you'll be in my heart - closed

The sun would rise and fall three times before Foxtrot accepted that his sister would never come back for Thyme. As he had promised, each day he set out to the same place he had discovered the small kit. He called the name of his sister as loud as he could without attracting unwanted attention. Some days he would sit and wait until crickets chirped in the distance.

But to no avail.

Each night like clockwork Foxtrot would come home from looking for his sister and go straight to the nursery and say goodnight to Thyme. He couldn't tell if she knew where he had been. Could she smell the fresh pine needles, the smell of bark on his fur? Could she hear the hoarseness in his voice from yelling Star's name? Could she see the guilt in his eyes? It worried him. If she asked about Star he would give a small shake of his head and change the subject - trying to make sure she never felt unloved. That was his goal. To make her feel loved, wanted, and happy. It was all he had wanted at that age - to feel wanted.

It would rise and fall three more before he was sure Thyme had accepted Skyclan as her home. Seeing her play with other kits, and talk with the rest of his family, it made him swell with pride. He finally had a family, a real blood family in Skyclan.

It would rise one more time before he was able to find the time to introduce Thyme to his closest confidant. Mistflower. Her name left a warm feeling in his chest and a smile instantly on his maw.

The sun was now directly overhead and dappled the camp with sunlight and heated the forest floor below them. Foxtrot had asked Mistflower to wait under a tree for him near the edge of camp - a perfect place for him to introduce Thyme to her. He now waited outside of the nursery a ball of nerves in his stomach, "Thyme? I have a..friend for you to meet! C'mere kid." he called into the nursery. As he called and waited he gave a glance over his shoulder to Mistflower and winked - signaling he would be right there.

It didn't take long for his niece to exit the nursery and he greeted her with a wave of his tail. The tom looked down at the kit and quickly gave her a quick lick on the top of her head, smoothing her fur out. It was interesting that he couldn't care less about his own appearance but liked to make sure Thyme was well taken care of. But he didn't dwell on it, it was more of an instinctual, natural gesture. The use of his personal nickname brought on a wide silly grin.

The tom pointed with a paw over to Mistflower before leaning down, his voice a fraction above a whisper, "See that pretty lady ova' there? That's my Mistflower. She's one of my bestest friends." he explained, "Besides Dawnma and Beechaunt, she's the one cat you gotta meet." his voice was louder than before. He didn't bother to explain Dawnfeather's nickname nor did he explain Beechfangs - to him they were their names. He was sure Thyme would catch on - she was smart just like him.

Foxtrot waved his tail as he made his way over to Mistflower with Thyme - as they were a foxlength or two away, he leaned down once more and whispered, "If ya real nice to 'er she might just give you a pretty flower to decorate ya nest!"

The nerves returned as they closed the gap and were now right in front of Mistflower. It hadn't taken them long to reach her of course, but to Foxtrot it had felt like journeying to Mothermouth and back. He plopped down next to his friend, "Thyme this is Mistflower. Mistflower this is Thyme."