flight of downy dreams (c)

Honeylight had found himself wandering out of camp more often on his own. As much as he tried to avoid it, melancholy had a habit of settling over his shoulders from time to time still. He tried not to think about it, but his time at the twolegged place had him feeling… out of place. Out of step with the rest of his clan. He didn’t like the feeling.

It’s not like camp was a particularly comfortable place to be right now. Redice’s execution was still swirling around in Honeylight’s mind, and there was a tension in his chest that was lingering that he didn’t know how to identify, a discomfort he wasn’t sure what to do with. He didn’t like those feelings, so he escaped into the marsh to avoid them.

Besides, he liked seeing Newleaf finally seeping into the air. The marsh was beginning to flourish with reviving plantlife and the sounds of frogs and birds. The air was pleasantly cool, rather than the kind of cold that seeped into his bones, and the sun shone through the trees to dance on his golden brown pelt. He noted with a smile that it shouldn’t be long now before the flowers began to bloom. He ought to make a flower crown once they do… maybe he’ll even be able to make one for Flutterpetal. Thoughts of flowers always brought his mind to thoughts of his Windclan friend.

Thoughts of Flutterpetal made it easier to focus on the positive, too. He smiled to himself, perking up under the Newleaf sun, turning his thoughts to brighter subjects than the ones weighing him down. He thought about Iceheart’s upcoming pregnancy and thought with joy of his recent conversation with Adderdawn and Flutterpetal both at the last gathering… he hoped he saw them again at the next gathering. He hoped he would get the chance to see them sooner than that, though he knew from secondhand accounts that tensions between Shadowclan and Windclan were high.

Almost unconsciously, he found his paws bringing him to the Windclan border. He wished he could just visit Flutterpetal whenever he wanted. He’s never really understood the need for the distinction between clans. He certainly didn’t understand Nightstar’s more intense takes on the matter.

Lost in his thoughts, Honeylight almost didn’t notice that he wasn’t quite alone as he wandered. But when he did catch sight of the black pelt across the border, his face lit up in a huge smile. Immediately he turned his body to face Flutterpetal’s, moving much closer to the border as a huge rumbling purr escaped him. “Flutterpetal!” He greeted with a wave of his tail to catch his friend’s attention.

“I was just thinking about you!” He purred happily, paws kneading the ground. “How are you doing?” Instantly, his mood had cheered far more genuinely, the negative thoughts from before melting away like ice.

Honeylight felt himself purring happily at Flutterpetal saying he was hoping to see him. “I was hoping to see you too!” He chirped, joy fluttering in his heart. Honeylight couldn’t quite sit still, dancing from paw to paw in his excitement and kneading the ground.

“Oh, I’m so excited for the flowers too, it’s going to be so nice to see color in the marsh again. Leafbare can’t be over fast enough.” Honeylight said. “And I’m doing good! For… the most part, everything’s been nice at home.” He decided more sour news, like Redice’s execution or Webshadow dying before Honeylight got home, wasn’t really nice to mention right now. He’d rather focus on the good!

“My mom’s pregnant!” He says excitedly, unable to contain the much brighter news that he’s excited for. “Iceheart. This is her first official litter- she adopted me- so she’s nervous but i’m really excited to have little siblings. I know she’s going to be amazing and so are they. Forestbreeze and Iceheart are the best parents anyone could ask for and I can’t wait to meet the little scraps.” Honeylight rambled, closing his eyes for a moment and just living in the fantasy of being part of a big family for a minute.

He shook his head to clear it before opening sparkling honey-colored eyes again. “So mostly I’ve been excited about that! What about you? How have you been? Anything exciting happening back home? What about Adderdawn? It was so nice to see the two of you at the gathering! I wish we had more opportunities to hang out.”