Quench my love for violent things [C]

Falconmoon waited for his brother to become a warrior... and now that he had, he was going to make his move. The blue-eyed tom left at his usual time on the night patrol... with exactly the warrior he requested of his mother. Once they were out of camp, he gave the warrior the news, knowing the other tom could give a hoot less what Falconmoon was doing as long as he got to do what he wanted in exchange. "I'll be back. If my mother or Birdstar notices, tell them not to worry. I'll be alright. Starclan compels me to go." And that was it. He took off and found Sunfire at his spot doing his vigil, but knowing his brother cared absolutely nothing for Starclan or tradition for the most part, he knew he'd be willing to leave.

"Tonight is the night. No one will be looking for you or disturbing you on your vigil. Let's move. I stashed a rabbit for you." He'd really rather not steal rom the medicine den, as that had been the alternative. He lead Sunfire away and took him to the spot where he buried the rabbit earlier in the day. He waited patiently for Sunfire to eat, having already scarfed down a rabbit himself before leaving camp. It was almost enough to give him a very uncomfortable stomach ache, but this was necessary. Once Sunfire was done eating, they were off. Night closed in on the day and choked the light from the sky.


"I think we're making good time." Falconmoon said, knowing they hadn't quite reached Windclan territory yet. Still, the thinning of the trees had become more than just noticeable and the scent of the moor was on the wind. They'd be crossing the border soon enough. Falconmoon was still confident they would not need to hunt on their land, nor did he have any desire to cause issues. This was something he needed to do for Sunfire, and he was determined to do it. "We need to have some sort of plan if we're spotted though. Hopefully we won't need a plan... hopefully no one notices us." Did he sound nervous? Well, he was. He'd just tell them they urgently needed to go to the moonstone but it was ultimately Skyclan business. Hopefully that would be enough.

Only a few days had passed since the conversation he'd had with Falconmoon at the Halfstone. The brothers had been making plans ever since, trying to find a time where they'd be least missed, and less likely to be caught. His warrior ceremony had not been a part of that plan, but it had been a welcome change - Falconmoon was right... tonight was perfect. No one would go looking for him while he was supposed to be honoring his vigil.

As he followed his brother out of camp, and hurriedly swallowed down the meal he'd been provided with a quick thanks, they were on their way, passing through the bulk of SkyClan's territory before feeling comfortable enough to start conversation. Sunfire looked over, nodding. "If it's just one or two..." he trailed off, slashing his claws through the air in front of him as if he was slicing through fur and flesh, and offering an amused snort in Falconmoon's direction. "Seriously, though... I don't think too many cats will question it if we say where we're going. Not their business to, anyway."

They continued walking, eventually making it to the border, and crossing with little hesitation. The open moor rolled for leagues before them, and once they were out in the open, without the shelter of the trees above, Sunfire paused, taking it in. "I couldn't live here... without the trees, I mean. But at least they can see an enemy coming from forever away, I guess..." Still, he was eager to be back under some cover, so he picked up the pace, trying his hardest to remember the way that Birdstar had taken him. Eventually, they'd covered a good chunk of WindClan's territory, remained unchallenged, and Sunfire felt comfortable enough to slow again. "What do you think will happen when we get there?"

Falconmoon chuckled softly at Sunfire throwing his claws through the air at some invisible enemy. At least he was comfortable enough to make jokes, or at bare minimum able to hide whatever uncertainty he felt. He was right though. More than likely Windclan wouldn't question any cat saying they were going to the moonstone. The trees eventually completely disappeared, causing Falconmoon another bout of slight unease. The wind that came buffeted the two of them and the dryness of it all made Falconmoon's eyes water and his nose dry. He had no desire to be out here longer than he had to. Unlike the first time he made the journey with Birdstar, he felt little apprehension going to Highstones. The newleaf winds were not kind.

"I would absolutely not live here. Trees or no trees, it's the wind that I don't like. What do these Windclan cats do when it rains or snows? I'd take a big, thick oak tree with a hollow in it any day over this madness." Speaking of... did he scent wet earth or did he imagine it? He prayed to Starclan that there was no storms coming their way and it was just a shower passing through somewhere else. As for what would happen when they got there? Falconmoon had no clue.

"I don't really know. It might be about as exciting as the hawk trip I took everyone on." Which was not at all except towards the very end. The brothers kept pushing through the territory until Highstones was well within sight. His paws... were killing him. He dared not complain, but he paused at the base of Highstones to flex his toes in an attempt to wiggle some of the soreness out. His legs were sore too, but nowhere near as bad. He tried to not acknowledge it too much, but the trek had his stomach in the beginnings of a rumble. It was going to be a long trek back home after this with no food available. Highstones was neutral territory, was it not? He had no shame snatching any mice he might see... which was unfortunately none at all.

"These rocks don't seem so big now." He observed out loud before he began to easily climb them. He'd grown since his last visit here, not just in size but in strength and stamina as well. The night was still dark with little sign of any sun coming to poke over the horizon. They had a little bit of time still, which was good. He was grateful that he and his brother's determination and youthful strength had allowed them to make it to Highstones in a relatively short time.

Finally... the Mothermouth was before them. Falconmoon tensed. His fear was creeping back up his spine and made his fur stand, but not nearly as bad as the first panic attack he had when he was here last. He didn't struggle to get his paws to move this time, but he had a cold rock in his stomach that was hard to ignore.

"Okay... I think as long as we feel with our whiskers we'll be fine. How hard can it be to find?" He said encouragingly before he slipped into the hole. Blackness swallowed him and his whiskers were put to work. A few turns this way... then that way... A somewhat sharper turn here aaaannnddd...

There it was. The moonstone. Falconmoon couldn't help but hold his chin a bit high and roll his shoulders back a bit. He remembered the way! "Alright... now what, Sunfire? Do you want to try touching it at the same time?"

Of course Falcon wouldn't know what was going to happen... neither of them did... but nevertheless Sunfire found himself thinking of the possibilities. Could StarClan be angry at them for seeking guidance outside of their "official" Moonstone visit? Would they get in trouble? Did StarClan have specific visiting hours? A glance at the sky as the Mothermouth appeared on the horizon said it was roughly the same time of day it had been the last time he was here. So if StarClan was real - and of that he was still very much on the fence - would they be expecting them?

Sunfire nodded at his brother's words as they reached the mouth of the tunnel, following just behind Falconmoon on the descent. He maybe could have remembered the way if he tried, but apparently it wasn't necessary, because before he knew it, a familiar glittering shone on the walls, and the brothers stood before the Moonstone.

He exchanged a glance with Falconmoon. "Yeah, same time then." Making sure his brother was level with him, he nodded, and together they would move their way to touch noses against the cold stone...

and...

nothing.

A minute passed. And then two. Sunfire's nose was beginning to grow cold, and yet he felt nothing of the creeping sleepiness that had overtaken him before. He was sure it hadn't taken nearly this long. He glanced over at Falconmoon... who was also very clearly not sleeping. With a frown, he pulled away. "Well, settles it then. StarClan's fake."

Maybe Birdstar and Plumleaf had laced his dinner with the herbs to cause the hallucinations. Sunfire squinted suspiciously, making a mental note to check his food from now on.

Falconmoon pressed his nose to the moonstone at the same time that Sunfire did and waited patiently for something to happen. Nothing did. Once Sunfire lost his patience and spoke, only then did Falconmoon move and look at him. "I didn't dream either. Maybe it was the herbs?" There was more hope in his voice than he meant to let show through. He got to his paws and turned his back on the moonstone. "I can get us out." He said confidently as he made his way through the exit. There was no resentment in his voice or in his body language for the long walk over here only to have nothing happen. He truly didn't feel angry at all, but it just left him with more questions than he had when he arrived.

Falconmoon felt through the darkness with his whiskers, though his eyes had adjusted well enough he felt like he could see a bit better than when he first came through. Still, the turns were confusing and it was still dark. He tread carefully with one paw slowly in front of the other.

Falconmoon was near the exit when he noticed... something odd.

There was a faint light coming from the exit of the Mothermouth... a faint silver reflecting on the rocks. Then along the uneven crevices and roughness of the walls... a sliver of true blackness. It wasn't just dark... it was like a hole had been torn into the rocks and left only an inky blackness. If rocks could bleed, Falconmoon fully expected to see it oozing out like blood it seemed so out of place. Warily, he moved to go passed it... but then he felt air coming out of it. He halted, now curious.

"Sunfire... did you see this on the way in?" Falconmoon certainly didn't. "I want to check it out." He turned into the crack and found it was big enough for him, but he would have to wiggle inside a bit. He did notice that his claustrophobia was absent. He supposed it had been a kit fear after all, something he was now over as an adult. He moved through the crack, expecting it to get tighter and not permit him to enter... but it only got wider until he could comfortably walk through it.

"OW!" He spat as the ground suddenly became sharp and pricked his paw pads. He needed to be careful. He stepped much lighter to try to avoid injuring his paw pads further. He stubbornly continued forward. No horrible, uneven, crappy terrain was going to prevent him from exploring. It felt forbidden, which only made it that much more intriguing.

His paws felt the ground suddenly steepen, but it wasn't entirely impossible to climb down. It made climbing down a little more painful and he winced as another sharp rock pierced his foot. He grit his teeth, stubbornly moving forward. His eyes managed to adjust just enough to see what was in front of him once he was down there.

There was a row of large rocks that were black and shiny and pointed.... like fangs. Falconmoon's fur bristled. His heartrate quickened. There was something... off about these stones. The moonstone had been bright with dim light coming from them. These stones were so dark of a black they forced light away from their smooth surfaces. They were too dark to not be noticed even in the dimness of the cave.

"What are these?" Falconmoon whispered in intrigue despite the cold shiver running down his spine. He didn't expect Sunfire to know or even answer. He stepped closer. Would something happen if he touched his nose to it like he did the moonstone? There was something about them that beckoned him to come forth and try... and yet something else that screamed in his head to not go near them. Falconmoon took a step, then hesitated... then took another step. Then another.

The rocks beneath his paws suddenly became smooth and there was a softness around them right at the base of the stones. It snapped him out of the near trance like state he was in and he looked down. Falconmoon suddenly looked three times his normal size as his fur raised, his back arched and his tail arced over and downward. His heart raced. His breathing quickened. All sounds were drowned out by the rushing of blood in his ears as his fear scent permeated the air so thick even he thought he might choke on it.

But he couldn't look away. He couldn't look away from the cat skeleton that was now beneath his paws. The skeleton had it's nose pressed to the black stones. Apparently... that is what one was supposed to do with these... but apparently he never woke back up.

"S-sun.. R-run." He voice squeaked out, sounding like a kit. He couldn't move. He was paralyzed with fear. He couldn't see colors well in this darkness, but he could see the outlines of the skull from the little bit of light that struggled to be noticed in this place.

I am going to die here. I am going to die here. I am going to die here. His eyes watered from how dry they became, but he couldn't blink. Spots danced before his vision and a ringing filled his ears. He didn't dare inhale to clear his head.

"I am going to die here. I am going to die here. I am going to die here." He squeaked it out like a chant. After what felt like an eternity... something happened to finally make Falconmoon move. He snapped out of his trance-like panic and blinked many times to fix his slowly blurring vision. Spots still danced in his eyesight, but he could see well enough. He gasped as if he had just broken through the surface of the river again.

Then Falconmoon bolted. He didn't care that the ground sliced his feet. He didn't care that he left a trail of bloodied paw prints from that place. He stormed through the ever tightening passageway towards the exit and thrashed his way through the crack. His legs and his shoulder scraped roughly against the walls as he exited the narrow crevice, but he hardly noticed.

Falconmoon charged out of the Mothermouth. He pumped his legs with a feral fear that carried him through a good portion of Windclan territory without stopping. When his legs locked up from overuse, he finally flopped down into a sliding halt across the moor grass and gulped air greedily. His sides were heaving with the effort.

He could sense that Sunfire was near, but whatever his brother was saying, if anything, he didn't hear him. His fiery blue eyes looked down at his paws to inspect his injuries and all he saw were clumps of white and gold fur stuck between his claws. ...

Where had that fur come from? It looked like his own... but there were dark red stains on it. Blood. But not fresh blood at all. This blood was old... and the fur was coarse where time had ravaged it.

"W-what..?" He managed to say, turning the fur over in his claws. He slowly realized it came from the skeleton... the softness around the cat's final resting place. This fur belonged to the deceased cat at the base of those stones.

Why did it look so much like his own?

They'd wasted their time in coming here, that much was clear, but Sunfire didn't mind it so much. He enjoyed the foray out into the middle of nowhere, and spending time with his brother was always fun. Sure, there had been some hope that they'd get some answers... or at least get to decide whether StarClan was actually real or not... but they'd come, they'd tried, and that was all they could do, right? Falconmoon didn't waste any time on deciding to leave, and Sunfire didn't blame him. He followed his brother out of the tunnel, hardly paying attention, mind too wrapped up in conspiracy of how the higher ups had been lacing his food with hallucinatory herbs.

Falcon stopped, and Sunfire nearly trod on him before he could stop. "What are you looking at?" he queried, following his brother's gaze to see the sliver of darkness in the rock. Nostrils flared, and he leaned towards it, glancing at Falconmoon as he passed and pressed into the crack. "Alllllright that's what we're doing, then?" His words were more directed at himself than anyone else, but he quickly followed behind, sticking close to his brother as they moved through the tunnel that was significantly smaller and tighter - though still more than large enough for them to fit through - than the one down to the Moonstone.

Eventually, the ground underfoot turned hostile, and Sunfire spat in anger when something sharp sliced a paw pad. That was almost enough for him to want to turn around, but this tunnel had to lead somewhere, right? Otherwise why would it be here?  Snarling quietly as pain pricked him again, he continued the steepening climb downward, until the ground leveled out and finally they paused for a moment. Sunfire's hot yellow eyes flicked over the dark stones, pointed like fangs, and despite himself, he felt his hackles raise, too. "I... don't know - be careful," he responded to his brother's question, hanging back as Falconmoon approached the stones. His gaze flicked downward, to just below the stones, where a glint of smooth white was pressed against them. He didn't know what it was, and opened his mouth to warn Falconmoon on the off chance it could be dangerous, but wasn't quick enough. His brother noticed it at the last second, apparently it was something weird because it spooked the other warrior so badly that he told Sunfire to run, and began babbling about how he was... going to die here?

The tunnel hadn't really spooked Sunfire, and the stones, while creepy, didn't seem to hold any real danger, so he hadn't been scared there, either... but the way Falconmoon was acting did frighten him. Sure, Falcon had always been a little odd, but this was next level, and Sunfire was worried. He flattened his ears and approached to aid his brother against whatever foe they'd stumbled upon... but suddenly Falconmoon exploded out of the tunnel and was just... gone. Blinking stupidly, Sunfire stared after him. "What..?" And then he saw it again, out of the corner of his eye, that smooth white surface he'd seen before. Now that he was closer, it was easy to make out that it wasn't rock... it was bone. A full skeleton, to be exact. The scent of stale decay hit Sunfire as he moved closer, and he forced himself not to gag, moving until he was practically standing on top of it. He observed the skeleton... to which bits of dried flesh and fur still hung. A pool of gummy, congealed blood spread out from the corpse's neck area, dry and flaking at the edges where it was thinnest. Sunfire hooked the skull with a single claw and drew it nearer, but the proximity didn't clear up why or how this cat had died here.

With a final glance at the stones, Sunfire moved away. He had to find Falconmoon... and with the rate the other tom had been sprinting, he was probably nearly home by now. Gritting his teeth against the pain as he forced himself - more carefully than his brother had, surely - up the prickly pathway, Sunfire emerged into the cool night air only a few moments after Falcon had. There was no sign of his brother, but a trail of bloody pawprints led down the path they'd taken here... and so he followed. Eventually, he found Falconmoon, gasping and gulping air like a fish out of water - just off the path. He frowned in sympathy. "You okay?"

No answer.

"Falcon - are you okay?"

Still practically catatonic with fear, his brother didn't answer. Frustrated, Sunfire got face to face with him, leaned back on to his haunches, then shot forward and knocked their foreheads together... not hard enough to hurt, but too hard to ignore. Finally, Falconmoon responded, and Sunfire met his brother's eyes with a concerned expression. "What happened back there?"