"But my god, she looks so helpless."

~•~•~•~•~•~

Dimstar crouched beside the fresh-kill pile, a smile spread across his face. A vole lay in front of his paws, it's pelt ripped and blood seeping from the bite marks that Dimstar had made. He watched as the blood traveled through the lines in the flesh and remaining fur, then glanced away when it finally met the earth.

Larkthorn and Mistysong, two of the newest warriors to the Clan, crouched beside Dimstar. The two she-cats were awfully close to one another, and they held their own conversation although Dimstar had invited them to join him in a conversation while he ate.

Dimstar usually invited cats to converse him at random times, especially when he had no important duties to tend to. When he did, he invited cats that he had rarely spoken to lately. He had to admit that he was tired of just having conversations with Breezestorm, Minktalon, and Cloverpool. He needed to interact with all of his Clanmates.

It did annoy him how Mistysong and Larkthorn used this opportunity only to keep talking amongst one another. Dimstar just watched the two she-cat's converse beside him as he took a few more bites of his vole. He didn't really mind it, but he really did wish that the she-cats would at least try to include him.

Dimstar shrugged to himself and turned back to his prey. He parted his jaws and fastened his jaws around the last chunk of flesh. Pulling backwards, he heard a soft tearing noise as the flesh tore away from the vole. His taste buds celebrated the instant he began to chew the meat into digestible pieces, his eyes glowing with satisfaction. He took a moment to savor the last before swallowing it back.

The russet tom flashed a glance back over at Larkthorn and Mistysong as he stood to his paws. Dimstar shook the dust, and other minerals that clung to his pelt, loose. The tom took a moment to stretch and release a yawn before nodding to Larkthorn and Mistysong.

"I hope you two have a great rest of the day!" Dimstar purred sincerely to the she-cats.

Larkthorn and Mistysong did not even bother to say something back and only nodded to Dimstar. The leader swallowed back a growl of annoyance at the younger warriors and instead stepped away from the area.

Dimstar padded towards the middle of the clearing, his gaze scanning around camp. Most cats were already asleep or still out on the patrol he had sent out earlier for training. It was only just nearing night time and he could spot the pink sky from outside the tunnels.

Against the pink sky though stood a sioulhette of a cat standing at the exit of the tunnels. When a flash of light from the sun shone upon the shadow, it revealed a familiar gray she-cat. A smile emerged onto Dimstar's face at the sight of the medicine cat. His ears twitched and his eyes flashed with confusion though when the she-cat suddenly disappeared outside of the tunnels. Where was she off to and why was she taking no cat?

Out of pure curiosity and slight worry, the leader bounded after the she-cat
He exited camp and stopped for a moment to glance around for her. Peonyflight was no where in sight and already journeyed deeper into the territory. With a quiet huff of irritation, Dimstar padded off into the forest and lifted his muzzle to the sky.

When the familiar herb-like scent hit his muzzle, his eyes narrowed. Dimstar glanced down to spot paw prints embedded in the softer parts of the earth. The russet tom's nose twitched when the scent grew stronger.

Leaves crunched under Dimstar's paws as he advanced the she-cats path. The sun began to sink behind the trees and hills in the distance, the sky streaked with pink and the moon beginning the emerge. The light around Dimstar grew dim and it seemed to grow even more dim with every paw step.

The tom finally stepped through a line of bushes and came across a clearing. Peonyflight was settled in the middle, glancing up at the sky. Dimstar took a few steps forward and glanced up to view what she was looking at. The branches had spread to reveal the sky, and the light shone down upon the gray she-cat. When Dimstar glanced back down, he froze when he spotted Peonyflight now glancing his way.

The she-cat was surprised with his showing, which was shown by her wide eyes and frown. Her ears fell back against her head and Dimstar frowned as well when he spotted the water form in her eyes.

"Dimstar...you followed me?" The medicine cat questioned in a low voice.

The leader nodded and a sigh escaped him. "I was looking for a cat to converse with and suddenly noticed you. That was when you exited camp and I was worried about your whereabouts. You never informed a cat you were going anywhere. Is everything...okay?"

Peonyflight shook her head slowly and turned away. She sat down and hung her head. "Everything is not okay, Dimstar. I came out here to catch my breath. To escape everything back at camp."

"Is it the thoughts of war that has been bothering you?" Dimstar asked, still keeping his distance from the she-cat.

There was a sudden pause after Dimstar asked his question. The silent chirping of birds and even the croak of a frog could not be heard. A breeze suddenly blew through the land, following by the sigh of Peonyflight as she finally answered.

"No...the menacing thoughts of love."

Dimstar grew tense at her sudden words. Was she talking about Smokeflight? The two had recently become mates and ever since then the she-cat had been so down and silent. She still tended to her duties but usually stayed in her den unless it was an emergency or she had to gather herbs. Dimstar struggled to search for an answer but Peonyflight spoke up first.

"How is it so easy for every other cat? You have Cloverpool and you two are in love with one another. That is the problem with Smokeflight and I. He loves me but I...I don't love him in that way. I just didn't want to break his heart. I didn't want to hurt him, but now this whole relationship is hurting me. Feelings are awful. Feeling are menacing. I am supposed to be a medicine cat, heal and serve my Clanmates, but instead I am just stuck in a relationship I don't want to be in."

"Peonyflight-"

Before Dimstar could continue on with what he was going to say, a laugh escaped Peonyflight. It was a laugh that was edged with sorrow however, and a soft cry could be heard over it.

"I'm sorry, Dimstar. I am wasting your time. I should get back to my duties and-"

Dimstar stepped forward and rested his tail on her shoulder, which stopped the she-cat from speaking. She glanced back at him, tears sparked in her eyes. Dimstar shook his head and his ears fell against the back of his head.

"Peonyflight, you are not wasting my time. As your leader, as your friend, I can take some of my time to listen to you. By the looks of it, you don't seem happy at all with Smokeflight. Maybe it would be best for you to let him down easily and move on. You do not want to be in a relationship where only one loves the other and the other does not love them back. That is just too complicated and it seems to pile a lot of stress onto you," Dimstar told her in a soothing tone.

A smile emerged onto the she-cat's visage and her ears twitched. "Thank you...thank you for everything, Dimstar. Thank you for this advice. Thank you for taking the time to listen to what I have to say."

Dimstar nodded and took a step back, his tail falling back behind him. "I will head back to camp now and let you have your break," He mumbled to her.

"No, wait."

Before Dimstar could turn around those two words slipped out of Peonyflight's mouth. He froze in his tracks and glanced back at the she-cat, who met his gaze with a smile still over her face.

"Dimstar..can you please stay? Just for a little longer?" Peonyflight asked.

The invite was tempting for the leader. He could either stay with her or make his way back to camp. With every paw step he took in the direction of the choice he made, a puzzle piece was slapped onto the mistake he was about to make. When he finally completed his choice, the mistake was made.

He stayed with her, Peonyflight's head rested on his shoulder as they conversed into the night.