Awakening [ o p e n ]

[Risa [Isis]]

[shadow=red,left,300]Dragging myself through life,
Just a game, playing pretend[/shadow]

Brittle strands of sunlight filtered past the bramble bushes into the cavern that was SparkClan's camp. Sleek feline figures slipped past the shadows, welcoming the morning. Cats mewled calls to one another; showing how the Clan was alive so early in the morn.

Except it wasn't that early in the morning.

Just past Tall Rock, there hid a crevice that was the threshold to the SparkClan's leader's den. Here, it was dark as midnight, with less light than a moonless night. The stone walls seemed to hold a glitter from the molten lava that had filled these caves long ago.

That glow shed a halo of light upon a sleeping cat near the back of the cave; a pale tabby with dark bold, stripes clutching the body like claws. Tail twined around the feline, muzzle resting upon his paws. The picture of peace; but on closer inspection, eyes gleamed in the darkness. The pupil was wide to catch as much light as possible, with the rim of sea-hued iris hardly visible.

The tom was staring into the distance, seeming to see something none else could. A rough purr left his throat, but it died soon after. After a few moments, the tabby blinked, seeming to shake himself out of whatever he had been watching. Pulling himself to his paws, the tom wondered if he should step outside for a bit. He padded from his mossy nest, a flash of his light creamy forepaw hinting to his name.

"SparkClan needs me..." Lightstar murmured quietly.

[flameh]

Silentsong sat in the camp. Her brown tabby tail lay over her paws. Her eyes searched the cavern that was busy with cats. Her emerald gaze came to a rest on Lightstar. She tried to mew but failed as always. Her emerald gaze worked well at hiding her thoughts. She was thinking the same dark thoughts as always about death and destruction. She got up slowly and padded towards Lightstar. Her paws made a soft thudding noise against the hard rocky ground. 'Hello Lightstar' she signed. She dipped her head in respect.

[Risa [Isis]]

The soft thudding noise was all that alerted him to the cat's arrival. He glanced over, his ears swivelling to catch the noise. Lightstar spotted his medicine cat, and his eyes flickered, waves rolling across the sandy beaches, nothing like the territory of his Clan. He met her pale emerald gaze with his own, and his maw trembled, failing to bring a true smile to his face.

"Oh, good morning, Silentsong," he sighed, nodding in a respectful greeting.

Silence.

Chattering Clanmates' voices sounded around the both of them. Should he fill the quiet with words? Silentsong surely couldn't. He always did wonder why the tabby was born mute - or was she holding back on the Clan? Either way, he valued her gentle wisdom, though he hadn't showed it for some time.

"How . . . How are you?" The words didn't seem right falling from his lips. He felt like giving himself a good shake, but that would not help. The golden tom knew he had some sort of uncurable sickness. A sickness of losing emotions. As long as SparkClan was surviving, he would deal with his own problems in silence, as his medicine cat had done for her entire lifetime.

[flameh]

'I'm fine' she signed. 'How are you?" she asked. Her emerald eyes looked through camp. She was always missing something, someone, Frostfoot. Her dark secret was still hidden, never to be discovered.

[Risa [Isis]]

"Good, good," he responded with a distracted nod, his eyes flickering around camp. He glanced back at his medicine cat. Lightstar blinked, opening his maw as if he had something to say before closing it. He nodded again, slowly, as if he were agreeing with something nobody could hear. The SparkClan leader could not deny himself that he had lost all social skills.

FLicking his tabby-striped tail, he shifted his weight. He was about to excuse himself, when he noticed that Silentsong seemed distracted. He followed her gaze, wondering fleetingly if one of his warriors was injured, but he just saw a dark stone wall. His hollow gaze turned into something curious. Knowing it was best not to ask, he could not help but wonder what it was she saw.

He hadn't realized that the she-cat had a secret to hide.