so here it is the great uniter | snow

[Howlfire]

Grief. It was a strange thing. It was strange how it could utterly destroy you emotionally and mentally, It was strange how it could bring cats together in a way.

Of all the cats Howlpaw expected to feel any sort of kinship towards it was Snowpaw. Snowpaw who had accidentally killed her sister and in response she had pushed him over and treated him harshly. She had apologised after some time had passed and they were able to act civil around each other to a degree. But now there was something for them to bond over - their time in the shelter and the loss of a loved one. Since returning home, Howlpaw hadn't really seen much of Snowpaw around camp, though after what had happened she couldn't say she really blamed him for keeping to himself. Then again Howlpaw couldn't say she had really actively been looking for him whilst readjusting to life back in camp.

Whilst heading to the fresh-kill pile, her amber eyes caught sight of him padding away. "Snowpaw!" She would call out, no doubt making him jump from the suddenness of her call. Hastily grabbing whatever was nearest to her on the fresh-kill pile, she would rush over to him with the prey in tow, indicating she intended for them to share it. "Are you free? I thought we could share this bird if you wanted to?" Howlpaw did not wait for him to respond to this offer before following up with another question. "How are you holding up after everything?"

@Snowpaw ​

 

[Snowpath]

He felt like he was back in his self-exile for how often he avoided the camp nowadays, his new assessment had to be rescheduled and he felt the memory of loss in every cat who glanced his way with pity or called out to him with his apprentice name still; it was all just cold reminders of what he had to suffer through before he could breath again. Howlpaw was the last cat he expected to seek him out, they had come to terms with one another and he was happy that while they would never be friends they could at least be clanmates; but he didn't often seek her company or vice versa. He was, however, still so glad to see her alive after having thought he another buried kit under Blazestar's paws. When she calls his name he almost doesn't stop, distracted in his idleness but his head turns and golden eyes go wide in surprise at the bird she brought with her. "I...sure. I can sit for a moment."
It wasn't like he was doing anything else, but the second she added her follow-up question he felt the immediate impulse to change his answer and just leave. But isolating himself had never healed his heart before, he knew that to be true as much as his instincts told him otherwise. Running never solved problems. "....I...it hurts. But I'll manage. I'm glad you're okay though, we thought you were dead for so long..."
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[Howlfire]

She feels as though she's prying too much, scratching at a wound that has not yet scabbed over. If the situation was reversed would she want to speak of what had happened or the losses she had endured? Probably not but that was just a matter of how everyone handled their own grief.

"It will hurt for a while," Howlpaw said sadly, looking up and staring out vacantly at a spot further ahead. "More than a while actually. Even when it fades and you start to feel better there are days when it creeps back up and sinks its claws into you, reminding you of the pain." There was a pause and Howlpaw shifted a little awkwardly. "If you ever wanted to speak about Daisyflight and things related to what happened to her, you can come to me you know? Not as a friend or anything but as someone who can listen and somewhat understand."

When he speaks of the relief of seeing her alive, Howlpaw smiles. She knows it is a sentiment shared by most of her clanmates, especially after the lies spewed by the vile rogue about her supposed death. "To be honest, I thought I was dead for a while there too," She said sadly. "Whilst it wasn't the most ideal places to reunite but I was glad to see everyone there and know I was no longer alone."​

 

[Snowpath]

To say he was taken by surprise by Howlpaw's gentle admission and offer to help was an understatement. He expected kindness, he did not expect what amounted to mercy. Snowpaw could never take back what he had done to her, to her family, to SkyClan as a whole but that they had gotten this far; that he had worked this hard and managed to re-earn even a sliver of that trust, that care, he found himself smiling in reply to it despite himself. Grief clung fast to his ribs, but he did not let it settle. "Pain is in everything, I think. A life without itis impossible but...we endure. Thank you, I don't think I'd be able to manage without SkyClan or you."
The shelter was a tragedy that would mark them all forever but they had survived it, his mother would not want them to mourn her forever; she would wish them forward so he would do what he could. "She fought like all of LionClan, tenacious and proud to the last moment. I hope she left them scars, I hope they wounds she scored across them remind them SkyClan is not to be trifled with going forward..."
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