a nightmare confronted [private]

[BEAR.]

Foxbite was struggling to track how long he had been walking this dreary forest. It seemed like an eternity.. and not, at the same time.

A little too much to wrap his mind around.

During one of his many treks through the marshy woods, he paused at the sight of something.. someone familiar. He knew that brown tabby pelt, those glittering blue eyes.

Mama! Mama, help me, please!

It was like the breath was stolen from his lungs as he stared at the poor young cat in front of him. Speechless, immobilized with an aching heart. He hadn't -- meant to hurt them, any of them-- but he had.

And nothing could fix that, but.. "You--" he found his voice, weak. ".. Shouldn't be here, this isn't a good place for you to be, Whisper--" kit? paw? Could he even become a warrior with his injuries? Maybe Icestar was willing to give him a chance..?

[ @Slushie ]

[dino.]

[ @BILL. ]

No. No, he wasn’t supposed to be here.

Whisperkit stared at the dark trees that loomed overhead, seeming to trap him within this miserable place. He knew where he was, without even having to think about it. He’d heard plenty of tales about it. He just never thought he’d actually be here.

A figure entered his line of sight. A cat. A monster. His ears flattened against the back of his head, his mouth went dry, his tail curled around his flank as he stared, terrified, at the monster towering over him.

But, wait. Monsters couldn’t talk. Could they?

“Monsters can’t talk,” he managed to rasp out in spite of his heart hammering against his ribs. And then, again, “Monsters can’t talk. You- You shouldn’t be able to talk.” The monster, this beast, that had prowled his nightmares for moons, knew his name. And it spoke. “How- how are you talking?”

[BEAR.]

In the dream world, injuries didn't carry over - but Foxbite could imagine the extent of the damage as his gaze swept over the young tom. He distantly recalled how he savagely tore into him, how he ripped his lip and maimed his side.

Foxbite never doubted why he was here. The answer was always because of the kittens he damaged. "Because this.. isn't a normal nightmare, it's not.. a memory. I'm .. really here, and you're in the Dark Forest. You were pulled here in a dream." Foxbite didn't know why - he didn't want any of the kits he harmed to come here. Someone else must have tried to lure him here.

An issue for another time.

Staring at Whisperkit, there was more he wanted to say - an apology, an explanation. But he couldn't bring himself to touch upon that. Not yet, maybe never.

[ @Slushie ]

[dino.]

[ @BILL. ]

His breath seemed to catch in his throat. Seemed to grow larger, started to squeeze, started to suffocate, until he realized he had been holding it and finally let it go in a quiet woosh of air. He'd been waiting for the monster to attack him again, like it had in the elders' just those past couple of moons. But it didn't even move to touch him.

"G-get away from me," he managed to finally choke out past the growing lump in his throat, taking a step. "Y-you hurt me. You hurt my sister. You hurt Snailkit. Maybe you're not a monster. Maybe you're just a cat. But you're here, and that has to mean something." He paused to swallow. "I don't want to be here. Don't want to see you. Whatever apology you might try to come up with - I don't want it. It isn't going to mean anything. What you did? Can't ever be fixed with words."

[BEAR.]

"You think I don't know that?"

The breath that was caught in his throat erupted in a low growl. "I'm not here to apologize, Whisper.. I am well aware of the damage I've caused and I've accepted that there is no way I can make this -- well." 'Better' and 'right' weren't ideal words for the situation. ".. Up to any of you."

Foxbite let out a sigh. "The last thing I wanted was to hurt any of you, but there is no changing what has been done. You don't belong in this forest, Whisper-- it's time for you to wake up, and to never walk these woods again." There was an underlying or else in there, because while Foxbite didn't want to spook the young tom, he did not want him to become tainted by the evil that rested here.

Whisperkit.. deserved a good life, and he wouldn't get it from the Dark Forest.

[ @Slushie ]