alas, every cloud fades away

[Ava]

Night had fallen over the homely little cave that RootClan called their own, and amidst the shadows a pale queen stuck out like a parrot among ravens. She limped past the crowded, sleeping bundles of joy in the nursery and reached the exit, quickly finding her way into the clearing in the cave. It seemed like forever had come and gone since she had been able to freely walk out of the cave and explore- in fact, she hadn't explored their new territory at all. With her leg, she had been forced to stay a queen, gone from her duties as a warrior. 

Yes, she was weaker with her lame leg, and she was quite fine with keeping an eye out for all the little kittens that she shared the den with, but it made her feel empty. Her nest seemed to get colder and colder each night even with greenleaf on the cusp, and with her kits growing older she realized that she had nobody else. The other queens were good company, but she had relied deeply on Coyote... until he wasn't there anymore. That's the problem with having a best friend in a mate. It's like losing two people at once, and the heartbreak is twice as hard. The recovery? Torturous.

Maybe she hadn't settled her anger towards Coyote. Or maybe it's love. Did she really still love him, even after all those moons of trying to get over him, trying to heal herself, trying to be happy? Maybe. All that she knew was... she really wanted to see him right now. To just have his presence of which she craved so dearly. Her emotions, stifled for so long in fear of hurting her kits, seemed to finally bubble over the edge. And with her pessimistic ways, the cat she last expected to see sat, leaning against the cave entrance, gazing in her direction. Coyotedawn.

GnawingOnIce

[GnawingOnIce]

Coyotedawn leaned against the entrance to RootClan’s cave, his green eyes glowing against the darkness. He had just returned from the cool Newleaf air, a bouquet of four to five white and purple speckled lillies in his maw.

See, Coyotedawn had had a change of heart. Something in him twisted at the thought of his former mate and their kits, the ones who lived and the ones who died. But tonight he had questioned why he had allowed himself to become so distant and bitter. At first, he didn’t mind the frost that coated his heart but it began to become unbearable. He couldn’t do this anymore. So, he snuck out at dusk and searched for flowers. He found a clump of them and took them from the earth to present them to Floatingcloud in the form of an apology.

When he had returned, he hesitated going in and waking her. He really should just let her sleep; but he started when he saw her limping toward him. The memory of digging her out of the old nursery came back to him, and he quickly shut it out. He straightened his back and stood, meeting her before she could reach the entrance. Coyotedawn lay the flowers in front of her paws before speaking.

“Floatingcloud,” he faltered, her name foreign on his tongue and his heart hammering against his chest, “I need to apologize to you.” This was also all an impulse decision made with his heart and head, mostly unscripted and unrehearsed. His eyes were kind and held sympathy, something many had found a rare sight to see in the past moons and seasons.

Tags;; Ava
Notes;; :’)