It was not often that the fiery Somali left her nest beside Dawnpaw and his brothers to peacefully walk the darkness that was her home. Firedawn could understand how others could misunderstand the marshes as cold and intimidating. Not all could appreciate its hidden beauty and secrets as she could, and for a selfish moment, she was glad for it. It allowed her to take her moon-high walks in peace and as she traveled the pine needle-covered territory, she would close her eyes and take deep breaths of the musty night air.
Unlike the forest of Thunderclan and Skyclan, the colors of the trees in the marches never died or changed colors, they only shed their needles to help soften the floor as if they wanted their inhabitants to be comfortable. Just another thing she loved about her home, it was cozy, safe, and special to the shadowclanners that now lived there. The femme warrior would make her way toward one particular algae-covered pool. She had stumbled upon the hidden spot in her kittenhood and as such, it had become her safe haven for whenever she needed somewhere quiet to think.
Fire would settle down at the waters' edge, her arrival quieting the frogs' midnight songs but once she lay in silence for a few heartbeats, they would once again take up their chorus. Her emerald gaze would hover over the surface of the water, her expression thoughtful as she contemplated how things had changed so quickly.
The silence of the frogs would announce the arrival of another and the pretty molly would lift her head and turn to blink in friendly affection to whatever clanmate had found her, "Hello, are you having trouble sleeping as well?"
The high-pitch tick of the frog throats sing into the night, sky as murky as the pools of water that rest on the mud but still alive with song and hoots. Thats when he lurks- eyes like twin lanterns flickering from shrub to scraggily thorn bush with jaws gaped and drinking in the scents of stale prey. Coat as white as snow finally finding the swallow of obscurity in the darkness- but the moon still bathed him in silver as she shadows of the trees would have it.
Bony toes crackle under his heavy shifts of weight, and the territory bleeds into a more prominent green- the scent of Shadowclan is much staler here but there was a fresh set of paws printed into the mud.
Nicked ears flick forth to catch the breathing of another animal- that’s when the silence was enough to ring in his ears along with the soft greeting of a clanmate. Kind emerald eyes and fur like a burning moor. Trouble sleeping as well, she asks. Though stilled and silent, he flicks his tail and saunters forward to crouch beside her.
" evening madam- " he greets, voice harsh and thick with the lack of use. " no-no… I mostly sleep off the daylight- … I prefer to hunt at night, or … walk of course- gets me out of my head " he offers with a curious glance toward the woman. " loud mind an’ all " he hums.
" does sleep evade you, love?" he ponders aloud, crossing his paws at the edge of the swampy water.
Firedawn would smile warmly as the prince of alabaster and ebony himself stepped into view, his raspy voice only making his greeting more enduring to her ears. She would nod along gently as he greeted her in his usual gentlemanly dialect and she found his rasping voice helped to melt the tension in her body she had not realized she had been holding. He spoke of his nocturnal prowling, and the glow in her eyes would soften even more as he mentioned the loudness of his mind.
"Yes...the mind can be quite a busy place can't it?" She would appear distracted for a moment, but his crouch beside her and his gentle question would pull her back to him and she would make a small noise in her throat as she contemplated, "It often does, I'm afraid. Perhaps I should pick up on your habits, Hornetsting." She would lightly move to tap his shoulder with a delicate paw in a friendly gesture, "The nighttime tends to call to me as well most nights. It's quiet...peaceful...It helps me escape my worries and doubts, even if it's just for a moment."
Firedawn would look out across the waters once more, and she brought her tail around herself as if she were suddenly cold. "Plus our marshes are beautiful this time of season."
Green eyes like pale pools of spring grass, look always redirected by thought. His own molten stare is hardened and peeling whatever he could from the study of her features-
" dreadfully so " he agrees with a pearly glint of a smirk dressing behind his lips. " my habits are dangerous, dear " he flicks his tongue with his light dismissal but feels his shoulders stiffen as a paw presses his shoulder. He hardly reacts however-
" cursed are we, the night-owls " he smiles around his chuckled words. She wears a lovely shade of red didn’t she? like an aged rose petal. " beautiful… but hauntingly so " he agrees.
" worries and doubts- may I ask of them, madam? " his own tail flicks elegantly at the tip.
At his prompting, Firedawn would look out over the shallow pool, her gaze seeming clouded with hesitation before she took a deep breath and meowed softly, "They are foolish to have, I'm sure..." Her tail would twitch as she struggled to find the right words to explain what she meant.
"I know I am a good warrior. I have good friends here and I owe my life to Briarstar and the others for taking me in. But," She would look down at her own paws now, flexing her claws so that they sheathed and unsheathed, "There are many nights that I fear I am not good enough to be a Shadowclan cat." She seemed to wince, but as she turned to face Hornetsting once more and she would smile humbly, a weak purr rising from her throat, "It's so silly, isn't it? To worry about such things when no one has actually said that I'm not helping. But I see cats like Dawnpaw, who struggle despite their new disability, Or Bonejaw who dives so readily into her new role...Or even you.."
She would look the white tom over for a moment, "You are always so strong. So sure. I wish I had your confidence, my friend...perhaps then I would not feel so much like a burden..." Her cheeks would lighten ever so slightly with a blush before she meowed hurriedly, "T-that's not to say I don't believe you have your own struggles, of course! I just..."
She would bite her lower lip as her ears flattened against her skull and her frame seemed to shake, "I'm not explaining myself very well....am I?" A weak laugh would come from her throat, a sound as warm as a summer breeze.
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