Prologue: To Dust

Characters in this Chapter

Graystar - She-cat. Slate gray with a line of white running from her throat to her underbelly. Dark amber eyes. Patient and analytical, she is rough around the edges but means well.

Burntnose - Tom cat. White with a ruddy red nose and a patch of cream color on the back of his neck. Yellow eyes. Relaxed and charming.

The slim forms of cats moved quickly over the night-washed moors, white-lined in the moonlight. One fitted seamlessly into the blue dark, the other was in stark contrast- a white smudge against the tall, shaded grasses. The paler cat lunged, catching the other cat by the hindquarters, dragging them both to the ground.

They rolled for a few paces, tumbling over one another. But no harsh yowls broke the air, the mood was light and warm. The white cat gained the upper hand, and pinned his blueish gray companion. He cast the cat an endearing look and pressed his ruddy nose against her cheek, a tingle crossing his spine as he felt the vibrations of her purrs against his whiskers.

"Graystar." His voice hung in the air, husky but with a certain gentleness to it.

Graystar blinked at the white tom with her dark amber eyes, her lips pulling into a soft smile. She craned her head forward, her pink tongue glancing across the tom's cheek.

She let her own body go slack as he nuzzled his face into her neck. The tom slunk lower, running his tongue along the white fur of Graystar's throat, pausing to nibble lightly on the sensitive skin.

The graze of teeth caused the she-cat to jerk involuntarily, pulling her hind legs up to beat playfully against his chest."Ngh... Burntnose."

She stilled again as Burntnose sunk even lower on his lover, grooming the long tufty fur of her underbelly. He felt her stiffen at the sensual contact, bringing a slight smile to his handsome features. He abandoned his grooming as he moved his muzzle closer to her ear, "You're so chast, Graystar."

Graystar squinted at him, a devious look crossing her amber eyes. Burntnose returned this, the two of them staring one another down as if they were sizing each other up, a challenging sort of look. With a playful growl the blue-gray she-cat swung her forelegs about his neck and threw her head around to grab onto the tom's cream-colored scruff.

Burntnose responded by wrapping his own forelegs around her and pulling her sideways so that both of their flanks were pressed to the ground, and their belly fur meshed together.

They stayed like that for awhile, enjoying the contact and each other's warmth, eyes shut and held by one another in that tight embrace.

With a heavy sigh, as though she'd been holding it for awhile, Graystar released her grip from his scruff and mumbled into his fur, "I love you, Burntnose." When the tom didn't respond, her ears flicked back uncertainly. She pulled herself from the embrace and looked upon her lover with worried eyes.

Burntnose was limp, his pale yellow eyes wide open with pupils narrowed to slits. He was staring off into the distance at nothing in particular. Had Graystar not known any better, she'd think he was dead.

Rather, with an uneasy, solemn expression, she sunk down next to the white tom, pressing her body close to him. She laid her head protectively over his neck and winded her tail about him, as she let her amber eyes study the distant horizon. Quietly Graystar noted the hints of orange and pink that colored the edges of the sky, and the darkness seemed fleeting as a dull gray colored in what was once a beautiful shade of blue and black. Her clan would wonder where they'd gone off to soon.

The ramblings in her head cut off as she felt him convulse against her, as the tom sprang back to consciousness. He breathed in short gasps, his ruddy nose flaring with the effort, and a row of hairs raising along his spine.

Although she felt a small shock of relief at feeling him stir, the two cats found themselves staring at the same thing: the swath of stars that hung above them, almost indistinguishable in the approaching daylight. "Are they mad?" Graystar asked uneasily, echoing the thoughts that had been rolling about in her head since he had blanked out.

Burntnose's jaws parted, although he hesitated in speaking. "They…" He paused, his tongue flicking over his lips nervously. "I believe it's an omen."

It seemed like sorrow had rooted itself in the yellow of his gaze, as he slowly looked over to meet his partner's eyes. "I believe our ancestors are angry. We can't keep meeting like this. There's consequences for breaking the code."

Graystar lips tightened just as her heart did, and she pulled away from him, deciding to sit up with her back to him. Her voice cracked when she asked, "What did they say?"

The white tom's expression was full of hurt, particularly for the sudden break of contact. He didn't like Starclan's sentence anymore than she did. "Blind in the haze of our own interests, our paws walk the path to the adder's waiting mouth." Stiffly, Burntnose pulled himself to his paws, his face still downcast as he turned to look in the direction of camp. "We've been selfish to be going on like this Graystar. As a leader, you can't be burdened with kits. As a medicine cat, it's forbidden for me to even share this kind of connection with you. Who knows what or who we might be endangering."

He moved towards her slowly, about to rest his head on the back of her neck, until he reminded himself that more contact would only make their quiet parting that much more painful. "It's what's best for the clan." He wanted to remind her that he'd always love her. But perhaps, it'd be for the best that they both forgot about their relationship, and let it go to dust.

"Right." Graystar still refused to look at the white tom, her eyes somber and blank. "I think we should go home."