[lio]

Originally Posted by Lonestar23

Hunting for the rest of the day was something Stonegazer would have been all-too-happy to do, which Powdernose should have known. The mere suggestion was enough to make the tom’s hues light up and he glanced at the younger warrior with a flicker of doubt crossing his expression. He knew Powdernose probably wouldn’t be too happy with that, and so, without a word, just shrugged a little. ”Wherever you think would be best.” It was just one day. Stonegazer couldn’t hunt anyways - he couldn’t really do any of the normal duties, except patrol, perhaps… but all the Clans were too busy taking care of their injured to even think of launching an attack right now.

He guessed some other, more healthy warriors were dealing with the patrolling of ThunderClan’s borders, and thankfully - thankfully - so far, there had been no mention of any type of attack. ”We had a lot of losses. The other Clans did as well, at least I think they did… but Snowstar should have had a better strategy planned out. Especially in this case. You have… no idea how hard it is to see clanmates dead or dying.” Powdernose didn’t look like the type of cat to have ever fought in a battle. In a way, Stonegazer envied him. He was living his life choosing to turn a blind eye to the darkness of battle, but he was happy.

He was… adorable, to be perfectly honest, and Stonegazer wished that he was that small and cute. He was battle-scarred, large, and had an energy that drove away most clanmates. Thank goodness this was one who was staying. Stonegazer did not have a need to be liked, but he did want at least a little bit of a bond with at least one clanmate. Just one cat. Was that too much to ask?

he nodded silently. tail sweeping up over his spine, powdernose began to trot away from stonegazer, though he moved slow enough for the wounded tom to keep pace. his ears remained perked, listening intensely for any sign of another feline. moving quietly through the territory, his senses alert, he made his way towards a hollowed tree.

it wasn't exactly hidden, nor was it out in the open, either. powdernose had made sure to cover the opening with multiple stones and other debris he had found, as it was a rather small hole. he looked around once again before he began to clear away the debris, simply setting it aside before signalling for stonegazer to follow him into it. "be careful," the tom whispered.

sliding through the opening, he quickly jumped down into a small hole that had been dug under the trunk. "old fox den." his tail bushed away some leaves and snow that had fallen into the old den and sat down. "it's like a miniature tunnel, i guess. the foxes were driven out before they could get very far in the digging process. at least, that's what i think happened." powdernose chuckled and tilted his head to the side.

"though, i have seen a dead feline. i didn't know them, and i was very young. it's a faint memory, from what i gather. but a dead clanmate i have never seen. i wish for the clans to recover safely and peacefully." he sighed and looked to his paws, shrugging to himself. "but what do i know? i've never seen the horrors of a battle. i've always hidden away in fear while at the camp. i guess i'm just a coward, too afraid to be injured." the tom shook his head and straightened up.

"enough of that nonsense. let's speak of something more lovely. any ideas?" powdernose's eyes brightened up and he immediately began to hop on his paws once again.