la la land (open!)

Firedream slowed his steps as Anteye’s tail tip tapped his shoulder blades. With as often as the dark furred warrior traveled with him to act as his sights, the pair had eventually developed a way of communicating with one another to make the job of guiding easier. ”Thank you,” Firedream murmured softly, bending at the knees to slip through Shadowclan’s camp entrance. He could feel the same familiar snags and brambles sticking at the long locks of his coat as he went, and sure enough, as the very last root tugged at the finer strands of his tail fur, Firedream felt the confined spaces around his shoulders unfurling, and the smells of the camp greeted him.

The medicine cat swished his tail between his ankles and allowed his eyelids to droop over the foggy orbs that did nothing more than take up space inside of his skull. With the sun shining down against his pelt through the tree tops, as it had been all morning, the little aches and sores from so much walking were quick to fade away. Drawing in a deep breath, Firedream smiled.

While the berry bush he had gone out to check hadn’t been ready to give up its bounty, Firedream and Anteye had managed to find a bit of alder bark that was practically perfect. His friend had carried it back for him, much to Firedream’s gratitude.

He needed no guide through Shadowclan’s camp. With confidence only someone that had walked the same paths for countless moons prior could muster, the sightless tom cat made his way back towards his den and herb storage. Rather than going inside, however, Firedream seated himself in a patch of warmth just outside its entrance. Basking a little while longer wouldn’t hurt, and it would give him more time to ponder over the troubling dreams that had been plaguing his sleep every night. He knew what it meant to see the black owl—but he couldn’t come forward yet, not until he knew more. For all he knew, causing a panic about a vision early on could simply act as a catalyst for it to come true.

Only time would tell.

Letting out a soft sigh, Firedream lowered himself until he was lying flat on his belly with his forelegs stretched out in front of him. There was still so much left to consider.

Little paw pads began to thump against the ground not far away from him, and as the force grew stronger and the noise grew louder, a gentle smile began to pull at the corners of Firedream’s mouth. He knew it was Lilykit, and if not her, it was certainly either Newtkit or Starlingkit- fresh from just having wrestled with her. He would have bet one of his other senses on it being the little calico, however. It was a well-known fact that the she-kit favored her uncle, and it was an adoration that Firedream responded to with patience Starclan themselves must have infused in him—because it seemed that the ginger tom never did tire of the interest paid to him by Shadowclan’s youth.

They were the clan’s future, he reasoned, it was his duty to help guide them all on their path of life throughout the clan. However duty bound he felt, though, Firedream still spared a weak grunt when Lilykit’s weight smacked down just behind his shoulders, forcing the air out of his lungs at an uneven rate. His eyelids parted out of habit, and glassy eyes stared out in front of him as a solid, welcoming purr rumbled up from his chest.

”Hello, Lilykit,” he greeted her, whiskers straining forward to see if he could brush them against the little calico. It never ceased to amaze him how quickly the kits grew up, but now that they were his own flesh and blood, it only made it all the more satisfying to witness. Soon enough they would be apprentice aged, and off serving Shadowclan and learning their places within the clan. When Lilykit finally settled in front of his nose and between his forepaws, the long furred tom curled a paw inward to drag her closer, rubbing his muzzle against her side. ”Something fun?” his chin rested on his opposite paw once he had properly greeted family, and Firedream let out a soft hum. ”Do you want to play a game that will make you laugh or a game that will make you think?” the tom’s tail swished lazily back and forth as murky eyes let their lids droop half-way closed once more.