WALK AGAIN // rta, returning to duty

[Sharpeye]

☁ It had been a while since he had last truly gotten back to work. The clan had continued on; those who had last been kits were now apprentices, names had changed, new faces weaved between the familiar, and some of the familiar faces were gone. Sharpeye sat in the heart of the camp and he took the time to study the other cats with care, piecing together the information that had been shared with him over the past few moons with what he could now physically see. Though the prominent thing he saw were the effects of leafbare. He hadn't been spared either, he was thinner now, even though his fur hid the worst of his condition. But that did nothing to dampen his desire to get back into the swing of things. "Are there any patrols heading out soon? I'd like to make myself useful."
​

 

[BLAZESTAR]

( * ˚ ✦ ) Blazestar's trek through camp is aimless, enormous golden paws set upon the frozen dust without purpose. His ears swivel to see Sharpeye limping into the center of camp, tired-looking, gaunt as the rest of them, but healed. Only a moon ago, the Ragdoll would have engaged the hardworking warrior, asked him how he'd been, but Blazestar gives him a vacant look, troubled.

"Are you okay to patrol?" He glances at the fresh-kill pile as if seeing it with new eyes, when he'd stared at it blankly only moments before. Oh, it was low... it was so low. A stringy-looking squirrel, an ill-gotten sparrow. He frowns to see the state of their Clan. Should I be patrolling? A ghost of a thought, one that does not settle but lingers in the tortured backdrop of his mind.​

( AND EVERY TIME IT RAINS , ALL THE ANGELS CRY FOR ME )

 

[Sharpeye]

☁ Was he okay to patrol? It was questionable in truth, but Sharpeye found himself pulling a lopsided smirk in amusement as he glanced away from Blazestar for a moment. "Well... has that ever really stopped me? As long as I don't run into anymore bats I'm sure I can manage my duties." He tried to find humour in what had happened to him but he wasn't convinced that he could draw a positive reaction from the other tom. Still, he would try. It pained him to see Blazestar looking so... broken. Guilt is what he felt, a feeling that only weighed heavier when he noticed where Blazestar was looking. "The freshkill pile... it's not a pile at all."

"How about... a hunt then? I hear that we've been through hard times as of late, why not find something to celebrate. Even if it's something small." Every good celebration needed a feast, right? "Do you fancy coming along?"
​

 

[TWITCHBOLT]

Well, there it was. That request again. Get them lunch, it was always get them lunch, though they'd do well not to be picky in this sort of weather. And what was he supposed to do, go out on his own? What if he got injured- he'd die in the cold, and- and they probably wouldn't even be sad. So why- why did he keep going? Keep storming forward, keep...

He had to prove it to them. Something he would do, one day- it would show them how well he was doing. Even if he had to shove it down their throats. He'd bet in a million years they would never have guessed that he'd be a pretty decent apprentice, that he'd climb as fearlessly as he did, that he'd learn so many techniques. So he'd keep going. One of these days, something would click. Something had to.

Mind spiralling, he was snapped out of his stupor by the nearby conversation- Sharpeye mentioning hunting. Immediately Twitchpaw's attention whipped to where Sharpeye and Blazestar spoke, eyes set wide from realisation and a bit of startling. Still, he'd... he'd never be an amazing hunter if he didn't take every opportunity to go and do it, so over to the pair did he scramble, attempting to catch them before they left. There was no body language yet that indicated they were about to go, but- better safe than sorry. "HH-um, if you're going hunting can- can I come too?" A stammer was triggered by a twinge of his neck, but otherwise he managed to keep... relatively decent eye contact. For the trembling mess he was, at least. ​

penned by pin ✧​