- Jun 10, 2023
- 138
- 24
- 18
Home did not feel like home, it was that first thing that the tunneler noticed when he returned to the moors that he had missed so dearly in the mountains. This WindClan - broken and starving, having to turn to other clans for help - was not the WindClan that he had left to help almost two moons ago, the bittersweet return and the grief-filled "welcome backs" was not the return he had wanted, but with how long they had been gone and how much he had changed, Mouseflight was sure the cats that had come back from the mountains were not exactly the cats that those who remained within camp had wanted back either. In the grand scheme of things they hadn't been gone long, but to Mouseflight it had been forever and he had liked spending time with the make-shift clan, even if they butt heads at time. By the time the scents that had covered the cats had faded and merged together he had already gotten used to them, gotten closer than he had originally thought he would - especially with the SkyClanners - and the tunneler found it difficult to rest within the gorse walls of camp once more. When sleep had finally found him it took a long time for him to dream, restless mind creating small scenarios instead.
When he finally began to dream he was within WindClan's territory, happy as he had been before he walked through the camp entrance and saw the faces that greet him. They were home, they had made it, and he was racing across the moors. The mountains were long forgotten and pushed to the back of his mind, the only thought being the wind in his face as he sped through the tall grass. What he was chasing he didn't know but it didn't matter, smile spread across his face as he continued to run until he felt like he was almost flying.
Until the sound of a soft bark reached his ears and Mouseflight faltered, stumbling over his paws and through the grass, tumbling head over heel before coming to a stop and ears pricked as he came to his paws once more, crouching down and listening. There it was again, a loud bark echoing around him, and before he could fully react to the sound he began to see the grass around him shake as something barreled towards him. Turning he tried to go to the side only to see more grass shaking, the sound of panting and the thumping of footsteps growing closer and closer as he began to spin around to try and look for a way out. He was going to die here, and there was nothing he could do - they were coming from all directions.
Just as a snout broke through the grass the ground beneath the tunneler had opened up to swallow him and when he looked up as he fell he saw the heads of dogs poking over the hole to look down at him, their growls and barks echoing softly as he fell and fell towards the bottom of the hole he had been thrown into. When he finally reached the bottom he felt himself skid across stone and dirt, the soft scent of rabbit and dust surrounding him as he blinked a few times to catch his bearings. Eyes widened as ears twist and twitched at the soft echoes of things scurrying around him and Mouseflight stood and began to walk, trying to find an exit in the maze of tunnels that now present before him.
The longer he walked the more he realized he could hear his heartbeat drumming within his ears until it jumped out and was a new echo surrounding him. With every beat of his quickening heart the ground shook and pebbles fell from the walls and ceiling, scattering Mouseflight with debris before they turned to rocks and clumps of dirt. Roots and chunks of the walls began to fall and as Mouseflight ran more fell around him until he couldn't move anymore. The beat of his heart grew louder and louder around him until his ears and lungs were filled with dirt, the silence surrounding him matching the muffled scream for help he tried to let out.
Head shot up as the calico woke from his nightmare, breath heavy as he looked around him before a sigh left his lungs as he realized what it was - a nightmare. He was fine, he was home and fine. He soon found himself looking up to the sky, watching the stars above him as he tried to calm shaky breaths.
When he finally began to dream he was within WindClan's territory, happy as he had been before he walked through the camp entrance and saw the faces that greet him. They were home, they had made it, and he was racing across the moors. The mountains were long forgotten and pushed to the back of his mind, the only thought being the wind in his face as he sped through the tall grass. What he was chasing he didn't know but it didn't matter, smile spread across his face as he continued to run until he felt like he was almost flying.
Until the sound of a soft bark reached his ears and Mouseflight faltered, stumbling over his paws and through the grass, tumbling head over heel before coming to a stop and ears pricked as he came to his paws once more, crouching down and listening. There it was again, a loud bark echoing around him, and before he could fully react to the sound he began to see the grass around him shake as something barreled towards him. Turning he tried to go to the side only to see more grass shaking, the sound of panting and the thumping of footsteps growing closer and closer as he began to spin around to try and look for a way out. He was going to die here, and there was nothing he could do - they were coming from all directions.
Just as a snout broke through the grass the ground beneath the tunneler had opened up to swallow him and when he looked up as he fell he saw the heads of dogs poking over the hole to look down at him, their growls and barks echoing softly as he fell and fell towards the bottom of the hole he had been thrown into. When he finally reached the bottom he felt himself skid across stone and dirt, the soft scent of rabbit and dust surrounding him as he blinked a few times to catch his bearings. Eyes widened as ears twist and twitched at the soft echoes of things scurrying around him and Mouseflight stood and began to walk, trying to find an exit in the maze of tunnels that now present before him.
The longer he walked the more he realized he could hear his heartbeat drumming within his ears until it jumped out and was a new echo surrounding him. With every beat of his quickening heart the ground shook and pebbles fell from the walls and ceiling, scattering Mouseflight with debris before they turned to rocks and clumps of dirt. Roots and chunks of the walls began to fall and as Mouseflight ran more fell around him until he couldn't move anymore. The beat of his heart grew louder and louder around him until his ears and lungs were filled with dirt, the silence surrounding him matching the muffled scream for help he tried to let out.
Head shot up as the calico woke from his nightmare, breath heavy as he looked around him before a sigh left his lungs as he realized what it was - a nightmare. He was fine, he was home and fine. He soon found himself looking up to the sky, watching the stars above him as he tried to calm shaky breaths.
- developmental oneshot for the fall prompts!
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mousekit-mousepaw- mouseflight
⋆ ftm - he/him - 12 moons
⋆ bisexual - open to relationship
⋆ tunneler of windclan
⋆ attack - speech - thought
⋆ penned by tikki