by the dawn's early light

It was on one rather uneventful night of Leaf-fall that the stars shone down upon the WindClan camp, just as they always did; a beautiful sight, if a mundane one to many a cat, exposed to it for countless nights. For some, the majesty never left, of course, but very few would recognise the slight change in the night sky; one single star shone just a little brighter than usual, a tiny spark more brilliant than it should be. Anyone who happened to be gazing up at the sky, of course, would've likely been far more fascinated with the gently-flashing red and green lights that moved across the sky in tandem like twin shooting stars of crimson and verdigris. (The cats of the forest, of course, had no concept of such mundane Twoleg contraptions as a passenger airliner*.) But tonight, the stars shone a little differently, and tonight, the WindClan medicine den was filled with the sounds of creaking twigs and folding goose-feathers (although admittedly, the latter was as silent as ever).
(*if you refuse to believe Warrior Cats takes place after the invention of the first commercial airliner in 1952, please suspend your disbelief for the purposes of this highly-engaging red herring.) (If you're wondering, it was the de Havilland DH106 Comet.)

She'd been like this for a few hours now - wherein 'like this' refers exclusively to tossing and turning as if in fitful sleep, though resisting all attempts to be awoken; not especially unusual for cats who had endured such pain, but far too uncommon for Morningdove herself, given her condition. It was the most activity she'd shown in many moons - there were WindClan warriors who existed only as unborn kits when the she-cat had moved last (and quite honestly, it was a wonder that the Clan hadn't given up already, though that was another conversation for another time). So undoubtedly, it was unusual that Morningdove moved, that her body shook as if caught in the tremors of a nightmare and yet still refused to be awoken. 'Unusual', of course, described a lot of the cat's life, but this was not simply that. No, the truly curious part was the glowing.

The glowing, of course, was a more recent event. It had begun just a few minutes ago, just as the shining star settled back into its usual rhythm (and just as the curious red-green lights faded from view- how interesting they were!), and most definitely qualified as just a little more than unusual. A little context goes a long way, however. A long time ago, far before she'd landed in the predicament that had sent her into this state, Morningdove - then Morningkit, of course - had been born with a mildly interesting birthmark; a vaguely star-shaped marking on her forehead, where most cats of her kind would have a simple M. In the fight that had very nearly claimed her life (in which she'd survived a whole ten seconds before being absolutely destroyed), her nemesis had slashed open her head with a single brutal blow; even now, even after StarClan's healing and moons of attentive medical care, a long scar ran down her head, just one of many.

But now- both halves, split in two, were glowing in a manner that would've been almost concerning were it not quite so miraculous; though what was perhaps even more providential (for this was undoubtedly StarClan's work; how could it be otherwise?) was the glowing spreading, sweeping across the fallen martyr's body in waves emanating from her forehead like ripples in a pool. First one, then another, then one more, increasing in frequency and intensity and firmly solidifying in any observers' minds that Morningdove was kinda weird; and as her tossing and turning stilled, the glowing continued, until- after what seemed like an eternity- it faded.

And as the first light of dawn streamed through the sky and cast its illuminating rays upon the WindClan medicine den, on a rather eventful morning of Leaf-fall,

Today was a normal day. Not unlike any other. Paws wearily sorted herbs, cracking wry jokes to Morningdove over her shoulder. The silent she-cat had become her constant companion for every task- except herb gathering, of course. They ate together, shared tongues, chatted as Softbreeze busied herself sorting herbs- (although the converstions were rather one sided)-, and Softbreeze could ask for no better friend. Nests side by side, flowers woven in each other's fur, dream sharing in the morning, and gossiping at night. Morningdove truly was a good listener.

"And Stars, you'll never guess what happened next! I mean, gosh, I could hardly believe it. Hah! You should've seen his face! I don't believe I've ever seen Shyfawn so furious!" Marigold with marigold, horsetail over there, that sorrel definitely didn't belong with the parsley! It was a simple routine, really. Bright. A glimmer of rather bright light at the corner of her eye caught her attention. Curiously, she turned around. And so when Softbreeze looked over her shoulder to glance at her dear comrade, all words but one died on her tongue:
"NO-"

Gasping as she swivelled around faster than a fox in a fit, Softbreeze leapt atop the gray tabby, shielding her from... Whatever was trying to harm her. Morningdove was glowing. Cats should not be glowing. Morningdove was revolutionary, yes, but revolutionary enough to randomly glow as bright as a star? No. Wait. A star. Of course. StarClan. With a scream Softbreeze hardly realized she'd let out, the usually kind medicine cat turned a burning glare to the roof of her den. "Don't. You. Even. Dare." The molly threatened, pale cream pelt entirely fluffed out. StarClan forsaken ancestors. If they wanted Morningdove, they'd have to go through her first, and that meant she'd have to die as well.

"No. No, no, no! NO! NO! NO! YOU ARE NOT TAKING HER. I REFUSE, I REJECT THIS WILL NOT HAPPEN. NOT IN MY MEDICINE DEN! DO YOU HEAR ME STARCLAN?! NOT GONNA HAPPEN. YOU PUT HER SPIRIT BACK, AND YOU PUT IT BACK RIGHT NOW!" Softbreeze demanded, yowling at the ceiling in crazed panic. Through gritted teeth, she hissed: "If you want a war, StarClan, so be it."

Her blue eyes were hardly recognizable. It was funny, how they'd never changed in hue from kithood yet never stayed the same for more than three moons. From a nervous kit, to an eager young apprentice, they'd shined like stars. They lacked this shine now, and had for quite some time, actually. Haunted, determined, but never frightened.


She didn't seem to register the awakening of the cat she'd vowed her life to protect, or the appearance of her leader, Olivestar.

Like clockwork, as the sun began peeking over the horizon, Olivestar roused herself from the clutches of sleep, the first cat in camp to awaken that day. Since her deputyship, she strove to be awake earlier so that she could carry out her duties efficiently, and by the time she'd become leader, she'd become the first cat to wake up in the mornings, and was usually the last to go to sleep, aside from the night watch. Truthfully, she wasn't fond of getting up early, but she was dedicated to serving her Clan the best that she could, and as leader, she wanted to set a good example. Her morning routine was just that, a routine, where she woke up, groomed, then ate a small meal before going on patrol, or hunting a bit. In the evenings, she'd stop by the medicine den to tell Morningdove about her day, no matter how mundane the day's proceedings had been.

The sky glowed in shades of blue and gold as the sun made its way over the horizon and climbed into the sky, and Olivestar sat up, then stood, and quickly stooped to give Zinnia a few loving licks on the head before picking her way around her sleeping Clanmates. The camp was quiet, the only sounds breaking the silence were the ever-present wind, and the soft snuffling of her Clanmates at rest. A small smile crossed her face as she was reminded just how much she loved her Clan, and how they trusted her as their leader, and that train of thought led her mental wanderings over to the medicine den, and the cat that laid comatose within it. A feeling bloomed in her gut as she groomed herself, her intuition pointing her in the direction of the den, almost whispering to her, "Go visit her."

She wrapped up her grooming with a few more passes of her paw over her face, and she flicked her tail as she stood, breaking into a brisk trot towards the den as she suppressed a yawn. Then the silence of the camp was broken by what could only be described as a scream, and the leader broke into a run, barging into the medicine den to see Softbreeze standing on top of Morningdove, yelling something about... StarClan? Her hackles raised, she called out,
"Softbreeze! What's going on?"

As her eyes adjusted to the low light of the den, her almost-daughter's still form came into view, as unmoving as the day that she'd been brought into the den on that fateful night. The gray tabby she-cat paused and looked closely at Morningdove's still form, and could see the faint rise and fall of her chest under the medicine cat's paws. She cocked her head to the side and stepped forward, gently maneuvering Softbreeze back to where she was standing on the ground, and... not on Morningdove. Laying her tail across the medicine cat's shoulders, she murmured calmingly,
"She's still breathing. I don't think she's dying just yet... Especially not if a certain StarClan cat has anything to say about it. Cobaltfire healed her that night, I don't think she'll let Morningdove join her just yet."

She was brought back to the night of the battle, when StarClan themselves fought alongside them against the Righteous Few. Cobaltfire had been one of the few cats that had joined the living that night, and had healed Morningdove of her life-threatening injuries. It was one of the few things that had really stood out to her among the chaos, and Olivestar still remembered the sensation of her teeth in Lavenderbreeze's throat, the rip and tear of ghostly flesh under her claws, and she flicked her tail as she thought to herself, with a glance at Morningdove, I'd do it again, for you. For everyone.

As that thought crossed her mind, a flash of movement made the leader turn, and as if her internal declaration of love and dedication had been spoken aloud, Morningdove's eyes flickered open. Jaw hanging open slightly, she watched as her apprentice began to stir, for the first time in moons. Joy filled her from ears to tail tip, and warm tears of joy welled up in the gray molly's eyes. Blinking through the tears, Olivestar bent down to nuzzle Morningdove, a purr bursting forth as she began grooming the scarred apprentice's head. She lifted her head and took a step back as she murmured,
"I knew you'd wake up. I never ever gave up hope."

A slow, quiet breath, an insistent mental shove to dispel the splitting headache that plagued her (a side-effect of her voyage, no doubt; living cats were not meant to visit StarClan without the conduit of the Moonstone), and Morningdove's eyes flickered open, seeing the world for the first time in far, far too long; or what little of the world she could make out before everything Happened, anyway. Light, and warmth, and at first, just two blobs of color, one cream and one gray- and both overwhelmingly familiar, and overwhelmingly comforting. Disoriented, unfocused, it was all she could do to determine that yes, other cats were present, and she was, somehow, alive. And awake. And then as the sound began to filter in- oh, everything was already Happening, wasn't it? Could she- could she have five minutes to wake up before everything Happened- no, she'd been away for far too long already, and willing 'just five more minutes?' would get her nowhere.

So rather than turn over and go back to sleep like her body demanded of her, Morningdove forced herself to focus, to translate the featureless blobs of color into the image before her, and to speak, the first true words spoken among the living since-

-and as the haze in her vision cleared, she saw Softbreeze and Olivestar, not Lavenderbreeze, for those were times long past, and Lavenderbreeze was dead; and the cats looking down upon her now were beloved companions, living angels of warmth and care, and that was something she could focus on. So Morningdove spoke, at last, her voice cracked and soft, but present. Alive.

"Please don't do any of those things," the tabby murmured, then cleared her throat as best she could, ignoring the pleas of mercy from her chest - she'd been through worse, after all. "Not without inviting me, at least. And definitely no rotting, but can- can we start with a more reasonable amount of wolves before fighting all ten? Like- three? I could handle three."
It's said that a picture tells a thousand words, but a whole book could be written on the smile on Morningdove's face, the soft twitch of her whiskers and the look which seemed to say, thank you, and it's good to be back, and I really couldn't handle three wolves right now but I'd do it anyway for you two and a million things besides. So when the risen warrior closed her eyes for a moment, reopening them to see the world anew (and again doing her best to ignore the sensation of having her brains scrambled and served in a delicious breakfast omelette), it was with something she'd lacked for the longest time- a quiet sense that everything would turn out alright.

"I... think I overslept a bit, sorry."

It took every drop of reason in her blood not to shove Olivestar away, to drag Morningdove to a corner where Softbreeze herself could guard her, to hiss and claw any who came too near. The tail offered to her didn't little to quench her fear and with wide eyes she shook her head. She wanted to say,"StarClan have made it clear they aren't almighty and that Morningdove isn't important to them. None of us are, only the existence of the Clans and of the Warrior Code. We are mere pawns,", or "Cobaltfire is only but one cat. She can't fix everything." But instead of either of those things, all she softly murmured was "You're wrong, Olive. StarClan can't and won't prevent death."

Just as tears fell to the ground, a whisper broke her conscious mind, lost in thought. At first, the molly believed she'd simply imagined it. Nothing more than a sound created by an intense longing, a sorrow so real it could nearly be tangible. But then she heard it again, and it formed a sentence. Her head snapped up so quickly, it was shocking she didn't snap her neck. For a while she could not speak, for how could she? Morningdove was alive.

Alive. Morningdove was alive.It took a moment for her mind to register this and as it did she stared dumbfounded at the no longer comatose patient. Living. Breathing. Speaking. Moving. Alive. It was too good to be true- there was a catch, there had to be a catch. A life for a life? No, Morningdove would never condone that. Softbreeze knew the gray tabby too well, she wouldn't agree to such terms. So then what was the cost? Other than a life, there was no equal to the miracle that had occurred. Surely the delicate balance of life and death that Wraith had spoken of would have been disturbed. Softbreeze couldn't help but ponder what The Order would make of this. Did Morningdove herself know of the cost? StarClan would undoubtedly have told her, unless...


The name echoed in her mind, the obvious answer to this question. If you could've asked her that second how she knew, she would not be able to tell you. For she wasn't sure herself, she just knew. Oh, Gale, I always knew you were good.. Misguided, fooled, like so many others. Please, StarClan, accept this selfless act of kindness and courage as her redemption. The Mist is no place for a hero. With her silent prayer done, Softbreeze stepped forward with as much composure she could manage, eyes swimming with shiny droplets. She stared down at Morningdove, eyes filled with love and immeasurable joy.


And with that, her structure vanished and she fell forwards, sobbing as she wrapped herself around the gray tabby, her soul sister, in an embrace, as if letting her go would cause her to disappear for moons again. "I hope you said hi to her for me," She murmured gently, teasing in her tone and Morningdove would not have to ask who 'she' was. It was obvious in the air between the two. Looking up at Olivestar, though not removing her entangled limbs and tail from around Morningdove, she dipped her. "If I may, Olivestar, I'd like to be the one to announce the news to the Clan, please. But not now. Right now, I just want to sit here, and I think you'll feel the same."

Talking done, she buried her head into Morningdove's shoulder fur, relishing in the warmth and blood flow that the fur had lacked for so long.

You know those moments where your undying appreciation for someone hits you like a Thunderpath monster barrelling into you at full speed? The ones where you were at the very least aware of it beforehand, fully cognizant that those twin beams of pale light betrayed the presence of something far greater; the ones where even the thick hide of forewarning and the sharp claws of self-awareness weren't quite enough to mask the impact of a seven-ton realization-- okay, no, that metaphor was going nowhere in a hurry and even the part of Morningdove aware enough to formulate it realised that. But the point, of course, was that looking up into those beautiful sky-blue eyes (Remembering that one forever, her mind chirped), and hearing that gentle voice welcome her home, and feeling that remarkably soft fur collapse against her in an unceasing embrace, was really all it took for it to finally click. She was home. She'd survived. Against all odds, Morningdove had as good as died, and then - exclusively through the unyielding love of others, of Olivestar and Cobaltfire and most definitely of Softbreeze - had come back. Fractured, cracked, yes, but present, and that was far more than any other cat could claim under the same circumstances.

And then, of course, the other cat's moment of realisation, coming so swiftly after her own. Even before the she-cat before her spoke, Morningdove could still see it in Softbreeze's eyes. (She could see a lot of things in Softbreeze's eyes, admittedly, but realisation was most definitely one of them.) Somehow, the medicine cat knew; but how much, Morningdove wasn't sure. She silently prayed that she'd acquitted herself honorably back in the Mist; to be judged by StarClan was one thing, but to be judged by Softbreeze would be another entirely-- but no, the cat seemed to have no malice behind her gaze, no disapproval of Morningdove's shenanigans. Which, admittedly, likely meant she didn't know of Morningdove's shenanigans. Time to remedy that. "If everything works out how I'm hoping it will," the risen warrior murmured, pressing a comforting paw to the medicine cat's cheek as if to say, I'm here, I'm not going anywhere, "You'll be able to tell her yourself soon enough." Vague, admittedly, but a part of her still wasn't entirely sure the scheme would work-- okay, no, a lot of her wasn't sure it'd work. StarClan wasn't known for their mercy, after all, and Softbreeze knew that too; but even so.

"It's... complicated, but- without Galestar, I wouldn't be here right now. She used almost everything she had to help me wake up, even though she thought she might die from it. So... I'm coming up with a way to get her into StarClan. I don't know if it'll work, but-- it might. I have to try; three-- two reasons. One, she deserves a second chance, and two, it's the right thing to do." (The third, and perhaps most powerful reason, Morningdove pointedly omitted- she'd keep that one to herself, thank you very much, now and forever.) "The whole thing was... well, it was an ordeal, wouldn't recommend it, but-" A slight flick of her whiskers, a swish of her... hm. Her tail was still waking up, it seemed, a little slower than the rest of her; no matter. Morningdove would've given it a little more thought, but she had more important matters to attend to anyway -- like making sure Softbreeze didn't rush off and go 'hey, Morningdove's awake!' too early. So the warrior murmured, soft as silk and gentle as the spring breeze, "If you don't stay here until at least sundown, I'm going to die and then haunt you for the rest of your life." Perhaps an exaggeration, but the meaning was clear (and stated not a moment later); "Please don't go anywhere. I missed you. And yes, I'm aware that you spent most of your time talking to me, that in no way negates what I just said."

Just like that, the floodgates opened, and released the torrent of emotion that nearly swept Olivestar off her paws. More tears of sheer joy dripped down the leader's face as she watched Morningdove move, then speak, a small voice cracked and small from non-use, but a voice nonetheless. She watched as Softbreeze, too broke down, whispering something about Galestar. The name alone, despite the once-starry she-cat redeeming herself at the end of that night, still invoked what could only be called fear in Olivestar, but she buried that feeling deep under the joy in her that took prevalence. When the medicine cat finally turned back to her, what left her mouth was a request, and one that she could easily honor. She dipped her head, voice cracking a little, and responded,
"Of course, Softbreeze."

With that, she stepped forward, made her way around to where she was behind Morningdove, and laid down, resting her head on her daughter's shoulder, and wrapping her tail around Softbreeze, the sound of purring soon filling the air. She closed her eyes for a moment, and opened them again when Morningdove spoke, the scarred she-cat speaking of Galestar once more, the name still sending a chill down her spine. I'll have to rewrite my associations, then, she mused, as Morningdove spoke of how the former leader gave up most of her spirit to bring her back home, and for that, Olivestar couldn't deny that she was grateful.

She lifted her head a little as Morningdove mentioned a plan to bring Galestar back to StarClan, and the leader's interest was piqued. She cocked her head to the side a little and set it back down to rest as she murmured,
"How so? Like, what's your plan?"

As she spoke, she could hear the sounds of the camp waking and beginning to buzz with activity, as their Clanmates roused themselves from sleep just as she had, and began setting about their day. She hoped that none of them would need either hers or Softbreeze's assistance, at least for a little while. She just needed some time to catch up, even though she'd visited Morningdove every day since that bloody night.
"Also, I know I've talked to you about my day... pretty much every day since... yeah, would you like for me to give you the rundown of the major happenings since?"

The idea was simple, Morningdove thought; to visit StarClan at the moonstone at the earliest opportunity, to convince them to allow Galestar back among their ranks, and then to return home with a spring in her step and the knowledge that she'd succeeded - and then, of course, to finally put the past behind her. A simple idea, but... the catch? Well- as Olivestar (a name that fit the older tabby remarkably well, the risen warrior believed) had pointed out, she did need a plan. And the planning, of course, was the difficult part. Really, she hadn't given it too much thought aside from what she'd told Cobaltfire, and hadn't even begun to figure out how to convince the sharpest minds of the stars to give a second chance to one of the most notorious traitors in history. Without mercy, justice was nothing- but the minds of the forest's ancestors were rarely known for their openness. For the briefest moment, Morningdove wanted to come up with something on the spot, to hope for the flash of inspiration that would fill her mind with the same level of oratory she herself had preached upon the Great Rock so long ago - but nothing came, of course, and a part of her was glad of it. From Olivestar and Softbreeze, Morningdove had nothing to fear; they were not the ones who would pass judgement upon Galestar, after all, and they would not judge her for having about as many arguments as functional tails. (It was still numb and immobile, even as she'd shifted herself to a more comfortable position; likely she'd simply slept on it for too long. )

"Well, I don't really... have one," Morningdove admitted, pushing back her shame for a moment. She couldn't be expected to work miracles all the time, right? "After Galestar sent me to StarClan-- okay, I should probably just start from the beginning here. Last night, I fell asleep, as usual- and woke up somewhere I'd never been before. I could move, and talk, and see, and what I saw was... it was awful, honestly. This swirling, endless gloom, this fog that I could only see a fox-length in front of me no matter how hard I looked; and Galestar was there. She'd been there since the battle, and... coming from someone who's been trapped in her own body for moons? The Mist was worse- at least to me."

The warrior gave a quiet shudder as she thought back to what she'd seen; no, that was no place for any cat, alone and destined only to walk an infinite haze, slowly going insane. No wonder Galestar had been so willing to sacrifice herself to bring Morningdove back. And at first, the she-cat hadn't seen any of that; she'd simply seen a double-traitor, the killer of her first leader, one of the cats who she'd fought and nearly died against. "I wasn't... kind, to her, at first- I saw her, and I thought of everything that had happened to me, to the forest, because of cats like her. You forgave her a long time ago, Softbreeze, but I..." Another pause, and Morningdove steeled herself, redoubling her resolve; talking about it all, having it all come back- it felt so real all of a sudden. But she'd been through worse. "I think I only just did, back there in the Mist, and only because of what happens next-- but I listened to her anyway."

"She asked me what I wanted to do with my life, who I wanted to be, and I said- I told her I wanted to try again, and to always keep trying. Next time, without putting everyone else in danger. I told her I wanted to make the forest a better place, to keep trying to save everyone-- I know it's not possible, I know, but that doesn't mean we should give up, and I told her that too. That I'd given up on my stupid childhood dreams of ambition, and all I wanted was to make sure the cats I love, and even the cats I don't, are okay." Morningdove blinked, and blinked again, her eyes wet with the tears of truth; she'd meant every word when she talked to Galestar, and meant it even more now. That was her duty as a warrior, as a Clan cat, and as Morningdove - to give. To give as much of herself to her Clan and all the cats of the forest, until she couldn't any more, and then a little more as well. That was what she wanted to do. "I, uh- sorry. I need a minute-"

It wasn't quite a minute, but a good few seconds passed before she continued. "So she offered to use all her energy to send me back. And I told her no- I said only, only, if she could keep herself alive too, keep herself in the Mist. I had to kind of, half-lie to her, I had to tell her it was part of her punishment and that I couldn't have it on my conscience if she died; true, but that wasn't why. It was because, when she made that offer- she was genuine. She wanted to help, to do the right thing even if it hurt her. Just like me, Galestar wanted to try too, and-- I don't think cats like that deserve to be in the Mist forever. I really hope not. So- she sent me to StarClan instead, and then- Cobaltfire found me."

A deep breath, and finally, the last stage of the adventure; recounting it all, reliving it all down to the tiniest detail... well, she'd only ever do it once, and only ever for the two cats beside her. But they deserved to know everything, not simply the abridged version she'd give the others if they asked. "Also, she said hi, Olivestar- oh, and that name really suits you, by the way." A gentle smile, and a knowing nod; heavy was the head that wore the crown, and leadership was never without its troubles, but Olivestar would do wonderfully. She was an excellent mentor and deputy, and WindClan could ask for no better leader. "Anyway, Cobaltfire offered to send me back, but- I asked her, first, if she could get some of the others who were involved in Galestar's punishment; they're going to meet me at the Moonstone, so I can plead her case, and try and get them to give her another chance. And then- she sent me back, and... I woke up. And honestly, I have no idea how I'm going to convince them, I'm so tired and I haven't really given that part much thought yet."

"Now can we please talk about something other than me for a bit--"

"Oh, Gale..." The same words murmured in her head were murmured aloud this time and she felt her eyes pool with tears. "I knew she was good, and now you know it, too." A blissful sigh was released from her and in that second, nothing mattered except that Mornngdove was here, breathing, living. And that was enough, more than enough. If she were to die this instant, she'd die happy and without a second thought. "It would seem your tail walks with Galestar now, saving her last drop of energy must have taken your tail with it!" Softbreeze laughed, purring as she inhaled Morningdove's scent for the ten thousandth time that day. This would never get old. Softbreeze was wrapped around Morningdove, Olivestar wrapped around he both and Morningdove was tangled between the pair.


Softbreeze didn't want to break the mood, but as Morningdove explained her so called 'plan', the molly knew she had no choice. "I don't think I need to say this as it is implied, but I'll say it anyways. You aren't going anywhere without me. If you're gonna have a chat with StarClan, as will I. Two cats are much more convincing than one." To lighten the mood once more, she grinned, eyes teasingly flashing, "I bet we could talk them to death, or until they give in. Whichever comes first."

Then, as if waiting for the perfect moment, a golden ray of light entered the den, birdsong gleefully echoing across the moors. Softbreeze hoped nobody would enter. Cheekily she looked at her fellow she-cats, two of her closest friends. "If anyone comes in, pretend to be asleep. I'm sure that won't be too hard for you, Morning!" Fluffy tail intertwined with the gray one of Olivestar and limbs pretzel shaped around Morningdove, there was no disturbing the group of she-cats and it was obvious this moment would not end so soon. Taking her seriou tone once again, Softbreeze, ever true to her name, whispered quietly. "Don't ever do that to us again, alright? No more dying, promise?"

"Tomorrow, the moon will be full enough to consult StarClan, and you should have waken up by then. By two sunrises, one star shall shine much brighter." Sofbreeze vowed, and this was a certainty. She refused to take no for an answer. They would accept her or they would accept her, there would be no inbetween.

With the days cooling more and more each day, the warmth generated by the pile of gray and white striped fur was pleasant to Olivestar, so much so that she almost wanted to go back to sleep, to catch a few more hours of sleep, though she knew that she had more important things to do, namely: catching Morningdove up to speed on the major events that happened since the battle. With a small chuckle at Softbreeze's comment about pretending to sleep if interrupted, she murmured,
"Some extra sleep doesn't sound too bad, honestly. I won't sleep, though, I have lots of news."

She cleared her throat before continuing,
"So, in the moons following the battle, we've had many things change, both in WindClan, and in the forest. The first thing of note was that Raventail went to the Moonstone and took his nine lives and name. Shortly after that, Clowertwist decided that his paws belonged elsewhere, and left the Clans, most likely for good." the leader fell silent for a moment as she remembered her old friend, and she hoped that he was safe, wherever he was. "Hmm... I've told you this before but I'll tell you again, that Zinnia and I are now mates, and I found the gift I gave her deep in the tunnels under the moor. I gave you one of the shiny rocks I found too! It should be in your nest somewhere. It wasn't too long after that that Raventail stepped down from leadership, and that I took leadership into my own paws. Wildflower is my deputy. "

"Let's see... since the battle, Clearstone, Downtuft, Eagletalon, and Hayglow have all become warriors, and we've got many new kits and apprentices, several of which Zinnia and I have adopted. Lilacpaw, Honeykit, Pigeonkit, and Yarrowkit are all our adopted children." she lowered her voice to a whisper, even though there were no other cats in the den aside from the three of them, and her voice held an air of playfulness as she whispered, "Don't tell the others, but you're my favorite." she laughed a little before continuing, "I'm kidding, I could never pick favorites, but you are special to me, and you always will be."

She paused to let the news sink in, before continuing,
"As for news regarding the other Clans, let's see... Oakstar stepped down from leadership and retired, and Nettlestar is now the new leader of ThunderClan. Right around the same time, a fire broke out in SkyClan territory, and they're sheltering with RiverClan while they get their bearings back. They seem to be doing fairly well despite the fire, and I hope that they can return to their home soon."

Olivestar found that she couldn't think of anything else of note, and spoke once more.
"I think that's it, if my memory serves me right. But the best news of all is that you're awake, and I'm glad to have you back."

With that, the leader finished talking, and laid her head on Morningdove's shoulder, a soft purr emanating from the gray leader.

---

ooc: if i missed anything just dm me n lemme know and i'll add it!

At any other time, perhaps the medicine cat's laughter- harmonic and melodious as it was- would've been comforting, a welcome echo of a gentle zephyr blowing through the moors. At any other time, perhaps the risen warrior would have laughed along, matching the mirth with her own, letting it fill her heart like the first flowers of Newleaf. At any other time, perhaps her eyes wouldn't have blinked in unfortunately-dawning realisation, and perhaps she wouldn't have paused in a paralysis of a rather new kind; but this was no other time, and Morningdove's mind blurred as she willed her tail to move once more, to brush across the familiar ground and sense the fur of the two cats beside her, to do something, anything other than lie there languidly, like a freshly-killed rat- no, even a freshly-killed rat could twitch once in a while. And of course,
nothing happened.
So... well. Maybe it wasn't just 'still waking up'. Maybe her survival had a cost, and even in death, Lavenderbreeze still demanded her pound of flesh. Maybe her tail (her favorite tail, no less!) really was walking with Galestar now. It made sense that Softbreeze had been the first to notice, of course (being the only cat present with any medical knowledge more advanced than 'if we were meant to eat deathberries they'd be called liveberries'), but really? Truly, honestly? Morningdove should've realised sooner. Perhaps a part of her did, and just didn't want to admit it, to give the concept any more thought than strictly necessary. At any other time, perhaps Morningdove would've broken down in tears at the slow comprehension that her hopes and dreams had been dashed against the rocks of painful reality. But, again, this was no other time. So for a good few moments, as words flowed around her and over her but never quite through her, the warrior just kind of... well. To say processed would give her too much credit; to say compartmentalised, too little. Both, perhaps, or neither.

When her mind finally rearranged itself into some semblance of coherency (after a good few moments of giving the sunrise a thousand-foxlength stare that, no doubt, would become all too familiar), all she'd really been able to hear was; "No more dying, promise?". And she wanted to agree, to swear that she'd stay out of trouble and never again end up in such a precarious situation and never ever come anywhere even close to dying, but from deep within her, a thought, unbidden but with surprising clarity:
Don't make a girl a promise if you know you can't keep it.
So what she said instead, was... well, it wasn't perfect, but it was honest. "I'll try not to. Already done it, wouldn't recommend it."

And with that, the warrior pushed aside the realisation that her life had been irrevocably changed; after all, now Olivestar was recounting the events she'd missed, and that was absolutely something Morningdove needed a recap on, if only because being unconscious wasn't an amazing way of keeping up to date with current affairs. (Could've been worse, admittedly- the daily visits most certainly helped- but even so, there was something uniquely engaging about not being comatose for the conversation this time.) Things had proceeded much as they had before; the wheel of time continued to turn, as if the Clans had managed to piece together the same normalcy they'd had prior to the War. Is that how I'm thinking of it now? Even so, the brief interlude of Olivestar mentioning Zinnia was, she had to admit, pleasant; the leader spoke of her mate in a tone that could only be described as reverent, the love shining through with every word. Zinnia was a lucky cat, and Morningdove resolved to track her down sometime soon and make sure the wind blew both ways - someone who would not only match her mentor's devotion, but exceed it. Olivestar deserved nothing less.

But oh, the shiny? The shiny? Now that came as a surprise, to be sure- but a welcome one! With a haste entirely unbefitting of a cat that had just woken up from an endless stasis, Morningdove felt around in her nest, her fur brushing against oh-so-familiar goose-feathers from what seemed like aeons ago. How simple things had been back then, how tame, when the worst of her worries was an oversized bird trying to carry her off for a sunhigh snack. Even then, Olivestar (then Olivestone, of course) had been there to protect her, to watch over her and guide her with a wisdom and kindness almost unheard of in the clans; some things never changed, but in this instance, Morningdove wasn't sure she'd want it to. And of course, the teacher had matured along with the student- where once Olivestar was hesitant, now simply prudent; once a pushover, now very much able to stand her ground. Like a sapling buffeted by the wind to a mighty oak offering shelter from it, the leader had certainly grown since that fateful day on the moors.

As Morningdove turned the stone over in her paws, holding it to the light and letting rays of yellow-green brilliance dance across the floor of the medicine den (and no doubt something so lustrous had to have been truly deep within the tunnels; and from her own training, she distinctly remembered Olivestar having to suppress her fear at entering those-- and that too was growth! True courage was not in being unafraid, but in being afraid and facing one's fears!), the risen warrior simply listened, letting the news of her lost youth flow around her and over her and, this time, very much through her. Cats she had never once seen had now become warriors, whole leaders had risen and fallen in the time it took her to awaken, and yet... and yet- something was missing. Nothing that had happened since her injuries was unexpected: Clovertwist's presence would be missed, of course, but cats leaving the forest wasn't unheard of; SkyClan's camp being set ablaze was worrying, but it was hardly something unpredictable given the scorching temperatures of Greenleaf. Things continued to happen just as they always had; it wasn't just that the Clans had gathered together a semblance of normalcy, but that as soon as the threat was over, normalcy had descended upon them like a hawk, silent and quick and all too dangerous.

So with her gaze fixed on the beautiful stone in her paws (a memento she'd keep forever, if she could, a small comfort when the world became, as it often did, a little too much), Morningdove spoke- hesitant, but with an idea forming, a question; had the other Clans been simply allies of necessity, or could there be something more? Something to unite the fractured parts of the forest for longer than simply one battle?
"It sounds like things are... back to normal, in a way. Like- like we've all forgotten what it took to get here, to survive this long. I know we haven't, but- if things are still the same, in every way except the most basic, then how do we know... how do we know nothing like that will happen again? What if they decide to interfere again, what if they learn but we don't-- what if next time, we don't win? What if there is a next time? Or some other threat? They weren't the first, after all- what about those cats who pretended to be predators? Or the 'prophet' StarClan sent down? The elders talk about it sometimes, it's not- it's not impossible to think it might happen again-"

A slight pause. "... I know I'm overthinking all this... but what if next time, we're not so lucky?"