I Don't Ever Wanna Be Here

[LupTacco]

All the lights go down as I crawl into the spaces

Fight, flight, or the screams, life tearing at the seams

Ripplepaw tossed and turned as she tried to find sleep. She was so excited, and yet so tired! She had just been made an apprentice, and she couldn't help but smile to herself every time she spoke her name to herself in her mind- Ripplepaw. And all of her sisters, too! They were all around her in the den, in the nests near the outside since they were the newest additions. Even so, she knew she had to try to get some rest, so she finally forced herself to try to think of nothing at all and close her eyes. It took a few minutes, but eventually she slipped away into sleep, only to wake up again. Or so she thought. All around her were tall, dark trees that seemed to stretch infinitely above her into an impenetrable canopy, though a foggy, dim sort of illumination offered shape and clarity to everything as if the air itself carried a minimal amount of light in it. Thick, pine green ferns curled around her, choking out any potential view she might have gotten of the rest of the place. How had she even gotten here? A shiver wormed down the little she-cat's spine. "H-hello?" she meowed timidly into the shadows, hoping to see anyone familiar wherever this was. Her shaky breathing sharpened with a gasp at the crack of a twig behind her, freezing in place as she watched the ferns shuffle and bob around something, someone approaching...

Wa-a-a-ai-ait, I don't ever want to be here

Like punching in a dream, breathing life into my nightmare

"Hello, little thing," a soft yet chillingly empty voice accompanied the apprentice's first look at an otherwise beautiful fawn she-cat whose form was wreathed in wispy scarlet shadows and whose pale orange eyes carried a hypnotic, dreadfully familiar flower-like pattern around each pupil. Ripplepaw's blood turned to ice and her breath caught in her throat. Why did she recognize this cat, intrinsically? It felt like there was something she might have known if only she had come out a little different, if both of her eyes had those weird cloudy flower-like shapes in them. "Done being coddled by your whore of a mother, little one?" her voice dripped like honey, yet it was full of nettles, leaving the poor young tortoiseshell completely at a loss about how to react. She knew only one thing- whoever this cat was, she was bad, bad news. The older she-cat circled her slowly, blood-like(or, maybe it was just blood) tears trickling from the bottom rims of her eyes at a steady pace, murmuring to herself, "You're not even the one I want. Half-baked."

At that, Ripplepaw's confusion finally overtook her fear, and she dared to speak and ask, "Who are you, miss?" She shrank back as the ghastly feline leaned close until their noses nearly pressed, a joyless smile on her lips as she whispered in a sickeningly sugared voice:

"I'm Flowereyes."

If it falls apart I will surely wake it

Bright lights turn me green, this is worse than it seems

Ripplepaw tensed up. No, this wasn't right, it wasn't possible. Flowereyes was evil and dead! This couldn't be StarClan, but that meant... "The Dark Forest is real?" she breathed aloud, her eyes wide with a blank, disbelieving look. Maybe if she refused to process it, it would stop being there. A harsh chuckle overhead brought her back to where she was unfortunately stuck for the night.

"Just realizing that now, moron? You're as bad as Marrowheart," Flowereye's claws unsheathed and sank into the ground as she uttered the name of her former unwitting mate. From the back of her mind, Ripplepaw recalled the story Twistedbranch had told her when she and her siblings were young. Didn't Dropletpaw have the eyes? Had she been here? A twang of worry creased her features, her narrow brows furrowing as much as they could. She was utterly terrified, but if she could help her sister, she had to.

Wa-a-a-ai-ait, I don't ever want to be here

Like punching in a dream, breathing life into my nightmare

"Mis- I mean, Flowereyes..." the young clan cat gulped, biding time to place her words with certainty, "my sister, Dropletpaw. If you see her here, leave her alone." Flowereyes looked at the little she-cat with some surprise, having expected her to be a fun chew toy and little more, but a cruel grin replaced it within seconds and that dreadful knot in Ripplepaw's stomach returned.

They’ll get through, they’ll get you
In the place that you fear it the most
In the corner, where it’s warmer
In the face that you wish was a ghost

"If I see her? You dumb little bitch!" a cackle chattered between the ghost's sharp teeth, "She's destined for this place! Look in your own sister's eyes and let despair take you- she wants to be here." Tears welled up in the apprentice's eyes as harsh, crow-like laughter berated her ears- tears of indignation, disbelief, shock, sorrow, and an emotion she wasn't very familiar with. This new mystery emotion bubbled up with her crying, shaking her shoulders and stiffening her paws until her own small claws dug into the dirt. It was fury, complete and utter fury, because she knew Flowereyes was right and she hated it. For the first time, and more than anything else in the world, she hated something, and without even thinking she took a swipe at the Dark Forest cat's scarred muzzle. An enraged shriek and a stream of curses reached her ears, but nothing more- the hold that the nightmare had on her had shaken and she slipped away into blackness.

Wa-a-a-ai-ait, I don't ever want to be here
Like punching in a dream breathing life into the nightmare

Ripplepaw jerked awake, panting, her heart racing as the vestiges of a nightmare slipped from her mind. An irritated grumble alerted her to the fact that one of her hindpaws was now resting on one of her sisters' nose, and she whispered an apology. She didn't even feel rested, still just as tired as she'd been hours ago before she fell asleep. Hearing movement outside, she quickly tucked her face under her tail to feign sleep, but it didn't work- the gently encouraging voice of Goldeneyes told her to get up and get ready for her first patrol. "Be out in a second," she grumbled, stretching in place and smoothing her fur out before stepping between and over her siblings. With a final glance back, she noticed Dropletpaw's eyes were open for just a brief second, flashing those hauntingly beautiful patterns for just a second and sending a chill through the young apprentice that she didn't entirely understand. "Ready!" turning and bouncing out of the den, she reaffirmed her enthusiastic spirit, determined that just because she was tired didn't mean she was going to let a single first-experience be delayed.