Unfortunately for him, Lyre was haunted by yet another dream. This one was shorter and nothing out of the ordinary- just a stereotypical bad dream of all his family members huddled together, calling for him and beckoning him forwards. Each step he took, the farther away they went, and Velvet and Splinter had rge bck streaks across their faces, covering their eyes. Those two were the only ones who weren’t getting out of his reach; rather, they were becoming more and more transparent. Only Prairie and the white tom were getting out of reach as the faint, blurry light of a red and orange fire was slowly becoming visible.

  After that dream ended with the fire engulfing the two as Velvet and Splinter completely vanished, Lyre began to wonder if his mind was making fun of him for not doing better to prevent these things from happening.

  He woke up in pitch darkness, and for a quick second he got scared until he remembered where he was. I still hadn't found a way to get out of here. He realized with a slight frown. Or where that stupid pup went… His mind added resentfully.

  He slowly rose from the hard ground, giving his aching muscles a good stretch before seating himself and taking a good look around. The mist glowed silver with moonlight, but it was hardly visible through the dark shadows of practically invisible smoke from the distance. The smell made his stomach lurch and his gut clench, reminding him that the small was from the aftermath of the wildfire that killed his parents. He was more uneasy about it than anything, likely because of how…off it seemed to just appear out of nowhere like that.

  It’s summer. He remembered the voice telling him. Of course. It all makes sense- grassnds are really just a giant ticking time bomb during summertime. He told himself. Whatever the case…I need to get moving to that new home now, pup or no pup. He lifted his chin and faced away from where the wind was carrying the burnt smell.

  That’s the spirit. You can do this. Now all you have to do…is go South.

  Yeah, and join everything else that has happened to me ever since I left my home. Lyre thought, rolling his eyes.

  Hirious.

  Lyre continued wandering the stone area, regretfully listening to the strange voice in his head as it told him to randomly make a sharp turn South after heading Northwest.

  At st he was finally able to leave the eerie pce, which was as empty as his stomach. The cracks in the ground increased before finally showing a dirt ground once again. There were small, scattered olive green bdes of grass that felt uncomfortable and itchy beneath his paws. Of course, even though there were tiny yellow glowing orbs floating around as well, the sparsely tree-poputed poor excuse for a forest was still dark. The unsettling thing about this “forest” was how there were small, pointy stones lining the bottom of every single tree.

  Now be careful. I don’t want to remind you of common sense and basic survival skills again. The voice warned as Lyre stepped further into the forest.

  He ignored the voice as he sniffed the air. A cat smell and something else. Great. He trotted after the scent.

  The scent led to a long line of dense ferns that had rge, splintered logs pced vertically from the center to create some kind of bar. Lyre couldn’t help but shudder as he walked along the edges of the strange contraption until he found a huge dirt hole that was way too big to fit a cat. He gave it a cautious sniff, and his mouth watered at the overbearing smell of freshly-caught prey.

  He could’ve sworn he heard an audible sigh come from somewhere as he entered the hole and picked out a hare. It was unnecessarily huge and difficult to grab for only a moment, but he eventually pulled it out from the pile and began eating it. He managed to just eat half of it though, and dragged it to the side.

  I don’t understand how that gray and silver cat looked starved when there’s a huge feast right here. Lyre thought as he licked the blood from his muzzle.

  He got up and headed out of the den to sniff the air again. The cat scent was stronger now. He turned left until he was met with the ferns and splintered wooden logs again, and he continued walking along the side.

  Finally Lyre reached an area where there were no more ferns or splintered wood; instead, there was a rge, ft stoney surface that marked the entrance to whatever this pce was. As he stepped onto the familiarly cold rock, horrible memories surged through him of being in that creepy pce with the shrouds of mist; especially with how dark it was inside.

  Within the wall of ferns, there was a huge stone clearing. The stone itself was the only thing that allowed him to even see as they shone from the reflected moonlight. He even began to notice that the wall of ferns surrounded the rge clearing in a rge square, which made him both wary and relieved.

  Another thing he took note of in his observation was that the ground wasn't the only thing that had a stone surface; there was a stone bush that sat in front of the fern wall, as well as a big stone structure in the shape of a cat, in the center of the clearing. The cat structure looked as if it was staring directly into his eyes, which he shivered at the thought of. There was a circle of water that surrounded the structure, and was quite wide. He couldn’t jump across it to touch the statue, even if he wanted to.

  As he looked around more, he spotted a curtain of ferns. Past it was a huge dark tunnel, which he suspected where he found the pile of prey. But if it was freshly caught, plus the cat scent that was only stronger this time, then that means whichever cat he smelled was close by.

  “Intruder!”

  Lyre slowly turned towards the sound of the voice. It came from a calico, who gred at him with tawny colored eyes. Two more cats emerged; one from a hole in the ground that was in front of a stone bush, which was way behind the statue and against another wall of ferns, and one from a hole on the right side of the pnt wall, which was about a couple tail-lengths away from the ferns.

  He looked at the bristling Calico with an eternal somberness in his eyes. He felt tired, even though he just slept. In fact, he felt like ying somewhere all day, where he’d at least be alone. But the longer he stayed here, the more he regretted coming here in the first pce- it felt just as creepy as a certain area he definitely almost got lost in.

  The first cat who stepped out from the hole in front of the stone bush was a scrawny bck cat with medium, white brindled fur and had brown paws, muzzle, and ear-tips. Its dark pink nose sniffed the air as it eyed Lyre with dark brown eyes.

  The other cat had shorter, white fur, simirly to the calico, but except its tail was extremely short- so much so that in the darkness it seemed as if it didn’t have one. But once it had stepped completely out of its nest, its tail was more visible.

  Its tail was a small stump, and other than the cat’s completely white coat, there were bck and orange spots on its lower hind legs and rump. There was also an orange spot above its left paw wrist. The right side of its face had a bck patch of fur, and the left side had an orange patch of fur; both of its ears were bck.

  On the cat’s neck was a strange, smooth-looking stone blue thing with a small, spherical object hanging by some invisible material. At least, it looked invisible. The spherical object itself had a bck, solid ring around it, and had a tiny bck dot in the center.

  Lyre couldn’t help but stare at the two strange objects. He’s never seen them before. It wasn't until the Calico cat leapt in front of him that he snapped out of his bnk stare.

  “Leave, fiend.” He growled.

  A male Calico. I knew there was something wrong about this pce. Both Lyre’s gut and the voice spoke at the same time.

  The stump-tailed cat’s ears perked up suddenly as she narrowed her dark teal eyes at Lyre.

  He turned away his head uncomfortably, then shifted his gaze towards the Calico. “I don’t mean any harm,” he meowed pitifully. “I just want somewhere to lie down.”

  The cat lifted his head. “Then go home. You’re not welcome here.”

  Lyre crouched low; not in submission, but under the pressure of incense memories. Bright red and orange glowing flickers fshed in his mind. A reddish-brown silhouette appeared and wobbled distortedly as blood red and beige streaks fshed next to it. Then a very clear and visible hind leg ying on a dirt clearing in a thick forest.

  Lyre shut his eyes as tears quickly formed and already began falling. He bit his lip before his pain and hurt escaped vocally. The images vanished, and soon after, Splinter appeared, her medium-length beige fur, red-orange and cobalt blue eyes shining even in the darkness that surrounded her.

  He slowly opened his eyes to wipe away tears.

  “Oh…the poor cat’s crying because he lost his home.” The bck cat murmured sympathetically.

  “We all did.” The Calico’s facial expression softened a little. “But we don’t know if we can trust him. He literally just stole our food.”

  That’s greediness if I’ve ever seen it. There’s no way three cats would need that much prey. Lyre heard a scoff this time. The gray and silver cat needs that food more than they do.

  As much as Lyre wanted the voice to shut up, it was unfortunately right. He felt bad for that cat, although if she really did head this direction, then either she immediately turned a different way, or found the sudden scent of a lot of freshly killed prey in one spot suspicious.

  “State your real purpose- other than just ‘wanting somewhere to lie down’- or get lost.” The Calico still sounded hostile, but he wasn't as aggressive about it.

  The Bobtail gnced down at the pendant hanging from the stone blue thing around her neck.

  Lyre looked at it again, hesitating.

  As if she felt him staring again, the Bobtail said, “I’m wearing what's called The Stone Colr, and although you probably can’t see it well, there’s a bck…something…around this quartz here.” She reached for the clear, sparkly pinkish-gray rock, then turned it to the side a bit to reveal that the bck material was holding the stone in some kind of socket.

  “The…Stone Colr?” Lyre truly didn’t care that much, but he needed at least something to take his mind off. And this was the only intriguing thing he could think of.

  She gave a nod so short Lyre wondered if she even nodded at all. “A few years ago…this forest was home to The Petrifier. The Petrifier was a cruel cat who’d turn random things to stone because he felt like it. Nobody knew where he got this strange power from. Some say it was the colr- some say he created The Stone Colr using an ordinary colr, some bck rock, and his own power. Then he put on the colr, which contained his power. Whatever the case,” she lifted her head and pointed around with her paw, “I’m sure you can see the aftermath of what he did. Now what happened to him, however, is still a mystery. Some rumors cim that he turned himself into a statue- hence that random statue here- or relocated to wreak havoc elsewhere.”

  Lyre just blinked, unsure of how to process the information. I think I’d have better time to think about this crazy tale ter, when my mind isn’t already busy. He thought.

  Shouldn't have asked then. The voice argued.

  At that moment, the Bobtail gave Lyre a look. “...can I speak with you privately?” She asked.

  “Yeah, and get killed immediately after. Go ahead!” The Calico’s sarcastic remark did nothing to deter the Bobtail. She slowly padded over to the other side of the clearing, next to the curtain covering the rge hole.

  Even though Lyre didn’t want to follow her, his paws ended up moving for him as he got up and dragged himself after her, using the sound of her not-so-quiet steps to know where she was as he hung his head low.

  The two were standing in front of each other now. A strange tension slowly filled the air as Lyre followed the Bobtail’s gaze as she scanned him. He shifted uncomfortably before sitting with his tail resting over his paws. His ears pointed outwards as they slightly fttened to the side of his head, his pupils narrowing to an almond shape.

  “I hear something.” The Bobtail whispered.

  “Um, I think that’s not a good way to introduce yourself.” Lyre muttered. Not like it would help with anything. These cats are very unlikely to let me stay for any longer.

  “The name’s Quartz.” Quartz meowed. “I had a brother named Whirlwind, but he ran away the minute we became adults.”

  Okay…? And my name’s Lyre, and I had a sister who was mauled by a wolf, and a brother who only wanted me as company as he looked for his missing father. He felt a pang of irritation, but he forced it down. “Lyre.” He said gingerly. Unlike this cat, I know how to keep out personal details.

  “I couldn’t help but notice that as soon as our Leader spoke to you, there was something that spoke. Something faint. I originally thought my mind was pying tricks on me, but as soon as he talked about you taking our food, that strange sense came again.” She took a pawstep closer and stared deep into his eyes, as if expecting something to jump out at her. “Tell me. What's happening?”

  Lyre reached out a paw and smacked her face, forcing it downwards. “Don’t worry about something that’s none of your business.” He said harshly. “I just said I need somewhere to lie down, and if that means I’m up for confrontation to you, then…” He ran out of words. Come on Lyre, think! You’re able to speak perfectly fine every other time.

  He sighed as he removed his paw. “I’m not in the mood to converse with any of you. Just please…let me rest.” He rose from his haunches and padded back towards the Calico. He met his gaze with a wrinkled nose.

  “What?” His fur was spiking a bit.

  “...can I stay the night? I’ll leave as soon as I wake.” Lyre spoke as if he hadn't slept in days, though that might just be his low energy.

  The tom shook his head defiantly. “Quartz will escort you out at dawn.” Then he added with a hostile look in his eyes, “and never return. Or else your body will be the next unmoving thing in this Stone Forest.”

  Ha! Lyre heard the voice in his head ugh.

  Not now! He heard quickened pawsteps approach from behind, and he flicked his tail to feel his long fur brush against someone’s nose. He was about to crane his neck when Quartz appeared from his peripheral, crouching as if she was stalking prey. But her fast movements said otherwise.

  “Sir, may I also escort him out of this forest?” She asked, making firm eye contact with the Calico.

  “Oh sure, and next thing you'll ask is if you can follow him around.” He sniffed.

  Uh oh. Better warn her that you have a wolf pup that you’re not afraid to use as a weapon. Then everyone here would be scared of you. Oh, that gives me an idea-

  “Shut up already!” Lyre accidentally said aloud, shing his tail and spitting. He caught curious gazes from the white brindled bck cat and Quartz, then a gre from the Calico, whose tawny eyes slowly began growing a hostile look.

  “Oh, I see. Well if you’re going to disrespect me like this, then you’re definitely not staying here.” He lifted his left paw into the air and stabbed it as he unsheathed his cws.

  Quartz immediately stood up and stood next to the Calico, resting a paw on his raised arm. “Remember how sad you were when you lost your home? That’s likely what this cat’s going through. Of course he’s going to be sensitive for a long while.”

  The Calico just snorted, lowering his paw- probably because his arm was getting tired, Lyre assumed.

  Look at this peacemaker over here. She’s not going to be a problem at all.

  Quartz blinked at Lyre, who cringed.

  “I’m sorry about my outburst.” He said. “I can’t guarantee that I won’t do it again, but I tend to be irritable when I’m tired. They know I’m lying. He noticed when the Calico scoffed and Quartz shook her head.

  “Just follow me. I’ll show you a great pce to sleep.” Quartz removed her paw and took a step towards Lyre.

  “No thanks. I’ll just sleep in that corner over there.” He looked around and saw a rge bush in the corner that was in the corner where the back wall of ferns and the right wall of ferns met.

  His body did its best to force him to stop and colpse every step he took, but he kept moving forwards. This will all end once I leave, he reminded himself as he tried speeding into a trot, only to fail as he misstepped and stumbled to regain his bance.

  Once he finally reached the bush, he stopped for a quick moment. It looked identical to the bush on that same early dawn. The morning Lyre refused to forget. He didn’t want to sleep here, but he had no other choice. Taking a deep breath, he crouched down and crawled into the dense leaves, breaking the fragile branches that were too thin to stab him.

  He then slowly turned around and id down, his legs stretching out from behind him as he rested his muzzle on his front paws. He slowly closed his eyes, hoping whatever dreams he had would just be normal for once.