Bonus Chapter
Shadeheart's POV:
His dreams were haunted by blackness, but they were not empty. Definitely not. In fact Shadeheart believed he was trapped in some kind of forest plagued by darkness. There was no light, his eyes strained to see only the slightest shapes around him. Although his sight was mostly useless, the black furred tom could hear the rustling leaves and the spine-chilling whispers of the forgotten souls roaming this unknown forest.
"Where am I?" He asked himself, perhaps hoping for an answer that never came. His voice was left to echo all around him, a call for help that no one would hear. "What is this place?"
Shadeheart was about to give up searching for an answer when he suddenly heard a twig snap nearby. Someone was close. Was it an enemy? He wondered as he cautiously stepped towards the sound. What creatures lived in this forest? He could hear the desperate wails and calls of what seemed like ghosts all around him, but this twig snap must've been made by a real being. "H-Hello?" He called out, staring into the darkness for a sign of life. Where are you? He sighed heavily, his ears pricked and alert.
A red glow caught his attention. It wasn't far away, in fact it looked like it was coming closer to him. A pair of gleaming red eyes. The orbs clearly belonged to a feline, a grey, sturdy tom. "Zephyr?" Shadeheart muttered, tilting his head to the side questioningly.
Zephyr stopped in his tracks, his eyes being the only source of light in this dark forest. The red markings on his pelt gave off a slight glow as well, giving him a supernatural- perhaps even magical- look. The Promethean recognised Shadeheart the instant he had spoken, and he quickly changed his course accordingly, avoiding the black tom altogether.
Shadeheart frowned. He's looking for someone else.. But who? He decided to follow the glowing red tom to see what he was up to in this strange place. Was he dreaming too?
The grey tom's step didn't falter as he meowed softly. "Go away." Zephyr didn't even turn to look at Shadeheart, was he even speaking to him? The black tom refused to listen, and kept following him.
The Promethean meowed again, his voice deepening into a low growl. "Shadeheart, I'm warning you. Stop following me."
"Where are you going?" Shadeheart demanded, quickening his pace to catch up, but Zephyr only moved faster to match his speed, remaining a few tail-lengths ahead.
"None of your business. Now go back to sleep. You don't want to be here." The grey tom's tail lashed. Shadeheart wondered if he would be able to eventually break the truth from Zephyr. He clearly seemed troubled by Shadeheart's presence. Why?
Ignoring the Enforcer's clear orders, Shadeheart continued to follow the grey tom as he stormed ahead, searching for his target. His red eyes provided some light in the darkness, giving Shadeheart some comfort as well.
A flash of cream fur made both toms tense, and Shadeheart gasped as he was suddenly encircled by countless gleaming red felines, blocking his movement completely. It was Zephyr's illusions again. Although they were made of crimson mist, they were as solid as a real cat.
"Stay put." Zephyr meowed as he stalked to the spot where the fur had been spotted.
"Come back here!" Shadeheart hissed, attempting to shove his way past the illusions, but they held strong and unmoving. "Let me go!" He had to see what Zephyr was doing in this place. Where are we? He wondered, his vision filled with nothing but the choking red mist of the Promethean's illusions. Who sent us here?
A sudden scream rang throughout the forest. It was close by. "Zephyr!" Shadeheart snapped in fright. "What are you doing?! Are you okay?"
"Shadeheart!" A she cat's voice cried, making the black tom's heart stop.
"B-Blossomfur?" Shadeheart stammered, staring desperately through the red mist to find her. "Blossomfur is that you?" Am I in StarClan? Or.. He gasped. "We're in the Dark Forest!" This was his mother's home, where all her warriors came from! And now Blossomfur was here! She wasn't really gone forever, she could return! Was that what Zephyr was doing? Was he sent to return her back home?
The red felines suddenly disappeared from around Shadeheart, slithering away into the bushes. The black tom chased after them, they were going back to Zephyr! "Blossomfur I'm coming!" He gasped, his ears watering with joy. I get to see my love again!
But the scene he stumbled upon after clearing the line of thick bushes made him stop still in shock.
Zephyr stood over Blossomfur, his teeth gritted and claws unsheathed. The cream furred she cat writhed on the ground, gagging and coughing. It was as if an invisible force was...
"You're strangling her!" Shadeheart screeched, leaping to stop the Promethean, but he was held back by the red mist once again. This time he was lifted into the air and tipped upside down. He yowled and screamed for the grey tom to drop him, but Zephyr didn't listen.
"NoName's orders, once again." The Promethean muttered, staring down at the struggling Blossomfur. "She must be removed entirely. Wiped from existence."
"No! Please don't!" Shadeheart cried, trying to move himself through the air to gey closer to his mate, but it was no use. He could only watch as she was slowly deprived of all her air. "Don't do this." The dark furred tom started sobbing. She's supposed to be able return to us! Why can't NoName forgive her? She's already died once.. Shadeheart couldn't bear the thought of her dying a second time, he felt his heart might burst with the pain.
"I..I-I'm.." Blossomfur wheezed, her green eyes bulging under the pressure Zephyr subjected her to. "S-Sorry.." Her gaze remained on Shadeheart, glittering with tears.
"You're not sorry, you monster.." Zephyr muttered, his invisible grip tightening around her neck. "Now die quicker so I can let Shadeheart go and get my job done." The grey tom's tail lashed, but his red eyes betrayed the sorrow he felt for the two cats being torn apart one last time. He was just following orders.
An immortal Promethean following orders from a weakling like NoName. He must really like Flare to be able to put up with her.. Shadeheart nearly scoffed, but his saddness didn't allow him to. He had given up fighting, he knew there was nothing else he could do but watch his mate slowly die. He was powerless. Perhaps this death was more soothing for him, it was less sudden and not by his own claws. It felt more.. official, and easier to cope with. His heart still wrenched, though, as he watched the cream she cat tremble under her killer. Zephyr seemed to know this too, as he let Shadeheart fall gently to the ground.
What Zephyr didn't know, was that Shadeheart was beginning to plot his revenge. There had been two attempts on NoName's life, with both ending in a crippling fail. It was time he took matters into his own paws and finished off his mother himself. No other cat would die and unjustified death.
As Blossomfur took her last, ragged breath, Shadeheart turned away. Goodbye Blossomfur. He hung his head in grief, not knowing what to do next.
"Go home Shadeheart." Zephyr meowed, suddenly appearing by his side. "Blossomfur is gone now. You should be there for your kits, and the cats who care about you."
"Bluesnow." Shadeheart murmured softly, a sudden burst of memories returning to him at the thought of the blue furred she cat.
She had always been there for him, and had suffered through so much just to bear his kits. Yet he cared more about Blossomfur and her kits. Bluesnow had been there to comfort him when he had killed Blossomfur. She cared for him, understood his feelings... She was kind, and patient. Shadeheart couldn't believe he had been so oblivious. Bluesnow had been there from the start, the perfect she cat for him, and he had ignored her entirely. But not anymore. Blossomfur wasn't around to blind him from the truth anymore.
"I'm coming Bluesnow." Shadeheart whispered, feeling himself being tugged from his dream, and back into the real world. Once he was fully awake, he rose to his paws and stepped into the nursery, heading straight for Bluesnow's nest. "I'm done having my feelings messed with."
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Yeee...?
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