The Dark Wood

A dense forest of tall trees that block out much of the sun. Almost no rays filter through the canopy of leaves, and there is almost no light on particularly bright nights. A mist rolls in during the night, mostly after it rains. Strange noises echo through here and it is said that many wolves have disappeared in its depths and never seen again.

They'd crossed over the land easily enough, the warmer air melting the snow that had settled in their white fur. The sun's slow progress of being covered by the moon, something their clan had predicted for generations, after all Skyclan had been named for their ability to map and read the heavens. Slinking along the two came across a ginger she wolf who smelt of Lana the rogue they'd met a few moons back, this must have been the she-wolfs apprentice. Sensing an opportunity Spacedust flicked a quiet glance at her brother, perhaps they could  work some of their magic here. The two moved forward perfectly synchronized, to stop a few meters away watching as she tore into her prey hungrily almost as if observing her from a million miles away. The female spoke to her brother "So this is the lion Lana mentioned" "She seemed of the opinion that she was dead" "She wasn't that cut up about it was she" "no not particularly, although she did show interest in shadowclan land" "Very true, something about Nightstar" "You know what she's like sister, manipulative" "and will use anyone until they're no longer useful, yes I am aware brother" looking over at the little lion they mused to one another out loud "She killed a medicine wolf" "Lost her pack" "and lana just abandons her once she's no longer interesting" "Poor thing" "I almost feel bad for her" "almost" "Consider how bad she'll feel" "When she finds out Mustangspirit was killed" "not by us mind" "No no we're not murderers" "unlike Lion""He was killed by Lana for fun..." "well indirectly""Indirectly yes she was responsible for the deer that fled through the" "the clearing sending him forward to rescue his apprentice" "Lightpaw was saved" "Mustangspirit was not" "both lightpaw and Lana are to blame if you ask me" "You know I'd agree with that" once they'd finished their strange way of speaking they looked over at the ginger she-wolf satisfied that she'd heard enough to fuel her into acting. They still needed to find a Thunderclan wolf to convince that the eclipse of the moon blocking the sun's rays was a message from Skyclan's starclan that the errors of the past would be punished.

The Brother and Sister shared another glance, no wonder Lana liked Lion, she was brash, impulsive,selfish and thus easy to manipulate for one so skilled at using wolves. She actually hadn't had anything to do with Mustangspirits death, they'd put together a social experiment to see how the orange hued wolf would respond to their words. Naturally they kept this hidden from her, however they had told the truth about Mustangs demise “I heard he was looked down on by the clan after you left” “I heard he went and above the warrior code to prove he was good and worthy” “I heard some thought he was a spy for you” those words were all true as well, the twin white wolves who'd travelled so far and long to get here had to repress an eerie chuckle. “Whats done is done” “What will be done” ears flicked hearing the forest go silent as the eclipse's effects washed over it. The sounds of birds and animals went silent, an eerie wind picking up and rustling the leaves, a sharp feeling of being watched washing over the trio. Unphased by the gaze they could feel on them, the twins in all reality weren't bothered by much, how could they be after they'd watched the destruction of their family, their clan? They were naturally detached because of that and thus became better at their experiments in the process, in the silent forest one could almost hear a pin drop, the haunting wind left over from the fierce gale that had picked up on the Windclan Prairie.

The male, Timescatter flicked a glance from Lion to his sister, Spacedust, most were unable to tell them apart, yet their clan had. Now they were one and the same to everyone, and so they embraced it, allowing themselves to become fluid and moving and speaking as one mind, one body, one soul. Two halves of a whole, yin and yang, “You gave Lightpaw a good fright” “Too bad he made it back to the camp in one piece” “Not for long” “No not for long” inhaling they finished their words with a simple sigh awaiting to see the orange lass's response. More than happy to cause problems for the clans, they sat down together moving with precise accuracy, it was like looking into a strange mirror. Neither of them were bothered by the fact that they could potentially be in danger with the rogue there, and it showed.

The two twins didn’t really pay that much attention to Lions little rant, if anything they were starting to grow rather bored with the simple wolf, she was rather basic with her anger ruling her most of the time. They just sniffed and spoke as one “we wouldn’t get rather cut up about it if we were you, He’d moved on romantically anyway. A loner by the name of Rain had captured his eye.” With that said the two glanced up briefly at the sky deciding what they’d do, “Well brother, I do believe we should be off” “mmm yes that sounds like a good plan sister” “Farewell Lion” she’d been briefly interesting however now they’d leave and go off to do their own thing. Turning about in one fluid movement the quirky strange pair flicked into their ambling gait that left the moving smoothly over the ground with little effort, they had no need to talk to one another to determine where they were going, after all they already knew where they wished to go.
~The Silver Forest~

He’d gotten lost a while back, he couldn’t quite remember who he was apart from a name that echoed in his head ‘Mustangspirit’ that was who he was right? He belonged somewhere there was thunder but he couldn’t remember, his head still ached frequently giving him bad migraines at times. He’d managed to figure out a little bit of who he was, enough to know that he was a good soul, not like the evil that seemed to plague these areas, there were other names that slipped in and out of his head ‘Lionpaw’ ‘Blackpaw’ ‘Rain’ ‘Rainseeker’ but he didn’t know who they belonged to and so they swirled around in his head like they were stuck in a whirlpool. Pausing to shake himself off again the male was in fairly bad condition, his coat dull and his ribs showing thorugh his thick fur. Mustangspirit already had his full winter coat having started to gain it shortly after his memory loss. There were some days when he could remember whole segments of memory but they just as easily slipped from his grasp once again, stumbling through the dark wood closer to his home than he’d been in moons and yet having no idea. The wind shifted and brought him a scent, pausing he lifted his head and stared at the bright orange she wolf that stood there rather calculatingly like she was plotting someones demise. He stared at her, things clicking into place before he called out to her joyously not remembering at all the events that had lead her to leave Thunderclan. [“Lionpaw! Lionpaw Its been ages” he clearly was not the wolf she’d left behind when she’d fled the clan after killing Moonshadow. This Mustangspirit had old dried blood caked to the back of his head between his ears and looked at her the way he had when they’d been apprentices. However there were subtle differences to him he’d picked good over her and her evil after all and had grown. No longer was he a follower, a blind bully who was easily manipulated, he’d grown into himself as a warrior and although he showed pleasure at seeing her again he was now fully grown instead of the lanky apprentice she’d left behind. The combined result was a jumble of mixed messages, as memories from a warrior and memories from an apprentice tumbled about inside his head, his black tail wagged slightly while he watched her a slight smile on his handsome features.

At her confusion he paused and tilted his head somewhat to the side, "I don't understand Lionp-Lion. I don't remember" the male flicked his ears back, the slight wind causing the black tuft of fur on his head to ruffle somewhat. His head ached when he tried to remember, lifting a paw to rub his head where it'd been knocked he absently stared at the dried blood on his paw before lowering it down to the ground. "I'm Mustangspirit now, I earnt my warriors name, I remember that and days as an apprentice and well thats about it i'm afraid" it was the truth some times he woke up and had forgotten his name. He didn’t quite understand why she’d left the clan, she was a good apprentice wasn’t she? He didn’t know but his head ached, shaking his head trying to remove the cloud of confusion that was still hanging about him, opting to sit down before he fell down, Mustangspirit studied his friend closely. She was thinner, more muscled, her eyes were dark and glittered with something he couldn’t quite pick up. “Loved somebody else? No I don’t think so, I’m just close with some of the other members of the clan… Why'd you leave?” and if she’d left the clan then why would she care that he might love someone else? It was all confusing and contradicting, whining a brief moment he sighed and looked about him. He had to get back to camp, although he wasn’t really that certain of what way that was. He stood on his dark paws “I should get back to camp” however it was clear the male was reluctant to leave his friend behind, couldn’t she come back and join the clan again? Lion was his best friend, he wanted to hunt with her, to train together and to hang out like they had when they’d been younger, but he got the strange feeling that something big had happened, something big had split them up, but he just couldn’t remember what. He had absolutely no memory of rejecting her, choosing the clan over her, rescuing Lightpup and Maplepup, it was all locked away in the deepest reaches of his head surrounded by fog

Rainstar had seen her small group back to camp and told them all to rest before she turned heading away from the camp. Her mind had been whirling the whole trip home and it had energized her with hope. Hope that the brute she loved was still out there and still alive under starclans gaze. Knowing she wouldn't be able to rest yet she made her way into the dark forest intending to hunt for some fresh kill for her clan. However her paws stopped suddenly as a scent hit her sensitive nose. A scent she hadn't smelt for a long time. The scent of Mustangspirit and her legs trembled as joy filled her. She put her nose to the ground and hurried along the path smelling the scent of dried blood that had her moving faster. The patched female burst into the clearing and locked her eyes on the male. "Mustangspirit your alive." she said bounding up to his side with joy. She didn't look at the other female she knew was Lion from the descriptions she had been given on the disgraced and rejected female but Rain knew she was there.

At the snap the new leader swung her head around to look over the female with disgust in her eyes. "You are not in the position to be asking questions Lion but I will answer you. Just this once anyway." she said sweetly, "I am Rainstar thunderclans leader." She dismissed the other female as she flicked her head back to Mustangspirit and her body moved to press against his side as she nuzzled him. "Come Mustangspirit lets get you back to camp and away from this rogue with her murderous ways. Then we can get that nasty wound of your tended to." she told him licking his muzzle. "I suggest Lion you see yourself of Thunderclan territory before the patrol arrives to do it with force."

He'd been waiting for Lions reply when a familiar sweet scent hit his nose, turning he gave a greeting wag of his tail when he spotted Rainseeker appear out of the bushes. "Rainseeker Its been ages!" things seemed to be pretty good he hadn't seen either female in quite the while and so thus naturally was very pleased to see them again even in his slightly out of it mind space. Blinking at lions response to Rainseeker he was about to tell her when the patched female spoke for him, sweetly informing Lion that she was now Rainstar, wondering what had happened to Rosestar he stared at her in shock before flicking his gaze back to lion feeling rather quite caught between the two females. Feeling quite uncomfortable when Rainstar made a show of pressing herself into his fur and licking his muzzle the male took a step away and shook out his fur very confused and upset not quite understanding what was going on. Murder? She had to be joking, Lion would never murder anyone, he flicked her a look that clearly stated that he had no idea what was going on. His head hurt like he'd he'd just been hit over the top of his head again backing away from the pair of them he was so confused, his head hurt so much. "L-Lions not a murderer, She couldn't be, you're not right, Lion?" she was a friend a close friend. Becoming more upset as he was caught between the two and his head was only giving him fragments of memory he lowered his head gritting his teeth and trying to cope with th epain that wa sracing through him.

She forced herself to not react to the clear pain that Mustang was in and it sent her mind whirling. It seemed that whatever had caused the wound on his head had done so much more to the brute she loved. "I have nothing to gain from lying to you Mustang. I never have been a liar I certainly am not going to start now."
she told him softly. Lions words made the patched female want to scoff and roll her eyes but she held back showing her restraint. "If you are lonely then you should have thought twice before getting yourself kicked out of Thunderclan Lion. Mustangspirit needs to see a medicine wolf for that wound on his head." she told the female keeping her disgust out of her voice and blue eyes. Though she couldnt help but think the female was trying to kill me by not allowing him to get the attention that was clearly needed. "I am going to tell the clan of your return Mustang. They are going to be so happy to have you back l, just as I am. Coming?" she told the male lingering just long enough to get his answer before she trotted back towards camp to call a meeting.

~Thunderclan Camp~

He found it so hard to believe that his best friend was capable of murder, listening quietly as she insisted that it hadn’t been a murder that it’d been an accident the dun male managed an affectionate smile as she stepped forward and touched her nose to his cheek. He hesitated when she all but begged him to come with her, he cared for her deeply but he also cared for Rainstar, the look in his oldest friends orange eyes broke his heart. Lion looked so lonely, before he could respond Rainstar spoke up seemingly irritated that the ginger she wolf was close to him, flinching slightly as she accused him of calling her a liar he flicked his ears back feeling unsure of what exactly was going on. Feeling very caught in the middle of two powerful females, he wisely kept his trap shut as the white and brown leader told Lion it was her own fault she was kicked out of thunderclan and that he needed to see a medicine wolf. Everything began whirling around in his head, memories, words, faces, voices and above all else the throbbing pain, pushing him around, who did he believe, who did he follow? What was he to do? He was silent staring at nothing as the silent war raged in his head while on the outside he showed nothing.

However he discovered he was sick of being a push over, sick and tired of it infact, no more would he just follow others blindly, he’d done it all his life and wouldn’t stand for it anymore. Shaking himself out and ignoring the aching of his head, he had little idea how much his head wound had changed him, as an apprentice he’d been Bold and brash as well as confident and yet easily manipulated. Now he’d changed, no longer that Mustangspirit, lifting his head high and looking over at Lion confidently despite the fact he wasn’t quite sure what to make of what he’d been told, the male spoke to her “You’re my best friend Lion, you always have been, but I can’t abandon Thunderclan on a whim, give me time to decide… please? Parts of me have changed I can’t just blindly follow anymore, I have to think for myself and try to use what brain I have” the last part of his sentence was spoken with a half smile referring to the fact that many had questioned how much brains he had since he had been her side kick then. “I’ll meet you here at the next full moon and answer you then” licking her ear affectionately the handsome warrior turned on his dark paws and headed after Rainstar his mind a whirl of what choice he would make.
~Thunderclan Camp~