Evergreen | Leechpaw

[Echolight]

A terrible realization had nagged at Echolight since she had moved into the nursery, her attempts for an apology had been stifled by the arrival of congratulating clanmates, a warm memory still, but regret lingered.
An apology long overdue, despite her almost daily check-ins with her former apprentice, even just to bring him what meal she could in these struggling times.
She hadn’t taken Leechpaw to the side like she had with her family, he had to find out with everyone else- when he wasn’t everyone else. A mother she was not to him, but she loved the apprentice as if he were family, cared for him akin to an older sister.
The kits were due any day now, and perhaps that was the push for her to confront her mistake, to bring her here, approaching Leechpaw with a bittersweet quirk of her maw, not a smile, but not exactly somber.
"Want to take a walk with me around camp?" She asks with a hopeful flicker in her eye. "I messed up by not telling you about my move to the nursery, but I promise it wasn’t for lack of caring about you, I’d like to explain myself " she adds. She had been weighing on disclosing the truth of her children’s lineage to Leechpaw for some time, the weight of the secret she’d put on the apprentices shoulders holding her back. She knew vaguely of his struggles, and where she was supposed to be a pillar, she fell down her own rabbit hole of problems.
She debates still, deciding to see how the apprentice replies to her offer first.

@LEECHPAW
"Speech."
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[ WHAT A TIME ]​

 

[VULTUREMASK]

Stupid leafbare!. He absolutely hated this season. Leechpaw was huffing to himself as he had been dealing with biting off some snow that had got stuck underneath his paws. He hadn't even paid attention to the approaching paw steps in the snow until a shadow fell over him. Great, who was it now?!. Bitter and irritated, he would glance up to whoever had approached him but it was then his irritated frown metled off from his face. Blinking his eyes, Leechpaw looked a bit confused like he almost had seen a ghost. Should Echolight really been out here in the cold right now so close to giving birth?. He had little time to think further about this as he got invited to a stroll with her around camp. Leechpaw was honestly susprised with this unexpected invitation. He sat himself up about to answer but she had more things to say leaving him even more confused. Lack of caring?. To explain?. What was Echolight even on about here...

" Okay...but you don't really need to explain anything to me. I mean who you choose to become mates with..or who you share the news with that you're gonna have kits..That's not really my business." He would say, his gaze is sinking down a bit. It was not like he was a part of her family or anything so of course he wouldn't be the first one that crossed her mind to deliver this news too. He understood his place here. Leechpaw was her apprentice, or former now. That was all. Leechpaw couldn't really be upset at her for not sharing her private life with him. That would be out of line for him. That would even be considered rude.

He stood up and turned to begin the walk Echolight had invited him to. " I'm not angry at you or anything... I understand my place here." he said while facing forward, making his face unseen in that moment as he spoke so she couldn't see that he in fact had felt a bit left out. Echolight would soon have kits, have her own family which meant she wouldn't have as much time with him anymore, and he still felt uncomfortable with the idea of her becoming a mother. Would she end up becoming like his mother had been to him and his kits?. That was the only mother he knew.


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