Between the mountains

prologue

Between the mountains is where we lay. Between the mountains, we are hugged by the earth from darkness we may never understand. Between the mountains there is love, there is destiny, if one can find it. But like many lovely things, there are imperfections in the land and our hearts. Some may be a simple rock or puddle to pass. But others may be shadowed out of our promised dreams. Some will drown in that shadow, only able to see the barest moment of moon light, then fall into the weeping river of a hate no mortal host can withstand. This is the fate for some, but we can only hope for a new era of life flooded with moonlight and the love he may cast. Between the mountains, there can only be so much light, so much moonlight to go around and we can only hope, even those with shadows to bore we may heal in the embrace of that shared light.

"They are a beauty tonight, aren't they?"

Had the feline not known the voice, his fur would have stood right up, but he knew that petal, soft mew. He turned his head from the pale spotted sky to the bright white she cat behind him, her eyes unable to focus on his dark shaded pelt. Nonetheless he felt his mouth twitch into a scowl.

"You shouldn't sneak up on some cat like that Angel Whisker!" he bristled his head lowering and turning back to the sky as the cat sat next to him.

She purred to his annoyance "Scared by a blind cat Long Root?" She leaned closer, her long fluffy tail trailing down his back "Really?"

"I was deep in thought, that's all." he muttered glad that the cat could not see his anxious claw digging, the poor daisies under paw looking trampled.

Angel whiskers looked up at the sky, seeming to relax underneath the moonlight as if it were welcomed sunlight. "About what?"

He did not know how to answer that, his brain now felt numb from the constant slush of thoughts, having come to a complete stop and was now trying to reorganize the thoughts.

"Everything." He breathed, looking down at his paws, darker than his pelt with stripes trailing up his legs like fresh ivy.

The pale cat was practically glowing in the dark air, she had a gentle sense of confused amusement in her voice. "That's all?" she had still not opened her eyes.

"Yes, believe it or not I've a lot to think about." he attempted to keep the sour frustration from weighing his tongue too heavily.

Angel Whisker's fur bristled a bit at his irritation, and she glanced down at him, her eyes surprisingly sharp despite them being sightless.

"And you think you are alone in that?" she snapped her voice like a frozen leaf.

Long Root turned his gaze back at the sky, suddenly feeling very, very tired. He rasped "No..No of course not..." He hoped the chilly night air would be a good excuse for the tremble in his spine and throat.

Angel whisker seemed to settle, Long Root tensing, knowing she knew his thoughts like her own fur. "Long root...I am sorry this did not work out as you planned...as we planned" She almost routinely shifted her paws self-consciously in front of her growing belly, as if she forgot who she was speaking to.

"It would have never worked out anyways..." His voice felt heavy, itching to stop but it only made the words slip out. "You've nothing to be sorry for...I am truly happy for you and..and my brother." The words felt as warm as honey but as rough as wolf teeth.

Angel whisker said nothing, only leaning into him as if he were a bed of fresh owl feathers. She did not need to see the sun rise to know its gentle good morning of warmth spread around her.

"I would have been happiest with you" she promised, feeling his fur like wind on her face.

He purred softly, "I know."

That was all he said, she did not need to see to know his spirit had disappeared. It was the one thing she could thank her blindness for, though he was now gone, she could still feel a touch of warmth where he was, his scent the only one that mattered.

She turned and ran. Ran as fast she could, just so she could just pretend that this wasn't him saving her, she refused to let go.

So, he did.