ghost adventures [private]

[ghostwriter]

@Beau

Sweetberry hummed cheerfully to himself as he waded through the reeds, the ethereal riverbank bathed in silvery starlight. He felt that most RiverClan cats would be inclined to trust him if he convened with them in a familiar setting—however, the former ShadowClan warrior had a profound fear of water, and swallowed hard as he stepped out on the riverbank.
He hummed a bit more avidly, as if to comfort himself. He never really understood how swimming and fishing came so naturally to these cats, but who was he to judge? His favorite prey item used to be frogs, and he knew the thought alone could turn a WindClan or ThunderClan cat’s stomach.
Sweetberry’s scheming has so far been effective, but with his lack of influence on the living world, the plucky phantom was going to need some mortal help. The Dark Forest had a lot more paws on the ground than StarClan, and he planned to change that.
He scanned the riverbank for a moment, the pale moonlight reflected in the rippling torrent.
“Hm, this is a rather nice dream—I suppose I’ll stay a while.” He decided aloud. Eelsting came highly recommended by his peers, and Reedstep had even implied that he might find a kindred spirit in the RiverClan cat. Either way, he desperately hoped he could get the smoky tom on his side.

[dionysus]

[ @ghostwriter ]

Ghostly silver fish splashed cheerfully through a river that seemed to be made of mist. Eelsting watched them dance through the ripples with sparkling green eyes and pawed at them, not trying to catch them as his belly felt warm and full. This was a nicer dream than Eelstinf had had in a while and the smoky tom was reveling in the peaceful atmosphere.

A voice soon rippled through that atmosphere to Eelsting’s ears, but the Riverclan warrior didn’t feel threatened like he might in real life. The voice sounded friendly and warm rather than hostile like it would be if any dark spirits had entered his dreamscape. Clearly this cat had to be from Starclan! Unless he was just a figment of Eel’s imagination... but at least he wouldn’t be able to hurt him that way either.

“Welcome! My dream is open to you if you want to watch the fish with me. They look so much prettier here than back in real life.”

[ghostwriter]

@Beau

Sweetberry’s ears perked, and he bounded over to the warrior, amber eyes bright with enthusiasm, “Hello friend, you must be Eelsting. I’m Sweetberry. I was a ShadowClan warrior a long, long time ago...before I tragically sneezed to death. RIP in peace, physical body.” He introduced, very briefly bowing his head as if in a moment of silence, before looking back up again, with a rather comical grin, “Don’t worry about the whole ShadowClan thing...I’m kind of on a mission that transcends borders—and between us, the sooner Dawnstar bites it the better. I’m not one of those ShadowClan cats.” He explained, waving a paw in dismissal.

[dionysus]

[ @ghostwriter ]

Aw so the visitor was from Starclan. Sweetberry... the name sounded familiar. Regardless, Eelsting offered the dead tom a smile and chuckled at his description of his own demise, presuming Sweetberry had succumbed to some form of white cough or green cough. The tidbit about Shadowclan did interest Eelsting and the smoky tom flicked an ear subconsciously, letting out no other sign that the admission meant anything to him.

Sweetberry didn’t need to explain his heritage to Eelsting. The Riverclan warrior held no love for Shadowclan but he didn’t hate each and every member of the clan either. Especially not the dead ones- borders didn’t mean much when there was nothing to fight over and he presumed Starclan didn’t spend their time quarreling over territories and prey like they had in life.

“Don’t worry about it, I have nothing against Shadowclan cats. It doesn’t make much sense to me to hate a cat because of where they live... or lived... Er, so what brings you to my dream, then?”

[ghostwriter]

@Beau

Sweetberry exhaled in relief. Some cats could be quite cagey about ShadowClan origins, given the Icestar/Dawnstar reign of terror. He sat by the riverbank and looked across the water with a heavy sigh.
“I am...super dead. And because of that, I know longer have influence on the living world. All I can do is pass along warnings or wisdom. But you—you are alive. And not only alive, but I hear you’re quite the whirlwind, and truly care for your clanmates.” The plucky ShadowClan warrior suddenly looked uncharacteristically mournful, offering Eelsting a sad smile, “The clans we’re everything to me...and I can’t protect them any longer. Tell me...are you familiar with a place called the Dark Forest? Some call it the Place of No Stars. If not...I can explain.”

[dionysus]

[ @ghostwriter ]

Eelsting felt for the deceased Tom as his face took on a mournful look. Starclan was where one hoped to end up and was an inevitability but life in the clans had a certain vitality that he could see missing once one was at peace. The words about him specifically, though, made Eelsting flush and chuckle.

“I do care about them very much- Riverclan is my family! I don’t wish ill on any other clan either, though I don’t know them well enough to call them family.”

As for the dark forest,

“Oh, I’m aware of the dark forest.”

[ghostwriter]

@Beau

Sweetberry nodded slowly, amber eyes cast in regret, “Never in my lifetime would I have thought that such an awful place would ever gain a foothold in the clans. But they have. They’re a bunch of mouse-hearted cowards...they prey on and manipulate cats who have undergone trauma, or have no one to turn to...they promise them power...troubled apprentices seem to be their target audience...” Sweetberry’s claws sank into the sand, “And I just can’t let that happen. But I need backup. I can’t enter the Dark Forest, but living cats can...I need some eyes on the inside, to help me crash their little training sessions. I need someone to help me spread the truth about the Dark Forest. Once cats know the truth...the choice to stay is theirs, but I don’t know anyone who wants to spend eternity in such an awful place.”

[dionysus]

[ @ghostwriter ]

“Ah, so you are looking for an ally to help kick the dark forest’s butt? Definitely a worthy cause. The last thing I want is some poor unsuspecting apprentice to get caught up in something and end up stuck there. I’ll help any way I can! What are you thinking you need me to do?”

Eelsting tilted his head, fully focused on the Starclan Tom now instead of the pretty fish. This seemed a very important crusade and the smoky warrior was fully prepared to kick some evil dead tail to protect the impressionable young cats of al four clans.

[ghostwriter]

@Beau

Sweetberry's eyes brightened with excitement, "Precisely, my friend," he confirmed, "I hate to admit it, but...they are fairly organized, and know exactly who to prey on. I need you to be my eyes and ears on the ground in RiverClan. Additionally...it would be great to have an accomplice in some of my extracurricular activities. The Dark Forest cats visit troubled cats all the time, why don't we? Offer our sales pitch." Sweetberry enumerated, gesturing with his paws, "I will warn you...some cats are too far gone to listen to reason, but the number of conflicted cats far outweighs the number of cold-blooded killers. Not to mention, we've got a dreamwalker on our side. One of your dear clanmates has Dark Forest heritage and a heart of gold--he can tread both lands of the dead. I want to employ him as a spy, and if you're interested, he can get the intel, and I think you have the confidence to intercept some of these cats and confront them with the truth, at least in RiverClan." Sweetberry finished, looking to Eelsting, eager for the warrior's response.

[dionysus]

[ @ghostwriter ]

Eelsting listened intently, fur bristling with excitement as Sweetberry explained more and more. The idea seemed difficult but brilliant and the smoky tom beamed as Sweetberry finished up, loving that he had the chance to truly help his clan mates. The part about a dreamwalker intrigued him and the warrior briefly wondered who it was, but the identity of the cat didn’t matter as long as they were on the same side!

“Of course I’ll confront them! If they need someone to push them on the right path, I’ll push em all day and night if I have to! This team up sounds perfect- I’m in!”