ORIGIN

The Bleeding Heart of the All Mother returned to her home, breath staggering in her throat. Although she still held a resemblance to the once named Dovefeather, the loss of her feather seemed to change her for the worse. There was not an ounce of bee, not a single hint of their hum, in her chest. She just breathed awkwardly, snapping brambles under her paws as she dragged her body through a difficult, unwalked path. The drenches of her nightmares still clung to the corners of her mind, making her feel uneasy.

At least she was back in the safety of the All Mother's land. Her trip to Monoceros had been... Interesting, but dreamwalking was something she wasn't sure she was ready to do again any time soon. The feline wandered as she often did, refusing to return to her home by the Eyes for a while longer. Her being was restless, and she did not wish to be interrupted until she had ironed out the uncomfortable kinks in her spirit.

The underbrush broke out into a small clearing. The area had hardly any light, but that hardly bothered the Bleeding Heart. The cat simply drew back her lips to reveal her shimmering gem teeth, calling upon the gifts Her Mother had given her at birth. Her ear twitched as a moment past and no light came to her side. A sigh escaped her as she stepped forward, straining her eyes in the dark patch of grass. Though she could not see much here, she could see something.

There was a curious formation of... Mushrooms? Small, white fungi with circular tops, racing around the thick grass in a near perfect circle. The Bleeding Heart grew still, knowing this had to be some sort of sign from the All Mother. It had been a while since she had tried to See as the All Mother had-- namely because she had been too sick to see straight. The delusions were something from the All Mother, but they were flasehoods delivering the truth where as this was... The Truth presented clearly before her.

She didn't quite know what to make of the delicate fairy ring just yet.

"A ring, like the Eyes, but of fungi... I wish Owlfeather was here, she would know..."

The Bleeding Heart spoke softly to herself, stepping cautiously closer to the ring of mushrooms.

"You speak through them, O All Mother, but what are you trying to say? Is there a sickness here, like Your Eyes? Or is it a sign not like the Eyes, but rather for them-- an omen about what is to come? I'm afraid I don't See it just yet, All Mother, O..."

Slowly, the curious and familiar hum of the cat's purr returned to her body as she drew close enough to stretch her paw forward and touch one of the mushrooms. It had been quite a while since she had seen any resemblance -- tail or whisker-- of her quiet, peaceful sister; the same thing had happened with Blackfeather though, and so the feline was hardly concerned. The cult cats were elusive, even to one another, quite frequently.

Her toe beans touched the smooth surface of the nearest, white frilled mushroom, and she closed her pale eyes in the darkness of the buzzing-filled clearing. When she dared open her eyes again, the mushroom was faintly glowing under her paw. A small, gentle laughter filled the Bleeding Heart, feeling just a bit better now.

"All Mother, let me share my gift with the rest of them?"

The resemblance to the All Mother's Eyes was unmistakable. The Bleeding Heart had to try, reaching out with her magic just once more. There was a gentle purr in her heart, one that made her shiver through her whiskers.

From her baubled mushroom, small flecks like tiny fireflies began to spread. All alone with her magic, and the All Mother's guiding hand, she spread the warmth of her light all around the fungi in a swarm of mystical light. The dark shadows silently hissed as they retreated from the glowing cloud of light, bringing a wonderful festival of lights to the lonely fairy ring.

And the cat grinned.

She stepped cautiously over the mushrooms and into the glowing ring, letting the light bath over her pelt. Never before had she felt so close to the All Mother, her paw bumping against a stone. She winced, sitting down, and turned her pale eyes to the canopy above.

"What brings me here?"

The Bleeding Heart asked herself, breathing in slowly and then back out. Peace and quiet, for one-- she felt absolutely soothed for someone who had lost the most important thing in her life. Her name, her meaning, her purpose. Perhaps it wasn't as far away as she thought. Idly, she turned her gaze to the fairy ring, watching the magical fireflies dance around her.

A glistening green caught her eye and she drifted her attention downwards, pausing in her joyous moment of tranquility. At her paws, a shimmering, long stone of pale green lay in the grass. In a quiet, hesitant thought, the Bleeding Heart was reminded of her sister's gaze. Not the brilliant, vibrant one of Blackfeather, but the softer, wiser jade of Owlfeather.

Along side it, as though to damn everything the kitten knew, lay a feather. One in stripes of greys and white, an unmistakable feather. One that was battered and worn, old with age. One that certainly once belonged to an owl, but much more recently, her sister.

The ground beneath her feet suddenly felt strikingly cold.

Dovefeather had never seen her sister's stone before, but the resemblance of the color to her sibling's eyes as well as the feather at its side was enough to tell the Bleeding Heart exactly what she needed to know. Where there should have been grief, the feline felt only a wave of exhaustion.

"O All Mother... I See."

The cat curled her tail around her flank, its half length not even reaching her forepaw as she would have liked. Once, she might have been able to curl it around the stone, protective and nurturing. As it was, the tip of it twitched awkwardly as she lowered her nose to touch the gemstone.

"This is where you've been? I hope you said goodbye to Blackfeather. She'll miss you... But come now, Owl,"

She murmured to the stone, a deep sense of understanding filling through her being. The mushrooms were guarding over the corpse of her dead sister, protecting her as the All Mother willed. Whatever Owl's purpose was, it was either over or just beginning. A hum in her vibrating chest, the kitten swept a paw over the feather and brought it on top of the stone, picking up the heavy jade.

It was quite the burden, but she would return to her nest with it. The Bleeding Heart would find a purpose for Owl's stone once more, just as she would with the strange blue sphere she had also found. Some day, the All Mother would Show her what had happened and why.

Until then, she wasn't to worry about it. The cat rose, stepping out of the fairy ring of mushrooms, purring softly to herself. Her light magic faded as she walked away, only a single mushroom continuing to glow as she walked away, a silent gift to the remains of her sister under the tender soil.

The Bleeding Heart crept, silently and carefully, back to her nest just beyond the Eyes. Her wide, empty sunfilled gaze landed on the round blue stone she had nestled there, and quietly the feline set down her sister's stone beside it.

Together, they were almost complete. The feline sat down, tail twitching, and glanced around for a moment longer before eventually curling up in her nest.

"Soon... Soon the All Mother will give you purpose again..."

She murmured sleepily to the stones, feeling their cold touch against her paw pads. Slowly but surely, dreams took over her mind, sending her to a place of quiet slumber.