(No worries haha!)
The she-cat nodded, smiling. “Let’s go then.” she mewed. “But I did see an unknown object. It’s harmless. I buried it.” she started padding back to camp, eyes shining. She wondered what the object was. So mysterious…
Asterdance tilted their head, an unknown object? Ergh, they didn't pick up the other words Firepetal had said. Probably not important. Hopefully. "Yo, that's sounds cool, " They mewed with curiosity. Man, shame they didn't get to see it. With a shrug of their shoulders, they nodded and followed after the warrior.
__________________
❝ hold on tight to this time,
this place 'cause everything you know will be erased.
you were born inside your head.
and that is where you'll be when you are dead. ❞ -- currently on a hiatus until further notice --
꒰ pronouns.cc꒱
Sootfur (he/him) Light grey tabby with blue/grey eyes
»»————- ☀︎︎ ————-««
Sootfur had sneaked up away from camp early at dawn, feeling too restless to wait in his nest until midday. Most of the prey was still tucked deep in their nests, but he had managed to catch earlier a small thrush. Now the long awaited hour was coming closer; the gray tabby had left his catch under some wilted leaves and threw some dirt on it.
Now he sat down quietly under a thorn bush, protected by any cat's view.
The tip of his tail flicked back and forth impatiently, his mind spinning with endless sceneries. It's her choice... not mine. He kept on repeating himself silently. Already he could not accept the possibility that the pregnant queen had abandoned herself to her destiny.
He narrowed his eyes against the chilly breeze, constantly scenting the air for Thunderclan or Shadowclan patrols. He had tried to speak to Sparrowstar about this before, but the leader had been to busy to find the time. Nevertheless, Sootfur didn't have doubts about the choice his leader would make. But he couldn't tell whether the gray she-cat had made the right one...
In all honesty, Dovefluff hadn't slept since the Gathering. It had been a day, anyways, but still. She had just sat, hunched over in the nursery, thinking and thinking like this decision was hard. It wasn't. She knew the answer from the moment the idea escaped Sootfur's lips. And, while she was being honest, she hadn't simply left the camp at midday. She had left it that morning, before the early birds of the Clan even stirred. Because she couldn't bear risking it. Being stopped, or even being made so that she was late and risked him not waiting for her.
The pale, dusky gray queen left the ShadowClan nursery and skirted the edges of camp, pawsteps that were usually slow and weighed down by the weight of the kits and the weight of the world. She forced her paws to swiftly carry her out onto the territory, exhaustion seeping through every pore of her body. Padding up to her little hill, as dawn broke, the queen sat down heavily on this hill, and even though her survival instincts pleaded with her to not waste any time, she stayed and watched her last sunrise in the pine forest.
Only when the clouds faded from the vibrant scarlet to the cottony white, and the sun began to rise did she begin to continue walking towards the border. her heart felt like a butterfly, no, a bird, fluttering around her ribcage, both exhilaration and anxiety empowering this bird to keep flying around. You can do this, Dovefluff. This is the right decision.
Dovefluff was not a religious cat. ShadowClan praised the Dark Forest more than StarClan, from what she saw, and for that reason she strongly believed that StarClan had forsaken her for being born in a place where the stars were scorned as the "weaker" of the two eternities. But as she picked her way across Croaking Swamp, doing her best to skirt around the mud and water, she found a small light of hope. Did StarClan forsake her? Or did they send Sootfur to her? Did they protect her as she left ShadowClan once and for all? Maybe it was all a coincidence, but she tried to believe that those cats above her didn't abandon her after all.
The darkness that enveloped the entire territory, the gloom, soon broke as she began to see the tops of oak trees. ThunderClan. She thought, joy breaking through her fear and exhaustion. Oh, my babies, you're safe now. In that moment, as she padded quicker now, she knew that leaving everything she knew behind was a good thing. Padding out of the shadowy undergrowth to reach the border, she hoped he would come. Because he was the reason she came here. The reason that her kits wouldn't have to grow up in fear or violence. And of course, those emotions that made her an outcast in ShadowClan now swelled in her chest as she made her way over a more open spot, as terrifying as it was. The fear for the unknown was still planted deep inside her heart, but she knew that the kits would be safe. And that she was strong enough to get through whatever the future had in store. Well.... probably.
"Sootfur?" She choked out a one-worded call. The bedraggled queen glanced at the undergrowth, nervous that he wasn't here. Or that a ThunderClan patrol was coming. Or, possibly more terrifying, a ShadowClan patrol. The shadows around her could hold anything, in her mind. Her instincts from ShadowClan surely would never leave, right? She'd always feel terrified of the darkness, but now her kits wouldn't have to. "It's... it's so much brighter here." She murmured to herself. The ThunderClan forest had sunlight filtering through the trees and she could see the occasional bird flitting around on the territory. She held back the question - do flowers grow here? Because surely they did. The flowers weren't choked out by the darkness like they were in her home. Or... old home? She supposed she didn't have one at the moment.
Hesitating at the border as a chilly wind tousled her fur, she shivered slightly, glancing behind her. Would they come for her? Surely not. She wasn't a good warrior, not bloodthirsty enough. She was a nuisance to most, trying to wrangle all the kits away from the blood that soaked the clearing. She thought again of Ebonysky, Beeflight..... Heatherrain. And of the massive, murderous cats that followed Dawnstar. It was like a nightmare. They didn't like disloyalty, and she hadn't bothered to try and hide her scent, so she would rather leave the territory as fast as she possibly could.
But again she hesitated at the border, looking around for him. Did he come? She thought she smelled a ThunderClanner from a nearby thornbush, but to investigate she would have to cross the border, and something inside her told her to wait.
( @Wingnettle - aaa i wasn't sure if she should see him or not, since your post said he was hidden from view by the thornbush! lmk if I should edit my post to have her see him instead )
Sootfur (he/him) Light grey tabby with blue/grey eyes
»»————- ☀︎︎ ————-««
Time passed. But not so much after the sun had reached the highest point in the sky, a familiar scent reached the gray tom's nostrils. Shadowclan. A single cat. He narrowed his eyes to take a better look between the thorn branches, but he couldn't see anyone.
Stealthily, he sneaked out and quickly followed the trail scent along the border. It must be her. I must find her before someone else does it. But it wouldn't be hard at all. The fluffy gray queen was totally exposed, calling out for someone. She's looking for me!
Excitement lit up Sootfur's gray eyes as he saw the pregnant queen at the border, still looking uncertain maybe, or maybe she was just scared like he was. But she had done it. The right choice.
He run toward her with a wide smile and stopped right at the front, welcoming her with warmth. "Dovefluff! You.. you made the right choice. I promise." He hoped his gaze looked confident enough, but he trusted his leader and knew that this cat would be safe in Thunderclan.
He nudged her quickly toward the center of Thunderclan territory, noticing with concern that she was very tired from the walk and her belly almost brushed the ground with its roundness. "Are you ok? You can lean on me if you need it." He offered gently his shoulders, leading her at the heart of his home.
Just wait and see. You will be safe. And happy.
[ @jupiter (it's okay, I had in mind that Sootfur spotted her first! Do you want to reply directly in the thread "Thunderclan territory"? If someone spots us, it'll become even more interesting ) ]
The russet tom-cat slinked through the undergrowth of Shadowclan, marking once in a while the trees and plants. Foxcall hadn't sent out patrols in a moon so the scent was faint on the Shadowclan side. His ears swiveled as he continued on scenting the border.
His yellow gaze was intent on the Thunderclan border, just waiting to see if any Thunderclanners that could be patrolling the border as well.
[open for interactions]
__________________
bump after a week
posting days are tuesday, thursday, and saturday if i happen to post outside of this, it's for my own enjoyment staff sign here
dracarys - dani <3
oh look a fossil
RAHHHH (velli)
Ah. Apparently Mossdance [ @Katieuwu ] was not going to show. Oh, well. It would be on their head in the end, it wasn’t of Flamecall’s concern.
They turned to the wild little apprentice, what was her name? Willowpaw [ @Pluto! ]? “Well, looks like Mossdance forgot they have Warrior duties, hm? Follow me, we’ll get this over quickly, since we had to wait extra long for our clanmate, we should go through this quickly.”
Flamecall padded out of camp and into the forest. They walked for a while before they reached the edge of the ThunderClan border, they turned to Willowpaw, “Keep your eyes open and don’t you dare tread across that border,” They took a deep breath, drawing in the scents of ThunderClan, “If you haven’t already, familiarize yourself with the smell of ThunderClan.”
Well, if they were going to be stuck with an apprentice on patrol with them, they might as well make it a teachable moment, right?
Ah. Apparently Mossdance [ @Katieuwu ] was not going to show. Oh, well. It would be on their head in the end, it wasn’t of Flamecall’s concern.
They turned to the wild little apprentice, what was her name? Willowpaw [ @Pluto! ]? “Well, looks like Mossdance forgot they have Warrior duties, hm? Follow me, we’ll get this over quickly, since we had to wait extra long for our clanmate, we should go through this quickly.”
Flamecall padded out of camp and into the forest. They walked for a while before they reached the edge of the ThunderClan border, they turned to Willowpaw, “Keep your eyes open and don’t you dare tread across that border,” They took a deep breath, drawing in the scents of ThunderClan, “If you haven’t already, familiarize yourself with the smell of ThunderClan.”
Well, if they were going to be stuck with an apprentice on patrol with them, they might as well make it a teachable moment, right?
Willow'Paw nodded then raised her head to familarize the scent. "They smell weird- Like acorns and birds." She said as she flicked her ear. "Makes sense I mean they like to pretend to be Squirrels by climbing trees!" She joked
Re: Herondive Hollow
)
) ]
