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Lined up along the edges of camp were upside down mushrooms, red with white spots. Foxfire and Wisplight follow the line to check on them, making sure everything was set up correctly. Wisplight's lights were already floating around The Hollow, casting shadows on the ground.
Cloudwing was helping Minnowfin to put the last of the solidified raindrops in their proper place, the feline using their wings to reach the higher spots.
Flower stems climbed up the tree trunks like ivy, large petals blooming wide thanks to Duskblossom, the she-cat having worked tirelessly as the sun began to sink, night steadily approaching.
Bearpaw, Rosepaw and Berrywhisker finally finished putting up all the painted pinecones, collapsing in a heap and taking a quick nap, so they would be well rested once the festival oficially started.
Most warriors brought in the extra prey that Frostclaw had frozen, laying it all out in the designated food corner.
According to Thymefur, everything was running smoothly in StarClan and they were ready for the festival to commence.
As the sun fully slipped past the horizon and the moon and stars began to rise, Hollystar scaled up the large tree which stood above her den, the she-cat staring out at all of ShineClan. With twinkling eyes, she called for the festival to begin!
Three impatient kittens sat in the nursery, trying to dodge another wash from their mother, Daisyleap. The she-cat sighed as Mousekit grumbled, eager to get to the festival just like her siblings.
"When does it start?" Asked Ebonykit for the third time in about five minutes, earning a soft laugh from Spidereye, the tom having decided to wait in the nursery with his mate and kits.
All cats ears pricked up at the sound of their leader's voice, the kits scrambling to rush out of the den, almost trampling over each other in their haste to get outside.
"Shall we?" Spidereye meowed as Daisyleap stood up and lightly bumped shoulders with the tom, the two following their excited kittens out of the den, tails intertwined.
Birchkit raced into the center of The Hollow, eyes wide as he stared at all the floating lights, swiping at one with his paw and giggling as it bopped back and forth. It wasn't long before Mousekit and Ebonykit joined him, chasing after the lights.
Nearby, Flowerbreeze and Sagetail shared a look, the two elders having picked a good spot to lay on. The former called on the wind to gently push against the floating balls of light, causing excited mews from the kittens as they played.
Warriors had to be careful not to trip over the little balls of fur, but they didn't mind.
Wildrunner even joined in, purposefully not using her magic to give the kits a chance, which they took with vigor.
Frostclaw had settled himself down next to Hollystar, ice growing over his body as he lazily watched the she-cat. Her red eyes where bright, the light of the mushroom's fire reflecting in them.
"Hello," she purred. She didn't look at him though, instead her eyes flickered over the celebrating cats, a look of pride on her face.
"What are you doing here? Cloverpetal is over there," she pointed towards the tortoiseshell with her tail and Frostclaw looked over to see said she-cat at the pile of food. Talking to Timbernose and Robinheart.
He quickly tore his gaze away, "there's nothing between me and Cloverpetal."
"I didn't say there was," came the teasing reply and the deputy grumbled, standing up and heading over to Clover- The food pile, yeah the food pile, stop snickering Hollystar!
For Timbernose, the best part of any Star Festival was the tasty food he could shove into his mouth, laying next to Robinheart and listening to the white and ginger tom as he told stories. The mottled gray tom unconsciously pressed a little closer to his Clanmate but Robinheart didn't comment on it, too focused on talking.
Cloverpetal was around as well, picking up a mouse and listening to Robinheart but Timbernose could clearly see her attention shift, turning to Frostclaw as the deputy approached the group.
More ice spread out over the tabby's body, nervously settling down in loaf position, paws tucked under his body.
Cloverpetal seemed equally as nervous but still struck up a conversation, not noticing Robinheart's voice trailing off, the tom laying his head down on Timbernose's, knowing eyes twinkling.
A crowd had gathered to watch Flamestorm and Sunspark as they gave a show with their magic.
Bearpaw and Rosepaw flanked Berrywhisker, gazing with awe as Flamestorm spewed fire into the air from his mouth.
Meanwhile, Sunspark dazzled Sandsong and Dawnshade as electricity crackled over the feline's pelt, the golden warrior's claws sparking and lighting up the night.
All were distracted as Foxfire charged past followed by, another Foxfire?
"Alright, which one of you is Goosepounce?" Flamestorm asked, certain that he already knew which of the two cats was his son and which was ShineClan's resident mischief maker.
Neither warrior spoke, instead sitting down in the exact same position, tail wrapped neatly around their paws, completely in sync.
Berrywhisker tilted xyrs head, studying the identical cats, a concentrated look on the warrior's face. After a good while, xe pointed xyrs tail at the one on the left. "I think you're Goosepounce."
"Correct!" Goosepounce cheered, their body turning cream-furred again, eyes becoming amber instead of dark blue.
From the corner of Berrywhisker's eye xe could see Flamestorm basically deflate. Ah, he must have guessed wrong then.
The group laughed as Goosepounce bounced away, intending to prank their next target.
Under the shadow of a large bush, Cloudwing and Minnowfin lay side to side, marveling at all the pretty decorations.
Foxfire's mushrooms complimented Wisplight's lights perfectly, bringing a warm glow to The Hollow.
The raindrops had taken a while for Minnowfin to get ready, but the result was worth it, adding a touch of blue to all the other colours.
"You know," Cloudwing meowed, staring up at the starlit sky, "I think this is my favourite Star Festival of all."
Minnowfin laughed quietly, "this is only the first one we properly remember, we were still kits last time." The gray she-cat replied.
Cloudwing hummed. "Yeah, that's why it's my favourite."
They didn't mention the real reason, it didn't matter anyway. They were sure Minnowfin felt the same way.
Thymefur rested on one of the large rocks surrounding The Hollow, a little tired from todays trip to the Luminous Cavern, just to check with StarClan one last time.
The dark gray tabby shivered as they felt a presence curl around their body. Being the medicine cat, they could vaguely see the outline of a cat-shaped figure. It was Brindleskip.
The StarClan cat's gaze was fixed on Duskblossom, eyes following the warrior around as she wandered The Hollow, stopping for quick conversations with her Clanmates.
Brindleskip's form wavered, flickering in and out as though it was hard for her to stay in the world of the living.
"Brindleskip?" Thymefur asked, glancing from Duskblossom to Brindleskip and back.
The she-cat sighed, a sad sounding tone to her voice. "That's my daughter, I miss her. She cannot see me." Her voice barely above a whisper, Thymefur had to strain their ears to hear her.
"Are you okay?"
The tawny feline shook her head, "not right now, but I will be one day. I'm going to stay in this realm tonight, even if she cannot see me I'll still be here."
The medicine cat watched her go, a pervasive feeling of sorrow wrapping around their heart, and not just for Brindleskip.
Mosspaw had been dragging Scrunkles all around camp, showing off everything the Star Festival had to offer. He followed the apprentice around, feeling lighter than he had in a very long time, but something still seemed off.
Whisper hadn't even looked at him. The dark gray tom knew his brother didn't want to leave with him but couldn't he have glanced back once?
It had been bothering him the whole time he'd stayed in ShineClan's camp, the cats were all kind and it was a little strange after living under Tangle for so long.
He'd slipped away sometime during the night, staring out at the forest, his ears occasionaly flicking back as they reacted to the sounds of celebrating cats.
He tensed when something rustled in the bushes nearby, unsheating his claws in reflex. He was shocked however, when Whisper revealed himself from out of the darkness, the pale gray tom stepping towards him.
"Whisper?" Scrunkles asked, wondering if this was real, if he was merely dreaming.
Whisper looked nervous, paws shuffling together on the ground.
"Hello brother," he meowed.
"Big brother."
Whisper gave a huff. "You're only a little bit older, we're from the same litter."
"I'm still never going to let it go." Scrunkles got up to touch noses with Whisper in greeting. "What are you doing here though? I thought you left with Tangle..." He didn't quite manage to keep the sadness out of his tone.
"I realized I didn't want to stay with him anymore but, I don't want to live here either. I just, came to say goodbye."
"That's okay," Scrunkles meowed, stamping down his emotions for a moment. "I'm glad you're not with father anymore."
Neither of them said anything for a long time, Whisper finally breaking the silence.
"I'm just going to go, now, goodbye." He quickly turned to head back into the bushes.
"Goodbye," though Scrunkles's voice was quiet, he knew that Whisper had heard him.
The dark gray tom turned back around himself, returning to the Star Festival as mushrooms sprouted out of his fur.