❝ ɴᴀᴛᴜʀᴇ's sᴏɴɢ ɪs ғᴏʀ ᴛʜᴏsᴇ ᴡʜᴏ ʟɪsᴛᴇɴ. ❞

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ᴘʀᴏᴍᴘᴛ | sᴇᴛᴛɪɴɢ ᴅᴇsᴄʀɪᴘᴛɪᴏɴ.

ᴡᴏʀᴅ ᴄᴏᴜɴᴛ | 997

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Leaves danced playfully as a chilly breeze blew by, carrying a few of them to the horizon. The aspen trees ran tall, standing silently like sentinels, threatening any passersby that carried ill intentions. The rising sun dispatched a unit of light down to patrol ApricityClan's territory, covering the forest with a brilliant shine.

The bengal she-cat ran, her paws seeming to barely brush the ground. The sensation was that of swimming expertly through water, instead of running steadily across the grassy forest floor - fluid instead of solid.

The grass was plentiful, despite the cold, each blade dripping with morning dew, forming their own waterfalls as it bent down from the weight. Hints of flowers poked around at certain corners of the forest, hiding themselves from Leaf-fall's cold.

The she-cat paused and turned her tawny head behind her. "Hurry up, Sleethawk!"

A streak of silver appeared beside her, abruptly stopping. Sleethawk raised his head, panting slightly.

Mountains in the distance reached up to the sky, seemingly attempting to compete with the sun. The familiar smell of aspen lingered around Jaguarstrike's nose, making her smile unconsciously. Birds chipped as they woke, greeting the morning enthusiastically.

Jaguarstrike resumed her run after Sleethawk caught his breath, lavishing the chilly breeze that ruffled her fur while she ran. She took note of the aspen trees that offered ApricityClan protection, feeling grateful.

She clawed her way up onto a high branch, looking down at her Clan's territory. She felt her lungs inflate with the onrush of scenery, and a warm feeling rushed up her chest. Home.

She directed her iridescent green eyes to a large pile of pebbles that was stacked up neatly - it was high, and seemingly mystical. She faintly heard the sound of Sleethawk clawing up the tree as she closed her eyes, reminiscing.

"Why do we each own a pebble?" Jaguarkit asked, pawing at her pebble.

Quiverfeather, an elder, chucked. "It is a tradition, little one. Every cat has a pebble which they mark with their claw mark. Our claws are powerful enough to make a small dent in them."

"What about stillborn kits?" Jaguarkit asked, wide-eyed.

"Their pebble will be stacked on Pebble Hill, unmarked," Quiverfeather responses, shaking her head slightly. "A true tragedy."

Jaguarstrike exhaled softly, opening her eyes. My parents' pebbles are among others'.

She felt Sleethawk give her a tiny nudge with his nose, hinting that they should get down to walk somewhere else. After they were down, Jaguarstrike took some time to let the scenery of brilliant golden leaves of the aspen trees sink in. A true beauty, she mused.

They continued, this time walking. Sleethawk stayed silent, but his presence always lingered around Jaguarstrike, making her feel safe. This is the closest I can get to solitude without panicking.

They stood before the  Lustrous Coast, a beach by ApricityClan's territory. The beach shone brilliantly as the sun's rays walked over them while doing their daily patrols around the land and sea.

"The smooth lusters are really beautiful, aren't they?" Jaguarstrike purred, taking in the translucent objects embed into the sand. Sleethawk gave her a nod, his eyes holding a slight sparkle.

As she entered the Lustrous Coast, her paws sank slightly in the sun-kissed sand. It was getting brighter, as morning had started waking up from its slumber. The waves in the distance lolled about playfully, a soothing melody rising from their mischief. The pulsing heart of the sea caused the waves to cascade to shore, and recoiling afterwards.

"I love the Lustrous Coast," Jaguarstrike purred, enjoying the salty breeze brush past her.

"It's already sunup. We should head back. They might want us in a dawn patrol," Sleethawk meowed, brushing his tail on Jaguarstrike's shoulder.

Sighing, Jaguarstrike reluctantly turned her back against the Lustrous Coast and followed Sleethawk back to camp.

ApricityClan's camp was a large cave with a clearing in front. Two cats were guarding the entrance to the cave, who gave a nod as Jaguarstrike and Sleethawk appeared.

They passed the apprentices, who were starting to stir from their slumber. They slept the closest to the entrance, followed by the warriors, elders, and queens and kits. The leader of ApricityClan sleeps at the furthest end of the cave.

The cave was smooth inside, with only a few jutting edges. There were claw marks on the walls - mostly caused by apprentices and kits being mischievous.

"I'm honestly surprised no one slept in the Lustrous Coast today," Jaguarstrike remarked, kicking away a few loose stones.

Sleethawk nodded and sniffed. "It must be because a storm is brewing."

The air was moist, and it was chillier than usual, even though it is Leaf-fall. Jaguarstrike walked over to Rimepaw, scowling - until now, she had not forgiven the apprentice for mocking her behind her back. Rimepaw spotted the tawny warrior and shrunk back on instinct.

"I-Is there anything y-you need?" Rimepaw stuttered, looking down.

"Where did our deputy go?" Jaguarstrike asked, narrowing her eyes.

"C-Clearing," Rimepaw mewed.

Jaguarstrike gave the apprentice a curt nod of thanks and went out of the cave, with Sleethawk following silently. She paused when a strong breeze assaulted as she went out. She squeezed her eyes shut, shivering slightly. She felt Sleethawk's pelt touching her own, and instantly relaxed. Warmth radiating from his body made her feel better.

"Thank you," Jaguarstrike mewed, giving the silver tabby a grateful lick on his cheek. Sleekhawk dipped his head, slight embarrassment evident.

She turned and gaped at the view before her - the aspen trees surrounding ApricityClan's camp were quivering as usual, but its leaves had started rusting into a redder colour. It was uncommon for aspen leaves to turn red, as they usually turn yellow during Leaf-fall.

"Beautiful," she muttered, her green eyes fixated on the trees.

The yellow-turning-red leaves complemented the tree's black-striped white bark very well, and Jaguarstrike felt a pang of joy.

Home - this is my home, ApricityClan.

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|| ᴀᴜᴛʜᴏʀ's ɴᴏᴛᴇ ||

Unfortunately, since I was so busy this week, I had to rush my writing today. This took around three hours to write - hopefully there are no errors.

This one-shot is for WattyWarriors' Scriptorial, Round Gamma. {helloilovecats}

Smooth luster is basically glass, in Twoleg's term. Smooth luster in Lustrous Coast is glass formed by heat from meteorites that crashed into the beach long ago.

Quaking aspen is the type of aspen tree used in this setting, and it is set in Leaf-fall, where the leaves are golden/yellow.

I was inspired to write when I came across certain quotes that I found to be beautiful.

A trivia will be added in for anyone interested. Hope you enjoyed reading this!

~ Sky ❄

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|| ᴛʀɪᴠɪᴀ ||

➵ I did not have to cut down on words as the maximum number of words is 1000, which allowed me to elaborate a little more. However, due to lack of time, I could not elaborate as much as I want.

➵ Smooth luster is glass.

➵ Lustrous Coast is a beach filled with glass, formed by meteorites that crashed into the beach long ago.

➵ Each cat in ApricityClan owns a pebble. When they die, their pebble will be added to Pebble Hill. They do not carry it around, and their pebbles are marked with their own claw mark.

➵ ApricityClan cats love sleeping in the Lustrous Coast.

➵ Jaguarstrike loves her Clan, though she may not like her Clanmates very much.