camp Love The Subhuman Self || Spending The Night

[Chickbloom]

Butter-stained fur was damp with sweat as Eggshell dragged himself into camp, seldom-used muscles screaming with exhaustion. It had been another day devoted to practice, the desire to make himself useful all-encompassing, but it often felt like running in place. There was still no succulent prey clamped between quivering jaws, and from the pace of his progress the kittypet didn’t expect there to be for a long time.

Bleary amber eyes swiveled to the prey pile as Eggshell sat down, growling stomach tempting him to take more than he’d provided that day before a head topped with folded ears shook vigorously. No, there’d be plenty of pellets waiting at home, even if the boy would be by himself, as usual. Still, that did little to stop the pangs of hunger plaguing him. Just how much of an appetite had the anxious tomcat worked up?

Eggshell turned his gaze skyward, away from the alluring pile of meat to check how soon he’d be leaving, when he felt a fragile heart sink. The skittish Scottish Fold had given his attention just in time to see the last rays of sunlight disappear over the horizon, leaving the camp in twilight.

Eggshell was afraid of the dark. The daylight warrior didn’t want to walk home now, through shadow-scourged undergrowth inhabited by all sorts of foul monsters! The cat could ask for an escort, but dying of embarrassment by letting everyone know he still harbored kit fears was as bad as being eaten by a fox or carried off by an owl.

Nagging hunger was forgotten as Eggshell realized his only option: sleeping in the woods, away from his nest for the first time in…well, forever. Yolk-drenched paws shuffled awkwardly into the warriors’ den, thankful to see an unused nest in the corner. “Um, I’m - I’m s-sorry, but would it be o-okay if - if I s-slept here tonight?” He asked the inhabitants, motioning to the free space while praying no one asked any questions.​

 

[Ekat]

Beneath the shadows of the brambles, which quickly deepen as the last warmth of sunset fades into evening — Ekat lifts her head from where she's settled in her own nest. Eggshell's nervous gaze meets her own, and the she-cat quickly drops her eyes to the empty nest at his paws. It feels as though she's been running into the daylight warrior more often as of late, and the tomcat stands out to her because she's noticed their similarities. Ekat's nerves seem to be always just on the edge of breaking, the world surrounding her one full of dangers, and it makes the she-cat feel as though she's a bird ever perched for flight. Or, perhaps, a river dam built of brittle sticks — water seeps through, it trembles, and one day it might completely break apart and rush through everything in its path, destroying in its wake.

Ekat doesn't know Eggshell well enough to tell if his anxiety consumes the tomcat to quite the same extent as her own. All she knows is that she sees a bit of herself in the light-furred warrior, which is more than she can say for the majority of their Clanmates. She's hardly spoken to most of them, including Eggshell, but Ekat manages to find her courage to speak up now. "I don't think any cat is using that one," she begins quietly, keeping her gaze on the nest below him rather than meeting his eyes. She hopes she's right, and that the nest is unclaimed — otherwise she'll be mortified for giving the wrong answer. "I don't see why you couldn't." Then again, Ekat still has yet to learn all of the rules, even with her assessment looming on the horizon. She could be entirely wrong, and maybe the both of them would end up chased out of the den. Her stomach sinks to think about it.​

 

[SILVERSMOKE]

Silversmoke, whose head was buried so deep into his fur it was a miracle he could even breathe, paused his grooming as a timid voice pierced his ears. Blinking in surprise, the spotted tabby turned his attention to the den's entrance, squinting at the shadow of the Scottish Fold. The tabby's tail swished left and right, causing nesting material to bunch and move around. Ekat spoke while the Lead Warrior assessed the situation, his head tilting into the lynx-like tufts upon his cheeks. "Ekat is right, that nest is... unclaimed." 'Is that the one I made for Johnnyflame?' The question was quick to enter his mind, but if the chimera had used it yet, then Silversmoke was none-the-wiser; he knew that the other Lead Warrior would be smirking at him if he ever did for showing interest. Pride would not allow for such an interaction to occur. Forcing his attention back to the Daylight Warrior, Silversmoke's expression grew spoiled by concern. "Are your Twolegs going to have a problem with this?" He could picture a world where Twolegs stormed the forest in search of their missing delights - even if it hadn't happened yet, it could, and the thought was enough to keep him on edge.

​

 

[Chickbloom]

Ekat was one of the few in Skyclan that Eggshell could call a friend. Friend? No, maybe not that far. No one was that far yet, and it was selfish to assume otherwise. Companion? Acquaintance? Work colleague? Whatever it was, Eggshell was relieved to have someone more his speed around. The she-cat’s nerves complimented his own (though perhaps not to the same degree), and that was comforting in a strange way. If the skittish Scottish Fold could see a piece of himself in a successful Skyclanner, maybe that meant there was hope?

Ekat’s answer relaxes him slightly, and the spineless whelp lets out an all-too-rare sigh of relief. “T-Thank you. I was just - just c-checking, I guess…” Eggshell squeaks out, taking a tired half-step towards his bed for the night before freezing as Silversmoke speaks up.

In truth, the kittypet still couldn’t tell if Silversmoke tolerated him or not (which in a way was a good sign, as the ball of nerves often assumed everyone belonged to the latter category). He’d been called annoying by the older tom, but right after the other had given him a hunting lesson. The pitiful cat is still trying to unravel the puzzle as Silversmoke asks a question.

“I d-don’t…they won’t n-notice.” The coward answered after a long silence, a hint of disappointment entering the sheepish sentence. “They’re n-not really around m-much, so…” Eggshell trails off awkwardly, taking a few more hesitant steps towards the nest before finally laying down. “That’s w-why I like it here, I g-guess. It’s s-scary, but at l-least I’m not - not alone all d-day.” Appreciative amber eyes flick between the two, silently thanking them.​