[Zero]

Originally Posted by Clover

@Zero to Hero
Cloversplash took in a deep breath, the air of the territory refreshingly cold, especially after being relegated to the rather odorous warrior's den. Though it was not an easy trek, it was much preferable to the noise and pressure of the den, despite it's warmth. As she stepped, her paws sunk deep into the snow; the top layer of ice crunched quietly beneath her weight, lean as she was. Normally a rather thick-muscled she-cat, the lack of food and use had caused them to become atrophied. Her skin seemed to sag over her skeleton, loose and sagging. Despite this, she still moved in a semblance of her former grace, her stride shaking but purposefully. She glanced to her left, green eyes tracking her patrol companion for a moment. "So, Swampstone, how are you standing up to being practically starved and forcibly imprisoned?" she asked dryly, her humor lacking and rather cryptic. The novelty of being in the territory was far outweighed by her snippy, pessimistic mood; its seemed that no matter what happened, the winter would stretch on forever. With a deep sigh, she continued forward, each step through the deep snow laborious and miserable; her toes had already begun to become numb, and her oak brown fur was offset by the snow caked on her legs and underbelly. The weak sun that managed to drip through the ever-present clouds lit up the territory in a wan light, offering little contrast. It was white-washed, and threw off her depth perception; if anyone were to trespass, she wasn't sure running through the territory would be a good idea- any tree in the way would be near invisible.

Swampstone padded into the territory, the snow crunching somewhat loudly under his heavier weight. It was cold, and he was instantly sulky when he realized how deep it was. Walking is going to be a hassle today. A sigh echoed his thoughts, but the white puff of air caught his attention and he switched topics to think about. He took a moment to appreciate the small clouds when he breathed before they evaporated right in front of his eyes. As a kit, he used to try to shape the breaths, and though he had never succeeded in doing so he continued to try to do it for as long as the winter had been there. This was the first winter in which he hadn't tried once, a he was almost sad about it. Almost. He wasn't a kit anymore though, and now he was maybe going to have kits of his own.
Compared to Cloversplash, Swampstone seemed huge, but only because his fur was so fluffy. In fact, he actually looked a little bit bigger in the summer when he and the rest of the clan were well fed. Under his thick pelt, he was quite skinny. If he got wet, some cats would maybe mistake him for a WindClan cat.
He snapped out of his thoughts when Cloversplash spoke, his ears perking and turning slightly in her direction. This was one of his better days, and it only improved when he was set up to hunt with somebody he actually somewhat knew already opposed to one or two cats he didn't know at all. After a moment, he cleared his throat in order to reply; "Not much better than you, I suspose." It was a bit of a blunt thing to say, but that was classic Swampstone for you. "The lack of food this winter has been quite... what's an appropriate word? Unamusing? I don't enjoy being hungry all the time." His blue gaze was directed slighly ahead but mostly down to try to get the least glare that seemed to reflect off the bright white snow.