[Riverclan] The Chronicles of Life and Death

Life was like a front portal of the Dark Forest, like a tough and defiant path. If you managed to stay on the right track, your hard labor would pay off and your tired paws would walk through the heavenly trees of the Star Clan. The wind would whisper a love song through your pelt, as you were walking to a glistening pool of water, which tasted as great as your mother’s milk, back when you were just a kitten. The sun would warm your weary bones, which would grow young and strong again at the touch of the sun its rays. Around you the world would smell of Newleaf and friends and there would be no short of prey, for the living trees and the green fields would be filled with the tastiest rabbits and mouse. But as said before, all of this was only meant for those, who managed to stay on the right track.

The ones that didn’t make it – that strayed from the path to righteousness – would after their death be welcomed by a much different sight. Tall trees would tower over the cold and weary warrior cat, who for the first time in forever felt a fear coming over him. His eyes widen as he sees the spooky mist crawl towards him and take him in their arms, like a long lost friends. Their moisture is cold like ice. Maybe they didn’t welcome you like friends. Maybe they welcomed you like the enemy they wanted to swallow for quite some time now. The wind is howling through your ears as you try to escape from the mist, which keeps on following you, as you’re walking through the dark trees. It screams a song of death.

You had to go through the gates of the Dark Forest in order to reach the gates of the Star Clan, but you got lost on your way.

Like a stray cat you are lost and like a stray cat you will remain being lost, for there is no second chance. Once you leave the path to the Star Clan, you cannot enter the path again. The gates will remain shut forever and forever you will roam through a forest that doesn’t want to talk to you. It doesn’t contain endless green fields, nor does it contain an endless amount of prey or water that tastes like a mother’s milk. All it contains is Death.

Slowly it sucks away the good memories, the only thing that could warm you on this never-ending night, and enforces you to think of the bad memories. Of the despair and fear and anger that have been a plague on your cat body all your life. It doesn’t end once you’re dead.

It only gets worse.

Startled Blackhole opened his eyes. It took a little while to get used to the darkness around him. Was he…? Panting he realized he was still in Riverclan, the place where he was born and the place he would probably die as well. Even though he didn’t like the clan, he was relieved. His dreams had been about the after-life, and not exactly in a good way. His whole life he had tried to be a good cat, in the hope that once he would die, his after-life would get better, but lately his dreams were all about the Dark Forest. Maybe it had to do with the dark thoughts that were creeping up on him on every occasion he saw his father limping around. In all honesty, he even had thought once or twice life would be better if his father would die. But he didn’t kill him! Surely he wouldn’t be send to the Dark Forest just for thinking?

Right, Mephisto hadn’t made things easier either. After leaving the Rogue behind in the hunting grounds of the Riverclan, Blackhole had often thought very jealousy of the cat, for his crush seemed to have a soft spot for the devilish creature.

His crush, Sunspot… Blackhole turned around on his back and purred as the face of Sunspot appeared in his memories. She could never go for a Rogue and she was spending so much time with him, Blackhole, surely she… she… Blackhole purred louder when the thought of Sunspot touching his nose with hers penetrated his mind and ripped apart all the depressive thoughts that had been there before. Oh, how he longed to see her and touch her! In silence he tried to imagine what their kittens would look like. He hoped there would be four of them, two tomcats and two she-cats, two striped ones and two that would look like replicas of Sunspot. Blackhole purred once again, but suddenly realized his thoughts seemed to be a violation of Sunspot’s privacy and future plans. He didn’t even know whether she loved him as well or whether she didn’t!

Ashamed he had let his thoughts go this far, Blackhole turned around on his belly again. He looked around, but everybody else seemed to be still asleep, just as they should be. It was still night and besides, Blackhole wasn’t exactly friends with the other warriors, so he didn’t feel like talking to any one of them, except for Sunset of course, who was on the other side of the den. Silently Blackhole sat up. It wouldn’t be the first time he slid out of the camp early to take some time for himself. Slowly and softly he slid through the entrance of the warrior’s den. Outside the moon shone brightly and calming. Blackhole liked the moon and the night, even a cold night like this one. The world seemed to be much more peaceful when he was alone. He slid out of the camp, towards the river. He stopped at the stream of water and touched the cold liquid with his nose, shivering, yet enjoying the feeling.

Blackhole liked water, in a way. It seemed to wash away all his dark or secret thoughts. He put one paw in the water, shivering once again. His breath turned into vapor once it touched the air outside his mouth. His other paw followed. A short time later Blackhole had disappeared in the slow stream of water, only to appear a little further along the stream. He climbed out of the water. Through the trees he saw how the sky was getting lighter. It wouldn’t take long for the sun to appear. He smiled and thought of tonight’s dream. How silly he had been for being scared. Death was moons away. And if it would come to get him, he could tell him how good he had been. How he had always been there trying to serve the clan. He had thought of killing, all right, but never did anything that came even close to harming his fellow warrior cats. There was nothing to worry about, absolutely nothing. Slowly but steadily he let go of his worries. They flew away through the cold air, to the fading moon. At the end of the road, Starclan would be waiting. And life… the afterlife, would be better than anything he could have ever hoped for.

Graciously, as was every movement of Blackhole, the striped cat walked back to his clan, as the sky turned orange to let the sun rise. So much at peace he was, he didn’t realize he wasn’t alone. So much comforted by his own thoughts he was, he didn’t realize someone was watching him.