
Soft sea green eyes focused on the scenery around her. Starry skies and a perpetual forest of greenleaf laid before the she-cat; it was a scene the Healer of Skyclan experienced only in her dreams- for her world was vastly different then that of her ancestors. 'Songbird...' the slender colico turned her gaze to meet that of her deceased mentor, Branchfrost. He looked so much younger here among Starclan, not like when she last saw him just a few moons ago. With throat ripped out and his life blood seeping into the sands. Her father Buzzardstar weighed heavily on top of her, preventing her to aid her mentor and friend as he laid dying defiantly against her father's short but cruel reign. She had been forced to watch the ones she cared about most become hurt or killed. A warning that, she too, would face if she had not done as he wished. 'You think of such dark things when the past is behind you dear one.' Her thoughts had been fleeting, but she assumed Branchfrost knew exactly what had crossed the young feline's mind. "Branchfrost...I can never tell you how sorry I am for not being able to help you. My actions- I can never be forgiven...the clan doesn't know what truly happened to Buzzardstar. They simply believe he had been bitten during the ceremony to receive his nine spirits. But we both know the truth..." Her once strong voice soon trailed as she cast her eyes down at her paws in hidden shame. Buzzardstar had been poisoned by her paws, she had done so to prevent the omen Starclan had shown her from coming to fruition. But did that truly excuse her actions? The guilt she bore wore down on her everyday since those fateful moons. But now she wasn't so sure...
'Peace, my little Songbird. We have all done things that we regret, but many of those actions were taken to prevent an even worse crime to be committed. No one here among the Spirit Plains blames you for what you have done. It simply is what it was meant to be. Thus, as the snake's bite the prey, and the great thunder birds eat the snake, all things happen as they were supposed to. Remember- Mother nature is cruel sometimes because she needs to be. It is to ensure that her children live on, even if those we love perish due to her actions.' Songbird listened carefully to her mentor's wise words, yet, she still felt guilty nonetheless. "Then Mother Nature must weep often from her guilt. I refused to let my father take anymore lives so took his instead. Even though he was cruel and a murderer-- I still loved him after all he had done." Songbird looked up with blurred vision as she pulled back the tears which formed at the edges. 'Then it only proves more that you are not a monster such as he. Buzzardstar does not walk these hunting grounds Songbird. His paw prints lead to a much darker place which holds only evil spirits, but I'm afraid I have come to speak to you about ill tidings-- a great evil stalks your clan, Songbird, but it's poison spreads in the subtlest of ways.' Songbird looked up with worry etched into her mottled features, she soon grew fearful as Branchfrost's image began to disappear. "A poison you say? Are we not plagued enough by Saber? What more could possibly threaten us when our lives are hard enough as is?!"
The young Healer's voice strained as her starry world began to dissipate, darkness consumed her vision, save for a small bluebird spirit which flew swiftly across the canyon's gorge. It dove down towards the rapid water which was the clan's life source, but as the bird fallowed the winding shape of the torrents, its depth's soon grew dark and blackened. Like when a drop of blood touches a puddle of water, the cloudy mass spread beneath the surface, taking on a shape of a formless serpent. The oily snake opened its giant maw, two fangs spread wide and menacingly as poison dripped from their tips and seeped into the river. 'The great evil that has haunted your clan prowls beneath the rocks and crags where precious water flows.' Songbird could hear Branchfrost's voice but could not see the tom, her own body now that of the bluebird as it flapped frantically to get away from the water's sickly black shores. 'But there is something far darker then he which threatens your very existence. Beneath your life giving water dwells are dark serpent which has no form, but whose poison still kills all who drink at its shore. It seeps into your veins and severs your connection to your spirit, making you rage at fellow clanmates before a painful death consumes you. Skyclan will slowly rot away, if not from this formless serpent's poison, then by simply dying from lack of water. Cat's will go mad, spirits will disappear, The Sky will fall...until nothing but death and darkness remains...' As Branchfrost spoke Songbird felt the cold touches of the oily serpent's poison consume her small bird's form. Drowning and choking its little body before it convulsed and laid still, the spirit's connection to her being severed, before the image of a cat went mad and lashed out at their clanmates only to fall dead moments later.
Songbird wailed silently as she felt her connection to her spirit animal being torn away from her, and the form of the dead cat reflected her own features. The healer tried desperately to tare herself from the morbid scene, but the vision encompassed her mind and body before finally the horrid nightmare was chased away by the light wispy form of her familiar bluebird friend; still alive and looking at her with quick turns of its curious soft beady gaze. 'But there is hope little one. You must all look to your spirits that guide your paw steps. Have faith in the Sparrow, the Caracal, the Fennec fox, and the Hare, for it is they who will offer you salvation from this slow killing poison. Even when all is lost, look to the stone and sky spirits which will lead you to the formless serpent's source. It is there where everything begins and will end...' Relief filled Songbird at the tiniest grain of hope that was offered to her by her previous mentor's voice before she was suddenly, but slowly, allowed to return to her slumbering body in the world of the living.
---
The calico she-cat woke with a start, her once clean mismatched fur now matted from her violent movements from her nightmares in the spirit realm. She had to calm herself as her body shivered non-stop, as if she were still plagued with that dreadful venom from the formless oily serpent. Forcing herself to come to a stand, Songbird shook her pelt before giving it a few quick licks-- the sour tang of that foul water still lingering on her fur and making her lips curl at the taste. 'A horrible omen...' She thought between licks, 'Does Branchfrost mean that our only source of water is now poisonous to us?' She shook her head heavily at it all. "And here we are struggling each day against Saber. Now we must contend with the prospect that the very water we rely upon may now kill us as well?" An overwhelming sadness laced the young she-cat's voice as she thought of her clanmates dying either a slow and painful death or instead being snatched by the jaws of the big cat which hunted them. "Oh Branchfrost...what are we to do?" Though she spoke softly she could nearly feel her voice begin to crack in a pleading tone. 'Follow the serpent's source. It is there where everything begins and will end...' She recalled his words and the four spirits he said would be their salvation as she sat their alone and silent with her heavy thoughts...
Falconcry was already up with the rising sun. He hated to be caught up in the morning hustle and bustle anyway and had already groomed his short russet fur with disdain to clear the small grains of sand from his pelt. His feather, which hung loosely behind his ear, bobbed gently against his fur which signified his warrior status. Everyone in the clan had some sort of charm when they became warriors and added their paw prints to the Great Stone Wall. Such was tradition as well as deeply held superstitions. He rolled his amber eyes at such thoughts, the young tom had made it no secret he thought poorly of their animal spirits- after all, they had done little to help his parents nearly two seasons ago. Now all that was left of his family was his younger brother Russetpaw, a tom who was just as loud as himself, yet was far more clumsier then he could ever be. Falconcry sighed to himself at the thought of his more exuberant younger sibling. Though he may be irritable and hard on the kit, he was all he had left of their now small broken family, and the russet furred warrior would defend his younger sibling stubbornly despite his many many faults. Such was brotherly love and all that nonsense. Though Falconcry often got onto Russetpaw and laid into most times, he would never allow anyone to do the same to the young apprentice. Of course he never let anyone know he did this either, after all, he had an image to keep and he did not want others to think him going soft...
'Great, it's only dawn and I'm already irritated at the world!' Falconcry thought to himself with a scowl before thinking of his own apprentice, Runningpaw. He knew his little brother and his apprentice were close friends, but darn it all! They were sometimes downright trouble when they got together to create mischief for the clan. "I swear, if those two got into the ceremonial paint again, and placed muddy paw prints all over the camp, I'm going to give them more then just some tongue lashing! I'll threaten to throw them off the gorge itself!" Though the usual prickly tom was harsh with his words and sharp tongue, deep down, way deep deep down, he cared for his apprentice and wanted to prove to the clan that the little trouble makers would be fine warriors one day. Besides, it was not like both he and Whitewave had not tried to get the two to pay attention and behave. "I think I yowl at them more then I actually train Runningpaw..." Falconcry grumbled as he shook his pelt while the harsh morning sun began to heat their desert home. Finally decided to finish up his grumpy thoughts and fetch the two from their peaceful slumber.
The nimble lean tom padded over to the apprentice's den which was a hallowed out crack in the large stone of the plateaus rock face. Here a cool breeze could be felt wafting through the broken surface, the scents of many young cats sleeping soundly within as Falconcry rolled his eyes. "Still asleep? Of course..." He mumbled irritably to himself before sticking his head into the entrance and calling out loudly to those who dwelled inside, "Hey Runningpaw! Russetpaw! Wake up! Training's today, and if you two don't get your tails out here soon Pebblestar's going to hold back your warrior ceremonies a whole 'nother moon." Satisfied that he had now woken up every apprentice who thought they could sleep past dawn, Falconcry sat back on his rump with a huff, tail tip twitching with impatience as he awaited the familiar sound of the two apprentices that he both loved to hate, and yet, hated to love.

•Gender: Tom
•Age: 31 moons
•Rank: Warrior
•Status: Single
•Tags: none

snickers || she-kit || six moons || no crush
mood; annoyed and scared
at; skyclan territory
with; no one
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