Thunderstorm
Seeing her so sad, he could hardly stand it. It felt like his heart was being clawed out of his chest. He would do anything to make this pain go away, to make her happy again. Oh, what had this forest done to his sweet, happy, beautiful girl? Thunderstorm gently reached out and licked her head as she cried. As she started talking of Lightening clan, the large tom snuggled closer to her, his purr shaking their cold bodies. Her story matched the many accounts of the other ex-kittypets in his clan that had switched over from Lightening clan. Some cat's it seemed just couldn't get past their kittypet upbringing enough to look upon them for what they truly were now, warriors.
“Go to your leader. Tell her you miss your kittypet friends and you’re leaving to join a different clan. You don’t even need to tell them which one if they don’t ask. They’ll say something, probably mean, and then you can walk away and never have to deal with them again.” He leaned his forhead into the side of hers. “You can meet me back here and I’ll take you to Tree clan where you can stay with me and I’ll make sure you’re happy.” With a growing heat in his cheeks, he gave the side of her face a lick.
Stormsong
Go tell her leader she was leaving? Could she do that? She took a deep breath and filled her lungs with the smell of him. Whether or not she could didn’t matter, she had to. There was no way she was going to let him slip away from her now. Not after all those years wishing that they could just escape those foul boxes! No, she would absolutely go tell her clan that she was leaving to peruse happiness elsewhere.
“You’re sure Tree clan will take me? They haven’t even met me.” She said doubtfully. But the other ex-kittypets were there right? Surely they could make a space for her too. With his reassurance, she left the warmth of their temporary shelter to run back to camp for the last time. Should she stop and try to wash out any smell of Thunderstorm or Treeclan from her drenched fur? No, the patrol had been on the Treeclan boarder, she knew her leader and other warriors would be smart enough to figure out where she was going.
Thankfully, due to the storm that was raging on, almost all of her clan was in their dens… Her soon to be old clan. Can I really do this? She questioned her resolve. Yes, she had too for Princ-- Thunderstorm and for herself. Only the cats who had been burdened with today’s guard duty were out of the shelter of the dens. Luckily they didn’t come out from the comfort of their measly shelter to question her as she darted through the entrance to the camp.
Wasting no time she went to the leaders den where she found Brightstar. The relief at seeing Brightstar alone in her den was almost made her weep. This was not going to be a fun conversation and the large she-cat didn’t want an audience. She began slow at first but finished her declaration in a rush. As expected, Brightstar wasn’t happy and was obviously disappointed, but to Stormsong’s surprise, gave her blessing for the large ex-kittypet to follow her heart to a different clan.
After many thanks and a slight sob, Stormsong dashed from the den back into the rain. That was it, she was free. Free from Lightening clan, free to be with him, Thunderstorm. If Tree clan really did accept her, then this was it, she’d be in a clan with him. They could actually be together. As fast as she could manage, she made her way across the Lighting clan camp, never looking back, and out the tunnel, past the guards and into the forest.
Thunderstorm
Watching her run out into the storm by herself was one of the hardest things he’d done. Every bone in his body wanted to run after her. Lightening clan wouldn’t be hostel to her if she declared she was leaving, would they? Was it really a good idea to let her go alone? Was she really safe? No, if she wasn’t by his side or back in TreeClan’s camp, she wasn’t safe.
Having convinced himself that Stormsong was in trouble, Thunderstorm began to make his way after her. Unfortunately, it was still raining and he didn’t trust the tall trees with the periodic flashes that lit up the sky. His body was kept close to the ground as he slinked after her, his wet fur dragging in the mud beneth him. This wasn’t good, he was deep into enemy territory now. Not that LighteningClan was enemies of TreeClan, on the contrary, he believed the two were allies. Still, to be a warrior of a different clan this deep into another clan’s territory was deeply frowned upon and could cause tension between the two clans.
Thunderstorm paused and waited, trying to hear or smell anything through the storm. After what seemed like ages, Stormsong emerged from the underbrush. He was on her at once, sniffing her over for wounds, checking for any signs of a struggle, but there were none. Other than being completely soaked to the bone, the large she-cat seemed fine.
“Are you okay? Did they chase you out?” He asked, unable to keep the concern from his voice.
Stormsong
She barely had time to smell him through the rain before she ran into him. Slowing her pace, Stormsong trotted up to the large male waiting for her. His eyes were wide in fear, whether for the storm or for her well being, she wasn’t sure. What she was sure of however was that she didn’t like him looking this way. Those were her favorite eyes, the colors in them mesmerizing, and she did not like those colors being swallowed up by all the black of his pupil.
“I’m fine, I’m okay.” She said through pants, she had just run all the way to and from camp. “But you shouldn’t be here!” The thought we shouldn’t be here slid into her mind and a smile crossed her face. This was no longer her home so there was no reason so stay any longer. “Let’s go! Lead the way back! Hurry, so we can get out of the miserable storm!”
Although her skin was cold and her fur dripped with rain and mud, she was radiating warmth like a sun. The tom of her dreams had shown up in her time of need and was taking her away from this awful place to be with him. It was a dream come true at last and despite the gloomy weather, Stormsong was alight with happiness. The purr that rumbled through each of the Maine coon cats as they ran along the forest floor rivaled the sound of the storm around them, clearly audible under the shelter of a bush or underbrush.
It was obvious where the boarder was, even with all the rain. Stormsong didn’t even bother to pause as she crossed it into TreeClan’s territory. For a moment, she worried that the TreeClan leader might not accept her but the fear didn’t stick. Thunderstorm had assured her that she had a place in TreeClan. This was her home now. She would live in the trees with her lover. And if not? Well, they could cross that path when they got to it.