THROUGH THE CAR SUNROOF ☼ DAWN PATROL

[DIMMINGSUN]

Surprisingly, it is Scorchstreak who absolves Dimmingsun from duty. It is a hop from one job to the next, but he is more than happy to take a breather, and to let his limbs stretch out for further than the fresh-kill pile and back to the nursery. No longer does he need to force his fur to lie flat as he hears the soft murmurs of off-beat romance. He leads the patrol consisting of his friend, an apprentice, and Sunstar's kin, right out into no-man's land.

What they find here is precious little. The moor here is... less moor, and rather barren ground, and there is even scarcer nature to hide behind, even for cats who are used to the openness of their territory. Their findings are nothing to celebrate; what does come and go here is brittle and too-skinny to fill anyone's belly.

Dimmingsun huffs, frustration welling up in him. WindClan had dealt with rumbling stomachs not even that long ago — thanks to the Twolegs' fire — and leaf-bare will not be kinder.

"Well..." he says to whoever is nearest. "At least I can comfort myself with the fact that DuskClan is going hungry too."

@slateheart @deerpaw @rivewhisper @TIGERSTING

​

 

[Deerpetal]

The border with the unclaimed lands is barren, cut through with occasional patches of dry scrub, but nothing more. Deerpaw feels too exposed, though he supposed an enemy ambush is out of the question here. Still, he's probably light enough for most birds of prey to carry off, so he sticks close to his patrol, hoping the cluster of bodies puts them off. Dimmingsun is a strong, experienced warrior, and Deerpaw's anxiety is alleviated somewhat by his presence. Following his orders brings him the kind of comfort he's scarcely found since his Papa died. He sticks close to the older tom's heels.

But then he has to bite his tongue against the whimper of protest that threatens to spill over, as Dimmingsun voices grim satisfaction in other cats' suffering. Starvation seems like a cruel way to go, as cruel as yellowcough. A slow march towards death with nothing to do but wait until it claims you; he barely suppresses a shudder at the thought, though his tail twitches uncomfortably. As wicked as DuskClan has been, surely they at least deserve quicker deaths than that.

The lack of prey for WindClan makes him wonder if him and his Clanmates will face such slow, agonizing deaths. This time, he does shudder, unconsciously leaning towards Dimmingsun for comfort before he remembers himself and flinches away, burning with mortification.​

[ JUST LOOKING FOR A PROTECTOR, GOD NEVER REACHED OUT IN TIME -- ]​