her goal and her big vision for Riverclan.  Clearly, they let their never-ending power and ego to lead their decisions.  Those stupid beasts who only care about seeing the small picture.

The next thing this weird new cat brought up sounded like some sort of revolution.  Her eyes went to the floor as the other cat mentioned how she would "fit right in."  She knew she was not a good cat.  No one needed to inform her of this for her to see all the crimes she committed.  However, if she was right in her assumptions, and this was a Dark Forest cat... she at least wished to be better than that.  But what if she was not?  What if she was just another one of those criminals that elders tell kits about?

She tried to shake these thoughts away.  She did not need them.  She did not need even more of that guilt and shame clouding her mind.

"And when it is time, Scarletriver, you'll stand above the rest."

This was all she needed.

"This is the Dark Forest, I assume?" She asked.  A dream was still an option, but her dreams had been nightmares for as long as she could remember.  But to make sure, she took her claw and lightly slashed her other leg with it.  She felt pain.  "I know it's not a dream." However, she still wanted confirmation of where she was exactly.

"And you know all of what I did?  All of what I'm capable of?" She said it almost like a threat at this new cat, before she calmed herself and looked harmless once more (a perk of her small size).

"Sure.  I'll help you.  I'll take your lessons and your teachings and your power, in exchange I can promise you will reach your goal." A smirk came across her face.  If Slatethroat betrayed her, she would make sure to use any training he did give her against him.  Who knows?  Maybe she could even earn his trust and then use it, gaining her own power somehow.

In Scarletrivers mind, there was one thing Slatethroat got wrong in talking to her, she already stood above the rest.