[/nyx.]

Username: bmkmb
Cat Name: Raiza
Clan: SeaClan
Rank: Warrior
Gender: she-cat
Age: 21 moons
Prompt: A young brown-and-white cat stood with her two friends, Blaze and Arrow. In front of them was a large lake, but since it was winter, the water was frozen and ice reflected the sun's glare. They were well away from the camp and no grown cat was with them. At this time, the friends were still apprentices.
aaaaaRaiza, who was currently known as Fawn, looked back in the direction they had come from. "I think we should go back. I don't wanna get in trouble for sneaking out of camp."
aaaaaArrow shook his head. "It's still too early for training and as long as we get back in time, no one will know we're missing. Besides, don't you want to play on the ice?"
aaaaaBlaze frowned. "Fawn is right. It's too risky. And even if we weren't caught, the ice could break."
aaaaaArrow sighed in exasperation as he padded on the ice and slammed his paw into it. "There: it's not broken. Now are you two just going to stand there or follow me? You're not scared, are you?"
aaaaaTaking the bait, Fawn ran far into the ice and hopped. "This is fun," giggled jumping up and down. Suddenly, there was a crack as the ice gave way and she fell into the water. Fawn gasped in shock and pain as sharpness cut into her skin and water found its way into her nose. She was sinking, her leg hurt, and it was so cold... She shut her eyes closed as she sank deeper and deeper; frantic screams rang through her ears...
aaaaa"Raiza," a voice said as she felt a paw push down on her side. "Are you awake?"
aaaaaRaiza nodded and shivered. It had been moons since the Frozen Lake Incident had occurred, moons since they were the foolish cats they had been.
aaaaa"Raiza... was it that dream again?"
aaaaaAfter she had woken up in the Healer's Room, Raiza had learned that she had cut one of her forelegs on the ice. Arrow had dived in after her while Blaze had gotten the healer, Ione.
aaaaaAgain, Raiza nodded.
aaaaa"I'm sorry," muttered Arrow, now Alika. "I never should have convinced you to go on the ice, I shouldn't have convinced you to leave camp in the first place..."
aaaaa"Right you are..." scoffed Blaze, whose warrior name was Aegeus. "I never should have let you anywhere near her!" he growled.
aaaaaRaiza stood up. "Did I wake you?" she asked Aegeus. She knew he was a light sleeper.
aaaaa"No, it was nothing," he lied. "Did he-" Aegeus ask, tail pointing towards Alika, "-wake you up, Raiza?"
aaaaaRaiza huffed - toms. "No. And stop bickering before you wake everyone else up!" she scolded quietly. "I forgave both of you a long time ago. Now all you need to do is forgive each other and forgive yourselves."
aaaaaAlika sighed, silently glaring at Aegeus. "...and apparently that's easier said than done."
[490/500]

[kamelgirl]

username: kamelgirl
name: russetwing
gender: tom
age: 30 moons
rank: warrior
clan: rimeclan

prompt: it starts off like usual - somehow, even within the dream, he gets the feeling that he's done this before. the kiss of the gentle dawn's rays on his fur, the sleepy murmur of the flowing brook, even the cold, clean scent of ice and snow - it all feels scripted. he's lived this before.

but this is not russetwing's concern right now.

something seems amiss. there's something not quite right in the whistle of the wind, in the shadows of the looming line trees. something is different - or, perhaps, missing. it unsettles him enough that every time, without fail, he finds his paws heading down the path towards camp.

the trail is long. there's an urgency in the air, a whisper of hurry and you must go faster and you won't make it in time. caught in the dream's thrall, he does not ask it in time for what? but the fur pricks on his neck and his paws fly like the wind. late, streams through his mind. i'm going to be late, and he stumbles down a gully, crests a hillock, and bursts into the camp.

it's empty.

he's too late. barely contained terror claws at his chest as he searches the camp. it's eerily familiar - here is the place where wrenfeather fell off the tree; here is the pinecone petalpaw likes to bat around - but all the dens are deserted. even the nests, while undamaged, smell only of wind and snow. their owners' scents have faded.

it's at this part of the dream that he realizes what had felt wrong before. always, even in the worst of leafbares, the forest is a living, breathing thing; there is always vibrant life hidden beneath every leaf and stone. in these dark woods, no birds sing in the branches, no prey rustles beneath the trees. only the wind whistles softly through the treetops, shaking snowflakes down to settle on russetwing's pelt.

i'm alone.

the thought is sudden but undeniable. he is alone - the only living thing for miles, perhaps even further. his clan has gone somewhere far away from him, leaving him on his own once more.

russetwing sinks to the ground as a wave of panic overwhelms him. he's been abandoned - rejected - once again, found deficient and wanting by the cats who'd been generous enough to take him in. there is something broken inside him, something inherently wrong that others see and cannot love.

his heart throbs violently against his ribcage. his breaths are coming too hard, too fast; they catch in his throat and choke him up. something in his lungs snags, and suddenly he can't breathe anymore, he can't -

russetwing's eyes snap open. there's a moment of mindless fear at the pitch-black surroundings; then, as his eyes adjust to the gloom, he makes out the shapes of his slumbering clanmates around him. nearby, quietstep snuffles in his sleep. russetwing latches onto the tiny noise like a lifeline. he's here, in the camp, surrounded by friends. he is not alone, has not been abandoned.

russetwing breathes in deeply, then again, counting his heartbeats between breaths. slowly, his heart returns to its normal rate. with a sigh, russetwing turns around to settle down again and freezes. bright against the darkness, cloudfeather's yellow eyes meet his own.

"nightmare?" she asks after a moment.

the fur on his back prickles. "yeah," he says quietly. "dreamed i came back to camp and it was empty."

cloudfeather huffs a sigh. "well, at least you know that one's not coming true," she murmurs. "we're not going anywhere. we like you too much for that." with a friendly blink, she rolls over and falls asleep.

russetwing stares at her snoring form, feeling cold. you may be here now, he thinks, but for how long will it last? [639/500]

[lunar-lynx]

username: smol kittten
cat name: Falconstrike
clan: CedarClan
rank: Warrior
gender: Male
age: 28 moons
prompt: his past --
A tom's muzzle touched lightly to the dirt as he sniffed and parted his jaws, taking in the surrounding scents. The male was alone, searching along dried brush in a vacant clearing for a chance at a meal - something hard to come by lately. The entire area seemed to be evacuated of any other life, excluding the occasional buzzing of an insect. He needed to find food soon, already having gone several days without a significant meal. His sister was getting so thin..

The smallest movement of brittle grass made the feline poise his ears, high on alert for the possible grub near by. His eyes flickered across his line of vision, irises composed of teal flecks within green ovals. His pelt mashed together with the scenery, a dusty orange colored body and brown ears, giving him the perfect advantage to surprise his prey.

Eyes finally locking onto the small vole sitting just to the side of a boulder, his muscles tensed. It wasn't much of a meal, a small snack really, but it was better than starving if he could manage to catch it. Nearly two weeks without a meal left him weak and disoriented, but he kept his wits and concentrated on the potential food as best he could.

Jaw set, he padded quietly closer, paws leaving silent marks behind. Once he was close enough, he moved into a crouching position low to the ground. All at once, the cat thrust his body out, deadly claws extended.. and he missed. Dismay crashed into him as he saw the vole slip away with a surprised shriek. Starvation had made him weak and he misjudged the jump his withering muscles would push him. He scrambled to his paws in an attempt to give chase, but the creature was long gone and his aching limbs sank into the ground.

Eyes closed, he envisioned his sister back at their den. Her body racked with sickness and fading away. Dying in slow agony. His breath caught in his throat. Fear crept in as he raised his muzzle to the sky. He let out a piercing cry, distress and despair consuming him. She would die, from sickness or starvation or both, and there was nothing he could do to stop it.

[Lacuna]

Username: Lacuna
Cat Name: Bear
Clan: Elden Glaring
Rank: Scout
Gender: male
Age: 42 moons
Prompt:
The first scent of smoke. The jackrabbit crazed, powerful legs crashing through the trees, no regard for the cat who watched it openly. A deer loping. A scattering of lizards. Mice burrowing. Birds on the wing, screeching a warning. Bear had been alone, hunting. Now his game ran and he was too petrified to chase it, too adamant in his invincibility complex to accept reality. Was it really happening?

And then the flames. They ate the bark off trees, shoving it into hot mouths with greedy fingers, choking the life out of the forest, ripping up the mast and knowing nothing but the drive to consume. It was suffocating him too--Bear coughed. His eyes ached. He ran, when it was almost too late.

The stream, the stream, he had to get to the stream. He didn't know where his clan was. His instinct pushed him on, outracing the fire that was eager to meet him for all the wrong reasons. A glimpse of solace, a deep blue. And then, blessed water. He ducked under the surface, and when he arose his eyes were open to the starry night.

The cool earth under his back. The gentle breeze through his fur. It reminded him that he was safe, now that he was awake. But it wasn't just a nightly dream. It was a memory.

[CertainNorth]

Competition is now closed!

[CertainNorth]

Thanks for all the nightmares! It was a bit difficult but I settled onsmol kittten. Nice writing and congrats!

username: smol kittten
cat name: Falconstrike
clan: CedarClan
rank: Warrior
gender: Male
age: 28 moons
prompt: his past --
A tom's muzzle touched lightly to the dirt as he sniffed and parted his jaws, taking in the surrounding scents. The male was alone, searching along dried brush in a vacant clearing for a chance at a meal - something hard to come by lately. The entire area seemed to be evacuated of any other life, excluding the occasional buzzing of an insect. He needed to find food soon, already having gone several days without a significant meal. His sister was getting so thin..

The smallest movement of brittle grass made the feline poise his ears, high on alert for the possible grub near by. His eyes flickered across his line of vision, irises composed of teal flecks within green ovals. His pelt mashed together with the scenery, a dusty orange colored body and brown ears, giving him the perfect advantage to surprise his prey.

Eyes finally locking onto the small vole sitting just to the side of a boulder, his muscles tensed. It wasn't much of a meal, a small snack really, but it was better than starving if he could manage to catch it. Nearly two weeks without a meal left him weak and disoriented, but he kept his wits and concentrated on the potential food as best he could.

Jaw set, he padded quietly closer, paws leaving silent marks behind. Once he was close enough, he moved into a crouching position low to the ground. All at once, the cat thrust his body out, deadly claws extended.. and he missed. Dismay crashed into him as he saw the vole slip away with a surprised shriek. Starvation had made him weak and he misjudged the jump his withering muscles would push him. He scrambled to his paws in an attempt to give chase, but the creature was long gone and his aching limbs sank into the ground.

Eyes closed, he envisioned his sister back at their den. Her body racked with sickness and fading away. Dying in slow agony. His breath caught in his throat. Fear crept in as he raised his muzzle to the sky. He let out a piercing cry, distress and despair consuming him. She would die, from sickness or starvation or both, and there was nothing he could do to stop it.

[lunar-lynx]

ahhh, thank you so much !!! ♥