[Abyss]

For someone who never allowed emotion to get to her, in this moment, the vibrant red Warrioress fully let herself bask in something she hadn’t felt in quite a long time: freedom. All four of her legs stretched both in front and behind her, the sun casting its bright light down on the older molly, making her resemble fire as she had been partially named for. The edge of the gorge ledge sat just behind her, and the Gorgeclan camp stood not too far behind that. But she was focused on neither. She felt like she had been cooped up in that Nursery for far longer than just a few moons. And now that she was finally able to leave that place, she was taking advantage of it.

Her three children had finally reached the age of being able to walk and talk and, sort of, fend for themselves. This had been the time she was waiting for since the day they were born. This day gave her the freedom she craved, the freedom that had been stripped from her for a long time. Granted, it wasn’t full freedom, as she sometimes wished it was, but it was improvement. Though, standing there outside of the camp, there was something very small that stubbornly clung to her. This feeling, this little invisible string, that tried to pull her back. She was grateful beyond words that she finally didn’t have to lay in that stuffy Nursery and deal with tiny teeth stabbing at her stomach. But, at the same time, there was a miniscule voice in her chest that told her to go back, where she was needed, even though she didn’t see it that way. She would never say that she missed the kits. Not out loud and not to herself. But…there was just something…wrong.

Thankfully, whatever this was, it wasn’t strong enough to stop her from leaving, and it didn’t. Though, even without the three kits by her side, Foxfire found that she, somehow, still was not alone. A glance to the side and she found a bright white shape coming into sight, one that nearly blended in with the snow, but had a face.

Moons ago, when the kits had first been born, a certain Apprentice had come to the Nursery to see them. Wisteriapaw, a blind white she-cat originally from Stoneclan. Not exactly the kind of cat that Fox enjoyed dealing with, though, that was every type of cat. A very odd experience, the Apprentice had stuck around the Nursery for quite a while talking a bunch of meaningful nonsense, most of which Foxfire had honestly forgotten by this point, save for a few small things. But one thing that had stuck in her mind from that interaction was one moment, where the blind molly had said that the two of them should go on a walk together once the kits were old enough to be left. At the time this idea was funny, and she had agreed to it, not because she wanted to have company when she left camp for the first time, but because the idea of her going out and exploring the territory with a blind Apprentice that wasn’t even her own sounded ridiculous.

But, that morning when Fox woke with a jolt of energy from the Nursery nest, left the sleeping kits in the nest of Icefang, and trotted towards the camp entrance, she stopped. She remembered that interaction. In that moment, she had nearly forgotten why any of that conversation had happened in the first place. She went to step forward, but she remembered. She had agreed to it because, at the time, the Apprentice had said that ever since moving into the new camp, hardly anyone had bothered to try and get her training that had been practically completely reset back on track. Foxfire was not a mentor, nor was she Wisteriapaw’s mentor. That duty fell on one half of the Gorgeclan Deputy duo. But even her own mentor had barely bothered spend time with her, as far as Fox could tell. She almost pitied the little white she-cat, getting stuck with someone like that.

Just as she turned her head, a flash of white caught her eye, but it was not Wisteriapaw that she spotted. A large white figure emerged from the Warriors den with a big stretch. As they turned their head, a single yellow-green eye peered back at her, blinking a few times. The two cats stared each other down, Foxfire’s own orange gaze glaring the tom down while he seemed far more surprised, and a tad confused. Almost as though seeing him had been a trigger, the fiery she-cat huffed loudly, lifting her head and chin and padding towards the tom. For a moment, he almost looked worried as she got closer. Good. He should be.

But, rather than stop, she veered just slightly to the side, walking passed him. The red she-cat pushed her way into the Apprentice den, scanning quickly across the sleeping forms of a bunch of younger cats. When she spotted what she was looking for, she approached, leaning down and giving a little bit of a rough nudge to the sleeping form of Wisteriapaw. When the she-cat, seemed to be stirring, she growled.

“Get up. Let’s go.”

She waited for just a second, nudging the she-cat again to get her going. When Foxfire emerged again, she made sure that the white Apprentice remained at her side as they turned around the corner. Upon seeing the white tom again, still standing in the same spot appearing even more confused than before, she felt her nostrils flare. She placed her tail lightly over the white Apprentice’s back, just barely pulling her closer to make sure she knew where she was walking, and then they walked. As the two walked passed, she could feel Whitehawk’s eyes staring after them.

“Wh-..Wa-....wh….” She could hear his confused voice behind them, but she ignored him and kept going, keeping Wisteriapaw at her side.

It had taken a little bit of time, but Foxfire silently helped the blind Apprentice climb the other side of the gorge on the easiest path that she could spot. When they reached the top, she let herself fully stretch.

“Finally. We aren’t stuck in that damned place anymore.” Once her stretch was over, she looked to Wisteriapaw, considering for a moment, before she spoke in her normal gravelly growl-filled voice. “Well, you wanted to walk, and here we are. Lead the way, snowball.”

TAGS Fae Magic
WORDS 1091
OOC Notes

[Fae Magic]

[googlefont="Redressed"][googlefont="Nunito"]

WISTERIAPAW

Her days were spent much like they usually did. Like clockwork, the apprentice would rise just a bit after the dawn patrol returned with a fresh kill for the clan so that she could dig through it to grab a meal for the dens. Her first stop would be the Medicine den to make sure that Ebonyheart and Sageheart had what they needed to start their day and her usual good morning would often be followed up with her usual question of whether the medicine cats needed any help that morning with anything and just like a routine a kind but firm reply of different various ways depending on that particular morning would still result in Wisteriapaw being turned away for her next task which was checking up on the Elders to see if they were in need of anything such as new moss for their bedding or pesky bugs removed but most of the time they were too grumpy to want company so she would be sent away after she'd dropped off their morning meals. The blind feline would then go check up with Whitestar; maybe have a chat or perhaps just a short reassurance that her mentor was doing okay but it would result in her being told he wouldn't be able to have time that morning to train her because of some sort of issue or another that needed his attention. He would be guilty and that thorn in her heart would dig just a little bit deeper but Wisteriapaw would leave with a smile on her face and reassurance to him that she would find something to do that day. Most days she would go visit the nursery and check up on the kits but the more she was turned away the more her mood dropped little by little and frankly, the snowball was tired of the rejection today. So she went back to the apprentice den to lie down and take a nap while thinking of ways she could help around camp that wouldn't put her in anyone's way.

She'd fallen asleep with the doubts and negativity swirling around in her brain causing her nap to be plagued with nightmares and restlessness. Foxfire's comment from one of her last visits about morons within the clan made Wisteriapaw feel like one of them; the lack of attention and the activity she had to preoccupy herself with made her feel so useless. Almost as if she'd conjured up the feline herself Wisteriapaw's dreams and restlessness was shattered as she was nudged from her sleep. At first, she thought perhaps Whitestar had returned in his spare time to get in some sort of training but the voice that spoke above her head was not male despite the low growl within the voice's tone. Her blue eyes blinked open slowly as another nudge jostled her and she sleepily raised herself to her feet obediently before her mind processed what was actually going on. When wakefulness finally registered in her brain she was surprised that instead of Whitestar it was someone she wasn't expecting. Honestly, Wisteriapaw had figured Foxfire had forgotten about the apprentice's suggestion to go out for a walk together so the older feline's presence short-circuited her brain for a good minute while she waited at the entrance of the apprentice den for Wisteriapaw to follow.

She did not speak as she weaved her way through the nests and followed the other outside into the fresh air. She breathed in the scent of the camp and the now-familiar scent of Foxfire. She did not speak up as she felt the rudy molly's tail on her back helping guide her through camp and keeping her close even when Whitestar's scent drifted over to her and her ears picked up his stuttering words. She turned her head as if to look over her shoulder as if she could actually see his dumbstruck expression. She could feel the warrior's stiffness and hostility as they moved across camp away from the mentor but she did not comment on it.

As they left camp the younger she-cat's anxiety spiked a bit as her paws moved a bit more cautious and stumbly as Foxfire helped her along the ridges and rocks of the territory that Wisteriapaw wasn't accustomed to and all she could think about she prayed she wouldn't stumble over a rock and hit her head. She was still terrified that the earth would start trembling beneath her paws and break apart to swallow her whole as it damn nearly did during the earthquake. No one could fully comprehend just how terrifying it actually was for the apprentice; you think it was bad for those with eyes seeing the earth crumble and break while trying to navigate and run for their life? Try doing that without the ability to see anything. Wisteriapaw had mentioned to Foxfire before her fear of leaving camp before but that 'fear' went beyond what most would think so it took all of the apprentice's willpower to keep focused on the stones and ground beneath the pads of her paws as she was helped to navigate the terrain.

When they finally paused Foxfire was the one who broke the silence first startling the younger feline and making her visibly jump. The look of surprise and fear in her eyes wasn't something that the apprentice herself realized she was showing; her eyes were rather expressive despite the lack of sight. The stiffness of her body and that look in her eyes were a dead giveaway of the fact that she was second-guessing her idea to travel out here. She didn't have a problem with it at the beginning whenever she'd come out with Whitestar before he was made leader but after such a long time and with a new clan mate at her side, she was second-guessing her own abilities. Besides, she only ever went to one place with Whitestar and this place was new to her.

"Right...." she muttered tilting her head this way and that way as if she was trying to figure out right where she actually was. Her nose lifted to sniff the air and she hummed slightly.

"To tell you the truth I have no idea where we are." she laughed nervously. "I wasn't paying attention...more like trying to make sure my stupid paws wouldn't slip under me and have me careening into the abyss." her smile was a little shaky as she ducked her head.

She didn't want to seem like a fool in front of Foxfire. She didn't want to feel like a burden and she certainly didn't want to become an emotional mess in front of the warrior so she sucked it up visibly trying to gather herself as she lifted her head again. "I only really know the Trickling Ledge. Whitestar and I used to go there; it's a familiar place for us but I haven't had the chance to explore the other landmarks around here," she confessed sheepishly as she pawed at the cold ground beneath her as she muttered under her breath more to herself than to Foxfire's ears.

"God I'm such a stupid furball." why did she think it was a good idea to throw caution to the wind and just come out here on a whim? Well, it wasn't like she was trying to impress anyone but Foxfire needed an out and Wisteriapaw needed a chance to leave the camp; she was only regretting that discussion now as the presence of the camp was long gone and the whole wide world around her pinning her in place feeling oppressive. But she had to do this. She knew she had or she would be no better than a kit. She was old enough to already be a warrior but she had chosen to stay behind to regain training in the new territory; partly because she knew she needed the extra time and partly not with a choice of her own. Regardless, she was still in need of experience in this new territory so she had to suck it up and be a big girl for this; she just hoped Foxfire wouldn't think her a mousebrain or as she so kindly had put it 'a moron' in the clan after this day was over. Wisteriapaw just knew she was going to make a fool of herself.


"This is Wisteria speaking." And this is Wisteria thinking.

Gorgeclan Apprentice

Abyss

WORD COUNT 1,402 | TAGS Abyss | NOTES: There we go!