A Field of Flowers (p)

[Koisplash]

It had been more than a few moons since she had first set foot in CloudClan, but Koisplash felt that a small part of her would never fully adjust to being...well, dead. Death had always been the last thing at the back of her mind when she was alive, with blood pulsing through her veins in the thrill of a fight or a hunt. Here, though, it was peaceful. It was always peaceful. The sunlight was everlasting and the grass was always green under her paws, with fragrant flowers waving in a soft breeze as far as the eye could see. Cats of all ages from all sorts of generations in the Clans lounged about everywhere she went, basking in the warmth of paradise.

Koisplash rolled over to shift her position in lying down against the grass, disturbing some flowers as she did. When she'd first arrived, she'd had no idea what to do. All she'd done at first was walk and run around, marveling at how it felt to be young and in her prime again, before she'd set off in search for everyone she'd known who'd passed on before her. She'd seen her beloved mother, Oakspirit, and she'd seen her half-sister, Feralbreak. She'd seen all of her old friends, other half-siblings, relatives she'd never even known she'd had.

But there'd always been the nagging question at the back of her head all these moons: now what? What was there to do, now that you were in CloudClan? There weren't many opportunities to do much outside of speaking to the medicine cats at their regular meetings. Koisplash wasn't unhappy or ungrateful for getting to be in CloudClan, far from it, but all her life she'd always itched for something to do. She'd always been moving, constantly running on the drive to improve herself and her clan, and it felt odd to still have that instinctive itch but no longer have anything to direct it towards.

She let out a long breath and rolled back onto her stomach, resting her head on her paws. Maybe she just needed some rest. If there was one thing in particular she liked about CloudClan, it was getting to sleep as long as she wanted to with no repercussions.

[Beechstar]

The former Treeclan leader had made his rounds for the day. He always visited Owlsong and his kits first. Being able to see them every day, safe and sound, gave him a positive attitude for the morning.

Then he would find Leoparddash, his best friend. The cat he was apprentices with and grew up together with. Their usual daily activity would be to race each other up trees or wrestle. Cloudclan had given him a youthful body in death, so why not use it?

Then he would stray to Fireclan's part of Cloudclan and would hope to see Firelight. He would think about Sparrowfur sometimes too. He wondered when she would join him.

The tom would return to the Treeclan cats after it all. Giving nods and hellos to cats like Spiritstar, Harrowingpride, Ghostwhisper, and Shrewbreaker. It was nice being around his friends again. It was nice being happy again.

Finally, he would go to the field where he met the love of his life. Beechstar spotted his mate, Koisplash, resting in the distance. He ran to her, crushing the flowers and grass under his paws. The ginger cat came to a halt a few tail lengths away, then laid so close he was almost on top of her. He purred loudly.

[Koisplash]

Just when Koisplash had closed her eyes, ready to doze off, a familiar—but welcome—scent jolted her back to her senses. But before she could register it, she heard footsteps and the thump of Beechstar lying down close enough for her to feel his fur. She smiled and opened one eye at him. "And where exactly have you been?" she asked teasingly, a returning purr of contentment in her voice. "Do you have any idea how long I waited?"

As if to emphasize her point, she edged closer to him and aimed to push her head against his shoulder affectionately. Spending time with her mate, at least, would never get old no matter how bored she got in CloudClan. The best part of it was that there were no duties to the Clan this time to get in the way of it—or any outside problems interfering, for that matter. But Koisplash tried not to dwell on the past too much when she could.

[Firelight]

Awww. How cute.

And by that, I don't mean Firelight.

All she was trying to do was get some rest, for CloudClan's sake. Surely, in the land of rest and prosperity, that should be possible, shouldn't it?

But nooooo, not with these lovebirds around, it wasn't.

Pricking her ears at the disruption, Firelight raised her head and looked around. And who else would it be but Beechstar and Koisplash. Oooooof course it was.

OTP. Match made in heaven. A love to last (several) lifetimes. Whatever you want to call it. I just want to get some sleep.

A hint of a smirk crept across Firelight's face, devious schemes unfolding in her mind. Yes, it was Beechstar and Koisplash, but that couldn't be more convenient.

Without hesitation, she sauntered up to the two, tail waving in noncommittal greeting.

"Hey there, lovemonster lovebirds." she purred, scooting closer to the two. "Enjoying the pretty view? Koisplash, I mean. Such pretty fur, almost like.. oh, oh yeah! Almost like Snowflare!" she declared, grinning cheekily from ear-to-ear. "Just... taller than dear Snow," she discerned, eyeing Koisplash mischievously. "And with much plumper cheeks."

[Beechstar]

Beechstar let her playfully shove him, but then he rested his head onto Koisplash's flank. "Just the daily routine." He felt a little guilty at the thought of her waiting. Time seemed to go so slow in Cloudclan. He had thought he was on time. "Hopefully not too long."

A new scent came to his nose. One he hadn't smelled in a long time. He quickly rose to his feet. "Firelight! How are you?" When he heard the comparison, Beechstar tilted his head in confusion. "Why would I want my mate to look like my daughter?" Oh right. He had never told Koisplash about his Fireclan children.

[Koisplash]

Koisplash let out a pleased sigh and leaned against him, resting her head on his flank in turn. "Hm. Understandable," she replied cheerfully. "Don't worry, it wasn't so long that I died of boredom. That's kind of hard to do up here, anyway," she added dryly, closing her eyes again and nuzzling into his fur.

But of course, even that had to be interrupted as well. Another scent came in, but this one was completely unfamiliar. FireClan, specifically. She cracked one eye open, giving the stranger only a glance. Definitely not someone she'd seen or heard before. Maybe a jilted former lover of Beechstar's, from what she was saying.

When Koisplash had thought about her boredom in CloudClan, this certainly hadn't been her idea of alleviating it. "Well, hello to you too," she muttered tonelessly in response.

Beechstar's response, however, took her off-guard. She looked up at him as he stood, glancing back and forth between him and the stranger he called "Firelight". "Your daughter?" she repeated in blank confusion. Koisplash knew he'd had a mate and kits before, but he'd never mentioned a Snowflare. What was going on?

[Firelight]

Firelight tilted her head, smile unbroken.

"Yeah, his daughter! He didn't tell you? Once upon a time we made the most beautiful kitten together, and she too had lots of beautiful Beechstar-descendents once she became a FireClan queen."

Firelight sighed dramatically, tail flicking to and fro in amusement.

"But, you know, this one's pretty, too. I can see why you like her." Firelight outstretched one of her paws, extending it to make it as wide as she could, and gave Koisplash a light pat on the back.

"I remember you, actually. You're Koisplash, right?" her whiskers twitched. "You were TreeClan's deputy for a while. Yes, yes, I remember now. You used to sit up in the deputy spot at gatherings, and, hey, you even managed to look pretty good up there. It's a miracle what a really good angle can do for a cat, isn't it? Tell me, do those TreeClan legs of yours climb trees better than your fish brethren?"

"Say, Beech," she added, koi-ly (huehue), "It wasn't all that long ago that you were teaching me to climb trees, too, wasn't it? What grand times we had!"

[Beechstar]

Beechstar seemed oblivious to Firelight's insults. "It's too bad Snowflare never knew me." He had met with his first daughter, Prairiemist, a few times on the Fireclan border, but even she didn't remember him.

He seemed amused when Firelight patted Koisplash. They're getting along. He thought as he settled back down with his mate. He gave her a little nudge with his legs. "Yep, my most loyal deputy." The former leader purred and thought of all of their good times.

When Firelight mentioned their good times, he nodded. "Yes, I remember. And now that you reminded me, I just wanted to thank you for helping me....in my time of need." By that he meant his mourning of his first mate, Owlsong.

[Koisplash]

This conversation definitely was going in a direction that Koisplash couldn't see ending well. She narrowed her eyes and moved out of the way to avoid Firelight's pat. "I see," she said flatly. So Beechstar had had a daughter named Snowflare with this...Firelight. She wasn't sure if she'd really wanted to know that, but there was no point in dwelling on it. It didn't seem as if Beechstar was hung up on it, anyway.

But Firelight, on the other hand, was a different story. She couldn't tell whether the cat was genuinely bitter or just messing with her, and frankly Koisplash didn't find either option appealing. Either way, she was clearly wasting time talking to her. Beechstar could indulge her if she wanted to. She openly rolled her eyes. "I don't think my legs are any of your business, but thank you."

What a drag. If Firelight wanted a fight, she wasn't going to get one. Maybe being bored really was the best thing to do in CloudClan, after all. She sighed and hunkered down again, closing her eyes as she leaned against Beechstar's shoulder.