wc dump 2!

Muddedshine was trying to sleep; he had to get sleep. There wasn't much time left in the night, not after how delayed he was getting back home to his clan. That strange cat... he couldn't forget them. Wish. It was all he could think about! He repositioned himself, hoping to find more comfort, but alas. He could. not. sleep. He let out a huff and opened his eyes, suddenly realizing *why* he may not be able to sleep. There before him, was- a spirit? A ghastly white, long-furred cat, with bright blue eyes. He pranced to his paws, eyes on this mystical cat.

"Muddedshine," the feline greeted. The cat's voice was that of an angel; it was hauntingly harmonic. "You probably know why I am visiting, don't you? No? I'm the Spirit of Nixmas past. Your recent actions regarding being kind to others have not gone unnoticed." The feline padded over to the cat. She sat in front of him, rose a paw up, then reached forward and pressed her pad to his chest.

The scenery around them changed from the warrior den, all the way to..? Muddedshine looked around them, eyes wide. "Where are we?" He didn't recognize their surroundings, nor any voices he heard around him.

"You met a cat recently, their name Wish. Rather than telling them off for being within your clan's territory, you sat down with them, and spoke about your clan's holidays. You sat with them in the sunlight to bask whilst you spoke to them; you told them all about how your clan celebrates Nixmas." The feline purred; she clearly looked to be fond about what Muddedshine had done. "You did it despite knowing your leader would look upon you, perhaps even casting you out as a lone rogue. How prideful you must feel over your actions!"

"I'm sorry, but... where are we? Are you able to hear me?" He looked at her, head cocked slightly to the side. Ma'am? Hello? He squinted his eyes at her, ready to open his mouth again. As he did, the scene around them changed! Again? This time, rather than wherever they were, they were at the gathering their clan hosted with allied clans annually. "Why are we here?"

"Imagine if you had expressed such kindness to other cats sooner." She led Muddedshine over to his past, visibly younger, self. She looked down at the young cat, a frown now on her face. "You were alone before. I couldn't help but take notice of your actions! I had to ask, were you motivated by your previous loneliness? Is that what inspired you to invite the feline to sit, chat, and eventually attend a festive gathering together?"

Muddedshine's eyes widened at the sight. For a while, he was utterly silent. Out of everything... even if she had claimed her title to be the 'Spirit of Nixmas past', Muddedshine had not expected her to show this to him. He looked at himself, seeing visible sadness in his own eyes. He was alone, with no one to speak to. There was no one around, and he was left there, in the shadows.

"I- I don't- I.." He sputtered, perhaps feeling shame over knowing this is how he was in the past. It was depressing, to have to acknowledge his own lonesome self. "I- I guess..?"

The feline approved of his answer. The area around him and her faded to white, then, within an instant, they reappeared back in the warrior's den. "Nixmas is about getting together with loved ones and expressing kindness to strangers. No cat seemed to do that for you, but it astonishes me that you would do that for another! In a moment, the 'Spirit of Nixmas Present' shall visit you. Before I go, do you have any questions for me?"

Muddedshine stared at the feline, eyes wide. Another spirit? Not only one, but two spirits wanted to speak to him?! "Are you from Starclan?"

"I am from another clan, but we similar to Starclan. We're nothing more than the Spirits of Nixmas, from a Northen, mystical clan that represents Nixmas as a whole. And yes, the apprentices are correct - Santaclaus does exist," the feline meowed. She smiled at him, "is that all, dear?"

"Is this all a test?"

"No, we're just interested in what inspired you to act so generous with kindness to another cat!" And with that said, the ghostly white cat vanished. She faded away into the air; not even pawprints were left in her wake, as if she was never there even in the very beginning.

Muddedshine sat down where he was originally stood. A Northen, Nixmas clan was interested in why he would express kindness? Was he truly that pitiful? He closed his eyes and took in a heavy breath. No, they- this was a dream. Surely a dream! He opened his eyes, only to jump to his paws, once again, from surprise. He let out a cry, but was cut short by a paw being pressed to his face.

The feline that pressed a paw to his face was quite a small, seemingly younger cat. They seemed to be childish in nature, too. "Hey, wait! We haven't left the den, yet!" And quickly, before any of the other warriors stirred, the feline disappeared, then- reappeared? "Oops, almost forgot you. Let's go!" This time, with Muddedshine with her, she disappeared, but teleported him with her.

They appeared at the annual meeting place, again, but this time, the entire event seemed a lot more upbeat. At least, to Muddedshine, it did. The young cat led him over to himself, and sat nearby. There was no noise around them, but from visuals alone, Muddedshine could see how joyful and excited he looked. It made his heart warm to even imagine feeling such positive, upbeat emotion. "What's going on here?"

"When you asked that feline, Wish, to attend the meeting with you, you really set yourself up for success! I mean, look at you! You're here, having fun - quite the change away from what you experienced in the past, wouldn't you say?" She walked over and looked up at Muddedshine's not-so distance future's self. She smiled to herself as she walked back over to the present Muddedshine and sat next to him. "You changed both you and Wish's future. We have been following Wish along for quite some time now, truthfully, as we were worried about how he was going to be handling spending this Nixmas alone.. He didn't even know it existed! But now, he does know, and he has someone to spend it with. You're truly amazing for that! But I wanted to know, why? Why did you did it? Did you expect something in return, eventually, for inviting him to come along with you?"

"No? I just invited him to be nice. I felt pity for him, so I did what felt natural. I don't appreciate how much my business is being prodded. I mean no disrespect to you, cat of Nixclan, but I guess, I don't understand. Why would you and the other spirit be questioning me, when you are the all powerful?" He gazed at the opposing, juvenile feline, hoping to receive some sort of response that fell in line with everything else that had happened that night. He wouldn't be surprised if she dodged the question, ignored it, or went on about something else and forgot about it, though, honestly.

"Oh, how silly! We aren't 'all powerful'. We're just powerful!" She hummed as she watched the fragment of time continue to play. She jumped up to her paws and gazed back at his current state. "My favorite part is coming up! Look, look!" She cheered as she refaced Wish and Muddedshine's soon-to-be self.

Right before their eyes, Wish left the scene. Muddedshine was left to anticipate the moment Wish came back; it was clear he had a smile on his face, so he was excited to see him come back!

"It looks like Wish just ditc-" Muddedshine began to object the idea of this being an exciting moment, but the adolescent feline shushed him.

When Wish returned, he gave Muddedshine's soon-to-be self a gift. It was- a stick. The look on Muddedshine's not-too-distant-future's self was a mixture of surprise and shock.

"I got a stick? Why did I get a stick?" Muddedshine questioned the Nixmas spirit, not understanding what the stick was even for, nor what it was to represent. "Is he calling me childish?"

"No! It's a Nixmas gift. Isn't that sweet? Wish, a lonesome tom who had never celebrated Nixmas before, gave you a present. This makes me heart glow and my eyes shine to see! You have no idea how amazing it is. I'm sure you're excited to experience that moment when it happens, huh?" She smiled, once again, at Muddedshine, as she teleported them back to the warrior den. "Okay. When I leave, the Great Spirit of Nixmas Future will appear. I hope you heed what he has to say with open ears and a cautious mind - he's serious! Don't play around, and you want to have no hissy fits with him, trust me!"

Before Muddedshine could give even a small reply to what the juvenile cat had to say, she was gone. This time, he walked out of the den the warriors slept in. He gazed up at the night sky that was quickly turning dawn. Maybe not.. He felt a presence join him, to which gave him a distinct feeling of chills. Something about the presence he felt left his fur standing up. He faced the being that he felt watching him, his eyes widening as he did.

"Muddedshine," the silver furred, orange eyed, elderly tom spoke. There was a certain edge to his voice; it left Muddedshine feeling unsettled. "Let's keep this brisk. The path you were venturing down was a sad, pitiful, disappointing path for a cat to take. No cat should be subject to what you were subject to. But now, you're on the path to... hm, future happiness, warmth, and friendship?"

The elder blinked, and in an immediate flash, everything around them faded to a new setting. They were seemingly far into the future, underneath a large fir tree. The elderly sat down as he peered out from underneath the tree, at Muddedshine's future self.. playfully fighting with a kit. "That's you, Muddedshine. That's you, with one of your own kits. Not your birth kits, but you adopted them after a queen passed away from birth. You should feel proud - because of you, Wish truthfully became Twistedwish, and you and him both became fathers of three loving kits."

Muddedshine's jaw dropped open. "He's mine-?!" He spat with a startled tone of voice. "He becomes my...?!"

"Yes. This is what your future looks like, now that Wish is in your life. However.." The scenery around them, once again, shifted to show a different scene. "This is what your future looks like in the future, if you decide to avoid Wish instead of following through on your Nixmas plans."

Muddedshine looked around at his new surroundings. There wasn't much to look at, in terms of settings. There was a burnt patch of land, and that was.. That was it. "My home will be set ablaze? Is Wish going to do that?!" He demanded of the elderly tom.

The tom rose to his feet and spoke softly, "dearest Muddedshine, you have to have faith. Wish did not set your home on fire, but prevented it. Perhaps this is a message from Starclan, or perhaps not. Regardless, heed my warning - you will lose everything if you choose a selfish option. I advise you to choose wisely." The Great Spirit of Nixmas Future vanished, and so did his surroundings. Everything faded to black.

When Muddedshine opened his eyes for the final time, he woke up to another warrior nudging at his side. "C'mon, Muddedshine! You're going to be late to receive your assignment from the lead warrior!"

So... it was a dream? Dream or not, it was a sign; a sign that he needed to continue down the path he was actively padding down, or potentially risk severe consequences. He and Wish? He was determined to make sure that lonesome tom made it to that gathering, not exactly legally or not.