━━━━ daisyknoll diligently padded into his den. outside, the harsh wind blew tirelessly, carrying a thick fourry of snowflakes that layered the ground and crunched underfoot. leaf—bare was hard for any clan, and daisyknoll took note that his workload would ultimately double.

his form gracefully moved around his den, his eyes and paws trailing over his herbs while he sorted each one carefully. he plucked out a mass of moss and sauntered towards the nests, plumping them up with a fresh blanket of the the green, soft material.

duskeyes peered his head into the medicine den and meowed to grab daisyknoll's attention.

❝ a patrols about to go out. you in need of anything, daisyknoll? ❞ the blue tabby tom—cat purred.

the medicine cat looked up and spat out some moss as he thought. his stomach growled angrily and he drew in a breath. ❝ perhaps a fresh mouse or two? i am a bit hungry... ❞ daisyknoll uttered under his breath.

duskeyes's head dropped and rose quickly with a nod and he parted from the den, hurrying to join the patrol that was departing.

daisyknoll breathed out quietly. he couldn't help but think how brave and kind duskeyes was.

⛰︎

━━━━ splitkit pushed at the prey in front of her. almondpaw trotted by, a big in his maw as he passed and headed towards the apprentices den.

his pelt burned as he felt another cats gaze upon him and he turned. splitkit smacked her lips at the sight of the bird her held.

❝ don't you like your shrew? ❞ the 'paw questioned with a raised eyebrow. the quick shake of the kittens head signalled that she didn't fancy a rodent today, but in fact wanted his meal.

almondpaw slowly approached the she—kit. he put down the bird and swapped it for the small vole she had. he stalked off towards the apprentices den once again, having substituted his favourite meal just so splitkit would eat.

⛰︎

━━━━ doespots's paws quickly dug at a mound of dirt that hid their catch. with a flick of his fluffed tail he turned to berrykestrel, who positioned himself with an arched back and spiked fur.

❝ well now, ❞ doespots drawled teasingly, his ears perked with alertness. ❝ feeling a bit fiery today? ❞

the deputy dipped his head in conformation and his cheeks spelled out a widened grin.

❝ let's spar, ❞ berrykestrel playfully growled and he allowed his tail to lash left and right.

doespots huffed, signalling the start of the brawl.

quicker than a hare, doespots made the first move. he leaped forwards, hurtling towards the deputy, who deftly side—stepped and watched as doespots barrelled into the ground at a rapid speed, causing berrykestrel to let out a snorted laugh.

while he was caught up with his laughter, doespots figured he had the perfect opportunity to tackle berrykestrel. he scrambled to his paws and headed towards him.

with his paws out—stretched, he took flight and soon crashed down into berrykestrel. berrykestrel let out an explosive huff and groaned, kicking doespots off of him before dragging himself to his feet.

shaking out his dusted pelt, berrykestrel scoffed and opened his maw to make a comment, but doespots swung a paw his way. berrykestrel ducked, leaning forward and pushing his head into doespots's gut.

doespots staggered backwards and groaned, not expecting the blow to his stomach.

berrykestrel and doespots paused. their eyes began to glow in the dim evening light.

❝ tie? ❞ berrykestrel coughed out. doespots huffed and offered him a grin before padding over to the buried hawk they had killed earlier.

❝ tie, ❞ doespots mewed, ❝ that's one way to work up an appetite, ❞ he added, voice brimming with a trickle of humour.

⛰︎

━━━━ a trio of cats silently walked through the shadows of an early morning patrol.

without warning, goldrain stopped and turned to doespots. ❝ you stole my prey last night, ❞ the tom—cat spat, his voice as steely as his glare.

doespots stiffened. he swung his gaze towards the cat beside him. his face screwed up at the accusation that goldrain had hissed. ❝ why would i want to take your prey, when i had my own? ❞ growled doespots in retaliation at his accuser.

❝ i left for a few flicks of a whisker, and when i came back my snake had been gobbled up. and you were the only other cat near me at the time! ❞ goldrain's eyes narrowed as he scowled at doespots, who's fur had since bristled. it was clear doespots was growing angry at his patrol partner.

gorgestar, having noticed that the patrol had veered off, turned back and walked the way she had came. her eyes narrowed at the sight of the two: both of their pelts prickled, their claws pushed through, and muzzles quivering with rage.

gorgestar's fur bristled with a sense of unease hitting her quickly. between goldrain's yowls and doespots sizzling glare, it was evident that that situation was teetering dangerously of the chance of an explosive confrontation.

❝ what in starclan is going on! ❞ gorgestar wailed as she bounded over quickly and pushed herself in—between the pair to diffuse the situation.

❝ this foxhead is accusing me of stealing his lousy snake. i don't even like snake, the meats too rough and the scales are gross! ❞ doespots grumbled as he lowered his head submissively.

❝ enough of this, the both of you, ❞ gorgestar clamped her jaw shut with a firm snap as her gaze travelled back and forth between doespots and goldrain. ❝ you are both acting like little kits. stop it before i drag you boys back to camp by your tails, ❞

goldrain flinched but kept his body at a lowered stance. his voice shook slightly, and softened, as he spoke. ❝ i'm sorry, it won't happen again, ❞ he whispered under his breath. he cast a final glare at doespots then pressed on to continue their patrol. 

⛰︎

━━━━ berrykestrel's eyes narrowed at the sight and smell of an unfamiliar feline in their territory. he cast a quick glance at his patrol partner, loachpath, who flashed back a concerned expression.

berrykestrel prowled closer. the stranger was young, their clumsy strides an instant tell on their novice rank. the sight of a scared and distraught apprentice brought a twinge of empath to the pair.

pulling his shoulder back, berrykestrel took a step forward. his shadow cast upon the apprentice who remained cowered. berrykestrel's whiskers curved at such a reaction.

❝ hello, ❞ he started in a resonating baritone, ❝ it seems you have strayed far from your territory, ❞ he paused for a second and locked eyes with the scared, younger feline in front of him. ❝ it's not safe here for an apprentice. not to mention, it's disrespectful to cross borders, ❞

❝ but— i— ❞ the apprentice faltered, terror stark in their widened eyes. ❝ i—i i didn't mean to, i—i got lost, ❞ they stammered, fear turning their gaze glassy with tears.

berrykestrel surveyed the intruder for a moment and he let out a soft sigh. he softened his stern stance.

❝ crossing borders disrupts the peace. it's a simple mistake, i understand that, ❞

❝ but i'm no threat... ❞ whispered the apprentice with their tail tucked between their legs, bearing testimony to their innocence.

berrykestrel nodded. he looked towards loachpath, who stood behind him, equally as anxious as the hemlockclan apprentice before him.

❝ just be careful next time, ❞ loachpath spewed out quickly from behind the older tom—cat. she slowly stepped out and gave the apprentice a warm smile.

the apprentice dipped their head and slowly rose to their paws. berrykestrel and loachpath ambled off, allowing for the hemlockclan cat to depart from their territory, and return back to their own.

berrykestrel knows that talking to the apprentice in such a manner means hemlockclan will cause them no trouble. no harm came or their apprentice, and so no harm will come to them — relationships between peakclan and hemlockclan will remain neutral, perhaps a little stronger than before.

━━━━ sneakily, splitkit tip—toed out of the nursery. the camp was deathly quiet with everyone being in their dens, asleep.

the tortoiseshell she—kit trudged through the tall snow and carried herself across camp towards the entrance. she held out her paw, and jumped. she crashed forcefully into the ground.

a jolt of pain sliced across her paw—pad and the kit let out a loud, piercing yowl for help.

❝ splitkit! what are you doing! ❞ goldrain yowled, bounding forward and immediately inspecting the small she—kits body.

doespots and daisyknoll followed close behind him, worry paining their eyes as they gazed down at her. the tortoiseshell kitten whimpered in pain.

daisyknoll noticed a small scrape on her small paw, blood trickling from it and staining the snow as it dropped from her pad.

splitkit wriggled under their gazes. ❝ i just wanted to play, ❞ she mumbled, curling in on herself. she felt cold, her fur bristling against the winter wind.

❝ splitkit, it's dark. it's not safe for you to wander around camp. the snow is too deep, and the wind is too fierce. it's not time for play, ❞ daisyknoll softly murmured, nosing at splitkit comfortingly.

❝ but i was bored, and i thought the snow would be fun to play in... ❞ splitkit grumbled.

goldrain and doespots exchanged a look. daisyknoll just rolled his eyes, then judged splitkit towards the warmth of the nursery. ❝ you can play tomorrow, just for now, you need to sleep, ❞ the medicine cat whistled softly.

he pushed the kitten back to her nest and quickly looked over her paw. the cut wasn't deep, and could be looked at again in the morning. daisyknoll quickly rolled his tongue over her pad.

splitkit gazed wistfully at the snow. she didn't want to sleep. she wanted to roll in the snow, find mice and have fun. but, she supposed it could wait for the morning. with a soft, small sigh, she settled in her nest.

⛰︎

━━━━ loachpath chased after goldrain, a daring smile on her face. she closed her eyes for a second to blink out a bug that flew into her face, and stopped forcefully in her tracks.

she toppled to the ground and shook out her pelt when she got back to her feet. in an effort to appear intimidating, she fluffed out her fur and flexed out her claws, creating a spectacle to the newcomer.

❝ oh! i'm sorry, young one ❞ the strange she—cat mewed, and dipped her head respectfully, showing no signs of aggression or fear despite loachpath's threatening stance.

this took loachpath aback.

before loachpath could reply, goldrain approached and joined loachpath, putting himself protectively in—front of the young warrior.

❝ who are you? ❞ the tom—cat growled, unsure as to if this strange female posed as a threat or not.

with a humble nod, the she—cat talked. ❝ i didn't mean to trespass. i was hoping i could join your and your clan, ❞ she meowed quietly.

goldrain arched a brow at the stranger's proposition. there was something more to her request, and it didn't take long for the she—cat to continue, ❝ i have my kits nearby. we need protection, ❞

loachpath looked up at goldrain, who stiffen. he could not turn away a mother and some helpless kits, it would be the death of them all.

❝ it's okay my darlings, you can come out ❞ the tabby she—cat called. two kits emerged from a bush nearby. one resembled their mother, the other bore a light blue—ish tabby pelt.

❝ we'll lead you back to camp. just have to pick up our prey we caught, loachpath will help you carry a kitten back to camp, ❞ goldrain announced, leading the way back to camp.

rabbitneedle and her two kits, honeykit and cragkit, joined peakclan upon their arrival to camp.

⛰︎

━━━━ almondpaw's brown eyes gleamed with pride as he trotted behind duskeyes. a freshly caught mouse dangled in his jaw, which he'd successfully tracked and killed.

it was all he talked about as the apprentice and mentor pair walked the territory. from the juicy kill, to the taste of its blood.

duskeyes turned his head over his shoulder and watched his eager, playful apprentice as he toddled along behind him, a happy pep in his bounce.

❝ this has to be the biggest mouse any cat has ever caught! ❞ almondpaw squeaked out excitedly, the hope in his voice caused duskeyes to smile.

❝ it could be, yeah ❞ duskeyes replied. he watched as the apprentice bounded around him energetically, the mouse flipping left and right in his grasp. ❝ you did very well today, ❞

almondpaw's face loosened. the excitement seemed to evaporate and he huffed.

❝ hey, ❞ duskeyes whispered, a twinge of remorse having pinched at his heart. ❝ it's one of the biggest i've ever seen caught by an apprentice, ❞ he added quickly.

the gleaming pride returned to almondpaw's eyes, and he puffed his chest out with happiness, skipping along as they scampered back up to camp. duskeyes listened to his apprentice gloat the whole journey about how his mouse will be the best gorgestar has ever laid her eyes on.

━━━━ restless and eager to seek some alone time, the deputy embarked on a small walk away from camp. he set his paws on the trail leading to the tallest peak. he settled himself and gazed out at the sky and the valley below, taking in the view.

before he knew it, a strong gist of wind forced him to scramble and loose his footing. he tumbled down, only to be saved by a narrow ledge jutting out from the mountain.

pain laced through his hind leg, as sharp and as immediate as a thunderbolt, and a chill of dread crept up his spine — his leg was broke. 

i'm this painful and precarious position, berrykestrel looked around him. below, the world sprawled out, as terrifying as it was beautiful. above, the relentless wind mocked his precarious position.

berrykestrel mustered the strength to slowly drag his injured body back to camp. his hind leg hurt with every motion, but he knew that he must endure the pain to her back to camp.

it was long and strenuous, but eventually, he reached the safety of the camp. daisyknoll soon spotted the limping tom—cat and rushed to his aid, concern flooding his worried eyes

❝ what in starclan's name happened! ❞ he yowled, alarmed at his state. his new was gentle, but tinged with underlying urgency.

❝ i lost my balance and fell. thankfully a ledge broke my fall, and my leg obviously... otherwise i'd be dead at the bottom, ❞ berrykestrel grunted out.

he shuddered as daisyknoll inspected his broken limb. he mumbled some quick instructions under his breath.

❝ somebody help me get him into my den, and be careful of his leg. we don't want to cause permanent damage to the limb... ❞

⛰︎

━━━━ berrykestrel curled up in a tight ball within the medicine den. his chest ached horribly, and a cough hammered at his lungs. each breath was tough and laborious.

daisyknoll commanded that he remained in the medicine den, for his leg, and his cough: in which was whitecough. he suspected that his time out in the snow had caused him to fall sick.

⛰︎

━━━━ locustpaw's body buzzed with adrenaline as he stared ahead at his mentor. he was a kitten just mere moments again — but now he was the clan's newest apprentice.

scrubstorm touched his nose to locustpaw's. ❝ i'll teach you everything i know, ❞ he promised with a gleaming grin.

⛰︎

━━━━ splitkit, having healed from her minor cut, sped around camp like a crazed rabies—ridden fox. it was evident she was feeling better, and found some company in rabbitneedle's kittens, cragkit and honeykit.

the worried mother looked over her two kittens as they played rough with the tortoiseshell she—kit, but a reassuring nudge from gorgestar allowed her nerves to ease up.

they were safe finally. she didn't have to worry about when their next meal may be, or what dangers lurked in the darkness... peakclan was their new home now, and rabbitneedle was thankful to have been warmly welcomed and accepted.

⛰︎

━━━━ almondpaw limbered back into camp, his mentor following closely behind. ❝ i'm sorry, i didn't mean to push you too hard! ❞ duskeyes whimpered as he entered the medicine den.

daisyknoll turned to the apprentice, having just finished tending to berrykestrel's leg. his eyebrows raised at the worried look that duskeyes wore, and the limp that almondpaw walked with.

❝ what can i help you with, almondpaw? ❞ asked daisyknoll as he walked closer.

❝ i think i broke my paw! ❞ the apprentice wailed with a flood of tears pouring from his eyes. the medicine cat laughed lightly and shook his head.

❝ you are moving fine on it, i think you twisted it or sprained it... let me have a look, ❞ daisyknoll's voice was as soft as a pile of downy feathers and he leaned in to examine the 'paws foot.

looking up at duskeyes, daisyknoll's face furrowed, as if to question what had happened.

❝ we were sparring. and we pushed it too far, i think. he just collapsed to the floor and said his paw really hurt, so i rushed him back as quick as i could ❞ the tabby tom—cat blurted out quickly, gasping for a breath at the end.

❝ it'll heal. it's only a sprain. just be careful with it, try not to put too much pressure on it... and lay off with the sparring for the time being, until it's better, okay? ❞

⛰︎

━━━━ gorgestar sluggishly walked through the snow, a shower of flakes pelting at her face and latching onto her whiskers as she walked. she turned to ensure that rabbitneedle was still following after her, before pushing on.

she slowed down and flicked her tail up for the warriors to halt. sniffing, gorgestar quickly checked their surroundings.

a hemlockclan border patrol was up ahead, just past the river they walked alongside. gorgestar dipped her head and meowed a welcome to them, allowing the cats to exchange a greeting in return.

⛰︎

━━━━ duskeyes sat with a rigid posture. he focused on the river in front of him, waiting for the right moment to strike...

doespots and goldrain stormed into the river. they sprayed water up as they passed by. duskeyes let out a low grumbles growl. annoyance flashed through his eyes and he scowled at the passing felines.

❝ serisouly! ❞ duskeyes snarled sharply. the river splashed beneath his strong gaze, ripples travelling along the surface from the pairs paws as they bounded and pranced within it.

they stopped and turned. rolling their shoulders, they continued with their kittish antics, seemingly unbothered by the angered tom—cat who wanted to catch and kill a fish to take back to camp.

❝ can you both stop acting like fools, and maybe be a bit useful? i'm trying to fish. we have extra mouths to feed. if i wanted a kit, i'd have brought both of them along with me ❞ duskeyes hugged, ❝ and even then, they probably would be more help than you two! ❞

goldrain and doespots's wild gambol was abruptly silenced, their ears flattening slowly. goldrain's tail lashed and he jumped out of the river and shook out his fur, water flicking in all directions as he did so.

goldrain padded off, up along the river, to an area that he hadn't distributed. he peered down and spied a shadowed blur flittering past. he hooked his paw and scooped at the water.

a fish flopped on land, flickering its head and tail in an effort to reach the safety of the waterway it had just been thrown out of it. goldrain smacked his paw firmly across its head and lowered down, nipping at it to kill it.

triumphantly, goldrain glided around duskeyes and doespots. his left ear jerked and he flashed off the fish he had just caught and killed.

❝ and you practically said i'm useless, hmph ❞

━━━━ ❝ and then i pounced on him, right! and i was victorious! i saved peakclan! ❞ locustpaw called out, recalling a dream in which he had had the night before.

his mentor, scrubstorm, nodded his head as he just focused on what was ahead, and listening to snippets of his apprentices tale.

locustpaw squinted his eyes as he spotted something up ahead. beside the river, remained a fallen cat on the bank—side, motionless.

❝ scrubstorm... there's a cat? ❞ locustpaw whispered to his mentor.

the cat had a pelt of thick, darkly coloured fur, with a slash of white across its chest. locustpaw veered a little closer, and pushed his nose into its body.

the cats chest remained still.

locustpaw gave the cat one last nudge. they had arrived too late. the strange cat had since died, and was now walking the stars with their ancestors.

a long silence passed between them as they both took a second to pray for the unknown feline, and once they paid their respects, they scraped together a mound of mud and pushed the body into a deep hole they had dug out.

❝ every cat deserves to rest in peace, no matter who they are or where they come form, ❞ scrubstorm lowly said.

scrubstorm plucked a flower from the grass nearby and gently rested it atop the freshly unearthed mud that marked the unknown felines grave. he bowed his head, wishing the cat a final prayer, before he departed with locustpaw.

⛰︎

━━━━ daisyknoll stalked through the flower field. he had walked for hours, eyes scanning the ground for herbs that his clan needed. he has picked and pulled numerous herbs already, but was now set on finding lungwort.

the aroma's of the field clung to the back of his throat as he walked the field in search of what he was after. finally, after what seemed to be an eternity, his eyes fixated on it.

coloured flowers ranging from shades of pinks and purples pushed from the earth, tightly hugging the green and dappled leaves they grew beside. the medicine cat was over—joyed.

⛰︎

━━━━ loachpath entered the medicine den. her stomach twinged and twisted with pain. the past few nights she had struggled to keep her food down, and no matter how little she ate, it came back up.

daisyknoll welcomed the she—cat to the den. ❝ how can i help you today, loachpath, ❞ he purred, sitting opposite her.

❝ i think i'm sick, ❞ she gasped out and writhed her whiskers nervously.

daisyknoll stepped closer and thoroughly examined her from nose to tail. he observed her stomach, having noticed she seemed a little bloated compared to normal...

daisyknoll blinked slowly. he gulped, then looked up at loachpath. ❝ loachpath, you're pregnant, ❞

loachpath was taken aback. she gasped, her legs wobbled underneath her weight, and her breath came out in raspy spurts.

❝ can i continue my duties as a warrior, until i can't no more? ❞ she questioned. she was still young, she wanted to continue serving peakclan until her body couldn't anymore.

daisyknoll nodded his head. this eased loachpath, and she exited the medicine den.

⛰︎

━━━━ daisyknoll prodded and poked almondpaw over for the last time, nodding his head to allow for the tom apprentice to flee from the medicine den, and continue back with his duties as an apprentice.

he raced across the camp, scuttling towards the warriors den. his paws slipped in the dust and dirt as he yowled loudly for dusteyes attention.

❝ dusteyes! dusteyes! ❞ he wailed, scrambling over some sleeping warriors until he reached the curled body of his mentor. his paws drummed at duskeyes shoulders until he picked his head up sleepily, and yawned.

❝ almondpaw— ❞ he groggily whispered. blinking, he allowed his vision to clear up and adjust to the light pouring in. ❝ your paw is all better then? ❞ he said, and almondpaw grinned.

❝ yes! it means we can continue training! ❞

⛰︎

━━━━ berrykestrel's eyes fluttered open. a gentle purr rumbled deep in his chest. his eyes widened. the tightness in his chest had passed, the dreaded whitecough that gripped him for so long had gone, at last.

he sprawled out comfortably on his side, relishing in the silence of the medicine den. his tongue traced over his lips in quiet anticipation as he thought about returning to his daily routines: hunting for the clan, making sure everyone was safe... a ping of frustration sparked through him as he looked down at his leg, a gentle reminder of why he was in the medicine den.

berrykestrel pushed himself up from his nest, and shifted his weight equally. he shuffled out of the nest and sat by the entrance. silently, he watched as the clan passed him by and bid him a good morning, before vanishing to fulfil their tasks.

⛰︎

━━━━ rabbitneedle chomped her jaw around the scruff of cragkit, dragging him across camp towards her body, and the rest of the clan that had gathered. the mother washed her tongue over his forehead to brush off some grime and dust that stuck to it, and then she gazed down at her son.

❝ mom... stop it, you're messing up my fur! ❞ the tom—kit grunted, scrunching up his small masked face. but, his mother continued to groom him.

gorgestar cleared her throat and her gaze loomed over the crowd of her clan. it had grown so quickly, and she was so proud of how far they had come.

❝ cragkit, and honeykit, both of you have reached the age of six moons, and it is time for you to be apprenticed. from this day on, until you receive your warrior name, you will be known as cragpaw and honeypaw. cragpaw, your mentor will be doespots, and honeypaw, yours will be loachpath. i hope both your mentors pass down all they know on to you, ❞

cragpaw was excited about being an apprentice, but he nervous. his mother nosed at his rear to usher him to the front so he could meet with his mentor.

he walked with a wobbly gait and touched his nose to doespots. gulping, he gave his mentor a small smile, who returned the gesture, and promised to be a good mentor for him.

cragpaw scanned the crowd for his sister after their ceremony commenced, pushing her over into the dirt and tumbling about. excitedly, the young felines darted around the camp.

⛰︎

━━━━ the clan gathered once again. splitkit made her way through the sea of cats, to the front of the clearing, and stood beside goldrain.

the brown furred tom—cat leaned in, brushed his shoulder into hers and smiled. ❝ don't be too scared, kid. training is the best part, ❞ he breathed under his breath, then straightened up after gorgestar briskly announced splitkit as his apprentice.

⛰︎

━━━━ trudging along the valley with his nose to the sky, daisyknoll figured he'd clear his mind, and make use of being out by gathering herbs.

the tom—cat snipped off the stems of goldenrod with a brisk swipe of his claw, clumping up the flowers into a pile. they would be beneficial for the clan.

carefully, he pulled up some marigold he almost walked past while on his return back to camp. he was pleased with himself and what he had gathered — it was a successful day.

⛰︎

━━━━ two feline silhouettes tussled by the trunk of a thick, tall deciduous tree. almondpaw curved out his paw towards duskeyes, who leaned out of the way and avoided his apprentices swipe.

almondpaw misjudged his placement, and tripped backwards. a small squeak startled him and his eyes shot downwards, spitting a kitten bundled up beside a bush's shadow.

duskeyes pulled away from their training to join almondpaw, having noticed that he was otherwise occupied, instead of being focused on his training.

duskeyes looked around. he sniffed the air. nothing.

❝ who would just... abandon a kitten?! ❞ gasped almondpaw, his claws digging angrily into the mud below.

duskeyes took another glance at the frail kitten. it was thin and it's pelt was scruffy and matted. he huffed out an annoyed sigh.

❝ we need to get it to daisyknoll quickly. we'll have to finish our training later, ❞ duskeyes picked up the kitten. ❝ you run along back to camp, quickly, let daisyknoll know so he can prepare. i'll be right behind you, ❞

almondpaw did as he was asked. his paws thundered against the grass as he ran back to camp like his life depended on it.

⛰︎

━━━━ almondpaw cautiously entered the medicine den and settled beside the kitten. he pressed his nose into the kittens fur and purred to wake it up, so he could continue on the story he was telling her the day she arrived.

the kittens frail chest remained unmoved, its tiny heart no longer fluttering beneath its patched gray—and—white fur.

tears welled up in his almondpawMa eyes, but he did his best to keep them at bay. this wasn't what strong warriors did: they didn't cry. they were strong.

❝ n—no! ❞ almondpaw sputtered out, ❝ you were just a kit... ❞ he mumbled. he tenderly brushed his paw over the lifeless bundle of fir.

tears prickled at the corner of his eyes fell free, the cool liquid trail contrasting against his warm cheek. be stared down at the kit, unblinking. almondpaw could see his wavering reflection in its sightless blue eyes.

he didn't want duskeyes to seek him cry. almondpaw wanted to be strong, just like his mentor was, like every good warrior was. but the tears flowed rapidly, painting a moist path down his face and staining the stone below him.

his tears slowed and he turned to daisyknoll, who had entered quietly. he lowered himself down next to him, his eyes sad.

❝ you did all you could, almondpaw ❞ he soothed, licking the apprentices shoulder. ❝ she's now with starclan, watching over all of us, ❞

but all almondpaw could fee was the stinging, raw feeling of grief.