by Cradily » Tue Mar 17, 2020 3:25 pm
Southstar entered camp a bit behind Foxcloud and Deertail, but he said nothing to the two cats, not wanting to interrupt their conversation, as he headed for his own den. Things weighed heavily on his mind and he didn't feel ready to sleep, but he knew he had to. Perhaps things would be clearer in the morning. As he curled into his nest, he allowed his eyes to close and his breathing to slow, and, after a few moments, the world around him slowly began to blur and fade, before being enveloped in darkness.
And then the darkness vanished.
He was standing in an empty field, a golden light shining all around him, although he couldn't see its source. The whole sky appeared to be drenched in sunlight, but no sun was visible. As he looked around, trying to see where he was or if anyone else was around, a yowl sounded from behind him. Instantly he whipped around and spotted a silhouette--that of a cat, and although it was too bright to tell who it was, its yowl had told him it was a female. The she-cat appeared almost black in contrast to the golden backdrop, and she beckoned Southstar closer with her tail before beginning to pad away, as if tempting him to go after her. Tentatively the brown tabby began to follow, but he never seemed to get any closer, and he noticed that the cat was quickening. Was she trying to outrun him? Well, it wasn't going to work. Picking up his own pace, he trotted faster and faster after the cat until he was running. Finally, he was nearing her--but the closer he got, the more unsettled he began to feel. Despite being only a few tail-lengths away by now, the cat was still pitch-black. He thought by now he should have been able to make out some sort of features on her, but such was not the case. Distracted by this thought, he was unprepared when the she-cat came to a stop all of a sudden, and he had to skid to a halt himself so as not to run into her. But as he did so, the cat suddenly whirled around and yowled furiously at him, a yowl which quickly distorted into an un-cat-like sound--it was loud, raucous, almost like...a bird? He felt his heart leap in his chest when the cat's body began to distort as well, its extremities suddenly becoming detached, and he suddenly realized that this was no cat. Within seconds, the black, cat-like shape had split into several smaller black shapes, with long, sharp beaks, spindly legs, and huge tattered wings. The black birds scattered in different directions, flying above and all around Southstar so that he was completely surrounded in a whirlwind. The creatures only seemed to grow larger and their cries louder as the darkness grew darker, darker, darker still; the birds looked as if they had merged together into one massive bird. Darkness emanated from its wings, which now blocked out the golden brightness that had illuminated the field just moments earlier, not even allowing a sliver of light to shine through, and as darkness enveloped Southstar, a voice sounded. "When darkness comes on a jackdaw's wings, day's golden light will fall. But beware, the darkness arriving on the jackdaw's wings may create danger; life as you know it now may cease to exist."
Southstar awoke with a gasp, his heart pounding in his chest and blood roaring in his ears. For a moment he thought he was still in the field, surrounded by the dark birds, but as his eyes adjusted to the dark he realized he was in his own den and that there were no birds to be seen. He took several deep breaths and licked his fur as if to soothe himself, but though the nightmare was over, it had left a feeling of dread in him that couldn't be shaken, and when he closed his eyes once more, he saw the darkness all over again. Dear StarClan, help us, he prayed silently.
