Sunflare’s Dream (s)

Sunflare slept soundly, barely shifting or stirring. The cinnamon tom had a smile on his face as he slipped deeper into his dream.

He was laying in the nursery, and as he looked down Sunflare noticed he couldn’t make out the color of his own paws. This didn’t bother him for some reason, though, as all his attention was focused on the kit. A black and white kit lay between his paws and reached up to bat at his muzzle. As Sunflare met those little amber eyes, he realized with a jolt that he was looking at his own father! “You’ll be a great warrior someday, Rookkit,” he purred.

Then the scene changed. The mostly black kit was replaced with a mostly white one, running circles around the nursery at breakneck speed. Swiftheart! Sunflare reached out a paw and pulled her to him, smoothing out her fur with his rough tongue. “Careful, Swiftkit,” he mewed. “You’ve got a whole life ahead of you to do great things. Don’t wanna get too badly hurt before that can happen!”

Swiftkit disappeared and the entire atmosphere seemed to change. Dark, menacing shapes lurked outside the nursery and the stench of death was everywhere. Sunflare hadn’t seen the Dark Forest’s reign, but the stories were enough for his mind to recreate it. A small Pineblossom and an even smaller Leopardstar cowered behind him. “Don’t worry, girls,” he whispered. “If they want to hurt you they’ll have to get by me.”

Everything shifted again, and now he was at Highstones, tongue rasping over two small heads: a barely-apprenticed Sablepaw and… himself. His own tiny newborn body lay before him, letting out a tiny squeal. The wind blew cold around them, but in Sunflare’s embrace his mentor and younger self would be warm.

And then it was Snailpaw, Badgerkit, and Silverkit. Sunflare ran and played with the three of them, little paws pouncing on him from all angles. Had Badgermask’s eyes ever been this bright?

The scene changed sharply as Sunflare was now in a strange den with the scent of SkyClan everywhere. He puffed up for a moment, but then he heard the cry of another kit. A fluffy blue-gray she-kit limped towards him with a thorn in her paw. Sunflare picked up the small Bubblebeam by the scruff to take her to the medicine den.

Then he found himself alone, walking through the night in unfamiliar territory. A different kit now dangled from his jaws, a tiny Quillsplash. Did anyone even love you when you were this small? Did someone protect you, carry you like this? Sunflare wept at the thought. Based on the way Quillsplash behaved now, he would guess not.

Now he was watching younger versions of Hedgepaw, Wolfpaw, and Fernpaw play while a tiny Larkshine chased his tail. A faceless, unidentifiable warrior walked into camp with a muddy, scrawny tortoiseshell kit. Fishpaw! How different would things have been if he’d grown up here?

Suddenly Sunflare found himself surrounded by kits. His eyes flitted rapidly from one cat to the next. Nettleweaver, Briarpatch, Sagefeather, Boartusk, Smokeytimber, Juniperhunt, Webpaw, and Cardinalpaw all frolicked together in miniature, not a care in the world with Sunflare watching over them. A tiny Willowpaw snuggled against his chest.

Sunflare awoke then, casting a glance across camp to the nursery with its two precious current residents. He’d loved the feeling of protecting every single cat in his clan and it was then that he knew he wanted to feel like that forever. I’ll continue my warrior duties for now, but when I start getting older I want to retire to the nursery.