Open to Join The Calm Before an Inward Storm

Padding away from the camp exit after finding out that she'd been replaced by some other cat on the dawn patrol, Skyblossom looked around the mostly empty and quiet camp, enjoying the cool stillness that came with the weather. Taking a deep breath, she exhaled slowly, feeling strangely relieved. To whichever cat had taken her place on the dawn patrol, she thanked them silently, looking forward to spending some time alone in her small relaxation area between the elder's den and the nursery.

Lying down in the small pile of leaves that she had gathered into a small nest and looking up at the clouds, Skyblossom felt a small leap of pleasure burst through her. If she were to ever have kits, maybe she'd ask her leader to name one Cloudkit. It was a name that she had always liked, even when she was a young kit. Looking back, she seemed to remember having an imaginary friend that she called Cloudkit. Maybe that was why the name was so precious to her?

Coming back to the current time, she listened to the contented and tired mewls coming from the nursery. She hoped she hadn't woken the kits, especially since she tended to say her thoughts aloud. Thinking they had only awakened half-way, she grew as silent as she could.

Suddenly feeling cold, both inside and out, she shifted in her temporary make-shift nest, trying to remember the last time she had felt another cat's pelt against her own. Trying to distract herself from any negative thoughts, she brushed the thought off, crushing it with the assumption that it had only been a few sunrises and that she just had a terrible memory. Of course, that failed, so she began thinking much more deeply about it. It was probably between the time she became an apprentice and the time she received her warrior name...

Before she could stop herself, she began to drift off, and soon, she found herself in a misty and dark clearing, the scent of water close by. Looking around, she was suddenly plunged into a blurry dream.

"Mama? Why are you so tired all the time?" The young Skykit asked, looking up at her mother's tired and blurred face in confusion. Touching her nose to her mother's shoulder, she shook her, trying to get her to answer her question.

"Oh." She thought, her throat tightening.

"Huh?" Her mother said, pausing for a moment and staring down at her with confusion. "Wh-who are you?" She finally asked, her voice but a raspy whisper.

"I'm your daughter, Skykit! D-don't you remember me, Mama?" She asked, shaking her mother with her forepaws in desperation, her mewing going unanswered.

Suddenly, a flash of recognition showed in her mother's hazy eyes. "Skykit! Oh yes, I remember now. Ah, silly me! How could I forget my one and only daughter?" She let out a mrrow of laughter, but it seemed quite half-hearted, as though she knew something that she didn't.

"Why don't you go out to play, dear?" She said, her voice cheerful. Tilting her head and narrowing her eyes with concern, worry filled her.

"But Mama! Can't you see? It's too late for me to be out right now!" She mewed, causing her mother to give her another look of confusion.

"O-Oh. W-well I say! It seems that I've lost track of time! Why don't I tell you a story instead?" She meowed, only causing her concern to deepen.

After a long time, her mother's story ended, and the two curled up next to each other, the warmth so comforting... and yet, a split of pain went through her. Why did this night seem so much more... cold? Scary? Lonely?

As she closed her eyes, she suddenly felt her mother's warmth fading, and her breathing became shallow. Leaping to her feet in fear, she shook her mother over and over, hoping that she was simply falling into a deep slumber, but no matter what she did, her mother wouldn't open her eyes. As her mother's breathing faded, she heard a small whisper, one that felt so, so very heart-chilling. "I love you, Skykit... I love you so, so, so much..."

Opening her eyes, an odd heaviness weighing on her chest, she wondered if that was really just a dream. It felt so real, so painful. Just watching made her want to wait out in anguish, but she hadn't been able to. Shivering, she stood, wanting to go on a hunt to distract her from the weight in her chest.