[Deleted]

Sootpaw was attempting to get used to navigating her way around the camp by scent alone. Dawnblossom had told her it was going to be difficult at first, but as she got more proficient in it, it would become second nature to her, almost like she'd never had sight in the first place.  almost. 

Sootpaw, never one to be kept down for too long (unless it was her ongoing feud with Meadowpaw that she didn't even want - all she wanted to do was to be the fiery cat's friend, she couldn't help it that she was very close to her brother) began to walk from her den, whiskers quivering; in the absence of her sight, her whiskers would prove very useful, acting as a radar of sorts, to stop her from crashing into things. She sent a fervent thank you to StarClan that she was born with long whiskers. 

Small victories. They were the name of the game to Sootpaw now. Even the slightest small victory was helpful to her. They made her life more bearable.

She scented Smokestorm, the deputy, before she saw her. She realised suddenly that she'd never really had a chance to congratulate her. Well. Time to rectify that. 

"Smokestorm! Congratulations! Were you surprised when Hawkstar named you?"

214 / Taxx @kahani (meadow mention) BlooRey DVD (Hawk mention)

[Taxx]

Smokestorm

This gal right here's gonna rule the world
No, I won't sit still and look pretty

Smokestorm had just started to tuck into a mouse when the voice reached her, and she looked around to see Sootpaw approaching. A familiar flash of guilt gripped her belly at the blank stare: a constant reminder that she hadn't been fast enough to help when it had mattered, and now the young apprentice was dealing with the loss of her sight as a result.

Swallowing the bite she'd taken, her suddenly dry throat working, Smokestorm sat up, reaching her tail to brush Sootpaw's shoulder as she answered: "Thank you, Sootpaw. Yes- I really was." That much was truth, at least. She'd expected the tom to pick an older, more experienced cat. What had he seen in her, to encourage him to name her as his deputy?

"I'm pleased too," she added. "It's an honor and I'll do my best for StoneClan." More words crowded up in her throat, questions about how Sootpaw was doing, how she was adjusting to her condition, and the only reason she didn't ask was because she knew well that she wouldn't want a cat fawning over her if the same thing were to happen to her. "How's your day?" was what she settled on, her tone no different than it would be toward anyone else, as she bent her head to take another bite of the mouse at her paws.

Deputy of StoneClan

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[Deleted]

Sootpaw noticed Smokestorm's deliberate refusal to ask her any questions directly about her adjustment to her newfound blindness. She greatly appreciated it. Cats went blind. Not often - mostly cats would be born blind, or would lose their sight gradually as they aged. Sudden loss of sight like hers was rare. Well, fox attacks were rare. 

Letting the newleaf sun move lazily across her shoulders, she purred. "Only just begun. Hopefully Petalrain will take me out today. It's getting boring being confined to camp."

She settled next to Smokestorm, picking out a mouse herself, taking a bite and letting the flavour flood her mouth. That was one of the good things about losing one of the senses she used to use most often. All of her other senses - hearing, smell, taste - had all drastically improved. Now the fresh-kill the other apprentices and warriors bought back to camp sung with the flavours of the stones. They were delicious. 

Finishing her mouse, she stood up, wrapping her tail around her paws for a moment. 

"Do you think Hawkstar would be willing to talk to me? I don't know what my future holds anymore, but if he'll let me, I'd like to continue training to become a warrior. I may be blind, but I still have teeth and claws that are sharp. I'd like to contribute."

She purred loudly to the deputy. "Oh, Smokestorm? I'm proud of you. If you need any help with anything, you need only ask."

251 / Taxx

[Taxx]

Smokestorm

This gal right here's gonna rule the world
No, I won't sit still and look pretty

She could understand being bored by being unable to leave the camp. There was no reason for her to remain in camp for the rest of her life, though; she had benefitted from a period of adjustment to her lack of sight, but an apprentice used to daily patrols would find it hard to cope with a more confined existence.

Silence reigned for a moment, as the two ate side by side, and the deputy only glanced up when Sootpaw spoke once more. "I don't see why not. There's nothing wrong with your hearing or sense of smell, and I know more than one warrior who would be willing to help you overcome being unable to see." Smokestorm included.

Blinking at Sootpaw, Smokestorm gave a purr of gratitude. "Thanks, Sootpaw." A second of hesitation before she added, "I'm proud of you too. Some cats would just roll over and whine about how unfair life was- but you're fighting. That takes courage. And, if you want to get out of the camp, I'll take you."

Rising to her paws, the tabby stretched out her back legs. "Unless you'd rather talk to Hawkstar first?"

Deputy of StoneClan

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[Deleted]

Sootpaw

14 Moons, StoneClan Apprentice

Finally! The words she had been wanting to hear since she'd finally managed to come to terms with her blindness. She could go out again! 

She was nervous all of a sudden. But she was determined to make it work. Even blind, she was determined to be an asset to the clan. 

"We can go? Now! Yay! Let's go! Where are we going?".


Smokestorm's added mention of Hawkstar didn't temper her excitement one bit. She was being taken out! She was no longer under her pretty much self inflicted confinement! 

She was looking forward to finding out what the stones outside of camp, the ones not worn smooth by generations of paws before hers, felt like under her paws. She was looking forward to the smells, the sounds. She couldn't wait.

"I'll wait to talk to Hawkstar. I get to go out again! I won't let you down!"

 

I should have seen those signs all around me
But I was comfortable inside these wounds

Taxx || 172 || Honestly she's like an apprentice on their first day of training she's so excited
Made by Fawn

[Taxx]

Smokestorm

This gal right here's gonna rule the world
No, I won't sit still and look pretty

Sootpaw's excitement was amusing, and expected. Going out with her was the least Smokestorm could do; Sootpaw, clearly more interested in getting out, brushed aside the deputy's mention of talking with Hawkstar. Smokestorm let it go- crushing Sootpaw's excitement wasn't something she could do to her, and with a nod, she rose to her paws and started for the entrance.

"Come on then," she called back, her tail flicking back to gently brush against Sootpaw's nose, leading the apprentice through the tunnel. She glanced back just once, to see that Sootpaw wasn't about to crash into the walls of the tunnel- she didn't want to coddle her, but there was a worm of concern that she might be making a mistake in taking out a cat who couldn't see.

Maybe if she stuck close to the camp for now? That would make it easier for any rescue if something did go wrong. Smokestorm wasn't going to let the possibility of danger go back on this outing: Sootpaw needed it.

She paused once through the tunnel, the grass just brushing against her belly, the sun warm on her back and the breeze just the right kind of cool, carrying all the scents of the forest to her. "Where do you want to go?" she asked, glancing back at Sootpaw, giving the apprentice the chance to decide their destination for her first time out since the attack.

Deputy of StoneClan

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[Deleted]

“Where do you want to go?”

Sootpaw joined Smokestorm at the mouth of the tunnel that led into the camp. Already, immediately, the scents had drastically changed. The smell of many different cats were still in abundance,but it wasn’t as highly concentrated as it was inside the camp. The smell of prey was present also. At first, the sheer strength of it - the vibrancy of many tiny lives just waiting to be caught and killed by the hunters - overwhelmed Sootpaw, and she couldn’t move. Not until she had finally managed to process everything that was happening in a very short space of time.

Meanwhile Smokestorm’s question still hung in the air.

Considering for a moment, Sootpaw made her decision. She just hoped the reasoning behind it wouldn’t seem overly odd to the deputy. 

“I think I’d like to visit the moss meadow. That way I still have some level of familiarity, it would feel the same underpaw as my nest does. Plus, it’s still close enough to camp that I can find my way on my own, if I have to, by scent alone.

Oh. And it has a nice breeze there.”

Sootpaw was trying to be serious, show Smokestorm that she was just a normal cat. But her whiskers, excitedly quivering in the newleaf sunshine, were completely giving her away.

Taxx

[Taxx]

Smokestorm

This gal right here's gonna rule the world
No, I won't sit still and look pretty

Smokestorm had no problem giving Sootpaw a chance to take in the scents and sounds that could be all too easily missed within the camp. She gazed out over the territory, taking in the sights she’d grown used to- realizing now how fragile such a thing was. How easily it could be taken for granted. Sight wasn’t permanent, and it could all too easily be snatched away.

But sight wasn’t everything, either. None of Sootpaw’s vitality had disappeared, and Smokestorm was not about to treat her like a fragile kit. “Sounds good,” she replied, turning her paws toward the meadow. It was telling, that Sootpaw was thinking strategically, and thinking of ways to take care of herself; Smokestorm might have had less patience than if the young she-cat had moaned and groaned and made a burden of herself. It was an awful thing to happen, but she wasn’t helpless, and she was making that very clear.

“Come on then. There might be prey there that we can hunt, too. I’m sure your nose and ears work just fine, and there doesn’t seem to be anything wrong with your paws.” Her tone was brisk, and she set off as soon as she’d finished, even as she kept her stride a bit slow to give Sootpaw a chance to keep up without fumbling.

Deputy of StoneClan

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