[lio]

Originally Posted by Lonestar23

The harsher words spoken by the younger tom were enough to make Stonegazer upset, but he tried to keep his temper, watching Powdernose with a curious gaze. "Because you are a clanmate, and I need to make sure you're alright." He could understand how the other cat might be upset that their little outing had been interuppted. Especially since Powdernose had been much more into it then Stonegazer had. The grey tom's icy, cold eyes scanned the younger cat for any signs of injury. In the battle it had been hard to tell who was there and who wasn't. "If that's what you really want, I will." His own voice was huffy now, offended that he was being sent away when all he was doing was trying to help. It was so irritating, the tom wasn't quite sure whether or not he could handle much more.

Still... perhaps he could try and understand where Powdernose was coming from? What the younger tom was thinking and feeling right now, since Stonegazer had left him to go fight in the battle? It had been a bloody battle, one that could have caused many more lives to be lost, and he was thankful that WindClan had retreated. Perhaps war was not the grand thing he had thought it would be. A glorious fight that honor would be found in, although he should have expected as such. The battle from the Evil Era was still new in his mind, memories from it coming up every day when he saw - or didn't see - different cats around the clearing. Some had been lost, and it had taken a toll on ThunderClan. Cats had been lost now, too... Stonegazer missed every one of them. "Before I do go, I want you to know that I am... concerned about your mental health. I hope it was not my leaving that caused this."

His last words were phrased an unspoken question, though he was almost too proud to admit that it could have been his fault. It wasn't his fault, though! It wasn't! The tom would have been a good deal angrier if Powdernose had come out and placed the blame on him. He had done what he needed to do, defending his Clan... and while the other warrior's mental state was concerning, it certainly wasn't his fault. Sulking and feeling sorry for yourself were signs of immaturity, and Stonegazer rarely tolerated those things. Still, the other cat looked so sad that it was almost enough to make the ice-cold warrior have sympathy.

Another new emotion, one that rarely showed up in the grey tom, considering he was not the type of cat to feel sorry for anyone. Especially when they hadn't done much for him to feel sorry for them in the first place. Still, perhaps the grey feline could show a little grace towards the other cat. Some understanding certainly wouldn't do much harm... and maybe, if this current mental state was Stonegazer's doing, he could help undo it.

powdernose's ears swivelled before they rested flat against his head. he hadn't gone to the battle, knowing that he would not survive very long with the current state of his mentality. claws digging small indents into the ground, the tom looked towards stonegazer with a cold gaze, lowering the usual laid-back posture he held. "i'm fine." no i'm not. "you did nothing of the sorts in which could make me like this." lie. they're all lies. tail curling around his form, powdernose got to his feet and pushed past the other, movements tense. i must get away.
once he was past stonegazer, he ran. his paws carried him blindly towards an unknown area, tail whipping behind him. surprising, he moved quickly. powdernose's paws made a soft thump against the ground with every step, chest heaving due to not running so much in quite a while. his nose twitched and he skidded to a stop, breathing ragged as he fought to catch his breath. even getting away from the one that caused him so much pain was a struggle.
he couldn't do anything right. stonegazer had done nothing wrong; it was powdernose who was creating false accusations. he had been warned of the battle, and still decided to try and get closer to the tom. the threat had grown too high at that time, how could he have been so stupid?
with a silent cry, powdernose collapsed on himself, trembling uncontrollably. he couldn't help it. the pain was just oozing out, like the dam had been destroyed and now all the feelings were rushing to freedom. what had stonegazer done to him? why was he suddenly like this?
he shook, breath shallow as he allowed his emotions to claw at his very soul. eyes clenched shut, powdernose curled up into a small ball, looking more vulnerable than he had ever been. it was as if stonegazer had torn a whole into his chest and ripped through his heart, pulling it out and tossing it into a river. but it was still beating, still breaking. and powdernose hated it.
oh, how powdernose hated stonegazer for making him feel this way.

(ahh sorry if this is repetitive i'm typing this at like two in the morning)