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Blazestar47 — You don't belong anywhere
Published: 2023-09-17 02:55:45 +0000 UTC; Views: 548; Favourites: 2; Downloads: 1
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Description
Shadowstar slowly opened her eyes, a pounding headache easing away. Her vision slowly focused, revealing a dark field. The whole area seemed to glint with stars.Wait a minute…
Not the whole area. To her right, the sky looked pitch black: a dead forest below, emanating an ominous red glow. Shadowstar rose to her paws, her memory slowly clearing up.
What the…wait. I…I’m dead. That was my last life.
Shadowstar remembered the vivid feeling of falling, falling…falling. Did she succeed? She closed her eyes….yes. She did. Snaketooth was alive.
“Shadowstar.”
The DarkClan leader quickly opened her eyes, whipping around. In front of her stood a council of cats: half had a blue glow, with stars glittering in their fur. The other half had red glows, smelled of carrion, and had ominous black eyes.
Shadowstar looked down at her own paws. One was blue with stars…the other red. Shadowstar looked up with confusion.
A black tabby stepped forward, stars in her fur. “Do you know why you're here?”
Shadowstar slowly nodded.
A red-black tom stepped forward, covered in scars, and staring blankly with his dead black eyes. “It is time to choose where to spend the end of your life.”
“…choose?” Shadowstar asked, tilting her head.
The black tabby nodded. “Between MoonClan and the Shadow Forest.”
The tom snickered, “Not much of a choice if we're being honest.”
Another MoonClan cat stepped forward, “Except for maybe this time...Shadowstar. You've lived quite the life.”
The black she-cat looked down at her mix-colored paws. She looked back up at the MoonClan cats. They all looked so…happy, and perfect. Her green gaze shifted to the cats of the Shadow Forest. Murderers, liars. Ambitious, honor-less excuses for warriors. She looked back at the representatives for each faction.
The two were talking to each other under their breaths. The tabby looked at Shadowstar. “Your whole life was dedicated to vengeful pettiness.”
“You were so dedicated to your precious warrior code.” the tom added.
“You brought the Clans into an all-out war!” a MoonClan tom shouted.
“You dedicated your final seasons to your family.” A Shadow Forest she-cat spat, sounding quite repulsed.
“But only the family which fit your standards!”
“You surrendered in war for the greater good, becoming an embarrassment to your Clan!”
“You took one of your brother's lives!”
“Coward!”
“Self-righteous!”
“A terrible mate!”
“Sexist!”
“Stop!” Shadowstar shouted, teeth bared. “What's the point of all this?”
A pitch-black Shadow Forest she-cat stepped forward, dipping her head. “Apologies, Shadowstar. I am Darkstar: first leader of DarkClan. All this…bickering is less aimed at you, and more so at each other. You see, neither MoonClan nor the Shadow Forest want you.”
“Thanks for clearing that up,” Shadowstar muttered.
Darkstar sighed. “You are a strange case. Your intentions have always come from good places and genuine trauma. But you waged war on the Clans, resulting in too many deaths. Even you must admit that trauma and pain are no excuses for the terrible things you did. The question of where you belong depends on this: do you feel remorse?”
Shadowstar opened her mouth, then paused. She thought for a few minutes. Yes? But if she were put in the same position again, she’d make the same choices. She was justified! So surely she’d feel more comfortable in the Shadow Forest: a place with no regrets? But when she looked at the council of murderers and feins, she felt repulsed. And even a little scared.
The black tabby from MoonClan stepped forward. “We can tell you would hate it in the Shadow Forest. But in your time alive, despite the best of intentions, you chose to manipulate and scheme - no matter the consequences you left on others.”
Darkstar glared at the she-cat. “But her emotions were disgustingly pure. She genuinely cares for her family and Clan, she just sucks at going about it.” she stated bluntly.
“But she didn't truly care! She cared about her own feelings. She wanted her family for the sake of herself, not what her family wanted. A cat like that doesn't belong in MoonClan.”
“Do you not realize how many cats in the world are genuinely incapable of recognizing the consequences their actions have on others? If Shadowstar had only gotten help, you'd have no problem accepting her. The warriors of the Dark Forest choose not to care. We don't want to be like you moralistic pricks.”
Shadowstar’s ears flattened, her fur starting to puff out in rage. “Fine then. I’ll go somewhere else!”
The red-black tom from earlier scoffed. “And go where?”
“Wherever loners, rogues, and yes even kittypets go. I admit: I'm a terrible cat. I certainly don't belong with MoonClan. But I don't want to be terrible! I don't want to be a Dark Forest cat.” Shadowstar turned around, walking into the distance where the sky split between the two areas.
In the back of the crowd, a Shadow Forest she-cat watched from the shadows. One day this would change. Soon. The afterlife Clans were so caught between good and evil, black and white, right and wrong. If anything was wrong, this was. When she looked at the crowd; all she saw were unhappy faces. No one fits in either MoonClan or the Shadow Forest. There needs to be a middle ground. And she was willing to do anything to get there.
