Private Thread Shadows of the Heart

Tiptoe through the murk and mire
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Duskpaw emerged from the apprentice’s den with his head low, though not in exhaustion. His paws were slow, deliberate, as though each step weighed more than it should. The hum of camp life had dwindled to murmurs by now, leaving the air cool and still under the rising stars.

He spotted Clovershine almost immediately. Hard not to, with her pale fur standing out like a beacon against the shadowed camp walls. His ears flicked once, a faint sign he’d seen her, but he didn’t change his pace.

When he reached her, he stopped just short of sitting down. His gaze skimmed past her toward the camp entrance, then down at his paws, as if the packed earth held something worth studying. "Do want to talk, or something?" Probably another lecture he wasn't patient enough to hear. Not now. His tail gave a slow, idle sweep behind him.

Even in the darkest shadows, there is always a glimmer of light. We just have to look for it.

✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:* 🍀 *:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧

Clovershine didn't move much aside from a small amount of adjusting herself so her stiff leg was more comfortable beside herself rather than tucked beneath her. When Duskpaw sat, she waved her tail in a soft greeting "I was hoping to." She replied glancing at him with that soft expression she gave to all of her kits.

"I saw you at Redthicket's ceremony," she began, her voice quiet but not empty, there was sympathy and understanding their, her own ceremony had been after her sister's so she could say she knew the feeling in that regard, at least she hoped she would "I want you to explain to me how you feel about it"

She let a pause of silence fill the air around them, making it thick but not heavy "Don't leave out anything, I want to hear how you felt, not what you think I would like to hear"

Tiptoe through the murk and mire
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Duskpaw’s ears twitched at her tone,soft, but too direct to brush off. He didn’t sit right away, just shifted his weight like he was deciding whether it was worth answering at all. When he finally settled beside her, his tail curled neatly around his paws. His gaze stayed on the camp entrance, not on her.

"Just that it felt as though he was leaving us behind." His voice was flat, but there was a subtle tightness beneath it. "I found Whisperingwind. I've been investigating. I've been doing my part."

He glanced at her briefly, then away again. "But when Palestar’s own apprentice is first, it’s hard not to think she is favoring him in some way." His own ceremony would be coming soon, but the fact that Redthicket seemed singled out for something any other cat would have done, it seemed hollow.

Even in the darkest shadows, there is always a glimmer of light. We just have to look for it.

✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:* 🍀 *:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧

"That has been eating you up hasn't it" Clovershine sighed, giving a sympathetic look, she knew how it felt to feel left behind, to feel like you were being pushed to the side in favor of, she looked to the leader's den, someone else. She didn't think Duskpaw would have been the type to feel the same way. "You wouldn't be the only one to feel that way, Duskpaw"

She didn't rush herself to speak, but looked away for a moment, giving the confession a moment to settle before speaking again. "I was with you when you found Whisperingwind, I know how brave you were just dragging her back to camp, for being strong through all of that investigation." she explained "But it isn't every day that a cat does what Redthicket has done" 

"Come Duskpaw, sit with me" She offered, tapping her tail beside her as a sort of summons to move Duskpaw closer to her. "You know how I told you about how I got my leg injury?" she began her voice quiet, heavy, but not dragging "I have something to add to that"

Tiptoe through the murk and mire
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Duskpaw’s ear flicked at her words, but he didn’t look at her right away. He kept his eyes on the camp entrance, jaw working faintly, as if weighing whether her sympathy was just something she said to smooth things over.

"Doesn't really feel like it." He meowed after a moment, voice low. His whiskers twitched in a humorless half smile that faded almost instantly. At her tap of the tail, he hesitated, then finally shifted closer, his pawsteps slow and deliberate. He settled beside her, curling his tail around himself, his gaze finally meeting hers.

"I remember." Recalling her story about the injury. "Didn’t think there was more to it, though. What happened?"