The Perfect Moment? (Indigonose)

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It was good to be back home. Granted, home was still damp and a bit uncomfortable, but it was getting a little dryer every day, and now they weren’t so close to CardinalClan’s border. Granted, CardinalClan seemed respectable and friendly enough, and she’d like to call them allies, but she knew better than to take it for granted that they’d tolerate their presence near the moor.

But that was fine. They were home, and each of them had at least one apprentice to train. Every single cat was pulling their weight to restore the camp and grow the freshkill pile to a respectable size. Of course, she missed having kits running around, but that would change soon, she was sure. At least, Rainfall and Pineclaw were getting really close. She hoped they would continue to grow together as the seasons went on.

Either way, she knew they could last leaf-bare together in this land. And now it was greenleaf, one of the easiest seasons. Repairs and extra hunting wouldn’t be an issue for long. Maybe now was the right time for her to pursue her own desires.

There was a certain blue she-cat on her mind. Had been almost since they first met, those couple seasons ago. With the harshness of leafbare and the kits and the flood, she’d had precious little time to spend with Indigonose, much as she’d like to. Maybe now, when the clan was out of danger and starting to return to normal…maybe this was the best opportunity to spend time with her.

If she wanted, of course.

Shellstar padded back into camp after her patrol of the western border – nothing dangerous, but best to make sure. She padded to the bush, inspecting it a moment, and then looked around. Would Indigonose be in camp, or should she go check the lakeshore?
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[Ald]

Indigonose looked up at the sky. Wait for it... wait for it... perfect! The gray-blue she-cat leaped into the water and rolled over, smiling as she floated and watched the dusk setting in. This was her favorite time of day to be swimming-- the reflection of the sunset on the water was just too beautiful to pass up. In her training plans, Indigonose had always left this point out deliberately, just so that she could enjoy it. Sure, that may seem selfish, but to Indigonose it felt like a little taste of her old home, which always calmed her down. After this it was off to sleep, and in the morning she would wake up ready for anything! Maybe tomorrow, she'd invite Shellstar to watch the fireflies with her, and maybe even Rainfall and the apprentices too! Pine was still just too terrifying for her to talk to, even though he was a Clanmate, so she'd have to get someone else to ask him. It would be nice to just sit with her Clan and watch the beautiful phenomonon known as fireflies.

Suddenly, one of Indigonose's thinking moments hit her. She began to fantasize about all sorts of things, from the winged cats at the Gathering to having proper kits someday. Sure, she had basically mothered the apprentices for the past moon, but they weren't, well, HER kits. Indigonose sank to the bottom of the lakeshore, just below the water. Of course this did not bother her-- after the few nights spent under the water before it felt quite natural --so Indigonose didn't realize it. Honestly, even if it wasn't natural for her, Indigonose was too lost in her thoughts to register any of the world around her. Even the fact that a certain tortie-and-white she-cat was looking around the camp for her.

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Well, she wasn’t in any of the dens and she wasn’t in plain sight… Shellstar’s ears lowered a bit and she padded to the water, looking around. The lake was quite large and she really didn’t want to be searching the whole of it…wasn’t sure she had the time for such a thing, either. Even so, Indigonose would be worth it if she could just find her. So…she guess she just had to try. It was that or wait until the other she-cat returned from a hunt or something.

But fortunately, she didn’t have to look for long. She spotted a familiar form in the water and padded over, wondering if she should call out or wait until she was noticed.

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The cat who was lost in thought slowly came out, relaxing and thinking normally again, seeing normally and comprehending the world again. To awake herself fully, Indigonose dove underwater and angled herself to breach the water. She swam as fast as she could towards the surface, blasting out and doing a nice arch back in. When the gray-blue she-cat looked back towards shore, she saw Shellstar waiting. She swam towards shore and shook herself off when she got there.

"Hey! How're you, Shellstar? Did you call for me? Sorry, I was in one of my trances and didn't realize anything-- didn't mean to fully ignore you." She spoke gently, glancing around camp to see where her apprentices were. Oh, there they were, heading towards the apprentice den. Good, they were safe, she could focus on the current conversation. "It's been a busy day, huh."

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Indigonose swam around, performing feats even she couldn’t match. She was such a perfect fit for the clan. Shellstar was glad she’d arrived when she did. Shellstar didn’t know where she’d be without her. Without any of them really.

Eventually, Indigonose made her way back to the shore. Shellstar waited for her to shake herself dry and start talking, and then the StormClan leader responded with a purr. “Don’t worry – I haven’t been here long. I’ve been well, and you?”

Indigonose glanced around, and Shellstar did as well, blinking when she noticed the apprentices heading to their den. She kept such a watchful eye on them, even as kits. She’d be a wonderful mother, someday.

She spoke again, and Shellstar flicked an ear. “It has, though not as much as leafbare had been. Of course, compared to then, things are actually easy. We should enjoy this while we can.”
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[Ald]

"I'm doing well. Sagepaw and Lakepaw can be a pawful sometimes, but they mostly understand me and follow my orders. I guess it is nice to be able to just calm down." Indigonose replied amiably. She let her tail twitch quietly. "Hey, do you know why all of Green-Leaf I keep my evening free from training?"

Maybe someone else understood the beauty of the sunset against the rippling water. It calmed Indigonose. Giving her life a ritual that reminded her of her old home. The new system of belief that StormClan had was great and all, but sometimes Indigonose reflected on the meditative life that her parents had led. Maybe it was still something she could fit in. She kind of did already, with her praying to StarClan and her rituals. The she-cat took a deep breath to remind herself to focus in on the moment and looked back over to Shellstar, eyes bright with excitement.

@ree

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Indigonose responded that she was well, and Shellstar purred in response. She blinked when the apprentices were brought up, whiskers twitching in amusement. Kits would be kits, and apprentices were technically still kits, weren’t they? That was how it was meant to be, and she was happy that they were doing well for the most part. She knew Indigonose would be able to handle the double duty of two apprentices at a time.

At the same time, though, she hoped this would be the only time they had to do that. Once these apprentices were warriors, she’d like to think they had more than enough capable paws around to take care of any…er…paws they ended up with after.

Indigonose asked her if she knew why she kept evenings free. Shellstar blinked at her and looked around, eyes falling on the horizon beyond their home. “It is beautiful at this time, isn’t it? Dusk and dawn are special, only at dawn you still have the full day ahead with all its duties. I suppose this would be the perfect time for relaxation and reflection.”
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