"Remember how we first met?" Finchnose said out of the blue, leaning against her beloved mate on the tree branch. 

The trees around them rustled and shook as birds shot into the air at the sound of the patrol below. The two she-cats landed on the ground, their prey slipping out of their grasp. Sablerose growled in disgust that a hunting patrol had appeared beneath their paws, causing commotion and chatter when she wanted to spend quality time with her mate. Even so, she couldn't impose her views and desires on other cats who could care less about the two.

All the two she-cats really meant to them was another mouth to feed and warriors that could hunt and fight when the time called for it.

But to the two she-cats, their world was each other. Sablerose couldn't have imagined it any other way. Whispering sweet words to the she-cat she loved, knowing that her words went heard rather than unheard, actions were noticed and not brushed aside, feelings were listened to and not falling out of the other ear, and promising things she meant to keep unlike like ones that were as easily snapped like a twig; that feeling that swarmed in her stomach and made her heart skip a few beats was what she lived and thrived for. Finchnose sensed a change in her mate and turned around, giving her that beautiful, beautiful smile that had snatched her off her feet the first moment they met.

"How could I not?" Sablerose countered, giving Finchnose a lick across her forehead.

The tiny she-cat gave off a laugh, causing the butterflies in her stomach to rise to new heights and soar out of her mouth. She fought to keep her heart under control, but as swarms of love and affection came flooding in heaps and gallons, it was hard to even keep herself from not shaking. The she-cat next to her gave her a mystifying look and let out another soft mew, rubbing her head against her thick pelt.

A loud purr rumbled in her throat, filling her ears with a sweet lullaby, one that made her heart melt and feet flutter. Sablerose returned the gesture and the two intertwined their tails together, staring into the horizon ahead of them, the endless blanket of green and gray mountains holding secrets that the two would probably never experience for themselves. It was a shame that their lives were resting on a ticking clock, each little tick and minute ate up the rest of their days one by one, but as much as the black she-cat tried to ignore it, she'd feel a pulse like a heartbeat on her forehead, beating ever so softly.

The crescent moon slowly became one of the hardest things to look at, but Finchnose stared up at the night sky with loving eyes at each little twinkling star that shimmered endlessly, lighting up the world when it was asleep. Illuminating the blackened sky, the brown she-cat would dance under those stars and soft moonbeams, bathing her in a light of glory and love.

Why is night one of the most painful but magnificent time of the day? Daytime shows you a life full of adventure and exhilaration beyond anyone's imagination where nighttime shows you visions of things that can't be touched or heard. Sablerose glanced at the clouded sky, looking through the gray puffs to eventually spot the shy setting sun, ashamed to have fallen as the moon rose into the sky, bringing up shades of blue, purple, and gray with it, sprinkling the tiny white orbs as the wave came.

"A night similar to this, almost," Finchnose noticed, glancing at the ground. "We knew each other yet never once interacted with one another. Until I was up in this very tree, searching for something that I couldn't describe." For a brief moment, she unlatched her tail and pointed to a small bush that touched the middle of the tree, striving to wrap its leafy body around the entire base of the tree.

"And you were right there, hanging in that bush trying to get me down."

And before Finchnose could argue, Sablerose rose to her feet, placing all four paws steadily on the branch. Her mate gave her a worried look and she leaped off, back legs summoning enough strength to launch her toward the bush in a single leap. Front paws extended and snagging onto the plant, she swung herself around and positioned herself so she was looking up at the warrior on the branch, who looked worried. Then, after seeing her unharmed, let her shoulders drop and bunched herself up to follow.

She held up a paw, halting her mate's action. Finchnose hesitated and gave her a worried look and Sablerose gave her a grin, causing a curious fear to paint her mate's expression. The brown she-cat leaned back but kept her round eyes on the black she-cat the entire time, wondering what was going on.

Heart overflowing with excitement like a tiny kit, Sablerose lifted her head and let those sacred words fall out of her mouth so smoothly and naturally.

"Finchpaw, won't you come down? No she-cat like you should have that saddened look on a face as delicate at yours," she whispered, replaying the memory in her head.

A smile crossing her face at that wide-eyed apprentice that had clung to the branch, tiny claws digging into the bark. The two had stared at one another for a long time, observing one another as if they hadn't met before. They didn't break the silence until each and every little tuft of fur was imprinted in their minds, and the brown apprentice was the first to speak, a flash of warmth flowing through her viridescent eyes.

The look on Finchnose's face brightened the dusk sky around them. Laughter, joy, love, excitement, cheer, and happiness fought a battle in her, each one wanting to stand out in the tiny she-cat's body. Sablerose was sure that the little warrior's body was hardly big enough to contain all the emotions swarming and twirling inside her like a windstorm. Then her mate sat down, locking her claws around the branch like she had many moons ago and leaned over, love emitting from her, comforting the warrior below.

"You're Sablepaw, aren't you?" Finchnose responded, her mind linking to the memory as well. "We've haven't talked to each other, have we? It's a shame we haven't done anything together since we became apprentices."

"None of that matters, all that matters is now."

"Aren't you flirtish?"

"Hardly what I consider flirting," she answered, climbing up the tree, entering the main, and her most favorite, part of the conversation they shared. 

Finchnose looked ready to burst out laughing or she would've thrown herself at her mate, had not they been in a tree.

"And what brings you here? I thought I was all alone."

"I came for a walk and wanted to find you."

"Find me? That's quite the goal," Finchnose said with a blink. "I felt like there was something I had to find as well, maybe that's why I was alone."

"Do you remember what it was?"

"No, not as of now," she said with a shake of her little head. The smile on her face only increased as the conversation dragged on, and Sablerose finished climbing and sat at the end of the branch, a warm purr escaping her throat. The two she-cats gave each other a loving look, waiting to embrace one another.

"Is something the matter?"

"I... I fear as if some kind of danger will follow if I find what I'm looking for," she whispered, voice just as fearful as it was. "It's like waking through the heavy fog, unsure where to turn and who you'll run into. I fear that danger will creep up on me far too soon."

"What's a cat like you have to worry about?"

"The unknown and how mysterious it is. It'll be the best thing that wakes you in the bright morning or the devastating nightmare that can only be seen in the mind."

"I may not know you too well, but you don't have to worry because I'm here. I pledge myself to protect everyone in the Astral Tribe and that includes you."

"I'm hardly what you consider special when it comes to the rest of the Astral Tribe."

Hearing those words come out of Finchnose's mouth now set off a small spark of rage. Everything the brown warrior was, that was her entire world. Back then, the two apprentices had shared a simple, yet life-changing conversation that brought both equal happiness. Sablerose wouldn't trade anything to throw those memories away and discard them like they were nothing more than annoying ticks. The other she-cat noticed the mood swing and gave her a comforting smile, which soothed her fur along her spine.

"If being special is what you want, then I can do my best to make you feel that way," she promised, advancing. Finchnose took a step back and narrowed her eyes all the while a playful spark ignited her eyes.

"Special? You can really do that for me? A cat you hardly know? Am I not dreaming?"

"We aren't dreaming, I can promise you that," she responded, touching foreheads with Finchnose, the memory coming to an end. "I know we're not dreaming and everything around us is real."

There was a small pulse on her forehead and she pushed it away with a painful stab.

"If it's real," Finchnose whispered into her ear, accepting the embrace a little more than what she had done as apprentices. Sablerose clung to her mate tighter, wanting to keep the tiny she-cat at her side throughout her entire life. The rest of the world could vanish and she wouldn't mind as long as she had the warm bundle of fur next to her. If she could grow roots right here and now, forever being with her mate, then that would be the best conclusion to her life. One that was by the one she loved without some kind of limit on her head.

"Then let's see what the rest of the world is like."

Written by Solstice
Edited by Feather