I Could Do Whatever I Felt Like [closed, PLOT]

Faint rivulets of silvery moonlight fringed the heat-fried reeds that encased RiverClan's camp, rippling and swaying under the stifling breeze that occasionally licked the sparse contents of the island. Despite the incredibly late evening hour, the unpleasantly warm evening air was greatly tainted with the sounds of restlessness- with weather such as this, it was a wonder that any cat ever managed to get a single wink of sleep. Heated breeze licking the glossy contents of Lichenmask's meticulously groomed fur with an uncomfortable intensity, the young tom shifted about apprehensively. Nights only brought him further vexation, especially if they were spent indulging in a task as tedious as night watch. His attention was needed elsewhere, not watching over his snoring Clanmates! It had been several sunrises since the furtive meeting at Fourtrees, while only a few since his long-awaited ceremony, yet the storm of tension still burdened him. He was fully intending on delivering what he promised, but it was posing much more of a challenge that he had initially thought. How was he supposed to act on such plans without losing his ears?

"Eradicate them, Lichenpaw. That is the first step is saving what you hold most dearly."

Another heated gust of dust-speckled night air brought forth the faint remnants of Sparrowleaf's voice, riling up the distant flames of urgency deeply embedded within Lichenmask. Although Sparrowleaf had guided his paws thus far, it was apparent that perhaps the rest would be left up to him. Gaze restlessly drifting from the narrow entrance carefully concealed within the thick barrier of reeds, the young tom's eerily bright sight landed upon the shallow den beneath Willow tree. Jaystar. Just the thought of the meek blue-grey tom sent a white-hot flush of fury spilling through his veins, the intensity easily stealing his breath away. The disloyal fishface deserved to have his eyes stolen from his head by crows! Vision slightly tainted by the faintly visible hue of brilliant red, the young tom was unable to resit the urge to stiffly make his way towards where he knew that Jaystar was currently sleeping. Perhaps it was time to begin the next phase after all. Straining against the unsightly gloom of the Leader's den, it took a heartbeat or two before he eventually spoke.

"Jaystar," Although Lichenmask was currently sneering within the invisible realm of his subconscious, his voice was placid and well-measured, "I need to speak to you. It's urgent." The sweet touch of youthful sincerity within his calculating voice was entirely believable, even to the most distrusting.

Jaystar was having nightmares again. These past moons had been harsh for him, under the threat of Shade and the maiming of his son and former apprentice. He couldn't shake off the fear of losing other of his clanmates in this whole mess. However, this time his dream didn't wake him up. It was a voice...

The leader opened his eyes slowly at first but when Lichemask said the word urgent, the tom stood up in a bounce, his tail flicking nervously as he tried to fix his eyes on the young warrior in the darkness of his den. "L-Lichenmask?" He muttered, still trying to wake up completely. His heart was beating hard because of his sudden leave from the dreams realm but he still felt sleepy. He blinked twice and the opened his muzzle to speak again.

"What... what are you doing here? Did... something bad happen? Is it Shade again?" Every time a clanmate entered his home like this it was because of more Shade's news. The only exception was when his daughter, Littlepaw, came back home after her capture. But he doubted that the young tom came with good news. Jaystar shivered as he waited for his answer, thinking about all the possible scenarios where one of his clanmates ended up wounded or worse... dead.

Phosphorescent eyes glaring down at Jaystar with the most withering of cruel stares, Lichenmask's head casually tilted in the slightest of movements. How curious, he couldn't help but muse as he watched the blue-grey tom scrambled to grasp his proper wits, is Shade really the only thing he has to worry about? Nothing more? Successfully stifling the urge to smirk knowingly in the other tom's direction, the carefully constructed facade didn't falter for the briefest of moments. One would think that tormenting the weakest point of a Clanmate would feel... wrong and disgusting among many other things, but he had already become so blinded by the innate urge to earn the wrongfully earned title of savior that he couldn't even care. Withdrawing a pace or two so that Jaystar was safely out of his physical reach, the young tom merely blinked in immediate response. A shiver of anticipation crawled down his spine, sparking his senses alight with the fiery urge to strike down the weaker opponent before him. Tail tip twitching rapidly with the callous sense of eagerness, Lichenmask ended up being settled back onto his haunches.

Although Lichenmask's face still remained soft with a foreboding display of sincerity and well-meant concern, his voice was colder than even the most frigid of Leafbare nights. "Tell me Jaystar," He drawled out quietly, "Do you fear Shade so much because he was created to atone you for your crimes? Or because you've learned what monstrosities that forbidden kits become?"

The leader was intrigued by the calm expression of the young cat. What was he planning to tell him in the middle of his sleep? His words only left him more confused but as he processed them, he couldn't help but flinch and step back a little. Shade... a punishment for his crimes? He always stuck loyally to Riverclan... never killed a cat but he knew that he hadn't been perfect. However, no one else knew about that except him and Goldeneye. How could he know about their kits? Wasn't he following everything his mate told him to do to keep as a secret? A shiver ran through his spine because of the harsh coldness of Lichenmask's words and a shiver ran through his back but he did not show up an expression of fear. Jaystar couldn't tell for sure that the brown and white tom knew about his relationship with Goldeneye but it was clear that he had something against him. "I'm afraid... I don't get what you mean, Lichenmask. I fear Shade for the same reason most of our clanmates have... because he is a danger to everyone's life." He mewed in a neutral tone as he tried to keep calm and not panic. "Why are you really here, Lichenmask?"

"Defending lies with more lies?" Lichenmask's sympathetic exterior was darkened by a cold note of odd disappointment, almost as though he was a much older cat who had caught Jaystar red-pawed in a less than pleasant situation. However, as quickly as the momentary display of true emotion came, it was gone once more- swallowed up within a cruel mask of unrelenting, self-righteous anger. "You'd think with as many lives as you must have, honesty would've been tossed in there somewhere. But I suppose such a virtue is held with low regards nowadays.." The coy attempt at misplaced humor was sharpened by a blatant note of bitter disdain, the slight bristling of the young tom's fur only cementing the harshness that coupled with his abnormally sweet voice. Drawing himself up to his full height, which was still much smaller in stature compared to Jaystar, the fiery storm of tension that seemed palpable helped strengthen his imposing aura. Tail giving a restless twitch, he found himself quickly growing bored with the act of hanging the feathery strands of truth right before the other tom. He could savor that scent, acrid with the stench of unease, on another day. He had too much to do.

"I know everything Jaystar." Lichenmask's voice was velvety as he drawled out the simple statement, "I've become well acquainted with your passion for Goldeneye, as StarClan's made a point of showing me such a thing."

The leader bit his tongue and lowered his tufted ears by the emotions filling his body: fear, shame but most of all... he was worried. Not for his position. He didn't care if he was removed from his leader's rank but he feared for Goldeneye and their kits. If the clan knew what he had done... they would never forgive them.

Jaystar clawed the dirt beneath his paws, frustrated by the calm attitude of the cat who was standing in front of him with the truth of his actions. The prophecy was true. Goldeneye was right... Lichenmask was the cat that was going to bring destruction to all the clans and his unknown, corrupted had something to do with his sudden knowledge of his relationship with the medicine cat. How could he be so careless? "There will be one among you, one who holds the power of the stars. But this power is corrupted by a darkness from our own hearts. Beware the dawn of the midnight sun, for it will bring about the destruction of all we know. The darkness that it shall birth will turn kin against kin, Clanmate against Clanmate, and none shall be safe. Look right before you and you shall see what you must." The tom lashed dropped his tail, beaten and not sure of what he had to do. Starclan surely abandoned him by now after his sins. He was alone facing the prophetized cat and he had no right answers.

The leader let out a hiss and he fixed his green eyes with a frown in his eyes. "I won't... lie." He said with a soft snarl. He was a fool. He should have done something sooner. It was his fault. How would he save the forest from this cat now? "So. what? What do you want with this, Lichenmask?"

Cold eyes witnessed the many emotions that bled through Jaystar’s features, the uncharacteristic lack of warmth within the sharp depths of Lichenmask’s gaze transformed him into almost an entirely different cat. Glaring up at the long-furred tom with that same infuriating sense of righteousness, the dark-furred tom held a stoic air of silence for a painfully long time. However, instead of exhaling another long-winded and cryptic spiel, Lichenmask instead rose to his paws and retreated a pace or two, expression wholly unreadable. Slender paws hardly making a single sound against the compact earth of clearing’s grassy carpet, the young tom quietly made his way back towards the heavily drooping arch of the reed tunnel.

Twisting back to gaze back at Jaystar once more, Lichenmask’s dark coloration rendered him nearly invisible against the heavy shadows thrown by the slight gap in the carefully woven reed barrier. ”As of now, nothing.” Although the lively sounds of nightlife nearly swallowed Lichenmask’s soft voice completely, the cold note of foreboding was sharply evident, ”Provided that you come to Fourtrees two sunrises from tonight with Scorchclaw and Fallowpaw. If you fail to do so, I’ll ensure that even every kit of all five Clans knows of your transgressions against StarClan.” Without waiting for a response from his Clan Leader, Lichenmask was slipping away from the innocently slumbering camp, intent on heading towards his next destination.