Secrets Beyond our Borders Chapters 8-13

Chapter 8: The Call of the Void

Honeypaw still sat in silence, paralyzed by the voices that wouldn’t stop speaking to her. She felt like a shell. She carried out her duties like some kind of mindless slug. Trying to discern what the voices were saying. Trying to understand them, only one of which she could actually understand.

“Do you remember who you are?” She asked the one she could discern.

“Yes. I remember everything, but… I really don’t want to go. I want to go to my family.I miss them so horribly.”

“What’s your name?

“That’s the thing! I can’t remember my name. I remember everything else!” His voice said, quaking. Honeypaw closed her eyes. She was plunged into the dark waters again. But that’s when she could see him.

He was a golden tomcat, grey splotches on his shining fur. His grey eyes were gentle and calm.

“Where are you?” She asked.

“I don’t know. Whenever I close my eyes I’m here. Whenever they’re open… I’m in such a strange but familiar place, it’s so cold. I don’t understand why I’m so cold…”

“Rickashay forced me to this place whenever I close my eyes.” Honeypaw told him.

“I don’t know any cat named Rickashay.” The golden tom said. “I… I just remember my family and… I miss them. Tell me, do you know where a cat name Squirrelfang is?”

“I’m very sorry sir, I’ve never heard of her before, who is she?” He smiled lightly, a kind of sweet but sad smile. “She’s quite simply the one I love.”

“Sir, how long has it been since you’ve seen her?”

“I don’t know. I don’t remember where they went. I don’t understand…” He said, confusion striking him. The vision of him snapped out as she opened her eyes. An angry white shape appeared instead.

“Listen up! I know you were in the void! Tell me how now!” She snapped, Honeypaw recognised her. It was Snowsong, a “raindrop” apprentice.

“What are you talking about?! I was just daydreaming!” Honeypaw growled back. She starred as a white paw came at her muzzle at a fast pace, she quickly darted aside and unsheathed her claws.

“Try and touch me again foxheart!” She screeched.

“You are so dead!” Snowsong yelled, her face twisted with rage. Honeypaw quickly looked around, only Flutter was there. Flutter would help if it got too out of hand surely.

She smirked. “If you think Flutter can help you you’ve got another thing coming.”

“Piggy-backing off my thoughts because you can’t find your own?” She sneered.

“You stupid little…” Snowsong ran forwards, her paw outwards to rake it against her. Honeypaw once again skipped away from her, just barely evading.

“Your speed won’t save you you little squirrel!” Snowsong growled. “Once I get a hit on you you won’t be able to breath.”

Honeypaw scanned her surroundings, the area was piny, it prickled her paws, Shadowclan she thought. The trees were too thin to climb, the marshy areas are harder to run in. But Snowsong appears to be bigger than her. She’ll sink in the mud surely, Honeypaw’s scent could be hidden in the mud. She quickly made a run for the area that smelled the most like shadowclan. It began to feel as though she were on a path. She knew Snowsong had powers. And based on her confidence in battle she feared that it was like Lionblaze’s in elder’s tales. She stopped to look around. She felt like she’d just gone in a circle. She felt like Snowsong was catching up to her. She closed her eyes. Telling herself to focus.She was plunged into the void, and the golden tom was staring at her.

“Open your eyes! Run away from the sun! You will be brought to the shadowclan camp.”

“That won’t help me!” She replied. “I’d just get caught by the cats on guard there!”

“Please just trust me! There are cats there who can help you!” He shouted. She sighed and opened her eyes. Seeing the sun and she quickly ran the opposite direction. As the scent of shadowclan grew greater, so did her hope.

She felt as though Snowsong was a bright shadow behind her, chasing her and forcing her to keep her eyes open instead of speaking to the cat of the shadows.

She felt the mud on her paws, the pine began to stick to her paws again, she could hear Snowsong shouting.

“Oh c’mon Songflight! I was just playin around. Let’s head back to camp.” She yowled.

Honeypaw knew she was just trying to trick her. She shivered. The thought of going to the camp haunted her. A place that used to represent friendships and justice now represent captivity and fear.

“Honeypaw you need to run away from the sun. I know you’ve never been, but you’ll know it okay? You can follow your nose from here okay?”

Honeypaw nodded, glad it wasn’t to herself, she ran towards the scent of Shadowclan.Grateful that she didn’t sink in the mud. She saw a small canopy and woven twigs trampled and covered with leaves. She smiled. She knew she’d reached it.

The shadowclan camp.She closed her eyes.

“Golden cat? Who is supposed to help me here?” She asked.

“I don’t know. I just… there’s someone very important here.”

“What?!”

“I know that there’s an important cat here…”

Honeypaw didn’t open her eyes in time. She felt a sharp pain in her back. She let out a weak screech.

“Honeypaw?! Honeypaw!” The golden tomcat yelled. “Why’d you scream Honeypaw?”

She couldn’t open her eyes. She felt weak. “I… I think she caught me….”

The golden tomcat looked the void. His fur bristled and angry.

Honeypaw was shrugged over, sitting down, she could barely open her eyes in the void.

Then she couldn’t see anything.

 

“You idiot! You can’t just attack someone! Why aren’t you ever patient?!?” She heard the voice of a shecat growl.

“Shut up.” Another shecat said. Honeypaw opened her eyes a little. Making out three blurry shapes.

“Can we just… calm down? Please?” A tomcat but in.

“Shut up Frostflight” They said in unison.She finally made out the shapes, she groaned and struggled to stand up. Ready to run.

She saw them, A white tomcat with black stripes, a fully grey shecat and an orange shecat with grey stripes.

Honeypaw began growling.

“Chill out you little beetle brain. We’re not gonna hurt you. I just thought you were one of those Treeclan cats.” The orange striped shecat said.She knew the voice it was one of the voices who argued with Rickashay.

“Is your name Meadowsong?” Honeypaw stuttered out.

“Yeah, I’m guessing your the shecat I was chattin with when that annoying shecat barged in.”

“She’s got powers too?! I wonder if I have powers…” The grey shecat said.

“No you idiot she doesn’t have powers, I can project my thoughts.”

“Oh…”

“Don’t call her an idiot.” The tomcat said.

“Shut up.”

“Okay.” He responded.

“What are you all doing here?” Honeypaw asked. Surprised that her “rescue” from Snowsong were these three immature cats.

“Stonemist thought we needed herbs for the store. I wanted to have some fun, Frostflight is overprotective.” Meadowsong said.

“To be fair, he did save you and I.” Stonemist, the grey shecat said.

“Shut up.” Meadowsong frowned.

Honeypaw closed her eyes and sighed, trying to calm down. She was met with the golden tomcat.

“Hey are you alright?” He asked quickly.

“Yeah… you were right. There are three cats here who are in the four clans.”

“Good. I was worried I had steered you the wrong way.”

“Thank you…” Honeypaw said, she thought to herself for a second. “Hey why’d you help me?”

“You look like my brother when he was my age.”

“Tigerweb looked like the sun decided to die and shrivel.” Meadowsong said growling.

Honeypaw turned in surprise. “How are you here?!”

“I’ve been here before. Who are you talking to?”

“Uh… he doesn’t exactly know his name…” Honeypaw turned to the golden tomcat. He was shaking, walking towards Meadowsong.

“Do you know who I am?” He asked.

She gave him a glare. “Not a clue.”

“But… your… I know it’s….” The golden tomcat said

“Honeypaw. What is the name of your deputy?”

“Oh… uh.. Dawnrain.”

“Dawnrain?” Meadowsong repeated her answer.

“What? Who… Who’s that?”  Honeypaw said.

Meadowsong rushed towards her, she quickly touched her paw to her forehead and cast her out of the void.

She gasped and opened her eyes. Frostflight and Stonemist staring at her. “What?” She asked.

“You were like, blacked out.”

Honeypaw looked at Meadowsong, her eyes wide open and with that shiny, hollow look that Rickashay had.

She blinked and sighed.

“Frostflight fix that would I gave her and send her on her way.”

“What?! No! I’m going back with you guys!” Honeypaw yelled.

Stonemist nodded. “We can’t send her back!”

“She’s the only one I can contact! I need her to find the cat with power!”

“No! Find someone else!”

Frostflight looked at her. “Honeypaw, you are the only one that Meadowsong and I have been able to contact. We’ll catch some prey and you bring it back, explain that you were hunting.”

“I don’t want to!” She yowled.

“Yeah you can’t do that to her! She’s just an apprentice! That’s far too heavy a burden!” Stonemist said.

Meadowsong shot her a glare and growled. “Then she’s gonna have to learn to carry it! Meadowsong looked at Honeypaw and snarled. “You go back to that camp or I’ll force you to stay in that void even when your eyes are wide open, you’ll be numb and everything on the outside of your mind will do nothing.”

Honeypaw looked with fear at the shecat. She closed her eyes praying a quick pray to starclan and then nodded her head.

“Okay, I’ll do it.”

“Nice choice, I’m too tired to chase you right now.” Meadowsong replied with a smirk. The other two looked at Honeypaw sympathetically.

“I will watch over you on the territory.” Frostflight said.

“How?”

“My natural power other than leeching off others is hawk-eye’s view.” Frostflight said.

Honeypaw understood, she clung to the elder’s tales of her kithood, and after all the events she hadn’t been able to deny it.

Chapter 9
Stonemist watched the tan shecat walk away with dismay, she continued to shoot glares towards Meadowsong, angry that she would  put an apprentice through such a burden.

“I can hear your glaring.” Meadowsong snarled. “Look Stonemist, it was my call.”

“Nobody made you deputy! And even so! You aren’t MY deputy!” Stonemist growled.

“Stonemist… you need to calm down.” Frostflight said, biting down on a thorn branch and pulling it aside for her. “It won’t help anything unless you’re calm.”

Stonemist stomped ahead of him and frowned. “Don’t patronize me!”

Frostflight looked at her sympathetically, “Please Stonemist, we’re on our way back, we’ll let them know, and everything will be okay.”

Stonemist sighed, she looked around the shadowclan territory, she thought and pictured apprentices, laughing and chasing each other through the mud, smiling.

“Those are beautiful memories, they yours?”  Frostflight said thoughtfully.

“Yeah.”

“I thought you lived in Riverclan.”

“I was a uh...I was a rogue as a kit.”

“As was I.”

“Liar.”

“What?”

“You’ve already told me your story.”

“Ah, that beats me kidding with you then huh?”

“Yup.” “Can you two shut up? I’m trying to listen for Honeypaw.” Meadowsong snapped as she leapt onto the fence.

 

Back at camp most cats were either bickering, too busy to bicker, or too busy goofing off to notice the tension and worry.

“You mousebrained, foxhearted, flea filled imbeciles!” Poppyshade snarled as they entered camp.

“Ah such wonderful words of greeting, I’m so glad you’re in my life too dear brother.” Meadowsong meowed sarcastically.

“Poppyshade we got-” Stonemist started.

“You! Shut up!” He snapped, he pointed at Frostflight, “You! My den now!”

“C’mon Poppyshade we had to, plus we’ve got stuff to tell Quailpeek.” Meadowsong sighed.

“Shut up and go talk to him then!” He snapped. “Stonemist you go and check on the hurt cats!”

Stonemist looked at Meadowsong worriedly.

“Don’t worry, he’s just flustered, he gets really worried about me sometimes.” She heard Meadowsong’s voice in her ears.

(Very sorry about the short chapter, but Mouseytail can’t write much rn, I’m sorry.)