Post by Acornpaw on Aug 30, 2016 1:08:48 GMT -6
Acornpaw padded through the territory quietly, ears pulling back as her tail swished thoughtfully behind her. Her eyes were narrowed, deep and brooding, as she navigated the forest without so much as a second thought as to where she was placing her paws and in which direction she was headed. In all honesty, she just wanted to leave camp for a bit, and the deputy had so kindly permitted her to take a break from helping patch up the leaks in the warriors’ den, a task she had been at since early morning. The biting sickness had finally passed, although one could hardly tell by the condition of the cats back in the quarry. Some had thrown themselves wholeheartedly into their duties, working all day and all night and only resting when they were explicitly told to. Meanwhile, others did nothing but sit around all day, staring into the air dumbly, as though searching for long-gone silhouettes in the cliff’s shadows. Acornpaw couldn’t understand why they wouldn’t let themselves move on, why they couldn’t just continue to forge forward. She had lost her family too, and of course it was hard on her. There were nights where her chest would constrict to the point of physical pain, and it took all she had not to sob, lest she woke up the other apprentices with her mourning. Still, she had been able to set her grief aside; not a single day went by where she didn’t miss them, but they were gone, and she still had a future to work for, even if they didn’t.
Pausing midstep, Acornpaw crinkled her nose in distaste as a sharp scent pulled her out of her muddled thoughts. The border, she realized as she finally managed to place the unpleasant odor wafting across from Shadowclan’s territory. When did I get so far out? Standing still, she observed her surroundings, noting the near seamless transition from the familiar oak trees to the darker, more imposing pines on the far side of the clearing. Straining her vision, she scanned the tree line, searching for shadowy figures weaving throughout the trees, and settled back in slight disappointment when she found nothing. She had seen the Shadowclan cats before, at her first gathering after becoming an apprentice. But, they had been nervous and ragged back then, already suffering the effects of the biting sickness. Acornpaw had yet to meet them at their full strength, and for a cat who had grown up hearing about the legendary rivalry between her birth clan and Shadowclan, that was rather frustrating. A battle was, of course, the last thing any cat wanted right now. But, maybe, a battle was what they needed. It would liven up the place, remind her clan mates that they still had lives to live, and maybe, just maybe, it would snap everything back to normal.
Suddenly, Acornpaw broke out into a fit of laughter. Shaking her head at her own foolishness, she turned to walk back into the depths of Thunderclan’s territory. She needed something to keep herself occupied, hunting was a good idea, especially if she was going to come up with such impossible ideas when left to her own devices.
Pausing midstep, Acornpaw crinkled her nose in distaste as a sharp scent pulled her out of her muddled thoughts. The border, she realized as she finally managed to place the unpleasant odor wafting across from Shadowclan’s territory. When did I get so far out? Standing still, she observed her surroundings, noting the near seamless transition from the familiar oak trees to the darker, more imposing pines on the far side of the clearing. Straining her vision, she scanned the tree line, searching for shadowy figures weaving throughout the trees, and settled back in slight disappointment when she found nothing. She had seen the Shadowclan cats before, at her first gathering after becoming an apprentice. But, they had been nervous and ragged back then, already suffering the effects of the biting sickness. Acornpaw had yet to meet them at their full strength, and for a cat who had grown up hearing about the legendary rivalry between her birth clan and Shadowclan, that was rather frustrating. A battle was, of course, the last thing any cat wanted right now. But, maybe, a battle was what they needed. It would liven up the place, remind her clan mates that they still had lives to live, and maybe, just maybe, it would snap everything back to normal.
Suddenly, Acornpaw broke out into a fit of laughter. Shaking her head at her own foolishness, she turned to walk back into the depths of Thunderclan’s territory. She needed something to keep herself occupied, hunting was a good idea, especially if she was going to come up with such impossible ideas when left to her own devices.
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