We need to Talk [Closed]

Dawnflower stared a the herbs in front of her trying to sort them out, but she kept getting lost in thought.. She would work with the herbs for a moment then stop, and get lost in space for a few moments longer than she worked. Ever since her dream at the moonstone she had been on Edge, but since the recent gathering, everything was going wrong. She had heard the cries, and the shrieks, and the calls for help on that red moon filled night, but all she could do was sit in terror as cats panicked. Starclan... Starclan was lost.. She could feel it, and something bad was going to happen, and the other day with Shatteredsoul proved her right. This dark forest wasn't good.

Quickly she stored the unsorted herbs away for the moment, and walked out of her den. She gave a quick stretched, and soon was on her way to the leaders den. She ignored the others, and wasn't really paying attention if they even said anything to her. Carefully she poked her head into Thrushstar's den, and said. "Thrushstar? Can we talk?"

The Shadowclan leader stopped where he was as his head shot up to look at Dawnflower. Behind him was basically a track around the edge of his den where long hours of pacing had packed down the dirt and mud. "What is it?" He asked in his raspy voice. At this point, he was wondering if this was going to be a permanent thing. Maybe Shatteredsoul had left more than just a bright pink scar across his neck. The rest of him seemed to match his voice. His fur was rugged and unkempt, his eyes were heavy from lack of sleep and too much movement while his body was still in recovery mode. "Actually... I need to speak to... you as well."

The medicine cat stepped into the den and sat down avoiding the small dent in the ground from his pacing. She really needed to talk with him about that but now was not the time. "I need to speak with you about Starclan.. and what happened at the gathering." She said not really meeting his gaze. She knew that he was easily irritated these days, and didn't really feel like seeing the anger on him, if he got made about Starclan being brought up. She knew he was loosing faith. She could tell.

"I believe we need... to speak about the same thing, then," he told her. He felt like now was a good time to tell her what he saw the other night when he died. Even though it went against tradition, this was something that needed to be shared at least to Dawnflower. He quickly sat down, turned her way to listen to her talk. He could tell just by the look on her face that this was very important, and if his visions had anything to do with it, then he was certain it was very bad news. "What do you need to tell... me?"

"Well at the last Medicine Cat meeting all of us got a dark dream, but it was vague, and we didn't know what it meant. I wanted to share it with you but there was no need to raise concern if I didn't know what it meant. I have been thinking over it for the past moon or so, and nothing came to my mind." The pale she-cat said. Her gaze turning to her paws for a moment. She didn't really want to look up at him at this moment..

"At the gathering... I just assumed everything would go fine... but when the moon turned red... I heard faint screams, and sounds of panic.. It terrified me to the core, Silverfern heard it too.. it's why we demanded to go home. I'm sure the rest of the medicine cats heard it, but I didn't get a chance to ask them." Dawnflower shifted in her spot. Her paws kneading the ground slightly out of nervousness. "Based on this, I believe a dark force has taken over... and Starclan was driven out of their home in our skies." She said. This was all speculation. She wasn't sure if it was completely true, but she had the feeling it was. The only way to confirm would to be to get ahold of their ancestors, but if they were truly gone then that wouldn't happen. She hoped.. that one cat would be able to talk to her at some point, to tell her what to do.

This actually didn't come as a surprise to the leader. He had been thinking about this since he died. He knew that what he saw was unnatural, but this simply confirmed what he was thinking. "I believe you are right," he told her solemnly. This was a strange feeling deep in his chest. He felt lost without Starclan's guidance, but at the same time, there was a hint of indifference. With a heavy sigh, though, he finally chose to speak about his own experience. "Normally this isn't some... thing that is shared, but I believe it... needs to be known to you. When I lost a life, I saw what... you described. It was unlike anything I've ever... seen. Starlcan was destroyed. I couldn't find them. Everything was dark and smelled of death. I... was alone in the... midst of--" He stopped suddenly to make way for a rough cough. "chaos. Something bad has happened, and... it's spreading into this world. Shatteredsoul is a prime... example of that. It's nearly impossible for... him to get that strong outside... of the clans." As he finished speaking, his tail lashed about behind him. He was getting frustrated with his voice again. He wanted this problem to be gone because right now it's only been a constant reminder of Shatteredsoul.

Dawnflower looked up at her leader, her light green eyes slightly wide at his explanation. This wasn't good, but even with them gone, the leaders could still come back. So Thrushstar still had four lives left. "Then it is as I feared..." She said. "Though it seems you still have your lives, even with Starclan gone." The Medicine Cat shifted again. "I don't know how we are going to bring them back.. Obviously there are plenty of cats who believe in this Dark Forest, that they were strong enough to get rid of Starclan." She paused for a moment, pondering on his words. "It seems these cats are offering power, if you say Shatteredsoul was stronger..."

Thrushstar wished he knew how to feel about this. Even though he was mad with Starclan about a lot of things, he didn't want them entirely gone, but now there was nothing he could do. He had no idea how to even begin trying to bring them back to their glory... if that was even possible. "I am pretty certain this is the case. Shatteredsoul... was never that strong. The look in his eyes; it was like he was... looking into my soul. This Dark Forest... is nothing to mess with. I've given Shadowclan their... warning. I'll send them all to... their Dark Forest. I'm sick of it." It was hard not to get frustrated with his own clan. So many were disloyal. It was hard to keep up anymore.

Dawnflower shook her head. "I know there isn't a way of telling who is a traitor or not, but most of those warriors out there are loyal to you. Mudfoot, Magpiewing are just a few who look up to you and respect you. Nightpaw even loves you, and she has only been here for a short time." She said thinking of the apprentice she treats like her own daughter, at least she thinks she does. "Eaglefeather, and Webtail were terrified when you got attacked, it was proof enough they were loyal, they wanted to step in, but they had kits to defend." She was glad no one left this time, no one came forward about any for of betrayal.

"The traitors are gone, Thrushstar. You have loyal cats still with you. Including me. I will stand by you no matter what, but if you keep going this way, bad things are going to happen. It's not good for your health at all." She said looking quite concerned.