- Jun 7, 2022
- 42
- 15
- 8
After he had gotten over his cough, Basilpaw had been expected to return to normal patrols, much to his chagrin. He was reluctant to go back into the real world, to return to the duties he had never asked for. He hasn’t asked to be born here! Perhaps if he had been born a kittypet life would be easier. Too late now, though, he would never leave his friends behind, or the family he had buried here. Sky Clan was as much a part of him as he was of it.
Today is another patrol. Hunting, they had said. But what were they expected to catch in this bitter cold? He does not know. All the mice and the squirrels and the birds surely were hiding in their nests like they should be doing.
The forest is still. Snow blankets the cats footsteps as they walk. He hates looking at the sky, at the sun, but he cannot help but almost constantly look upwards, mismatched eyes watching closely for a danger from above. Screams flash in his mind, scenes of the impossible happening before his very eyes play out. When he opens them again he notices that he has lagged behind the rest of the group, and he is not the only one.
As he watches quietly, Butterflypaw creeps up on a squirrel. His heart drums in his chest as he wills her to catch it. She gathers her hindquarters like she is going to jump but she doesn’t. She hesitates. That moment is enough and by the time she does pounce the squirrel has caught site of her and is scurrying up a tree. Her paws land on empty air. He lets out a snort of laughter, a peal that rings through the quiet forest. "If you were aiming for some snow I think we can call this a successful hunt!" he teases lightheartedly. Once, his jaunts may have been mean-spirited but since she had comforted him after his mothers passing he couldn’t bring himself to be mean to the small tortoiseshell she cat and as they were growing older he was beginning to realize that she was probably one of his closest friends.
// @butterflypaw
