A Haunting

[Naruto]

Misty hazel eyes peeked out of the warriors den,looking for a large brown tabby tom. The pale ginger form of Heatherpaw curled up in his nest,wrinkling her nose. He's in for it...

[Member]

Bengalbelly rested in his nest. The day had been long and terrible. All filled with betrayal and mixed emotions. It was all because of Heatherpaw. He'd sneer at the thought of her if he was awake. He didn't get that mouse-brained cat, not at all. He wasn't going to bother to try. Stupid cat, she was just a kit.

Bengalbelly's dreams were calm, more than clam actually, since, he didn't dream. It had been a while since he last dreamed. It seemed as if he just closed his eyes and woke up now. His tail twitched as it lay on his nose. It was almost it knew something... someone was next to him.

[Naruto]

"Bengalbelly,"Heatherpaw hissed angrily. Her eyes shone with hatred,and her tail lashed. "Wake up! See the cat you thought you killed." the nearly transparent she-cat snarled at her former mentor.

[Member]

Bengalbelly's ear twitched as he began to wake. He growled as he opened his eyes. "What is it you stupid..." He trailed off as he looked at Heatherpaw. It was her.... right her with... him... again. Bengalbelly's claws were still unsheathed from when he was still awake. He flexed them as he looked at her, his eyes filling with anger and hatred. He growled loudly. He wanted her dead, and now she's here with him!

[Naruto]

Heatherpaw snorted. "If you think you can kill me again,your wrong. You might as well call me a ghost."she smiled mischeviously at the word. Her claws unsheathed,glinting with an unnatural red light.

[Member]

Bengalbelly got up quickly and backed away from Heatherpaw. "Get away from me you stupid kit, I don't want to see you! I don't want to look at you!" He snarled. This cat.... Heatherpaw... she was right in front of him. Why? Why was she here!

[Naruto]

Heatherpaw narrowed her eyes dangerously. She lashed her tail and glared at him. "Well I wouldn't be here now if you hadn't killed me!"she snapped,flicking her ears. "Actually,I wouldn't be here if I had obeyed both the warrior codes. NightClan kicked me out and I didn't even want to face StarClan."she shrugged,then bared her teeth.

[Member]

"You deserved to die you piece of fox-dung!" Bengalbelly growled at her. He lashed his tail and narrowed his eyes. He dig his claws into the pitch black ground. Everything was like that. The whole thing was a black void, nothing else was there.

As he looked at her, Bengalbelly imagined himself ripping into her again. He could hear her yell of pain ringing in his ears. It just made him angrier, the sound in his head. He twitched his ear, realizing that the sounds he heard weren't in his head. They were actually sounding around in this... place. He took a breath and realized that he could smell blood, her blood.

Why? Why was this happening? Bengalbelly took another step back. He didn't like this dream.

[Naruto]

"How would you like it if you died?"The she-cat's voice was suddenly icy. "Right here. You can die right now....at my claws or under a boulder."she pat the last words,stalking forward to stand two-tail-lengths from the other cat. "Here that?"she asked,glancing up. "Yes,it's my blood your smelling. My pain your hearing." She narrowed her eyes and took another step forward menacingly.

[Member]

Bengalbelly's pelt bristled. He took another step back. Why was he doing this? Why was he trying to distance himself from her? She was the same as she'd been when she was alive, so why couldn't he step forward and face her with tooth and claw? Why couldn't he go close to her no matter how much he wanted? Maybe it was this atmosphere, maybe that was why.

"Just get away from me!" He growled.

[Naruto]

"I couldn't if I tried. See, you said it yourself. I'm stuck with you,and your stuck with me."she snarled,stepping closer again. Heatherpaw's eyes gleamed viciously.

[Member]

I'm stuck with you, and you're stuck with me...

The words echoed in Bengalbelly's mind. The apprentice can't escape their mentor no matter how far they ran... As the mentor to the apprentice. The yowls of pain that sounded in the empty void grew louder. The scent grew stronger and thicker. His pelt felt hot and sticky, almost as if he was covered in the blood himself.

"Why? Why are you here?"

[Naruto]

"Your asking me?" Heatherpaw spat,her eyes narrowed. She only allowed a sliver of confusion to enter her gaze. Then she growled. "I only wish I could kill you now. Then we-I mean I would be free."

[Member]

"What do you mean you'd be free? Your bound to nothing! You came to my dream!" Bengalbelly growled and stepped forward. He was angry now, furious. His pelt bristled as he took another step toward her.

[Naruto]

Heatherpaw still stepped forward. "I am bound to you as a mentor. And I will be until NightClan accepts me."she snarled,raising her paw. It seemed to be transparent,and she glared balefully at it. "You think I like being made out of mist?"

[Member]

"You seemed to, you were so eager to die," he narrowed his eyes, "all I did was assist you." She begged for her death, she simply cried out for it. That's how Bengalbelly saw it.

[Naruto]

Heatherpaw grumbled again,her ears flattening. Her eyes sparked with defiance. "If I ever find a way to get back to the forest,I will,"she growled,stalking closer until she was glaring into his eyes.

[Member]

Bengalbelly grunted. "Make it back to the forest? Never! You're dead, and you'll be that way forever. I can get used to you coming in my dreams every night if that's what you plan to do. Soon, you'll just be nothing." He narrowed his eyes and growled at him. He dug his claws in the dark ground.

[Naruto]

Heatherpaw laughed,and the atmosphere changed to that of the real forest. "When your a ghost,anything can happen."she meowed simply. She shrugged. "But I haven't seen any others like me."

[Member]

"You think just because you can change the background that'll make me instantly scared and afraid?" Bengalbelly lashed his tail and a breeze blew in. The yowls had died down, but the faint smell of blood still lingered.

[Naruto]

A growl of sheer fury escaped Heatherpaw's throat. "I don't expect it to scare the great Bengalbelly,"she spat bitterly,her tail twitchin. Rain pounded down on them,and the salty scent of blood filled the air. They were suddenly standing in front of Heatherpaw's body,her eyes staring at the sky aimlessly and blood trickling out of her mouth to form a small red river in the earth. Heatherpaw,the spirit,looked up,narrowing her eyes. The rain was red. "Blood rain,"she growled,shaking her head as the drops went right through her,making her form shimmer and sway.

[Member]

Bengalbelly growled in response. He flexed his muscled, about to slash at Heatherpaw, but stopped as the rain began to fall. The smell of blood began to fill the air, becoming overwhelming. It fell on him, changing the color of his fur. Instead of feeling sticky and hot he really was. He was becoming uncomfortable, the sticky blood seeping within his fur and touching his skin.

He shuddered and his pelt bristled. His fur was becoming matted with it all. Why was she doing this? The blood began to seep into his ears and in his nose. It started to cover his eyes. He tried to blink it away, but it didn't work, it just made it worse. All he could see was red, everything was tented in red.

Anger seethed through him and he slashed out at Heatherpaw, blood flying off his paws and arms as he did.

[Naruto]

Heaterpaw laughed as is paw went through her,the mist reforming to her body. "You think you can hurt a ghost?"her purr was silky,and the rain stopped,and they were back were she had first seen him. She lifted her claws,which were suddenly covered in blood,the red liquid dripping onto the ground. "Happy now?"

[Member]

Bengalbelly slashed at Heatherpaw again. He didn't care that he couldn't hurt her, he just wanted to slash in her again. It wasn't the same, though, it was just like slashing through air. Bengalbelly's ears twitched at heatherpaw's remark, no he wasn't happy. How could he be in a situation like this?

"Why are you doing this? You say you have to stay here, but why would you come and torment me like this?"

[Naruto]

Heatherpaw's voice dropped to a low growl. "Because I was tormented,"she hissed softly. "I never had a mother or father to teach me. And when Badgerpaw ran,I couldn't stop myself from going after him. I'd never had anyone want me before. Heh,"she puffed. "I could tell the Clan didn't want me there. That's why it was so easy to be rid of me."

[Sponsored content]