LET'S PAINT THE GREY HAZE INTO SKY BLUE | flamewhisker

[Cloudyfur]

Homesickness had lingered over Cloudypaw since the moment she took her first steps out of twolegplace.

Cloudypaw wasn't going to try and return anymore, at least not anytime soon. Her mind was made up on that. She was going to stay and try and become a warrior, like her uncle was, like her sister seemed like she could be. Even if she wasn't a good fit for it. Her new home had been so kind to her, and it felt like somewhere she could maybe belong. The only one standing in her way was herself. She had friends here. Twolegplace had been safe and easy, but she hadn't ever had friends. All her time had been spent with her family. The only one she missed was her mother.

It was with her siblings at her side and her mother's words at her back that she had made her way to Thunderclan. Alone, she never would have had the courage for the decision. That much had been proven, as the moment she no longer had her mother to guide her, she had almost ran back home. Only Covecatcher's words had reassured her. Still, that homesickness remained.

It ebbed only for the sight of the sky above her, with all the clouds drifting lazily past. That was the same sky, she knew, that she had seen every morning from her twoleg's den. The same her mother still saw. It felt a little silly, but those thoughts made her feel as though home wasn't so far away after all.

Cloudypaw lay in camp, the daylight fading above her, and watched the clouds go by. It was nice that she finally felt comfortable enough here to just enjoy it. When she had first arrived, the sound of so many other cats around her would have kept any calm from finding her. Now it almost felt natural.

Thunderclan felt a little more like home to her now.

// @Flamewhisker​

 

[Flamewhisker]

BORN TO FIND THAT GREAT UNKNOWN ⋆⁺₊⋆
Homesickness.

There was a time when she had felt out of place here. However, there was no other home for her. It had taken her a little while to get used to living as a clan cat, but it hadn't been too much of an adjustment for her, given she was born a wild cat. Her siblings, however, were raised with the pampers of twolegs. Somedays she wondered what they were doing now. Did they have a mate and kits of their own? Probably not. Were they hunting their own meals, growing strong on the blessings of the forest? Definitely not. After they had been stolen, her mother had raised her to be able to take care of herself, and not have to depend on others. That had been the biggest adjustment to clan life for her.

During her time in the camp, she had noticed how some of her clanmates had treated Flycatcher's niece. Former kitty pet or not, she had been in the clan long enough to be considered a clanmate. She had heard that the apprentice was struggling with hunting, and various other skills that warriors learned, but she couldn't help but sympathize with the young Molly. Snapping at her would not help her learn, perhaps that was something she had learned even more so after becoming a mother.

As the daylight began to fade, soft paw steps carried the red tabby towards Cloudypaw. She was laying on her back, gazing at the clouds. Her own fur was ruffled as a warm breeze swept by. It is a nice evening. she thought to herself. "Would you mind company?" Flamewhisker would ask. It had been a long time since she had been able to simply lay and watch the clouds. It seemed like a nice way to end the day if the apprentice wouldn't mind.

[₊⋆]​

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[Cloudyfur]

"Oh, um, not at all." Cloudypaw replied out of instinctive politeness, before she had so much as raised her head to realize that it was Flamewhisker that had asked the question. She blinked in surprise.

Cloudypaw wouldn't have thought that Flamewhisker would talk to her. Not because she assumed the other molly was rude or anything, she just would have thought that a lead warrior would have better things to do than keep the company of an apprentice. Even when her own uncle talked to her she couldn't help but feel a bit like she was wasting his time. There was a whole clan of cats to take care of after all, theirs was a big job. Bigger than she could imagine.

Letting her gaze drift back toward the sky, she tried to focus on that. It felt a bit awkward to her now though, but that was probably her fault. She really wasn't any good at talking to people though. As she stared upward, she tried to think of anything to say. All she could think of though was an old game she had played as a kit, where they tried to find shapes in the clouds. She wondered if Flamecatcher could find any.

That would be a stupid thing to ask someone so important.

Still, she asked.

"What do they look like to you? Uh, the clouds, I mean." Cloudypaw gestured vaguely at one, so that she could give an example. "That one kind of looks like a squirrel." It didn't really, she thought. Even she had to really squint in order to see it like that.​

 

[Flamewhisker]

BORN TO FIND THAT GREAT UNKNOWN ⋆⁺₊⋆
After Cloudypaw had given her approval, Flamewhisker would lay down beside her. She had never minded spending time with younger cats, probably because during her entire time in the clan, it had always been heavy in apprentices and kits...and after spending several moons in the nursery, Cloudypaw was older than the clan members she had been spending most of her time with lately.

She would lift her own gaze to the sky, watching the clouds as they slowly passed by above them. After a few moments of silence, Cloudypaw's voice would grab her attention. What do they look like to you? Uh, the clouds, I mean. She glanced over to the apprentice, as she lifted her paw to one of the clouds. "A squirrel huh?" she would say, raising an eyebrow as she tried to see it. After a little bit, she could kinda see the tail. "I see it."

Her gaze would search the clouds for another image, before one caught her eye. "See that one?" Her paw would lift and point to one towards the right of them. "That one kinda looks like a tree. It's got the trunk, and the top kinda looks like branches."

[₊⋆]​

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[Cloudyfur]

Relief flooded Cloudypaw as Flamewhisker said she saw it too. She was thankful that the lead warrior was even playing along, for a moment she had thought her old game would be too childish and silly for someone so important.

Her gaze followed Flamewhisker's gesture as she pointed out another cloud. The moment she saw it she knew exactly what it was supposed to be. "A tree..." Cloudypaw murmured before the other molly could say as much herself. She glanced over. "You're really good at this!" She commented, and immediately felt a little sillier for saying it.

Looking back up at the sky, she searched for a cloud as distinct as Flamewhisker's tree. Without thinking about it, her usual anxiety seeped out of her as she searched. The task giving her something else to put her mind to.​