As Surreal heard the noise of the Firightened and startled snake she noticed it was not harmless it was a Timber Rattlesnake.
As she stood there frozen she recalled the tales the elders told, the tails of how the snakes judged who was worthy to be in their forest on their land. If they felt they were unworthy or had ill intentions they'd bite them, leaving them poisoned to lay there and die as they were unworthy.
In respect to the snake surreal bowed her head, and waited for the rattle to stop. But as she listened and waited for the rattle to stop she felt as though the snake was peering through her blind eyes into her soul, deciding if she would live or die. After what felt like forever the snake stopped its rattling tail and hunkered back down, surreal took this as a sign and slowly backed up head still bowed. Surreal felt lucky to be judged by the snake and determitted trust worthy.
As Surreal and Nova ventured farther into the forest just out side of camp Surreals mind wandered off once again to the point where her brain even tuned out Nova, along with the sounds and secents to souly focuse on her thoughts. As she worked to untangle roots lost in thought surreal would occasionally look up to Nova and the setting sun, keeping track of the time. She was lost in the thought of the whys and hows, and whos.
Unable to stop time till she had found the answer to heal her clan and bring back her fathers smile, to bring back the proud hearts lost. As the sun lowered its self in the sky Nova and Surreal made their way back to the clan, crossing the log where so many had stood and gathered, and departed with their losted loved ones. The bark was no longer smooth but instead rough and coarse, from the claws of the many cats who had crossed it.
How many stoires where written but unspoken on this log, how many had crossed this log as a kit and once again as a soul. To surreal it stood as a pillar for the clan to tell the young how they came to be. As Surreal took a breath in she could smell many cats gathered with the secent of tears, death, sadness and grief hugging close to them.
It was the last hunt, for mistfalls the last hunt was a time of mourning of the family to take their kin to their last resting place and say goodbye. A chance to tell stories, to smile and cry, a chance to have one last good memory, Surreal dreaded the thought of one day having to send off her father. The last of her kin. She never looked forward to the day she would be alone, but she had to remind herself the energy they have is borrowed and would one day have to be returned. Though it will be sad it goes forward to move the next generation, so that they can see the world too.
Surreal had a hard time wrapping her head around it, it didn't matter how she looked at it. She found it fustrating how something could be here one minute and gone the next. But as her head came out of the clouds like a leaf in the river she found her way to her father in his den, tucking away the herbs she had collected she went to her father. As she listened with her ears open she could hear his wheezing breath, and smell the infection brewing in his body.
As she went up to him she could feel his shivering cold body curdle up in a ball, she fetched a large rabbit hide and covered him up with it, hoping to warm him up. she curdle up around him looking to the sky whispering in her head questioning the way life goes and the cards she was dealt.
As she lay there the moon rised and set to wake the sun, but as the moon hang in the sky her dreams teased and tormented her.
Showing her a world she knew she never have, a world where the sun shined, a world where she could cuddle with her entire family and play with her siblings in the rain. Though as she slept and felt the ache the dream left surreal knew this was not the world she was born in.
When morning came and the sun rised surreal could hear her fathers breathing, shallow and raspy his time was limited. As the sun graced her pelt and warmed her body she reached to her side touching her fathers shoulder. He stirred awakening from his sleep, though weak he placed his head under her chin. Feeling him under her chin she rested her head on his,
Hawkstrike- "Is there any chance i can have some water baby girl?"
Surreal- "Yes Papa, ill go get you some water.".
As Surreal moved the ache the dream left from the night before, slowly washed away. Surreal took the small trip to the med dens watering hole, using her teeth to hold a bowl she scooped up some water. She listened to the way it made a quick but quite solshing sound as it filled the bowl, Surreal took to her feet making her way back to her father.
Surreal sat the bowl down in the warm sunlight in front of her father and took a few steps back to his side and laid next to him in the sun, listening to him lap up the water. As the sun rose higher to where Surreal could only feel it on the top of her head she got to her feet, giving her father a kiss on the head and let out a small voice.
Surreal- "I have to go now will you be alright?"
Hawkstirke- "Dont worry about me Moonlight, ill be fine."
Surreal- "I love you papa."
Giving him one last kiss surreal left.
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
Over the next 3 moons Surreal was following a schedule like Clockwork, get up, visit dad, Eat, go on patrol, Eat, meet Nova for training.
As the days passed she no longer felt alive, more like she was surriving. Surriving the guilt, hate, fear, sadness. She felt like she was under the falls trying to keep her head above water but failing, failing to prove herself to her father, to her starclan family, to everyone.
The mornings where long, Going on patrols to return home to spend till high moon taking care of the clan. She missed her life, and in the late night hours surreal started searching through the Archive of the clan for any remedies that might stop the spread of the plague. Since the plague started in mistfalls it had claimed half of its warriors and who knows how many kits and elders.
As Surreal woke to the brisk early morning breeze of atumn surreal could smell the secent of dry crispy leaves, of the rut, it was that time again. The time when the water cooled the deer began their calls, the trees lost their leaves the constant smell of spices hung in the air.
Surreal could feel the cold ground under her feet connected to the earth for what felt like the first in a long time, and as the sun rose Surreal ventured out. Into the early morning air, she could feel the wet dew haning to the grass as her feet moved. In the distance she could hear the elk bugling, looking for mates and fights, this wasnt the first time she had experienced autumn but it was the first time she was aware of just how many changes came with the changing of the seasons.
As surreal Made her way to the med den her father was in she heard nothing, not the sound of breathing, not the sound of movement, just silnce. This sent fear down her spine, she stilled her fear to focus on the smells around her, she smelled no fresh secent from her father, this sent another shiver of fear down her spine.
She Quickly called out for the attending med cat who came rushing to her aid, she sent them in one dicrection and she went in the other to search for her father. Surreal Raced down the path towards the sleeping dens, falls and log, occasionally stilling her breath to smell or listen for any sign of her father.
As she reached the Falls she could hear her fathers raspy quite breathing, shallow and fast she could tell his time had come. She walked up to his side quitely whispering in his ear
Surreal- "Hi Papa, Im here."
Hawkstrike- "Hi Little one. Im sorry."
Surreal- "Sorry for what?"
Hawkstrike- "Having to leave you."
Surreals heart swelled with pain, and sadness as the words left his lips.
Surreal- "Its okay papa, Ill be fine. I might not have you and everyone right by my side but i know your watching me from the sky."
Hawkstrike- "I know but im still sorry."
Surreal- "Dont be im happy."
Surreal partially lied as she spoke the words, yes she was happy, her fathers pain and suffering was coming to an end. But on the other hand she was sad knowing hed no longer be with her in the pyhsical world.
Hawkstrike- "I love you baby girl."
As the words faded from his lips surreals body ached and her heart broke, as her father drew his last breath the world smeed to fade away. Allowing her to be at peace for even a few seconds. Staying strong till the end but when she could no longer hear his breath or heart beat she finally broke, her voice cracking, tears rolling down her fur, lifting her head to the sky, she cried
Surreal- "I love you too papa, I love you!"
xxtribe of the fallen light !
