private yellow skies // sedgepounce

[cottonsprig]

Cottonpaw is reclined in beside her friend, taking the time to comb through his fur to tug out the dry grass and stray leaves. Conversation flows between them easily, just as it had before he left for the mountains. Having him back is... odd, surely, but not bad by any means. Sedgepounce being home just means that she has more cats to talk to (... when Snakehiss permits, she supposes.)

"Hey, can I tell you something?" she hums during a lull in their chat, ears twitching back.

@SEDGEPOUNCE ​

 

[SEDGEPOUNCE]

The air is quiet and crisp. They bask in a lazy, wandering sunbeam that's cemented to a corner of camp, want for nothing and content to slack off. Sedgepounce's been doing this less and less over the past few moons. Slacking off, but also just...sitting. Resting.

Cottonpaw's airy voice draws him from the muddling thread of his thoughts. He blinks over at her and does not catch the pinch of nerves in her expression. "Yeah?" Sedge says. It comes out more bluntly than he means, so he straightens just a bit and tries again. "Of course."​

 

[cottonsprig]

She gathers herself more properly, tucking her limbs beneath her body to conserve more heat. There's a spot of nervousness, uncertainty, but Cottonpaw doesn't relent to it so quickly. Snakehiss isn't here. She can spend time with Sedgepounce, ask for his ear, and be okay with the outcome.

"This... medicine cat thing," she starts, clasping her paws together, "I'm starting to wonder if... it's meant for me. Like - I don't know," she fumbles with both her thoughts and words, "I struggle so much with remedies and herbs, and if it bothers Wolfsong, he's great at hiding it..."​

 

[SEDGEPOUNCE]

Cottonpaw's words cast a wave both white-hot and freezing through Sedgepounce's chest. His claws flex into the earth impulsively, anxiously. Buried feelings are dredged up like an underwater grave, and he can suddenly hear his heartbeat in his ears. Slow, grating, like giant machinery dragging itself to life. Ka-thunk. Ka-thunk.

"If you can't tell it's bothering him, then it probably isn't," Sedge spits out impulsively. He feels jittery and tense, something inexplicable writhing around in his belly. "StarClan chose you, Cottonpaw. Nobody else can do this but you."​