Rising and falling, nose tucked under her tail, Fawnlight was trying desperately to sleep. Troubled by nightmares each time her eyes fluttered closed, flashes of hot embers scarring her paws, yowling up to the blanket of stars that heard her pain but refused to help. The heavy thump-thump-thump of her heart in her chest, like wings of a caged bird. Hot pain stabbing all the way through her body as she had recoiled, tripping over herself as she stared, mouth agape, at her shaking paws. Time had slowed in that moment, clutching the young she-cat in an iron-tight claw that refused to let go.
Until it had.
Dropping her into a pit of darkness and despair, one that she had yet to crawl out of. Days were on autopilot now - her training with Stonepaw, her outings with Cloud[REDACTED] - despite her best efforts to pull through. Everything just felt... mundane now. Pointless and drifting by without any regard to how left behind Fawnlight now felt in her own Clan. Whenever she wasn't doing one of the two activities she was curled up in the warriors den, a nest towards the back next to her best friends, trying to sleep away the restlessness that she felt.
But today a certain voice rang through the air. A familiar scent wafted towards her, and in an instant Fawnlight's blue eyes flew open. Her heart leapt into her throat as she scrambled out of her nest, her cobwebbed paws fumbling to get a good grip. Fur was fluffed out and scraps of moss littered her pelt as she did her best to hobble out into the clearing. Pain shot up through her, a constant reminder of That Day - but right now it did little to slow her down. It couldn't be. No. The stars would not be that cruel to trick her, not after everything. That voice...
"...Dad?"
A single croak of her voice, breaking in two as she stared at the ragged sight of her father. He was there. Flesh and bones, not a starry spectacle that StarClan used to taunt her in nightmares. Leaning against Wormbite, calling for her. Telling her he had returned. Whiskers quivering, a tremor passing through her whole body, Fawnlight stumbled forward as fast as her damaged paws could take her. She gave no care to anyone in her way, moving in fast and closing the distance between herself and Beansprout rapidly. Worry soon melted away to pure relief and utter bliss as she got close enough to be wrapped in his comforting scent. There was no hesitation as she threw her paws around his neck in an attempt of a tight hug.
"DAD!" Tears had come quickly, soaking her fur and rolling off onto her dad's fur and the ground.
There were so many questions she had, but none of them were important enough for Fawnlight to release her dad from this hug. This was a moment she had longed for in her heart every single passing second, and now that it was here she would be damned if she was going to let it go.
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