- Jun 7, 2023
- 407
- 48
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The sun was dipping down beneath the horizon by the time Rattleheart finally allowed herself to relax, having been fighting through the burning pain in her side to try and help out as much as she could around their little scattered group. She knew no one was trying to force her into helping even with her injury, but she felt obligated to - after all, it was partially her fault that all of this had happened. Though she would never regret helping Sunstride bring those kits back to their home, she knew that if not for that decision, none of them would be here at the Horseplace. That alone was enough to motivate her, even as each step sent tiny shocks of pain through her body in spite of her best efforts to be careful.
Now though, her mind had drifted to a familiar pelt made up of dark shades, and a bright yellow gaze that seemed to glow in comparison to her own. She had seen him a couple of times in the group in their frantic travels to the Horseplace, but she hadn't had the chance to speak with him until now. Speak with him about all that had happened, and speak with him about the feelings that she had been shoving down inside. Feelings that had only been laying dormant, rushing immediately back up to the surface the moment she saw him leap into the fray for her. The tunneler wouldn't soon forget the way that he had fought for her, shoving down Harbingermoon and tearing away at his flesh merely for daring to attack her. That alone had been enough to convince her of how much Venomstrike truly cared about her, more than quite possibly anyone else who wasn't her own kin.
She hadn't been protecting him by avoiding him for so long - she had merely been hurting the both of them.
Slow, careful pawsteps carried her over to the side of the twoleg barn, where she pressed the non-bloodied side of her pelt against Venomstrike's. The tunneler no longer shies away from his touch, instead leeching off of his nearby warmth as she lets her head rest against him. A moment of silence is allowed between them, something peaceful and unhurried in the midst of nothing but chaos, and running. "I'm glad you're alright. And that you're here with us." Suddenly her words are caught in her throat, weighed down and twisted like they've dug down into her insides and refuse to be released. "And... and I'm sorry. For everything that happened." For hurting you, for avoiding you, for getting you sick in the first place. Why aren't you angry?
[ PENNED BY EO ]