THE HARDER THE RAIN [ twoleg camp ] THE SWEETER THE SUN

( ) come early evening, as the sun begins to paint the sky rose and copper, the felines return home. busy with patrols and tasks all day, there has been little time to contemplate what the return means for some of their brethren. even during the slower hours of noon to late afternoon, as cats trickle to and from camp with assignments, there has been an attempt to ward off thoughts of this new mission. as the sun descends towards the horizon, willowroot knows it's time. her fellows have come home to roost, sharing tongues and quietly speaking among themselves, hums reassurance and whispers of fear darting every which way. the dark smoke stands just outside of the warriors' den, in a soft shadow, watching the conversations with an unreadable expression. more likely than not, someone will be hurt. more likely than not, they'll come home with a broken heart. still, it has to be done, and the femme is not risking her fellow lead warrior, nor the clan's king. not again.

as the members of the patrol stand to leave their loved ones, willowroot thinks of buck, of raccoon and boar. they think of poppy (of dark mixing with mottled softness), of smokethroat and all of their rediscovered siblings. it strikes them, in this moment, that perhaps they've made a bigger impact on this clan than they'd planned to. how odd a realization, to be marching into almost certain battle, and know this.

she gathers her fellows close, murmurs the plan. "we're going to go near enough. if there are twolegs around, we leave. we're not risking another... incident. if there are no twolegs, we will venture into the camp. i'll assign roles when we know the plan for certain." nodding at each of the felines as they begin to exit camp, she feels her heart beating. "stay safe. listen to your instincts. we'll be okay."

tagging those who volunteered. if your character would realistically go (and is older than 8 moons), feel free to reply as well.
@HOUNDSNARL. @tinyleafs @𝓛𝓪𝓴𝓮𝓹𝓪𝔀

( THE LIGHT YOU GAVE ME )
 

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CLEARSIGHT
riverclan warrior. 32 moons. tags

His heart feels like a stone fixed in his chest. He walks away from Clayfur, promising himself things he couldn't say out loud. You'll come home. You can't leave him, you won't leave him, you will come home.

Clearsight gathers with the rest of the patrol and nods along to Willowroot's orders, gaze flicking over the other gathered cats. When she leads the patrol out of camp, he'll follow, sunlight gaze fixed straight ahead.

He doesn't look back. If he does, he thinks he might not keep walking.



𝄞 — A DREAMER, A SOLDIER

// apologies short post
 



✵ ღ ☾ IT TOOK ME BY SURPRISE - She is ready- she has been ready. A careful gaze follows Willowroot as the lead warrior positioned herself outside of the warriors den. It would only be when Houndsnarl began to move towards her that Lakepaw would follow, ears perked for the mollys instructions.
Unspoken fear seems to weave itself in between the huddled patrol, even Clearsight is somberly quiet, though the apprentice supposed he had been ever since Cicadastar’s accident.
Lakepaw, for once, says nothing, instead deciding to get lost in her own morbid thoughts as she strides out of the exit, trailing behind Willowroot.
Who would I leave behind, truly?
For a moment she thinks of Lilybloom, still recovering in the medicine den, Houndsnarl who is at her side, and even Foxpaw.
I couldn’t leave her behind with that Thornpaw.
Yet, as the few faces flash under her eyelids with each blink, they are just that- flashes. Soon, she is back to angling her firm gaze upwards, now thinking if monsters and boogeymen could be real, after all.
❝ Speech. ❞
THE HATRED IN HER EYES
 

Coast doesn't have much to lose, to be quite honest. He's new to the clan, and if he were to die protecting little Ocean Star, then he'd be happy to sacrifice his life for a better future for his siblings. They deserve the best, he'd do everything if it meant they could smile again. Truly, they meant the world to him, and he had been satisfied meeting them once more in this lifetime.

As he approaches Willow's call, he thinks of Kelpie, of Delilah, of Tide and his eyes search the camp for them. He lets his gaze slide back to the patrol members, shadow-y gaze darkening. He very well grasps that someone, if not all of them, could lose their life today. He finds loverboy, moves to walk beside him. None of the playfulness remains in his eyes today, but he can tell loverboy looks a little out of it as they walk. If anything, he hopes to provide a comforting presence.

Today marks a great day for Riverclan. He finds himself wondering how many more 'great days' he can take.
"speech"​