October sharing tongues (OPEN)

The leaf fall sun shone through the canopy of falling leaves. The colours bright as they tumbled, tossed on a soft invisible wind. Branches once full and green shed their now hard and brittle ornaments, letting them drift onto the soft ground. Settling at the base of a camp which sat surrounded by bushes turning orange and red, with covered woven dens.

It was an ideal day for kits to romp. Oakstar watched as a leaf fell to his paws. On a normal day, he’d have swatted at it and initiated a game… but not today. The grief of losing such a small precious member of the clan before it’s life could even begin hung in the air. It had been nearly five moons, and somehow, it still hurt.

Perhaps it was the pain he saw in Mistwalker’s eyes as the tom padded from the nursery. Maybe it was the shadow that seemed to dwell in the camp, but Oakstar stood calmly. He grabbed a mouse and vole from the prey pile, blinking at the couple of fish in it. The banks of the river had swelled, bringing a strange new bounty to ThunderClan’s shores. They weren’t crowfood, the fish lived when they leapt from the stream. They simply… didn’t care?

Did fish care? It was a puzzling prospect as he padded over to a corner with his mouse. It was time for him to prepare for the new patrol, but he settled next to Mossbloom.
"How are your stores looking for leaf bare?" He asked, setting the vole in front of the she-cat. "Have you eaten today?"

She had been unable to save him. The small, tiny, lifeless form of the kit named Marshkit had haunted her moments since she realized what had happened. There had been nothing that could have been done, he was gone long before any of them got to meet him.... But she had hoped. She had tried, desperately, to save him. Bring him back. Replace his breath with her own, if that's what it would take. In the end though, she had to step back, and speak the terrible, heartbreaking news to a dear friend, the kit's mother, and his father. She had stayed up that night, gazing at the stars above, silently asking, no, begging for an answer. A reason. Why had the life of one so small and precious been taken away so suddenly, before they even had a chance to take their first breath? What could that kit have been, had he lived? A leader? A strong and proud deputy? A medicine cat, following in her pawsteps?

She would never know, and the stars had not answered her pleas for aid in understanding. So here she lay, near the fern-covered entrance to the medicine den, staring off into the air at nothing in particular. As a cat approached, her ears turned towards it, her eyes still fixed on that unidentified point, unblinking until something was placed in front of her. Pulled from her own mind, she looked down at the vole in front of her first, then over to the cat who must have brought it. Her green eyes raised to meet Oakstar's, and she gave him a small, grateful nod as he settled beside her.

"Thanks, Oakstar... I haven't yet, no. My mind is too caught up elsewhere, I suppose. Things are looking pretty well, despite the flood in newleaf. Greenleaf was late, but the herbs grew well despite it, especially with all the rain we got. I will have to stock up on some catmint soon though, I've been trying to wait as long as I can so the herbs stay relatively fresh.... Soon Sagelight will have his ceremony, I think he's almost ready. Once that's done, I'll be back to ThunderClan every night." Her gaze traveled back to the vole, and her belly rumbled the tiniest bit. When was the last time she had really eaten? It was nothing compared to how Grayleaf or Mistwalker was feeling, of that she was certain. She had failed them though, and the clan, by not being able to bring the kit back.

With a sigh, she took a small nibble of the vole, chewing it slowly.