[Ziera]

Originally Posted by spade

Exhaustion still weighed heavily on Kestrelstar’s shoulders as the leader sat in his den, yellow gaze fixed in a blank stare on the wall. His thoughts we’re running rampant in his mind, kicking up clouds of dust over what was real and what was fake. Lionstorm. Fawnsqueak. Firehawk. Stars, when would those names leave his head?

The grief that he thought to be subsided by now only hardened, twisting a bit into a need for vengeance. A need to make ThunderClan pay. To make anyone who was not RiverClan pay. He needed to sink his claws into something, anything.

He had to get out of camp.

But just as he got up to do so, a voice announced their arrival at the entrance of the den. ”Stormtalon,” he muttered, silently cursing his paws for not moving fast enough. He wasn’t sure which side this warrior would be on, and if he was going to berate him with doubts of his leadership. ”What questions do you have?” How long until you kick the dust? How long until RiverClan gets a leader who doesn’t get emotional and is just a robot? How long until you’re not an emotional wreck? Rampant thoughts.

// Stormtalon

Storm didn’t notice his name so much as the wariness Kestrel said it with.

“Relax,” he said. “I’m not here to twist your fur.”

Not that Stormtalon blamed him for suspecting it. With tensions unearthing a wealth of extreme opinions in almost everyone, Kestrelstar had no way of knowing whether Storm agreed with his or not. From that point of view any potential questions could be triggering. Antagonistic, even, if Stormtalon had been one of the aggressive peace-keepers from that hellish clan meeting. He respected that Kestrel didn’t back down despite the possibility.

“Lionstorm, Fawnsqueak—I want to know what you found.” The tabby tom was nothing if not direct. When it counted, fancy introductions and flowery words only wasted time. “I want to know the whole story, if you’re willing to tell it.”

After a moment Storm’s tail flicked toward the den’s exit. When he’d padded inside, Kestrelstar’s momentum suggested he’d been walking out, at least till someone blocked him. “If you were planning on leaving, I can follow.”

It was less about being sensitive to Kestrel’s mental headspace and more about ensuring he wasn’t tempted to skimp on details if he had somewhere to be.