{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{} It was an odd feeling, sitting up in his nest, feeling his body ache familiarly, and realizing that he was going to die today. Shinesprout would've expected himself to be shaken by that fact, or to question it, but even as he rose from his nest to the dawn of his last day, the certainty felt more comforting than constricting. Riddler and his owl feather were tucked carefully into his nest. The old tom took a deep, slow breath, tilting his head upward as he moved from the warriors' den and felt greenleaf's warmth dapple his back between the leaves of the canopy. So be it, then. With a quick shake of his pelt, he set off toward the leaders' den to let his brother know where he was going - physically, that was. His spirit would be heading elsewhere. --- The journey to the Lilac Garden was a slow but leisurely one. Shinesprout took deep breaths of the warm air and let his clear amber eyes drift to the wide expanse of sky above him. A near perfect day, truly. Still, he couldn't shake from his mind the strangeness of it all. He'd watched so many around him fade away, lay awake at night in grief and fear, hoping desperately that his demise was as far away as possible. Shinesprout had seen so much loss, and the prospect of death had always scared him as he tried to push the thought out of his head. He wasn't scared anymore. It was near noon when his pawsteps finally touched feathery grass and short lavender blossoms; the old tom weaved through tall lilac bushes to find a relatively clear space in the field, the sun bathing him in soft, comforting warmth. It had taken so long for Shinesprout to find peace within himself, but now, watching faint clouds pass by on their wayward paths to the stars, he finally felt like it had all been worth it. [ It really is something ], he thought to himself, letting a minute smile grace his countenance, [ being here. Living a life, walking these plains. ] It was a cliche train of thought, sure, but a welcome one in the dusky warrior's mind. He'd seen so many places, so many lives move by him... but it didn't feel anymore like he'd watched from a paralyzing distance. The world doesn't just shift around us. We shift with it, and we are just as much a part of it as the fastest lives or the oldest trees. Shinesprout chuckled a bit to himself at the notion. Being an old tree wasn't a terrible fate, really. It was only the end of a transition from a nervous sprout to a calm and wizened overseer of the world. And what a world there was to see. The coolness of the grass was almost too inviting, and Shinesprout lay down with a deep, tired sigh. It'd been a long walk, physically and figuratively. His time wandering the woods of life had been much fuller than he would ever have realized as a young cat. Moons and seasons and years had gone by in such beauty. Shinesprout laid his head on his paws in contentment. After all that walking, a little nap couldn't hurt. {}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{} fjfjfjfjfjffjjfjfjfffjfjfjfjfj Strands are going to open tomorrow morning because a) it's like ten-thirty here and b) i'm an absolute wreck,,, shinebab my beloved like he's actually officially dead now i can't even aahAH {}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{} invited rpers: mousepelt (starclan guide) sootriddle (to meet in starclan) {}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{} i'll make a better closing note later but GJGHGHGHG shinesprout at least he did what nobody else in his family has done so far - lived a long life and died a peaceful death *sips tea* *screams*
