Unexpected Gardens

“Aren’t the flowers beautiful this time of year?” Hayglow sighed wistfully as she gingerly stepped through the field of flowers, sparing a glance at her companion. She could tell that her son wasn’t as invested, ears slicking back a little as he followed after her. “...Muddyleap, what is wrong?” she questioned, turning back to him with a frown.

He leapt as his mom called his name, gaze flickering up in surprise as he let out a small nervous laugh. “Oh...It's nothing. I guess I was just thinking about how the last time I was really here was when...Um, Sunnyskip got bit by that small beast.”

...Ah. Thinking back, it was perhaps the same for Hayglow. She hadn’t tried to think much about that moment, she hated seeing her daughter in pain like that even if it hadn’t been the worst injury - it had been her first. “...That’s fair. I suppose I had forgotten about it, not wanting to dwell on that moment.”

Muddyleap nodded his head, gaze growing serious. “Yeah...I-I didn’t like it. Seeing her so sad - mostly when I didn’t understand. I-I still don’t, I don’t know the feeling of what she went through. How much it...Well, hurt. But that only makes me hate it more,” he admitted. “...Because sometimes that I can’t feel pain is called a good thing, so that must mean pain really isn’t good.”

Hayglow let out a soft sigh, opening her mouth to speak but Muddyleap’s gaze suddenly snapped up - focusing on something. “...Muddyleap?” she questioned, before her son suddenly took off. She spun to watch him in confusion, eyes widening when she saw what he had spotted - a cat who had been sneaking through the flower fields. Their eyes were wide as they realized that they had been spotted, frozen in fear of the tom that was bearing down on them.

“Muddyleap, get away!” she cried after him, not wanting her son to get injured by the stranger. She raced after him, fur prickling as she realized that the scent of flowers had perfectly hidden the cat’s smell - she didn’t know if he was a loner or a Clan cat.

Muddyleap, however, ignored his mother’s cry as he slid to a stop next to the terrified cat, a smile tugging on his face. “Hello there! Do you want to fight?” he questioned. Never before had he gotten the chance to find a cat outside of WindClan on his own! ...Well, his mom was here but she wasn’t going to fight him which meant he would get the opportunity to ask! It seemed the best way to do things. He wanted to fight, but didn’t want to fight without the other cat wanting so...Asking seemed the most important thing!

The cat, a tom, blinked up at him before he shifted away a few pawsteps with a tilt of his head. “Um...No? I-I would rather not fight, actually. I didn’t mean to trespass - or...W-Well, I did, but I was just trying to take a shortcut through, I promise! I-I smelled the borders but I’ve already walked so far an-”

“Oh, that’s fine!” Muddyleap interrupted, giving a shrug of his shoulders. “I’m not going to fight you if you don’t wanna!” There was a pause. “...You wanna be friends?”

“...No? I-I mean I am just passing through. I’ll be out of your fur by sundown, I swear!”

“Muddyleap! You shouldn’t run off like that!” Hayglow panted as she reached her son, having slowed down her run when she saw that the two were just converting. She spared a glance at the cowering tom. He was an off-white cat, pelt seeming to hold a tint of a tan hue to it as he blinked up at her. “I’m so sorry for my son. We don’t want any trouble as much as you do,” she pressed, pushing herself a little between herself and her son.

The tom simply gawked at her, mouth opening and closing a few times as his eyes studied her. Finally, his nose scrunched as he leaned forward a little, eyes narrowing. “...Buttercup?” he finally managed, voice tinted with uncertainty.

“Buttercup?” Muddyleap repeated, tilting his head. “What's a buttercup?”

“That’s…” It was Hayglow’s turn to be speechless, staring down at the tom. He knew...How? It couldn’t be an accident that he would say that to her as she tried to make sense of this. “That was my name, before I joined WindClan.”

The tom’s eyes widened, suddenly jumping to his paws as he shoved his face forward. “I-I knew it! I knew I recognized you! I thought you were gone forever like the rest! I didn’t think…” he broke off with a laugh, falling back onto his haunches as he shook his head. “I-It’s me! Lark! Your brother!”

Her...Brother? It had been so long since she had thought about her family, suddenly recalling her two brothers and two sisters. Of her mother… Before she flashed back to that terrifying moment she was taken away, watching as her mother did nothing to save her. She drew back, eyes narrowing before she thought of his words. “...Gone like the rest?” she repeated, before her eyes widened. “...What happened to the others?”

Lark’s ears slicked back as he looked down at his paws, tail curling around him as his lips curled at the memory. “...You were the first to go. Mom didn’t realize that you were...Gone, gone until our housefolk came back without you. She was a wreck as our housefolk never explained where you had gone, they just...Acted like nothing had happened. She tried to take care of us but one day...The housefolk started to take the rest of us. Meadow was next...Then Wolf, Alpine...Then me. Mom tried to fight it at first but when it was just down to me...I think she knew it wasn’t worth anything. I was given to another pair of housefolk - they treated me alright but...Then one day, they put me outside, they put a bunch of things into their monster and just...Left.” A heavy sigh escaped him, shaking his head.

“I’ve been on my own since…” He blinked, looking up at his sister. “...What about you? You said you joined...WindClan?”

“...Momma?” Muddyleap pressed himself against Hayglow who had gone still, eyes still fixed on her brother as his tale sank in. “Are you…?”

She finally shook her head, pressing back against her son. “I-I’m fine, sweetie. This is just...A lot to take in, sorry.” She raised her head, clearing her voice a little. “I...I was never given to another pair of housefolk, just...Left in a strange hollowed tree trunk on the side of the Thunderpath. I may have died there if...I was found by a group living in this moor, they took me in and gave me a new name,” she meowed, before she glanced at her brother. “Hayglow. My name is Hayglow now. A-And this is my son, Muddyleap.”

There was a long pause before a sniff escaped Hayglow, gaze falling to her paws. “...I always thought momma didn’t care,” she murmured, feeling wetness gathering at the corner of her eyes. “That she knew what was happening and she just...She just didn’t care that I was being taken away. I didn’t understand, I-I still don’t understand why our twol-housefolk did that. Why were we…?” she leaned into her son, wrapping her tail around him. “A kit shouldn’t be taken from their parents like that…”

A huff escaped Lark as he leaned back, gaze fixing on the horizon. “...Can’t say I know any better, but my experience with housefolk haven’t been that kind - being taken from mom and being abandoned by my second pair. I’m sure there are good ones out there, maybe our other siblings ended up there if they weren’t…” he swallowed, gaze falling down to his paws as well. “Left like you. I...I admit I thought that we all at least got housefolk. B-But you were left to die, oh, Buttercup…” he paused, blinking. “Er...Hayglow.” He shot the two a glance. “Weird names...But your son?” he breathed, a slight laugh escaping him. “I’m an uncle...Who knew! Wonder if our other siblings had any kits of their own…”

“I-I also have a daughter, Sunnyskip,” she meowed, glancing back in the direction of the camp. “She actually has kits of her own as well...Would you like to meet her? You could join WindClan if you don’t have a place to go! They’ve been wonderful to me and would be wonderful to you, Lark,” she meowed, spinning to look at her long-lost brother with pleading eyes.

He stared at her, before a small laugh escaped him and he shook his head. “This..WindClan sounds lovely, but I don’t think it's meant for me. Ever since I’ve been on my own...I think this is what I want to do. Wander the world, see what it's got - maybe randomly be jumped by my other nieces and nephews…” He flashed his sister a soft smile. “Don’t think I am meant for one single place, even one as...Ah, nice as WindClan might be. Always wanted to stretch my paws when I was a house cat. But...Maybe I’ll swing by again in the future? Get to meet that Sunnyskip of yours…” Another laugh escaped him. “What kind of names do that place of yours have?”

She rolled her eyes, giving a shrug of her shoulders. “Oh like Buttercup was any better.”

He paused at that. “...Fair,” he acknowledged as he stood up onto his paws, giving it a small stretch. “It's...It's honestly wonderful to see that you are alive and well, Hayglow. That fate treated you well after all this time. I thought it was just me left but...Ah, maybe I will be able to find Alpine, Wolf and Meadow. They couldn’t have ended up all that far,” he acknowledged, before he spared a glance towards Muddyleap. “And it's nice to meet you, kid. Be good for your momma, okay? Treat her well.”

Muddyleap puffed out his chest, straightening up as much as he could. “Of course I will! I’m the best! Momma means the world to me and I’ll do whatever I can to make her happy!”

Lark leaned forward, ruffling Muddyleap’s head. “Good kid,” he chuckled, before he drew back a little in awe. "...I’m an uncle. I can’t believe it. I’ll try to swing by again, sis,” he meowed, turning to look at his sister. “Stay safe, stay well. I don’t want to tread on this ‘WindClan’s’ territory for long. Maybe next time we meet, it will be at one of the borders so we can swap stories, eh?” he turned, taking a step forward before he paused and drew back to brush his head against Hayglow’s shoulder. “...But really, stay safe. I want to see you again, hear more about your life here. We just got each other...I would hate it if I never got to see you again.”

“You as well,” Hayglow breathed, head-butting her brother. “I tried to forget my family, thinking that momma didn’t want me and...While I am a WindClan cat now, I can’t forget you or the others. I wanna introduce you and maybe the others to all of my new family one day, okay?”

Lark purred as he drew back, giving a nod with a smile. “It's a promise. If I find the others, I’ll drag them back here - willing or not,” he added with a wink.

With that, he dove into the field of flowers and disappeared from view. Hayglow remained rooted to the spot, watching the flowers quiver and shake until she spotted him dart out and across the moor...Then he was truly gone. She hadn’t realized she had started crying again until she felt Muddyleap lick her cheek with a soft purr of comfort.

“...You okay, momma?” he questioned as she drew back, scrubbing at her face.

“I-I’m fine, sweetie. I just...I was so shocked and caught up in the moment, it didn’t even hit me that I found my family again until...He’s gone,” she breathed, pausing to stare at her paw as she curled it a little. “He says he will visit again but Lark could maybe never…” She lifted her head to the sky, taking in a deep breath as she tried to steady herself. “Sorry, I just…”

Muddyleap pressed himself against her, cutting her off as he looked up at her. “You don’t gotta apologize, momma. If I hadn’t seen Sunnyskip since we were kits and she just showed up one day and then was… I-I understand, momma. But he is okay! And you are okay. A-And the others might be okay! So...It's okay?”

"...It's okay,” she repeated, pushing herself to her paws with a deep breath. “Thank you, Muddyleap. I-I think I’ve had enough flowers for one day. We ought to go back home,” she managed, before she glanced off in the direction where her brother had disappeared from view. “...Maybe Sunnyskip will like to know she has an uncle at least out there.”

Muddyleap grinned, jumping forward as he let out a laugh. “She is gonna be so jealous that I got to meet him! I can brag about how cool he was!”

“...He wasn’t all that cool, Muddyleap. He was just...He was just a normal cat.”

“But I can say he was cool and she can be jealous anyways!”

“Don’t lie to your sister, sweetie.”

"...He is traveling the world, of course he is cool! It isn’t lying! So there!”

With that, Muddyleap stuck out his tongue and leapt away - running towards the camp. Hayglow rolled her eyes as she broke into a run after her son, calling for him to slow down and be more careful - or at least keep an eye out for rabbit holes. As strange and startling as meeting her brother was…

Suddenly, it was like her world was normal again - she just had comfort with the knowledge knowing that her family was out there…

And at least one was happy.