[Insidious]

S P I D E R V E N O M

Lately, NightClan had been too busy for his tastes. There normally weren’t a lot of cats that were bothered with him, and it allowed him to maintain a relatively peaceful, undisturbed lifestyle. He was most content that way. Keeping to himself had always been the easiest means of handling his inability to converse without succumbing to his social awkwardness. He wasn’t capable of sitting down with a fellow cat, not even someone he could claim to know decently well, and having a conversation. Sure, the way he chose to live got a little lonely sometimes. He could swear that, should he encounter his own reflection in the water one day, he’d probably scurry away with a bad case of nightmares. S.tarClan forbid him to see the face of the one feline he could handle, if not only because he had no choice but to live inside of said cat’s skin and walk around in it.

He picked S.tarClan’s Claws, out of every place he could have went to, because he thought there would likely be a smaller chance of another cat showing up at the same time as him. As far as he knew, the location was pretty quiet outside of gatherings. It was too far out of the way, too random, for any cat to just randomly select it as their evening’s destination. This was, of course, excluding him. The fact that it was too far out of the way, and too random, were among some of the reasons that he sought it out as he had. Nobody would bother looking for him here, not that anybody would even notice his absence. He had a tendency to be among the few that often remained unnoticed and undetected. It was only a matter of time before he needed some space again, and this was his means of getting just that. NightClan would always be his home; he adored everything there was to adore about his clan. For the most part, his clan mates were generally neutral enough to survive with. He didn’t talk to anybody enough to make enemies, or friends for the matter, so it was simple enough to call himself one of them and get by with the ordinary amount of hunting and patrolling when it was required of him as a warrior. He didn’t need friends, nor did he need enemies. He didn’t need anybody other than himself. As long as he had a place to return to as soon as he was all finished here, he would be happy.

Stretching out his legs, the young warrior laid down along the outskirts of the gathering place, sucking in the cool night air and enjoying his peace. It was beautifully tranquil at this hour; he was even brave enough to let his eyes flutter closed for a few seconds here and there. Perhaps brave wasn’t the most accurate term - his name didn’t exactly make the list when one began to consider the forest’s most heroic tomcats - but it was a step in the right direction for someone as secluded as him. He could claim that all he needed was himself, but truth be told, it’d be nice if someone out there knew how to break through his exterior and reach him. He had a lot to offer, just nobody to offer it to. But maybe it was better that way. Some cats were meant to be on their own - a loner living a clan cat’s life - and if he was meant to be one of those cats, then who was he to argue?

@lacihparg