camp illuminate the shadows of my heart

[leafcrackle]

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A shiver ran through her muted pelt of gray, ginger, and white as she gazed up at the dusky sky, stars coming out to play one by one. This was the first night of the season that Leafcrackle had truly felt the cold in her bones.

"It won't be long now..." She mumbled to herself but audible to any passersby in reference to the steadily approaching leaf-bare. However, there was still a moon or so until then at least. She should have prepared better, she realized with a sigh as she shuddered yet again in the face of the brisk wind blustering through camp. Her wispy coat just wasn't a match against the bitter cold; she so loathed leaf-bare. Sure, the first snowfall was always a pretty, one might say almost magical sight. Beautiful, but the season was always cruel-- she knew that despite having only suffered through a single leaf-bare thus far. Even as a kit she had known it was something to be wary of just by the way the older cats spoke of it with a heavy air of apprehension. The stress of making sure every cat was fed, the threat of greencough or worse... She would breathe a sigh of relief once they made it out alive to the other side; new-leaf.

She wished she had prepared better and lined her nest with feathers or fur. For now, she began to tuck an extra layer of moss into her bed and hoped to StarClan that it would keep her warm enough until she found better materials."I procrastinate too much..." She noted, heaving a sigh.

I would make a horrible leader. I'm never prepared and I put everything off until the last moment. Sometimes I feel like I'm just not cut out for this and I should have been born a kittypet. She recoiled at the thought, she had too much pride to wish that upon herself. What am I thinking?! I'd rather starve than be fed by twolegs. She loved the wild scents that clung to the forest air too much to be stuck in one of their silly twoleg dens. Sure everything would be a lot simpler and a lot easier. But she loved the sense of connectedness the forest gave her, like she was meant for something, even if she didn't know what that something was yet. Maybe she would never figure it out, but she knew she had to at least try.

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leafcrackle - she/her - shadowclan - warrior - 12 moons - dilute tortoiseshell with white - penned by koi_no_yokan​

 

[MIRESTAR]

"Yes..." Mirestar's answer is somber. They do not need Leafcrackle's stark reminder to know that leaf-bare is coming, courtesy of their own mind already providing that fact in startling quantities.

The cold moons are never easy, but Mirestar has never had to shelter a Clan through one before. Would it be kind this time? Or would it be more merciless than all the other ones before it, encouraging the frost to kill healing herbs, and only ever forcing the thin-ribbed prey further underground? Restlessness makes their paws itch; there is little reason in increasing hunting parties in the moment. The winds might be sharper and sharper with the incoming frigidity, but prey caught now would surely decay by the time leaf-bare really arrives.

There is nothing to do but wait... and hope.

It is by coincidence that they overhear Leafcrackle's thoughts. They had already gathered the entirety of Lilacfur's nest and moved it beside their own — selfishly quick to do so —, but with the fading temperatures, they had felt compelled to investigate the strength of the warriors' den and its walls. A curious glance flits towards Leafcrackle and the way she noses at her own nest. Procrastination?

"What do you mean?" they ask, failing to perceive the inner turmoil of their warrior. "If you want to fluff out your nest, I'm sure we can find something useful still. Might be a decent idea for a future patrol, actually..." Ever the optimist, they hope to soothe out Leafcrackle's worries. Perhaps the Carrionplace might have some odd but useful pelts that the Twolegs sometimes leave behind at this time of year. One would think that they need the extra layer because of their lack of fur, but alas.
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[SALAMANDERSNAP]

She grumbles to herself under her breath at the mention of the approaching leaf-bare. One of her least favorite times of year, and she didn't enjoy the reminder of its approach. "All the more reason to prepare ahead of time rather than waiting until leaf-bare." She muses from her spot in the sun a couple of tail lengths away from the pair.

I AM THICK TAR ON THE INSIDE BURNING ☽｡⋆ DO YOU REMEMBER ME

• ooc. — ​

• 

• SALAMANDERSNAP
  ↪ salamandersnap / cisgender female (she/her)
  ↪ 24 moons / ages realistically on the 19th
  ↪ shadowclan warrior
  ↪ lh black smoke
  ↪ "speech" / thoughts
  ↪ peaceful/healing actions may be powerplayed / attack in underline & @/account
  ↪ note: all thoughts/actions are based off ic opinions only !!
  ↪ penned by halimede
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