L I S T E N I N G -- to the {daylight} : otterflip

[otterflip]

{o t t e r f l i p}

a perfectly normal day. the kind of day that a cat just wanted to sleep through. especially an old, retired elder who didn't have anything else to do. the sunlight streamed through the bracken that covered the elder's den, and the chocolate tabby soaked it up. the snow was clearing, and it was getting back to the time where her bones would stop aching and the medicine cat could stop fussing over her. not that she didn't like the attention every once in a while, she just wanted to stop the aching. that aching that was caused by the journey that she had walked back when she was a young warrior. otterflip had fought in those battles and watched her clanmates and enemies alike die right in front of her. otterflip shook her head, trying to clear the memories and get on with her life. there were some things that she just wanted to leave in the past, and keep moving forward.

but some things stuck with her forever. the loss of her mate back in the old forest had never left her. he had been fighting against the foxes when he died, and otterflip couldn't do anything to help him as she was attacked herself. it was the worst loss of her life: to see the black tom die right before her eyes as she was expecting kits. and with the pain of losing her mate, otterflip experienced the pain of losing her kits. they died in the womb as otterflip mourned for her mate. she had never had the chance to meet them. she had lost everything that was her own.

as much as she missed her mate, oriolewing, she could never bring him up. it hurt her sould too much. whenever a cat tried to talk to her about her mate she just dismissed them. once one had asked her why she didn't ever try to find a new mate. she almost clawed the cat's eyes out. staying secluded was what she had always liked to do, and otterflip couldn't think of anything better in the whole world. ever since she was young otterkit from the old forest, she had been fond of oriolekit. but it was all in the past now.

from then on, otterflip had always been a bit grouchy. she refused to clean her pelt anymore, and didn't take care of things like she used to. her life just slipped away from her. during the journey, as the clans meshed together to find a new way of life, otterflip stayed secluded and away from the other cats. she preferred to stay to herself, to think and to ponder why she was actually a part of this life. when they came to the new forest, otterflip immediately retired to the elder's den. she didn't have the strength, after traveling for so long, to fight or hunt any more. this just made her life a bit more miserable, and she didn't even care any more.

since then, every day she spent in the den have been boring and uneventful. all she could look forward to were the misbehaving kits and apprentices that would come and change her bedding, and she would tell them stories of the journey, and how the clans fought off kolette and her army of foxes. she would always leave out her own life though. she never talked about her mate or her horrid experiences in the old forest.

but then there were days when the sunshine would drip down through the trees and meet her pelt, and everything would be okay. everything would be okay in tealclan, and everything would be okay in the forest. it was a rare event, but it was enjoyable for the reminiscing old she-cat. she was seventy moons now, and she had known when there was peace, and she had known war. she had known discomfort and happiness. and here, in her den she was the happiest she had been since her miscarriage. well, not completely happy, but at least a bit satisfied with her life. she was the crabby, old she-cat with fur missing from old age that sat in the den that all the cats knew. she was a tealclan image. every cat knew her, and she knew every cat, even if she doesn't remember their names. her memory is fading, and she is almost on the brink of making her well-deserved journey to starclan.

laying down on her bedding again, she looked out into the clearing. cats were hustling about, getting patrols ready, and making tealclan a better place to live. she sighed in contentment, and shut her eyes again. it was time to just relax. the thought that she didn't need to do anything ever again calmed her, and she drifted into sleep again.

[otterflip]

--finished

[starclan]

Accepted

As elder of TealClan