[ti]Private[/ti]I Can't Just Let This Go

[GnawingOnIce]

Tanglefur's skinny body shuddered as sobs shook him and made a lump in his throat. He had broken down over what all he had done when he was alive.. he had killed just because his mentor had died.. even killed cats that had nothing to do with it. Threaten his own mate.. "Who could learn to like someone so harsh?" He whispered, chuckling to himself. If Tansypaw was here, she'd make him feel better, he knew she would.

He was lying in the faint shadows under the log that jutted out of the ground, where he usually was, just not on the log. He sniffled and dragged one of his forepaws across his face and looked at it. It was now smeared with black, it was the icky goo that dripped from his eyes and mouth most of the time. More usually appeared when he broke down like this. This wasn't the first time it's happened, so he's almost used to it.

The dead grass and leaves rustling made his sniffling stop and his ears perk. He looked around, trying not to make any noise that would make him sound weak. "Who's there?" He growled, the fur along his spine and on his neck bristling.

[ladyspectral]

The birds were silent. And, for that matter Oakwish couldn't see them or any other living creature. The pine needles rustled under her paws as she wandered among the silence. Even her pawsteps were muffled, strangled by the thick atmosphere of dread. She didn't belong here, and it was becoming more and more apparent with each thudding heartbeat that passed.

As much as she fought to recall, she couldn't remember wandering into the dim forest. Her gaze shot skyward to the starless, moonless sky in search of a single cloud. There was nothing, a clear night.

The sound of sobbing broke the silence, and Oakwish's legs sprung outward as she rushed toward it manically. Anything to break the terrible silence, she just wanted something to make noise. She heard the growl and skidded to a halt, tensing but slowly emerging from the undergrowth.

"Hello?" She meowed, looking over the skinny tom. Her eyes widened in immediate concern as she looked him over, rushing forward. "Oh, Starclan! Are you sick? When's the last time you've eaten? C'mon, I'll help you hunt, and then we can find Larkbeat or Silverfang. They'll help you." The tabby and white she cat promised, concern lacing her voice.

[GnawingOnIce]

Tanglefur saw a tabby she-cat emerge from the forest, her eyes widening in concern as she caught sight of him. He didn't blame her.. She rushed toward him, making his fur bristle in alarm, what was she thinking? "Oh, Starclan! Are you sick? When's the last time you've eaten? C'mon, I'll help you hunt, and then we can find Larkbeat or Silverfang. They'll help you." Tanglefur hissed, baring his teeth, "..Larkbeat? Silverfang?" He meowed under his breath, confused. Suddenly he lashed out with one of his forepaws, claws unsheathed, "Stay away from me! I don't need help." He snarled. This she-cat must have no idea where she is, he figured. Otherwise she'd know he was already dead.

[ladyspectral]

Stars clouded Oakwish's vision as she was struck, caught off guard by the stranger's attack. She staggered to the side, but soon caught her balance. Her paws moved quickly as she moved backward, rapidly recovering from the smack to the face despite the blood that now dripped from the wound. "You're sick, you have that black stuff and you look like a strong breeze will carry you off like a bird." She meowed in protest, keeping a good distance back and unsheathing her own claws. Just in case.

"C'mon, even the best warriors need a little help sometimes. Larkbeat and Silverfang are medicine cats, they have to treat you. I think that's how it works." She meowed reassuringly. "I'm Oakwish, of Ivyclan." She meowed proudly, chest puffing up a bit as she introduced herself, "What's your name?"

[GnawingOnIce]

Tanglefur watched as she regained her balance, eyes slitted and glaring. "You're sick, you have that black stuff and you look like a strong breeze will carry you off like a bird." "The black stuff is normal. I'm supposed to be like this." He replied, looking down at his forepaws. "C'mon, even the best warriors need a little help sometimes. Larkbeat and Silverfang are medicine cats, they have to treat you. I think that's how it works." "No one can help me, a medicine cat wouldn't even dare come to this dreaded place." He looked back up at here, smiling a bit this time. Then, she asked for his name. He hesitated for a moment. .. "Tanglefur."

[ladyspectral]

"Black... stuff is coming from your face, that can't be normal." She meowed insistently, shuffling her paws to get closer to the tom, features twisted in concern as he glared. "C'mon, you're my friend now. Friends help friends, yeah?" She asked, pausing as he mentioned the forest around them.

The chubby she cat relaxed as he began to smile, sighing in relief as his glare softened. She sheathed her claws, visibly relaxing and muscles untensing. "Then why are you here? We need to leave, something's wrong with this place. There aren't even any bugs here, much less prey to eat. Most of the plants are dead, too. I can't even see the stars." She sighed, shaking her head. "Though, it's nice to meet you Tanglefur."

[GnawingOnIce]

Tanglefur listened to the she-cat, Oakwish, ramble on about how there was nothing alive here. "I can't even see the stars." "They call it 'The Place of No Stars' for a reason, don't they?" He slyly smiled, his amber eyes seeming to glow under the faint shadows of the log. He sniffled, remembering that he had been crying and his cheeks were probably stained black a bit. He stood and stretched, almost every bone in his body visible. "You should leave before the others hear us and beat me up for talking to another living cat here." He told her, sitting down and out of the faint shadows.

[ladyspectral]

Panic settled into Oakwish's heart as the ginger tom mentioned the place of no stars. She remembered her queen whispering warnings to her litter mates, mere kit stories as Oakwish had always assumed. For a brief moment she wondered if it was a dream born from between her ears, but the stinging cuts at the side of her head brought her back to the harsh reality she so desperately wanted to ignore and forget.

"Why am I here? I-I'm not dead, and I haven't done anything wrong. Have I? Is this a warning? Do I need to hunt more?" She asked, the flurry of questions running together into a jumbled mess. "How many others are there here?" She asked, voice shaking at the thought as she eyed the emaciated tom. Her heart ached for him, briefly remembering the famine after the forest fires. The memories of clawing of hunger still remained fresh in her mind, she struggled to imagine anything worse.

[GnawingOnIce]

Oakwish started asking questions as soon as Tanglefur said that this was The Place of No Stars. "No, you're not dead! You still have life in your eyes." He growled, annoyed. "I don't know how you got here, I just know that you'll be back in the real world when you wake up. There are eight of us, including me." His tail-tip twitched back and forth as he answered most of her questions. "Don't worry, you won't stay here." Tanglefur mewed as he tried to lick some of the black stuff off his paws.

[ladyspectral]

Oakwish sighed in relief. "Are you bad, then? Good cats go to Starclan, and this- this isn't Starclan." She meowed, voice trailing off as she looked around the forest. "I'm sure it was a mistake, you're too friendly for it not to be." She concluded after a few moments of thought and ponderous silence,"I'm not friends with bad cats, and you're my friend. So you're good. If you weren't we wouldn't be friends."

The tabby warrior sat down on her haunches, raising a paw to give it a thorough licking. "How did you die?" She questioned rather bluntly, wiping her paw over the scratches the tom had inflicted beside her eye. The bleeding had long stopped, but she winced as she fussed over the tender area.