Username: Adamented
Cat Name: Perin
Gender: Molly
Rank: Guidinglight
Clan: GladewoodAge: 4.5 years
Prompt:Perin has never seen such a dark night. Not once in her entire life, although it's been short compared to many of her superiors. The wind howls with sharp licks through her fur, sending a chill down her spine and a sniffle to her nose. At this rate, she begins to feel a creeping bit of worry, just the hint of dread rising heavy on her shoulders. Peaking out from below the brush, out into the cold cloudy sky, Perin even feels a little doubt. She has nothing but respect for the other Guidinglights of the Gladewood, they're all significantly older than her at this point and she knows they have experience in the world but... this soft wet mud, soaking into her cracked pawpads and seeping through her toes and staining her fur... she's not sure how long she can go on, pretending not to notice the young shivering kittens, crowding close to their mothers. It's only for a moment that she questions their motives,
"Is this what's best for us? before sharp, narrowed eyes, careful and calculating study hers.
They catch her by surprise, for a moment Perin is stunned in this silence. There are so many things to be read in the bodylanguage of her mentor, the Guidinglight that led her to this path of leadership in the first place. Reassurance, trust. Though they are both silent now, among the sniffling and subtle breathing of their followers, that warm, silky voice reminds her from memory as if she's only hearing it from the molly in front of her now.
"It's not that much farther. I know they can make it." At her protest,
"One day, you'll reach the point where you might think pushing them might be cruel, and you'll push them anyways. Sometimes when you take a risk, Myistera rewards you for your perseverance, and rather than letting the lesser slow you, you will bring them with you into the light."That warmth spreads from her chest like tingling butterflies, throughout her body and into her toes until she can't feel the cold sludge she's trudging through.
Don't slow down now. I can do this, and I will lead them into the light, just like she led me before. At the mercy of the wind, in the center of the large clearing where any number of dangers could find them, Myistera purs in her favor. As the kittens push for a second wind, picking up their pace to keep up, afraid of falling behind, the thick heavy cloud cover overhead begins to part, the threat of rain fading.
A beautiful silver light glints off the moisture in her coat, sparkling as the breeze ruffles her fur. Perin's eyes catch a pair much like her own, peering upward, alert, afraid. The light overhead glints off the irises, pupils narrowed at the sudden change. In this moment, under the full moon with the looming storm clouds pushing outward and away, she knows exactly what her mentor had meant.
We've found the light. There are dry stones ahead, where the brush covers, and Myistera's moonlight illuminates it.
Our journey is almost at an end. And in those gleaming nervous eyes, reflecting her own emotions she can see certainty.
The world will be quiet under the moon tonight, as they rest weary paws.
