"In a few moons, you'll be able to join us again. Silkbreath and Laurelshine'll love to be back, I'm sure." Her mother's words echoed in her ringing ears as she realised that those few moons were up and that any day now the familiar white-masked visage of Olly would reappear on the borders and redirect her family away from the pines. They'd led her there on the basis that it was safe, from what she'd never questioned, now, it seemed that it was nothing further from the truth. No one could predict a bear cub and one angry mama bursting into camp, the yowls of startled cats like a swansong for the destruction such a creature could cause. She'd run when Chilledstar told her, ran and ran and ran, and never looked back. It was only when she saw a parting of grey road through the treeline did she realise quite how heavy her lungs felt, and how her legs wanted to buckle under the strain of mindless fleeing. She tried to think back to their camp, already ruined by the black bear's presence, and began to slow down. It wasn't the bear she'd been scared of, was it?
Crashing through the row of twisted black trees, Ferndance collapsed onto her haunches just a fox length onto the Thunderpath. The sky had turned an ugly shade of orange and red that should've indicated that hunting patrols would be sent out soon, but she didn't know if anyone would be alive to attend them. Her chest rose and fell rapidly, eyes wide as they stared off into the distant gravel roads. Nothing was coming, there was no ungodly noise or awful vibration, it was as quiet as the day she was born. It should've been a relief, usually it was, but at that moment, all the Lead Warrior could picture was their large enemy getting mowed down by oncoming traffic. It felt like the only way to deal with such a thing: as small as it was, it carried a bond that made it seem larger than life itself. A glance was offered over her shoulder, unsheathed claws tapping at the loose rocks on the path. If they were goners, she was a goner too; she didn't want to be a goner, she very much wanted to live. The cracking of dry grasses on the other side of the Thunderpath threatened that wish, and as she turned her head, she noticed the shadows of a WindClan dusk patrol.
And she laughed at them. Laughed so hard that the soft monotone she held turned dynamic and hoarse. Because, when compared to such a large animal, a couple of little rat-cats suddenly didn't seem so bad. The blood of yester events smelled stronger than ever, the Lead Warrior couldn't help but mourn that she hadn't been there to rub it in WindClan's face further. Because if there was anything she needed right now, it was a sense of normalcy. Collecting her breath, she offered a smile to the onlookers and made a gesture to call out behind her to the fictitious animals she was leading to no man's land. "Don't worry patrol! They're just trying to find that eye you all took, they might have to wait a while, it was... really tasty."
@Firefang
Crashing through the row of twisted black trees, Ferndance collapsed onto her haunches just a fox length onto the Thunderpath. The sky had turned an ugly shade of orange and red that should've indicated that hunting patrols would be sent out soon, but she didn't know if anyone would be alive to attend them. Her chest rose and fell rapidly, eyes wide as they stared off into the distant gravel roads. Nothing was coming, there was no ungodly noise or awful vibration, it was as quiet as the day she was born. It should've been a relief, usually it was, but at that moment, all the Lead Warrior could picture was their large enemy getting mowed down by oncoming traffic. It felt like the only way to deal with such a thing: as small as it was, it carried a bond that made it seem larger than life itself. A glance was offered over her shoulder, unsheathed claws tapping at the loose rocks on the path. If they were goners, she was a goner too; she didn't want to be a goner, she very much wanted to live. The cracking of dry grasses on the other side of the Thunderpath threatened that wish, and as she turned her head, she noticed the shadows of a WindClan dusk patrol.
And she laughed at them. Laughed so hard that the soft monotone she held turned dynamic and hoarse. Because, when compared to such a large animal, a couple of little rat-cats suddenly didn't seem so bad. The blood of yester events smelled stronger than ever, the Lead Warrior couldn't help but mourn that she hadn't been there to rub it in WindClan's face further. Because if there was anything she needed right now, it was a sense of normalcy. Collecting her breath, she offered a smile to the onlookers and made a gesture to call out behind her to the fictitious animals she was leading to no man's land. "Don't worry patrol! They're just trying to find that eye you all took, they might have to wait a while, it was... really tasty."
@Firefang