- Dec 28, 2023
- 148
- 24
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It almost feels unfair — Hazecloud had spent her last day as a queen tidying up the nursery, and now Eveningpaw has to leave it. The keyword is almost; there is nothing that can possibly deter her from the boundless joy of having the invisible walls of camp disappearing, and in turn, giving her access to the whole wide world. It's just... her, Horizonpaw and Twinklepaw have work to do. Already.
She wishes she could say it's fun or exciting, at least. Neither of those prove to be true when she moves from the nursery to the reed-woven den that houses the apprentices again- and probably not for the last time today. This is simply a chore: in with the old, out with the new... wait, no, the other way around. Eveningpaw simply relishes in sneaking old bits of moss into her new nest when she thinks nobody is looking, Hazecloud's scent clinging to it for a few days more.
Her flank brushes against her siblings' pelts when they pass one another on the way, and there is just one thing that stops her in this never-ending dance. The plush brown of Graykit is not difficult to spot, especially when the lack of his voice pulls her attention onto him.
Eveningpaw more or less understands how he feels. She had been a mixed bag of emotions when Riverpaw, Pebblepaw and Shellpaw switched dens — jealousy, sadness, joy. It felt like they were leaving her behind, even though she knew even then that's just how the system works. Like clockwork, kits would become apprentices; those same apprentices going on to become warriors; perhaps moving again if the stars align just right or they grow old enough to warrant retirement.
She all but flinches when she notices it's her who froze, not the world itself. She can only hope she didn't unnerve Graykit by staring... and now, by approaching him.
"Hey, Gray," she purrs, intentionally shortening his name to draw attention away from their now-different ranks, "I might have brought too much moss with me. Wanna share? We can fluff up your nest with the leftovers, and it'll be like sleeping on a cloud, I bet!"