private ON A TROPICAL ISLAND (sootstar)

[BRIGHTSHINE!]

// SORRY THIS IS SO LATE it literally just slipped my mind that I was supposed to make this! @SOOTSTAR

Brightshine leads the way, a pep in her step as she trots away from the hollow they called home. She hadn't grown to know Sootstar too well, but what she did know is she wanted to try and turn that frown upside down! To do that, she had to befriend her, a task that seemed to be more difficult than she'd anticipated. Never had she quite met a cat like their smoky-furred leader, but the calico is nothing if not persistent. She is determined to make this stoic molly into one of her bestest pals! So, she forced her out of camp with her today, insisting that she wanted to show her more of the tunnels that her family is so familiar with.

She stops right at the mouth of one of the dark paths, beaming back at Sootstar. "When you go in, you won't be able to see a thing, so listening and smelling is super duper important!" She trills, tail waving.​

 

[SOOTSTAR]

The blue smoke stands at the gaping entrance of the tunnel, eyes staring straight into the dark abyss. From where she stood it seemed like it traveled along forever... she can't help but be curious as to discover where it leads to.

Apparently, this chirpy calico was quite familiar with the tunnels. Somehow, she was amongst the least annoying of her kin... and in mere minutes has been the most useful to Sootstar as well.

"No kidding." She scoffs, sticking her head into the tunnel and taking a sniff. She scents nothing but the earth and old rainwater, no fox, no badger, she wonders if any rabbits lurked within. "We going in then?" She meows despite every instinct in her body screaming not to enter, but she would not appear cowardly before this cat.

A wise feline would've let the more familiar cat lead... yet Sootstar dives into the tunnels in front of Brightshine anyways.
"...Do you know where this one takes you?" She inquires just as the darkness consumes her, a heavy pit of anxiety forming in her stomach. Yet she keeps pushing heavy paws forward. ​

---

 

[BRIGHTSHINE!]

"Well, I-" She is cut off as Sootstar dives into the tunnel, and Brightshine can't help but gawk at the other's courage. She'd never stepped foot in one of these before, and felt confident enough to just go right in on her own? Wow! Guess that's why she's the leader! Swallowing down her own anxiety, the calico slips in after her. The tunnels always were a source of fear for her, ever since she was a kit and one had collapsed in on her father. She's still capable of using them, but it's not without a bit of terror gripping her. "Sure do! Just keep going straight. It'll split to the right - ignore that and just keep going. This will come up near the gorge!" She calls up to her leader as she scurries through the darkness, whiskers brushing the sides of the familiar tunnels.​