The Nightmare Begins (Open)

Thunder. The sound roared all around him, like a massive beast. The roar of a monster seemed dull in comparison as darkness loomed all around him. Not far from what he had seen at the bed of the river not so long ago. A chill crept into his bones, unnerving as he struggled to stand. Wind hurling itself at him, stronger than any storm he’d ever witnessed. His eyes closed against the violent wind as a call echoed.

A familiar voice. One that made his heart lurch and open his eyes. Stormpaw... what was he doing out in this? What was Oakstar for that matter… he didn’t remember getting here. He looked towards the sky, as a blinding flash of lightning struck down towards the forest. Searing his vision as an unnerving crack echoed nearby. Every hair on his pelt on edge.

His son was in danger. That much he knew. His heart pounded as he opened his eyes against the gale and yowled for him to take cover… only the wind stopped. As strange and abruptly as it had begun, it dropped off as though it had never even happened. Birds rustled in the canopy above him. The stars shone down brightly from the night sky, and a massive branch laid before him.

That must have been where the lightning struck. His ears twitched in confusion as he padded around the mighty trunk, the oak tree that lost it must have been old. Ancient perhaps, from the beginning of the forest… he froze. Amber eyes locking onto something in the shadow of it. The form of a familiar grey paw.

"STORMPAW!" Oakstar’s yowl echoed, the sound shattering the peaceful morning air in the leader’s den as he stared at the stone wall of his den. His den… the familiar lichen that crept up the wall. The brush of his mate’s pelt against him as his heart raced in his chest. Without a word, he stood and padded to the entrance, pushing past the familiar plant.

Nothing. No wind… no rain, no lightning… his breaths were heavy as he sat down in confusion. It was all a dream… just a dream. No, Stormpaw! He leapt up and padded over to the apprentice’s den, desperate to see his son. To make sure he was alive and okay. The nightmare had felt all too real. The grief in his chest all too pronounced. As though something horrible was just on the horizon.

Stormpaw was very comfortably snoozing in his bed, muzzle buried in moss, blind to the world. So when some cat shouted his name in the distance, blearily he raised his head, eyes still shut to the world. "Wha?" was the only words that came out of his jaws, far too tired to make sense of what was going on. He couldn't tell if this was a dream or not, and if it was a dream, he certainly wasn't going to get out of his warm nest for the dream cat.

Swaying lightly, he plopped his head right back on down into his nest, stretching out his forelimbs before curling them up to his chest.

Mossbloom, though being named a full medicine cat, had kept her nest in the ferns outside of the medicine cat den. Pricklebush's nest remained inside, kept tidy daily despite his absences in RiverClan training Mistlepaw - although she wasn't sure at this point if he was in RiverClan or ThunderClan. A sudden loud noise opened her eyes, and she jumped up, fur on end as her ears strained to figure out what had woken her. The voice still echoed, and after a moment she recognized it as Oakstar's. Quickly abandoning her warm nest, she pushed through the ferns into the clearing of ThunderClan's camp, eyes searching for their leader. They landed on him outside of the apprentice den, which Mossbloom thought was odd - she didn't think that Oakstar had an apprentice, and it was so late... Or was it early? It was dark still, and she was still shaking off the lingering dreams of sleep. Her voice sounded a bit groggy as she approached Oakstar, still standing at the apprentice den entrance.

"Oakstar? Is everything okay?" She asked, blinking the sleep out of her eyes and shivering slightly as a gentle, cool leaf-fall breeze rustled the leaves hanging overhead. She hoped all was well, but there was a distinct smell of fear coming in waves off of the leader's pelt, and his expression held unspeakable concern and... grief? Her ears swiveled towards the apprentice's den, but no sound emerged other than the quiet rustlings of one of them moving in their sleep. Padding closer, she sat next to Oakstar and pressed her nose to his shoulder briefly. Perhaps he had a bad dream, everything seemed so calm that there wasn't much else that could have put the leader in such a state. Even the rain had stopped, so what was making Oakstar's fur stand on end the way it was?

A muffled yowl from somewhere in the camp made Dacepaw sit upright, her thick fur clumped against the side of her head where she'd been laying on it. She blinked a few times, the sleep quickly evaporating as she took in the pale light of early morning creeping in. On all sides apprentices slept soundly, and she glanced around to see if anybody else seemed disturbed by anything. She wasn't sure what had woken her up, but still, something seemed odd. As it turned out, she was right: a movement at the entrance of the den caught her eye, and for a moment she hoped perhaps it was Dawngaze having woken her.

What she saw, however, was a rather disconcerted Oakstar staring in wide-eyed, as if looking for something. Dacepaw's tufted ears perked forward curiously. "Oakstar?" the apprentice mewed softly. Outside the den, she heard Mossbloom's familiar soft voice speak. Fully roused, Dacepaw stood in her nest, waiting to hear the dark tabby's answer.

His eyes peered into the darkness of the apprentice’s den. The sleepy murmurings of awoken cats ignored. Instead his eyes narrowed to a soft silver pelt, with the markings he knew since the little tom was born. As the tabby breathed, Oakstar felt relief pour into his chest. Stormpaw was fine. Exactly where he should be… his head lifted. Sun filtered through the treetops.

The world slipped in as his heart stopped racing. Birds chirped in the early morning, and the coloured pelt of Mossbloom appeared at his side. His ears flattened in embarrassment as he cleared his throat. It was ridiculous. A little bad dream, and it had him running out of his nest like a kit for it’s mother. His pelt returned to it’s flattened state as he began to groom it.
"...A nightmare, that’s all. I’m sorry everyone." He tried to smile, but it fell flat.

It had felt so vivid. So real and tangible. Yet, he knew it couldn’t be. Could it? Medicine cats were supposed to be the ones that knew when bad things would happen if StarClan had a message. He shook his head, purging the thoughts from his mind. Being riled up over a dream? He could only imagine what Leopardstar would say, or his own parents. There was no need to fuss over a dream. Even a nightmare as bad as that one had been. His amber gaze lifted to Dacepaw, more light in his eyes now.
"Forgive me, Dacepaw. I did not mean to wake you, feel free to return to your sleep." He purred, stepping into the apprentice’s den.

He stared down at the sleeping form of his son. A tender smile on his muzzle as he leaned down to press his forehead gently to the little tom’s shoulder. Lifting it with a small lick to the tom’s cheek as he purred. "Dream well, my son."

As he turned to leave, he paused, then padded over to Dacepaw in her own nest and settled calmly by the small tortoiseshell. His purr rumbling as he gave her an affectionate nudge.
"May you rest soundly, Dacepaw. The morning can wait a little longer." He lifted his head slowly, then padded out of the apprentice’s den. Nerves soothed by giving affection.

Oakstar's ears flattened, and he smoothed his pelt back down with long swipes of his tongue. He stated that he had just had a nightmare, but the smile that didn't feel quite genuine did not go unnoticed. Her ear flicked as she waited outside the apprentice den, offering a small smile to Dacepaw. The way that Oakstar stepped to his son's nest and gazed down at him sent a tingle down Mossbloom's back, but she wasn't sure why. Perhaps the prophecy she had received? She looked to the barely glowing horizon, but the morning sun was soft, light yellows and blues and pale purples and pinks welcoming the sun into the sky, not the harsh, terrifying blood red she had seen so vividly. Her tail wrapped closely around her paws as Oakstar then turned and spoke quietly to Dacepaw, encouraging her to get more rest before starting her duties for the day. It was still quite early, and the apprentice would have a busy day before her, of that the medicine cat was certain.

Finally, Oakstar emerged from the den. His pelt lay flat, the fear scent having dissipated somewhat. His eyes seemed brighter, but Mossbloom refused to take that as a full answer. However.... Perhaps it had been just a bad dream, and she was worrying too much. She pressed her head to his shoulder firmly as he passed before looking up at him. "Oakstar. If you want to talk, you know where to find me. Do you need something to help you sleep? We could take a walk, if you need more time to calm your mind. I can always send Pricklebush to sit with you, if you'd prefer." Her voice had the smallest hint of a tease in it with that last bit, but her gaze was serious.

The leader stood in cold, watchful silence for several long moments as the pale light glimmered in around him. Dacepaw, standing uncertainly in her nest, watched him. She glanced into the den, trying to follow his intent yellow gaze, but at that moment his ears flicked back and he cleared his throat. Drawn from a dream, almost, Oakstar seemed to shake himself as he started to groom his fur, flooding with embarrassment. The little apprentice was confused, but when he spoke her uneasiness all faded to sympathy. "It's okay, Oakstar; I have nightmares too sometimes," Dacepaw offered sweetly, as if not considering the severity of her own nightmares at the moment.

The leader's eyes flickered up to meet hers. His face seemed more alert, a little less... uneasy. His dream was passing. He entered the apprentices den and Dacepaw watched him move carefully through towards the sleeping shape of Stormpaw. Dacepaw sat in her nest, watching the tender exchange. Before long Oakstar had turned and was coming back towards her. The small tortoiseshell blinked at him brightly and welcomingly as he settled beside her, and then he was purring and telling her to rest a little more. For a moment, she considered protesting, but after how sad Oakstar had seemed Dacepaw decided against it. Instead she nodded agreeably and sank down in her nest, curling her mottled paws beneath her chest as she gazed out the entrance where Oakstar had disappeared.