private shared darkness | inkylotus

[crowcall]

✧ CROWCALL ✧

---

The world was colder in the tunnels.

WindClan was completely open to the warmth of the sun and the light of the stars only because the sky stretched further on the golden-grass moors of WindClan territory than it did in any other clan. In the tunnels though, subterranean catacombs interconnecting through every reach of the territory, the sunlight never touched the ground, leaving it pleasantly cool in the scorching heat of greenleaf and quite chilly every other season. Crowcall didn't mind the chill herself, since while too much walking would numb her pads, her fur was usually enough for her to manage.

How did Inkylotus manage it, though? In fact, how did he manage any part of the tunnels? Wandering through them as they were, almost aimlessly (although Crowcall knew exactly where they were), she didn't know what she would do without visual cues when she was first learning the correct path. Three hanging roots in a row here, a claw scratch there, the 'paw stone' that was really just a rock that felt nice when she stepped on it... She had memorized so much of this place in such a short period based only on such memetic habits.

How was it that a cat without eyes knew his way around, well, anywhere?

Not wanting to be too blunt about it, Crowcall spoke gently, hoping that he would take no offense to the question.

"So... How do you find your way around these tunnels if you can't see?" ​

windclan · she/her · penned by cuzn · tags​

 

[Blacklotus]

Everything Stays​

---

The tunnels had become almost home. Cooler than the world above them, but less likely chance of a hawk swooping down and snatching someone from the heather. The tunnels where safe, they wound and bent in directions he didn't know the earth could turn. The day had been lacking in terms of prey, but he was enjoying being under the ground regardless if they caught anything.

With Inkylotus stood Crowcall, from what he understood a very sweet and pretty molly, and the two had sort of become friends. Well it was more so he would ask her to come with him into the tunnels as Duskfire was too big for them, Weaselclaw hated them and he didn't really have any other tunneler friends. Though he did enjoy the time spent with the she-cat, she was talkative which kept things from getting boring too quickly.

The silence that had befallen the two was cut short by Crowcall questioning the black cat, and Inkylotus slowed his pace along the tunnel. He could feel the tunnel get wider as they came across a small cave with a drip of water from the ceiling. So, the black cat stepped in beside Crowcall and gave a smile, "Well you can't entirely see in the dark? How do you get around?" He offered back with a swish of his long tail behind him. There was no malice in his voice, this wouldn't be the first nor last time that Inkylotus was questioned on his sight.

"I use touch. A dip in the ground here, a breeze there, sometimes theres even roots I can feel brush my ears," The sightless cat continued onward with a real answer this time and wiggled his ears for dramatic effect with a little chuckle at himself. ​

 

[crowcall]

✧ CROWCALL ✧

---

"That's..." Her eyes gained a new type of shine to them just then, awe mixing with excitement in morning-golden eyes. If Inkylotus could figure his way around these tunnels without his sight, he could probably do anything in the world! At least, Crowcall knew that if she woke up one day unable to see, she wouldn't know what to do with herself. "Amazing."

Then, her voice gained a twinge of bashfulness, her skin growing hot underneath her fur as they entered the cavern. "I guess I do some of that too... The tunnels are all unique down here, so I just... I dunno... Remember."

A slight, shy giggle came from her and echoed in the empty space around them. Perhaps a change in subject would be a good idea.

"I think we're near the sun-warmed pool right now..." Crowcall looked up at the cavern's ceiling, where water was beginning to seep through the cracks, and her fur bristled with a tingling anxiety. Just the thought of the ceiling caving in on them, the tunnels flooding, the two of them trapped inside... Before the scent of her nervousness could be detected, she shook it away with a forced grin. There was no way the stars would allow something like that to happen. As long as nocat touched the ceiling, they would be fine. Everything would be fine. No water, no cave-ins, just... Just safe tunnels and rainbows and happiness, she told herself, stubbornly, as if trying to force herself to believe it. "It would be bad if this place caved in..."

So much for thinking about something else. ​

windclan · she/her · penned by cuzn · tags​