Open to Join Wispy Whiskers

What I dream, the day might send. Just around the riverbend.

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Otterwhisker was already awake. She’d come out earlier, unable to sleep herself, though for reasons she hadn’t quite put into words yet. Something about the cold night had pulled her from her nest like a tide. The soft fall of paws behind her made her ears twitch, and she turned her head slightly, catching the shape of Cinderwisp emerging from the den.

"Can’t sleep either?”" She called softly, voice low enough not to disturb the rest of camp. A puff of breath curled from her mouth like mist. "Join me. I was starting to feel like a ghost out here." Otterwhisker shifted, making room beside her on the small rise she’d claimed. Her tail tapped the ground in soft welcome.

"Run. That is an order."

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Cinderwisp had noticed Otterwhisker right away, the younger molly unable to help the mild concern that ebbed at her. Without a second thought she padded forward. "Otterwhisker... No, I could not sleep. I'm not sure what it is but I feel this... This sense of dread. Do you feel that too?" The she-cat questioned, seating herself beside Otterwhisker.

What I dream, the day might send. Just around the riverbend.

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Otterwhisker’s ears angled toward Cinderwisp as the younger molly sat beside her, her words settling into the silence. The older warrior didn’t answer at first, eyes drifting toward the direction of the riverbank where the snow met the ice, smooth and undisturbed. Her tail gave a slow flick behind her... contemplative.

"Hmm." She meowed after the pause. Her voice was hushed but firm, like she’d already been chewing on the feeling long before Cinderwisp gave it a name. "It’s like the river’s holding its breath."

Otterwhisker glanced at her companion, eyes shadowed. "Maybe it’s nothing. The cold playing tricks, or the silence growing too loud. But... I’ve had that same tight feeling in my chest for days now...Maybe its just my cough."

She drew in a long breath, the cold stinging her lungs before exhaling it in a misty sigh. "You’re not alone in it."

"Run. That is an order."

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In the silence, Cinderwisp looked around camp, her senses alert. The strange restlessness had started about two days ago and it hadn't left her since. She did not like this.

However, once Otterwhisker began to spoke up again, the curly-furred molly turned to the other she-cat, ears in her direction as she listened intently. "That's a good way to describe it." The warrior responded quietly. "I hope it's nothing. But if it is I wonder why I have been like this all day... I hope your cough gets better."

What I dream, the day might send. Just around the riverbend.

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Otterwhisker gave a soft hum of appreciation, her whiskers twitching faintly at Cinderwisp’s words. There was something comforting in the shared unease even if the feeling itself was anything but.

"Thank you. It's an old leafbare companion, that cough. Comes and goes as it pleases ever since my near drowning."

Her gaze remained on the snow glazed camp, watching the way the moonlight spilled in pale ribbons over the dens. "You’re not the only one who’s been on edge today. A few of the apprentices were jumpier than usual this morning... and I caught errypaw checking the fresh kill pile twice in an hour. Not like her."

She paused, then offered the younger she-cat a small, dry smile. "But StarClan knows, I wouldn’t mind if it was all just nerves and snow."

"Run. That is an order."

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"Ah. As I've heard." Cinderwisp meowed sympathetically in response to Otterwhisker explaining her cough.

When the older molly spoke up again, Cinderwisp felt herself shiver from the cold a little. Sure her fur was long and curly which meant she could be kept warm but she was also pretty sure that clan cats were hardly built for snow despite the generations of them that had lived here. "Checking the prey several times?.. That is kinda unusual. Especially if it's out of character for Merrypaw."

"Yeah. I hope it's just nerves and snow too." 

What I dream, the day might send. Just around the riverbend.

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Otterwhisker gave a low chuckle, though it was brief and dry in her throat. She shifted her paws slightly beneath her, brushing a bit of snow from the rise they sat on. Her tail curled around her side, offering a little warmth to Cinderwisp if the younger warrior leaned in close enough.

"The snow always makes things feel stiller than they are." Her amber eyes narrowed faintly as she looked up toward the stars, barely peeking through the cloud thick sky. She leaned her shoulder lightly against Cinderwisp’s. "But you’ve got a good head on your shoulders. If something shifts in the wind, I’d rather know you're awake for it than most others." She paused to swipe a tongue over a dark forepaw before blinking a bit sleepily at the other molly. "How have you been otherwise, Cinderwisp?"