[BlooRey DVD]

[smear:666666]Featherpaw[/smear:cccccc]
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Sleep had yet to take hold of the silver apprentice. If it had, it was for but a fleeting moment, and the apprentice would rouse shortly after drifting into the bleak state of pretend-sleep. With a heavy-hearted sigh, the silver tabby shifted into a more comfortable position, no longer trying in vain to sleep. Her paws were tucked beneath her, her head tipped down slightly, staring down at the lining of her nest. Ice blue eyes were lacking their usual bright shine, missing that tell-tale glint that made her Featherpaw, the arrant, fiery-tempered apprentice. With an unenthusiastic paw, she rummaged through the area of her nest that was closest to her, shifting the moss about for no apparent reason. Was there really a point to anything she did these days?

After a moment of mindless fiddling, the tabby-stripped apprentice rose to her paws as silently as she could. Stepping carefully around the nests that lay between hers and the entrance, Featherpaw slipped past her best friend Silverpaw, and out the entrance, into the cool night air. She felt it wrap around her, drawing the heat away from her body in a manner that was just shy of being alarming. It certainly wasn't a Leafbare night, which left the air... Tolerable, rather than frigid as it was during that cold season. Silver ears pricked more so out of habit than of interest as she surveyed the silent TreeClan camp. She paused for a moment, considering leaving through the entrance, to take a run through the forest. She remembered, however, that this would require her to explain to the entrance guard just what she was doing, leaving camp at such a late hour. For a brief instant, she considered leaving through the dirtplace tunnel. But where would she go?

Defeated by this silent question, the silver apprentice resolved to remain within the confines of the camp. That didn't mean, however, that she was about to return to her nest. What would the point in that be? Instead, she maneuvered herself to an area where she noticed a patch of moonlight had found its way in. Slowly, the TreeClan apprentice lowered herself into a sitting position, eyes turned up towards the large orb in the sky. Its silver shine seemed to capture the color of Featherpaw's pelt, lightening her black stripes to a dark gray, and changing her silver pelt to something nearly white. The moon's light was not as warm as the sun's rays, but in Featherpaw's opinion, it was much prettier. Soon, her attention was shifted away from the larger presence in the sky, instead moving to the smaller lights visible in just about every corner of the night sky.

Silverpelt and the stars. A melancholic smile seemed to twist the corners of her mouth as she thought about her sister, young Fernkit. Featherpaw knew she would see her again in StarClan, and although it had been hard to cope with the loss of the young she-kit to begin with, Featherpaw had learnt to move on. She had figured that Fernkit would have wanted her family to do so, to remember her with warm hearts. Instead...

Dull blue eyes flicked in the direction of the warrior's den. The image of her mother, Dawnheart, swept through the she-cat's mind, a heavy pang of sadness quickly chasing it. The apprentice involuntarily slipped until her whole stomach lay on the ground, and in the end, she was too disheartened to fight to stay up. She let herself collapse to the ground below her, shifting only slightly to keep an eye on the sky. Her head lay on one forepaw as her mind wandered to Dawnheart.

By blood, the older she-cat was labelled as Featherpaw's mother. However, since Fernkit's death... The simplest way to put it was Featherpaw had a mother, but no mom.

The sudden change in behaviour that had swept over Featherpaw was something that she could not explain. She'd been fine earlier, in fact, she'd been chatting and laughing with the other apprentice. It had bombarded her at random, targeting her as she had attempted to get some rest alongside the others.

Now she lay beneath the moon, mind adrift, prisoner to the emotions she fought so desperately to mask when others were around...