Dovewing tossed and turned in her nest. She finally settled with her head resting on her paws when she rolled over and shifted onto her flank.
"Stop moving," Ivypool grumbled. Similar growls were heard from around the warriors den but in the dark of the night, Dovewing couldn't see whose voices they were.
"Sorry," Dovewing apologized and got to her paws.
"Wait, where are you going?" Ivypool looked up from her nest tiredly.
"On a walk, I don't want to keep everyone up," Dovewing told her and padded out of the den. She crossed camp and made it to the entrance.
"Where are you going?" Thornclaw asked. He, as usual, was on guard duty. He stepped in front of the grey she-cat, stopping her from leaving.
"I can't sleep and I think I keep waking up the other warriors," Dovewing explained. "I thought I'd go for a walk. Don't worry, I'll be back soon."
The older warrior looked doubtful. "You've disappeared twice already."
"And I don't plan on making it a third time," Dovewing told him.
Thornclaw's expression didn't change but he gave in. "Make sure your back soon."
"I will," Dovewing promised and walked out of camp.
She felt a sense of tranquility as she walked through the forest. She'd spent many nights walking through the forest but almost every time she'd been on her way to meet Tigerheart. Tonight she had no destination and she was able to appreciate her surroundings.
The forest was surprisingly quiet. Maybe it was during the day but the darkness made it more noticeable. There were no chirps of crickets, no hoots of owls, no breeze blowing through the branches. Just quiet. It suddenly made Dovewing feel very alone.
Before she knew what she was doing, she found herself walking towards ShadowClan territory. She stopped in her tracks. I shouldn't be going this way. She thought for a moment. Rock said to find where my heart lies. And it's always been torn between ThunderClan and ShadowClan. I may as well just…
"Dovewing! What are you doing here?" a voice snapped her out of her thoughts.
"Tigerheart?" Dovewing said in surprise. "What are you doing here?"
"I asked first," the tom said with a glint of humor.
"I couldn't sleep so I thought I'd go for a walk."
"Me too."
Silence lingered between them.
Tigerheart spoke first. "I miss you."
"Me too," she sighed.
More silence.
"I wish we still met out here like this," Tigerheart said.
"I do too," Dovewing said. "But we can't. We're in different clans."
Tigerheart nodded sadly. "You can come join ShadowClan."
"I couldn't leave ThunderClan," she told him. Tigerheart didn't look surprised or argue. He understood. The two had had this conversation before.
Tigerheart suddenly took a step forward, walking over the border. Dovewing leaned away from him but didn't resist as he rubbed his muzzle against her cheek. She closed her eyes. I forgot how much I love this. How much I love him.
Tigerheart lowered his head and pressed his face into her neck. She stretched her neck to give him more room and lowered her chin to closen the embrace.
They pressed their flanks against each other and circled. Their tails intertwined as they slowly paced in this quiet sway. Tigerheart pulled his head back and looked into her green eyes. Dovewing returned the gaze and stared into the dark amber pools as they caught the moonlight.
"I love you," she whispered.
"I love you too," he whispered back. Tigerheart leaned in a bit more and reached his head over her shoulder. Dovewing's paw wrapped around his leg. She jerked it suddenly, causing him to fall. She jumped on him and pinned him down.
Tigerheart looked momentarily surprised but the look was replaced by playfulness. He batted her softly as she stood over him. She returned his purr with her own and lay down beside him. They pressed against each other. Tigerheart rolled onto his back and looked up at the almost full moon. Dovewing did the same, pressing her head to his shoulder.
"I'm glad I came out tonight," he said. "It's hard waiting until the next Gathering to see you."
The high Dovewing was feeling suddenly fell. She rolled over and looked at him, her flirty light-heartedness gone. "I'm not going to the next Gathering."
"Why?" Tigerheart rolled back over and looked at her, sensing the conversation was about to become serious.
"I have to go on a journey," Dovewing told him.
"For how long?"
"I don't know."
"Is Bramblestar announcing it at the next Gathering? Are cats from other clans going? Because maybe I could-"
Dovewing softly put her tail to his mouth, quieting him. "He'll probably say something about it but we're leaving before."
"Why?"
Dovewing thought for a moment. I want to tell him so much. But I can't. "It's about the three."
Tigerheart looked surprised. "I thought the Great Battle ended the prophecy. You lost your powers because of it."
"I thought that too," she said. "But apparently Jayfeather knew some things about the origin of the prophecy and didn't tell us and he wants us to sort it all out."
"The origin of prophecies?" Tigerheart murmured. "I never thought about that. Where do they come from?"
Dovewing paused again. She felt like she should know that, Rock or Jayfeather probably told her but she had a hard time wrapping her head around most of what they said. "I'm not sure."
Tigerheart looked back up at the sky. "I know we're supposed to honor our ancestors in Silverpelt but sometimes I wonder if there's something beyond the stars."
Dovewing rolled back onto her back and put her head against his flank. "I do too."
She suddenly felt a foreign feeling from within her chest. Her gaze shifted from the sky to Tigerheart. He was still looking at the sky. One of his paws rested on her. His amber eyes looked focused yet relaxed. Dovewing followed his gaze once more and snuggled up against him.
I wish it could always be like this.
Author's Note: I had to listen to romance music to write this. It's so hard to write this kinda stuff, especially for cats. They don't have hands to do things with and they can't really kiss or anything so I just have to write "cat one put their head on cat two" and "cat two pressed against cat one" about a million times.
Reviews-
.05- Glad you're enjoying it.