clear-running dreams (alligator/speckled)

A bottlebrush tail waved among the reeds as its owner pushed through the long stalks unapologetically. The cattails rustled, and Speckledwing heard rather than saw the scampering of water voles, scared away by her carelessness. But this wasn’t a hunting patrol, and she couldn’t really bring herself to be bothered by the loss. It was a beautiful day; the sun was warm, the sky was blue, and the birds seemed to sing for her enjoyment alone, each call through the trees falling like a ringing bell on the ear. A sparrow swooped daringly overhead with a shrill cry of alarm, and the fields fell silent. The calico she-cat glowered balefully up at it where it had perched in a nearby birch tree, and it glared back at her suspiciously. It’s the ones like you that get eaten, bird.

A final push through the reeds, and the ground turned soft underfoot, and the clusters of fronds fell away to reveal the field that stretched out as far as the eye could see. In the distance, twoleg barns spotted the landscape. Closer movement caught her eye, but it was only a couple of horses that ran a safe distance away, their short, tawny pelts flashing attractively in the sunlight. They galloped along the edge of the field as she watched, rounded one of the corners of the barns, and were gone. The sound of their hooves faded along with them, and as quiet settled over the field once again, she deemed it safe to venture out.

Poppies and marigold dotted the landscape, and Speckledwing took a moment to gaze at them admiringly as she passed, breathing deep to take in all the scents of spring. I feel like the last time I was here, the earth was still choked with snow and frost. Where did the season go? Not that an easy or forgettable leaf-bare was anything to complain about, but the faster passage of time as she grew made her feel, well…old. And she didn’t want to feel old, for StarClan’s sake. She was still a young warrior, and in her prime!

Picking her way over the fresh flowers and young shoots of grass, the RiverClan warrior kept her ears pricked for any signs of danger. On this side of their territory, threats were fewer and further in between, but the rogues from the barns were still trouble from time to time, and sometimes needed a lesson to put them back in their place. With the weather having grown warmer in the past moon, she wouldn’t put it past them to find their bravery that they had shelved in the colder months – it was easier for a soft cat who knew the comfort of Twolegplace to wander in their forest when the weather was good, but give them a bit of snow or rain and they’d be running back to their shelters. But the she-cat didn’t scoff at their reasoning – if it wasn’t against the warrior code, she wouldn’t say no to a barn in the middle of the cold season, either.

Out in the open with no foliage to cast shade, it was beginning to grow uncomfortably warm. Roasting under her thick pelt, Speckledwing cast one last glance over the field for trouble, and just as she concluded that there was no trouble to be found, a sharp snap in the reeds behind her caught her attention.

In a silky blur of orange-and-white, she whipped around, keeping her face impassive but her claws unsheathed. “Hello?” Uncertainty colored her tone – the scent of RiverClan was strong, so it couldn’t have been an enemy…but it was never safe to assume.

hallelujah