Warriors || Aspenrose's Goodbye

Chapter Thirty-Three

       There wasn't a cloud in the sky. It was faint light blue, and the sun smiled down on the lake. A very gentle breeze softly stirred the faded green grass.
       Aspenrose sat beside the stream that marked the ThunderClan border. Addertuft lay beside her, paws tucked neatly underneath her. Her white-tipped tail was curled lazily around Aspenrose.
She stared blankly at the stream in front of her. It trickled peacefully down into the lake. She blinked, before glancing down at Addertuft.
The gray tabby and white she-cat had closed her eyes, basking in the rays of the sun. Her belly was round with her kits. They would be born in about a moon. Aspenrose gazed fondly at her napping friend.
She wrapped her tail over Addertuft's shoulders, pulling her closer. Addertuft nuzzled her nose into Aspenrose's shoulder. For once in a long while, Aspenrose felt warmth tug at her heart, and she felt wanted; loved. She never wanted this moment to end, but she was afraid that it might have to.
                          •*•*•*•*•*•*•
A crescent moon crept slowly into the cloudless sky, setting the moorland shinning silver. The night was still, only the crickets chirped softly.
Aspenrose sat on the small rise that overlooked her beloved Clan camp. Her icy eyes were turned to slits in the darkness; her tail twitched calmly.
She turned, silent as a whisper, away from her home. Everything seemed calm now, everything seemed fine. Though in her head, Aspenrose knew everything wasn't truly fine. It never was, it never had been.
She reflected on her life in the Clans, living around the lake. Her journey started in ThunderClan, but she ended up where she belonged, in WindClan. Where do I belong now? She had questioned. Nowhere, perhaps.
She had always wondered what adventure lay beyond Clan borders. Aspenrose took a deep breath, urging herself to pad on. She could almost feel the starry presence of Driftfrost beside her, almost hear his comforting voice.
She had reached the edge of WindClan territory, and she was ready. Aspenrose gave one last glance at what had been her home; where her family and friends stayed. It pained her to leave them behind, but she felt like she had no other choice.
"Goodbye," it felt like the one, simple word held an eternity of meaning. A weight lifted from deep inside her chest.
She turned to the open moor ahead, welcoming its beauty and unfamiliarity, and bounded toward the unknown adventure that awaited her.