The Stars Shine Bright [OPEN]

Night had fallen, but Swiftspirit had, as usual, found herself unable to stay asleep for long. After some time spend tossing and turning, the pale she-cat silently slipped from camp and stretched. If she couldn't sleep, she might as well go for a run. The night air was cool, refreshing after the long moons of greenleaf heat and humidity.

Almost without meaning to, her paws led her in the direction of fourtrees, and Swiftspirit paused at the edge of the hollow, gazing down at the great rock for a moment. The hollow was quiet and empty, the scents of other clan cats stale now that the gathering had come and gone. Evidence of the lightning-struck branch from two moons prior was still evident, and Swiftspirit stared at the remains for a moment before turning her gaze toward the edges of the hollow. A flicker of movement drew her attention, and the Windclanner's gaze shifted in that direction, though she made no move towards whoever it was just yet.

The night was… indescribable. A gentle cloak of spiderwebs and starlight, soothing and peaceful. There was a certain mystery and elegance about it that the day, despite its cheery friendliness, did not have. It made a shiver of contentment run down her spine. Her paws were practically silent as she made her way to Fourtrees (on the ground, of course, she didn’t climb trees at night.) Why was she winding her way to the peaceful meetingplace? Well…

She was meeting someone.

No, not in any way most cats minds would jump to. It’s just… today, after glancing over at Beetlepaw and seeing the flash of his fur in the sunlight, and his smile… she’d finally admitted to herself that yes, maybe, she did… did… l… l… lo… love him. There, it was out in her own mind, and the glorious truth of it made her paws skip, made her head light, like she was walking on stars.

And today, she was coming out to talk to Blossomstep, her great-grandmother. She couldn’t bring herself to talk to anyone who would… talk back, not yet. And she felt as though she’d be… closer to her, somehow, in Fourtrees. And that was why her paws were walking this winding path in the night, Silverpelt over her like a comforting tail across her back. As she neared Fourtrees, eyes fixed on the skies, some sixth sense made her look over to see another pelt. Another cat? Not anyone she knew, although the other cat did look kinda like Rabbitpaw, from what she could see. “Hello?” She called out softly, half-wondering if this other cat was some StarClan phantom, descended to watch over the living.

The cat came into view, gaze lifted towards the sky before her gaze suddenly turned. Bright blue eyes stared up at Swiftspirit, and she blinked. The she-cat so closely resembled Dawnhawk, it was uncanny.

"Hello?" The pretty, golden she-cat's voice wasn't threatening, and Swiftspirit tilted her head, studying her. Long, thick fur, well-muscled haunches... Skyclan if she had to guess, though the wind wasn't working in Swiftspirit's favor, that resemblance could only mean she was from one clan, unless Dawnhawk had fathered kits on some unsuspecting rogue. But no, the she-cat had the look of a clan cat about her.

"Hey," She greeted softly. She obviously hadn't been looking for a confrontation, and Swiftspirit was perfectly fine with that. "You're a long way from Skyclan's territory. What brings you all the way out here?" It wasn't really her business, but Swiftspirit was admittedly curious.

"I'm Swiftspirit, by the way. Who are you?"

“Nice to meet you, Swiftspirit! I’m Dawnfeather,” Dawnfeather purred softly. To be honest, she was somewhat disappointed that someone else was here, that she couldn’t talk to Blossomstep in peace. Swiftspirit might’ve felt the same way for all she knew. It wasn’t very common to find others at Fourtrees outside of full moons. “I am a long way from SkyClan, aren’t I?” She mewed, tail swishing softly. She’d surprised herself, really, with how easy the long path here was. Maybe she’d come here more often… no, it was too far off and she’d be bleary the next morning.

“I just came here to… kinda talk to the stars. They’re so much closer here. Why did you come?” She queried softly. “I always thought Fourtrees would be deserted during the waxing moon. It’s so pretty, though, like a butterfly’s wing draped over the sky…” she trailed off, the last sentence spoken mostly to herself.

"Dawnfeather?" Swiftspirit watched the she-cat curiously. She certainly resembled Dawnhawk, and Swiftspirit would have sworn that Skyclan would never let a kit be named Dawnkit after everything the golden tom had apparently put them through.

"You're related to him, aren't you." She murmured softly, "You certainly look like it." The resemblance was almost uncanny, it was impossible to mistake.

At Dawnfeather's question, Swiftspirit shrugged. "Couldn't sleep, decided to go for a run." That was the truth, and there was no point in hiding it. Dawnfeather had said she wanted to... Talk to the stars? Swiftspirit couldn't relate, after her moonstone journey where Murkpaw had unceremoniously showed her his own memories, Swiftspirit would be glad to keep her interactions with the stars brief. She could respect the power they held... But they weren't her ancestors. Not that anyone who wasn't Windclan needed to know that. Best to keep her jaws shut on the subject of Starclan.

"Yes, it's often quiet here... Though seems like every time my paws head in this direction, I run into someone." Her whiskers twitched in amusement. "I suppose I can see why plenty of cats sneak out here even when there's not a gathering. It is rather peaceful." Mostly, anyways. Her mind flashed back to the dog she'd fought with Bearspirit and Moonshine... Then the lightning strike. Swiftspirit shook her head with a sigh, wishing she could dislodge the thoughts like she would dislodge a piece of rock that caught beneath her claws.

“Who-“ Dawnfeather began, then abruptly remembered that Hawkuncle’s name was Dawnhawk, and that, in terms of color, she did look a lot like him. “Ooh, yes. Hawkuncle’s my, well, uncle, heehee. I do? Thank you!” She beamed. No one in SkyClan ever told her she looked like Hawkuncle. It was mostly “Oh, you have your mother’s pattern,” or “Oh, I can see Smokefeather in you,” or “Wow, you remind me of your great-great-grandmother Murkpelt.” All of which were true, of course, but she did look like Hawkuncle more, at least on first glance.

“Oooh, you’re from WindClan? Umm… do you like the tunnels? Is there a trick to going through them? It’s so dark..” she shivered. Ugh. That pitch-dark, the complete lack of light that left her not knowing which way was down… she missed the tall she-cat’s next words, and opted to just nod, hoping she hadn’t said anything important. “Swiftspirit is a pretty name! Running over the moors at twilight, flowing over them like a running stream…” She purred softly. The name told her about the outer cat, but not the inner cat. Hmm.

Dawnhawk's niece... He'd mentioned siblings, Swiftspirit was sure. Which sibling Dawnfeather was the daughter of was unimportant, though. If Swiftspirit hadn't known better, she would have said she could be his daughter.

At Dawnfeather's question, Swiftspirit paused. "Not really... The tunnels are cramped and I like feeling the wind in my fur as I run." She mewed, not wishing to give away any more info than that. It could have just been an innocent question, but not many cats outside of Windclan knew about the tunnels, either. She thought for a moment, wondering where Dawnfeather had heard of them... Bloodstrike had mentioned her as 'Dawnpaw' at that disaster of a gathering, Swiftspirit was pretty sure. Hadn't he said something about Dawnhawk taking her? Dawnhawk would definitely know about the tunnels, having been in Windclan before Swiftspirit had joined them. It made her curious to know what he was up to.

"How did you find out about the tunnels? Not many outside of Windclan know of them." She asked, keeping her suspicions out of her tone was simple enough.

Dawnfeather's comment about her name, and the flowery language caught Swiftspirit off guard, and she ducked her head. "Thanks... Dawnfeather is a pretty name, too."