(i dreamed i moved) Among The Elysian Fields

Morningdove could stay here forever.
A part of her almost wanted to. It would be easy, too- to simply find the thin, burning thread that tied her heart to the lands below, and set it free, a puppet with its strings cut and the control-bar rising upwards into the starry sky-- but no, Morningdove did not belong here. Not yet. There were things to be done, places to be seen, and people to be saved; and as gentle as the celestial moors were, they would wait for her, and she for them. There was no doubt in this; Morningdove was in StarClan, yes, but- much like life- it was only temporary, transient, fleeting. I won't stay long, her pelt spoke, devoid of the telltale stars that marked the true inhabitants of the idyllic land. Just visiting.
She wouldn't stay long. Just long enough to find someone to guide her home, and to make a few final arrangements. But, for now- perhaps... just a little sightseeing. A moment couldn't hurt, could it? So Morningdove stood, gazing at her paw for a few seconds just to make sure it was really there, and took a few slow, tentative steps forward. No dull ache plagued her, no wobble in her legs or listless insensation in her tail; she could feel it stirring through the grass, her fur tickled by the warmth of more stars than any reasonable cat had numbers to count. So for a few moments, she walked, and then ran, spectral winds blowing behind her and urging her onwards, the air itself folding before her--

--as soon as it started, it was over. Morningdove willed herself to a halt, the adrenaline in her veins fading to nothingness as she shook her head to nobody in particular. This is wonderful, she thought, but I can't enjoy it just yet. The thing about paradise is that it makes you never want to leave. So rather than gaze up at the endless sky, or will the wind to blow through her fur, or even feel the spark of her tail brushing against the ground, Morningdove simply took a deep breath- reminded herself, Just visiting,- and thought.

Any dead cat could guide her home, in theory; but not everyone among the stars was an ally. The Righteous Few had proven enough, and Morningdove had no doubt that their cause still had a few supporters, crypto-traditionalists too smart to take up claws alongside their doomed comrades that wouldn't hesitate to snuff out her light given the opportunity. She needed a cat she could trust, which narrowed down the selection greatly; but even more so, a cat willing to listen, and to perhaps go along with her... shenanigans were the best way to put it, and a cat who was there, at the final fight, who had seen the Righteous Few's sins and Galestar's redemption and wouldn't quite dismiss her thoughts instantly.

Cobaltfire, the risen warrior thought, her heart pounding in her chest as she let her light reach out, a signal to the cat she knew would watch over her even as she trespassed in StarClan's lands. Cobaltfire, I need your help.

The starry plains that the starry gray she-cat called home were beautiful, and some argued that they were more beautiful than the moor that the living WindClan cats called home. To Cobaltfire, that was a lie, and while the starlit plains were just as plentiful with prey and full with the breezes that her birth Clan got its namesake, she still found herself wishing sometimes to return to the world of the living, just to once again stand in the place that she called home until she'd been called to the stars. It was during one of these little nostalgia spells that a small voice seemed to brush her consciousness, a little prickling in the back of her skull, almost... calling her.

She rose to her paws, the sensation intensifying as she did so, and while it wasn't painful, she sensed the urgency in it. With a little sense of direction, the gray she-cat took off across the moor, following trails carved into the hills by many paws, the winding paths carved into her memory just as vividly as the paths in the moor of the living. Each step that she took brought her closer to the source of the calling, and a little feeling in her chest told her who it was. The sensation in her mind reached a crescendo as she crested the final hill between her and the cat calling her, and a smile broke across the gray molly's face as the gray tabby form of Morningdove met her eyes.

"What brings you to StarClan?" Cobaltfire called down the hill, a playful twinkle in her eyes, before breaking into a trot that brought her to a stop in front of the younger she-cat. A more serious tone laced her voice as she continued, "I heard your call. What do you need?"

A second passed, and then another. There was no change, of course. A third, and Morningdove began to question what exactly she was trying to do; summoning an ancient spirit was far more advanced than simply thinking 'come over, my parents aren't home' in their general direction. A fourth, and then- a faintly-familiar face atop a nearby hill, and a voice that carried with it lifetimes of living among the wind. Cobaltfire had come, and for once in her life, Morningdove was without words; truthfully, she hadn't dared to hope this would work, and yet... it had. The miracles of StarClan extended far beyond their own ranks, it seemed. The tabby dipped her head in thankful greeting, her fur ruffling gently in the breeze as she began to reply- at first, slowly, and then without concern for such trivialities as 'putting words in the correct order'-- her conversation with Galestar had been tense, a razor's edge between reconciliation and hostility, but Cobaltfire's presence was far more calming. And so;

"Cobaltfire! Huh. I didn't really expect that to work- anyway, I'm sorry to trouble you during your, uh... infinite moons of paradise... but- okay, so. I'll start from the beginning, it's probably easier..." A deep breath, and then the whole truth and nothing but. Sometimes, charisma is not in being especially persuasive or eloquent; sometimes, it lies simply in the unyielding innocence of truth, in the ardent desire to make things right, and illuminate the darkest nights like the stars themselves. And it is this - not any grandiose speech, as talented at them though she may have been - that Morningdove attempted.

"So you remember the Gathering when- okay, yeah, you remember that. Anyway, the healing thing didn't quite take as well as it should've, and I've been unconscious for... moons. Not really sure how many, I kind of lost count, but apparently everything's on fire now, which really isn't much of an improvement. But- not long ago, I woke up somewhere I've never been before. The Mist. Firstly, it's horrible and I can't ever imagine sending another cat there, and if that's somehow better than the Dark Forest then I'm kind of terrified of the Dark Forest now; but second, Galestar was there." The warrior showed no sign of slowing down, her words becoming increasingly strained as she pushed basic necessities like breathing to the back of her mind for now. "She'd been conserving her energy for something, and when I appeared, she tried to help me wake up. And when I realised that was what she was doing, I asked her to save some of her spirit, so she only had enough to send me here instead so now I need help getting back home to wake up for real, but-- I also need to do something else, I need to get her out of there because she's actually redeemed herself by sending me here, and if she's capable of that then she needs to be somewhere she can improve instead of stuck in an endless fog forever and-"

A pause, a murmured apology, and then; "... okay, to summarise. I need your help getting out of here, and setting up some kind of... trial or something. If- if that's okay. I know it's a lot to ask. I didn't know who else to turn to, but I figured maybe- I don't know, I just get the feeling you've been keeping an eye on all this so you're probably the right cat to come to."

As the words tumbled out of Mornigdove's mouth, Cobaltfire nodded sagely, thinking about what to say next. She flicked her plumed tail gently as she thought about what she could do to help, and dipped her head.
"It sounds like you've had a lot of time to think about all of this. I'm sorry that my healing didn't help you more, but StarClan's power is more... limited in the living world."

Another tail flick, and she continued,
"But, we're in StarClan, and I can absolutely send you home, now that you're here. Truthfully, I believe Galestar really did see the error in her ways, and that she deserves a chance to return to StarClan, given that she helped us help the Clans, and that she would do such a thing as to save you from the Mist. I'll see what I can do. I'll gather up a few of the cats that fought alongside me, and see what they think about this. For now, you must return to the world of the living, and perhaps by your Moonstone journey, I'll have some results for you."

With that, Cobaltfire took a deep breath, and her eyes began to glow slightly as she gathered the energy and power that a life among the stars had given her. With a voice laced with power, she asked,
"Are you ready?"

And just like that, the realization struck, like a bolt of jagged lightning slicing through her thoughts. After all this time, through everything that had happened-- Morningdove was coming home. Battered and bruised, undoubtedly, and with a heavier load upon her shoulders than any warrior should carry; but she was coming home, and that was what mattered most. The tabby wanted to bow her head, to blink in affirmation and say, I'm ready, but- how could she be? None of this had been planned - at least, not by her. Perhaps there was some greater force at work, a StarClan above StarClan pulling the strings to arrange a cruel and unusual destiny for her, but Morningdove had played no role other than victim in the latest chapter of her life. Escaping that - going back to the Clans, living again, being- well, just being? Existing outside of the confines of her cell? She'd done her time, served her sentence, but even so.

It was a lot to think about.

"I... don't know," Morningdove admitted, her verdant gaze focused solely on the star-slicked grass below her. 'Ashamed' would be a strong word to use to describe her, but- not an inaccurate one. After all, Cobaltfire was all but ready to send her back home, something she'd barely dared to hope for- what right had she to hesitate? "If I'm ready, I mean. I'm not saying I won't go- I will- but I just... what happens now? When I get back? Do things just- go back to normal, and we all pretend nothing happened? The- the ones who did this-" -she still couldn't quite bring herself to speak their name- "-they're gone, so..."

And with that, the she-cat looked up at Cobaltfire, her eyes hazy and her voice unsteady. For all the good Morningdove had done, all the travails she had endured, she was still just one cat - a revolutionary, definitely, a martyr perhaps- but still just one cat. "... what do I do now?"

Despite what she'd known about the other she-cat, Cobaltfire was a bit surprised by Morningdove's admission that she wasn't quite ready to go back yet.
"What happens after you wake up it what you make of it. If you want everything to go back to normal, then you can make it so. Life doesn't exist in a vacuum, and neither do the cats that live in it. The cats that have passed still have an impact on the lives and the cats that they left behind, and they certainly wouldn't want you to beat yourself up for what could have been. You did what you thought was right, and an important thing to learn is that you can't save everyone, nor would we expect such a thing from any one cat."

She flicked her tail, stars dislodging from the tip of it and glimmering a little before winking out.
"You did your best with what you were given, and you made really tough choices that ultimately ended up saving the Clans. You should be proud of that, and the cats that you couldn't save don't hold it against you."

"There are cats that love you, dear Morningdove. Cherish them and support them, and your life will never lack meaning. Your life is yours to do with what you please."

The gray she-cat finally fell silent as she noticed the sky beginning to lighten, and continued,
"Sunrise draws near. It is time, you must return to the land of the living. Do not fear, as I will keep watch over you, and if you need me, just call. I don't mind, as truthfully, speaking with you and other living cats is a nice change of pace around here. Also, tell Olivestar I said hello."

With a small smile and a heart full of love, she pressed her nose to Morningdove's forehead, and the gray tabby's form began to fade. Before she completely disappeared, Cobaltfire murmured,
"May the wind be always at your back, young one."

That... hm. That made sense, she supposed- a lot of sense, in fact, as hard as it was to admit. None of it was particularly surprising, but the starry she-cat before her spoke wisdom, and truth, and sense - all things that Morningdove needed to hear. It was better to try than to do nothing, after all, and regardless of what had happened as a result, the warrior could firmly attest that she had tried. She gave a slight nod, blinking a few times as her concerns faded into a more characteristic look of determination. "Thank you, Cobaltfire," Morningdove mewed, reaching up to meet her celestial guardian's touch. "If more cats thought as you did, then the forest would be a whole lot better. I think... I think I'm ready."

"May the wind be always at your back, young one."

And as the fireflies gathered around her, and Morningdove gave a last, long look to the endless moors of the Starlit Plains, the risen warrior lifted her head high, flicked her tail for the last time, and closed her eyes; and as the world faded around her and her heart leapt from her chest, pulled downwards with the force of a falling star, she thought; And at yours as well,

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