A Young Soul {Tagged}

[εℓιzαвεтн.]

ooc; Babylonranger for Juniperpaw. On another note, how many threads a day can I tag you in before you get mad? xD
ic;

The day had been long. Heronsong wasn't actually sure what had made the day so long and simply tiring. Was it the heat of the unforgiving sun? Or perhaps the chaos of the clan following Pebblestar's death. The black warrior curled up tighter in his nest in the warrior's cave, wondering if maybe he was the only one feeling the wear of the stress that had (seemingly) swept through the camp. After all, Pebblestar had been Talonclan's first and, for the time of her reign, only leader. Losing her had been hard for most of the clan and not everyone was satisfied with Briarstar as their new leader. Heronsong hoped nothing would happen, and it seemed that everything would be calm as far as uprisings go.

Still, Heronsong found himself stressing over his skills of fighting as he drifted off to sleep. He had not been in the battle against Midnightclan; the battle that ended up with Pebblestar dead. He did not think he would be useful enough. The warrior was far more successful in hunting, even in the harsh terrain his mountain home gave him. Even with the stress that tightened his muscles, the tiring activities of the recent moon had worn him out and Heronsong soon fell into a deep sleep, long black fur rising and falling.

[Babylonranger]

Three blue-gray paws and one white trod through the ethereal forest of Starclan. Their owner, a young-looking blue-gray tom paused, standing at the border that separated the light-drenched flora from the shadowy realm of the deceased cats who had been denied entrance into Starclan. Juniperpaw sat and stared at the Dark Forest in silent contemplation.

He'd stayed close to the area where the strange Dark Forest tom had been meeting with living apprentices, hoping to observe another training session and reveal Braveheart's deceit if things became too out of paw, but this area had been quiet for several nights now. Bored out of his skull, the former Midnightclan apprentice tried once again to call his sister in her dreams, as he often had since his death. but instead, Juniperpaw found himself drawn to the dreams of a different cat; a tom from Talonclan, mind steeped in worry and concern.

Intrigued, the white-mantled tom slipped into the dream, his brown eyes watching Heronsong carefully in case the black-furred warrior reacted badly.

[εℓιzαвεтн.]

Heronsong was at the Pond of Truce, sitting in the field and looking out over the glistening water that seemed to hold the reflection of the entire sky. Why was he here? Was his subconscious trying to tell him that he needed to not fear attack from other clans? He knew that, of course. The mountain home that Talonclan had claimed was too far and too treacherous for any sort of outside invasion. Of course, it would be lying to say he wasn't slightly worried about, especially after all that had happened with Pebblestar and the fact that Briarstar was a new leader in a young clan.

It didn't matter why he was here, really. Maybe he was sad about missing the last Gathering, or spoke too much about the Pond of Truce to one of the apprentices. It wasn't like Starclan would be talking to him. He wasn't a medicine cat nor a leader. He wasn't even deputy, though he severely doubted deputies would be getting dreams from Starclan either. So, while he was here, he shouldn't question it or look further. There was nothing there to look into.

Suddenly, it felt like he wasn't alone here. He whipped around, searching the dark shadows of the field for another cat. Was he dreaming someone was with him? Maybe. It was hard to tell, but he wasn't a warrior because of poor instincts. He could have sworn someone had been watching him. "Is someone there?" he said loudly, hoping to project his voice so to drown out the doubt that underlie it.

[Babylonranger]

The blue-gray tom watched with no small amount of interest as his surroundings began to take form. He turned his head to the left and the right, confused once he recognized the field around him. Why would the Talonclan tom be dreaming about the Pond of Truce? It took Heronsong's call to remind Juniperpaw why the Starclan cat was there in the first place.

"Hello," the former Midnightclan apprentice said as he stepped forward into the dark-furred tom's field of vision. "I am Juniperpaw of Starclan."

[εℓιzαвεтн.]

Surprisingly, Heronsong was able to keep his stance when a younger cat stepped into his line of vision. Dream or not, Heronsong's instincts as a warrior were still sharp and capable. However, this cat didn't appear like any other cat he had dreamed up before. Stars seemed to glitter in his fur and his eyes, and Heronsong was reminded of the stories his mother use to spin about what the Starclan warriors looked like now. That couldn't be true, though, because that would mean he was being visited by his warrior ancestors.

And then the younger tom spoke.

"Starclan?" the black warrior echoed. No, that couldn't be true. Heronsong was just a Talonclan warrior, and not even the best at that. Why would a cat from Starclan visit him? "Is... something bad going to happen? Is there a message to be taken?" he asked hesitantly. That's what Starclan cats did in dream, right? Give messages and omens to protect the clan. If Juniperpaw was actually from Starclan, did that mean the Starclan cat had brought him to the Pond of Truce? "Ah, apologies, my name is Heronsong," he said after remembering his manners.

[Babylonranger]

Juniperpaw nodded at the Talonclan warrior's initial question. It wasn't often that the blue-gray tom came into contact with living cats; he'd only appeared two other times, once to give Briarstar one of her lives and when he'd pretended to be a Stormclan apprentice during the Dark Forest tom's training session. but he'd heard tell that some cats got tongue-tied when talking with members of Starclan, or at least, very excited or worried.

"I . . . I didn't have a message," the former Midnightclan apprentice said, flicking his long-furred tail. "but I do fear something bad will happen, Heronsong, though I'm not sure when."

[εℓιzαвεтн.]

Heronsong's eyes widen in worry and surprise at Juniperpaw's comment of possible danger. His normally stoic and guarded attitude had dropped, though that was only to expected given his present circumstances of being in a dream and talking to a cat from Starclan. A young cat, but still a cat who had been walking among the stars.

"Something bad?" he echoed. "Like what?"

He wasn't sure what the apprentice could tell him since he had not been given a message to carry by those who were still held in high regard, even in Starclan. but, surely, the tom must have some sort of important information, Maybe he knew about another cat's plot to overthrow Briarstar and was trying to warn him? Or possibly Starclan was keeping something from the cats of the forest and Juniperpaw had deemed the information important enough to carry back to the mountain? No matter what possibility the black warrior's mind conjured, though, he kept coming back to the same question: Why him?

[Babylonranger]

"The cats of the Dark Forest have been growing restless," the blue-gray tom said drawing closer to Heronsong. "Several of those cats are calling apprentices to them from the Clans: warriors, apprentices, and kits." Juniperpaw paused, his brown eyes dimming with thought. "I'm still trying to figure out why, but I fear it is for some sinister purpose, to sow more discord among the living."