- Nov 20, 2023
- 56
- 7
- 8
The war had left its mark upon Feathergaze without a single claw touching her. To those that often passed her by, perhaps they wouldn't notice. To those who saw more than just her fragile exterior, they might notice her nerves pulled tighter than an instrument's strings. Song birds flitting through the trees, mice scuttling over sludgy ground, even the wind whisking just too sharply between bare branches was enough to make her jump. More than that she hadn't so much as looked at the river in days. Leafbare had hardly ended so for most it was only natural to keep out of its frigid waters. But Feathergaze lived for the river; now the sound of its rushing power made her nauseous.
She'd been well clear of the ice before it shattered. But the violation of such a great force of nature did not happen quietly. The sound had reverberated through the air, thunderous cracking and snaps mingling with the shrieks of terrified cats. She'd come back to the river that very night, long after Shellkit had been checked over and ushered back into the nursery, long after Smokestar had been pulled out and revived. Feathergaze had watched the water for hours. She'd come away with floating bodies imprinted on her retinas.
She'd done her best to busy herself after that. She'd joined every other patrol, volunteered to hunt whenever needed, but always steering clear of the water. With each passing day a hollow feeling in her gut deepened. I can't. I can't, I'll see them. I-I can't. Today was quiet. The patrols had been done and with newleaf blooming the fresh kill pile was not wanting. So Feathergaze cast her eyes toward her clanmates. Perhaps one of them could take her mind off things.
"[color=#]Hey, Swiftfire,[/color]" she meowed, catching the other molly as she strode by. "[color=#]How have you been? It's hard to believe leafbare's coming to an end.[/color]" The last winter Feathergaze had seen she had still been a young apprentice. It seemed like the snow would never end some days. The burbling flow of the river tickled her ears, and the silver molly shifted her weight. "[color=#]You think the apprentices are excited to be able to swim without freezing their paws off?[/color]"
// @SWIFTFIRE
She'd been well clear of the ice before it shattered. But the violation of such a great force of nature did not happen quietly. The sound had reverberated through the air, thunderous cracking and snaps mingling with the shrieks of terrified cats. She'd come back to the river that very night, long after Shellkit had been checked over and ushered back into the nursery, long after Smokestar had been pulled out and revived. Feathergaze had watched the water for hours. She'd come away with floating bodies imprinted on her retinas.
She'd done her best to busy herself after that. She'd joined every other patrol, volunteered to hunt whenever needed, but always steering clear of the water. With each passing day a hollow feeling in her gut deepened. I can't. I can't, I'll see them. I-I can't. Today was quiet. The patrols had been done and with newleaf blooming the fresh kill pile was not wanting. So Feathergaze cast her eyes toward her clanmates. Perhaps one of them could take her mind off things.
"[color=#]Hey, Swiftfire,[/color]" she meowed, catching the other molly as she strode by. "[color=#]How have you been? It's hard to believe leafbare's coming to an end.[/color]" The last winter Feathergaze had seen she had still been a young apprentice. It seemed like the snow would never end some days. The burbling flow of the river tickled her ears, and the silver molly shifted her weight. "[color=#]You think the apprentices are excited to be able to swim without freezing their paws off?[/color]"
// @SWIFTFIRE