[Clover]

Originally Posted by woly

Daypaw was utterly stubborn. They let their eyes gaze at the fish for a long while, eyes drawing over each and every scale, the soft brown tones mixed along with green, the faded grey eyes symbolizing it was dead. Not much had been eaten out of it an still reaked of Riverclan scent. they scrunched up their nose, looking up towards their mother and opening their mouth, an closing it once seeing the rather disapproving look on her face. They gave an irritated huff, looking towards the prey as if it were a person they hated, giving an hesitant sniff. They could find a queen,kit, or even one of their patients that could use this fish much much more. Despite the first initial flood injuries starting to slow down, there were still cats to heal.

¨Someone else could eat this.¨ their mew sounded tiny mainly because they knew Geckoleaf would yowl a whole essay on how what they were saying wasnt true, how they had just as right to eat as any other cat in this clan. They sighed.

Leaning forward, they took a bite.

God, did it feel good. They didnt know when the last time they ate was, they didnt even realize how hungry they really were until they felt food in their mouth. They didnt even care that it was fish-compared to the lizards,frogs, and rodents they would eat at home. They gulped their small bite down with in seconds, not even bothering to chew. After they swallowed, they opened their mouth(to a very wide extent, almost looking like it was gaping) and taking another large bite before swallowing it and repeating the motion over and over again. At first Daypaw had been hesitant, but the feeling of their stomach actually slowly filling up felt...nice. They didnt feel as physically weak any more, they didnt feel like they were going to collapse from walking to much, or shake despite not being scared. It was a new feeling, one Daypaw had felt in awhile.

Maybe it was silly to make eating such a big deal. But to Daypaw, this was something huge. No one had convinced them to eat since their father's death. When they did it, it was usually out of respect for those around them. Cats offering a piece of prey here, a piece there. It would be rude to decline such an offer. Besides that, they had a major struggle. Mainly because they kept themselves cooped up in the medcat den to really think about eating. Constantly checking up on others, reorganizing the entire den for what seems like the umpteenth time. But here they were, taking time for themselves to eat under the simple gaze of their mother.

Geckoleaf watched Daypaw eat, consuming the raw meal with wolfish intent. A smile slowly began to wheedle its way onto her face; in some deep, intrinsic way, her child had slowly begun to heal. She gazed over their body; she knew that one meal wouldn't fix them, one bite of fish wouldn't replenish their muscles. But it was a start, and that was all that mattered.

In another half second, she had sidled right back next to them, pressing against their boney side with a feverish need for contact; she knew Daypaw could be gone any moment now, not torn away from her inherently but too much distance nonetheless. So, she tried to absorb as much of the beloved enby as she could. "...Thank you for eating, Daypaw. I still won't pretend to know what you've gone through, sunshine, but I appreciate the fact it probably took a lot of trust and love for you to let me convince you to eat. I really love you; I'll miss you beyond words... and I really, really want you to be happy and safe in ShadowClan... I-I know you haven't had the best time there... b-but I bet you'll be better now. And if you ever really need me, I'll be here."