// no responses please - meant to be a oneshot!
The blizzard claws at Forestshade's fur, each gust of wind biting through her thick pelt and settling an aching chill into her bones. She pushes forward anyway, her paws shoving through the belly-deep snow with dogged determination. Every step is harder than the last - her swollen belly, round and heavy with life, sways beneath her, throwing off her balance on the treacherous slopes. But she's come this far, and she has tiny lives relying on her, so she won't stop.
Suddenly, the scent of something familiar finds her. It's the thunderpath. Relief washes over her like a brief, warm breeze. She's back at the clan territories. She had crossed valleys and forests and rivers to return to this place, though not to the clan that once called her their own. The former lead warrior doesn't belong there anymore. She doesn't belong anywhere. Instead, frozen paws guide her towards where she now knows Highstones to be. There, where the jagged rocks stand like silent sentinels and StarClan feels a little closer…maybe she can belong there. Panting, Forestshade pushes on until she is climbing over the rough terrain, brushing her whiskers across walls until she finds shelter in a rocky outcrop at the base of a cliff. She feels an opening to a small cave yawning before her, offering respite from the blizzard's fury. She squeezes inside, her bulk making it awkward to maneuver, but the moment she's out of the wind, a deep sigh escapes her.
The cave isn't much, but it would do. It smells faintly of stale air and damp stone, but at least there are no signs of predators or other animals having claimed it. Her paws and whiskers rove over the interior and she quickly notes the natural dip in the stone floor where she could lay moss for a nest. The space is tight, but it's warm, and above all it offers protection. It's enough.
Easing herself onto her side, she grunts as the weight of her belly presses heavily against the ground. It shouldn't be much longer now. Tiny life stirs within her, small and fluttering like a moth's wings, and she rests a paw against her round flank. A fierce, unyielding love surges through her at the touch, similar to what she'd felt when she'd been pregnant with her first litter. "Alright, alright," She murmurs, her voice echoing faintly in the hollow space. "No need to get worked up. We're here now." Her tail curls over her paws as rests her muzzle on the ground to rest. It isn't the life she'd imagined - she's not in ShadowClan, she's not a warrior. But this life is hers. For the first time in moons, she feels grounded.
The storm can rage all it likes. The cold can bite with all the force of its icy jaws. But she had made it this far. She would make it farther still. Tomorrow, she will gather moss and mark the den as her territory, but for now, she closes her green eyes and lets the muffled howling of the blizzard lull her to sleep.
The blizzard claws at Forestshade's fur, each gust of wind biting through her thick pelt and settling an aching chill into her bones. She pushes forward anyway, her paws shoving through the belly-deep snow with dogged determination. Every step is harder than the last - her swollen belly, round and heavy with life, sways beneath her, throwing off her balance on the treacherous slopes. But she's come this far, and she has tiny lives relying on her, so she won't stop.
Suddenly, the scent of something familiar finds her. It's the thunderpath. Relief washes over her like a brief, warm breeze. She's back at the clan territories. She had crossed valleys and forests and rivers to return to this place, though not to the clan that once called her their own. The former lead warrior doesn't belong there anymore. She doesn't belong anywhere. Instead, frozen paws guide her towards where she now knows Highstones to be. There, where the jagged rocks stand like silent sentinels and StarClan feels a little closer…maybe she can belong there. Panting, Forestshade pushes on until she is climbing over the rough terrain, brushing her whiskers across walls until she finds shelter in a rocky outcrop at the base of a cliff. She feels an opening to a small cave yawning before her, offering respite from the blizzard's fury. She squeezes inside, her bulk making it awkward to maneuver, but the moment she's out of the wind, a deep sigh escapes her.
The cave isn't much, but it would do. It smells faintly of stale air and damp stone, but at least there are no signs of predators or other animals having claimed it. Her paws and whiskers rove over the interior and she quickly notes the natural dip in the stone floor where she could lay moss for a nest. The space is tight, but it's warm, and above all it offers protection. It's enough.
Easing herself onto her side, she grunts as the weight of her belly presses heavily against the ground. It shouldn't be much longer now. Tiny life stirs within her, small and fluttering like a moth's wings, and she rests a paw against her round flank. A fierce, unyielding love surges through her at the touch, similar to what she'd felt when she'd been pregnant with her first litter. "Alright, alright," She murmurs, her voice echoing faintly in the hollow space. "No need to get worked up. We're here now." Her tail curls over her paws as rests her muzzle on the ground to rest. It isn't the life she'd imagined - she's not in ShadowClan, she's not a warrior. But this life is hers. For the first time in moons, she feels grounded.
The storm can rage all it likes. The cold can bite with all the force of its icy jaws. But she had made it this far. She would make it farther still. Tomorrow, she will gather moss and mark the den as her territory, but for now, she closes her green eyes and lets the muffled howling of the blizzard lull her to sleep.