Open to Join Sunhigh Birdsong

Even the smallest pebble can make ripples that change the course of the stream.

⋘ ──── ∙∙•🪨•∙∙ ──── ⋙

Greypebbles had been enjoying a plump mouse in his usual shady spot in the clearing when Bravesong limped toward the warriors' den. A pang of guilt tore at the young grey tom's chest before he took another nip of his mouse. If he hadn't been frozen like a frightened rabbit... maybe Bravesong's injuries wouldn't be as bad.

Although he had come to terms with the fact Bravesong's injuries were his fault. So he mentions it very little anymore, but he can't help but look at the worst of them with something a little bit deeper than sadness.

Then... Bravesong and... Smallbird? They shuffled out the den chatting quietly and moving to the fresh-kill pile, he didn't really hear what they were saying, but didn't want to eavesdrop anyway. They must be grabbing lunch too, Greypebbles thought to himself before taking another bite of the mouse who's fluff he had kept to the side for Tigerrush and Robinpaw, sure they would need it at some point or the other.

Greypebbles didn't speak, not aside from a short hum to greet them, though he intended for it to be in passing, hardly expecting any cat to sit with him, not really. As much as it was up to them, he didn't have the self-confidence to think those thoughts. Especially about himself. 

So instead, he just focused on his prey, ripping it with his teeth and cleanly swiping his tongue to clean off any of the scraps from his whiskers. He did wish for a cat to talk to that wasn't Leopardrose, but he wasn't in control of that. If he were them, he wouldn't dream of sitting next to a cat that sits in shadows, literally and figuratively.

Even the smallest pebble can make ripples that change the course of the stream.

⋘ ──── ∙∙•🪨•∙∙ ──── ⋙

Greypebbles looked up from his half eaten mouse when the two invited him over to join them in the sunlight. The long-furred warrior was initially against it, the heat always seemed to seep its way into the wrong places if he was out there for too long, but his sister was there, she seemed fine... although her fur was much shorter.

Against every bone screaming for the comfortable coolness, Greypebbles picked up the half eaten mouse and padded over to the two cats he had found himself being rather close to over his life. His mentor, the cat that saved him from the fox and made sure he was alive to see his warrior ceremony, and his littermate, his dear sister that was with him every other day when he wasn't clinging to Leopardrose's fur like a stubborn burr.

He placed down his half-eaten lunch beside Bravesong and sat in the sun, the sun that had already begun to warm up his pelt. "Sun is all well and good until it soaks into every strand." Greypebbles argued softly, though it wasn't much of a bitey response, he didn't know if he could even make those. His grey-ish toned eyes shifted to his sister and he gave her a faint smile in greeting, no words need, simply a smile to show that he was grateful for the company.

Nature does not hurry, yet everything is accomplished
✧ ⭒ ♦ ⭒ ♖ ⭒ ♦ ⭒ ✧

Bravesong gave her a pointed glance, dipping his head. "Of course, Smallbird. I wouldn't have had it any other way."

He watched as Greypebbles reluctantly joined them in the sunlight. He only smiled, shaking his head with a sympathetic motion. "I wish I had fur like yours in leafbare, but I can only imagine how hot it must be in the scorching greenleaf weather."

He stretched one paw lazily, the sunlight gleaming along the curve of his back before settling down again with a pleased sigh. Luckily, it was only pleasantly warm and not so beating.

He turned his head toward Smallbird and reached for the squirrel. He'd begin the long process of defluffing the creature and setting aside the fur spurred from his claws. "Look at how far you both have come. I’d call that something worth being proud of." He meowed fondly, voice low but sincere.

Bravesong’s tail flicked lightly, brushing the ground in contentment as he shifted his paws beneath him. The squirrel was mostly shredded open, fluff pile at his elbow while his maw dipped to slice into the warm flesh."Feels good to have familiar faces around. How have both of you been?"

Even the smallest pebble can make ripples that change the course of the stream.

⋘ ──── ∙∙•🌑•∙∙ ──── ⋙

"The best part is only the best when you don't have thicker strands." Greypebbles murmured shyly, his voice soft but there was a small hint of awkward laughter behind it, his sister seemed to be the only cat in the clan that shared his views, if only slightly. The only one he could truly understand, even if it was only a fleck of what she thought, it was something more than he could say for others.

Bravesong's words earned furrowed brows from the grey spotted tom, improvement? From what he'd seen of himself, he still shivered at the sight of danger like that jumpy, quiet apprentice he used to be. He assumed he had gotten his warrior name for making it to camp fast enough. "I'm not sure about that. I think I've just gotten older." Greypebbles said with a self-deprecating laugh as he finished off his prey that he had been eating before.

He could have left then, he really could have, but these cats had invited him to share tongues with them and there was no way in StarClan that he would leave them, especially with the few of the cats he was close to in his own clan. "Oh, Same as always Bravesong. You know me." he added, not speaking too much on the details, lest he annoy his mentor or sister with them.

Nature does not hurry, yet everything is accomplished
✧ ⭒ ♦ ⭒ ♖ ⭒ ♦ ⭒ ✧

Bravesong’s gaze lingered on the two younger cats for a moment. Smallbird seemed all nerves and uncertainties and Greypebbles, hesitation and humbled humor. For a heartbeat, he could almost see them as kits again. The fondness that welled up in his chest was unmistakable.

He gave a slow nod to Greypebbles, amusement curling his whiskers. He patiently waited for the tabby she-cat to pick at the squirrel and enjoy her own meal, even if it was only meager. Then he noticed the faint droop of her ears.

The elder tom shifted his paws, letting out a small breath at both of their guarded responces. "Actually...I wanted to talk to someone about a dream I had. Maybe combined you both can help me make some sense of it."

He gave his shoulder a slow lick. "In this dream I wasn't myself, or maybe I was myself, but I was a leaf. Then the wind came and picked me up. I tumbled...It lifted me higher than the highest oak where I could see the whole forest, it seemed."

He frowned to himself, in concentration of retelling the dream as accurate as possible even if they seemed only feelings. "Then the wind changed and carried me toward the river, and before I could stop myself I was caught in the current..." He took a gentle bite of squirrel, savoring slow. "Then...I was still. Floating in calm water with Silverpelt reflecting on the surface..."

His gaze flicked between the siblings, earnest and a little curious. "What do you two think it means?"

Even the smallest pebble can make ripples that change the course of the stream.

⋘ ──── ∙∙•🌑•∙∙ ──── ⋙

Greypebbles tilted his head slightly ask Bravesong finished his tale, his whiskers twitching in quiet thought. Dreams weren't something he was ever confident in interpreting, especially ones that sounded so... poetic. Still, as Smallbird spoke, his gaze softened with something between pride and amusement. Even if she stumbled over her words, she was trying, and that alone made his heart swell.

"I think Smallbird has the right idea." He murmured, his voice low and calm, a gentle rumble like distant thunder. "It sounds like the kind of dream StarClan would send, doesn't it? One that reminds us there's peace after struggle." He paused, looking between the elder tom and his sister. "Maybe... maybe it means you're being reminded of what comes with time, Bravesong. You've seen more seasons than we have, you've been through the winds and the storms, but even then... you still find your calm in the end."

He gave a small, shy smile, brushing his short tail against Smallbird's flank in quiet reassurance. "I don't think it's a warning though. More like... a promise. That whatever comes next, you'll find your way" His meow was quiet, but there was a firmness that betrayed his certainty. He was no medicine cat, but Bravesong asked, and who was he to refuse?

For a heartbeat, he hesitated, his blue eyes flicking toward Bravesong with the warmth of an old apprentice remembering his mentor's patience. "You always told me to look for the meaning in small things, a pawprint, a cloud, a ripple in the stream. Maybe StarClan's reminding you to do the same." he added, a curt smile, small as it was, peeking through his features

Then, with a flicker of humor, his muzzle quirked. "Though if you start floating off on the breeze, Bravesong, I'd appreciate a bit of warning before you go."

Nature does not hurry, yet everything is accomplished
✧ ⭒ ♦ ⭒ ♖ ⭒ ♦ ⭒ ✧

Bravesong listened to them both without interruption, his expression steady to give them every consideration but something warm settled behind his eye as the two siblings tried, in their own ways, to make sense of his dream. He hoped his explanation didn't fall short.

When Smallbird finished, his ear flicked as his muzzle wove into an easy smile. "You spoke honestly, Smallbird. That's all a cat can ask for - and I did ask for your opinions. All those are valid..." The lids of his hazel eye drooped, half lidded as he regarded her concern.

Then to Greypebbles, his whiskers twitched. "A promise...Mm." He breathed a reflexive sigh. "I didn’t feel afraid in the dream. Not even when the river took me. I remember thinking… this is where I should be."

His gaze drifted to the sky as he chewed another bite. "Maybe it means there are things coming I can’t brace myself for...or control. Whatever the reason, I think you two might be part of that calm that grounds me." The corners of his maw curved, not realizing that he had been purring.

There’s always something to do.
· · ─ ·✶· ─ · ·

Smallbird blinked in surprise as Greypebbles declared his agreement of what she had said. She was right? Or at least had the right idea? The gray tabby she-cat tilted her head in confusion. She had been so sure that she was completely wrong and would upset both toms by the mere suggestion of Bravesong’s life ending one day. Not wanting to risk upsetting them, she nodded enthusiastically to Greypebbles’ words. “I agree with Greypebbles,” she mewed gently, an awkward, yet genuine, smile on her face.

As Greypebbles spoke of teachings from his apprenticeship, Smallbird shuffled awkwardly. She had nothing she could add to this, no comments to make. The tabby she-cat hadn’t been included in much of her brother’s training, courtesy of her mentor deciding that she needed minimal distractions. Yet, there was something so touching about the care, the platonic love, that was in her brother’s voice that she couldn’t help but lean against him briefly in a gesture of comfort and reassurance. Not that he seemed unsure, so much as she wanted him to know that she cared too.

Smallbird winced at Bravesong’s reply to her own ideas regarding the tom’s dream. She knew she ought not have gone to the death part, but what else could settling in a pool of Silverpelt mean? The guilt caused the young she-cat to stare at her paws silently. When Bravesong began to purr, Smallbird felt even more confused. After a moment’s thought, she had decided that Greypebbles words had calmed him and the purr was for him. Yet, his words had included her with the grounding comment.

The tabby she-cat shuffled awkwardly, no longer hungry enough to even nibble at the remainders of the squirrel to be polite. “I uh,” she began before shaking herself. “Should I go?” Truthfully, Smallbird didn’t actually want to leave. She was enjoying the fact that her company had been thus far entertained. Yet, she felt so miserable and guilty over what she had said to Bravesong in regards to his dream. Shame and guilt plastered the she-cat’s face and she couldn’t meet the other’s gazes.

Even the smallest pebble can make ripples that change the course of the stream.

⋘ ──── ∙∙•🌑•∙∙ ──── ⋙

Greypebbles, when he felt the weight of his sister against him, pushed back with a soft kind of resistance that proved he was there, but not resisting the touch entirely, he was present, he wanted to prove that he was, and a purr rumbled in his throat at the contact with his tabby sister. And then, his gaze moved over to Bravesong "I’d take that as a good sign…" he paused as the muscles of his littermate’s body tensed, he twitched an ear as if he knew what was bothering her.

"Meeting with StarClan is a valid assumption, sister." He said with the softness and kindness of a kinder and older cat, kind of like Bravesong may… if he was being honest with himself. "Silverpelt, it stands for peace, calm, a sign that one's work is done. It means rest, not death exactly." He stated, though he didn’t make it sound like a correction, more-so an addition to what Smallbird had said. He didn’t deny the idea of death, it was a guarantee, a guarantee of an end without a promise of time. 

But Bravesong was healthy and fairly young for an elder, he trusted that he’d have at least a few good seasons left in him. At least if Greypebbles had anything to say about it.

Bravesong’s idea of his own dream seemed to connect quite smoothly with both their own, making Greypebbles return a shy nod. "Perhaps you’ll fall into StarClan’s favor? Then get a rest from it all." He added, letting his own purr deepen as he noticed his sister moving to leave. The grey tom paused, his gaze shifting to her "If you want to stay we won’t stop you. I think I’d be able to speak for both of us when I say we’ve loved your company."

His words carried that same softness he was used to, but a genuine hum followed as he used one paw to tap the place beside him. "Come on, we’re not going to bite you. Promise."

Nature does not hurry, yet everything is accomplished
✧ ⭒ ♦ ⭒ ♖ ⭒ ♦ ⭒ ✧

Bravesong’s head lifted as soon as Smallbird spoke, and the faint purr in his chest didn’t falter not even when he saw the guilt twisting her posture. His expression remained open and endlessly steady as only steadiness came with time.

"Smallbird. I wasn’t upset. Not then, not now."

He shifted just enough to face her properly, his tail sweeping once against the earth in a inching, reassuring motion. "You were thinking about what you saw in the dream. I think that matters." His ear angled toward Greypebbles briefly, softening slightly as they both seemed to resonate on a similar wavelength when it came to coaxing his sister.

"And I’m not going anywhere."

At the invitation from Greypebbles, Bravesong flicked his whiskers and shifted his weight. The remains of the squirrel would be shuffled with a paw, making room for the small she-cat. "No need to leave. Not unless you want to. Your company hasn’t been anything but good."

He didn’t crowd her and just left the space open. Waiting for it she wanted it. "Come sit." He gently encouraged. "We’ve still got daylight yet."

There’s always something to do.
· · ─ ·✶· ─ · ·

Smallbird nodded tensely in reply to Greypebbles statements regarding Silverpelt, stress clear in her eyes. To her there was no peace until your tasks were complete. Tasks were endless and the only time they could ever be truly considered complete was when there were no more to do. That would only ever happen when one died. So to her, peace was something that only came with death.

”But I-” Smallbird began to protest against Bravesong’s claim to not be upset. Surely he was. He had to be. She had thoughtlessly insinuated his death. No cat would want to hear that another cat would think he was going to die.

The tabby she-cat looked between Bravesong and Greypebbles with a pained expression, not quite believing her brother’s words. How could they love her company? At the gesture beckoning her to settle again, Smallbird awkwardly returned to Greypebbles’ side and settled in a tense crouch.

She stared at the ground in silence for a moment, then, still staring pointlessly at the ground, she began to speak. ”How is it that you both still want me around?” she mewed quietly. ”You say you loved my company,” here she looked toward Greypebbles before turning her amber gaze toward Bravesong, ”and you say that it has been good. Yet I insinuated your death and have been nothing but awkward. Why…” Smallbird swallowed thickly as tears pricked her eyes. ”Why are you both being nice to me? I can understand Greypebbles being pleasant toward me because we’re littermates… but Bravesong… you have no such obligation.”

Smallbird was shaking with the strength of her emotions. She had never spoken so openly about her thoughts before. She was afraid. Terrified even. Had she just alienated the two cats in the clan who had been kind enough to talk to her? To tolerate her presence in a social situation? The gray tabby she-cat felt so sure that she had. Even before the toms had a chance to reply, she cringed down, awaiting a barrage of spiteful words.

Even the smallest pebble can make ripples that change the course of the stream.

⋘ ──── ∙∙•🌑•∙∙ ──── ⋙

Greypebbles' ears dipped slightly at his sister's trembling words, and he shifted closer, not enough to crowd her, but enough that his warmth brushed faintly against her flank. His blue eyes softened, filled with quiet understanding rather than surprise or pity. "Smallbird..." He murmured, his voice low and steady, like water smoothing over stones. "You don't need to earn being cared about."

He paused, searching her face though she wouldn't lift her gaze. "You think too much about what you might do wrong." He said gently, his tail flicking once, thoughtful. "But that's not what I see. Or what Bravesong sees." He gave a faint, nervous breath of laughter. "StarClan knows I can be awkward, too. I say the wrong thing more often than I say the right one. But that doesn't mean I don't mean well. And I know you didn't mean harm." Greypebbles' words may have been soft, but they carried a certain conviction that kept them flowing and not lost in the wind.

He leaned forward a little, eyes softening further. "You're scared of pushing cats away, but... look at us. We're still here. Bravesong wouldn't sit here with you if he didn't want to. He's not the sort to pretend."

Greypebbles' voice gentled, trembling faintly with emotion he hadn't let show in some time. "You don't have to be perfect to be loved, Smallbird. You just have to be you. The way you think, the way you care so deeply, it's part of what makes you, you. And I like having you around, not just because you're my sister. But because you try. That's all that matters to me." He leaned his head against her, he didn't look at Bravesong for a while, which would likely further slice away any doubt that him and Bravesong were conspiring, as if they ever would. "Cats who aren't friends with you because of you aren't friends."

He gave her shoulder a soft nudge with his nose, a quiet gesture meant to ground her. "So don't hide from us, alright? You don't have to be fine all the time. Just... stay. Eat. Talk. That's enough." He glanced at Bravesong then, a faint smile tugging at the corner of his mouth before returning his gaze to Smallbird. "We're not going anywhere. Not tonight. Not ever."

Nature does not hurry, yet everything is accomplished
✧ ⭒ ♦ ⭒ ♖ ⭒ ♦ ⭒ ✧

Bravesong did not move when Smallbird’s words spilled out. He let them come, the way a river was allowed to run its full length. Only after her thoughts were voiced did he speak. He tried to keep his tone gentle, and it seemed effortless when it came to the amount of patience he gained after moving to the Elder's den.

"Smallbird. I’m being kind because I want to be. You didn’t wish harm on me. You were trying to understand something confusing. That isn’t something to apologize for." He shrugged his shoulders, simply enjoying the moments that Greypebble's tried to assure his littermate.

"Half the clan is awkward in their own ways. None of the things you say makes you a burden." He sincerely hoped that she would feel more comfortable around them, or if not around him, then Greypebble's especially. Bravesong preferred to be someone that others wanted to be around.

There’s always something to do.
· · ─ ·✶· ─ · ·

Smallbird flinched slightly as she felt Greypebbles edge closer and then she relaxed somewhat. It was clear he was trying to be comforting and his words confirmed as much. Yet, the gray tabby she-cat was unsure of how to react or feel in this instance. ”But cats like you, Greypebbles,” Smallbird mewed when her brother fell silent, the tears in her eyes threatening to fall. ”I’m not enough,” she added quietly, still staring dejectedly at the ground.

The tabby she-cat was hearing the words but not accepting the conviction of belief behind them. How could anyone like her? She didn’t even like herself. Whether Greypebbles had said his most convincing words before or after her own, it mattered not. It took Smallbird several moments to register them, and when she did, she burst out crying and immediately lay down so that she could press her muzzle against her paws to muffle the sound. The last thing she wanted was for others to hear her. It was embarrassing enough to have her brother and Bravesong watching her like this.

When the thought of Bravesong seeing her like this hit her mind, Smallbird immediately began gulping air in an attempt to stop the flow of tears, although her pelt still quivered. ”I’m sorry… I’m so sorry,” she whispered shakily. What more could she say or do? The gray tabby warrior wanted to leave. To find a quiet place somewhere in the forest and just cry. Yet how could she? These two toms had just claimed that they wanted her to stay with them. To leave would be to disappoint and thus lose what small chance at friendship she had. Or even the support of her brother. ”What can I do to be better?” she mewed in a quivering voice.

Even the smallest pebble can make ripples that change the course of the stream.

⋘ ──── ∙∙•🌑•∙∙ ──── ⋙

Greypebbles' ears drooped at the sound of his sister's voice breaking. The sight of Smallbird crumbling before him made his chest tighten with helpless worry. He didn't move at first, he didn't want to crowd her, didn't want to make her feel trapped. But after a heartbeat, he shifted closer until his flank barely brushed hers, the faintest grounding contact.

"Hey..." his voice was soft, careful, as though he were afraid too much noise might shatter her completely. "Smallbird, you don't have to be better. You already are enough." His tone carried no edge, only quiet conviction. He lowered his head slightly, glancing at her trembling paws before looking toward Bravesong for a brief, silent moment of shared concern, then back to his sister.

"You're trying." He went on, his voice steady even as his heart ached for her. "That's all anyone can do. We all make mistakes, say the wrong things, think the wrong things, but that doesn't make you bad. It makes you like us. Like me." A faint smile flickered on his face, gentle and warm enough to melt snow. "I've spent moons worrying if I say the wrong thing, or if cats think I'm strange... if I would ever have a place here. But... that doesn't mean I don't belong here. And you belong here just as much as myself."

He shifted his paw, brushing the tip of is tail against her back, light  as a falling leaf. "You don't have to fix yourself for us to want you around, Smallbird." He murmured. "You're my sister. And Bravesong's right, you didn't mean harm. You just... care too much. Maybe." A quiet chuckle escaped him, soft and fond. "And I'd rather have a sister who cares too much than one who doesn't care at all."

He tried to catch her gaze with a tilt of his head, his blue eyes shining with a steady warmth that was unlike him, that is how one would know this was important to him. That this was real. "If you still want to do something," he added softly, "then stay. Just stay with us. That's all I could ever ask."

Nature does not hurry, yet everything is accomplished
✧ ⭒ ♦ ⭒ ♖ ⭒ ♦ ⭒ ✧

Bravesong had watched the exchange in silence, gaze never wavered from the two siblings, though something about Smallbird’s trembling made his chest feel heavier than usual. He remembered what it was like to be full of self doubt.

He inhaled slowly and exhaled just as quietly as he lowered himself onto his belly so his stature wouldn’t loom. He leaned forward slightly, then extended a paw not to touch her, but to nudge a small portion of what remained of the squirrel toward her. It wasn’t about the food...not really. It was a gesture of good faith.

"We mean what we say. You don’t have to believe it right away, but you can trust that we’ll keep showing up until you do."

His whiskers twitched faintly with something close to a smile. "If you want to start somewhere small… just stay, like your brother said. Or if you want to leave, you can leave without fear of judgement."

There’s always something to do.
· · ─ ·✶· ─ · ·

The shaking in Smallbird’s shoulders calmed somewhat as Greypebbles edged closer to her, his presence comforting. He wouldn’t move closer if he disliked her as much as she feared. It was foolish to believe a sibling would hold such dislike that he wouldn’t want to be close, yet the gray tabby she-cat feared it. She feared losing Greypebbles and Spidertongue. She feared losing their care. The gentleness of her brother’s voice made Smallbird’s heart clench. She had hurt him. ”But I’m not enough, Greypebbles,” she mewed in a near whisper. ”I never know what I’m supposed to be doing and I know I’ve always forgotten to do something but I can never figure out what it is that I’ve forgotten.”

”Yes I try… I’m always trying… always… and always failing!” Smallbird’s words started as a whisper and turned into a wail with the final word. ”You do belong Greypebbles and everyone loves you,” she continued, crying heavily. ”You always seem to know what you’re doing and you make others smile just by being around. I’m not like that. I always mess up, I often fail in my tasks, and no one ever seems to want to be around me. I think…” the tabby she-cat trailed off, not daring to voice the thought that Bravesong had only accepted her company because no one else had offered in that moment.

As Smallbird caught Greypebbles’ gaze, her heart twisted with guilt. She shouldn’t be voicing her woes to these two. They didn’t need her pain or to carry her problems. They had their own issues to deal with without being burdened with her own. ”But what is there to do with someone so boring and useless as me?” she replied hollowly. Smallbird blinked in surprise as she noticed Bravesong nudging the last of the squirrel toward her. She wasn’t hungry. Nor did she deserve the food. But to refuse the offer would be rude. Torn, the gray tabby she-cat glanced between the two toms, not wanting to be rude be refusing the last of the food, but not having it in her to force herself to eat. Smallbird sniffed and rubbed her eyes on her forelegs to clear them, still crying slightly but having been calmed by the assertions that she ought to stay. ”I…” she began and then swallowed thickly. ”Thank you. Both of you. But… I’m really not worth this effort…”