Bonds of Blood and Flame (Closed)

After a long night standing in front of all the Clans, a pillar of ThunderClan's strength and integrity, Leopardstar was finally left alone to sleep...though he did not remain in that dark world of unconsciousness very long.

A calm breeze ruffled the tom's black-tipped ears, but he only curled deeper into his soft nest of grass, a low groan departing his maw at the odd natural disturbance.  It was warm here, he could feel the heat of the sun on his back and smell the scents of gorse flowers all around, bringing forth nostalgic memories of when he had trekked back and forth across the moorland to take apprentices to the Moonstone.  That was when his half-awake mind seemed to register though, that something was not right.  His nest was made of moss, not grass, and he slept in a cave, not under the open sky.  A faint flicker of fear in his hazel eyes, the golden spotted tom bolted upright, his pelt blending in oddly well in the tall grass that surrounded him.  Tail twitching anxiously, the leader slowly got to his paws, yet still keeping a clearly defensive stance.  Where...am I?  The environment looked familiar, very familiar in fact; but why would a dream place him in WindClan territory?  Yes, he could quickly tell that this was only a dream, for nowhere, in reality, allowed both the sun, moon, and stars to be in the sky at the same time, and at present, WindClan's land didn't look quite this splendorous.  The flood had ripped away much of the grass and flowers, leaving the hills a much more barren place, but by green-leaf's end, he was sure it would look just as beautiful as before.  Again though, that was reality; this was a world he had walked many times before, and yet, never here.  No dream had ever taken him away from the forests unless he was walking StarClan territory beside the Moonstone...so, there must be a reason.  

This dream felt much more vivid than normal, he reflected, churning his claws into the dirt and brushing against the tall stalks of grass with a purr.  Would Grasswhisker come to speak with him again, like in his youth?  Or...had he lost a life in his sleep?  It was a scary thought, but unlikely, and his gut told him it was something else.  He was not normally left alone to recover from the loss of a life, but right now, the moor was clearly vacant, barring himself.  After checking around one last time, his head turning like a grouse's above the sea of grass, Leopardstar continued down the rabbit trail that led away downslope, every pawstep taken with caution, though he wasn't quite sure why.  It was like an unbidden instinct as if he were stalking something, waiting for an opportunity...  That chance soon came, as a good-sized, healthy cottontail bounced into his path, blissfully unaware of his presence.  His body didn't hesitate, and the chase began, Leopardstar's long legs moving in perfect synchronization as he pursued the bobbing tail ahead, soon enough bursting from the patch of long grass out onto the open moor.  Its vastness had always amazed him, breeding a sense of freedom and wildness within his heart, as if he could just run forever and be released of all cares, all emotion except for exhilaration.  

And so, he ran, chasing the rabbit with a bright smile on his usually tired face and a glimmer in his eyes.  Up and down the slopes they went, on and on until, he was in reach.  At the peak of one of the tallest hills, Leopardstar pounced, pinning the creature down as he reached around and bit it's neck, feeling the body fall still almost instantaneously.  Looking down, he realized there was no blood spilled, no gruesome mark upon the animal's throat; it was untainted, yet obviously deceased, as it would look if rabbits lived past death.  Am I in StarClan after all?  Looking up from his catch, he realized with a small chirp of surprise that in the valley below him was the WindClan camp, looking just as he had always remembered it.  Something inside himself pushed him towards it, and so with a smile, he picked up the rabbit and trotted down the slope, making a beeline for the entrance.  The prickly gorse stems felt nice against his back, like a cat's tongue grooming him; like Mottledwing had done when he was a kit.  This place...it felt like home.  Like he belonged here.  He felt his paws slip into the grooves left by hundreds of moor-runners before him, and soon enough, the camp sat before him, the Tallrock's sleek surface shining in the sky's light.  A few dens lay off the sides, carved from the gorse itself, but most of the nests he could see were placed out in the open air as his grassy entrance-place had been. Sleeping under the open stars...it was a weird thought for a cat who had lived his whole life underneath something, either Twoleg dens or treetops but strangely appealing all the while.  No wonder WindClan took such pride in being so close to StarClan...  His curiosity piqued, Leopardstar was about to start exploring the deserted camp, when suddenly a light in the sky blazed so bright it almost blinded him; squinting, he realized it was a star, and before he could move it began swirling down to earth, down and down until it landed at the base of the Tallrock.

By that time though, it was no longer a star.

Instead, the pure-white light had transformed into a cat, large and fluffy and yet, still white like the freshest snow except for distinct silver rosettes that dotted its body.  Blue eyes burned like fire, before quelling to pieces of frosty ice, shining with friendliness and love, and it was at that moment that Leopardstar finally recognized her, jaw agape and hazel eyes wide as the full moon above.

"B...Blizzardshine!"

“Greetings, Leopardstar”

Blizzardshine’s motherly smile soon made its way to her muzzle as she looked at Leopardstar from her position at the base of the Tallrock. Her unusually long and fluffy tail wrapped around her paws elegantly “It’s nice to see you again” Her words flew along the soft breeze, just as calm and warm, as if they were one and the same. Her long fur dancing with the same delicate graze as the long blades of grass that made up most of this moorland paradise that had been picked for this meeting to take place.

After shaking her starry pelt, she finally got up and walked towards the shocked tom, in an almost playful way touching his forehead with her nose. There were many things she wanted to say to the still living tom, but those would need to wait…time was precious, and she knew better than to waste it with chit-chat when there was an important message to deliver.

“Tell me, do you know why you hare here of all places? To the moors where the breeze runs free and the tall golden grass blades dance at the rhythm of a mysterious tune only they can hear?” If she had to agree with Ivystar in one thing, was that the ways of communication of StarClan under these kinds of circumstances were a bit…annoying, to say the least…but even if she was willing to push her limits and manipulate the rules a bit to make things easier to understand for the tom, she wasn’t going to just go ahead and shatter completely the rules and traditions they had like the former RiverClan leader had done before.

She wanted to know if he had any idea first though…know how much or how little she would need to say and demonstrate to get her message across.

Even though Leopardstar was blatantly aware that he was walking in a dream, as he heard Blizzardshine's all too familiar voice once more and gazed dumbstruck into her calming, clear blue eyes...he suddenly feared that this time would very quickly come to an end.  To be knocked back into the waking world, full of complications and stress, was something he was not ready for, and as he felt the motherly she-cat gently rest her nose against his head, the battle-scarred warrior felt small tears come to his eyes, and before she stepped away he stole a chance to press his head against her chest with a bittersweet purr.  He could remember all too vividly the moment when Pricklebush had announced that his predecessor, his mentor in the ways of leadership, had passed away in service to the clans, and now that he was standing before her once again, he suddenly felt the layers of grief and fear melt away.  She made it to StarClan, all the way from the mountains...thank goodness.  Stepping back and finally returning the she-cat's bright smile, all he could manage to say was simple, yet displayed all the feelings he wanted to convey.  "I'm glad you're here"

Her question though required a bit more wondering on his part.  Brow furrowing slightly, Leopardstar looked up and down the WindClan camp, noticing how with each wave of a grass tuft in the breeze a faint sparkle of starshine floated away into the sky, and the beautiful way the moon and sun cast their light upon the Tallrock, a mighty symbol of the moor clan's strength and brilliance.  Finchstar was a lucky cat to be able to call this place his home.  "...No, I don't quite know why the stars brought me here tonight...all I know is that I've always loved the moorland.  When it was the job of deputies to escort apprentices to the Moonstone, I relished the moment when I crossed over from the trees into the open sky, the scent-filled breeze ruffling my fur and quickening my paws."  His wistful smile as his eyes took in the surroundings though quickly turned to shame as he glanced back at Blizzardshine, almost looking like a kit caught trying to sneak into the apprentice's den.  "Oh, of course, I love ThunderClan's territory too.  The forest is a beautiful place in it's own right and I would never not call it my true home...I suppose the moorland though is a bit of a mystery to me, with how different it is.  I've lived all my life hidden under something, being able to see the sky without obstruction is...nice."  A lame end, but he felt he had gotten his point across; as he settled his full attention back on Blizzardshine though, an edge of grief overtook his hazel eyes.  "Is...is this about Brindlestar?  I always suspected that..."  Should he really be asking this to Blizzardshine before Brindlestar herself?  He debated in his moment of hesitance; if fate perhaps decided that he would not be able to share dreams with the former WindClan leader, his curiosity might never be sated.  "...I always suspected that, during the battle against Lichenmask and his followers, she lost a life trying to save my own.  When I awoke, covered in blood and flame, she was running out of the fire ahead of me.  Is that why I'm here...to repay the debt I never got to return to her in life?"  Extending his alliance with WindClan hadn't been all about protection; to him, it was much more personal, driven by guilt and worry left unanswered.  If it's true, and I really did have a part in taking one of her lives, she possibly could've survived the flood...maybe she would still be with her clan.  Finchstar wouldn't have had to inherit her role so soon...and maybe, I would still have my friend.

Blizzardshine couldn’t help but chuckle lightly with how nervous the golden tom was getting over admitting how much he liked WindClan’s territory “Relax, Leopardstar, I won’t judge you for liking the moorlands. I used to like it as well during my lifetime, and found in it memories and nostalgia, as during my kithood and part of my apprentice days I grew closer to these than to the forest” Yes, being born far from ThunderClan’s territories was a bit hard, but if anything, it had helped her to value the forest even more as well to find the beauty and value in the territories of other clans as well.

After that she stood quiet as Leopardstar tried to guess the reason of them being gathered in these windy territories…and making several wrong assumptions in the process which were clearly starting to cause distress within him.

At his final question, she just closed her eyes and slowly shook her head “No, Leopardstar. I understand how much debts like those can weigh on someone’s mind, but you are not here because of that” She turned around and jumped onto the Tallrock to take the place many leaders of WindClan had taken before. As soon as her paws made contact with it, the sound of thunder filled the air and a lightning bolt came crashing down, striking right before Leopardstar, where she had been standing only heartbeats ago.

However, the earth wasn’t scorched as it should be after such impact. Instead, where the lightning struck the grass started to grow, healthier and more abundant, flowers that should only grow in ThunderClan's territory bloomed, and it slowly started to spread “A clan on its own, when united, can be strong…but it’s only through allies that a clan can ensure survival, Leopardstar…especially in times of great need” Blizzardshine’s ice blue eyes locked with Leopardstar’s hazel ones as she spoke.

“Many moons ago, Wind and Thunder created a unique and strong bond” As that happened, Leopardstar could feel two adders slither against his front paws, bright colors making obvious the strong venom they carried within their long fangs. Both went straight towards the blooming grass and bit into the earth, causing the previously beautiful spreading greenery that the lighting had left behind to wither and rot, the earth becoming nothing but sterile dirt with foul-smelling dead vegetation “Like a dangerous and silent adders, time and silence forced their venom into both ends and they watch smugly as both tear into it, making it grow weaker with each passing day”.

“Leopardstar, in your paws you hold that damaged bond. It’s up to you fix and strengthen it...or let it crumble to dust and fade into nothingness” If Leopardstar was to look down to his paws again, he would notice that his right paw slowly but surely healed the land, while his left paw tried to spread the mysterious disease that the adders had somehow injected into it “The choice is yours, as well as the consequences that come with it for both clans”.