Dark Sky

Chapter five

Embertail woke up when a paw gently prodded her side. Every parts of her body were sore. She slowly opened her eyes, still numb with sleep, to see the golden tom looking at her.

"Uh, you're finally awake", he said akwardly, " You were asleep for two days and two nights".

"What!? I slept for so long?"

"Yeah, I saw you when I was coming back from hunting, and you turned around, slipped, rolled down the hill, hit your head on a rock and fell in the pond. I pulled you out and carried you to my den. I tried to heal you but I don't know much about plants," he said, blushing.

Wow! That tom was really humble, not admitting he had saved her life with his medicine-cat skills. She looked at him more carefully. As he sat down, she noticed muscles rippling under his bright, short, golden dappled pelt. His gaze met hers and she saw beautiful, kind green eyes, shining like leafs under green-leaf's sun.

"What's your name? I'm Sand", he said, walking towards the outside of his den and sitting down.

"My name is Embertail", she answered, walking up to his side, and sat beside him. He gave her a curious gaze.

"Why? Sorry, I would understand if you had a red tail or something, but-"

"My mother named me after my father, Emberstorm. He died before my birth", she cut him off, and he soon started to talk again : "Sorry. I understand, now. My father gave me the same name as my mom, but the're both dead now", he made a sad face. She felt the strange urge to comfort him, so she pressed herself against him, and he put his head on her shoulder. He blushed and so did she. They stayed like that for a long, long, and when they looked, up, it was nearly dusk.

"I should hunt before dark", he said, blushing even more, and walked in the forest.

While he was gone, she explored his den. It was a small underground space under a tree, an earth tunnel leading to it, with a huge root bending over the entrance. Inside, one nest made of moss and feathers was sitting in the corner, and bundles of herbs were tied by grass to the roots dangling from the roof. On one wall, small spaces were dug, and countless berries and flowers were classed and arranged. Lined up beside the holes, cobwebs, honeycomb and moss were lying on the ground.

Then, Sand came back from hunting carrying a huge squirrel in his jaws.

"We'll have to share, I had to chase him in a tree and I scared the whole forest", he explained, smiling.

"Oh, it's fine. Back in my clan, we always shared the prey."

"You're a clan cat?" he asked, "That's so cool! What are you doing over here, then? I live pretty far from the lake, right?"

"I r-ran away"

"Why?", he tilted his head.

"..."

"Oh, sorry. If you don't want to talk about it, it's fine, take your time", he assured.

"Thanks", she was grateful to hear that, but at the same time she wanted to tell him, to get rid of the weight on her shoulders. "B-but I'll tell you".

--- POV switch

Sand woke up at dawn, Embertail's soft snores warming his heart. At the very first moment he saw her, he had fallen in love.

Her sparkling blue eyes mezmerised him, but they had something broken in them, a touch of deep sadness, and he wished he had the power to heal it. Last night, she trusted him, she braved all her fears to tell him all she went through. How could a cat hurt the most kind, caring, beautiful she-cat in the world?! How could Snowstorm betray her like that? He wanted to protect her more than anything, her and her unborn kits.

All those new feelings gave him a headache. He walked outside to clear his mind, frozen leafs cracking under his paws. He was going to bring back food to the young she-cat so she could wake up with the smell of warm prey.

In a small clearing, not far from the den, he found a sparrow pecking seeds on the ground. He dropped into a crouch, then slowly walked to the bird and jumped, claws unsheathed, towards his prey. Sand let out a meow of satisfaction as he felt the bird's soft feathers between his claws, and quickly bent over it to give it a killing bite. On his way back, he caught another sparrow and a mole. What a successfull day! Satisfied, he entered his den to find his guest still asleep.

He dropped his catches at the entrance and left the den to collect moss and ferns. With the sparrow's feathers, it would be a way better nest for Embertail than his own, thin, old and dirty. He quickly found the moss and started plucking the sparrows. With the feathers, the moss and the ferns he gathered, he was able to shape a cozy den right beside his. All that movement around her woke her up, and he watched her as she stretched, the warm sun rays glittering on her hazel pelt. She opened her eyes and looked at him. "Good morning!", he said as she yawned.

"Hi! You went hunting?", she asked, looking at the fresh-kill pile. "You didn't have to. Thanks!", she continued.

"Anything for you, my queen", he thought, and saw her looking at him strangely.

Fox dung! He was thinking out loud.
He looked away, embarassed.

"Uh, I made you a better nest", he quickly said. "Awww! You're so kind! Is there a way I could help you too?"

"No, its fine, but let me know if there's anything you need. When are your kits do?", he changed the subject suddenly.

"In half a moon aproximativly"

"Jeez! That's soon! Do you want anything to eat? There's moles and sparrows."

"Can I have a mole, please?", she asked politly.

"Yes, of course", he said, giving her one of the two.

They ate, side by side, in silence. Soon, Sand rose up and started checking his herb stores.

He was low in fever-few, horsetail, poppy seeds and juniper berries.

He told Embertail he would collect herbs during all the morning and left the den. While walking to the juniper bush, he ressassed his thoughts.

Why did he said he would do anything for her out loud? It was true, but it troubled him. He was never thinking out loud, usually.

He almost walked into a tree trunk, absorbed by his thoughts, and shook his pelt. "Focus on your work. Focus."

--- POV switch

Embertail was glad Sand went out. She needed peace, she needed to be alone with her mind for a little. What was she feeling? Why was her heart beating harder and harder everytime she saw him? Why was this feeling so new but so familiar at the same time?

Then, the answer came to her. She used to feel that when she was with Snowstorm, but it was ten times stronger with Sand. She was in love.

She felt weird, happy and relieved to have someone like Sand helping her. Relieved from her constat, she quickly fell asleep again.