The terrain was not ideal and the sun shone brightly through the pine giving him away to any and all predators, but his head was clear and quieter for the first time since leaving Highstones, the place of his birth. He'd been wandering mindlessly, watching the ground with every step to ensure he avoided the biggest of the mud puddles. Camp was safe, camp was the warmest. But with the state it was in currently, he had no time for himself and being and an apprentice made it much more difficult. Especially being an apprentice at the same time as
Harrierpaw. Not that he hated her, but she sure was the most annoying cat he's met; Constantly on his tail to do this and to do that... When was it ever enough? When did he get to rest? When he slept?
Absolutely not. The muted calico tom needed to separate himself from ShadowClan for a while.
As he wandered further and further from camp, he noticed the ground becoming softer with slightly slushy ice forming the perimeter of deepening puddles. A sign that this was far enough. Spotting a fallen tree to his left, he decided to take a seat. Only just for a moment. He would have to come back before moonrise when everyone would begin to stir and he'd be forced to help around camp once again.
"......" His green eyes wandered about the marsh, basking in the rare leaf-bare sun and taking in the sounds: Birds chirping about in the treetops and squirrels chattering about their branches. He was still, and the creatures about him payed him no mind. Batoaw smiled to himself.
This suited him much better.
The brief silence in his head was broken by the constant repetition of what he'd heard Harrierpaw and a few other cats who'd been captured and escaped Twolegs had mentioned in passing:
"They fed us dry, tasteless pebbles. They kept us locked in their dens." That's right. The food had been brought to
them. They had shelter from the frigid leaf-bare. He thought of it often, especially when made to hunt for his clan or even when eating his own meals. Why had they wanted to come back to the forest, of all places? It sounded like they had everything they could have hoped for when it came to survival. It was baffling and kind of dumb that they chose - his eyes wandered the landscape again - this pile of mousedung.
A heavy sigh escaped him as he looked down, blankly looking into the puddle his fallen tree rested in. Huh.
"Me too, creature. Me, too." He spoke to a small bat floating belly up in the murky water, obviously very dead. Drowned in the icy pool. As it floated past, however, he caught a glimpse of another cat reflected back at him. He shot up, whipping his cream calico head around to face this stranger.
"Who...!" But there was no one behind him. No one beside him. He dared to peer into the icey waters again.
He locked his own green eyes with the reflection. This cat was...
beautiful. Fur fluffy, well groomed and dappled in colors much like his father's, Echomist's, pelt except in a muted tone. Eyes emerald in hue with thick lashes. The cats fluffy tail swished in a mimic of his own, and suddenly it made sense why he was so captivated by this individual: It was his own reflection. He'd never seen himself before, not like this. He'd never stared into his own brilliant green eyes before. It was a wonder how no one had fallen for him yet when he could think of no other emotion one could have just being in his immaculate presence. Love. This was what love felt like, wasn't it? His heart raced and he felt happy. Warm. He suddenly felt a pang of sadness for his siblings... They weren't ugly. He wasn't so mean to ever think that. But they weren't
blessed by StarClan like he had been. Life would be that much harder for them, he was sure. Pity.
Sunhigh quickly turned to sunset as he crouched on the logs edge, captivated by his own beauty. Only when he could no longer see his reflection staring back at him once the overhead light was gone did he peel his eyes away. And even then he waited a bit longer. Just in case.
Reluctantly, he hopped off a tree onto solid ground.
"We'll see each other again. So wait for me, my love." Cringey, but no one else was around to hear it. He lingered, but finally pulled himself away. It was time to head back to a place that held family, but didn't feel like home.
Was he delusional? Oh, StarClan, yes! But he was happy to have met himself. And he would keep this 'their' little secret.
