a glow [C]

Birdchaser

The moon was starting to lower, its descent below the horizon started as the Clans had slowly begun to disperse from Fourtrees. It was not yet dawn, and would not be for some hours, but it felt like a new day regardless. Birdchaser always felt a little odd on Gathering nights. After some time, the tiredness from being awake so late would pass, and instead a mild fogginess would come over her senses. The days surrounding a full moon always blurred together, and she was always eager to retire to her den once SkyClan would return from camp. As the throng of warriors brushed through the entrance to camp, quietly whispering their "goodnight"s to each other and parting ways to join their own dens, Birdchaser found herself lingering. It was a habit that she had picked up since her first Gathering as SkyClan's deputy. At first, it'd just been about presentation; it would make her look like a good deputy, if she waited to see that all her Clanmates had returned from Fourtrees safely. Now, it was both habit and genuine care that kept her lingering by the tunnel of thorns.

When the last of her Clanmates had arrived, and she had watched them all retire, she was left alone in camp. Or-- mostly alone, at least. As Birdchaser started to pad towards the warrior den, she spied two small bodies, huddled together in the Tallbranch's shadow. Her ears flicked forward at the sight of them. There were only two kits in SkyClan now, so she knew in an instant who it was. She wondered who had kept the other up, or if they were even still awake at this hour. With an affectionate sigh, she abandoned her course for her nest and instead drew the familiar line to the Tallbranch, stopping close enough to the kits that she was practically standing on top of them. "Rainkit, Crookedkit," she greeted softly, her eyes flicking between each of them as she addressed them. "It's very late for kits, you know. You're not keeping him up, right, Crookedkit?" Birdchaser knocked a paw against the tuxedo tom's side. The words were friendly, if a bit subdued. "Or are you two preparing for when you'll get to join the Gathering as apprentices soon? That must be it, yes?"

Rainkit had begun to get sleepy as the night went on, his responses to Crookedkit getting shorter and having to shake himself awake several times. He laid against Crookedkit's side, mumbling to him every now and then and stubbornly refusing to go back to his nest in the nursery. He was not going anywhere until he knew that everyone had returned to camp safely. Finally though, the sound of a large collection of pawsteps drew Rainkit's attention, and he sat up straight, shaking out his fur. When he saw the cats filing down into camp he broke into a smile, a second wave of energy hitting him as he let out a purr.

Even better, he didn't even have to search the crowd to spot Birdchaser before she disappeared into the warrior's den. To his delight, she spotted them first and walked right over. He sat up straight, trying to fight the smile off his face so he didn't look goofy and more like a serious almost-apprentice. "Welcome back, Birdchaser," He said. Despite his best efforts, he could not stop either his smile or his purring. "Crookedkit's not keeping me up, I promise." He gave a sheepish smile. "More like the other way around."

To Birdchaser's second question, he schooled his expression and very sternly said, "This way, when it's our turn to go to the gathering, we'll be prepared and we won't get too sleepy." He nodded seriously. Them staying up definitely had nothing to do with his anxiety over everyone being gone, or his fear at not having his trusted adults within his sight and reach. Definitely not.