veil of the night [c]

In the aftermath of another warrior ceremony, Zinnia observed the frame of their newest warrior - Nightwind. She hadn't had time to form much of an opinion on him yet, but something about his name was sticking in her mind. Night wind. Night... Night, she realized, recalling the last words from Theron.

The Nightstriker certainly wasn't easily forgotten, but it seemed that her last message had slipped her mind until now, when things had finally started to settle. She stood, seeking the cats she thought needed to hear the message in question before any other. "Lilacstar? Softbreeze? I need to speak with you."

(They were more than her leader and her medicine cat, after all. They were her daughter and her friend.)

To say Lilacstar was stressed was a bit more than an understatement. In the wake of Asylum, she had been desperately trying to piece everything together. It seemed that WindClan was hanging on by a mere thread, one that could snap and they would all fall apart. And on top of that, one of the missing kits were still MIA, as was Olivestar. If she was being honest, when she first took up the mantle of leader, she had thought it would be temporary. That Olivestar would come back and everything would be as it was. Olivestar would fix everything, she knew she would. But she never came back. And she knew now that she never would.

A familiar voice broke her from her thoughts, and she looked up to see her mother. Zinnia had called for both her and Softbreeze. So it was safe to assume that they would be speaking of something important, as is typical with leaders. She was honestly growing worn down by it all, being looked up to as if she had all the answers. When was the last time she spoke to someone, simply as a friend? Even with Amberfluff, stars bless her soul, she felt like some divine being that needed to be cared for and respected. And that wasn't what she wanted.

Still, she stood, with a tired nod to Zinnia, signaling her to lead the way. It was clear this "talk" would need to be in private.