"I love you too, Fencestar," Dieselstar simply said, dropping her initial attempt to keep a straight face. She bent over to rub her head against her mate's neck. "I'm sorry for leaving you like I did."
"EarthClan... well, I'll be honest with you - in my time, EarthClan was a perfect storm. Risingstar was... an absolute mess. But he was a good cat. He held us together, he... he defined the EarthClan that I inherited. EarthClan was... it was a home. A chaotic, flawed, and perfect home."
Fencerunner shook her head as the two mates rounded a corner. She looked up at her mate, the glimmer in her eye unmistakable as infection. Fencerunner was glued to the muscles that rippled at Dieselstar's side, her smile unshaking.
"You know, I'm glad you kept your scars," she whispered, "They're the reason I fell in love with you. That one I gave you in Fence Club- always made me look for it. Ended with me staring at your chest a lot."
No matter how hard she tried, she couldn't think of a question to ask. She was just happy to know her father- and pretty proud of herself for kinda making the assumption that it was an earthclanner. That's all she really needed. She glanced back over her shoulder at her parents, smiling. "We'll be fine, I love you both!" Mosspaw said, turning back to gaze at Glasswind.
"What was Earthclan like? I'm sure it was different from our home."
Fencerunner could feel Dieselstar's thoughts, her mood, and laughed. "Hey, at least it wasn't your brother!" she joked, sighing.
"You kids have fun- I think I'm going to go see if the camp needs any help. Dieselstar, would you like to join me . . ?" she asked, calling to her mate questioningly to see if she would take the escape that she'd orchestrated perfectly.
Dieselstar visibly bit back a comment and shifted uncomfortably on her paws-- she'd never had a proper conversation with the cat, but the longer he went on, the more she wondered if their fates had, in fact, been different, that he really was as responsible for his own death as the SunClanners said. StarClan, he's insufferable.
Glass turned his eyes upon Mosspaw, the star-filled orbs creasing at the edges as a smile danced across his features.
"No need for apologies - I'm not anything special, I'm well aware. I never needed to be - I'm an EarthClanner, and as one, I am no more than my clanmates, regardless of my title or suffix. Whatever your mother's told you about my 'perfect moral character', I assure you it's not the truth. I'm just as flawed as every other cat that walks this land - without those flaws, I'd have died long before I reached the clans. In the end, you may find that your flaws are no different from your greatest strengths."
"They all ended up looking like you- I had to give them Something. Why not a hopefully perfect moral character?" Fencerunner said with a laugh, Dieselstar's awkwardness putting her at ease. As Mosspaw approached, the she-cat took her tail and wrapped it around Oxalispaw's shoulder.
"Now's your chance to ask him as many questions as you'd like," she whispered encouragingly, looking up into her son's gaze with an unbeholdened emotion held there.
“I said that out loud.” She mewed, wide eyed and a little embarrassed about her lack of a filter. “I apologize.” She dipped her head to the tom, still amazed to finally meet her father.
Mosspaw approached, timidly- not very characteristic of her but what else do you do when you’re meeting the cat who helped in creating you for the first time. “I’m really happy to finally meet you.”
Oxalispaw whimpered and stumbled back at Glass-star's sudden appearance, startled by his presence, while Mulleinpaw went deathly still, staring at him in shock.
"Kits!" Dieselstar exclaimed, exasperated. "Glass-star. Hello. It's been. Um. A while. I'm glad you could join us."
Fencerunner's own celestial ear twitched as she felt Glass-star's energy form into tangible form. Something concrete told her the tom would show up. She greeted him civilly- he was not the one she loved. But he had given her a great gift, and for that she was thankful.
"Speak of the devil," she said, smiling lightly, looking to Mosspaw as she spoke.
"Yes, this is him-" she barked at her daughter, taking Mosspaw's attack on Glass-star as an attack on her own virtue, "Be polite."
Mosspaw was so close to going off on oxalispaw, which included teaching him a lesson through a little battle training. She loved her brother and would do anything to protect him, but sometimes he annoyed the Fox dung out of her. The bright light accompanied by the supernatural presence of a new cat stopped her in her tracks. The young calico almost retreated behind her parents, pale olive green eyes narrowing at the starclanner. She couldn’t help but wonder if this was the cat they were talking about. Minus the glowy silhouette, he didn’t seem like much. “Really mom? Him?” She questioned allowed, forgetting that the glowing cat could hear her.
The dead were a peculiar thing. Throughout Glasswind's life, he'd found StarClan to be such even moreso. However, peculiarity was reality nonetheless - whether that reality was a mere hallucination or something more, could be determined only by the eyes of the beholders.
With a shimmering, ethereal light, the air seemed to fall suffocatingly still for a moment, as a faint starry figure leapt out of the void, alighting on the ground, though he seemed to hover a few hairlengths above it, by some strange, otherworldly force. The apparition flickered, dwindled, then seemed to find stability at a point just between visibility and invisibility - turn one's head at the right angle, and the celestial-pelted tom appeared to vanish.
It was questionable whether the dead breathed, but in this instant, the dead tom that stood before the EclipseClanners took in a visible breath, his clouded, faintly green-hued eyes trailing over their figures. A tension seemed to riddle the stars that made up his apparition - and then, he let out that long breath, as though he hadn't breathed since the day his last breath had left his form.
"Sorry I'm late - I had some business to take care of."
The words were dry and unremarkable in content, but the breathy murmur they were spoken in, overwhelmed with an odd symphony of pride, grief, regret, and amazement, said so much more.
"I wouldn't have!" Oxalispaw protested. "I've never even said anything about it!"
"That's not true," Mulleinpaw laughed, shaking her head. "Mom's right, this really doesn't matter. I'm just glad to know, since, well, we did have to wonder, at least a little bit."
"Why don't we just go back to camp...?" Dieselstar suggested.
Fencerunner frowned, feeling like the entire argument was her fault. She shifted uncomfortably, ears back as the three apprentices argued. Her mouth opened to defend herself every couple lines, but she was unable to form the words.
"Speak honestly and answer fast: Would you have honestly rather have known your father was EarthClan growing up? Chicorypaw lacks sense and Oxalispaw would've asked the elders enough questions about Glass-star to prompt a proper investigation, leading to a myriad of problems. I grew up without a father and without a mother, mostly, and did just fine. So did your mother. You should all feel just as much as EclipseClan warriors as the kittypet who joined on a whim or the lucky few whose ancestry reaches back to Moonstar. Does this honestly change anything?" She looked from one kit to the next, olive eyes sad and hopeful. She didn't want to leave her kits fighting, and hoping for them to understand would take time- this was a middle ground.
Mosspaw, alongside her three siblings, got to know her father in the short time they had together. She couldn't have asked for a better ending.
"Now we'll be together forever," Fencerunner said, moving in on her mate's ear, "And ever. And ever. And ever. And ever. And did I mention forever?"
"OH! And ever."
The end.
"I love you too, Fencestar," Dieselstar simply said, dropping her initial attempt to keep a straight face. She bent over to rub her head against her mate's neck. "I'm sorry for leaving you like I did."
"EarthClan... well, I'll be honest with you - in my time, EarthClan was a perfect storm. Risingstar was... an absolute mess. But he was a good cat. He held us together, he... he defined the EarthClan that I inherited. EarthClan was... it was a home. A chaotic, flawed, and perfect home."
Fencerunner shook her head as the two mates rounded a corner. She looked up at her mate, the glimmer in her eye unmistakable as infection. Fencerunner was glued to the muscles that rippled at Dieselstar's side, her smile unshaking.
"You know, I'm glad you kept your scars," she whispered, "They're the reason I fell in love with you. That one I gave you in Fence Club- always made me look for it. Ended with me staring at your chest a lot."
No matter how hard she tried, she couldn't think of a question to ask. She was just happy to know her father- and pretty proud of herself for kinda making the assumption that it was an earthclanner. That's all she really needed. She glanced back over her shoulder at her parents, smiling. "We'll be fine, I love you both!" Mosspaw said, turning back to gaze at Glasswind.
"What was Earthclan like? I'm sure it was different from our home."
Dieselstar gave Fencestar a droll look, but gave a nod as Fencestar gave her a convenient out.
"Behave yourselves," She warned the kits as she started out toward the street.
Fencerunner could feel Dieselstar's thoughts, her mood, and laughed. "Hey, at least it wasn't your brother!" she joked, sighing.
"You kids have fun- I think I'm going to go see if the camp needs any help. Dieselstar, would you like to join me . . ?" she asked, calling to her mate questioningly to see if she would take the escape that she'd orchestrated perfectly.
Dieselstar visibly bit back a comment and shifted uncomfortably on her paws-- she'd never had a proper conversation with the cat, but the longer he went on, the more she wondered if their fates had, in fact, been different, that he really was as responsible for his own death as the SunClanners said. StarClan, he's insufferable.
Glass turned his eyes upon Mosspaw, the star-filled orbs creasing at the edges as a smile danced across his features.
"No need for apologies - I'm not anything special, I'm well aware. I never needed to be - I'm an EarthClanner, and as one, I am no more than my clanmates, regardless of my title or suffix. Whatever your mother's told you about my 'perfect moral character', I assure you it's not the truth. I'm just as flawed as every other cat that walks this land - without those flaws, I'd have died long before I reached the clans. In the end, you may find that your flaws are no different from your greatest strengths."
"They all ended up looking like you- I had to give them Something. Why not a hopefully perfect moral character?" Fencerunner said with a laugh, Dieselstar's awkwardness putting her at ease. As Mosspaw approached, the she-cat took her tail and wrapped it around Oxalispaw's shoulder.
"Now's your chance to ask him as many questions as you'd like," she whispered encouragingly, looking up into her son's gaze with an unbeholdened emotion held there.
“I said that out loud.” She mewed, wide eyed and a little embarrassed about her lack of a filter. “I apologize.” She dipped her head to the tom, still amazed to finally meet her father.
Mosspaw approached, timidly- not very characteristic of her but what else do you do when you’re meeting the cat who helped in creating you for the first time. “I’m really happy to finally meet you.”
"Ah, the devil, am I?" Glass quipped, shooting Fencestar a light-hearted smile before his gaze turned upon Dieselstar and the apprentices.
"You raised them well, Fence." His gaze flickered back to the she-cat. "Thank you."
Oxalispaw whimpered and stumbled back at Glass-star's sudden appearance, startled by his presence, while Mulleinpaw went deathly still, staring at him in shock.
"Kits!" Dieselstar exclaimed, exasperated. "Glass-star. Hello. It's been. Um. A while. I'm glad you could join us."
"****"
Fencerunner's own celestial ear twitched as she felt Glass-star's energy form into tangible form. Something concrete told her the tom would show up. She greeted him civilly- he was not the one she loved. But he had given her a great gift, and for that she was thankful.
"Speak of the devil," she said, smiling lightly, looking to Mosspaw as she spoke.
"Yes, this is him-" she barked at her daughter, taking Mosspaw's attack on Glass-star as an attack on her own virtue, "Be polite."
She took a deep breath.
Mosspaw was so close to going off on oxalispaw, which included teaching him a lesson through a little battle training. She loved her brother and would do anything to protect him, but sometimes he annoyed the Fox dung out of her. The bright light accompanied by the supernatural presence of a new cat stopped her in her tracks. The young calico almost retreated behind her parents, pale olive green eyes narrowing at the starclanner. She couldn’t help but wonder if this was the cat they were talking about. Minus the glowy silhouette, he didn’t seem like much. “Really mom? Him?” She questioned allowed, forgetting that the glowing cat could hear her.
The dead were a peculiar thing. Throughout Glasswind's life, he'd found StarClan to be such even moreso. However, peculiarity was reality nonetheless - whether that reality was a mere hallucination or something more, could be determined only by the eyes of the beholders.
With a shimmering, ethereal light, the air seemed to fall suffocatingly still for a moment, as a faint starry figure leapt out of the void, alighting on the ground, though he seemed to hover a few hairlengths above it, by some strange, otherworldly force. The apparition flickered, dwindled, then seemed to find stability at a point just between visibility and invisibility - turn one's head at the right angle, and the celestial-pelted tom appeared to vanish.
It was questionable whether the dead breathed, but in this instant, the dead tom that stood before the EclipseClanners took in a visible breath, his clouded, faintly green-hued eyes trailing over their figures. A tension seemed to riddle the stars that made up his apparition - and then, he let out that long breath, as though he hadn't breathed since the day his last breath had left his form.
"Sorry I'm late - I had some business to take care of."
The words were dry and unremarkable in content, but the breathy murmur they were spoken in, overwhelmed with an odd symphony of pride, grief, regret, and amazement, said so much more.
"I wouldn't have!" Oxalispaw protested. "I've never even said anything about it!"
"That's not true," Mulleinpaw laughed, shaking her head. "Mom's right, this really doesn't matter. I'm just glad to know, since, well, we did have to wonder, at least a little bit."
"Why don't we just go back to camp...?" Dieselstar suggested.
Fencerunner frowned, feeling like the entire argument was her fault. She shifted uncomfortably, ears back as the three apprentices argued. Her mouth opened to defend herself every couple lines, but she was unable to form the words.
"Speak honestly and answer fast: Would you have honestly rather have known your father was EarthClan growing up? Chicorypaw lacks sense and Oxalispaw would've asked the elders enough questions about Glass-star to prompt a proper investigation, leading to a myriad of problems. I grew up without a father and without a mother, mostly, and did just fine. So did your mother. You should all feel just as much as EclipseClan warriors as the kittypet who joined on a whim or the lucky few whose ancestry reaches back to Moonstar. Does this honestly change anything?" She looked from one kit to the next, olive eyes sad and hopeful. She didn't want to leave her kits fighting, and hoping for them to understand would take time- this was a middle ground.
Oxalispaw gave an audible sigh at Mosspaw's picture-perfect answer, thinking that she surely didn't actually believe that.