private don't tell me how to live my life

[hyacinthbreath]

♚ Being stuck with tunnel duties wasn't exactly the worst possible chore she could be stuck with. After all, being a tunneler was her lifeblood. She loved the smell of the tunnels, the way they twisted and turned like a maze. It was quiet down there, where nobody could bother her with stupid complaints. Perhaps safer, in certain places.

Though, being stuck with Rune in the tunnels wasn't exactly the best situation either.

Don't get her wrong; she didn't hate Rune, she just didn't trust him. To suddenly show up on the borders one day, claiming to know the mother of her kits- only to reveal that he was her long-lost son? The one who was supposed to have died? Moonshadow and her had talked about her past, just as Hyacinth had told her the story of her own. She trusted that Moonshadow wouldn't lie to her, but her reaction when she saw Rune was just as surprised as she was.

As her paws worked to fix a crumbling wall underground, she watched out of the corner of her eyes as Rune clumsily did the same. "Not used to being underground like this?" She asks hesitantly, trying to awkwardly start a conversation. She didn't know how to interact with Rune, and after her threat she was on edge around him constantly. "Being in here will teach you how to move properly. The darkness of the tunnels at night makes it hard to move without your other senses."

@Rune​

 

[Snowshadow]

"Turn A Deeper Blue"​

It was rather musty down here and could've sworn a worm had crawled out of a hole onto a black and white coat. The tunnels were something akin to being new to Rune. The castle had many underground caverns and tunnels, but they stood several feet high and made of stone. Sturdy and resilient, while these where small, covered in dirt and he feared one collapsing at one point. He just hoped no one got hurt from the collapse of dirt and debris.

The knight had been slowly easing into his new role in Windclan as a tunneler and it was going rather well to say the least. He was still learning the ropes of the tunnels and how to navigate through them, and also learning to try not to jump or stand up fully in a tunnel or else one would get a hell of a headache. What he had really gotten use to was Hyacinthbreath. The show that was displayed earlier with her resignation and Duskfire crossing out her scars- he didn't know what to think of her. She made his mother happy, or seemed like it, and was the one to give him his siblings- but yet he sort of felt awkward around her?

Rune didn't know much about Hya, and honestly wanted to get to know her since he was part of his family now too, but the warrior always seemed distant. There was an understanding that not everyone in the clan trusted him, hell Duskfire was a cat he considered close to but still the distrust was evident. His apperance in the clans was something not even Moonshadow ever thought would happen, and thus he didn't blame them. Even considered leaving back to the kingdoms to spare the heartache he caused on the family.

For almost two years, Moonshadow had thought of him dead. Told everyone she had lost him and his siblings long ago, but yet he was still here. A survivor amongst the few. So could one blame him for feeling so- outcasted? Like a bother on his mother and her new family, on Hya and her relationship with Moon, and their relation to Periwinkle, Aspen and Wisteria. Was Rune destined to ruin the little family or would he be able to fit into their lives? It was uncertain that was for sure.

Hyacinthbreath then spoke up, asking if he was use to tunnels like this and to which he shook his head, "No, the tunnels back home are much larger and made of stone," He offered with a slight smile and shrug of his lithe shoulders, "I do hope it teaches me something. I am use to being a fighter, a solider, so being underground is very- different," Rune glanced towards the pale femme for a moment, barely making her outline in the shadows of the tunnel. He was quiet for a moment before choosing his words carefully, "How're you feeling? Glad to be back down here?" Rune was solely going off of what Moonshadow had told him of Hya; she was a tunneler, had a hard time making friends and mentored many apprentices thus far. Two, but to him that was a lot. ​

✦ ★ ✦​

 

[hyacinthbreath]

♚ She senses his eagerness to become one of WindClan's own, to belong- a feeling she finds she's very familiar with. That realization itself causes her to shift her body to look at the larger tom, tail sliding against the ground behind her. He spoke of stone tunnels, and she finds it odd- why would anyone want to make tunnels out of stone? How would they concave them, to prevent enemies from going through them? An odd place to come from, she didn't exactly understand how someone would willingly live in a place like that. He then speaks of his interest in learning the way of the tunnels, fighting moreso his style than anything. Hyacinth snorts.

"We fight just as much in the tunnels. We just learn to use the tight spaces to our advantage." She answers softly, voice nearly a hush- echoed in the tunnels as she turns to move deeper into the tunnels; thankful for the two-way tunnel. He asks her how she's feeling, and Hyacinth has to bite back her instinctive need to shut him out. She thinks of Moonshadow, of how she would want her to be kind to him- to welcome him in. Moonshadow wasn't a horrible judge of character, after all. She'd chosen her, at least, she'd think she chose right. "I'm.." She begins, hesitant. "I'm okay, better than I thought. This place is more comforting than up there on the surface. I.. Don't have to see people. Too dark." She finishes with a glance downwards, ear twitching as she feels a gush of cold wind blowing through the tunnels.

Something feels off.

"Shut up." She hushes the tom, ducking her head to get a better position; her tail pushes against the dirt wall beside her, and she feels the tremble beneath it. With a quick turn, Hyacinthbreath shouts to Rune- "Run! Run the other way! The tunnel is caving in!" She hissed at the tom, ducking her head and shoving him with her snout. Just like that, the walls begin to crumble, and Hyacinth's eyes widen in panic.​

 

[Snowshadow]

"Turn A Deeper Blue"​

There was a sense of hesitance from the pale cat beside him, and he wouldn't blame her if she didn't answer his question. Rune was a stranger after all, but he wanted to make the effort to get to know Hya even if it takes him a while to do so. Hya moved from his side and down the tunnel a little bit as she answered she was doing better, that the tunnels felt better than the surface, of peoples eyes on her. Rune gave a nod despite the dark and also rose to his paws for a moment, "That is good, I am glad you're doing better," He responded after realizing she might not see his head nod.

Then there was cold air rushing through the tunnel and it made him shiver, then Hyacinthbreath is pushing him down to the ground, telling him to hush. The dual colored tomcat looked at her with a furrowed brow as he didn't understand why. Was there something she smelled that he didn't? A badger? Then the ground under his paws shook with such strength that it made his fur bristle a bit, "Wha-" He started for a moment before a snout shoved him forward.

The tunnel was collapsing.

Hya was screeching for him to run, to go down the other way, but there was no way he was leaving her behind. Before Rune rushed down the tunnel, the white and black tomcat leapt for the pale tabby cat- attempting to grab her by the scurff and drag her back with him. They both needed to get the hell out of there and there was no way he'd let her be crushed by dirt and rocks. ​

✦ ★ ✦​