STARLIGHT. ❝ tell me to love myself so i can hear your voice again. ❞ ˚₊· ͟͟͞➳ CHERRY BLOSSOM (she/her, 24 moons) ⭒ in which our wanderer wishes for a miracle. The stars always glimmered in the dark. The darker the world becomes, the brighter they shine. However, stars cannot move the designated place they adorn, therefore it is up to the stargazer to find them. Cherry Blossom tiptoed quietly to the precipice of the windowsill, his nose gently touching the curtain to push it out of the way, causing the rippling fabric to cascade past her flowery fur. A delicate pink nose pressed to the frosty glass, exhaling at the cold but soothing touch despite its bite. The stargazer always had their head high, though not out of self-confidence nor in the clouds like you may think, for it is the stars that capture their very soul. But to the ground they look tonight, the pool of water warping the reflection of the night sky, a mirrored image of beauty. Pretty, but fabricated in a way. One who only looked down would never see the true wonder reflected in the water. She took a shuddering breath, feeling the frosty weather chilling him to the bone through the glass. Home felt the same as always, the same monotonous existence he’s led for moons by now, but he’s never felt so empty. The stars don’t pick favourites. They’re there for everyone. Every star-kissed piece of fur is one and the same, for everyone can be star-kissed just by walking under the impartial glow of starlight. He thought about the starlit tales Gloamingveil had once spun about her faith. The cats who walked among the stars at death. The calico had always disregarded this as a difference in beliefs, believing that stars were simply too pure and simple for cats to be allowed to even comprehend on such a level. But as her head lifted up to watch the sky through the frosted glass, she couldn’t help but pan her gaze through as many stars as he could, searching for glimmers of past lives. He should be angry. He wanted to be angry, to cry out to the skies for being left behind again. But she couldn’t find it in herself to be. Mother and Brother would deserve to be up there. The kittypet knew they weren’t dead, of course. Simply gone. Gone from his life, his world, but leaving a stain on his heart. No matter how many dandelions he wished upon, they would never come back. Not fully, not unless some miracle were to happen. Cherry prayed for a miracle. Just one, a single one in her lifetime. Or maybe two? Perhaps she would need two to have both Sunset and Forest back. Pondering the stars once more though, she found that she was seeing them in a new light. More than just starlight. Perhaps cats really could become stars, like Gloamingveil mentioned. Or perhaps everyone was simply a fallen star, a cycle renewed as they persevere through corruption and temptation during their journey back to the sky. Some would fall and fail on their way, but others would make it back up there and adorn the sky with their mended hearts. Cherry didn't know anyone who’s up there yet, but he hoped he could make it there one day. His world was full of stars — bright and shining stars like sunny Forest, or quieter, mellower ones like Sunset and Snowdrop. Some were small but everlasting, like the unique souls of her niece and nephews, and some were hidden gems Cherry had been blessed to find among the infinite stardust dotting this world, like the quiet and stoic soldier who broadened his view on the stars that have captured his heart since birth. Her caramel-dipped paws shifted as she curled up by the windowsill, unbothered by the faint draft near the window. Ice blue eyes lifted to gaze at the stars once more, feeling a tranquil emptiness take hold of his heart again. The stars were never going to change no matter where he went. He just had to look for them, and he will for the rest of his life until the day the stars fall, or he himself falls. Always. Forever. And if the stars were there, then everyone he’s ever loved will always be there too, somewhere in his heart. No matter how far away they are, no matter how empty he felt without them, he would be alright. ˚₊· ͟͟͞➳ . ݁₊❀ ~ notes . . . ⭒he’s going to miss sunset and forest so much. ⭒ he’ll do his best for everyone he has left, though. ⭒ a short love letter to cherry and the stars that have been integral to his characterization since the start. he’s had such a love-filled life that i think he’ll always have too much love to give. ⭒ i’m getting back into writing cherry lately so i think i might let her write her own love letters to her loved ones soon. sunset, forest, snowdrop, glade, eddy, marsh, briar, glo, watch out. <3 .⭒ ˚₊‧
