Death In The //Day// (Lynx only)

[cat]

A tom silently stood in his roomy den, staring at the ground with a frown. It would at first seem to those that didn't know him that he was slightly crazy as he began to mutter and push bundles of leaves this way and that. But that was not the case. He was not crazy or insane. This cat was just doing his job as VertigoClan's medicine cat.

Gently, the brown and cream tom lifted one of the bundles with his jaws. The sweet scent of the herb floated into his mouth, taunting him, urging him to chew the leaves to get more of the sweet juice. But he could not. It was catnip, a vital part of supplies and the only cure to greencough. Aspenfrost was running low already, and the nearest twoleg house was quite a distance away.

Before the tom could place the bundle in a small, scraped-out hole, his head began to spin. The world turned dark, all noise sounded out. Aspenfrost slowly sank into a crouch, dazzling blue eyes wide with horror and surprise. But what he saw no one else could.

All he could see was red dripping down through the black. The sickly smell of fresh blood entered his nose, making the cat gag. This was too much to handle. Suddenly, a battle scene flashed before his eyes. VertigoClan cats he knew and loved were screaming with fury and pain as they fought against an unknown foe. An apprentice went down, a well-bloodied she-cat tearing at his exposed belly with a hatred unknown to the clans. Nearby a she-cat warrior lay on the ground, her eyes gazing at nothing as blood poured from a horrific wound on her neck. Aspenfrost nearly heaved as he saw the enemy tear into his clan like a starving cat does to a plump rabbit. Then, the terrible sounds of the battle faded out, only to be replaced with evil words that wrapped tightly around his heart.

They come from afar,
Bearing one name.
To them killing
Is but an evil game.

Aspenfrost then felt a weight on his back. Loosing his balance, he fell to the ground. He was easily flipped over by battle-trained paws. The medicine cat frantically beat at the tom's shoulders, but to no avail. The evil cat was staring down at him, strange ruby red eyes glittering with hate and thirst as he reached down for Aspenfrost's throat....

Aspenfrost was launched out of the vision, his heart beating wildly and his breathing rapid. Head snapping back and forth, he slowly began to relax as he recognized his surroundings. The tom rose to his feet, his limbs shaking violently. He just knew he needed to go to Larkstar....NOW. Leaving his herbs forgotten, Aspenfrost turned on the spot and raced for the entrance.

"Lynxstar! Lynxstar!" He called, swallowing his fear. He had to remain calm for the clan. They would be sent into a panic if they heard what he had seen....What he had heard. "Lynxstar!" He called again, his voice edged deep with fear.

[LYNX ♥]

Not that is was late in the day, nor early. In fact, it was just about time to have yet another meal, but, ignoring her loud, angry belly, Lynxstar slept on, her grayish brown eyes were horizontal black slits, nostrils peacefully heaving in miniscule movements, paws twitching now and again as she, unknowingly lonely in her cozy little hollow fallen pine trunk, lay sprawled on her side, in quite an undignified position, especially with the peaceful snuffling sounds she emitted now and then. No! Aspenfrost! She whined internally, Leave me be! She knew from the urgent tones in his voice that she had no choice but to groggily raise her skull, dull pools bright with sleep, claws outreached as she stretched, quite a silly scene, for such a dignified she-cat. But Lynxstar knew Aspenfrost didn't care much about her silly pride, and pulled her frame away from her soft nest reluctantly, blinking several times to see the tawny tom before her. Tossing back her head, the mightly leader gave a gapng yawn, like a lion, and shook her head. "Yes Aspenfrost?"

[cat]

Waiting impatiently for the she-cat to wake, the tom kneaded the ground with urgency. Glancing over his shoulder every now and then, it was clear he wasn't waking her up for something mouse-brained. His eyes were frightful, though he tried to keep his mood calm. It didn't work. The vision of the red eyes and blood kept forcing their way into his sight. The words ran in his head in that same, evil voice, haunting his every step. Relieved to see Lynxstar was finally awake, Aspenfrost dipped his head close to her. "I just recieved a vision from StarClan. The prophecy that came with it.....And the vision itself....It's horrible." He whispered, the words tumbing from his mouth easily.

[LYNX ♥]

Her thick, wooly fur was slightly fluffed out by now, seeing the great, knawing anxiety tearing at her beloved medicine cat tragically, and she waited for hi to finally spew his horrified words, chattering away, Lynxstar held her stature. Wisdom and a nice poker-face came with leading a clan like she did, and now she swayed her rabbit-tail, closing her eyes and turning her head, as so Aspenfrost could not see the greivance upon her features. Now, with this disgusting news, she kne wthat many friends, family, and innocent cats would have their lives violently ripped away. StarClan would have fleets of new ranks. Sighing, she met Aspenfrost's worried clear blue eyes with her shadowed, sorrowful ones. "What... did they say?"

[cat]

Aspenfrost dipped his head and looked away. He honestly didn't want to plague the loved leader with these blood-filled visions and heart-chilling words. But he had to. StarClan sent him this vision for a reason, and to keep it quiet could end up killing the whole clan. Turning to look back at the leader, he was surprised to find himself able to hold the leader's gaze easily. He could see, deep down in her eyes, she was scared of the unknown. They all were. Cats here would die. They wouldn't live to an old age, but be slaughtered before they even had time to feel the strength or love of their destiny. It was too heartbreaking for him to just act calm.

"First it was a vision of...of a battle scene. Scores of VertigoClan cats were being slaughtered as if they meant nothing by these shadowy cats. I didn't recognize them though. Next was the prophecy." He meowed, lowering his voice.
"They come from afar,
Bearing one name.
To them killing
Is but an evil game.
After that, one of the evil cats took down myse-another VertigoClan cat. Before killing this cat, I saw his eyes. They were a strange, ruby red. I've never seen such hatred Lynxstar. Never." He finished. The tom had told almost all of the truth. Except the fact that the red-eyed cat had killed him in the vision. He hated to say anything about it. It could've just been because he was the one to recieve the prophecy. Or....Did it have a darker meaning? Aspenfrost shuddered slightly, not wanting to think about it.

[LYNX ♥]

Sorrow-stricken dull amber pooled darkened warily, hating every second of her medicine cat's speech. Her bland irises flicked down, bright with worry. The wise she-cat knew very well that she would experiance one of these doom-reaping messages soon, and she couldn't fight it, but listen, learn, and fight. If she had a tail to nervously flick, she would have done just that, but since she didn't, she only raised her head to nod subtly at Aspenfrost. "I don't know how to react to this, Aspenfrost. Ive had manner a battle in my day, for sure, but never a thing like this. I find it hard to beleive that there's never been a time such as the one we'll soon see, which means the Mountain Lake clans will live on, but at what cost, I'm not sure." It was usual to hear a speech such as this from the motherly she-cat, perhaps she was only convincing herself. "I can only hope and wait, for now, at least. Aspenfrost, I see no signs to reverse this fate." She met his big, clear ocean blue eyes.

[cat]

Aspenfrost dipped his head, quite aware that his tail was curling up tightly at the end. Nervous habit really. The medicine cat didn't know what to do, what to say. He knew all too well that these...beings were coming. There wasn't anything that any of the Mountain Lake clan cats could do but wait for them to arrive. They were like prey, fearfully glancing around as the claws of the enemy closed in. Aspenfrost could only shake his head sadly, watching Lynxstar with sad eyes. "The cost will be great Lynxstar, and StarClan can not do anything about it. We can only hope they won't abandon us in this time of need." He meowed, eyes flicking upward to gaze at the blue expanse of sky.

[LYNX ♥]

Letting out a quiet, scornful snort, Lynxstar shot Aspenfrost a cool gaze, though a hint of warm affection would always linger there, she let her lowered skul sway gently from side to side, disbeleiving. "Aspenfrost, my faithful medicine cat, how could you ever speak of it?" Her voice was slight with scolding. "Even if our glistening anscestors cannot aid us, they will aways watch, even if it pains them." She reminded the small, pale tom with her gaze now following his. After a long, still moment of premourning silence, Lynxstar spoke again. "I shall go on a walk... and think, I need to swallow this." She took a few steps past him, her sad eyes no longer locked in his. "I trust you'll send a couple cats after me if I'm not back before dark? Chances are I'll have tripped or something, knowing my excessive luck." She mewed drily, finally gasping for air in the open, she plodded out of camp dejectedly.

[cat]

Aspenfrost dipped his head, saying nothing to her scholding words. She was right. They wouldn't abandon them, would they? But the seed of doubt grew stronger in his mind as the vision once again forced itself into his mind. All dark, no light. It was as if the shadow of this evil had swallowed StarClan whole, dimming the light of his ancestors forever. Or did they leave willingly? He had to consider all possible meanings of this vision before leaping directly onto one like a blind fox. "For our sake, I hope you're right." He murmured. Agreeing to her words, Aspenfrost watched sadly as Lynxstar left camp, her mood low.