Spiderpaw followed Heronkit quickly as she stumbled through the grass. He still couldn't believe he was doing this - but he knew he had to get to the bottom of what his sister had been up to. Surely, she wasn't as much of a threat as Heronkit had feared.
"When is your first training session with Briartail, anyway?" he meowed, trying blindly to start some sort of conversation to ease the stress.
"Why should that matter?"
Typical. Spiderpaw knew he shouldn't have expected more of an answer from the grumpy kit.
"Okay," Spiderpaw breathed. "If you won't talk to me about anything else, how long do you think we're going to be in the -..."
He paused. He didn't even know what to call the place he had visited. "That dark forest?"
"Hard to say," Heronkit meowed.
"Is there any way we can force ourselves back to the living world?" Spiderpaw questioned, turning his gaze towards her.
"Deep concentration," she meowed. "Either that, or to get really hurt."
Spiderpaw narrowed his eyes. "And how do you know that?"
Heronkit seemed to slink away, calmly moving her view away from Spiderpaw. "I just do."
"You wouldn't just know," Spiderpaw urged. "Who told you?"
"Really, there aren't as many cats there as you think, Spiderpaw."
Spiderpaw wasn't sure whether he should mention Redshade being in that mysterious place. He had never met her, obviously. But from what he had heard - just the thoughts made his feet sway faster along the mud.
"Well, how many cats have you seen there?" Spiderpaw questioned, a little more forward than he had meant to be."
"Depends what you mean by cats," Heronkit meowed. "Briartail, the Shadows?"
"I'm sorry," Spiderpaw blurted. "The shadows?"
"You know, those other cats. They don't make themselves very present - they're just there."
"And are they in the living world?"
Heronkit shook her head. Spiderpaw shuddered, and picked up his pace.
Neither of the cats exchanged any words after that - not until they had reached the shadowy rockpile. He almost wanted Heronkit to enter first - she was so much more used to coming here than he was. But still, he shook himself and shrunk himself down before pushing himself through the entrance. He nearly jumped out of his skin when his eyes adjusted, and he saw two limp, frail bodies laying helplessly beside the stone.
"Heronkit, hurry up!"
He couldn't stop and watch Heronkit clamber in after him. His eyes were too focused on what he saw. He thought his heart had skipped a beat. "That's Briartail - and ..."
He sat down besides his sister, who definitely wouldn't be able to hear a word he said. He gently lowered himself beside her and laid his paw on her flank, checking her breathing was stable and well. Once he was settled, Heronkit followed him towards the second body laid out next to Briartail. The head was covered in his hands - not in a way of fear - almost as if he was hiding himself from a dog. Heronkit squinted his eyes. "Do you recognise him?"
Spiderpaw approached the strange tom and glanced down at his pelt. "He - he does smell familiar."
He lowered his head and let his scent fill his nostrils. His eyes widened and he turned to Heronkit. "I think I know."
He took another few whiffs of his pelt and let the cats scent fill him. The scent of open fields and farmland made his stomach curl, but gave him fond memories of stretching his legs running across them with Slatestripe. This cat was no further from his brother.
"Vinetail," Spiderpaw breathed, remembering the brief encounters the two had shared over their time. Vinetail definitely wasn't the sort of cat Spiderpaw would talk to at the Gathering - but he was never not fond of him. After all, he had helped raise Slatestripe, being a warrior when he was still an apprentice.
"Why is he here?" Spiderpaw felt his heart race speed. "I don't understand how he would know where this possibly is."
Heronkit turned to Spiderpaw, wrapping her tail around herself anxiously. "You don't think she's been telling cats in other Clans, do you?"
"She's not stupid," Spiderpaw admitted. "Briartail would have never let him in."
Heronkit looked at him, her eyes widening to be nearly the size of moons. "What if he followed her in here?"
Spiderpaw fluffed up his fur. "Well, what's he doing on our territory? I've never seen Briartail and Vinetail be that close."
"Me neither," Heronkit meowed. "But we're here now Spiderpaw, are we going to see what's going on?"
Spiderpaw nodded. "Let's go to the back of the stone."
Heronkit followed him, and Spiderpaw felt every hair on his pelt stand up with worry. He didn't feel safe going here - he was sure that he never would.
Once him and Heronkit were out of the view of the two cats incase they were to wake up, Spiderpaw turned to Heronkit as she began to lie down. "Stay out of sight, and find me immediately."
"Fine," Heronkit meowed. But she paused.
"Of course, Spiderpaw."