Reverie and Revelation [solo]

Something... was changing in the Kimble home. Marmalade had noticed it here and there over the last quarter moon; new strange, flimsy wood-colored burrows kept appearing, and the twolegs Sue and Sharon would spend a little time taking some things from their nest and placing it in one of the odd burrows before sealing it. Sometimes the golden tabby cat would amuse herself by peering into or even climbing in and investigating. As of late, though, the disappearing of objects had increased. Having once been a forest cat, Marmalade was used to not having much - and certainly her twolegs weren't depriving her - but the growing emptiness in the nest she had come to call home was strange. What was more odd was that they had placed a large, very cozy burrow where Marmalade normally ate and had begun to place her meals in there. Though unusual, she didn't mind; perhaps they were only trying to help her feel safer.

It wasn't until Marmalade had been out on a brief herb hunt for what was left of Arno's wounds and ran into one of her neighbors - a kittypet who was much more knowledgeable in the actions and behaviors of twolegs - that she learned the source of the changing environment: Sue and Sharon Kimble were planning to empty the nest and travel in a monster to some unknown place far away to live in a new nest. The she-cat was shocked at the explanation, for she had heard the Clans tell tales of twolegs leaving their kittypets behind or abandoning them in the forest since she was a kit. How could the twolegs she had come to trust and appreciate betray her that way?

Fortunately, Marmalade scarcely had a moment to devolve into panic before her neighbor interrupted, "No, no, Marmalade, you think they'd leave you behind? Didn't you say they'd been putting your meals in a weird den?" When she nodded, her neighbor went on to explain that he had moved twice before, and both times his humans had done that to him. He learned that it was the den they used to transport him to a new home to keep him safe. Marmlade was relieved, but then a new strange panic appeared to her. Her twolegs were leaving the forest... the forest Marmalade had known and cared for her whole life..

... and they intended to take her away from it.

The first few days, Marmalade had felt confused and uncertain. She withdrew from her twolegs slightly, spending more time out in the yard and lingering near the edges of the forest. Even in the relative safety and shelter of the yard the days seemed cold and bitter in a way Marmalade had never experienced as a Clan cat. Had she already become so accustomed to life as a kittypet that early leaf-bare was too bitter for her? Arno wasn't certain what to make of her sudden change in behavior, and she wasn't sure what to tell him or how to explain it to him.

As the pair awoke in the snow one morning, the golden tabby shivering fiercely, Marmalade realized that she knew her answer. She was a kittypet now. Oh, her paws ached for the forest, but it was no longer hers; with StarClan's blessing she had left, and with StarClan's blessing she had found a new home, a home that wanted and needed her, even if neither one could truly understand the other. They had an unspoken bond, and the twolegs cared for her in a way that transcended boundaries of communication and species. Always in her heart and her blood, Marmalade would be Amberdawn, medicine cat apprentice of SkyClan; granddaughter of Tinystar; apprentice of Mintwhisker. Wherever her paws carried her, that was who had made her who she was now: Marmalade, friend of the Clans, kittypet of Sharon and Sue.

At last she had told Arno what she knew. At last, she confided in him what she knew: her twolegs were taking her away. They intended to empty the nest they lived in and take her somewhere else - somewhere Marmalade, nor any kittypet, didn't know and wouldn't be able to determine. Going with them would be a leap of faith, but Amberdawn had lived her whole life on faith, and Marmalade was bound by destiny to do the same. She had faith that her trust would be rewarded with a safe, comfortable place away from the forest that she had kittishly left behind.

Marmalade feared what may become of Arno, and she laid her heart out: he was her closest friend now, the only cat who truly understood her and her past. She wanted him to join her. If he entered the twoleg nest, Marmalade knew beyond a doubt that Sue and Sharon would accept him. The former SkyClan tom had pondered the decision for a short time before giving his answer: he was going to take the leap with her.

They would make the journey together.

More kittypets were stopping by to see Marmalade every day now. Some of them, upon peering through the strange hard invisible wall that separated the outside world from the inside of the nest, tried to gauge how much longer the Kimbles would be packing up. Some guessed it would be another two or three moons while others said no more than a quarter moon. The uncertainty was a bit nerve-racking, and Marmalade was uncertain what to do with it. She had nothing of her own to take but her old name and memories and her friend Arno (who wasn't hers anyways); she prayed that her herbs would be brought to the new home and kept alive there.

A few final things needed to be tied up, Marmalade determined, a few last goodbyes shared. She had nothing to take with her but memories - and regrets. The golden tabby intended to minimize some of those regrets, if she could. All that the former SkyClan cat could do was make the most of the time she had left in the forest.

After that, a new life awaited her far beyond the reach of the Clans - and, perhaps, the ancestors. That fact alone Marmalade feared. She needed only think of the lake, however, and how their ancestors found her so far away. Her resolve was strengthened at last. She would always find her way.