Light and Awe [Open]

Cypresskit was barely poking from the nursery, his eyes trained on the shifting light that dappled the clearing. It was his first time properly exploring outside of the nursery, having always preferred staying close to his mother. But...He was a growing kit. Seeing the camp was important, even if he had gotten distracted not even a whisker-length from the entrance. His eyes flickered between the waving branches high above and the light they allowed through, watching how the pattern shifted with the gentlest breeze that worked its way through the canopy above. His tail swished as he slowly started to stalk forward, raising a paw a feather-length away from the light...Before he slammed his paw down onto the ground. His eyes widen as the pattern of light now danced across his paw, turning and twisting the limb to watch how the light moved across it until he pulled it away and plopped his head onto the ground, happily watching the little light show with all the awe that only a kit could muster about such a standard thing.

A very soft rustling could be heard as a small, shiny stone rolled over the soft grass and towards the paws of the tiny kit. The stone would barely be of the size of the kit’s paw, and it came to a slow end once it came in contact with it, its last movement making it land perfectly in the small point of sunlight that he was so focused on.

The irregular yet smooth, almost crystal-like shape of the stone, alongside its unique shiny properties, caused the light to bounce off it in multiple directions, sometimes even making it change colors upon being reflected by the small object.

This came followed by a soft chuckle, coming from the Medicine cat apprentice that was now standing to the side of him, looking at him with a warmth that one couldn’t guess would ever be present in eyes with such an icy coloration as hers. She carefully placed down the bundle of herbs she was carrying with her from her herb gathering trip to lay down next to the kit.

“Beautiful, isn’t it?” Blizzardpaw's voice was soft and melodious as usual, the soft breeze that made the canopy over their heads gently carrying the scent of the lavender flowers and mint leaves that she had decorated her pelt with that morning after making sure they wouldn’t miss them…she still collected some extras just in case.

Cypresskit blinked as...Something came rolling towards him, his gaze automatically locking onto the strange object as it reached the sunlight he had been fixated on. As the light hit it, he straightened up a little as it reacted so much differently to the light than his paw had, now casting its own light around. He titled his head as he carefully reached out, touching the strange object that was cool to the touch, rolling it. He was so engrossed with the object that he missed the arrival of another cat...Until her voice spoke up. He jolted, fur fluffing up for a second as he bared his teeth but the sweet smell of herbs reached his nose. Oh. Oh it was one of the medicine cats. He slowly let down his guard, trying to smooth down his fur as he studied her with one eye. He...Didn't know anybody in the Clan all that well, with him refusing to leave the nursery until now but his mom had told him a couple names and important things. He had to guess from her pelt that she was Blizzardpaw, but he couldn't remember if he had seen her duck into the nursery, he...Hadn't been the most social but that was just cause he couldn't trust anybody. But...He guessed he would need to get to know his Clanmates. "Um, yeah. It really is beautiful," he finally meowed, turning his attention back onto the strange rock. "Is it yours?"

Blizzardpaw chuckled lightly as she allowed the kit to play with the small shiny pebble. She was not surprised to see how jumpy Cypresskit was, his…uh…family situation…wasn’t exactly a secret, half the clan could hear the screaming match between the queen and the tom, she was sure of it. If she did not intervene that time was due to a mix of shock and respect towards the now shattered family. Fooling a she-cat into a one-sided relationship was something anyone should be able to understand was wrong. If he only wanted offspring and wasn’t willing to commit to a relationship, to truly love his mate, he should’ve at least come to an agreement where both cats involved knew exactly what they were getting involved in…

And even then, she just couldn’t help but disapprove of the relationship that could’ve come out of that. A kit should be always raised by a loving family.

She, however, kept her mouth shut about the matter, not wanting to add fuel to the already raging fire. As a medicine cat she wasn’t supposed to take sides, as that could affect proper treatment of the tom should he ever need it, but that was harder said than done. Of course, now she only did so out of respect, as StarClan seemed to have taken into their own paws to deliver justice for such action, as not long after the mauled body of the warrior was found between the bloody jaws of a fox for a patrol. She alongside Mistedsong had to prepare…whatever was left of the body for burial, and honestly that was a memory she wasn’t exactly fond of.

Her ears perked up at the question of the kit, just smiling and shrugging a bit “Not exactly…that’s a fragment of one of the many shiny stones you can find at an area of our territories called Glittering Stones. That stone is far too small to be used in the construction of any courtship pile, but it’s still as beautiful as any other. I like the shine and faint luminescence they have, so I tend to pick up some of these small pebbles from time to time. If you put it under the moonlight, they look like stars themselves…many stories regarding their origins are told by elders of the clan, but none seems to be able to decide on a definitive version...you can keep it if you like it”

Truth be told, Cypresskit understood maybe less than half of what came out of the medicine cat's mouth, simply raising his head with the barest frown as he tried to make sense of her explanation. It was a lot of big words that he hadn't heard before, trying to make sense of them in context. But...He think he got the basics of it as he returned to playing with the stone, rolling it around underneath his paw. The stone wasn't hers - it was something they could find in the territory! Its...To small be used for...Something and nobody knew where they came from. Okay. And he could keep it if he wanted. He paused rolling the stone around, studying it with the fainest frown. The pretty rock was his if he just said so, but...Was there anything that Blizzardpaw would gain out of it?

He tried to think it over, but he couldn't think of anything. It seemed a harmless enough gesture and...He guessed he could trust the medicine cat. Her and her mentor were suppose to be there for everybody, right? Maybe she didn't have anything to gain out of being nice to him, but he knew he had to be careful. He didn't remember his dad but he had seen how much his father's actions had hurt his mom. He...He wanted to avoid ending up like that. He didn't want to know the pain that still hurt her despite it being moons since they had went their separate ways. "Um...Yeah, I do want it," he said after a few heartbeats. "...You said there were a lot of stories about these things? What one is your favorite?" he asked as he turned to look at her, unable to escape the kitish excitement of getting to hear stories. He had heard all the ones that his mom had to tell but...Getting to hear a new story was pretty excited, he had to admit.

It was kind of obvious for the fluffy she-cat that most of her words had only managed to confuse the kit further. Sometimes she had to remind herself that kits were still new to this world and their knowledge was limited.

She got comfortable while her tail curled over the bundle of herbs as a way to protect it from sudden winds, just in case, smiling as the kit accepted the little improvised gift. However, at his question she couldn’t help but hum softly , one of her ears lowering a bit as she thought carefully about hoe to answer this kit without confusing him any further.

“Well….” Her ice blue eyes landed on the small stone as she put her thoughts into words “These stones are used as a way for cats to declare their honest, unconditional love to the one their desire to be their mate, gathering them in beautiful piles that shine like stars under the moonlight…

Rumor says that many moons ago, before any of us was even born, it was the meeting place of two cats who had sworn to love each other since kithood. Moons went by and each time they went there until the tom found its early end on a dark cloudy night.

The she-cat went to their meeting place to mourn the loss of the tom she loved, who upon request had been buried in that very spot, but when she arrived, there was a pile of glittering stones right on top of the final resting place of the tom that challenged the moon in beauty. She took the prettiest stone from the pile and took it with her and placed it on her nest, it made her feel like her mate was at her side at all times.

When the she-cat died, she was buried next to her long-deceased mate alongside the glittering stone she treasured. Since that day forward, it is said that the place was blessed by the stars themselves, and the stones started to appear all over the place during the following moons.

Since then it’s a tradition to make a pile of them, which we call a courtship pile, whenever you want to confess your feelings for a clanmate. It is said that if the love is pure and sincere from both sides, the pile will shine just as beautifully as it did when the she-cat found the first pile many generations ago, and the most beautiful of all these stones shall be taken to their nest so no matter the distance or fate of their partner, their hearts are forever together”.

Cypresskit flopped his head to the side as as Blizzardpaw started to tell the story, bundling in as he diligently listened to the entire thing. Unconditional love seemed...Almost a lie, if he was to be honest. He had seen that sort of relationship fail with his parents but if the stones were said to shine pretty with when the love was sincere. He wasn't sure if he was going to be willing to ever be in love but at least that sounded like a nice to way to be certain. "That is a nice story!" he chirped as the medicine cat apprentice finished, before he paused. And sad, for the first two cats. But...At least they are together again, I guess." He paused, rolling the shiny stone around some more before he turned back to Blizzardpaw. "...So the rocks just...Appear at this place?"