[lio]

Originally Posted by Lonestar23

Grey paws stepped heavier then usual along the ground. Today, it didn't matter whether the prey heard him coming - the tom would be unable to catch it anyways. He didn't feel much like running, or jumping, or creeping along the ground... which was unusual for him. Anger burned within the normally emotionless blue eyes, as he kept them fixed straight ahead on a single target. To be honest, Stonegazer had been feeling a lot lately. Anger. Denial. Frustration. Guilt. Yes, guilt. It was a new emotion for the tom, who was so used to getting things right. Anyone would have thought he was immune to guilt, from the way that he acted. He was always right, wasn't he? He knew how to act like a warrior. But, he had recently left a cat who had shown nothing but kindness to him. Kindness that Stonegazer hadn't exactly repayed. And he didn't like the feeling that it gave him, in his stomach. Where was Powdernose? He knew the lazy tom was normally hanging around the clearing; and yet recently, he hadn't been there.

Where is that goofy fluff-head? Thinking that, and staying completely serious while doing so, was no great task for Stonegazer - for any other cat, however, it might have seemed a much greater one. The stoic grey tom continued through the territory, looking almost bored as he stepped heavily through it, his paws landing on the ground with dull thuds, scaring off any prey that would be close by. He walked with a limp - a nasty looking gash, one that was beginning to scar up in one leg being the thing that was keeping him from moving normally. There was another one behind his ear - this one didn't look quite as nasty, but it was, in fact, deeper then the one on his leg. There was a small chunk taken out of the other ear, and several smaller scratches on his face. They wouldn't scar, probably... but the one on his leg and behind his ear definitely would. Stonegazer didn't care.

It didn't matter that they would scar, because scars were trophies... he had fought someone, and he had survived. They were not something to be ashamed of. A familiar figure came into sight ahead of him. For a moment, there was curiousity - then realization. "Powdernose?" At first the word was spoken in a low, skeptical voice... just in case the tom before him was not, in fact, his friend. The steps did not change, remaining heavy and continuing at the same pace as he approached the other cat further, and then once he was nearly on top of him, Stonegazer was able to realize that this was indeed the other tom. "Where have you been? You haven't been around the clearing." This last statement was spoken rather accusingly, as though Stonegazer expected Powdernose to feel guilty for not being where he was expected to be.

as a familiar voices sounded near him, powdernose flinched. his tail curled up from where it had lay over his snout, eyes opening slowly. because i've been avoiding you, his thoughts screamed, but instead, he answered, "i don't know." claws flexing, the tom sluggishly raised his head, regret briefly flashing upon his features before it slipped away. "why would you care?" now, the phrase may have been uncalled for, as stonegazer had mentioned that the possibility of him running off was very high, but at that very moment, the words had just slipped out with no thought put into them. powdernose couldn't care less; he was filled with a medley of emotions, and none of them held any common sense within them. ears flicking, he lowered his head once again and tried to block out the prescence of the other tom.

"just leave me alone." the words, though sour, held a hidden sadness in every syllable. powdernose had always been horrible at hiding his feelings, especially ones that he rarely felt. it'd been a long while since he had experienced the bitter, clawing sensations of utter helplessness. sorrow tore at his very soul, a stone weighing down his heart.

a stone.

stonegazer.

mentally, he smacked himself upside the head, nostrils flaring. stop thinking of him, you idiot. what's done is done. he's only here to scold you for not going to the battle and just wasting away instead of contributing to the clan. powdernose huffed dramatically and rolled over, turning towards a nearby tree and facing himself away from stonegazer. he didn't feel the need to be scolded; if he did, he would most likely break down. his heart felt heavy, his mind fogged by the evil voices that weighed him down.

it'd been so, so long. too long, in fact, as the clearest of details had blurred to nothingness. he searched and searched in his mind for the reason he had felt the melancholy dread, but no matter what, it wouldn't surface. it was as if a barrier had been created to keep him from prying into his deepest of memories. all he knew, was that even it couldn't top the feelings that grew within him now.

how could a single tom possibly cause him to be this way?