growing like willows do [closed]

Each day was slowly getting warmer, and Summer could feel her pelt starting to thin out. She felt like she spent half of every day grooming her sleek ginger-cream pelt to keep herself tidy and mat-free. It was worth it to look so luminous, of course, but sometimes her stomach was tired of it. Soon she'd have her dry season coat, and she'd feel better. The drifter was between groomings now, and she elected to go for a stroll through familiar territory: ThunderClan. As always, she wouldn't hunt there - especially not after the kindness Mossbloom had shown her - and so she hoped she would be treated civilly if she was discovered. The sun shone down, just before sun-high, and birds chirped in the tree-tops. She gazed into the canopies with a contented expression, tail waving.

Willowheart did not prefer the moister weather of green leaf. The cream and white warrior much preferred the more cooler days of new leaf. Sighing, she wrapped her brown-tipped tail around her forepaws, staring at the bushes and trees. A rustle of leaves came from behind her, and Willowheart turned around, bracing herself for a predator. What she saw next made her both relax and tense with curiosity at the same time. “Summer! Hello! How has it been? I haven’t seen you in moons!” The familiar pelt of the ginger and cream loner distracted Willowheart from her dark thoughts.

Having not been paying attention, Summer noticed the scent of the cat she'd walked in on an instant before her had snapped to a source of movement. Her heart beat a little faster as a bright cream pelt that sported a pair of rich blue eyes caught her gaze. In a matter of moments the ThunderClan cat before her had tensed, recognized her, and relaxed. "Willowpaw, darling, it's you!" Summer exclaimed as the pretty she-cat called out her name and a bright greeting. At her questions, Summer dipped her head and smiled, replying breezily, "It's been busy, darling - I've been exploring the forest, every part that I can! I've met several Clan cats. I think I've gotten to glimpse a little of every Clan's territory, too." Her eyes flashed mischievously, and she added, "Don't tell them, please - I promise I'm being respectful, darling."

Willowheart waved her tail at the drifter, inviting her to sit down. “Actually, I’m Willowheart now! A warrior. And no, I wont tell on you if you’re not doing any harm. Hopefully all the cats were nice! Were they nice?” Willowheart knew that some Clan cats did not appreciate loners or other cats wandering into their territory. Willowheart definitely wasn’t one of then...and so wasn’t Moonlight either...Why do I keep thinking of her? Your best friend is dead, Willowheart. So is your mentor. Her sapphire gaze seemed distracted for a moment as Willowheart seemed lost in thought.

The she-cat invited Summer to sit, and the drifter did so readily, sweeping her tail neatly around herself as she settled to look attentively at her friend. She was surprised by the name correction, but the notion of changing a Clan cat's name sounded familiar. "Willowheart!" Summer commented admiringly, "That's beautiful, darling, and graceful as the tree your name comes from. That's very fitting." The pretty Clan cat asked about her experience, and Summer laughed as she considered some of the clawmarks healing beneath her pelt. "Oh, some of them were. Some of them weren't quite so inviting." She laughed lightly, then noticed the darkness in Willowheart's gaze - a momentary distractedness. The drifter perked up. "Is something troubling you, darling?" she asked.

Willowheart smiled at Summer’s compliment at her new name. “Thank you...it is, isn’t it?” When Summer asked about Willowheart’s troubles, she blinked in surprise. Was their something that gave it away? Shrugging as if it was nothing, Willowheart allowed the words to tumble out of her mouth. “Oh, nothing really. Just some weird evil spirit cats getting defeated but then SkyClan left the other Clans to get killed and oh, ThunderClan apparently has two traitors one of them which was my mentor. Dawngaze, my mentor, died and then Moonlight, my best friend died by a fox attack and—” She broke off, voice choking slightly. “I’m sorry...it’s just...these couple of moons have been...rather hard for all the Clans.

Summer watched Willowheart shrug unconvincingly. The drifter could sense the dam about to break a moment before it did; Willowheart was dismissive of her troubles at first, but suddenly she was speaking of the threat of the spirit cats that were defeated, the treachery within her own clan, and the death she'd recently endured. Summer's sky blue eyes widened, and the drifter leaned tentatively forward, reaching a paw to reassuringly brush Willowheart's shoulder. "You've nothing to apologize for, darling; it sounds like it's been dreadful for you," Summer meowed sympathetically.

Willowheart sighed, before looking at Summer’s sky blue eyes. Her pelt grew slightly warm under the intense gaze of the pretty drifter. “All of the cats keep telling me to move on...but I don’t think I can...anyways...do you have any questions about uh...spirit cats or any of that mouse dung I just spat out? Also...uh...who have you met these past moons? I could tell them all I know about their recent uh...conditions.” The ThunderClan she-cat wanted to know where Summer had been. It seemed rather interesting being able to wander around freely.

Summer met Willowheart's gaze with warmth and sympathy. She shook her head slightly, thinking, Moving on is easier when you can literally move on. Willowheart offered some explanations if Summer desired any, and Summer was about to consider what she might asked before the ThunderClan cat gently probed about what she'd been doing. The drifter laughed melodically and purred, "Stars, I'm not sure I could remember all of them, darling. I met a SkyClan tom named Wolfcall in the upwalker settlement, and I've met a pawful of WindClan cats up on the moors - Morningpaw and Maplewhisker and cats like them. ShadowClan has certainly been the least inviting; I've been attacked nearly every time I've visited. I can't blame them, though. They're just obeying your code, after all."

Willowheart nodded excitedly. From the information she could gather from her memories, most of them were bits and pieces. “Well...Wolfcall is SkyClan’s deputy. I met two of his kits in the recent Gathering. They all seem to be doing fine. Maplewhisker...I don’t believe I have heard of her before, sorry. And Morningpaw...” Willowheart shifted uncomfortably, remembering the poor apprentice and how she was knocked out from the Righteous Few’s attacks. “She, uh...last time I saw her, Morningpaw was unconscious and was suffering from some wounds. I believe that she has recovered...but I am reallly not sure.”

Summer nodded at the mention of Wolfcall being deputy, then purred at the mention of his kits. "Oh, good for him," Summer remarked, remembering how apologetic he'd been when he realized he'd wrongly attacked her. He'd be a good, clumsy father. At the mention of Morningpaw, though, Willowheart shifted uncomfortably, and Summer blinked, her expression growing a little more concerned. Hearing what had happened to the WindClan cat made Summer's eyes widen. "My whiskers! That's terrible - I'd no idea, but I... I suppose that explains why I haven't run into her for a while. Perhaps her Clan is keeping her close under supervision," the drifter suggested hopefully.

Willowheart nodded, hope swelling in her chest. “I really hope so...” She looked at Summer again, smiling softly. “You should probably ask a WindClan cat about her...I mean, maybe a friendlier one. Some cats really don’t like it when loners wander into their territory. They even attack Clan cats. There tend to be lots of border skirmishes, but uh...well, I haven’t encountered one.” Yet. Who knows when I’ll accidentally chase prey into another Clan’s territory? The white she cat really hoped that Summer would stay safe. Tension between the Clans were high enough already. There was obviously more mistrust regarding Clan-jumping and loners wanting to join the Clan.

Summer nodded briefly at Willowheart's suggestion, thinking, Yes, I should do that. Surely someone could tell me if she's alright - why I haven't scented her on the moors? The drifter chuckled knowingly at Willowheart's comment about how some cats didn't like loners in their territories. She was more surprised to learn that Clan cats used to skirmish at their borders - although she supposed she wasn't really surprised. It had been more surprising to learn that the Clans didn't fight all of them time. Summer purred at Willowheart, "Well, that's good, darling! It's silly to get angry over land when you've all got plentiful prey, don't you think?" She knew it wasn't always that simple, though.

Willowheart nodded, before nudging Summer lightly. “Where are you going after exploring the Clan territories? I wish I could travel like you do, but I don’t want to leave my Clan either.” She sighed wistfully. Imagine how lucky Summer must be...the only place I’ve explored that was actually far away was Highstones...but even then I only get to visit it once. How the ThunderClan cat would love to see what the areas farther away from Highstones seemed like.

Summer looked aside when Willowheart nudged her, sky blue eyes meeting a deep river blue gaze. The drifter laughed lightly at Willowheart's question, answering warmly, "I haven't the slightest idea, darling! That's the fun of adventuring, of drifting - I've no idea when I'll leave, and I've no idea where I'll end up when I go." The tip of her tail curled with delight at the thought, and she added, "Truthfully, Willowheart, any cat can be a drifter, even cats cut from stone. If the desire to drift is strong enough, it will happen one day, darling." She smiled.