hanging out the sunroof .. sedgepaw

[heathermoon !!]

The loss had been brutal to swallow. Out of all the ways he imagined losing he might lose his mother, naively Heatherpaw never thought it would be from her own undoing. He imagined, maybe once he had received the full honors of a warrior, she would have gotten better. That she would have returned with him to the tunnels and praised him for how strong he was and how excellent his skills were. That maybe him being grown and looking so much like his father would have motivated her to start living again.

Heatherpaw hadn't been right the past few days. His energy low, his appetite... receding. He grew worried that the sickness she had must have spread to him. Maybe it was genetic, how they reacted to death. Would he sink into the same pit of despair she had? Would he sleep in his nest, day and night in the darkness of an old set with hardly the motivation to get his own food?

It was hard to bounce back from, he was reassured.

His mother found peace in StarClan, he was reassured.

She would protect him and love him from the stars, he was reassured.

Heatherpaw gritted his teeth as he tore himself away from the fresh-kill pile. His sharp movement suddenly had him nose-to-nose with one of his denmates, Sedgepaw. The toms mismatched eyes blinked in surprise. "Sorry, friend." Sheepishly he took a step back from the spotted tom. "Um, I meant to say thank you before... For being kind to me." He felt embarrassingly weak even still. To be seen so broken and distraught like that.

@SEDGEPAW ​

WINDCLAN APPRENTICE ✦ RED MACKEREL TABBY ✦ 9 MOONS ✦ TAGS​

 

[SEDGEPOUNCE]

He's already braced for impact when Heatherpaw whips around, tensing unwittingly, but Sedgepaw's relieved when Heather catches himself in time.

He's reluctant to say that he's been...avoiding Heatherpaw since his mother died, though he certainly hasn't sought him out. Right now doesn't really count—Heatherpaw was standing there staring at the freshkill for a whole five minutes. Anyone would've walked up to ask if he was alright.

It was needless to say that he wasn't.

The flurry of movement seems to have snapped Heatherpaw out of whatever trance he was in, at least. What he has to say leaves Sedgepaw a little startled.

"Of course," he says automatically. He doesn't want to be thanked for his tactless fumbling at Sedgebreeze's death, but he's glad that Heatherpaw found it kind nonetheless. Sedgepaw blinks, wide-eyed, and the freshkill pile looms a daunting reminder in the background. Then he sighs.

"Y'know, I've been waiting for when everyone else is out training to go visit the Sun-Warmed Pools. So maybe we can avoid another...er, splashing fiasco," Sedgepaw declares casually, maw splitting into a lopsided smile. "You can come with, if you want? I wouldn't mind the company." And hopefully Heatherpaw wouldn't mind the distraction.​

 

[heathermoon !!]

Ears fold back in a wash of embarrassment, still fumbling for what to say. It was awkward and uncomfortable, and Heatherpaw could only think of how much he wanted the feeling to go away. The silence stretched on and Heatherpaw could feel himself receding further into himself like a thorn, unable to come up with something to say.

To his relief he isn't left to suffer in the quiet. Sedgepaw's distraction is a surprise, but a welcomed one. He hadn't been around his friends much lately. He would understand if they felt the need to give him space, but thinking of joining someone again and simply having fun stirred a moment of positive light.

"I would really like that, actually. I think I've counted every rock and pebble here three times over." Though he did tilt his head in a bit of confusion. "Splashing fiasco? I didn't hear anything about that, what happened?" When had it happened, and what else has he missed?​

WINDCLAN APPRENTICE ✦ RED MACKEREL TABBY ✦ 9 MOONS ✦ TAGS​

 

[SEDGEPOUNCE]

Epic. Heatherpaw's compliance probably shouldn't be as exciting as is to Sedgepaw, but he'd been almost certain that the other apprentice would say no. He wouldn't exactly blame him or anything; a loss on that kind of scale is...unimaginable. It's just that Heatherpaw's been nothing but gloomy and anxious since that morning, and—fresh air's good for everyone, isn't it?

Sedgepaw's smile grows wider, maw splitting all toothy and lopsided. "Oh-hoho, my friend, lemme tell you," Sedge begins mischievously, leading Heatherpaw with a shoulder as he turns toward the camp exit. The walk to the pools won't be very long, and hopefully it will be as pleasant and uneventful as he anticipates. "It was incredible. We're all just chilling in the water, and then Thriftpaw comes in out of nowhere. Bam! Water all over Whitepaw."

He's tall enough now that he has to duck to get through the tunnel of the gorse wall. The moorland outside is overheated under the Greenleaf sun, but the fields are vibrant and rich with life. "So Whitepaw retaliates, naturally. And then Badgermoon comes in, and all chaos breaks loose. It was wild. Snakehiss got drenched." He pads almost thoughtlessly over the well-worn pathways, leaning grasses brushing against his shoulder like the passing touch of a friend. He's spent his life on these moors and knows its locations by heart.

"Which, y'know, he wasn't very pleased about. But I think everyone else had fun," Sedgepaw finishes with a shrug, the smile on his face growing whimsical, yet unfailing.​

 

[heathermoon !!]

Sedgepaw's spread of mischief is contagious, clearly as a smile makes its own appearance on the Tunneler's muzzle. The promise of keen details on Clan scandals or harmless blather kept his attention focused purely on the topic. How silly it must be, that hearing the buzz on his friends was what quickly drew him away from moping around in camp. He didn't really think about it too much, though, instead following Sedgepaw's lead as they begin to depart.

Thriftpaw, Whitepaw- "Badgermoon?!" Heatherpaw couldn't keep his voice down, too shocked to care. Their Deputy... had he been a participating culprit or bone-soaked victim like Snakehiss? He quickly sought for more in Sedgepaw's words, leaning in close to the tom for more. His paws pad in time with the others, following the track of the path with natural ease as the other had. Though Heatherpaw was no Moor Runner like Sedgepaw, far more familiar with the cool darkness of the tunnels, the moorland trails were more familiar than the back of his own paw.

Heatherpaw let out a small giggle. "No, I didn't think he would be." He and Snakehiss had recently come to terms of an allegiance, as the darker tom had put it. But the ruddy tom simply saw it as a fancier term for friend, because the Moor Runner was so poor at making them. "Yeah, hopefully it'll be quieter than with just us two. Last time I was there I caught a frog. Didn't taste very well." Stars, that felt seasons away now.

The rushes came into view and his pace started to pick up in his anticipation. The warm shallows were a welcome refreshing change to the dusty earth. "I'm glad we have the pools here. Better than taking on the river any day, yeah?"​

WINDCLAN APPRENTICE ✦ RED MACKEREL TABBY ✦ 9 MOONS ✦ TAGS​

 

[SEDGEPOUNCE]

The Sun-Warmed Pool is clear and bright, placid surface cutting straight through the moorland monotony. Not that the moors are particularly boring—they're full of fresh wildflowers and all sorts of grasses, undergrowth, and shrubbery. But the pool is none of those things, a star-blessed reprieve from the Greenleaf heat, and Sedgepaw wastes no time in breaking the water's surface with a—consciously contained—small splash.

The cool water is a balm against his scratchy, overheated fur, off of which diffuses the dust and brambles he's accumulated since taking to the moors that morning. Sedgepaw sighs happily. "The river...Can you imagine?" he echoes, rolling onto his back to feel the sunwarmed slate against his shoulders. He peers at Heatherpaw upside-down. "Forget getting carried away by the current. Swimming with fish?" He gives a somewhat dramatic shudder at the thought. They're slimy, odd creatures, from what he understands. He dreads the thought of ever having to touch one, let alone eat it.

A thought strikes him, and he regards Heatherpaw with a smile. "Think they taste like frogs?"

/ so sorry for the lame reply on this one!!​