golden hour & morningpaw

[Sunfreckle]

Sunlight trickles in, the last faint shreds of it from the morning's awakening before clouds overtake the sky and blanket the forest in a dreary chill. Leaf-bare with kits in the nursery was never very comforting, he worried constantly about the cold sinking into far too thin pelts, the way the nests seemed all the more flimsy as more and more piled up until it felt as if the earth itself was draining away their warmth. Sunfreckle wished he could be out helping the clan prepare, but he also knew he was doing some good with his presence in the nursery den despite it all; even if Flickerkit had not been held back, could he have really turned away those kittens Roepaw brought in so callously? He didn't think himself the type to turn a blind eye to a child, no matter how he felt.
The red tabby stretches, his lone forepaw sliding forward until his entire back arched downward and then he wiggled himself back upright to avoid falling flat on his belly without another paw to give him traction. It was still so light out, he sleepily wondered if dawn patrol had come back yet but the camp was alarmingly quiet aside from a single little white and mottled spotted apprentice near the freshkill pile. He remembered how mournfully Morningpaw had left the nursery, how she looked at it longingly every moment she walked by, the way her little paws dragged when she left the camp. It didn't take a very smart cat to notice her distress, in a perfect world she could stay in the nursery and not need to learn to hunt or fight; but sadly the clan had to be defended and provided for and he too would join once he was able.
For now though, he wandered over on light plodding steps, leaving three sets of paws in the snow behind him that only lightly dusted the surface of the ground. In time it would surely be deep enough he would need to fight his way through it.
"Morning, Morning!" He chirped to the tiny tortie, smiling a little too wide for his own joke than he should-perhaps it wasn't even that funny and she probably heard it enough really. "How are you today? Any plans with Wolfwind?"

@MORNINGPAW
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[MORNINGPAW ☆]

╭── ⋅ ⋅ ── ✩ ── ⋅ ⋅ ──╮​

She's sitting at the entrance to the apprentice's den, giving her paws and anxious, thorough washing. Sharp little tongue dives between each pad on her feet, pricking them into sensitivity before setting them back onto the freezing cold earth. It's a strange ritual, one she's had since she was tiny, and although the pain is there, it's more comforting to her than anything.

Morningpaw almost jumps out of her fur at Sunfreckle's greeting, but her hackles relax and she forces herself to smile up at the ginger tom. "Oh, hi, Sunfreckle! Good morning." She dips her head politely. The joke is old, yes, but she would never say so, never show it. "I'm... good, I'm fine! I'm going to go with Wolfwind to try and hunt today, I think." A soft frown darkens her features before she shakes it away. "But... how are you? What are you doing today?" She peers longingly behind him, into the cozy hearth of the nursery. The kits Roepaw had brought are squealing inside, while Flickerkit is no doubt sulking and lonely.

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