aria of a starless night [open vigil]

As the ceremony had drawn to a close and her clanmates and kin had given their congratulations, Leopardsun was left to revel in the fact that she had finally earned her place as a warrior. There was so much she wanted to do now that she had finished her training, but it would have to wait- tradition was tradition, and after a warrior earned their name they were meant to sit a silent vigil.

The night sky was dark, as it had been all her life; the only light came from the moon. She had no intention on breaking her vow of silence, but itched to say something; to call on the ancestors they were told were watching out for them. All her life she had been waiting for- something, anything, to prove that they were watching, that they were listening. That they cared.

Her prayers were never answered. She wasn't special, no one's prayers were answered, StarClan was gone from the very sky; but even so, it was hard to keep faith when she had never seen them, when she had only the whispered words of the older cats to show that they had ever existed. And yet life had gone on, hadn't it? Not smoothly, but that was the fault of the Dark Forest cats more than a lack of spiritual guidance.

She had lived her entire life without seeing Silverpelt, after all. She'd been happy, despite the suffocating shadows of their occupants. She was happy now.

After some time, she tore her gaze away from the moonlit sky. She was meant to be watching over ShadowClan camp, after all, not having a silent debate with herself about StarClan.

Her clanmates could only see their newest warrior, silent but clearly restraining herself from speaking; even just to herself.

This would be a long night, she was sure.