#salamandermask

Flamekit had never experienced anything like this; that wasn't saying much, given that she'd only left camp for the first time that day, but still. She got to her paws cautiously, looking around with rounded yellow eyes. 

 "Hello?" she called, not thinking to check on either of the others. She recognized the smell of clan cat on the one she didn't know, and she'd been with Phloxstorm just earlier, anyway. Her tail stuck high in the air, fur bristling with unease, she started to move forward.

Phloxstorm's fur bristled soon after he opened his eyes, the unfamiliarity of his surroundings and the muffled chiming coming from-- somewhere. Whatever it is, it's especially irritating to him. He scratches at his ears, hoping to somehow drive away the dull ringing. 

 "Hey, kid, what are you..." They grunted, eventually heaving themselves to their feet to walk beside her. They warily glanced around, folding an ear back somewhat as the surroundings become more and more notably unfamiliar. 

 He stares at Flamekit for a bit, puzzled as to why he'd suddenly be dreaming about the kid. Whatever this is, it's... Different, from the usual. He's not sure which he'd prefer, yet, but he's at least certain that he did not know the third cat that was there. Was definitely someone from Sunclan, though.

Flamekit flicked her tail in acknowledgement at the warrior's words, but only picked up the pace. There was so much fog, and she couldn't remember ever seeing so much of it before.

Ah, man, was this another dream where he thought he was talking but in actuality no one could hear him? Freaky, he hates that shit. Phloxstorm sighs, and makes sure to keep up with the kit. He doesn't trust this fog already.

The desolate plain is filled with hard earth, sparse weeds, and large round stones. The further you go, the more alien everything smells. Something about the alleged dream was different than dreams in that it lacked a certain lucidity, and that it wasn't nearly as ridiculous. Where-ever they went, the unpredictability was very much unlike that of a typical brain attempting to cope with stress. 

 All was silent.

Then, suddenly, without warning... a noise.

A noise, which grew into a whisper, that grew into shaking the barren ground at their feet.

Flamekit's steps slowed but didn't still, even as her heart hammered in her chest. This was scary, and she wondered if she'd just forgotten to wake up and was now, well, awake. 

 That kind of made sense in her head. 

 Voice low, she glanced at the others and spoke. "Did you wake up?"

  He hissed, eyes widening in alarm as he moved even closer to Flamekit.  Like, just in case cracks started to form or something, he could easily scoop her up. 

As she mewed, his brows knitted together. It clicked, after a moment. This wasn't a dream, was it? Fucking spooky ass shit, he was too tired for this. "...Yeah. I think. Somewhat."

Another shockwave. It would've been enough to keep their cats on their feet for now, but the second one was stronger. Flames and embers suddenly lit up the sky before them, but when they struck the ground, instead of burning they smoldered into blackness. The entire foundation shook again, and again, until the world as they knew it became a constant tumult like troubled waves in the ocean against the shore. 

 If they had their eyes open then, a cat stood staring at them just feet away. Unmoving.

A golden cat, but not a gold that the cats regarding it had ever seen. When the ground moved, its coat rippled, each tuft of fur floating in slow motion as if it controlled the very thing that was happening with such little effort. 

Flamekit sucked in a sharp breath, freezing in her fear and crouching to stay on her feet, tail tucked beneath her. Her eyes were wide and unblinking, taking in everything as it happened around them. Eventually, she straightened up, still unsteady. 

 The kit shifted on her paws, unwilling to get near the flames (was that what they were? And was this what she had been named for?) but aching to learn more. She didn't even look back at either of the others before she took off at a run, getting closer to the golden cat despite everything in her telling her to stay away.

Gritting her teeth, Phloxstorm narrowed her eyes and lowered her head in an attempt to shield them from any debris. She plowed on a heat, locking her sights on the unknown figure. Fuck this shit, she wasn't going to bother continuing to question why Flamekit and another stranger was here. 

Growling low in their throat, they approached the golden cat. What the fuck was this guy's deal? What the fuck is going on?  Just. "What the fuck?" He noticed Flamekit running alongside him, but couldn't bring himself to comment on it. 

  The closer they tried to approach, the further the golden cat seemed to get. As they ran, the world began to fall away - like ash, becoming blackened the fluttering away with the breeze that they could neither see nor feel. The golden cat remained, though, its white eyes unblinking as they tried to approach. Running in place, as it were. 

 It would wait until they were tired, which might've felt like an eternity, since the atmosphere of the room would get heavier the longer their legs tried to move forward. When they stopped, the cat seemed to move forward and not move at all. Its movements were deliberate, but faster than what the eye could plainly detect.   

Flamekit ran until her legs gave out, eventually collapsing. She wondered, as she watched the golden cat, if this was what Starclan was. 

 "Can, can I ask you something?" she called to the cat, trying to ignore how her heart was pounding.

Phloxstorm's thoughts was an litany of profanities, just a constant cycle as he eventually just gave up trying to approach the mysterious figure.

Tail lashing in the air, as he soon stood over Flamekit protectively, he tried to level his stare with the golden cat. Was this what Starclan was like?  Didn't match any stories at all, seemed a bit fucked up more than anything.

She kept her chin held high, not wanting to appear weak when there's a kit right here, that she might need to run away with. Oh, he was beginning to desperately want to retreat back into the safety of his own nest.

The golden cat paused. "YES, CHILD?" 

 Its lips didn't move, the voice coming from everywhere and nowhere all at once within the blindingly white, endless expanse.

Flamekit's first thought was, fittingly, fuck. She opened and then closed her mouth, struggling to her paws and then taking a single step forward, out from under Phloxstorm. 

 "Do you know who my dad is?" she asked, eyes wide as she searched its face. Later, she would realize that her priorities were skewed.

Please don't hurt the kid, please don't hurt the kid, please don't-- Phloxstorm bite his tongue, in his effort to not say anything. He made a muffled sort of scream, mostly because he didn't even opened his mouth, and quickly stepped forward as well. 

 That, wasn't really something she should have asked. He managed to piece it together, she could have just asked him-- then again, he has the face of a grizzled idiot. So. His ears twitched, and he warily awaited the etheral cat's reply with his breath stuck in his throat. It made a low, monotonous, mechanical chuckle. As it came before Flamekit, the golden cat changed shape. It became diminutive, smaller than a kit, but still looked older than her somehow. Its body was well-proportioned, if a bit stocky, with a round face, small ears, spots on its coat and stripes upon its face. Never losing its golden color, of course, with the markings only being but a shade darker. 

 "OF COURSE, CHILD." 

 A circle of flame spread around them. With a broken attention, the cat that appeared a split second later was... different.

 "I."

 It was massive. Larger than ten cats, probably. Muscles bulged underneath its coat, its paws big enough to crush a cat within a pawstep. Its tail, if you could even call it that, wasn't even big enough to curl around the front of it. 

 "KNOW." 

 They'd have to crane their necks up to see the drooling countenance before them, snarling with a ferocity barely known by even the most bloodthirsty of cats. On each side of its mouth where teeth would be was a curved, knife-like saber, that stretched beyond its lower jaw and ended in a point.

"EVERYTHING."

With one calculated swipe, it contacted all three cats and sent them flying.The golden cat disappeared. Each of their bodies shattered through the illusion. This was no dream.Darkness. 

Stars sparkle above your heads. 

Flamekit had never been struck before, not by anyone who wasn't just playing. She screamed as she was swiped, the air knocked from her lungs. 

 Her only thought, as she stared up at the stars, was that that... monster was clearly a liar. Why else would it not just tell her the answer? It didn't know anything -- it couldn't, and that was how she would comfort herself. 

 Flamekit lay still, scared to get up.

Oh. What the fuck?  Well, maybe he shouldn't have eaten that seaweed earlier. He growls, but before he could say or do anything his paws were no longer on the ground. Wheezing as the air was knocked out of him, Phloxstorm reached for Flamekit, tucking her close as he braced himself to-- 

 Land?  He blinks, taking in the drastic shift of scenery. This was definitely a different place, now. Less foreboding,he guessed. Who the fuck was that? He took a few moments to regain his breath, eyes wide as he dumbly stared up at the sky."Uh, Flamekit, you alright?" It was a dumb question. Whatever that thing was, it was a fucking nightmare dialed up to eleven.

"No!" Flamekit exclaimed. "I mean -- yes. I don't feel broken." 

 She sat up, stretching her legs experimentally and flexing her toes. Satisfied, she got to her feet, casting a wary look around.

 "Are we dead? Was that the Dark Forest?"

Phloxstorm frowned, moving to sit up before looking around. "...I don't think so.  No forest, yeah? Uh," he winced, the last visage still fresh on his mind. Probably sealed into the back of his eyelids, now. 

 "I, uh, don't think we're dead, kid. It would be kinda funny if we all died at once-- including sunshine over there." They flicked an ear, slowly standing up and shaking out their paws. He sniffed at Flamekit, to see if she really was okay.

Flamekit scrunched up her nose and leaned away from him. “There was fire. Maybe it burned it down.”

The stars glimmered. 

 Who are they? 

Oh, poor dears... 

They aren't supposed to be here!? 

Well, do something about it. 

Stop bickering. 

Yeah, don't fight. 

Come on.