[ti]Open[/ti]Count Your Bones

[GnawingOnIce]

Tanglefur had been in this horrid place for a long, long, while.
He had grown used to it.
Others had joined him, and they were just as bad as he was.
That made him strangely happy.
Some days he wanted to claw their throats out, but they were fine.
Tanglefur would've been just fine on his own, though, at least that's what he said.
He was lying on a log that jutted out of the ground, watching the mist swirl below.
It was hypnotizing, almost.
He was broken out of his trance by leaves shaking.
The orange slits of his black eyes looked up, a low growl deep in his throat.
Tanglefur liked his alone time, maybe this was important, maybe it wasn't, either way he'd claw whoever it was.

[M'Lady]

She didn't think she'd be able to find it again.
Finch had once led her to this place in her dreams, and they were greeted by a cat that Tansy didn't trust for a second, but Finch seemed to love her, so his sister didn't say a word. But, she was determined to investigate. Searching through her dreams for moons, she had finally found the shadowy place. She didn't know what she did differently this time, but her visions of mousehunting had shifted into a forest that smelled like death and must. Her fern green eyes were wide, and the dark tabby kit nearly took a step back. But she steeled herself. This was for her brother, her poor clueless brother. She was determined to find out what this place was, and see if he was in any danger.
She continued forward, her steps quiet and decisive. She nearly winced when her tail brushed against some leaves, but decided that she was safe... Until she heard a low rumbling growl. She nearly gulped, her limbs tense as she prepared to bolt. This scent... It wasn't the same cat Finchpaw was seeing. Tansy would've recognized it. Instead of leaving, she walked forward. She had to figure out what this was, why cats were here. This wasn't Starclan. It was somewhere else. She didn't say a word as she finally set her gaze on the large tom with narrowed eyes, instead looking up at him with green eyes full of more life than anything in this damn forest, and cleared her throat.

"Where am I?"

[GnawingOnIce]

The noise was a dark colored kit, looking lost.
How perfect.
He slunk off the log, padding toward the kit.
"Where am I?"
Tanglefur looked down at her,
"Where do you think you are? This place is the last place any living cat like you would want to end up in."
Taking a glance at her eyes, this kit was alive.
He towered over her, inching threateningly closer.
"Why are you here?"
The black-eyed tom growled, ink-like goo beginning to drip from his mouth.
His claws were unsheathed now, the fur along his spine bristling.

[M'Lady]

She was right then, this wasn't a good place. This was nowhere near to a good place. That cat was here for a reason, just like the cat that Finchpaw was seeing, and her poor brother was in danger. Tansypaw didn't know what she could do. She was small, she was frail, there was no way for her to fight against cats that couldn't die again. Finchpaw wouldn't believe her, not with that cat giving him all her attention. Her brother was a kind soul, he fell for her tricks quickly.
She looked back up at the cat, the angry tom that was advancing with his claws out and his teeth bared.
"M'here for my brother." She told him, though she took a step back as he drew close. Her heart thudded fast in her chest, but then she noticed the inky substance dripping from his mouth. She was still cautious, but Tansypaw took a few steps closer to the strange cat, peering at the goo with concern.

"Are y'okay? She asked, momentarily forgetting that this cat was already dead. "There's got t'be somethin' that can help wi' that." She spoke softly, her worry seeping into her tone. She glanced around, frowning at her surroundings. There wouldn't be any herbs that grew here, not in this dark pine forest. "M'sorry, I don' know how to help."

[GnawingOnIce]

"Your brother? You mean that apprentice that Sweetoak's been messing with?"
"As far as I know, he's not here right now. Sooo might as well go back to where you came from-"
"Are y'okay? There's got t'be somethin' that can help wi' that."
Was she talking about the goo dripping?
Tanglefur stood there, confused.
Was she feeling sympathy for him?
"M'sorry, I don' know how to help."
..If only she knew how he got here, then she wouldn't even come near him.
"That just happens sometimes. Nothing to worry about."
He dragged his paw under his chin, getting some of the goo off.

[M'Lady]

Her relief was evident when he mentioned that this was a common but harmless occurrence. Her eyes shone and an audible release of breath escaped her maw. "Oh, good." She spoke, but then shook her head once she recalled what he said before she started fretting.
"Sweetoak?" A small smile appeared on her features, eyes glowing with a sense of accomplishment. "I knew I wasn' paranoid!" She exclaimed, looking up at the tom that just confirmed her worries. "She lied abou' her name! Rosespark, yeah right," She huffed, before sniffing the air to see if she could get any scent of Finchpaw. "She's messin' with my brother, I knew it I knew it." Sometimes others called her worrisome, crazy, too cautious, but Tansypaw knew she could read cats. She could tell from a twitch of whiskers or a flick of a tail what they were thinking, if she couldn't fight and she wasn't great at hunting, at least she could find solace in the fact that she could understand others more than they could understand themselves.

"M'Tansypaw," She introduced herself to the large tom, showing much less fear than she did before. "Thank you for y'help, now I jus' need to find a way to prove it t'him."

[GnawingOnIce]

The small apprentice started going on about how she knew that Sweetoak wasn't nice.
"M'Tansypaw, thank you for y'help, now I jus' need to find a way to prove it t'him."
"I'm Tanglefur."
He twitched one of his torn ears, "You've been here before?"
"You must know how bad it is, then."
"Since you seem to not be so afraid of me anymore, and I've quickly grown fond of you, you can come here and see me whenever you want to. I'll just be here, dealing with the other creeps that live in this place."
Tanglefur turned back and jumped back onto the jutting log, lying down on it.
If only she knew the truth.

[M'Lady]

Tanglefur. Well, the name made sense, just look at the state of his pelt. She nodded when he asked a question.
"Once, when I was a kit. With m'brother." She told him, a frown coming to her features. "It was dark. She seemed nice, but her eyes were wrong." Tansy spoke, there was no other way to explain it. Rosesp- Sweetoak, as she was apparently called, had dark eyes. This tom had dark eyes too, but at least he was honest about them. He wasn't going to trick her.

She nodded slightly as the tom spoke, before raising a small paw and poking him in the chest with it. "I'll visit." She hummed, before turning her gaze towards the rest of the forest. "I need t'find out more abou' her, anyway." She did. There was something nasty afoot here, she didn't know what this Sweetoak wanted with Finchpaw, and she wasn't going to stand by while her own brother got tricked. "Maybe y'can help, m'a little small." She spoke sheepishly, her fern green eyes blinking as the world began to get a bit blurry around her. Oh dear, was she waking up already? She nearly forgot that she was asleep. She rose her head up high, watching as Tanglefur made his way back to his spot. "T'was nice t'meet you, Tanglefur."

[QueenChaos]

Crowclaw had been lazing around, listening to the constant yowls of invisible cats around him. One voice in particular stood out. Was that...Tanglefur? Talking to someone?
Crowclaw stood up from his pointed rock and padded over silently. His ears pricked as he caught into Tansypaw and Tanglefur's conversation.
-Talking about Sweetoak eh?-
He chuckled slightly and stepped out.
"Tanglefur? Who are you mewling to?" He meowed, his voice cold but curious. But before he got a chance to lay eyes on the kit, she began to fade.
-Dang it, there goes my chance for lunch.-
"Who wassss that, your new girlfriend?" He hissed sticking his tongue out. His bloodstained fangs showed through his sneer, and his soulless eyes were taunting.
"Messsing with the Clan catsss?"

[GnawingOnIce]

Tanglefur's ears pricked at the sound of another dark forest cat, Crowclaw.
Before Crowclaw could get to Tanglefur and Tansypaw, the apprentice had faded back to her real home.
"Who was that, your new girlfriend?" The cat teased.
Tanglefur growled,
"A kit? No."
"I'm not messing with the Clan cats. She just turned up, happening to be near me."
Tanglefur hoped Crowclaw wouldn't ask what they were talking about, the last thing Tanglefur needed right now was his stomach being carved out by Sweetoak.
Then again, he could just repeat past events.. kill anyone that gets in his way.
The ginger tabby lay his head on his paws, looking down at Crowclaw.
"Why are you talking to me, again?"