❀
☽ OOC: this is a solo topic/thread
Lavenderkit had been practising fishing, as he often found himself doing when he slept. He had caught one tonight and carried it in his jaws as he made his way through the meadow beside the river, easily pulling his back legs along. The river was rough, so he had fished from the bank of a small stream instead. Though, he still wanted to see the river and listen to its sound, comforting like a mother's purr.
He reached the gorge where the river thundered below, stirring up droplets of spray that swirled up between the cliffs to cool his face. Then he found, to his surprise, that he was not alone. "Where did you come from?" he wondered.
Behind them were many beautiful flowers swaying gently in the meadow, but this cat also faced the river, seeming to absently stare out across the ravine. Her tufted ears pricked, and she turned to his voice. "WindClan," she replied. He smiled a little, of course, only WindClan had large ears like that. "Are you hungry?" he offered the fish at his paws.
Rosepaw sniffed at the fish. "It must be a dream if even fish smells good!" She stuck her tongue out at him but took a bite, anyway. She had been lost, staring at the rapids that had carried her away so long ago. Now, her waking world felt like it was crashing down in a much less tangible way, and the food felt more solid in her mouth than the ground she was dreaming beneath her paws. "It's a dream... why don't you just walk, or swim?" He wasn't- as she had imagined a RiverClan cat to be- soaking wet, despite the fish he was sharing; nor did he stand on his four paws.
Lavenderkit blinked, returning the rosy-furred she-cat's curiosity. "Why don't you have both eyes open wide?" A scar ran down the side of her face, over her right eye. He thought looking at her that the winky eye was cute, and her one golden eye made her even more strikingly beautiful. Though, surprised by the feeling, he kept it to himself.
Rosepaw raised a front paw to her face as if she'd forgotten. She tipped her head to one side, considering. "I'm happy like this! It feels more natural."
Lavenderkit met her one golden eye with his soft yellow eyes, raising a brow. "Well then maybe there's your answer."
Rosepaw nodded, humming thoughtfully. "I love running the moors," she would miss that if she were him. Although... a familiar ache pressed on her chest. "If I didn't, I would spend more time with Whisperear. They and Brackenwing don't run the moors." If Rosepaw could spend time with Whisperear, she would be happy.
"I hooked that fish out of the water from the bank," Lavenderkit explained, not helping but see the sadness in her eyes. Rosepaw for her part couldn't help but be a little bit impressed, since the fish wasn't bad, actually. She smiled wide. "Then, it's like a blind cat in the tunnels!" adding proudly, "that's a WindClan saying!" What it meant exactly, Rosepaw hoped belatedly he wouldn't ask, especially not about the tunnels. But the sleek short-furred blue-grey tom didn't seem curious about that. He looked hopeful?
"You should tr-" he began, but Rosepaw didn't want to hear what he was about to say, in case... she suspected it involved getting her paws wet. "-anyway," she interrupted hurriedly, "why swim or run, when you can fly!"
"Wha-aa...?!!!" Lavenderkit's voice was knocked out of him as, with a playful grin, the rosy-furred she-cat pushed him off the edge of the gorge. For a terrifying moment he plummeted down to the river, spinning wildly, before he felt a paw reach out for his. He slowly opened his eyes, not realising he had closed them, and saw that Rosepaw had leaped with him. Her golden eye shone with excitement and she laughed and laughed, and Lavenderkit found himself laughing too as they spun around. The wind carried them slowly across the chasm and gently upwards.
"Are you crazy?" he asked when they were on solid ground on the other side. She certainly looked crazy, her wispy fur sticking up in all directions and the mischievous glint still in her eye. He also found himself exhilarated and, unbelievably, wanting to do it again, immediately.
"Sorry," she laughed, not sorry at all. "I had a nightmare about falling in, but then I realised I could just fly like a bird! If I had told you first, you'd think it was impossible and that thought would've stopped you." So, that's what had brought her here tonight; Lavenderkit nodded, surprisingly okay with this.
Rosepaw added jokingly, "I'll convince you to try running one day, too!" Lavenderkit snorted almost imperceptibly, retorting, "As soon as you get your paws wet!" Rosepaw's horror looked genuine. "Ew yuck! Never!"
Lavenderkit found himself beside her as she strolled along the river in the meadow, talking. She was an apprentice! She didn't look like an apprentice, but neither was he a kit. He looked perhaps, even like a warrior, like her. Both cats smiled to themselves; here was someone like them. Her name was a flower and she had a dream-scent strangely not like a real cat but like the flower she was named for. He, too, had the scent of lavender. It was, along with the other scents that reminded her of her home on the moor and above all, her favourite scent. Along the riverside, while they talked in a way they would wish they could remember in the real morning, the sunlight came through the trees yellow and golden as their eyes ~ this sight, they would remember.
The river was calmer and lower here, and Lavenderkit chanced a thought: "What if it's not wet?" He came to the edge of the water, warm and shallow in late new-leaf. He placed a paw hesitantly on the water, concentrating on his thought. Ice spread out from beneath his paw. More confident, he placed a second paw down and the ice spread further. He pulled himself out onto the solid surface, letting the thought of leaf-bare spread the ice all the way across and down the river. He blinked and he had made the world white, snow drifting down around them. Rosepaw was wide-eyed. "Cool!" She placed a big fluffy paw on the frozen river. "Huh, it's not as cold as I expected." She remembered the biting sting of ice, "I was born in leaf-bare..." But this ice was just smooth and gently cool.
Lavenderkit's soft yellow eyes smiled, "Me too!" The leaf-bare before-last. So they were alike! "But, last leaf-bare I was still a -kit and I played around with the other kits and tried this..." Sliding out across the ice, Lavenderkit propelled himself toward the opposite bank. "Race you!" He had never felt this playful even entertaining the young kits, which he had always loved.
Rosepaw leaped onto the ice to run after him, but she scrambled on the spot for a moment, panicking. Then her paws slipped out from under her and she went sploot on her belly, careening across the slippery surface. Lavenderkit turned back for her. She was hunched over in a pile, limbs all askew, and she was trembling. "Are you alright?" Lavenderkit asked gently. Rosepaw was laughing.
Finally, after insisting she race him down the river to that rock, and then that further rock, she finally admitted defeat. The river returned to its natural seasonal state, mirroring the waking world. He had lured her close to the water's edge with shiny objects to be found there. They sat side-by-side making swirly-whirly patterns in the sand and decorating it with the treasures they found. "I think you're almost ready," Lavenderkit said. Ominously, Rosepaw thought. He tried to splash her a little, very gently, but she quickly ducked behind a small mound of sand they had made. Lavenderkit chuckled with a reassuring blink. He turned and poked his head into the reeds, rummaging around. He found his creation from the waking world, happy to find it was here in the dream too.
"What's that?" Rosepaw asked curiously, coming out from behind their sandcastle. It looked like a very large tangle of woven reeds. Luckily, it didn't appear to be heavy, and Lavenderkit dragged it to the water's edge. He got in, pulling his back legs over the side, and sat down in the middle like a very large and messy nest. It wobbled, bobbing for a moment. "It floats. You don't have to get your paws wet." He closed both eyes in a trusting friendly smile. Rosepaw blinked back.
She got in, trembling a little. He steadied her. She sat, and then lay, down; it was easier to stay low. Her heartbeat slowed as they let the gentle current carry them. It was surprisingly relaxing, and Rosepaw let out a sigh, letting a purr throb in her throat. As they drifted, the sky became red and orange, then rose-pink, then yellow, and finally purple and dusky like Lavenderkit's fur. There were no stars here, but fireflies winked their little lights all around them. "A boat?" Rosepaw murmured. "It's actually... nice." She closed her eyes in enjoyment, just for a moment... Goodnight, Rosepaw, Lavenderkit thought, or rather, good morning.
~*❀☽*~ 
