tunnels ON CRIMSON NIGHTS LIKE THESE } snowed in



Snow, while hardly Rattleheart's favorite thing in the world, at least wasn't too much of a problem when it came to being a tunneler. After all, they were protected from the frigid crystals above by the layers of dirt above their heads, keeping them both secure and at least somewhat warm as they patrolled and scoured for prey. It would be a different story once they were forced to surface once more, but she tried to push that from her mind as she moved along with a few others down in the tunnels. She'd worry about it later, hopefully once they all had still plump pieces of prey to carry into camp with them. Just the thought was enough to bring a smile to her face, turning so she could see those accompanying her in the darkness. "Hopefully we'll find anything that darted down here soon. Though, I guess I wouldn't mind sticking down here for a while, it is pretty warm..." Not to mention relatively quiet, free from the tensions and infighting that had become so commonplace back in camp. The tunnels continued to be a sanctuary for her, just as they had been ever since she had joined Windclan.

Unfortunately for her and the rest, the snow above them also had a tendency to shift, knocked around by the wind or the occasionally clumsy movement from a moor runner above them. So, when a sudden chill struck Rattleheart from one of the nearby tunnel entrances, she knew something had to have changed. Sure enough, she turned and headed for the exit leading up to the moors, a scowl marring her muzzle when she saw the large pile of snow that had fallen in and started to block it. "Foxdung... the prey can't get in here if the tunnels are full of snow. Not to mention we can't get out. C'mon, I need some help digging us out." She didn't explicitly wait for anyone else's thoughts, moving forward to start digging at the snow that had blocked them in. Hopefully any nearby moor runners would see the flailing of paws and also be available to help from their side, considering she didn't want to drag too much of the cold down into the tunnels.
[ PENNED BY EO ]
 
Operating mainly within the tunnels, Scorchstreak is not fazed by the snow that blankets the moorland territory. Like her sister, the calico tries to push thoughts of the land overhead from her mind, preferring to save her displeasure for later, when they actually have to emerge from the tunnels and back into the frigid air. She nods along as Rattleheart comments on finding prey that may have also taken to the tunnels as an escape from the snow. "Warmer than it is outside, certainly," she says, agreeing with her sister. The more time she spends aboveground in the snow, the more she appreciates her time spent below, traipsing through tunnels much warmer than the outside air. Although, as they approach one of the exits, the greatest downside of being inside of the tunnels while it snows becomes clear.

"Stars," she growls as Rattleheart announces the blockade at the exit, "we'll be stuck down here for ages if it snows any more." Being trapped down here certainly isn't the worst fate of all, with prey surely abundant somewhere, but she would prefer to have a way out as soon as possible. The idea of being trapped doesn't sit well with her, no matter where she is trapped. The rockslide surely hadn't helped that at all. Pressing her flank against her sister's, the tunnneler sets to digging as well, hoping that two sets of paws will be better than one.
[ BE A FIRE, BURN THIS DOWN ]
 
Harbingermoon was of a similar mindset to the other Tunnelers. He preferred the cool darkness of the tunnels rather than the exposed frigidity of the moors. At least below ground there was a touch of insulation and his wispy tufts could fare against it better. Rattleheart's voice roused him from his inner musings. Listening with only half-hearted interest as they padded along. At the arrival of an exit his he'd furrowed as his teeth clenched with annoyance.

Great. Just what I need to get stuck down here with them. Rolling his eyes the ebony warrior stalked forward. Observing the blockage with disdain and begrudgingly nodding. Harbingermoon's voice came with nonchalance as his orange eyes peered towards Rattleheart. "Yeah. We can try but this looks pretty solid." Bulbous tail flicking idly as he pressed his paw to the wall of snow. It's frosty chill caused an involuntary shiver to run down his spine.

Without waiting another heartbeat he pressed into the unforgiving cold. Scooping out pawfuls at a time.
 
*+:。.。 [TW for morbid thoughts in paragraphs starting with [**] ]

[**] Ebonylight wondered what it would be like to be buried alive in snow. They've heard cautionary tales of tunnels collapsing and cats drowning in soil and mud, as the life of a Tunneler was no less dangerous than Moor Running- one could ever argue it was even more so. But to die from lungfuls of soft, powdery ice? Body stiffening mid-claw for the warm light of a chamber entrance locked away from you by the same ivory glitter that kittens played with by the pawful? Feeling the cold dig through their paw pads as they wandered the frozen moorland, they didn't doubt the monster hidden behind the alabaster crystals. What a cruel beast snow could be.

[**] Yet they stand and stare silently as the snow shifts subtly, mews sounding from the tunnel entrance hidden behind the thick layer of frost where Ebonylight's clanmates surely fought for a breath of freedom. Their thoughts swam with merciless delight as they toyed with seeing the answer to their inquiry play out in real life. If the world were Ebony's oyster and making friends with their clanmates wasn't a must, Ebonylight like to picture themselves lying down by the closed-off entrance and asking the muffled voices below what they were feeling. If they were too cold to be scared. If they could breathe at all in that cramped space filled with a suffocating, frozen flood.

Hoping to extend their entertainment a little longer, Ebonylight clears their throat finally and asks sweetly, "Are you all alright down there? Need a paw from the outside?" Hopefully, they'll accuse them of being so-polite-they're-stupid rather than call out the negligence for what it was. Either way, they perk their ears, keeping their "helpful" paws still in their tracks even despite the cold biting at their sensitive paw pads, waiting for approval.





  • GENERAL:
    Ebonylight
    DFAB— He/They/She — Pansexual
    16 moons — Ages 1 moon every month real-time
    Mentored by X
    Windclan — Moor-runner




    COMBAT:
    Physically hard | mentally hard
    Attack in bold black
    injuries: None currently
 
┌────────────────────☽【❖】☾────────────────────┐
Slowly, slowly things were returning to normal - or, at least, some sort of new normal. Luckypaw still wonders when things would feel right again, but at least he no longer trembles at the prospect of returning to the tunnels day in and day out, which is...well, he'd hoped he wouldn't ever feel such anxiety creep into his chest at the thought of being nestled so deep beneath the earth, not after he had gotten over his initial nerves, but it's something, at least. Maybe he just needed more time - maybe that's what they all needed, and it would be fine. For now, it's one step at a time, one day at a time, and on this day, he's almost delighted to feel anything positive at all about being in the tunnels, even if it's only by virtue of displeasure at being above ground as the sky rains down snow around them. If there's one thing he wouldn't ever miss, it would be snow, probably - they'd had more than enough of it up in the mountains.

Following alongside @cygnetstare and the rest of the patrol, feeling the cold ground beneath his paws, he's almost content, even as Rattleheart reminds them all of their objective, he feels more at ease down here than he has in moons, and it's a good feeling. Like he's stretching out, back into himself and into his own mental map of the tunnels. In the face of everything, he's not even all that worried about running into any prey for once - his hunting skills below ground might still need work, but surely all the hunting he'd done above ground had to count for something, after all that. And he'd caught something even when they'd been trapped in the mountains, hadn't he? He'd manage - he'd manage this today, and he'd manage the next day, and the next after that, and soon it would be like there had been no setback in the first place, the time lost meaning little in the grand scheme of things.

They're set to near an exit soon, he's pretty sure, and he can even feel it growing colder the closer they grow, but the familiar light he's grown to associate with an opening isn't there, cut-off and stifled by...something. Dread pricks at him, though he's curious more than anything at what's happened; it's not until Rattleheart speaks, Scorchstreak and Harbingermoon after her, that the situation fully clicks. There had been so much snow since this exit was last used that it had started to pile up, like the snowdrifts they'd encountered in the mountains. Vaguely, he wonders if this is something to be aware of - something like staying clear of the tunnels if there were any signs of water - until Rattleheart's words finally catch up to him, then Scorchstreak's. The snow is piling up outside, leaving them - leaving them trapped in the tunnels, unable to get out, stuck down here -

There's still some light just barely peeking in, some last remnants of the icy freedom above, but it brings no solace for Luckypaw, whose mind has ground out to a halt. The others step forward to start digging a way out, and he stills entirely, unable to bring himself to move as he stares down the blockage, as though the snow might turn to stone if he looks away for a moment. One moment, and he's on a hunting patrol, and the next it's not Rattleheart, or Scorchstreak, or Harbingermoon he sees, but Clearheart, Hazecloud, Nightbird -

Just as quickly as the thought arises, swells and snaps into place, it crumbles away, just as the snow gives way beneath their paws. Belatedly, he realizes that he's been staring, that there's snow they've dug out pressing against his own paws, and all he can do is wonder about Scorchstreak. They hadn't really talked about what it had been like, separated and trapped down there; it must have gone better for her, he thinks, or maybe she's just stronger than him, better than him, because she hadn't frozen up as if ice ran through her veins like he had. Maybe this was something she had prepared for - maybe this is just something that happened in Leaf-bare, when the skies opened up. Drawing in a shuddering breath, he doesn't want to think about that possibility (can't think about it, not right now) as his stiffened limbs slacken, and he tries to busy himself with shoveling some of the snow out of the way.

The sooner they're out of there, the better, and he's just going to scoop the snow, and he's not going to think about anything else. It's cold on his paw pads, an icy shock, and not at all unwelcome, in this moment. There hadn't been any snow like this when they'd gotten trapped, he doesn't think; that had come after. This was after, and there were no rocks, and Scorchstreak is right here, and Scorchpaw isn't underground at all, and - and he's going to get out of here, and it'll all be fine. Distantly, he hears someone outside, something about offering a paw, but he can't draw his scattered thoughts in enough to formulate a reply, only pausing for a moment to stare at where the voice had come from, as if that might materialize a response of some sort.​
  • OOC: --​
  • VGVREdC.png
  • 69355684_l8Wl3AJb3zHJeza.png
    - Luckykit Luckypaw
    - He/him (AFAB)
    - 8 moons (Ages on the 1st)
    - Kit Apprentice of WindClan
    - Small blue tortoiseshell with white spotting & green eyes
    - Art by myself & meghan respectively! <33
    - Minor powerplay allowed!
    - Penned by Hijinks​