Chapter Text
A small she-cat's eyes flashed open as her chest heaved up and down. She quickly looked down towards her chest, her stomach, as if she expected something, but she didn't know what - she couldn't remember what. She gently rose, shivering at the feeling of the tar beneath her paws.
Slowly, she looked around. It appeared to be a clearing… or some sort of swamp? She wasn't sure what exactly it was. The area was dark, likely night. There were no stars here - perhaps a place where Starclan did not look over? What was Starclan?
The trees around the muddy clearing she had laid in seemed to tower and point over her, as if trying to be intimidating. There were no signs of life, all the colours there were dark, black and white and grey.
That was, until, there was a sudden blinding light.
When she opened her eyes, there was another cat - a tom, though she wasn't sure how she figured that out - whose pelt shimmered as though it were the night sky. Wordlessly, he looked down at the she-cat, standing in front of her.
“You're awake.” His voice was gentle, yet aggressive. It echoed through the surroundings, as if he was not an ordinary cat, yet also in a way that was familiar, comforting. The she-cat opened her mouth.
“Well… yes.” Her voice seemed odd. She felt like it didn't exactly match her, though it wasn't like the she-cat knew much about herself, but- the point was that it didn't sound like her! She quickly cleared her throat. “Erm… yes.”
The tom narrowed his eyes at the she-cat, in an almost calculating way, before speaking carefully. “Do you recognise this place? Do you remember anything?”
The she-cat, at that, looked around the clearing again, at the towering, monochrome trees, lifting herself up from the inky black mud, against the weight trying to push her back down. She even began sniffing the air around her, but nothing occurred to her. Not a single memory. She shook her head.
At that, the tom seemed relieved in his own emotionless sort of way.
“Good.” He began padding towards her, pulling her out of the muck by the scruff. “You are in a place which is referred to by few as ‘Starclan's Judgement.’ You cannot leave until a certain condition is met. That condition is to go through all of your memories. If you show enough remorse once you have remembered anything, you could go to Starclan. That is, if you weren't already headed there.”
The she-cat tilted her head to the side. “What do you mean?”
“There was an issue when you died. Somehow, for whatever reason, you've become a different cat.” The tom's eyes seemed to pierce the she-cat's very… soul? Was that even possible? She was dead so it wasn't like there was anything else to her. “Different pelt colour, different eye colour, even the way you act is different, because you don't have your memories.”
The she-cat hummed as she stretched her legs, shaking herself off as the tom looked in barely disguised disgust as some mud splashed onto him.
“Well… now that you're done with that, I should introduce myself. My name is Owlrunner, and I have been sent by Starclan to guide you through your memories. I was a cat you knew in life, though you will likely not remember me until you've remembered everything. Once this is finished and you've remembered, I will be left to dictate whether you are indeed worthy of Starclan, or if you should be sent to the Dark Forest.”
The she-cat stepped forward, as the environment suddenly changed. Now, the area was blank white, the she-cat in awe of the dark ginger shade of her pelt now that she wasn't completely surrounded and covered in that muck. She hated getting dirty! Except for when she…
When she what..? Wait, how was she even entirely sure it was just because she was dirty and not because of that mud? Maybe it was only a mud thing and- ahhh… the she-cat shook her head, realising she had gotten side-tracked.
She stepped forward, about to say something to Owlrunner, only to feel a flood of pain overtake her mind and her thoughts. She suddenly curled up, pawing at her head. She even noticed Owlrunner unsheathe his claws, the expression on his face subtly shifting to being that of a cat who saw a badger! The pain soon subsided, though the she-cat didn't stand up for a moment.
“I… I remember something…” The she-cat softly muttered.
Owlrunner's blank white eyes narrowed. “What do you remember..?
The she-cat carefully stood up, before smiling. “My name! It's rude to not introduce yourself to someone you just met, even if you technically already knew each other! My name is Russetspring, it's nice to meet you!”