hate will sing the ending | icepaw

[SMOKESTEP]

TAGS — With the blizzard raging so hard around them, it's difficult to get to the tunnels. StarClan knows how much he'd rather be there now, though. Smokepaw feels trapped among the snow drifts, sure, but what's more than the great white swaths is the firecracker tension that ripples throughout camp. He still hasn't fully processed everything that had happened in the span of one day. Dandelionwish's anxious return, the order for patrols to SkyClan, the battle, the exiles. His head is whirling with it all, and the kicker: it was Sootstar's- his mentor's -doing. Surely she wouldn't damn them all for the sake of her pride- and really, he believes in her vision. She knows what's best for them. Smokepaw is sure of that; he has to be sure of it, or else the hard work he's put in all these moons would have been for a leader that can't look after her clan. Would Ravencry still have pride in him if it turned out Sootstar couldn't save them after all? Don't even think about that, he chides himself. If WindClan couldn't survive leafbare, his pride should be the last thing he's worrying about.

Smokepaw tires of the burrow he's half-curled into. Eager to get some space, he departs it, and despite the ache in his paws at the chill, he stations himself astride a particularly tall drift and takes a seat. Maybe the frigid air would clear his mind (though he still thinks he prefers the damp, earthy smell of the tunnels he can't reach).

@icepaw​

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[icebreath]

TAGS — Icepaw's faith in Sootstar has hardly wavered. Plenty of cats had spoken in favor of the SkyClan raid, and Sootstar simply listened and indulged them like a dutiful leader should; acting like she's solely responsible for everything, some overly prideful warmonger, is just disingenuous (and Dandelionwish's accusations in favor of this characterization are a farce, just like StarClan warned them). And besides, it's not like she'd intentionally sent them headlong into a losing battle! It was supposed to be a stealth mission with a simple diversion; those cowardly kittypets just don't know how to fight fair. Thinking about it sends anger rippling through her small frame, making her stomach twist and churn; so much more could've been done if RiverClan hadn't ruined it! So many more lives could've been saved... but anger's an uncomfortable feeling, so she just tries not to think about it too much. Which is kind of an impossible task in this environment. There's so much tension — too much to relax. Not that she's ever been amazing at relaxing, anyway.

The exiles are understandably contributing a lot to the stressful atmosphere, but they still stand firm in their support of Sootstar in this aspect as well. They really don't get what's so hard to understand about it, honestly; why should anyone who threatens their leader deserve a place under her rule? Anyone who challenges the will of StarClan? She can't wrap her head around that kind of entitlement, and she certainly doesn't want to be living around a bunch of treacherous cats. She just hopes and prays that friends and peers like Rainpaw and Snailpaw don't go down that path, too. Just thinking about her sister's difficulty to grasp what should be such a straightforward concept makes her anxious. So does the threat of it coming between their relationship. So she tries not to think about that, either. Vainly. How much is Rainpaw thinking about it?

She considers Smokepaw a good friend, but it still feels weird to feel more comfortable around him right now than her own sister. It's a relief to know where he stands, though: with her. But I'm not against Rainpaw, she thinks worriedly. You know what I mean, she thinks again to no one in particular. "Hey." She stumbles a bit on her way up to him; she's not really built for traversing heavy snow with her short legs. Self-consciousness warms their cheeks as they finally make it to his side and take a seat, gazing out at the white-stained view and watching her misty breath for a few long, quiet moments. "How're you doing?" With everything that's been going on, she means.
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[SMOKESTEP]

TAGS — Icepaw's voice startles him initially. He didn't think anyone would really be milling about in this weather, but then here he sits in the snow despite it all. Smokepaw's ears twitch and he turns to look at his friend, the puffs of clouded breath obscuring their face when they speak. How're you doing? Smokepaw's jaws part in an attempt to find words, but he stays quiet for a few moments while his mind whirrs, trying to scrounge up some semblance of a communicable thought. "Okay, I guess," he finally answers, though it doesn't feel like much. The snow still falls in heavy flakes around them. It clouds the sooty black hues of his pelt. He hardly seems to feel it, though. He supposes he should elaborate, maybe, to tell her everything he's been thinking about. Icepaw was one of the precious few that he felt remotely comfortable talking about his thoughts with- his real thoughts, not the mandatory pleasantries of everyday conversation -and even then he finds it difficult to really spill his guts. And there's much to spill about, what with the elephant in the moors. His lips form a taut, thoughtful line; he continues to stare out into the snow, as if the answer to should I or shouldn't I? will lie out in its extensive drifts. Finally, he heaves a sigh. "Just thinkin' about that, um... apprentice meeting, or whatever it was."

And that is where he leaves it, at least until Icepaw finds the will to prod him further. He wouldn't mind if they did, really, but he has neither the will nor the way to extract the specifics of his thoughts on his own. Eventually he finds the confidence to meet their eye once again. "What about you?" He figures she's out here for some reason bigger than just checking up on a friend, but maybe that says more about him than it does her. Smokepaw's ears twitch as he waits quietly for her answer. Surely she must be thinking about the discussion, too- after all, Rainpaw and Icepaw rarely disagreed. Unlike Firepaw and me. But his own troubles aside, he's curious about what she must think about it all; disagreeing with what felt like a good portion of their fellow apprentices. How many of them would grow up to be traitors? How many of them would be exiled or worse before they were made warriors? Smokepaw isn't sure. But he supposes that, if any of them have to go, it will serve to make WindClan stronger.​

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