cold sunshine [c]

In the physical sense, Poppy hadn't felt warm since before she stepped out of her cage. In the distant place she called her home, this time of year was reserved for reflection and rest- there was no time for those things, though, when for the first time in countless days (moons? seasons?) she could feel the chill of the breeze, see the sun and the moon rise and fall in the sky. The sky full of stars was so beautiful she'd had to stop and stare, seeing it anew for the first time since she was a kit.

Where would she go from here? She had left to seek adventure, and she certainly found it. Perhaps she should be homeward bound, then, to regale her friends and family with tales of her travels so far- but not to stay. She was a wanderer at heart, drifter in every sense. She followed the breeze and the horizon, watching the skies to find her way.

But before she ventured into the unknown, or even familiar ground, she wanted to enjoy nature for what it was. The sound of rushing water from the coursing river, the softness of the earth beneath her paws compared to the stone pathways of the Twolegplace and the hardened ground of the overrun nest.

From the weather, soon the snow would begin to melt and make way for new growth. Maybe she could arrive home in time for it, before setting out again to new places. Bringing stories of the forest and the warriors that lived within, what she'd managed to learn in the time she'd been trapped with them.

Stretching out in the grass under the sun, she felt at peace for the first time in ages. Free, for now, to stop and breathe.

Twolegplace had proven to be unsafe, and Beechfang was cautious of being scooped up by another twoleg even in the abandoned section of it. She had taken a walk to clear her head, and against her own wishes, her paws had strayed much too close to the river. The river was far from thought-clearing, and she had no desire to provoke Riverclan more than what she already had. Thoughts of Cloverheart and Mountainheart made her frown as she stared across the river toward their territory, and Beechfang shook her head.

Best to move on, back to twolegplace, or even the barn past Windclan territory. Not fourtrees, not highstones. But she would not linger here, either. Before a Riverclan patrol decided to make an appearance. Beechfang turned, moving at a brisk trot along the riverbank.

The sight of a cat stretched out in the grass was not one she expected. The exiled clan cat slowed, jaws parting. No clan scent at all was another surprise, yet Beechfang felt her shoulders relax, but only slightly. Still, her ears flattened in dismay. She had been wrapped up in her own thoughts that she had wandered in plain sight of the strange she-cat, focus more on the other side of the river than in front of her paws.

"I have no desire to drive you off like a clan cat might. I didn't mean to intrude on your rest."