[duckie]

Sootstar
__________

Almost immediately Sootstar tensed up, watching the tears trace lines down Dayheart's face. He wanted to reach out. To brush them away and tell him everything would be alright.

It wouldn't, though.

Simple assurances can't wash those memories away.

Every word that Dayheart relayed sent an anger coursing through his veins that he hadn't felt in a while. Digging his claws into the dirt, he did his best to stand tall, look put together.

'he'd rip out my teeth one by one, and that no one would care if I died. and….'

If he could pull a cat out of their grave just to stomp them back into the ground again... Never before had the thought crossed his mind to sink his claws into the body of one of his clanmates and tear them to shreds. It truly was a shame Charredpaw was dead. Starved him of the opportunity.

Meeting Dayheart's gaze, he loosened his grip on the soil. It was a painful sight and he resisted the urge to glance away. Shaking his head, "Dayheart... Dayheart you've done nothing wrong."

Again, he took a cautious step forward. What kind of leader wanted to reach out and brush all of his warrior's troubles away? What kind of leader wanted to bury themself in their warrior's fur and share the comfort of warmth? Were these just momentary whims, soon to vanish? Did it matter?

"You were protecting yourself, your clanmates... I-... Come here." Another step forward, two, and he closed the gap between them, pulling Dayheart into a hug and nestling his head onto the tom's shoulder.

"You did the right thing. I promise you."

[ @hope aaaaaaaaaa ]