KEEP STILL // self-care

[SOOTSTAR]

A quiet afternoon.
A rare encounter on the moors... Sootstar lets out a huff of amusement at the thought.
Quiet was boring, quiet meant something would inevitably spark up again soon. Some type of storm, perhaps a test was coming for WindClan? The leader's head fills with worry as she comes to a stop nearby the Sun warmed Pool.

Leaning over, she stares at her reflection in the still water.
It was a startling image that stared back at her, instead of a pretty, youthful she-cat she stared into baggy, sleep void eyes. The stared at the messy pelt of a mother, the graying hairs of a stressed leader. So much has changed in so little time, including her own physical appearance.

With a pre-cringe she dips her head under the shallow pool, feeling her ebony nose touch the rocky bottom. In mere seconds she draws back up, rejuvenated by the quick wash of her face with warm water. The leader hates water, but that had actually felt quite nice... so she moves a cautious paw, touching the warm surface of the pool reluctantly, and fully submerges it seconds after.
Then the other paw.

She could feel a tingling sensation on her paws as she closes her eyes and takes in a deep breath. This... this was pleasant.
The tiny molly enjoys the peace and quiet while she can.

//calm/peaceful thread! lets avoid drama if we can ;) ​

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[PEBBLENOSE]

Pebblenose does not mind the quiet. It is better than infuriating conversation or loud noises that grate on her nerves. In the quiet, she has the opportunity to think without interruption.

She'd followed her sister out of camp that afternoon, curious as to where Sootstar was heading... She would expect the smoky leader to patrol the borders, or track down rabbits, but instead they find themselves at the Sun-Warmed Pool. Pebblenose's head tilts, her brows furrowing as she watches her sister... dunk her head into the water. Shock jolts down her arched spine, her eyes widening. "What... What was the purpose of that?" Genuine confusion laces her typical monotonous voice. Sootstar has never been fond of the water, so to see her submerge her face fully in the pool is... unexpected. The spontaneity unnerves her, her tail tip twitching in an agitated manner. But there must be a reason as to why.

Curiously, she steps to the edge of the water, staring down at her own reflection. Wide, triangular eyes stare back at her. Then, she sucks in a breath and closes her eyes, and... She copies what she'd seen her sister do, plunging her own face into the pool. She re-emerges almost immediately with a gasp, shaking her head to dislodge the water from her nose and eyelids. The sudden coolness of the water had rejuvenated her... Maybe this sensation of enhanced wakefulness is what Sootstar had been seeking?

"Oh," she says, mostly to herself. "I think I understand."

Glancing back towards her sister, Pebblenose would continue to copy her strange actions; submerging one paw, then another, and finally closing her eyes. She shuffles in place, feeling rather awkward in the darkness. "...What are we doing, now?" The best answer she could conjure is that this is some sort of hunting practice... Enhancing their other senses by closing their eyes. But she doesn't understand why they'd need to get their paws wet to do that.​

 

[hyacinthbreath]

She remembered when the days were simple and quiet like this, back in her home colony. Her and Sunflower would press small lilypads over their eyes, bathing in the warmth of day's sun-warmed pool. It would be silent, an agreement of peace between the two girls as they focused on relaxing.

Relaxation.

She watches in the distance as Sootstar dampens her face, cleans it of the days stress. She sees the mortality in it, a moment of momentary understanding- Sootstar is an exhausted woman, a mother, and Leader. She's been stressed lately, and Hyacinth becomes glaringly aware of how much she could relate. Well, not to the Leader and Mother part- but she was tired, too. But was it okay to relax, when things could go so wrong? She shakes her head, pondering the idea of joining Sootstar and Pebblenose.

A break couldn't hurt.

She awkwardly pads over another small pool of water, clear ; reflecting her own appearance. She doesn't dare look at the mess of what she probably looks like right now, but she does step into the pool without much hesitation. She doesn't hate the water, having been introduced to it at such a young age. But her fur had adapted to the oils and grease of living on the moors. Her fur dampens rather easily, caking to her scrawny form underneath.

And then she begins to clean herself, pressing dried blood from fresh little cuts all over her body. With that came the dirt of many days, and so went the stress.

Hyacinth sighs for once, letting her head hang in relaxation. Then, her body gives in and shes laying in the sun-warmed pool completely, head resting on the patch of grassland next to the pool.

"...I call for weekly moments like this.." She mumbles lazily, sleep-drawn as she fully lets her body go into relaxation mode. She hadn't realized how tense she was until then. ​