[furrensic]

THE TRIAL
a play written and directed by furrensic

ACT I
SCENE I — a realization
setting(s) : shadowclan's apprentice's den, clearing | midnight
squirrelpaw comes to a realization while lying in her nest.

just before the moon reached the highest point, squirrelpaw finds herself jerking awake in her nest. wide, yellow eyes scan her surroundings. there's nothing save for her fellow apprentices sleeping in their nests, with the occasional snoring. still, there's a (unfortunately) familiar pit in her stomach and her chest rises and falls quickly. she has a horrible feeling something is wrong..which, isn't really a rare occurrence considering her constant state of anxiety. she blinks, settling back in her nest and looking up at the ceiling of the den.

it's dark in the back corner of the den, where her nest lays. the moonlight filters through the ferns that guard the den, providing minimal light. after minutes of laying there in silence, staring at the cave ceiling, squirrelpaw still cannot calm down. her gaze travels from the cave roof to the den entrance. she finds herself rolling out of her nest, taking a look around at her denmates. with a gulp, she silently sends a prayer to starclan before she silently weaves between nests and slips out of the den.

the moon is bright — the brightest she's ever seen it. she shivers at the freezing cold temperatures, fur fluffing out to defend her from it. the clearing is dead silent, save for the howling of wind and the distant croaking of birds far out in the territory. she feels like she sticks out like a sore thumb in the sandy clearing. weirdly enough, she feels..calm? or at least, as calm as she can be. she's still highly aware of her surroundings, but she doesn't feel like she's in a more intense version of fight or flight mode for once.

squirrelpaw sits down, right in front of the entrance of the apprentice's den. she peers around the dark clearing before her gaze returns to the moon. an odd feeling envelops her. she feels like she needs to do something, but she's not sure what. it's as if something has clicked in her mind. like she's come to a realization.

but what is it? entranced by the moon, she's unaware of the pair of eyes locked on her in the darkness.

there's something odd going on here.

[ squirrelpaw exits stage, appearing to enter the apprentice's den and disappearing out of sight. ]

SCENE II — intuition
setting : unknown territory / dream land | past midnight
squirrelpaw is visited by a cat of unknown origins in her dreams.

squirrelpaw stretches, opening her eyes, expecting to see the familiar cave walls of shadowclan's apprentice den. instead, she sees nothing. nothing at all. it's pitch black. there's not one sign of life around her, she is the only thing. she breaks out into a cold sweat, disturbed by the situation. her legs quiver. what is this place? she gulps, heartbeat quickening.

suddenly in front of her, there's a spark. following that, a flame. the only source of light in a sea of darkness; a symbol of life. hope. in one swift motion, the flame appears to grow smaller, but it's actually moving further away. her eyes widen and she freezes with hesitance, she weighs her options. she breaks out into a sprint, chasing after the flame, further into the dark abyss. the blaze seems to change shapes, morphing into a...cat? a cat, yes. the (now) cat comes to an abrupt stop, the russet molly slowing down until she reaches the stranger. who is this? how come they were just a flame..? squirrelpaw frowns, growing nervous.

there's a distance between the two, worth two fox-lengths. she blinks, unsure of what to say - she's honestly too scared to speak. the cat (flame cat? she's not sure) slowly turns to face her. "follow." the cat says before turning and breaking off into a sprint, leaving a trail of embers behind. she hesitantly takes a pawstep forward, then skitters after the strange cat. she's lead to a lake...of fire. "w..what.." she stammers, taking a step back. the stranger whirls around, facing squirrelpaw.

"you have spirit inside you squirrelpaw,
take control of it
stop being....
afraid."

[ squirrelpaw exits stage left, disappearing into the darkness. the dream cat exits stage right, disappearing into the darkness. the curtain briefly draws to a close. ]

ACT II
SCENE I — healer's guide
seeing : medicine cat's den | mid-day
you (unnamed cat) visit squirrelpaw with an injury.

squirrelpaw's ears swivel at the sound of pawsteps, spinning around to look at the entrance of the den. worry flashes over her face, forcing a small smile as she swipes the herbs she'd been organizing to the side. "uhhhm,,hello..!" she greets, teetering towards you. her forced smile drops into (a much more natural looking) frown as you explain your predicament. you have a small injury, really, just a simple bite mark on your tail from a rat. still, the russet molly looks like you have just told her you're dying. she leans over, peering at the bite mark.

"oh..oh...ok-okay. um. give me..one..se-second..please." she murmurs, gesturing for you to take a seat. she then turns around and pads away. you can see her moving stuff around, herbs you assume. she comes back with a wad of cobwebs and a brown plant root. you're not quite sure what the root is, but you trust squirrelpaw. she sits beside you, setting down her supplies. she looks focused despite her nervous demeanor.

she shoots you a glance and notices your confused look. her eyes widen a bit before she speaks up. "th-this is..just some, um, burdock..it - it helps..with rat b-bites." she explains, lips drawing into a straight line. "..should..fight of any, um, infections.." she leans down to pick the burdock root back up and begins chewing it into a poultice. her expression alone tells you that the herb doesn't taste very good, you're a little glad you're not the one having to chew it up.

the molly spits out the poultice, using one of her paws to rub it on the rat bite. you cringe at the initial stinging of the herb, but it goes away within just a few moments. she grabs the wad of cobwebs and begins to wrap them around your tail the best she can. for such a nervous cat, you're surprised she's so focused on her work. maybe it distracts her from her nerves? you glance at your bandaged tail before looking back at squirrelpaw, who's gaze is darting all around. then it finally lands on you.

"okay...uhhmm. that - that should be..it..just come ba-back if it doesn't ge-get..better.." she advises with a small nod. her tail gives a small twitch and her eyes turn owlish for a moment. "uh - have a nice day..!!" she adds on. you give her a smile before heading out of the den, as you glance over your shoulder you see her going back to the pile of herbs she was organizing earlier.

[ you exit stage right, and squirrelpaw exits stage left. the curtain draws to a close. ]

SCENE II — the interview
setting : unknown, empty den | unknown time
squirrelpaw is interviewed!!

okay, squirrelpaw! this is an interview. first off, what's some basic information about yourself?

squirrelpaw tilts her head. "um..well, my names ss-squirrelpaw..I live in shadowclan..I'm eight..mo-moons old."

okay great! how would you describe yourself?

she glances around, silent for a few moments. "I.." she trails off, brows furrowing slightly. "I...think I'm - I'm nice..um, a-and I can focus...just - just..I get nervous..and I'm quiet." she cringes slightly at her stammering, and clears her throat, attempting to speak louder. "but..I like..fairness..!!" she adds on with a small nod.

oookkaayy. interesting! what's your opinion on the current high ranks of shadowclan? and on shadowclan in general? it's members?

squirrelpaw seems to grow especially nervous at this question, practically shrinking. she looks right, then left, then twists to look behind her. then she looks back at the interviewer. "it..issss..okay." she murmurs. "I'm..well, um, kind - kind of..scared..of dawnstar. she gets thing..done..though..so - so...." she peers around again. "we...are..uhmm, m-more..stable..of - of a clan, I.. think.. than some. and - and..vulturefang and lostspark..are okay...I..have only really, uhm, talked to..vulturefang." she says with a small nod. "I like..most..of my clanmates." she had a few favorites in mind. "some I think..are too..worried about fighting."

ohhh wow, interesting opinions. I'll keep those in mind. lastly, how would you feel and/or what would you do if you became lostspark's apprentice?

her eyes widen, curiosity and confusion clear on her face. "huh?" she hums with a tilt of her head, frowning. "I - I don't..know..?? i mean I would l-like it, I..think. to try it ou-out at least..so I can..learn..more. uhmm. happy...?"

okay, well that's it for our interview! thank you all for coming and watching THE TRIAL!

[ the lights shut off and the curtain draws closed. ]

good luck everyone!!!

inspired by the lovely @/naiad's sundust application