raindrops while leaves drop [c]

Daystar enjoyed the rain.

She enjoyed being still and lifting her ears to listen to the rhythmic thumping on the moorland as the droplets descended from the clouds and touched the grassy ground. The lack of trees on WindClan's territory made it practically impossible for her to fully experience the wonder of watching the leaves turn from green to gold, but Leaf-fall rain was the next best thing. Instead of seeking shelter, the she-cat found herself padding out of camp once the familiar scent hit her nose and the first tiny drop splashed on her nose. Her paws moved by themselves as the rain began to pick up from a couple of stray droplets to a decent shower, and she eventually found herself stranded in the middle of the moorland.

She closed her eyes and tilted her head back so that it faced the sky and let out a sigh as the raindrops dappled her face. In that moment, her senses worked together to bring her peace, and the leader constantly longed for moments like these. It was difficult to find complete peace nowadays. As the evening sky cried, Daystar found comfort in its tears as if it was a friendly embrace from a friend that she had known all her life. The only downside was that the rain wasn't someone that she could talk to.

The rain had finally blown in. Finally. Ashfall had happily anticipated the first real rains of leaf-fall, bringing with it the cooler temperatures that she had so dearly wished for in green-leaf. It was a welcome respite from... literally everything that had occurred recently. She still hadn't quite come to terms with her family's untimely demise, but she was getting there. The molly knew that they would want her to enjoy life again, and she would soon. Maybe this was a good first step.

Limping her way out of camp, Ashfall was able to trot quietly across the moor, accepting the rain pattering on her back as a simple fact, rather than annoyance. It had felt nice on her strange numb paw anyway. The grasses seemed to part for her as she went, letting her enjoy an ease of movement that she hadn't experienced in a few moons. After a while of this, the scarred warrior found herself on the topic of a small hill, allowing her to see a fair bit of the moor. It was with that, that she spotted the last cat she expected. "Daystar?" She whispered, under her breath. Ashfall was taken aback briefly, freezing in place. Her ears warmed up unexpectedly, snapping the molly from her stupor. With a slight grimace at her own... weirdness, she quickly made her way down the hill and approached Daystar. It would be weird to just stare at her from afar anyway.

Taking large steps, to ensure her presence was known before she scared the living daylights out of her leader, Ashfall spoke quietly. "Hey there. I would guess you like the rain?" Flicking water from her ear, she awkwardly settled next to Daystar, slightly uncomfortable at the thought of disturbing her alone time. "Uh, hopefully, I haven't interrupted your alone time? I can go if you want me to." Paw's shuffling, the molly had settled herself so she could see Daystar, her blind eye facing the rest of the moor. She had hoped that this wasn't a mistake, if she was embarrassed by simple approaching Daystar, seeing her reactions would simply kill her.

Daystar was surprised that she didn't physically flinch once another familiar voice interrupted her thinking. Had it been anyone else, she probably would've made a sloppy attempt to cover up her daydreaming, but she felt oddly safe in Ashfall's presence. She didn't feel like she had to put up a barricade or an act. It was refreshing, honestly. She quietly glanced over at the she-cat and let a calm smile cross her features.

"I do. I like the sounds that it makes... it's comforting." She purred, looking up at the sky once again as the rain hit her face.
"You don't have to go. It's a nice change of pace since I usually come out here alone, and I appreciate the company. We haven't gotten the chance to speak alone in a while. How have things been holding up for you?" She spoke quietly as she continued to face the sky.

It was an odd question to ask considering the fact that almost everyone in WindClan was going through something. It differed from cat to cat, but Daystar cared about each of their problems. Most importantly, she cared about Ashfall. This wouldn't be the first time that the two of them had discussed their lives, and she wanted to make sure that the warrior beside her was at least somewhat alright.

Ashfall's ears flattened slightly as she sat beside her leader, blinking rain from her eye. How was she doing? That was... a bit of a silly question. "I'm-" Fine, alright, okay, unaffected by the deaths of my family, not worried about Dawnhawk prowling our borders. "I may not be as alright as I would like to say. I will be alright in the end though, I always am." Falling into a comfortable silence, the scarred molly listened to the sound of the rain pattering against the grasses. It was peaceful, here with Daystar, though her presence was rarely anything but. After a few moments more, she broke the silence she had created.

"You'd never guess who I saw on Windclan territory the other morning. My father. I had to end up telling him to stay off our territory or else I would go after him, he didn't like that much. I just... worry. He is too skilled to be prowling Windclan territory whenever his whims tell him to. I didn't come out here to talk to you about this though, I just thought you should know. Maybe I could lead a patrol to try and take him back to Skyclan... could earn some goodwill out of them." A heavy sigh came from her nose, and Ashfall's claws poked into the soft earth beneath. She was tired of worrying about her father hurting someone else. He had killed too many cats to be considered anything but a ruthless murderer.

Her eye flicked over to Daystar, watching her for a moment before becoming embarrassed once again and turning her gaze to her paws. "How's leadership been? I know that it must have been a lot, with Lilacstar suddenly stepping down and all. Are you doing alright? It's a tough job you got thrust into your paws." There were many things that Ashfall wanted to say, but some, she considered, could be overstepping her bounds as a friend. She was just a friend, nothing more. It couldn't ever really be anything more.

It was as if the entire atmosphere shifted once Ashfall mentioned her father. Daystar immediately glanced over at the she-cat with worry glimmering in her eyes. Dawnhawk had been here? Again? The leader had been doing a fine job at getting over her smaller fears. She no longer feared SkyClan, or Bloodstrike, or predators like snakes and eagles, but she knew that Dawnhawk would always be a cat that terrified her. When would he do the entire Clan a favor and drop dead? It wasn't like anybody would miss him.

"No... no, I couldn't ask you to lead a patrol out to face him. I have confidence in your fighting skills but Dawnhawk is dangerous, so dangerous to the point that he still hasn't been captured or killed, but continues to wreak havoc wherever he goes. If I let you take out a patrol and a cat ends up getting maimed or worse, I wouldn't be able to forgive myself..." Daystar breathed out, turning her head to look into the distance.
It was too risky of a mission. What mattered now was that Dawnhawk was no longer on the moors, and the she-cat found herself saying a silent prayer of thanks to StarClan for keeping Ashfall alive despite the encounter.

What was she supposed to do knowing that he was freely roaming the territories, though? What did that mean for the safety of her Clanmates, especially the ones that were too young to identify him?

The sudden topic switch to leadership didn't make Daystar any happier. It was exhausting, truthfully, but she had become a master at hiding it from the rest of the Clan. Ashfall was a cat that she could talk to though. She felt comfortable opening up to the warrior, more comfortable than any other cat in the Clan in fact.
"It's been hard..." Daystar began, shaking her head, "... I mean, I always knew that it was never going to be easy but I just don't want to let anyone down. There's so much happening at once, so many potential threats that could hurt WindClan, and sometimes I don't know what to do. It feels like I'm supposed to have all of the answers since I'm a leader, but I barely ever do."

Ashfall's tail couldn't help but lash against the ground. Daystar was right, she knew this. Of course, it was too risky for a patrol to go out, but how else were they supposed to defend against him. She could never ensure the safety of her clan without knowing he was finally dead and in the dark forest where he belonged for his crimes. Besides, then her clanmates would be safe. Even if she had to kill him alone. Ashfall wasn't stupid, she'd likely die in the attempt... but if she could just wound him enough, he'd die. He was no medicine cat.

The scarred molly was disheartened by Daystar's words, yet not surprised. Daystar, even before she had been Daystar, had seemed cautious and anxious. There was nothing wrong with those traits, but leaders needed to learn to shed their fear, at least for a time. They needed confidence. "Nobody ever has answers." Her words perhaps sounded a bit gruffer than intended, so she quickly respoke. "I mean, look, nobody ever has the answers because sometimes it is impossible to answer the questions. There are too many things that could happen, so I guess that means you have to commit to something and stick with it. You can't have all the answers, because you're only mortal, even if you have all those lives. You just need to have a bit more confidence... and I know that's easier said than done. Put more burden onto Goldenfang, or stars, even I can help you with things if it feels too overwhelming." The rain had thoroughly soaked Ashfall at this point, causing her fur to plaster her lanky frame.

"Stars, you know I care about your well-being, right Day? I just-" She ground her good paw into the mud, "I just really care about you. I don't want to see you lose your mind over the what-ifs of leadership... You mean quite a bit to me." Ashfall's eye remained solely on her paws, digging her claws in and out of the mud. What was she doing? How would her words be interpreted? Maybe they would just mean friendship to Daystar... maybe more though.

Even if she put all the weight of the world on the shoulders of the Clanmates, Daystar would have her own burden to bear. She knew that she had cats that she could turn to if she ever needed assistance, but it would be immature of her to shove all the work on everyone else while she stayed in her den and avoided her responsibilities at all costs. She still had to be involved, and that meant that she still had decisions to make and duties to carry out, and that meant that there was always the possibility that she could ruin everything for herself and for her Clanmates... and at the end of the day, she would be the one to be blamed.

She swallowed down any anxiety she felt in the moment. Her gaze softened as she glanced over at Ashfall. There was a comforting aura around the she-cat. Even if the two of them sat here in complete silence, Daystar would still feel at peace. She wasn't completely sure how to put it into words, but she knew that she had never felt the feelings that she held for Ashfall before. She felt it whenever she looked at her, whenever they held eye contact, whenever she heard her voice, but even though it was new to Daystar, it was the greatest feeling she had ever known.

"I just don't know what I'd do if I made a decision that ended up getting you killed, I... I don't know what I'd do without you." Although her voice was suddenly eerily quiet, it was still able to be heard above the splashing rain sounds.
"I care about you too. A lot. I'm not sure why I never said anything about it before, but maybe it's because I didn't know how you'd react." She looked down at her paws as she spoke, anxiously shuffling them in the wet grass.

Now why in StarClan's name was her heart beating so fast?

"What if I told you that I'd react well..?" Her voice was barely audible above the rain, single eye looking up at where Daystar sat. It felt like every bit of fur on her body would be smoldering save for the rain. Ashfall felt as if without it, she'd burst into flame. A deep intake of breath, then an exhale, the flames didn't lower, but her confidence was raised just a little. Enough for her to say something stupid. "Daystar, would you be my mate? I don't know what I would do without you, and I just... I just think that if I were to ever lose you either, that I would feel empty inside. There would be a hole where you should be in my heart. You are my light in the darkness, a beacon of hope, and optimism. Even if you reject me here... it's worth it to know that you know these things." The level of embarrassment that Ashfall felt was almost overbearing to the point of her getting up and limping away right then and there. She felt like she was losing her mind... granted that she had felt like that for a while now

Her eyebrows furrowed as she began the classic move of overthinking literally everything, with a sudden exclamation of, "I'm sorry if I overstepped. You're my leader and I shouldn't have-", a sigh, then more words, "I just... I shouldn't have... I apologize. I just..." A frustrated noise escaped her throat as her tail thrashed, worry in her body language. Feelings were difficult.

Daystar felt her heart flutter as Ashfall spoke. Mate? Ashfall wanted to be her... mate? She barely noticed the fact that her jaw had slightly fell open upon hearing her words. She had never considered herself to be likable or desirable, but here Ashfall was, dropping a love confession in the middle of the Leaf-fall rain. It evoked multiple emotions within her.
"No, no, no, Ashfall, don't apologize. Please." She quickly spoke as the warrior began to stumble over her apologies.
Daystar being a leader meant nothing. She saw her Clanmates as equals and friends just like she had when she was a warrior and the deputy. Ashfall was more than that, though. Was it really love? Daystar had no idea how to define it.

"I would love nothing more than to be your mate... and I feel the exact same way. It's been so hard recently, but you've been there for me throughout it all. I-I barely know how to put it into words, honestly. I feel safe around you... appreciated, understood, cared for, y'know? I'm so thankful you came into my life."
Her voice had softened despite the fact that the rain continued to pour down on the both of them. Despite the fact that she looked nervous, there was a happiness bubbling within the surface that she hadn't felt in a long time. What would she do if she had never met Ashfall? Surely the stress would've eaten at her mind until there was nothing left by now. Perhaps there was truly some reason to be optimistic after all, and if it was in the form of a cat, then so be it. Ashfall was her hope.

There were no words that Ashfall could grasp that would have described how thrilled she felt as Daystar responded positively to her. Instead, she opted to headbutt her mate in the chest gently, a smile following a quiet laugh. "Sorry that I'm an idiot and always feel like I'm saying the wrong thing, I didn't want to offend you... though I'm glad you feel the same." Her words were muffled, but she hoped that Daystar could hear the soft happiness in her tone.

Removing her head from Daystar's chest, she sat up, looking fondly at her mate (she would never get used to that, would she?). "We can head back whenever you want... I guess I did interrupt your quiet time after all. I may as well shut up and let you have your moment." Her words were jovial, blinking slowly at Daystar before looking up at the heavy clouds. They'd be gone eventually, right? They'd better, it was as if the happiness she was feeling would chase away the clouds itself.