next up FOREVER | FREEDOM

[Sunfreckle]

Rabbitnose had walked Flickerkit over to their leader to discuss her apprenticeship as he finished cleaning out the nursery for what would hopefully be the last time in a while. With hope it would not be used outside the rarity of a stray kit found in the nearby area, with leaf-bare already so deeply wound around them it would be foolish for anyone to have kits right now so he could clean and scrape out the old nesting without much concern of remaking it until newleaf. Wilting Rose had her nest and area to herself, comfortable as could be, while the rest of the den would be empty and hollow and he felt an almost mournful longing for the days he had squirming kittens everywhere but it was very quickly smothered by the overwhelming realization he was a warrior again.

It was very strange no long being confined to the camp, so startling that he didn't know what to do with it immediately. Emberstar had called a meeting and he spotted cats gathering but it was all just noise slowing into a low hum in his head as he gazed out across the camp to the bramble thickets surrounding them and with an almost kit-like dialating of his eyes he sprints forward with a swift bounce. Each step he took he heard the kits being given their names and new mentors, an entirely new generation of cats barring the name of 'paw' for ThunderClan and also being released from their confinement as he had though not to the degree he was permitted. Apprentices still had something tying them to the camp, a mentor and older warriors meant to escort them out and remain at their side as they learned; Sunfreckle had no such leash and by the time the voices and cheers had died down into a dismissal he was already at the edge of the camp and out on brisk steps. It was like seeing the territory for the first time again, he had not left it since before the snow and now every surface was foreign and unfamiliar, coated in sleek ice and sparkling like the stars he'd often starred up at during the night.

It took a bit of learning on his part, lifting his legs high enough to manuever through the snow without kicking it and dragging it into his longhaired pelt but eventually Sunfreckle got used to the cold slush and trudged onward to where he once remembered picking flowers with Berryheart and Rabbitnose, a place he recalled being drowned in song bird sounds and thus probably harboring a nest or two for him to go poking his nose in. It was time to get back to being productive!

​

 

[BERRYHEART]

He had never cared much for meetings- they were often more of the same after a certain point. Berryheart revelled in eavesdropping, though- so he often found himself amongst the crowd with an ear turned to a low-volume conversation, some giggles or gossip about what was said. In the murmur of a crowd, people often forgot they could be heard by prying ears- and unfortunately, prying ears were the only ones that Berryheart had.

A yawn split his maw as the meeting concluded, and within his mind Berryheart set a duty- to go and collect some herbs, ones he could match to some that were in storage and some he had been told about. Maybe even some other flora that went undocumented by his storage. Never did he make much fanfare of his exit, so his speckled pelt went disappearing into the territory before anyone could ask to tag along with him. Not that he disliked company, but- concentration was key.

It was at the beginning of this expedition, a couple of sprigs held between askew jaws, that Berryheart's lopsided gaze befell Nifty. Swiftly did he recall that the ginger tom's last remaining kit had just been apprenticed, meaning he was no freed from the confines of camp, no longer having to mind his son constantly- and with the smile written across his face, Berryheart could guess that this had been good news. "How's freedom?" he asked, voice light despite the zero change in his flat expression or volume. It must be relieving not to be trapped anymore... ​

[ PENNED BY PIN ]​