A Dawning Path [Closed]

How softly did the sun's light spill over the horizon. Dew glittered on the exposed flanks of the sleeping WindClan cats, the cool of the night bending to the waking sun. The waning moon hung overhead, pale and faded against the pink sky, with the stars slowly falling back to sleep behind it. With StarClan asleep, it was time for the forest clans to wake. Cloudpaw's eyes flickered open at the first touch of light on his eyelids. His soft, white pelt held a million tiny drops of water refracting just as much colored light, which he quickly groomed away until it was dry once again. He wasn't the first awake, no. The first patrol of the day would soon gather. The young tom yawned and stretched as far as his legs would go before glancing around for Heronfeather, who was in change of those duties now. He'd set out to check and see how she was doing; they were about the same age, and yet she was already deputy. It had to be stressful, to say the least. With his fur clean enough so as to not get in the way, he padded up to the pretty brown-and-white she-cat, gently tapping her flank with his fluffy tail.

"Heronfeather? Would you mind if I joined the dawn patrol?"

A soft purr was escaping the molly as she lay curled up in her nest, flank rising and falling with each gentle breath that signified she was fast asleep. Her dreams were full of warmth and light, kits curled up against her stomach and the powerful emotion of love providing a radiant glow in her chest. All was brought to a rather abrupt end as an alabaster tail brushed against her, but the gentle purr still remained for a few more heartbeats as she gained consciousness and awareness of her surroundings. Cloudpaw's voice hit her ears, and she sat up slowly and listened to his request as she drew her tongue over her paw and then her ears, clearing off the thin layer of dew settled upon her fur.

"Of course," Heronfeather replied, eyes less bleary and the sleepy stupor seemingly burning off her like the mist that settled on the moor overnight. "I'll come with you, let me just grab some other warriors." She gazed around the den, eyes settling on Frostpelt and Reedwhisker who were nearby and would probably love the opportunity to get out. "Come on," she murmured to the warriors, tapping them gently on the flank with her paw, "Dawn patrol time." Satisfied with the group, she made her way back to Cloudpaw and then past the camp boundaries, allowing herself a long stretch as she lead the small patrol out. "You two go that way"- Heronfeather gestured toward the ShadowClan border with her tail, speaking to the other two warriors before turning to Cloudpaw- "And we'll go along the RiverClan border and meet you in the middle. Try and get there before sunhigh, please!" The mottled molly called after the duo as they sped off, leaving her with the fluffy apprentice.

"What made you want to join the dawn patrol? You're as old as I am and this seems like more of a punishment for new apprentices than anything." Immediately she wanted to chew on her words, she had always held a strange feeling of guilt that she had made it to warriorhood earlier than the tom, despite the fact they were the same age and he was just as competent, if not more so.

Cloudpaw took a deep breath of the fresh morning air as half their patrol sped off into the distance, the sounds of their pawsteps slowly fading, until it was just his and Heronfeather's remaining. Spiderwebs woven between blades of grass across the heather glittered with beads of dew. False frost. "Perhaps I've grown to be more of a morning cat." He gave a short laugh and peered into the she-cat's face for a moment. "Though in truth, today I wanted to ask if everything's been going alright with you, and, well," His gaze moved to a hillcrest, perhaps a bit sheepishly, "since you're in charge of the patrols now I thought this would be my best chance to catch you." He never wanted to interrupt her when she was already in the middle of something. She'd proven herself more than just a worthy warrior in such a short time, it felt odd standing next to her despite them being denmates hardly a season before.

Why hadn't he become a warrior yet? Perhaps it was his own laziness. Was it laziness if he was always tired, no matter what? Maybe. It took much motivation to get himself out of camp, whether he wanted that to be the case or not. But talking to Heronfeather was motivation enough, it seemed. Odd, but more than welcome. Opening his mouth to taste the air, and finding nothing out of the ordinary, he continued. "I want to make sure you don't get overwhelmed. I would. But I know you've got the stuff." He gave her a wry grin. Hopefully she wouldn't take it as him doubting her. That'd be the exact opposite of his intentions and definitely not something he wanted to imply. Oh StarClan, why could words be taken in so many ways?

A look of pure softness crossed her features as he admitted his true intentions for tagging along, and quickly she furrowed her brow at the sudden onslaught of warmness that filled her chest and her cheeks. Heronfeather suddenly felt the overwhelming urge to lick her ruffled chest fur down, although any cat with a working gaze would notice there was nothing to smooth down - just an excuse to avoid her gaze travelling along the tomcats defined cheekbones, to avoid any more of this feeling. Shaking her head, she let out a soft chuckle, "I'm truly flattered you'd give up sleep to check up on an old denmate," with a flick of her tail she began to walk at a slow pace, enjoying the lull of conversation far too much. "StarClan knows I wouldn't be able to! But I'm..." the mottled she-cat trailed off, staring at her paws for a brief moment, feeling dew from particularly tall strands of grass imbue cold moisture onto her stubby legs. How was she? An odd question, one she didn't often dwell on. The emotions of everyone around her had taken precedence over her own, her unfortunate habit of putting out fires leading her to never really turn around and focus on herself. "I guess I'm doing alright, all things considered."

"A few moons ago I was just an apprentice, and now I'm not only a warrior - I'm the deputy, Brindlestar's confidant. My mentor went from being the fabled deputy to the even more fabled leader, and now I'm her. I am what I thought she was, and it's all..." Heronfeather trailed off once more, searching for the right words to vocalise her thoughts, though they weren't quick to come. "I'm honestly not sure," she chuckled again, "I'm not sure I should be in this position, but I'm trying!" A slightly bitter laugh escaped her now, and she looked at him gratefully, fluffy tail whisking along the tips of the grass. "Your faith in me helps. I always thought you'd make a great warrior, it's weird to not be sharing a den with you now." Biting the inside of her cheek, she angled her head slightly away from him, but spoke her next words just loud enough to be heard, "Between you and I, I miss it. You were always the warmest cat to be near, what with your thick fur and all," a soft smile graced her mocha-brown features, and she shared her warm smile with him.

Clearing her throat, she tilted her head up towards the ever rising sun, grateful for the gentle radiance of heat it bestowed upon her, and she found herself glad to be spending some time with the tom. "Not to be pushy, but become a warrior already! You'd be absolutely indispensable as a warrior, and we could spend more time together-" Oh Stars, did I just say that out loud? the thought was plastered across her face, and she offered up a sheepish, "If you want, that is."