Rosewood was spending a lot of time with Golem these days. He seemed to enjoy her company, but even after he woke up or she left him to ensure that he got a good night's sleep after their training sessions, she still felt restless. With her interest in loners, she'd been exploring the dreams of others that came her way. She wasn't quite sure what to make of others and often times spent her evenings observing from afar. She'd been getting a lot better at stealthing around since she'd started training with Golem.
There was a new loner, another tomcat who was much older than Golem. He was as fluffy as Burningnight seemed to be and she liked watching his dreams. Most days, she would find him in a sunny patch of grass, basking and snoozing. She'd never seen a Twoleg garden before, so the concept of the fence surrounding the grassy area and the koi pond at the corner of the dream space was new to her. She usually kept to the bushes, out of sight, before scampering back to the dark forest at the end of the night.
But then one night... the loner found her first. She was hiding under the bushes as usual, watching him wrestle with grooming his thick fur. Eventually growing bored, she turned to leave and began to pad away, only to hear heavy footsteps beside her. She must've jumped three tail lengths in the air when she realized that the tomcat she'd believed to be so far away was suddenly beside her.
He laughed as she flattened her ears and bristled, his laughter hearty and warm.
"My! That was some jump for such a small kitten!" He bellowed and she glared at him.
"I'm not that little!' She protested hotly. "And you... you just surprised me. That's all." She forced her fur to lay flat against her, but her kitten fluff was rebellious. "A-Anyway! What're you doing here? I thought you were preoccupied with.. other stuff." She mewed and the tomcat smiled.
"I thought it time to come greet the little visitor that's been coming into my dreams lately. You're not a StarClan cat, either which makes this a very special visit." The tomcat reflected with a smile. Rosewood tilted her head curiously to one side. "How do you know that I'm not a StarClan cat?" She asked the tomcat.
"Because I know StarClan cats. And besides, every time you leave, you seem to be masked in shadow. Any StarClan visitors I've had always walk off with sparkles in their paws or the ground below them turns to golden fields."He yawned and stretched. "So, what brings a youngster like you into my dreams as of late? Are you here to recruit me into ForestClan? Or perhaps you have some ancient wisdom to bestow upon me?" He cracked a smirk and Rosewood wasn't sure how to feel about his relaxed attitude. She shook her head.
"Um, no. I'm... I'm just visiting." She replied. "Your dreams look so much more interesting. I've never seen a den as big as this one before." She mewed and gestured to the twoleg den with a gesture of her paw. The tomcat's whiskers twitched in evident amusement. "And... well... I like meeting new cats. Only I didn't know you believed in StarClan or anything. Loners usually don't know about their warrior ancestors. You are a loner, aren't you?" She asked, peering at him and he smiled down at her.
"Little kit, I have been many things in the span of my life." He told her. "Perhaps if you come back tomorrow I shall tell you a part of my life and how it is that I know what I know." He suggested to her. "Indeed, I would offer to tell you as much now, but the night grows old." He gestured to her paws which were becoming translucent. Somewhere, wherever Steve was, the sun was coming up.
"Uh, yeah! Sure." Rosewood replied, knowing she would need to get going soon. "I'll come back tomorrow. Or some time, anyway." She agreed, though she wasn't sure if she really wanted to. She'd decide once she was home in ForestClan again. "I've got to be going so I'll see you-"
"Wait, aren't you going to tell me your name?" Asked the older tomcat with a glint in his eye and with a flick of her ears, Rosewood nodded. What was the harm in telling someone her name?
"Rosewood. My name is Rosewood." She told him. "See you later!" She mewed and tried not to think about the laughter she heard from the tomcat that faded as he woke up and Rosewood returned to the comforts of ForestClan.
(WC: 786)