Reunion [Wolfstar]

The battlefield had faded around her, and Beechfang found herself on the edge of a forest. The stars that shimmered along her paws had spread until the tiny pinpricks of light were woven throughout her thick fur, much the same as the stars that speckled her newfound surroundings.

She was in Starclan. It still hadn't quite sunk in that this was reality. She had done a lot over the years, training in the dark forest alone should have excluded her from being here if murder hadn't. If dragging her clan to war not once but twice hadn't... Beechfang gazed around her surroundings, still taking everything in.

A shimmering mist cloaked anything in view off to her left. Beechfang's head lifted, studying it for a moment... But something told her to turn away. The forest she faced was rocky and mirrored Skyclan territory. The trees held green foliage instead of bare branches, it looked more akin to a late newleaf night than the muddy and drab end of leafbare it actually was.

Was she really supposed to be here, after everything? The doubt returned as Beechfang continued to take in her surroundings - misty border and a starlit forest that was an aching reminder of what she had only just left behind.

The waiting was the worst part.

Around him, in muted colors and sounds, the battle between SkyClan and their foes had raged. Now, during this time of bloodshed and life-stealing, the barrier between the earth and stars thinned. There would be death here today, or else there would be no reason for him to be here... and there was only one cat on this battlefield that the old leader had any claim to. He wandered through the throng of battling cats, almost wishing he could smell the coppery tang of blood, feel the earth slick beneath his paws... something that could connect him to this clan that he had once loved so fiercely, something that could empower them, lead them to victory... let him turn around and return to the stars alone tonight. They were mutinous desires, to meddle in the affairs of the living, and they were improbable at best... but the striped tom would have given anything to be able to spare his clan and kin the hurt that he knew was coming.

Wolfstar let out a sigh, dark brows knitting together as he turned to finally look at the scene that he'd been deliberately averting his gaze from: Beechfang and Perchstar, trading blows at the river's edge. The battle was slow, and distorted... perhaps because he wanted it to be. The inevitable would happen whether he bore witness to it or no, so he sat and bowed his head. Eventually, something in the atmosphere shifted, and Wolfstar opened his eyes as a shape began to materialize in front of him.

He held off until she'd had the opportunity to take in her surroundings to reveal himself, stepping forward to greet her with soft golden eyes. "Oh, my dearest Beechfang," he said quietly, long tail twitching behind him. He could see the doubt in her eyes, the confusion as to why she was here and not... there. Wolfstar paused, a tail-length away from his grandkit, though it took all the self control he possessed to stand there. He longed to surge forward and embrace her, to comfort her, but this transition was difficult enough without being bombarded, so he waited.

Movement out of the corner of restored peripheral vision made the silvery tabby jump. A dark tabby that she had very conflicting thoughts on whether she wanted to see stepped forward. Wolfstar's death being confirmed to her had hurt, but seeing him... Also hurt, as confirmation of Birdstar's words was now truly in front of her.

"Grandfather." Her paws moved without thought as she bounded toward him, "I... Almost hoped I wouldn't see you, even if Birdstar told me you were at her ceremony." She choked on a laugh, pressing against him. "I missed you too you foxheart."