Post by xvinn on Sept 17, 2022 23:57:54 GMT -5
wingfeather (zie/zir) | gorgeclan
Wingfeather had been trying zir best to move forward and take steps towards making zirself more accepted in the Clan. Of course, it wasn't as though zie had ever been outcasted by any means, but more that zie had never really made any strides to make zirself more integrated with the Clan. Zie was born to run across the moors, being agile and somewhat more acrobatic, but at the same time, zie never held any regrets in leaving zir family behind to follow Ivorysight. It was the right choice - zie knew that, deep down.
But zie needed to do more than just feel okay with zir choice, zie needed to thrive in GorgeClan in order to find zir own happiness. Ivorysight may have given zir a large amount of that happiness, but zie knew that putting all of your hopes and dreams on a singular being was always a bad idea. Zie wanted to show that zie was going to be a good, productive member of GorgeClan, and becoming a gorgerunner was just the start of that.
Of course, Ivorysight was also doing the same thing - it was the perfect fit for him, allowing him to spend all his time in the dark and use his eyesight for the betterment of the Clan. For Wingfeather, it was the fact that zie had always been more nimble and agile, used to running far distances with zir high stamina. And while zir eyes weren't nearly as identifiable as Ivorysight's, zie still had rather bright yellow eyes that stood out against zir grey tabby fur. Nonetheless, Wingfeather had been a little nervous, as zie wasn't necessarily the strongest cat, and had never learned to climb. Zie had come into the gorge earlier not long ago with Cinderstorm to work on learning to navigate the gorge, but zie still often felt nervous about zir climbing techniques.
So, zie went out and would often practice on trees by zirself, and had begun to finally feel some confident in zir climbing abilities. Sure, zie wasn't as natural as some of the former TreeClan cats by any means, but it started to feel as though zie was making the right strides towards feeling adequate and competent.
Now, the stakes needed to be raised. Wingfeather could feel zir heart pounding in zir chest as zie approached the bridge, stretching across the gorge for those simply trying to go from one side to the other, while some of the branches began to poke down into the gorge, allowing access towards the bottom. When zie was first working on zir climbing skills on the trees, usually zie would fall pretty close to the ground, so it wouldn't result in a whole lot in ways of injury. It was never enough to stop zir from getting up and trying again, but zie had finally stopped falling, and zie started to feel as though the lack of stakes made it that much easier. So now, as zie looked down into the gorge, zie knew the stakes were different here - if zie fell, it would not just hurt for a few moments or knock the breath out of zir. It could lead to broken bones, or the end of zir life. But, if zie wanted to become a runner, zie would need to be able to do it without fear.
With ease, zie jumped up on top of the tree bridge, looking down the branches towards some ledges below. Gingerly, Wingfeather placed one paw in front of the other, focused on looking forward. While zie wasn't afraid of heights, zie still had to remind zirself not to look down until zie was on solid ground. The branch began to bend under zir weight, and zie thought about turning around, turn back now before something happens and come back when you have someone with you. It was probably a good plan, until it was too late.
Under zir paw, Wingfeather felt the branch break. Everything seemed to move in slow motion as zie tried turning around towards the trunk of the tree once more, reaching out as zir back paws began to fall out from under zir. Reaching a grey paw out, zie was able to grab hold of one of the branches, but zir heart was racing, hearing the blood pounding in zir ears as zir back legs hung down. Too far from the edge of the gorge to be able to jump towards a ledge if zie even could from this angle, and pulling up on the branch was harder than when zie was practicing on a tree and had a running start. Usually, zie would have the motion towards the branch, so zie wouldn't have to pull up as much as much as zie just had to get zir paws in the right spot on the branch.
"StarClan, help me!" Wingfeather cried out, trying once more to begin to pull zirself up, worried that zie was going to hang here until the sun went down, or until zir strength gave in and zie would fall to the bottom of the gorge, not to be found for days. Zie closed zir eyes, praying with every ounce in zir body that zie could hold out for just a little longer.
But zie needed to do more than just feel okay with zir choice, zie needed to thrive in GorgeClan in order to find zir own happiness. Ivorysight may have given zir a large amount of that happiness, but zie knew that putting all of your hopes and dreams on a singular being was always a bad idea. Zie wanted to show that zie was going to be a good, productive member of GorgeClan, and becoming a gorgerunner was just the start of that.
Of course, Ivorysight was also doing the same thing - it was the perfect fit for him, allowing him to spend all his time in the dark and use his eyesight for the betterment of the Clan. For Wingfeather, it was the fact that zie had always been more nimble and agile, used to running far distances with zir high stamina. And while zir eyes weren't nearly as identifiable as Ivorysight's, zie still had rather bright yellow eyes that stood out against zir grey tabby fur. Nonetheless, Wingfeather had been a little nervous, as zie wasn't necessarily the strongest cat, and had never learned to climb. Zie had come into the gorge earlier not long ago with Cinderstorm to work on learning to navigate the gorge, but zie still often felt nervous about zir climbing techniques.
So, zie went out and would often practice on trees by zirself, and had begun to finally feel some confident in zir climbing abilities. Sure, zie wasn't as natural as some of the former TreeClan cats by any means, but it started to feel as though zie was making the right strides towards feeling adequate and competent.
Now, the stakes needed to be raised. Wingfeather could feel zir heart pounding in zir chest as zie approached the bridge, stretching across the gorge for those simply trying to go from one side to the other, while some of the branches began to poke down into the gorge, allowing access towards the bottom. When zie was first working on zir climbing skills on the trees, usually zie would fall pretty close to the ground, so it wouldn't result in a whole lot in ways of injury. It was never enough to stop zir from getting up and trying again, but zie had finally stopped falling, and zie started to feel as though the lack of stakes made it that much easier. So now, as zie looked down into the gorge, zie knew the stakes were different here - if zie fell, it would not just hurt for a few moments or knock the breath out of zir. It could lead to broken bones, or the end of zir life. But, if zie wanted to become a runner, zie would need to be able to do it without fear.
With ease, zie jumped up on top of the tree bridge, looking down the branches towards some ledges below. Gingerly, Wingfeather placed one paw in front of the other, focused on looking forward. While zie wasn't afraid of heights, zie still had to remind zirself not to look down until zie was on solid ground. The branch began to bend under zir weight, and zie thought about turning around, turn back now before something happens and come back when you have someone with you. It was probably a good plan, until it was too late.
Under zir paw, Wingfeather felt the branch break. Everything seemed to move in slow motion as zie tried turning around towards the trunk of the tree once more, reaching out as zir back paws began to fall out from under zir. Reaching a grey paw out, zie was able to grab hold of one of the branches, but zir heart was racing, hearing the blood pounding in zir ears as zir back legs hung down. Too far from the edge of the gorge to be able to jump towards a ledge if zie even could from this angle, and pulling up on the branch was harder than when zie was practicing on a tree and had a running start. Usually, zie would have the motion towards the branch, so zie wouldn't have to pull up as much as much as zie just had to get zir paws in the right spot on the branch.
"StarClan, help me!" Wingfeather cried out, trying once more to begin to pull zirself up, worried that zie was going to hang here until the sun went down, or until zir strength gave in and zie would fall to the bottom of the gorge, not to be found for days. Zie closed zir eyes, praying with every ounce in zir body that zie could hold out for just a little longer.
Gemini / thistlewhisper ● 880 words