Old bones ache [OPEN]

A dream had come to Gorsefeather. He was in the moors, alone except for a gorse bush. It looks withered and exhausted, the branches of it were thorn filled, yet time had broken it to a shadow of itself. A sad, wistful sight that reminded him all to well that he too was withering away. That he was the eldest in his clan by far. He'd pondered why would StarClan send him such a dismal message? Surely they had better things to do than remind him that he was getting old, but then the bush caught alight. The heat was intense, and warmed him to the bone, he wasn't frightened. The colour reminded him of his apprentice, Emberleaf. Then all that was left was ash, and from that ash, a new, tender leaf sprouted from the earth. It looked so small, yet it sprouted from the ashes with determination.

The calico was filled with a burst of hope. Ah. He knew what this message was, it was time for the young to replace the old. But there was no bitter sting, StarClan had reassured him. Gorsefeather had done his part, his life had been meaningful, and from his ashes, the newer generation would take their place.

Now, looking out onto the bustling camp, Gorsefeather meowed to himself. "It's a good day today." He'd have to talk to Sablestar about his retirement soon, but he had a few little things he wanted to do before he passed on the mantle fully to his apprentice. After all, he wanted his retirement in the Elder's den with Feathertail to be peaceful. He'd clean out the stock, remind his apprentice where the best places to find herbs were, and do one last herb gathering patrol by himself. Look out into the gorge, think about all the souls lost and mourn them, since very few seemed to remember.

He'd lived a full life.

And maybe, just maybe, he'd be able to bring himself to forgive Suntail and Nettlewing.

Then, he'd have no more regrets.

"Good morning, Gorsefeather, you seem extra less cranky today," purred Emberleaf with a chuckle as he nodded in respect to the old tom. By now, Emberleaf was sure that Gorsefeather knew he meant no harm when he joked about Gorsefeather's crankiness. Although, Gorsefeather wasn't always cranky; he was really nice a lot of times. Though he had trained under and grown to very much respect the older Medicine Cat, Emberleaf still didn't quite fully understand his mood swings....if you even wanted to call them that. "May I ask if there is any special occasion I'm missing out on or an unknown reason as to why this plain old day has brought such a glorious mood upon your old, wise face? Or is this mysterious explanation not sanctioned for my ears to hear?" Emberleaf was an odd cat, with an even stranger way of speaking.

Kestrelstorm noticed the two medicine cats chattering at the edge of camp. He was bored, playing with Falconkit half heartedly. The kit would never stop playing with his tail, and it was starting to feel sore from all the biting. "Stay here, Falconkit." he ordered his son, giving him a large leaf to replace his tail. The kit took to it and started geowling and wrestling. With a shake of his head, he stood and trotted over to the other two toms. "Hello there." the warrior greeted, taking a seat next to Gorsefeather.