[graves]

Originally Posted by Clover

It was so quiet; everything seemed so quiet. The world around her was covered in a thin sheet of snow, and it made the world more peaceful.

Peace. That one word had been her ceaseless search for moons, while she looked inwards for her own sense of self. And she'd found it, curled up one morning in the small hollow she'd called home. After that, it'd been a race back to RiverClan; she knew she'd never be a medicine cat again, but she had found something else beyond peace. Love for Mistfall; if not a medicine cat and a healer, she could be a lover, a mate, a mother.

But Geckoleaf had never been trained as to know how to find the intricacies of smell that marked a border; clans ones were easy to tell, as prevalent and frequently renewed as they were. But the single thin strip of scent that marked the edge of a loner's homeland was beyond her meager talent. She stumbled right in and kept on going; it was that loner's right to attack her, and attack her the loner her, mauling her and leaving her for dead after dragging her to the edge of the domain.

Her own blood was so dark; so thick and fluid. She'd never thought she'd had that much of it; the snow behind her was stained with a trail of it. At last, she'd had to stop; there wasn't enough blood for her muscles to become oxygenated, and she'd collapsed. Though lightheaded, Geckoleaf was fairly certain she'd made her way a decent length into ShadowClan territory.

And what she saw affirmed it; off in the distance, a familiar golden shape, hunched and weak looking. She'd know the form of her young one anywhere.

Geckoleaf was dying, as she knew what it loked like, but if she could see Daypaw one last time, maybe it would be rectified. "Day... Day!..."she croaked, voice a harsh scratch that she hoped owuld be able to carry far enough in the stillness. "Day..." Weaker this time; she didn't have enough energy left for this.

So, she gave into silence, and waited, desperate hope clawing at her mind and giving her enough strength to watch.

the voice.

that voice.

her voice.

they knew that voice any where. it was the same voice that mumbled sweet things in their ear when they were sobbing on her shoulder. it was the same voice that was related to their mother. it was the same voice they had grown to love, to respect, to cherish. it was her voice. everything seemed to restart in their mind. their body had a rush run through it, and as tired as they were, they felt so awake. everything that had had happened, they let go past them. they let weight come off of their shoulders as they became a simple apprentice again. a kit again, searching for their mother. they stood frozen. maybe it was their mind playing tricks on them again. maybe it was the lack of sleep or their hallucinations, showing them what they wanted to hear.

no. it was her voice

it sounded so real, so brokem, so desperate as they were. their paws were moving, ears flickering, eyes showing more emotion then they had in moons. they were running after the voice, and th emore they ran the stronger the scent got. it smelt foreign yet so familiar. not holding the fishy scent of riverclan, or the herbal scent of plants. but it was still her. it was still geckoleaf.

the scent of blood overwhelmed them but they kept running. both instincts of a medicine cat and a child towards their mother ran through their body. herbal formulas that she had taught them ran through their head. was something wrong, what had happened?

and then they saw her. her. geckoleaf.

they halted in their tracks, halting so hard that they slipped some against the snow, it flying in the air as they stopped infront of her. she was hurt. blood had slained the snow in her walk. had she been coming for them? returning even ? they had to do something, but they were overcome with emotion as they leaned down and rested their head ontop of hers, loud purring erupting from them. they had missed her beyond belief. her fur, her body, her presence. they choked on a sob, they didnt know what to say. they had so much to say, yet they stayed silent.

"Im here now, mom."