Wispy clouds lingered in the dark indigo sky as the dark gray cat crept from the cave. His blue eyes turned to gaze up at the stars. The blinding white light caught his gaze and he looked away, continuing to walk along the dusty mountain path. Trees waved in the breeze as if greeting him, or waving him goodbye.
The cat lay down by a river. The water held the stars in it's grasp. To the gray tom, it was as if the white jewels were swimming. Swimming… The thought reminded him of a special cat. A cat that was more then a friend. More than a lover. More than an average cat could ever be to him.
Feathertail was her name. She had died heroically in a fierce battle, where she had saved the tribe that the tom was staying with from a violent mountain lion, Sharptooth. The cat let out a gusty sigh, and lay down, placing his head on his paws. His blue eyes closed.
He was in an empty camp. Blood splattered the ground, and the trees were bare. A shiver ran up the tom's spine, and terror sparked in his eyes. He turned round, and broke into a run. He was in a dark forest that seemed to go on forever. Owls hooted and cats yowled. The gray cat stopped as he felt something burning hot touch him and a pair of amber eyes glow angrily. A yowl leapt from his throat as he struggled down, to lie on the ground.
His eyes clamped shut. He stopped breathing. His paw swept over his nose and covered it. Then, something cool touched him. Cool like the mist, with a touch of soft blue sky. He opened his eyes. An extremely pale cat, with fur the colour of a seagull's feathers stood before him. Her eyes were sparkling, aquamarine and gentle.
"Stand up, Crowfeather," she instructed in a voice like the sea swishing gently across the pebbles of the beach. The gray tom stood up, and a breath caught in his throat. The cat was Feathertail. She gave a gentle purr of amusement.
"Do not worry, Crowfeather," she murmured. Her pale gray tail touched his shoulder and she rubbed his cheek affectionately. Crowfeather's eyes softened at her touch and a warm feeling flooded over him. Under Feathertail's touch he felt safe, safer then he felt had felt with Leafpool, or he felt with Nightcloud when their dark fur melded together at night.
"I will always be with you," Feathertail meowed. Their fur brushed and Crowfeather's body tingled. "I will be watching you forever, until you die." She gave one last purr and faded away into the night.
The dark gray tom's eyes opened. He still lay by the river, only the stars had gone and had been replaced by the Sun. Crowfeather got to his paws and began to retrace his steps back to the cave. As he approached, he noticed his son Breezepaw and Brambleclaw's daughter Hollypaw following some Tribe cats. Breezepaw looked at him and whispered something in one caveguards's' ear. It nodded, and the young black apprentice ran up the slight slope to Crowfeather.
"Where have you been?" Breezepaw
snapped at his father.
"Meeting my guardian warrior."
