- ℍ𝕒𝕚𝕝𝕘𝕒𝕫𝕖 -
𝔻𝕖𝕡𝕦𝕥𝕪 𝕠𝕗 𝕎𝕚𝕟𝕕ℂ𝕝𝕒𝕟
Chewing on the poppy seeds that Startledcrow had given him, he made a slight face as he walked back towards the warriors den. Running his tongue over his teeth in order to get the remainder of the seeds out of his teeth, whiskers twitching with discomfort at the taste before he let out a soft huff. These nights he was getting less and less sleep, worry and stress seemed to make it impossible. Lowering his head as stepping into the den, his scorching amber eyes narrowed slightly to see that certain nests remained empty due to the clanmates leaving to support Sandadder. Eyes landing upon a familiar fiery ginger pelt, his lips turning up in a small smile as he gazed down at Dayfall. Lowering his head to gently lick his sons forehead before he moved towards his nest in order to curl up in the moss, letting out a tight sigh as his amber eyes continued to watch his son. The empty spot beside the young ginger warrior did not go unnoticed, there should’ve been a brown two toned Tom beside of him.
Heart clenching with renowned worry, he forced himself to look down at his paws and clear his throat. He couldn’t allow himself to be sucked into the void of worrying for his son forever. Pinepaw was clearly making his own decisions and going based off of what a jealous warrior was spewing. It was ridiculous. Letting out a soft but frustrated sigh, the tomcat lowered his head in order to place his chin ontop of his front paws, blinking slowly down at the ground. Breathing slowing down and his eyelids fluttering, Hailgaze began to slowly drift into a sleep thanks to the poppyseeds. Everything seemed to slow down when Hailgaze entered the dream world.
He felt like he was laying upon soft cotton, opening his eyes as he looked down at the snow on the ground. Only it wasn’t cold, but warm and soft. Groggily moving his paw along the ground, he hummed softly in confusion, before the massive dark grey and white splotched tomcat lifted himself up from the ground. Scorching amber eyes slowly trailing over his surroundings, the grass was so green and tumbled in the breeze. Flowers of reds and yellows blossomed and danced in the breeze, the scent smell of their nectar clogging his nostrils. But there was one scent that stood out from them all, heart skipping a beat as the warrior quickly twisted around for his eyes to land upon a very small fiery ginger with blue eyes the color of the sky. “Tinyflame.” He spoke softly, his heart aching as the massive Tom pushed himself up from the ground. Hurrying towards the little molly, her fur dusted in stars and her smile bright. She looked healthy in the heavens. Lowering his head, he immediately pressed his face against hers, letting out a shaky sigh as he wasted no time in wrapping his body around hers. Oh how he had missed her. After taking a moment to collect his thoughts, he pulled back slightly to kiss her forehead. “I’ve missed you.” Hailgaze smiled tenderly.
T I N Y F L A M E
Despite no longer living in the same realm as her family, the tiny warrior knew well the struggles they were going through- WindClan’s severance, Pinepaw’s defiance, Hailgaze’s plight. Her heart ached for them, knowing that she couldn’t be there by their sides. If she could… Maybe things would have been different. Maybe her family wouldn’t be suffering like this. Her mate’s admission of their son’s avoidance of his father made her frown. It wouldn’t surprise her, though. The tom did take after her when it came to stubbornness, anyway.
“He’ll come around,” She assured the gray-and-white tom, “he might fight you along the way, you might not always see eye to eye, but he does love you and Dayfall. He’ll realize eventually where his heart lies- he just has to take his own path to get there.”
Then the subject changed and Hailgaze began to talk about their last litter, the two little mollies she had left in his care. A smile lifted her face along with his gesture, and at his touch, she couldn’t resist the space between them anymore. Tinyflame’s little face brushed against the tall tom’s broad chest and she breathed in his familiar scent, relishing in everything that was Hailgaze. She didn’t know if StarClan would give her the grace of seeing him again while he was alive, so she wanted to make the most of the time she did have left with him. “That one’s going to be a pawful,” she warned lightly, a chuckle masking her voice. “If you thought I or Pinepaw were stubborn, you haven’t seen anything yet. And Wolfkit… Watch her carefully. She’ll take after me in terms of her growth. She’ll be weak in the beginning. She’ll need her dad’s strength to keep her going.”