private RED GLASS HEART ☆ HERONDAWN

[CICADAFLIGHT]

He's taken to watching the weather through the den's moss - draped mouth; with little else to distinguish day and night, waking and sleeping, there's the slightest entertainment to be gleaned from watching how the weather, at least, changes. Today, a light mist has blanketed the earth as softly as the good downy sheep - fluff that occasionally blows in from WindClan's furthest end, a rare treat for a happy kitten. It's of the sort that usually greets him with each day's rising and then burns away with the softness of the dawn, yielding the day to deep blue skies and unbearable heat. Today, dusk approaches on quick velvet paws and it still lingers as it has the entire day, gently refreshing to a bored patient but likely a nuisance for the warriors.

" Hm? " His voice comes out in a rumbling hum somewhat reduced by his injury, which has banished him mostly to the realm of the silent, his sparse exchanges as monosyllabic as he can manage to make them. Another cat ducks under the mossy curtain that protects the patients ( mostly ) from prying eyes, and as per usual, Cicadaflight prepares to be his sister and her maybe - mate's keeper, draping a half - bandaged chin over velveteen, tufted paws. The other warrior is grey - furred and golden - eyed, fluffy - pelted but unremarkable to the point that he has to squint at him for a second.

. . . He's never had a good memory of even the cats he grew up around, and it takes him a moment to register the silvery stranger as Herondawn. The grey tom and his siblings ( Cicadaflight thinks he has those? ) had graduated to apprenticeship by the time he was born, and with the tumult of his early moons, he'd barely had the time for his loved ones, much less older strangers. He can't remember the older litter with terrible clarity, but he cants his head towards the empty coldness of his sister and Moonbeam's shared nest, rasping, " Everyone else is out, so . . . come back later if you're looking for them. "

His voice is relatively nonchalant, unbothered and ready to go back to enjoying the shreds of mist that drift through the mossy shade of the entrance, his mouth unmoving, but his eyes glitter with a half - submerged sentiment the rest of him doesn't express. Unless you're here to see me? goes unspoken but rather wanted . . . he's always been the lonely sort, but being relegated to the medicine den without patrol chats and nursery visits has made that more starkly apparent than ever. The realization that scarcely anyone but his mortal enemy of sorts cares enough to pay him a visit makes him ache somewhere between his ribs.

OOC : —

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[herondawn]

❝ NIGHT ENDED THE FIGHT ✧°.☀ ————————————
Herondawn was a good warrior. He was obedient, quiet, and put his faith in the stronger warriors around him. He was a good, honest warrior. When he was assigned a task, he nodded with just enough excitement to show he was able to complete the task. Too much enthusiasm would seem greedy and childish. He had to be a good, honest, and humble warrior. Asking for too much attention would only take away from the deserved victories of his clanmates.

When he was tasked with collecting fresh moss for Moonbeam, Herondawn gave a friendly nod and headed off. There was no need for small talk or questions, she was a good medicine cat and knew what she needed. The morning mist had made the task a little difficult, but - like a good warrior - he did not complain. He quietly collected the damp, unstructured plant. The tom did not even grumble as mud clumped between his toes.

The sound of a questioning rumble caused him to turn to the nest stationed in view of the entrance. Cicadaflight. A younger warrior, with a pelt that reminded him so much of Smokestar. How they both stood out in a crowd. This tom and his siblings begged so much attention without even saying a ward. The legacy of their fathers, their accomplishments, and the friends they kept all allowed them to shine among cats like Herondawn.

Cicadaflight's most recent noble escapade had ended him up here, in the medicine den. A small, almost imperceptible bead of envy buzzed in his chest. How he wished he had the courage like this cat to have demanded to be on that patrol. Things may not have gone differently, but at least he could have been there. These were not the thoughts of a humble warrior, Herondawn reminded himself.

He fixed his eyes on Cicadaflight and felt them grow wide with surprise. His face... was so different now. When the tom had arrived back at camp after the attack, Herondawn had made a point to stay in the back of the crowd and let the others do their work. The shock of seeing the tom's injury up close now - despite the wrappings - roiled his gut.

"Ah! I didn't expect you to be awake, apologies." His voice is muffled by the moss he clutched. He deposited it among the older, more brittle moss. Herondawn turned his golden stare to Cicadaflight again, this time steeling his gut for the sight. A downfall of being a good warrior was not getting into the same trouble as warriors who gained a modicum more respect and noteworthy. "I was just dropping off moss for Moonbeam. Are you - eh - well?" His pawpads were suddenly sweating and he couldn't believe how rusty he was in talking to others who weren't his siblings.

[penned by muddly - ☀]

———————————— ☀.°✧ BUT THE SONG REMAINED ❞ ​

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