THE DARK MATTER | Book One: Stained Trails

chapter five

GALETOOTH'S NIGHTMARES FELT REAL AT TIMES, leaving his fur bristled and claws tearing through his nest when he woke. He dreamed of seeing his mate die, so vividly to a point where he woke with a twist in his stomach and sour taste of bile caked in his throat. He would see it over and over again, wolves shredding through her in front of him whilst he was frozen to the ground, unable to move with only the ability to cry out after her. It was grueling and haunted him every day to the point where sleeping felt impossible.

Then there was the rare moments where the dreams were lucid and light-hearted. There was the dreams where he'd see her in the meadow and they'd prance through the fields together just as they had before. He'd see her under starlit skies at the river of the gathering place and he'd even dream of her curled in a nest around a bundle of kits. He could sleep forever if those were his dreams, and every time he woke from them he tried over and over to sleep again and return to them. Galetooth would do anything to see her again alive and happy, and waking up from those dreams was torturous, for he had to wake in a reality where she was absolutely gone.

Or so he thought she was. Rainstar's stories about Ibistide and his ideas of revival intrigued Galetooth.

Emerging from the warriors den right at the wake of dawn, Galetooth scanned the camp to quickly notice Lightpaw carrying a stretch of mess towards the elder's den. He bounded forward to cut her off before she reached the den, hoping his franticness to approach her didn't startle the orange molly. She was smiling at his arrival though, barely able to articulate through the moss.

"Hey fere Galetoof," she expressed in a muffled meow. "Wannna pracfif hunting foday?"

Galetooth grinned faintly at her muffled speech. "Not today, but I figured I'd allow you more time for hunting. You and Snowpaw are so close to being warriors, let me take that moss to the elders instead and you can go nag Hollynose to train," Galetooth suggested.

Lightpaw dropped the moss at his paws with little to no hesitation. "Thank you! You're the nicest. No wonder father always says you're the best brother any cat could ever ask for," she exclaimed before whirling around in search of her mentor.

Galetooth felt a pang in his chest at her words. To know that Frostspider spoke so highly of him to his kits was admirable, but also painful. He buried his thoughts away thought and dropped his head to pick up Lightpaw's discarded moss. He felt bad he made his idea seem nothing more than a friendly exchange to the apprentice, but he couldn't help but take the opportunity. He wanted to speak to Hollowshade without being a direct disturbance. The new moss bedding was his way in.

The elders den was more tucked away alongside the river and closest to the leaders den. It caved into a rather smaller chasm, as ValeClan especially wasn't used to having many elders. It was a case in which most warriors just chose to take the role till they died or many who reached the stage of retirement were taken out by a harsh leafbare or sickness right in that moment. Hollowshade had just recently retired from his duties, the older tom cat's limp finally bringing a strain to him. Fireflower meanwhile had been retired since her mate, Violetstar, had passed. The two elders brought each other a well-desired company as neither had kits nor ever planned on it, so just having one another was just fine.

He slipped into the den slowly not to startle the waking elders, the moss dangling from his jaws to and fro. He noticed the two friends were sharing the larger nest of Hollowshade's, Fireflower's old one lying in a corner all dusted and old. It was no wonder Lightpaw insisted on bringing them some new nesting. Hollowshade was already standing at Galetooth's arrival, the tom's eyes narrowed as they landed on the warrior. Fireflower was still stretching out her paws and parting her jaws in an exasperated yawn.

"Galetooth? Since when do warriors tend to us?" Hollowshade addressed at his arrival, almost with a lick of bitterness.

The brown and white tom ignored Hollowshade's words, padding over to drop the new wad of moss a few pawsteps away from where they lay. "Lightpaw and Snowpaw are the only apprentices for now and so close to being warriors. I presumed they could use a day solely dedicated to training," Galetooth mumbled. He could tell Hollowshade was catching him in his lies though, eyeing him up and down. "...And I wanted to speak to you."