[viv]

dusklight

she/her ○ shadowclan ○ medicine cat

won't you come and dance in the dark with me?
show me what you are; i am desperate to know

The moon was a thin, curved line in the sky, climbing to its highest point, when Dusklight appeared around the perimeter of the Five Maples, her ears perked with quiet alertness, her eyes squinting through the dark. She'd told the cat on guarding duty that she was going out to find herbs; not an unusual affair. She tried not to think of it as lying, either. She would bring something back -- some things were just more important right now.

If you'd told Dusklight just a season ago that she would be sneaking out to see her mate (laughable) from another clan (absurd), she likely would have snorted in your face. Medicine cats weren't supposed to take mates; some barely took friends at all. This, though-- whatever this was between her and Robinflight, however, felt different in some way.

A few days ago while in camp, she'd seen a robin just after sundown. It sat in the pine trees that circled her den, the thin light of dusk wreathing it like a halo. Dusklight kept this little omen to herself, a sign that Starclan had approved of her new mate, and she asked Robinflight to meet her at the Five Maples the next time she saw her.

She wasn't entirely sure what they'd do. It just seemed correct to take her here to see the cavern underneath, where Starclan was closest.

The scent of cats was stale. It had been some time since the last half-moon meeting, and the gathering was a long way off. No one was around. With this in mind, Dusklight stepped forward and dipped into the clearing, sitting near the mouth of the glowing cavern that yawned a pale light onto the forest floor.

[SolarisCrescent]

ROBINFLIGHT
She/her 𖥸 WindClan 𖥸 Warrior

---

Dusklight certainly knew how to set the perfect mood for a romantic rendezvous. Cool air, but not chilly, a blanketing heat that was relaxed but not overbearing, the ethereal glow of a crescent moon, shaped in a gentle smile, the shadows of the five ancient, giant maples watching over them, and the silhouette of a cat whose scent she could pick out in a crowd.

Dusklight. Robinflight’s heart lurched in her chest. The molly looked so wonderful, cast in the pale light coming from the Glowing Cavern. Robinflight had only ever visited the cave once, when she was an apprentice. She never forgot that otherworldly feeling of stepping into a mystical space, and catching a glimpse of the stars beyond. Of infinity and eternity. How small she felt, but also how grand. Yet, gazing into Dusklight’s firefly-green eyes was something… else. Something bigger. Something more mystical than StarClan or Silverpelt.

After a moment of drinking her in, Robinflight dipped her head with a polite mew. She blinked slowly at her. “Greetings, my love. How is my favorite medicine cat today?”

[viv]

dusklight

she/her ○ shadowclan ○ medicine cat

won't you come and dance in the dark with me?
show me what you are; i am desperate to know

Dusklight scented her before she saw her, a distant tang of Windclan scent masked beneath flowers. Maybe Dusklight should have rolled in something pleasant, too-- she'd often heard that Shadowclan's scent was bitter to those who weren't used to it, but there was little time to worry about that. At the sight of cream fur, she leapt to her paws, tail lifted and curled at the tip.

"Robinflight," she greeted with a purr-- and that purr did not quite stop, rumbling through her body like distant thunder. "I'm great, now that you're here." Her head dipped and then drove into the fluff of Robinflight's chest, muzzle lifting to the hollow of her chin. In that short time, clan life melted away. An ache Dusklight hadn't noticed in her paws until now faded.

She took a deep breath then circled around her mate, thick fur brushing against hers. They'd both have to wash it off later, but for right now, surely they could smell like each other for a while? She leaned into the Windclan cat, shoulder-to-shoulder, whiskers twitching pleasantly.

"Are you well?" She asked through the barrage of purring, eyes narrow and happy. "What did you do today?"

She gave an affectionate lick to Robinflight's shoulder before stepping forward to the light pouring from the cavern. "Have you ever seen inside of it?" Dusklight asked a little more conversationally. "I've heard some warriors never get to see it in their whole lives."

[SolarisCrescent]

ROBINFLIGHT
She/her 𖥸 WindClan 𖥸 Warrior

---

Robinflight rested her chin against Dusklight’s head, and her muzzle nuzzled between the soft fluff of fur between her ears. Dusklight’s purr reverberated through her chest like a second heartbeat. How perfectly their bodies felt together, a synergy of belonging and symbiosis like moss to trees or lichen on rocks. If she closed her eyes, she could pretend that they could stay where they were for forever…

Eyes following Dusklight as she now circled around her, she said with rolling eyes, “The usual. Hunting and patrolling. The boring parts of being a warrior.”

She did recall one interesting thing… “There was a kit who ate a worm or a beetle of some sort? First of all, disgusting. But second of all, their mother was fretting all over them as if they’d survived a hawk attack. Watching the whole thing unfold, I felt my opinion on bug-eating shift slightly. Only a little bit. I still hate them.”

She tilted her head affectionately at Dusklight, rubbing her tail with hers. “I’ve seen it only once when I was an apprentice. What a magical experience it was then, and I’m sure it’ll be just as magical as it will be with you. But as a medicine cat, you’ve seen the Glowing Cavern a lot, haven’t you? Does the magic ever wear off on you?”

[viv]

dusklight

she/her ○ shadowclan ○ medicine cat

won't you come and dance in the dark with me?
show me what you are; i am desperate to know

"All queens are like that with their first litter," Dusklight's whiskers twitch with amusement, but also with a certain fondness that graced her next words. "You should have seen Tanglerose with her kits. You'd think they held the stars in their paws." She'd loved to have shared some of the omens she'd seen about those kits, too-- but some things had to be upheld, even if every other rule was being broken.

The molly took a heartbeat to think about Robinflight's next question, her weight resting itself upon her shoulder. "The half-moon meetings can get particularly uneventful," she admitted with a faint purr. "It was never boring coming here as an apprentice, though-- or coming as a medicine cat on my own or with someone as company. I look forward to bringing an apprentice here, one day."

She gave her mate a bump and stepped forward, fur bleaching white-green in the cavern's light. "It's always special sharing tongues with Starclan, or seeing the faces on apprentices when they see it for the first time," she mewed, good-naturedly. "It'll be special to see  you see it again after so long!"

With a flick of her tail, she gestured for Robinflight to follow her and head inside, but as she did, a stray thought came to her-- "what kind of bug was it? That the kit ate?"

[SolarisCrescent]

ROBINFLIGHT
She/her 𖥸 WindClan 𖥸 Warrior

---

“Ha! They’re so dramatic,” Robinflight commented, though not without a sliver of self-consciousness for her own air of dramatics. Like would know like, she thought afterwards. “I wish they wouldn’t worry as much. My brother is a perfectly capable medicine cat, if a kit faced any real danger. And of course, your clan is in trustworthy paws.”

Her brother. What would he think—

“Well then, I hope my presence here with you today will make up for of the boring medicine cat meetings you’ve had in the past,” she grinned. “What do you even do in those meetings, or is that a classified medicine cat secret?”

As Dusklight walked into the cavern’s light, her breath hitched. Robinflight smiled so hard until her cheeks ached. Ah, Dusklight’s beauty always struck her unexpectedly, a sudden blast of wind. She breathed in her scent and padded beside her. Now, wasn’t it the other way around? Wasn’t she supposed to be the enchanter and not the enchanted? Though the distinctions floated around, thin and flaky. Maybe it didn’t matter when you were in love.

“You would know more bugs than me. I don’t pay attention to those tiny little critters, unless of course, those critters catch my eyes. Whatever it was, it wriggled too much to be natural.”

[viv]

dusklight

she/her ○ shadowclan ○ medicine cat

won't you come and dance in the dark with me?
show me what you are; i am desperate to know

"They get to be dramatic," Dusklight offered playfully. "It keeps us on our toes, anyway. There's not a boring day when there's kits in the nursery." If nothing else, it was very sweet, too. She liked seeing the kits grow up. It was the closest she'd get to having her own.

Unless--

She quickly shook that thought away before it came to fruition, blinking slowly at Robinflight as she stepped forward. She hummed. "You know at gatherings, someone will always say 'prey is running well'? It's like that, but about herbs," she mrrowed some quiet laughter to herself. "Sometimes, Starclan will give us a message-- but not always. Otherwise, we'll share dreams we had from them recently."

Her eyes narrowed affectionately to Robinflight before she led her inside the cavern. The air was significantly cooler here-- almost cold, at night --and the rock dipped gently into the underground. It wasn't a long walk at all, but the moments before the cavern opened always felt slower, like time was standing still. The tunnel yawned into a larger room, glittering as if with moonlight despite no outside light penetrating the cave. In the center was a rock layered with moss like a blanket.

When Dusklight was an apprentice, she remembered being a little disappointed by how small the moonstone actually was. It was still big enough to touch noses with, but she'd spent her kithood thinking it was bigger than any tree she'd ever seen. As an adult, she could at least appreciate much more than just the stone-- the fresh scent the moss gave, the lingering smells of excited cats and the medicine cats. The cool, smooth rock under her paws and the dim light that twinkled off the cavern walls.

It was easier to appreciate, too, with good company.

"I only know the ones that would make you sick to eat," she said in a hushed tone-- briefly unaware that there might be a jarring contrast between what Robinflight was seeing and what she was hearing. "Wigglers are mostly harmless, though."

She stepped forward to the moonstone and sat neatly, tail curling over her forepaws. "Did you ever see Raccoonstar share dreams with Starclan? It's a little scary to see someone sleep near the stone," she said, with some humour despite her words.

[SolarisCrescent]

ROBINFLIGHT
She/her 𖥸 WindClan 𖥸 Warrior

---

“True enough. If only I could be a kit again, you get to play pretend all day long.” It was a lie, of course. But Robinflight sensed that Dusklight held a little more than benign interest in kits, and didn’t want to sour the mood.

She threw an incredulous, bemused expression at the idea of the medicine cat equivalent to “prey runs well” at Dusklight. “What would you even say? The herbs smell extra nice this week? The new sprouts of rosemary are growing nicely? But I suppose, deep down, warriors and medicine cats are not so different. Even if your dreams are more vivid than ours.”

She flashed a knowing look at her beautiful mate. Certainly, their allegiances to different clans was one transgressive element, but a relationship between a warrior and a medicine cat? Those were just as rare. A relationship of both cross-clan and cross-rank was nigh unfathomable. Of all the stories Robinflight heard of unusual romances, she never heard one quite like the one she shared with Dusklight. But that was the exciting part, the thrill, that was walking blindly into a new world, like how she walked through that dark tunnel to glimpse the Moonstone.

In that cold, illuminated room, Robinflight felt as though she were transported into another realm. A place of the past, a place of their great ancestors in the stars. Though she had seen this before, the effect of standing in front of something sacred was no less potent. She lost her words for a moment, before she dug them out again, at the back of her throat. “Maybe once or twice, but to be honest, I wouldn’t remember what Raccoonstar has said. It’s been a while since WindClan has received any meaningful dream.”

She paused. Then turned to Dusklight. “Have you had any dreams recently?”

[viv]

dusklight

she/her ○ shadowclan ○ medicine cat

won't you come and dance in the dark with me?
show me what you are; i am desperate to know

"Smells aren't usually a part of it," Dusklight said thoughtfully-- pointedly glossing right over the subject of kits before her mind went to more sacred codes to break with Robinflight. "Herbs that grow nicely, new sprouts in new places, a rare herb that should be left growing in case of emergencies. It's great conversation if you really like plants."

Her tone was playful, but quiet. Dusklight was, for a time, more interested in Robinflight's reaction to the cavern, how the light dyed her pelt pale and beads of green-blue flickered in her eyes like distant wildfires. What does she dream of? she wondered-- a thought that had scarcely crossed her mind for any other warrior. Does Starclan ever try to talk to her?

The sister of one medicine cat, and mate to another. It would be strange if they didn't, Dusklight decided. She was entangled with medicine cats one way or another.

"Well, yes," she responded, leaning in against Robinflight with a thoughtful frown. Starclan spoke to her much more than other medicine cats, she'd noticed-- always distant murmurings at best and full-blown prophecies at worst. Some of them were harrowing and scary. As a kit, she had a dream that she was walking alongside the Thunderpath, a row of faceless cats watching her in silence. Snowthistle told her that Starclan had chosen her to be a medicine cat-- but it frightened her for moons. "I had a dream, the other night, that I lost all my teeth. Just full of gums like a little worm," she said, and not without some distant humour. It was a silly omen-- but not one she could make sense of, quite yet.

"It's difficult to make sense of them, sometimes," she mewed. "Starclan showed me a bird that nested in a holly-bush, some time after Hollykit was named. But I still don't know, exactly, what it's supposed to mean. Maybe that she'll be a good mother, or a good nursery queen. Maybe that her kits are destined for something. They never speak straight."

"Don't you ever have vivid dreams?" She asked.

[SolarisCrescent]

ROBINFLIGHT
She/her 𖥸 WindClan 𖥸 Warrior

---

The thought of being involuntary pulled into a conversation about plants, of all things, made her shudder, and offered a bit of relief. Being a warrior could be boring, sure, but staying around, talking about nothing but different types of leaf? No thanks! The only plants Robinflight was interested in were flowers. ”I suppose we lead very different lives,” she remarked at last.

”A dream where you lost all of your teeth? How did you eat food? How did you pick up herbs?” Robinflight’s tongue slid in the gaps between her teeth. She imagined what it would be like for her tongue to touch bare nubs. A whole row of a toothless mouth? If that was a message from StarClan, well… that was quite certainly one way of sending it. She asked Dusklight, with a dose of sarcasm, ”And what ill omen has StarClan foretold the clans?”

”Starclan showed me a bird that nested in a holly-bush…”

Medicine cat dreams were like riddles. Fascinating. She’d never heard a medicine cat discuss their dreams before. They were kept secret from most warriors, and her relationship with Finchfang was cordial at best. The bare bone gesture of a nod or an offering of fresh-kill, but nothing more. She pondered what StarClan could mean, a little flare of delight sparking inside her at participating in a medicine cat’s little riddle. ”A bird nested inside a holly-bush? Definitely sounds maternal to me. Birds only nest where it’s safe. A holly bush, what with its thorns, must be quite protective.”

”Oh yes, I’ve had plenty of vivid dreams,” said Robinflight, before she paused, realizing she couldn’t remember any of them, except for the distinct emotions she felt. The other day, she awoke with a swollen heart, aching for her dream life over her real life. Yet she couldn’t remember why, couldn’t even conjure the last image before she stirred up. ”Unfortunately I can’t think of any to share now. Admittedly I do more daydreaming than I do at night. For example, I was dreaming all day about you and your beautiful eyes. And your scent, and your touch… I’ll have you know, that you torment me when you’re away.”

She nuzzled Dusklight’s neck.

[viv]

dusklight

she/her ○ shadowclan ○ medicine cat

won't you come and dance in the dark with me?
show me what you are; i am desperate to know

"Well, I woke up before I had to eat or pick up herbs," Dusklight said with a little huff of laughter. Collecting herbs wouldn't be that difficult without teeth, at least-- she could use her paws to harvest them, and the herbs might be in better condition if she had no teeth to puncture them with. But she wouldn't be able to make poultices. She wouldn't even be able to crack ticks. Maybe Snowthistle could do them-- she was desperate to find reasons to go back into the medicine den. "I don't think it means I'll be toothless soon, though. My teeth don't feel loose or broken."

She sat back on her haunches to listen to Robinflight. While Robinflight never really got to hear about medicine cat dreams, Dusklight never got to hear other cats' opinions and thoughts about them-- sure, they'd all share prophecies at the half-moon meeting, but it was nice to hear a fresh perspective on it. She'd never really considered the thorns coming into it, after all. It'd just been a marker, in her mind, of who they were talking about. She felt a little pride well up in her chest for her mate. She was clever. "Maybe," she said, unable to mask the purr in her tone. "I think you're right, actually. I think she'll be a good protector."

She was about to reassure the Windclan cat that it was fine that she couldn't remember any, but she'd quickly lost track of the conversation once the compliments rolled in. Her face felt hot with some blend of embarrassment and delight, eyes narrowing as she errupted into gentle laughter that was high and clear like a tinkling, silver bell. "You're very sweet!" She cooed, licking between Robinflight's ears when she brought her head to her neck. "I don't mean to torment you, though. At least, not too much," she added playfully.

SolarisCrescent