sittin' on the dock of the bay

[deady {♥}]

brackenheart;;

watchin' the tide roll away

The watery sunlight of leaf-bare was waning fast, casting shivering shadows on the surface of the lake. Sundown was coming and painting the clouded sky red. The wind carried the scent of rain, and the lake slapped the shore.

The sinking sun bled into the water of the lake, the red water spilling out onto the shore. Bathed in the orange light of sunset, a dark figure sat looking out at the lake.

Brackenheart's amber gaze was unfocused, staring absently at the turbulent waters. The wind ruffled his fur, but he paid the weather no mind, not even the watery snow beneath him. His mind was elsewhere, fixed on memories from times past, from another life.

"Brackenpaw, hurry up!" Though the words were admonishing, the tone was warm and joking. The tabby apprentice let out a purr and quickened his pace. His pelt brushed with his mentor's as they raced through the mountains, each cat expertly picking a path.

"I was talking to Northstar earlier today. She agrees with me--you're ready to become a warrior," Brokensong said, eying him as they continued on their way.

Brackenpaw was shocked, but he knew better than to skid to a halt on the rocky mountain path. His amber eyes shining, he looked up at his beautiful mentor.

"Really, Brokensong?" He stopped as Brokensong pulled up short.

"Really," she answered, her blue eyes framed in her black face. Brackenpaw gave her a lick on the cheek, his tailtip twitching with excitement.

"Then we can spend even more time together!"

Brokensong let out a mrrow of laughter and meowed in agreement. She flicked his shoulder with her tail. "Let's head back to camp before we're missed."

The memory was so vivid, Brackenheart could almost feel the familiar touch of Brokensong's fur against his. His heart was heavy today, more than it had been lately. It was during this kind of weather that he and Brokensong had first admitted their love for each other, a half-moon after he had become a warrior. Brackenheart often found himself out by the lake in this weather, as far away from other cats as possible.

For them it was easy to forget Brokensong, how special she was and what she gave to protect the Clan. But Brackenheart thought of her every day, and some days it made him stronger. Other days, like this one, the memory of her made him feel vulnerable and alone. On days like these, he would come out to the lake and let himself be swept away in the memory of her, of her scent and touch. And he would return to camp feeling refreshed.

Brackenheart's ears were low, and he shifted position, keeping his eyes on the lake, and tucked his paws beneath his chest. A stinging rain began to fall and he shut his eyes. Wrapping his tail around his paws, he bent his head and let himself succumb to the grief of his lost love.

[/center]

[frosty ♥]

autumn breeze { ♥ }

The rain sliced through the dark night and splashed onto the city below; the bruised purple clouds roaring and snarling when lightening struck its core. The world looked dark and mysterious under the luminescence light of the tall buildings—especially to a feline. With each quick bolt her frame shuddered.

There came a faint splash when a lithe little figure walked around a corner, approaching a dark corner in an alley. Her fur was hanging with the downpour and her green eyes betrayed her miserable fate, her head hanging low as of her tail too. With each step, she cast a quick frightened look over her shoulder. The kit hoped with all her heart that someone wasn't following her. Then at last she set her fish down and curled up beside a brick wall, she rested her head on her paws and prepared for her meal.

“Lookie here. Someone has’a dinna.”

The calico kit flinched at the venom in the voice and reached for her drenched fish, drawing it closer to her tiny body. Her bright green eyes peered through the rain to see a silhouette at the end of the alley. “Um… y-yes…” She answered uncertainly, her heard thumping unevenly.

“How ‘bout sharin’, missy.” There was no question in the reply. This brute wanted her meal and that was a fact. The kit stood up with the fish in her jaws, preparing to make a mad dash elsewhere when she realized she was at a dead end. Her intentions must have been obvious for the brute walked closer in slow exaggerated steps. When he stopped, she nearly fainted in horror. He was huge and muscular, his broad shoulders lengthening the barely visible shadows, and his amber eyes smoldered with hunger.

“I… I can share,” She pleaded once setting down the fish again.

Without warning, he launched himself forward and gripped her hind leg, the kit toppled to the ground with a distressed cry. “I-I can share!” She wailed louder, claws scratching frantically at the grubbily ground for a perch. All she heard was a thunderous growl in return. He bit her everywhere, and where he did, she bled. The crimson liquid fell away onto the ground. She hoped desperately that somewhere could smell or see the blood and come to the rescue. Her hope vanished once she realized the rain would wash it all away…

When the brute got to her throat, he paused. The kit’s eyes were closed and her mouth was gaping in silent screams. She could faintly feel his hesitating posture above the scorching pain. He leaned away and examined his work before taking a nimble step back, the orange brute grinned; she could smell his rancid breath. “Thank ye,” He snarled.

And with that, he scooped up the fish and made a run for it, though he did stop at the end of alley. The tom glanced back upon her broken form and smiled again, darting away with less urgency now. Meanwhile, the kit was gasping for breath, letting the rain cleanse her wounds and crumpled spirit. “You will pay,” Autumn whispered faintly, her green eyes murderous slits.

“You… will… pay…”


It was raining again, and with it came a deluge of memories. Memories that were better left forgotten. They singed her insides and nearly brought a cry of anguish, though Autumn knew better and said nothing of her pain. Her calico coat swayed with the wind as she padded slowly across the sand; her green eyes were glowing in the light darkness.

“So much lost,” Her voice was a just a whisper, a caress of the breeze almost. Suddenly, Autumn stopped her sauntering and tilted her head back, peering up through the rain and into the sky. “And so much gained,” Her voice was stronger, surer.

Moons had passed. So, one day, she had left the Twoleg city and joined SkyClan, here she felt safer, more welcomed-- though some shuddered away from her history and rouge past. Autumn thought that she shouldn't be judged for something that was inevitable, yet some still did. She tried very hard to ignore them and lower her anger.

The she-cat walked along the sand, letting the rain shower drench her and cool her down. Do to this, she didn't scent her fellow clanmate. Her ears pricked forward with interest and she turned toward his direction, her eyes narrowing against the rain to make him out. After a second of hesitation, Autumn padded forward very slowly, she didn't want to make him jump. He was alone like her, though his reason different.

He was Clanborn. She wasn't.

"Hello," The calico mewed, seating herself beside him. After a moment's silence, she gazed out with him; the stars gleaming down from Silverpelt and forming on the surface of the lake. There, the rain collided, making it seem that the stars were jumping away from the wide expanse of water. "It's beautiful, isn't it?" Autumn murmured.

[deady {♥}]

Soaked to the bone and shivering but oblivious to everything around him, Brackenheart flicked his ears to shake some excess water from them.

"Hello," a voice said. Brackenheart jumped and whipped his head up to look around. He relaxed when he saw Autumn, a warrior from his own Clan. He turned his head away to stare back over the dark lake, his sodden fur dripping in his eyes. The surface looked as though it was boiling as the fat raindrops met the waterline. Brackenheart's ears flicked as her quiet voice said aloud what he was thinking.

He brought his head around to look at the she-cat again, suddenly conscious of how he must look. The sight was beautiful, indeed, but it wasn't normal for anycat to be out by the lake in the rain. And yet, Autumn was here too, so he wasn't alone. His amber gaze flicked away. "Yes, it is," he meowed softly in reply.

Brackenheart licked his chest uselessly because he felt self-conscious, but then gave in to enjoying the silence for a few moments. He had been broken out of his grief and was now on the road to returning to camp refreshed as usual.

"What are you doing out here?" he said finally.

[/center]

[frosty ♥]

autumn breeze { ♥ }

The calico's ears pricked forward and she turned her head slightly to Brackenheart, her green eyes wide and probing, "Too bad our Clanmates don't like to get their paws wet," she purred light-heartedly. Then he questioned her. Autumn felt the ground disappear from under her paws, though subconsciously she knew she was still sitting beside the lake. The she-cat's tail twitched in the real world as her mind delved itself back into the retched memories. Inhaling, she swiftly scooped her mind out and rearranged her well being.

Autumn's eyes shifted away, and sighed inaudibly to herself, "I just needed an escape, that's all." With a smile, the warrior repeated the question, "And what about you? I don't think you just decided to take a stroll in the rain either." She didn't mean to pry, but she was actually pretty curious to why the tom was here too. She thought only city cats... er, 'rouges' ... would walk about in this weather. She learned all too soon that Clancats, though intelligent as they were, did not like rain.

Autumn stood up suddenly, and with a devious grin, she stepped into the lake. "Brackenheart," She mewed, turning to look back at him with a kindly wild look in her green orbs, "Have you ever walked into the lake while it was raining?" Autumn's paws were submerged in the dark depths; she couldn't help but stare, mesmerized, as the drops fell in. Then, she took another two steps forward, feeling the lake rise to her underbelly. It was warm... yet the air was cold. Strange.

[deady {♥}]

Brackenheart couldn't help but like her joking attitude and let out a reluctant purr. And suddenly, after his question, he sensed a change in her, as if she was somewhere else for a few heartbeats. But then she was back, leaving Brackenheart wondering after what she had been thinking of, and more importantly what she was escaping from. But he let it go and returned his mind to his own problems.

His eyes slid out of focus as his thoughts repeated memories of Brokensong. He turned his head back to the splashing lake, but he didn't see it. His brain was full of Brokensong. "Thinking..." he breathed, scarcely audible.

His shook his head and flicked his ears, shaking himself away from the saddening thoughts. "Just thinking," he repeated in a stronger voice. "I actually don't mind the rain, I think it's refreshing." And it was true, after every rainstorm he felt better, since these were the times in which he'd let himself wallow in the grief. But even as he spoke, the torrential showers eased a little, and it was easier to see.

His amber eyes widened a bit as Autumn splashed into the shallows of the lake. He'd never thought of swimming in the rain before, since he was usually preoccupied. And suddenly it hit him--he'd never really enjoyed the rain before, not really. He'd never let himself revel in the way the drop hit his fur and splashed on the ground and cleansed the land. And suddenly he was full of an inexplicable joy and he pranced in to join Autumn in the water. He had braced himself for the freezing temperatures that were typical for leaf-bare, but he was surprised when he realized the water wasn't cold at all. He waded further, enjoying the feel of water against his fur.

"It's warm," he remarked, more conversationally than anything else.

[/center]

[frosty ♥]

autumn breeze { ♥ }

Autumn, though still staring as if in a trance, pricked her ears at Brackenheart's reply. Thinking. The she-cat blinked her bright green eyes, shifting them to look upon the tomcat with a smile playing upon her lips. He was alike her in a way. Straying into the past and sometimes drifting entirely away from the real world. It was great if you had wonderful memories, but if you didn't, it could bring discomfort to a feline's mind.

"Yes, I love the rain. It's so beautiful, I can't understand why one would dislike it," Her mew was poetic, though she hadn't meant for it to be. "... Ever since I came here, I've always thought this lake was so very... amazing. How could all this water build up here?" Her voice echoed in the night, giving the scene a soft, mystical feeling. "How did its bed come to be? It's as if a StarClan cat reached down and took out a pawful of the sand..." Secretly, she thought StarClan was nonsense, but to Brackenheart it might be everything.

Her eyes dancing with amusement, she added, "I wonder if they were thirsty!" And then, to her astonishment, Brackenheart trotted in the lake with a splash. She could very nearly feel what he felt, the joy and refreshment of the lake and the rain. She saw his muzzle wrinkle as he came in, and smoothen out once realizing it was rather warm. Autumn closed her eyes, grinning, "Lovely, right?"

And then, she pranced toward him, splashing him playfully with a paw. The darkness she had before was dimming into a lust to play. She welcomed it entirely-- 'twas a different way to escape reality. A wild thought encased the she-cat's mind and she lashed her tail with glee. Autumn held her breath and dived into the lake, bubbles lacing and bouncing like jellyfish. It was even more amazing below. A sense of peace overwhelmed her and she swam back to the surface, gasping for breath.

"Wow..." She whispered.