early morning haze [c]

If there was one thing Dawnfeather was going to do today, it was spend time with her apprentice.

Her former apprentice, mind you, because- well. She hadn’t meant to fall ill, and of course Mistpaw understood, but still! Goodness! She’d missed her own apprentice’s warrior ceremony, for stars’ sake! It was a beautiful name, of course, one that spoke to the she-cat’s grace and kindliness, but Dawnfeather hadn’t been there to see it, and she’d so wished to.

She herself had had an- interesting apprenticeship, hardly spending time with her mentor, and had he even been present at her ceremony? No matter. Today, she would make up for the time she’d lost, and they’d have a wonderful patrol. Perhaps they could get into some of the finer details of tree-flying that she’d never had the chance to teach Mistflower- or just walk and talk, catch up after the moons spent apart.

“Mistflower!” Dawnfeather greeted cheerily, waving her tail and approaching the other she-cat. “If you aren’t busy today, would you like to go on a patrol? Or just a walk- it’s a beautiful day, isn’t it?”

The sun was not yet as bright as it would come to be, and there was a pleasant breeze that kept the heat off her long fur. It reminded her of hazy days spent in the nursery, next to her sister- her sister… hmmm. It’d come to her, she was sure of it. It wasn’t like she had the best memory for names.

Mistflower was older, now, and had grown into herself- but she was still anxious, skittish, and shy, and Dawnfeather's initial approach had her leaping a step back before she registered the voice that had pulled her thoughts out of the clouds. A nervous glance turned to a warm, soft smile as she greeted her former mentor. "Dawnfeather!"

Dawnfeather's illness had sort of extended her apprenticeship- but mostly she'd done that on her own, being too afraid to leave the safety of whatever hiding place she'd chosen that day for more than a little while. She'd lingered in the apprentice's den much longer than most of her Clanmates, she knew, but she was a warrior now.

"Oh! Yes, I'd love to. It's a nice day, isn't it?"

If a slight twinge of regret settled in Dawnfeather’s heart at the way her former apprentice leaped back, it was completely washed away by the flood of happiness caused by the young she-cat’s joyful recognition. Dawnfeather beamed back, bright blue eyes shining like the clear sky above their heads. It really was a beautiful day, warm but not too warm, sunny but not too sunny, a slight breeze ruffling her fur. The sort of day that tugged at her heartstrings when she’d been cooped up in the medicine den, and now that she was out, the sort of day that sung, surged through her veins, called her to come a-climbing and tree-flying, soar over the ground like-

Dawnfeather brought herself back to the present with a firm nod. ”Let’s go!”

The mature she-cat (older than most of her Clanmates, even if she didn’t show it quite yet) leapt in the air out of sheer excitement in the middle of camp like a kit. No-one could ever claim that Dawnfeather had really, completely grown up, anyways. “Race you to the Creek!”

Mistflower fell into step behind Dawnfeather, not all that interested in actually winning- she wasn't much of a competitive spirit, or at least she didn't think so; she hadn't ever really tried to compete with anyone for anything- but happy to spend time with one of the few cats she trusted wholly and completely.

"I'm glad to see you're feeling better," she called from a few steps behind. "It felt a little more lonely without you around."

She had felt a little more lonely in general, for a while. Maybe it was why she'd finally felt ready to become a warrior and move forward: her sister, her friend, her mentor; all of them were busy with something, and so she was left realizing that it was time she try and follow after them.

Or maybe it was just coincidence. Who could say, really?

"You've seen places outside the forest, right?" she asked, suddenly curious as they approached the creek. "Was there anywhere prettier than this?"

She had heard that WindClan had fields and fields of flowers, and she thought that might be beautiful, but she still wasn't sure it could compare to the winding beauty of the Moonlit Creek- it was prettier in the evenings, and at night, but it was still breathtaking during the day.

Dawnfeather beamed, looping around to keep easy pace with Mistflower. “You’re so sweet,” she purred, flicking her tail gently against the other’s flank. She was so proud of the way the other she-cat had grown and matured lately, like a flower finally blooming; but the late ones were always the most beautiful. Growth was important; and the way Mistflower had shouldered through to become one of the most wonderful, genuine she-cats Dawnfeather had ever met was, quite frankly, inspiring.

“I have,” she nodded, slowing to a walk as they neared the creek. “Many times. I- no. Here, under the spreading trees, our ancestors keep pace with us and walk by our sides, their careful gazes watching our steps. When I leap through the trees, I can catch a glimpse of my loved ones doing the same in ages past. This land is steeped in our history, and it shall remember us when we too walk with the stars.”

Her gaze watched the blurry form of her reflection in the speeding waters. “I’ve been lost many times, and yet SkyClan draws me back like a bird to its nest. This place is our home, and our family’s homes, and I think it knows us, just a little.”

Mistflower listened carefully, enraptured as Dawnfeather spoke of the history of their forest home. "I think I like that thought," she purred. "That we're all walking together, even if we're separated by time and distance... It's nice to imagine."

The idea of being seen was often scary- but the idea of being part of an expansive web of life, that was a hauntingly beautiful thought. That even when they were only a memory, they would still be part of it, and the forest itself would keep their memories alive...

It was a very nice thought.

"Like a spiderweb," she mused. "If every little string is one of us. Or like every leaf on a tree? Flower petals, maybe... Raindrops, or snowflakes?"

So many things that came in numbers that were far too high for her to count. Maybe it was all of them.

"Or... Everything. Going in circles, forever- like the seasons do."

“It is, isn’t it?” Dawnfeather purred in response, brushing her tail against the other’s flank. “Is there any reason in particular you ask, dear? Any wanderlust pooling in your paws?”

She doubted it; Mistflower did not seem the sort to feel the aching pull of the distant horizon. Dawnfeather had, but it was a tugging of her heartstrings back to her home, not to any hazy adventure. There was nothing like home; but she would, of course, support her former apprentice whole-heartedly, no matter what path she chose to pursue.

“I doubt you’ve ever heard of a tapestry- a Twoleg thing, but: picture a den protected by walls of woven sticks, yes? We’re each a part of it, yes, but integral in a way each string of a spider’s web is not. Each supple limb supports another; each is perfectly positioned to keep out the wind and the cold. Our ancestors may be the wizened, dried branches, but they support us nonetheless.”

The speeding waters of the creek called out to her, sung in their pretty melody of far-off melting snows and an eternal journey to the distant seas. Here, though, they learned of SkyClan; and when it flowed through other forests, it would sing of a Clan of cats who were brave and free, hearts as light as their paws racing through the trees.

"I haven't," Mistflower confirmed, her nose twitching unpleasantly at the words Twoleg thing. The description of a den, woven together, made far more sense.

"Still... It's not that I want to leave." She didn't even like to go too far from camp. "I'd like to hear about the places you've been, but... I don't want to go. It's all too far away." There was a pause, as she hesitated, then settled on saying- "Home is here, with all of you. I like it that way."

That was never in question.

If she closed her eyes and listened closely, she could almost imagine the pawsteps and voices of their ancestors; cats who had walked these same paths, who may have strayed but still returned safely home.

"There must have been some pretty things, though."

Dawnfeather smiled, glancing at Mistflower and sitting on the warm sandy bank. The creek chattered beneath them, rushing over stones and pebbles and smoothing their surfaces, wearing the rough sharp edges away. Maybe, far off, it ran and sung and skipped to join the sea, leaping over cliffs and falling gracefully to the gentles waves below. That was a nice thought, that even so, so far away, the waters knew of SkyClan, of her home.

“There were,” she confirmed with a purr, watching the brook pour laughing over stones and rush away down the bend. “Far, far off, where the sun drowns each night and is reborn each morning, is an infinite eternal sheen of water; the sea, the locals called it, the ocean, unwavering might and majesty that never dries up, no matter the drought. You cannot even imagine it: only water to the very horizon, stretching out far beyond what the eye can see, a glowing path of gilded gold leading back to the sun as it sinks into the sea. It’s stunning, but it was almost too much. I don’t understand how anyone could take such a thing for granted.”

The picture Dawnfeather wove with her words was beautiful, breathtaking and awe-inspiring, and the younger warrior wondered how someone could see something so unfamiliar and beautiful and live the rest of their life unchanged.

"Wow," Mistflower let out a single, awestruck breath. "So that's where the sun goes every night? Must be tiring, to travel so far every day... But maybe it's worth it, if you can see things that are that pretty in other places, too?"

Such levels of water were unheard of to her; even RiverClan's stream-filled territory was something she'd only heard stories of and viewed at a distance, safely on her own side of the river. SkyClan wasn't made for swimming.