could this be a dream | islandsplash x dreamstar

[Deleted]

dreamstar ★
@wolfwind1

The territory was boggy. Large trees loomed overhead and there seemed to be an absence of light. It also didn’t help that the time of the day was drawing to a close and the sun that warmed the air was now disappearing to be replaced with the moon. The water surrounding the land was full of life and if she weren’t on her way looking for something then she would stop to hunt in the marsh.


’Stop, the floods, it’ll hit us!’

Too much water was showing around in the foggy territory. The she-cat bounded away from the deep blackness that she could feel around her. Reaching this area of the land wasn’t easy. The beautiful she-cat had traveled through many rough terrains to find her missing family.

’It’s too dark! I have to find Paradisepool! Please, someone help me!'

The she-cat leaped from stepping stone to stepping stone to get across a small river in the middle of the bogs. Had her clan forgotten about her? Had they even wondered what could have happened to her? There wasn’t a day that went by that she hadn’t thought of each of them. And her sister…her poor sister that died trying to help her. The floods in their old home were too much to even withstand. She had lost everything and then when she had recovered from the tragedy, she had no idea where her clan went. Did they think she was dead? Probably.

’Paradisepool, you have to leave, you have to get out of here! Don’t worry about me!'

Gingerly, she stepped out into where the moonlight shrouded a thick haze of fog. The she-cat’s orange fur was still glistening from her recent bath. Islandsplash flashed her bright blue eyes around the land and then started off again.

’You can’t leave me. You can’t go to StarClan without me, sis. We were supposed to go together after living to the ends of our lives with each other.’

She suppressed a cry out in the night thinking about all the struggles she’s faced trying to find her way back to TempestClan. And every day of this journey, she’s had one cat on her mind the most. Dreamfeather. The radiant deputy and of course, Islandsplash’s best friend. When Voidstar chose Dreamfeather to be his successor, Islandsplash was right there to cheer her on. Islandsplash hadn’t stopped thinking about Dreamfeather since she was lost in the floods. Would Dreamfeather be missing her? Had she even though of Islandsplash since she’d been away?

Islandsplash surely hoped so because after these moons of traveling in search of TemepestClan, she thinks that she has found the camp. She let her mouth open to breathe in the scents of cats she recognized: her family. Islandsplash rounded the corner to find the entrance to the camp. Quietly, she entered the tunnel that led to the inner camp. Staying by the entrance for fear of scaring the rest of the Clan, Islandsplash waited. She was a stranger. A clanmate sure, but still a stranger all the same. But she wanted to be welcomed and not fought against. One thing was known for sure. Islandsplash was terrified.

’Why didn’t you kill me when you had the chance, StarClan! Why was I supposed to live?’

[dreamstar ★]

in some ways, things were going great. making things official with longshadow had been a good idea; for once, it gave her the feeling that something in her personal life was stable. there was a shoulder to lean on, someone to tell her problems to. someone to cuddle with at night. the bad dreams about voidstar had gone away after a few nights of sleeping with her mate in the hollow tree den, and she was grateful for that. it was greenleaf, and the prey was running thick throughout the territory. there was no need to fight with vertigoclan for resources, and though it was a dry season, the wetness of the fen provided plenty of relief to her warriors. she was leader and though she was still trying to figure things out, she was finally starting to think that she might actually be cut out for this. 

but then there was the matter of her apprentice, ivypaw. she had recently punished the young she-cat for her mouthiness by assigning her to the elder's den. and of course, greenleaf couldn't last forever. it would be leaf fall soon, and then her first leaf bare as clan leader. there was one other thing that lay heavy on her, besides day to day clan troubles, besides the loss of her mentor voidstar: her best friend was missing. maybe missing was too optimistic a way to put it. in the depths of her mind, dreamstar contemplated the death of islandsplash, the only she-cat she had ever really been close to, and one that had been a lover as well as a friend for many moons, a proud supporter and even a playmate at times. she tried not to think about it as much as she could. in the beginning, she had begged voidstar to go back, to look for the missing tempestclan cats. but he knew, and she knew, that it was too dangerous, especially for a deputy. especially with voidstar on his last life. if she had gone off on her own, it might have plunged tempestclan into chaos. the decision hurt.

the moon was out tonight in a cloudless sky and her fur seemed to glow, the color akin to the moon itself. it was late and longshadow was already asleep in their den. most of the other warriors had gone to sleep as well, a few laying about dozing in the clearing and others tucked away in the hollow tree. dreamstar was restless tonight, but it was mostly a good kind of restless. her head was clear and the crisp night air helped to keep it that way. she was carefully meditating on cats gone and past, but without an air of depression. still, when she scented one cat in particular, she thought perhaps she had dozed off and was having another strange dream, filled with dead cats. the she-cat's chest ached as she thought of what that would mean, but she couldn't think on it too much, all she could do was rise to her paws and look around the clearing, blinking in confusion.

"islandsplash?" the shadows seemed to move with her body as they flickered over her black striped pelt, making her seem almost ethereal. "is this a dream?" she kept her voice low, in case it wasn't a dream and one of the sleeping warriors awoke. she had told the guards that night to get some rest, deciding to stay up and guard the camp herself. everyone was spread too thin lately. 

[Deleted]

The camp floor felt great under the pale orange cat’s paws. She would’ve liked to roll around if she was welcomed into the camp. From across the distance, she saw what looked to be an outline of a cat. Perhaps dozing off, but Islandsplash couldn’t remember a time when Voidstar left the camp unpatrolled, especially in Greenleaf. Islandsplash tried to see that far away to recognize the shape of the cat, but she failed. She did not dare bound towards the cat for fear that it was someone who may not recognize her. Old apprentices would’ve been warriors by now and some warriors may be elders. She didn’t want to frighten anyone.

And then she heard it. ”Islandsplash?”

Impossible.

Islandsplash leaned down and sniffed the air. She puffed up her fur and stood up from the shadows, putting one paw forward to lean in a bit more to the scent.

”If this is a dream then I’m never waking up. My friend, is that you?”

Islandsplash had to refrain from running straight at the cat in the clearing. TempestClan were cunning. It was quite possible that this was all a trap. Islandsplash had been through so much to find her home that she almost didn’t trust anyone anymore. Especially if she thought she’d see Dreamfeather again.

[dreamstar ★]

the silver she-cat's heart raced faster as she stepped out of the shadows and fully into the moonlight and found herself gazing at the fluffy orange cat she had known as islandsplash. though the other cat seemed hesitant, the leader was safe in her camp and for a moment she completely let go of herself and simply dashed forward and nuzzled her friend. "you're... alive?" she whispered it half because of the sleeping cats and half because she couldn't believe her eyes. it was difficult to speak. "you're really alive. you made it. you're okay. starclan." she breathed in the other cat's scent, still trying to ascertain that islandsplash was real. 

"i have so much to fill you in on. i've missed you so much. oh islandsplash! i thought you were dead!" she felt like a new warrior sitting vigil for the first night. though dreamstar wasn't one to babble or gossip, she was overcome with the need to tell her best friend everything immediately. she wondered how the pretty she-cat would take her recently becoming longshadow's mate. as far as she knew, they'd most recently considered themselves "friends" but they'd certainly been... more in the past. islandsplash had been one of "those many lovers" that she had had before settling down. although dreamstar supposed that 3 or 4 lovers wasn't too many for... a tom. why think about that now? just don't mention him yet. 

"i'm just so glad that you're okay..." she found herself blurting out, blue eyes wide and sincere. 

[Deleted]

Islandsplash's fur prickled when she realized who was sitting in the clearing. Dreamfeather. And Dreamfeather remembered Islandsplash too. The silver she-cat bounded towards Islandsplash and nuzzled her head into her.

The orange she-cat purred as loudly as she could and rubbed her head along Dreamfeather's in return. She licked her ears quickly like a mother worried about her kits. Smelling Dreamfeather was what she had been dreaming about for so many moons.

"Oh! Oh! I'm not dead. I thought maybe StarClan should've taken me, but I had to find you. Oh, Dreamfeather, I've missed you so much! I have much to tell you about my journey, about what happened. Oh Dreamfeather,"

Islandsplash bounced around on her paws, nuzzling Dreamfeather's silver pelt and winding her orange body around her best friend. Maybe she and the silver she-cat could continue where they left off. Maybe Dreamfeather still feels the same way Islandsplash does. But she didn't want to get too carried away. She had only just found Dreamfeather again after all this time.

"Where's Voidstar? He must know I've returned! Shouldn't he? And my apprentice, Splashmist? Oh, I'm so happy to see you Dreamfeather. You wouldn't believe everything that's happened."

TempestClan seemed quiet, not like the old Clan she knew. Usually, Voidstar would've set up guard duties and maybe a hunting party would even be out. Dreamfeather was the deputy, was she supposed to be the guard duty? Maybe Splashmist is out on a hunting patrol, but Islandsplash would've picked up her scent wouldn't she? As excited as the ginger she-cat was to be home, she was also hesitant by Dreamfeather's hesitance. What could she have possibly missed that Dreamfeather needed to catch her up on?

[dreamstar ★]

filled with joy to see her friend as she was, dreamstar felt herself grow uncomfortable as islandsplash spoke, calling her 'dreamfeather'. she doesn't know that voidstar's dead. "i'm so glad you found me. things have been going well here but... nothing was right without you." she frowned, blue eyes looking heavy and sad. it was good to see islandsplash 'back from the dead', almost, here before her, safe. but it did remind her that there were some miracles that couldn't happen and voidstar was well and truly dead. she had buried his body herself, and sat vigil. though his passing had left her feeling empty enough to stay out in the forest by that spot for days, she couldn't leave the clan without a leader for so long. a new deputy had to be chosen, and she needed to finally take part in the bewildering process of becoming leader and being granted her nine lives. it had seemed too soon, but she had always known that someday it would happen. and now here she was.

dreamstar pressed up against islandsplash's side for sometime longer, closing her eyes and preparing herself for all that she had to say to her best friend. the moon was still high and it wouldn't be dawn for a long time. "voidstar has been gone for some time now, love," she said, very gently. "he was on his last life when the clans left the flooded territories. when we finally found this new place, he died a few moons after that and i've been leader ever since then. i'm dreamstar, now." she frowned, all of her uncertainties about taking over from her predecessor rising to the surface as she spoke of his death. "he was sick, and he might have lived longer. but you know voidstar. the old badger wanted to go out fighting." her voice was warm and thick as she spoke of their former leader, eyes clouding with emotion as she looked away from islandsplash. she smiled faintly, thinking of her former mentor. "but that's a story for another night, perhaps..."

she gazed again at islandsplash, taking in the fluffy cream colored coat and pretty blue eyes and looking for signs of damage from the trip, emotional or physical. it was unlikely that she'd made it back unscathed completely; but she wouldn't be tempestclan's first damaged warrior. "and as for my cousin, splashmist..." dreamstar wanted to bite her tongue. she narrowed her eyes in just thinking of the young gray tabby. "she's gone. remember that vertigoclan apprentice she'd been seeing? she's with him now. there've been rumors of... kits, but it's hard to be certain." she shrugged the dismal topic off. "do you want to talk about what happened? i'm sure you have a lot of questions. it's been too long, my friend. but tempestclan has never forgotten you. there is a place for you here." she hesitated and mewed, "there will always be a place for you here."

almost absent mindedly, she padded over to the small pile of remaining fresh kill and found a snake that had been left over. it seemed fresh enough, so she assumed it had been brought in by a late patrol. "you must be hungry," dreamstar meowed, in a voice that said she wasn't taking "no" for an answer. the scaly thing tasted tangy in her jaws as she carried it over to drop it near islandsplash. 

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Islandsplash’s purr grew deep in her throat when the silver she-cat kept nuzzling her. Her tail was high in the air, waving back and forth from all the excitement. Those cats that knew Islandsplash back when she was in TempestClan before the floods, knew that she was often found playing and pouncing around. She had never truly lost sight of her kithood and was often called too childish. Islandsplash loved making use of her energy in the form of play. But she could sense tension coming from her best friend. What was she so upset about? What memory was she digging up?

And then she said it. Voidstar was dead. It can’t be. Voidstar was so strong. So-so-well, Voidstar. But then it hit the pale orange cat deeper. Dreamfeahter. Her Dreamfeather. No, Dreamstar. Islandsplash backed away for a moment to gaze at Dreamstar. She let out a small gasp.

”You’re leader? May Voidstar rest in StarClan or in his case, go on hunting for all his years.” Islandsplash chuckled. Then she looked at Dreamstar again and twitched her whiskers. ”Wow. Dreamstar. It’s an honor to enter this – our clan again knowing that you’re the leader. I know you’re going to be great.”

Then Dreamstar told her even more. About her precious apprentice Splashmist going to VertigoClan to be with Dunewhat’shisname. She remembered when Splashmist was Splashpaw, battling the decision to see him or to remain loyal to her clan. It drove her up the wall and back down. Dreamstar padded over to the freshkill pile and grabbed a snake and brought it back to Islandsplash. As much as the orange she-cat wanted to keep standing, she knew she couldn’t. Her pads hurt way too much to keep going.

She sat down and thanked Dreamstar for her meal before picking up each paw gingerly and carefully licking them. They were torn and bleeding from the treck to the new territory. But she was too hungry to even pay attention to that she dug into the snake.

”Dreamstar, friend, tell me, why can I sense all your doubts filling you up inside when you told me of your leadership? As if you need to worry? You don’t. I told you when you became deputy that this Clan thought it’d be best and you will always have my claws and teeth for anything you ever needed.”

She was itching to find out more about Splashmist. And though she was sad about Voidstar’s departure to StarClan, she knew Dreamstar would be an amazing leader all the same. She didn’t care what kind of trouble she went through to find her; she just knew that StarClan left her alive for maybe this. Maybe she needed to help Dreamstar find her confidence once again. And she was all right with that.

[dreamstar ★]

"yes," dreamstar mewed, smiling at her friend's excitement. at least someone seemed excited that she had taken over. the way she said her name now, dreamstar,  seemed to be filled with awe. the tone of it made her grin grow bigger. "it's good to know that someone believes in me," she murmured, feeling almost embarrassed with the praise. "which... is not to say that our clanmates don't believe in me! it's just that, well, i don't believe in myself really at all... i guess..." even her tone as she admitted it to islandsplash was uncertain. "i still just keep thinking about everything i do, 'is this what voidstar would have done? is this how he would have done it?'" she frowned. "i second guess myself a lot. i feel like he could have done better. voidstar commanded respect. i can't even get respect from apprentices."

the silver-furred leader leaned forward to study islandsplash's torn paw pads, a worried glint in her eyes. "you'll have to let the medicine cat look at those in the morning." it was strange realizing that she could have made the remark an order, though it wasn't. "you're too good to me," dreamstar said teasingly, laughing. "i never forgot you when we left. i'm sorry that we couldn't go back to search more. i'm so sorry, islandsplash. i'll never leave you behind again." 

[Deleted]

Islandsplash listened to her friend's doubtfulness and let out a small sigh.

"Dreamstar," Islandsplash scooted closer to her friend and rested her tail on her back. "You've got to share some confidence in yourself. After all, you put confidence in the clan. Maybe it's time you kept some for yourself. As for Voidstar, I doubt that the things you do as leader will be the same as the things that Voidstar did when he was here. And that's the point. He didn't make you his deputy so you'd do everything the same as him. He did it because he knew that on your own, you'd be a good leader and would be able to learn from him, but then pursue your own destiny."

Islandsplash said it with so much fierceness in her that she sounded mean almost, but she really didn't mean it that way. She was often just too stubborn to let anyone talk themselves down.

"As for apprentices, they're just overgrown kits. They don't know what respect is until something has happened. They'll learn, and so will you."

She looked at her ripped pads and realized that Dreamstar could've given a command there, but was also being a friend. Could their relationship change while Dreamstar was leader and Islandsplash had been gone? She hoped not, but Islandsplash had a faint flicker in her heart where she wasn't quite sure.

"I thought of you the whole trek, Dreamstar. I know you couldn't come back to save us, the ones that survived. I watched my sister die. If I were Voidstar, or you, I would've still kept the clan first. It took me a while to even start making the journey to find you. Paradisepool, was ripped from me. And you know she was in another clan. I found her when I was getting washed away, developing some more swimming skills as it is. But, Dreamstar it was terrifying. I haven't had a restful night since. I've been either lightly napping or walking. And I forgive you, you know. And I will always follow you. Whether that be into battle, as your warrior, or anything else."

Islandsplash purred and swiped her tongue over Dreamstar's ear. She was tired. Exhausted even. But it felt good to be back. Finally.

[dreamstar ★]

dreamstar grinned at her old friend and pressed up against her side. "jeez, when did you get so wise?" she chuckled as she met islandsplash's blue eyes and murmured, "i wish i had an ounce of the wisdom you do. i'd be a better leader for it. but hey... i've got you. maybe you'll share your wisdom." islandsplash was so damn stubborn! it made her laugh. "i'm glad to have you back, islandsplash," the leader purred, her voice breaking with sincerity.

"starclan," she expressed darkly, hearing that islandsplash's sister had died. "i'm so sorry." dreamstar felt her guilt course through her, making her ache. could i have saved her? "i... don't know what i'd do without you." she fluffed up her silver fur against a chill that made her shiver. "i can't lose you again." she glanced at the sleeping warriors in the clearing, wondering if islandsplash would remember them, or if a few were too young. "you need to get some sleep." she didn't remember where islandsplash's old den was, or whether or not the hollow in the tree had been filled, but she nudged her friend. "we'll talk more in the morning. sleep until sunhigh if you need to." she nuzzled islandsplash and despite her tiredness had a playful look in her eye as she said, "that's an order, by the way!"