Double Dare You [Quest]

How did he always end up in these situations? It felt like he was the only one who would let himself be pressured into such stupid challenges.

That was all Tiger could thing about as he stared into the gaping maw of darkness before him. The light seemed to be swallowed by the throat of the old badger tunnel. As he stood there and stared at it, he could swear that it felt alive. Like there was something in there. Even though he knew that it was impossible.

"Come on, go already." His instigator, Blaze of Heavy Sunrise nagged him. It was Blaze's fault that he was even here now. "It's totally empty! Besides, we've all done it. I did when I was 8 moons old!"

"You did it when you were 10." Cold of Early Sunrise corrected.

"Whatever! Point is I did it, now you do it." Blaze gave Tiger a shove.

The light tabby tom stared a little more at the tunnel entrance. He was unsure of himself. He knew this tunnel system. Badgers had build it long before his time. Digging like ants below the surface. But the badgers were chased away or killed. Depending on the story. Still, the dark unknown made him anxious.

"Honestly Tiger, just go in, grab a rock and come back out." Cold tried to reason.

"No way!" Blaze snapped. "That's totally cheating. You go in as far as you can, and grab something!"

Cold rolled his eyes, but Tiger could see he somewhat agreed. There's no more time to linger. It's now or never.

Tiger stood there in front of the dark hole that looked like it was going to eat him alive at any moment, staring into it even longer. He angled his ears backwards as he took together all the braveness he had to let it out of his eye sight and instead look at his fellow To-Be's.

He tried very hard to not look as afraid as he felt at the moment and opened his mouth to talk himself out of this dumb idea immediately. Though then he thought about it. What if his parents had done the same thing as To-Be's? If Blaze and Cold told them that he had been too much of a coward to go in there they would be so disappointed.

The light tom looked back to the hole again for a second before looking up at the two cats again "So I ... just go in and grab something from deep in the cave? But how would you even know how deep I went? I mean ... stones all look the same, right?" He tried himself at a convincing cheeky smile at the end.

"Hey! Don't be smart with me, that's his job!" Blaze snapped, stabbing an accusing paw at Cold, who rolled his eyes. "We'll know when you went deep enough. That's where the really cool stuff is!"

"Also we'll be sitting here. Pretty sure we'll know." Cold's folded ears twitched. "Just saying."

Blaze's white tipped tail thrashed back and forth. "We've been over this already. You go in, go WAY in. You find something super cool, and you come back out. When I did this, I found a bone! That's how you know where the cool stuff is!"

"I just found a white rock." Cold shrugged.

"Yeah, because you're boring." Blaze huffed, and quickly stepped away to avoid a swipe from the tom.

"Tiger, listen. It's not that hard." Cold stood up, and walked up to the entrance, even going so far as to step inside like it was nothing. "It's like a small cave. It's not as bad as you think."

Tiger watched his white and grey body slip into the darkness, leaving his tail exposed. And he heard Cold's voice from within. "It's safe. You go in, you get something. Come back out. Just follow your own scent and the smell of fresh air out."

Blaze looked at the light tabby expectantly. The ginger tom seemed more impatient by the minute.

"A bone?!" he said in a half whisper to himself, still his voice was a little squeaky from fear. But they didn't mean like a cat bone right? Would he even be able to tell if something was or was not a cat bone if he saw one? What if he accidentally picked up the bone of a cat that died a miserable death in there? A shudder went down his body.

Tiger looked with horror as Cold just walked into the dark all consuming hole as if it was nothing. He stood there. Undecided. Feeling the eyes of Blaze boring into him.

He could go inside right now, Cold would be there. At least in the entrance. So he wouldn't have to take his first step into the darkness alone if he hurried.

"Alright, alright. I'm going in." he said "No big deal at all."

The last part was more the reassure himself then anything else.

With his tail fur standing on end, he carefully made his way into the cave beside Cold, the world growing dark around him while his eyes still hadn't adjusted to the darkness.

He was hit with a cool sensation as he entered the shade. Tiger saw that it did stretch a few tail lengths before him before twisting away to somewhere unknown. Cold stood there with him, watching the tunnel with mild interest. He gave Tiger a small nod as he entered. 

Before he could take another pawstep forward, Cold leaned into him, his voice a whisper.

"Take the first right you find. The other paths will just get you lost." He mewed softly, glancing over his shoulder towards Blaze who seemed to be pacing back and forth. "And whatever you do, whatever you..." he cleared his throat, "Just don't look behind you. Always look forward. Especially coming out."

His fellow Claw Guard gave him a very hard stare, with information hidden behind his eyes. And without another word, he backed out, into the light.

Behind Tiger, he heard Blaze taunting him. "Tell Old Fang we said hi!"

"Why would you say that?" Cold asked.

"It's funny!"

"It's not."

"You're boring-OW! OW GET OFF!"

Tiger was now alone in the tunnel. Cold's words just sinking in. He stepped forward and into the darkness, and it took some time for his eyes to adjust. The ground beneath him was hard packed earth. He felt the grooves of pad prints. Several had come here before him. Roots poked out from the walls and the ceiling. It stretched like a great snake down down down and then, takes a left.

Cold and Blaze were not helping him at all, even if he appreciated Colds advice. The To-Be's whole body was shaking now while he just stood there for a while, watching the path that would take him further down into the cave.

First of all, who was Fang? They couldn't mean Fang of Striking Snake surely, though he was not someone he wanted to meet in a dark tunnel where no one could hear him either. It must be some kind of ghost. Cold had said to never look behind him, which normal cat would be held back from what they are doing just because you don't look at them? No one, that's the answer.

But Tiger knew he couldn't go back now so he gulped down his fear and moved forward, his fur always in contact with the right side of the tunnel walls. At the left turn he waited again a little, searching the right wall with his paws for anything that could indicate that there might be another way. He didn't found anything though, so he kept cautiously moving forward.

He started to pick up a stale scent as he went along. Cat mostly. Bugs. Nothing fresh. It seemed it had been a while since a To-Be came in here. As he continued, he felt his paw brushing against twisted roots of what must have been shrubbery above him. The tunnel never narrowed. It felt the same size the whole way through.

Eventually he reached a dilemma. There was an immediate path to the left that looked to be the remains of an old den. There was the path forward. And then there was a second path that seemed to branch out from there. Which path was the right one? The farthest one? The one that isn't left? Tiger couldn't be lost already, could he?

Tiger looked from the first, to the second, to the third tunnel and back. Which one to take?

He could take the left one, but it looked like a den and a den didn't lead farther into the tunnel. On instinct he wanted to look back into the direction of the exit, where he came from, but before he had looked all the way around he snapped his head back forward immediately.

'Whatever you do don't look behind you. Always look forward.'

Would they know if he got into the den, got something from in there and waited a while before coming out? On the other paw, did he wanted to sit in silence in a dark creepy tunnel? Definitely not, he'd rather move. So there were only two more options left.

He looked between the two and in the end decided to take the one that was the farthest to the right, the second branching path. He just hoped Cold had said the truth.

It did a weird twist and Tiger had to turn just to get into it. He found no problem in navigation this way. As he continued on, he realized that this path was much wider than the path he'd been down before. Many creatures must have come through here. As he looked around, he could see claw marks of badgers. They must have worked hard to make this tunnel. For a moment he felt almost bad for them. He was sure the tribe chased them out after all the time they had spent making this. But then he remembers they were badgers. And badgers had no qualms with killing a cat like himself. Now matter how much he would compliment them.

As he moved forwards he watched as the path opened up into a small chamber. Tree roots strengthened the structure around him, preventing a possible collapse. Where in the forest was he? These roots seemed old and large. The To-Be looked around and there seemed to be many potential paths. Some looked to be dens. Others seemed to be tunnels.

Tiger took a bit of time to look around the tunnels crafted by the badgers. He stared up at the strong roots with big impressed eyes. Badgers always seemed mean, brainless and aggressive in the elders stories. Claw Guards also didn't had any other stories to tell about them. But the thinking that must have been behind these tunnels looked way too impressive to be from a brainless creature.

The young tom tried to shake off the wonder for a second and looked at the new tunnels around him. In all his admiring of the den he had nearly forgotten that this tunnels were actually really creepy and had ghosts in them. Maybe he should focus a little more.

Should he go farther? Into another den, another tunnel even? Or would they just bring him right back where he came from, nearer again to the exit. In the end, this den looked pretty much like the center of all of this. But could there be more? An even bigger and more impressive den?

The tom looked around himself on the ground now. Was there even something worth bringing back to Blaze and Cold in here? Was there maybe even another option?

He looked around more. Walking around the chamber in a circle. Looking at the potential paths around him. Most of them seemed to be dens. And some tunnels that were collapsed. He kept walking, kept peering in. Nothing caught his eye just yet. As he finished his look around, he decided that there were two tunnels that were of an interest to him. One that had rotting leaves lining the floor. The other seemed to have a wide opening. And it would probably be easier to move through. Or should he just try to find something in the main cave he was standing in?

Tiger couldn't take the wide path, it looked too much like an exit. What would they say if he came back without anything? What would the other To-Be's say. No. He couldn't.

Though the path with the rotten leaves also seemed very weird to him. Leaves this far down the tunnels? Could they really get so far? Maybe it was another exit. Or the secret home of an evil ghost just waiting to eat him alive.

The uneasy feeling came back to him so he decided to search in this chamber for a trophy first. It was far enough in the tunnels and if he told them about this chamber they would surely recognize it if they had been in here too. While searching he always risked some more glances to the tunnel with the rotten leaves, he just wanted to be sure there were no glowing eyes watching him

I was almost like fate as he sniffed around and found something very intriguing! Close to where the wide tunnel was, he found something smooth and light in color. It was rather small. Maybe some sort of rock? Or ... no ... his nose picked up on it before his mind could. It was ... a tooth.

When he first saw the tooth he jumped back with a shriek, assuming the worst and that he had found a part of a dead cats body. But when he looked closer he could see that it didn't looked like any cat tooth he had seen so far ... at least he believed so. It looked like a  badger tooth. A very old one.  Lingering near the wide tunnel.

This must be something special. A tooth was nearly a bone after all. Better then a rock at any time. Though it looked very old, would he be able to bring it back before he broke it somehow?
There was only one way to find it out.

Tiger carefully picked up the tooth, trying to not use too much pressure with his jaws, before he looked up again. Huh, it hadn't been so bad far after all.

With a trophy in paw, he could certainly go back to the others with a prize even Blaze would be jealous of. The tooth of a badger. A fang ... oh.

As he looked at the wide tunnel before him, he noticed the claw marks. The larger sets of pad prints. This was a big den. For a big badger. Maye even a badger leader! Did badgers have leaders? Was this what Blaze meant? Old Fang? Was there a badger inside that tunnel? The ghost of a badger? What would that be like? If the other To-Be's spoke of this ... what was down there?

Tiger stared into the wide tunnel opening in front of him, just waiting for a big badger to jump at him from the dark. The thought alone let terror sink into his whole body. He should go back, now. He had it, he was finished, he could go.

About to turn around to leave he noticed something. Go forward into the terrifying den, or look backwards to see were the tunnel was he had gone through.

'Don't look back'

All of a sudden it felt like a thousand eyes were watching him. All of a sudden he felt like something must be standing behind him at this very moment. He felt a prickle through his spine He should just move forward. He really should.

But not knowing what was behind him, if something was behind him. It made him more terrified then anything else. If he could see it, he would know what he was dealing with. Right now, it was only his own nightmare stories of what might be there he had spun in his head.

He took a deep breath and looked behind him.

Tiger let out a high pitched whine as his head turned to look over his shoulder. He didn't know what to expect. A badger. A ghost. Blaze. So many things could have been behind him. But as he turned to looks back the way he came. He just saw ... the tunnels. And the tunnel he came from.

Huh.

There was nothing there. He was expecting far worse with Cold's warning. Or ... had that just been an attempt to scare him? Was he really expecting anything different? Badgers didn't became ghosts. Stupid. He sighed. Nothing there, just his safe way back towards his fellow To-Be's and the praise he would get! This went better then he ever thought it would and all the pressure seemd to lift off of his shoulders. He could now even say how brave he had been when he had looked back after all!

His tail proudly up in the air, Tiger wanted to take his first step back into freedom.

And then he heard it from behind him. The voice. Almost directly into his ear.

"That's mine."

His whole body froze on the spot, his fur bristling. For which he could claw himself because if you hear a voice right beside your ear you should run and not stand still like an idiot.

But he couldn't bring himself to move. His body felt too tense to do so.

The tooth still in his mouth, he couldn't say anything. Could ... could badgers even speak? Or was there maybe something else behind him right now?

Tiger couldn't move. He just felt a sense of dread. Maybe embarrassment. Like a kit caught doing something they shouldn't. He didn't dare to turn around to look behind himself. He didn't wanted to know what he would see. And he had already broken one rule Cold had given him. He couldn't break it again. He had to so something. Move. Do anything.

But he heard the voice again. Like there was someone right beside him now.

"That's mine. I found it."

Tiger kept staring in front of him, which even was the tunnel he had come in from ... was it the one just next to the root, maybe the one with the claw marks, or maybe the one directly in the middle of two roots? He couldn't concentrate, it felt like all the information of where he had come in had just blacked out and his paws still felt as heavy as a big rock.

Should he look? In theory now whatever was beside him was not behind him anymore. Did that make any difference? Maybe he had triggered whatever was next to him already with the first turn of his head and he wasn't able to fix it anymore.

Wait what had they said ... they found it? It wasn't their fallen out tooth? Maybe it really was not a badger after all. Or if it was, maybe it would finally get his legs to get a move on.

He tried to make out who was next to him out of the corner of his eye, still not ready to completely face the stranger. Tiger had never seen a badger before, but he was sure he would recognize one if it would stand right beside him. Though, he couldn't see anything.

"I found it. Put it back. It's mine."

The voice warped and distorted. He couldn't pin it down. It sounded like no badger he'd ever heard of. He couldn't place it. And he didn't knew why a badger would claim they'd 'found' their own tooth. He didn't liked the different implications that brought to him. The different possibilities were more and more upsetting the more he dwelled on them. The voice didn't spoke up again. But it felt as though someone or something was here with the To-Be. Waiting. For something.

That voice. Did evil ghosts sound like that? Either way he knew it would follow him into his dreams this night, that was for sure.

Tiger slowly put the tooth down in front of him, still keeping a paw of his on it. He looked at it for a while, if he left the tooth everyone would think he was a coward. He could already see the looks his parents and some of the other Claw Guards would throw at him.

This was probably the most stupid idea he had today, but he decided to politely ask if he could keep it.
"I'm sorry, I never intended to steal anything from you. But ... could I maybe keep this tooth? My-" friends? Where they friends? "-tribe mates want me to bring something back up. Something special. I don't want to disappoint them."

Meanwhile his thoughts ran in circles of 'Please be a nice ghost. Please be a nice ghost. Please be a-"

There was a silence for a long time. A deafening silence. The light tabby kept his eyes forward. Not daring to look behind himself. Not daring to make that mistake again. He'd already upset this ghost enough as is. If it even was a ghost.

There was more silence. And he found himself wondering if he maybe imagined the whole thing. When he heard ... further from him this time.

"In the leaves. Take that. Leave my prize."

Tiger bowed his head a little. He didn't dare to look at the voice while doing so "Thank you" he said in a voice you could just hear his gratefulness towards this request.

He picks up the tooth and lies it back at the place where it had been before. Keeping his eyes to the ground the whole way. Wherever this ghost was, he apparently didn't liked to be looked at, so he tried to avoid it.

The tom then made his way over to the leaves, waiting for a second if the ghost would change his mind. When he didn't hear anything, he began looking through the leaves.

He searched the leaves, trying not to look up. Looking for what could be in there. As he pushed the leaves around, his paw touched something narrow and smooth. And he found himself digging out a black, paw sized object. Pointed at the tip. It looked like a claw at first glance. But no. It wasn't a claw. It was a talon. From a bird. Perhaps a hawk or an owl. Not a tooth, but just as interesting. A fang in exchange for a talon. A fair trade. He almost felt bad for not looking into the leaves first. To upset the ghost here by stealing their treasure.

He picked up the talon. It was light in his jaws. Easier to carry than an old tooth. As he turned to leave, he heard one last time.

"Thank you."

Tiger smiled a little at that. That was the least thing he had suspected the ghost to say, but it brought a warm feeling to his chest.

With the talon still in his mouth, his eyes towards the tunnel that would bring him back on the surface, he tried to say through his mouthful "It was nice meeting you." 'Even if it was rather creepy at first' he added in his mind.

Then he started to make his way out of the stunning den, back the way he came from. Back to the main path he had come through. He felt the air get lighter. Less oppressive. His steps grow lighter as well, more confident. He felt better. He did what he set out to do.

He didn't looked back as he left the tunnel. Ans as the light of day came to greet him like an old friend, he heard the voiced of cats outside.

"I don't care that every cat has done it, those tunnels are dangerous." An adult voice. Recognizable.

"You can't say that if you did it too." Blaze's voice, still arrogant as always.

"There he is." Cold was the first cat he saw as he exited the tunnel. The tom looked pleased to see him unharmed and with a prize.

Blaze whipped around to see Tiger. "What'd you get!?"

It was the third cat that truly commanded his attention. He recognized the scarred ginger tower that was Salmon. The Speaker of the Claw Guards. The old tom looked at him, and his shoulders sagged in relief.

"Whoa!!!" Blaze pounced towards Tiger. "You found a big black tooth!"

"That's a talon, fleabrain." Cold grumbled. "Looks like ... a hawk talon."

"Oh shut up, you can't tell what bird it's from." Blaze groaned so loud he felt the trees will rattle.

Salmon That Leaps From River watched the light tabby curiously, looking at the talon in his yaws. He didn't say anything as Blaze and Cold bickered to themselves. After a while he saw Salmon sight and nudge the bickering To-Be's aside.

"If you're legs are working, let's go home. You shouldn't have been out here on your own regardless." Salmon cuffed Blaze behind the ears.

With his prize in his jaws Tiger followed Salmon and the others back to camp. Blaze asking a whirlwind of questions and Cold seemingly indifferent. As Salmon picked up the pace and Blaze rushed after him, Cold kept pace with the younger To-Be. And in a moment of silence he chuckled.

"You looked back."