hold on to [open/intro] your heart

[featherear .]

The she-cat's soft fur was waterlogged and caked with now dry dirt from the tide, making her feel so much more heavy than she ever felt. Featherear swished her tail back and forth more, feeling the dirt come off the long tufts. She saw a flicker of red, and for a moment she thought that it might have either been a coyote -- though that was so dearly improbable, as they were not coyotes were common -- or a stray or outsider. Alert went up in red flags as she peered over the rock, her ears pinned and her pale green eyes narrowed.

Featherear had heard the slight yelp, and wondered if the creature saw her, and she wondered if it ran off at the sight of somebody still there. She turned back to look at her paws, shaking one of her front paws to try to rid of the heavy caked dirt, feeling herself begin to sulk. If the creature came up to finish her off, she wouldn't bother fighting back. She had felt like she had lost the clan, like they had either all been swept away, or they had relocated and left her behind.

Her shoulders felt so heavy and she felt so tired.

At the feeling of a tail brushing against her spine, her hackles raised, and the she-cat nearly whirled around to face her opponent, only to see the tomcat she had known all her life. Relief struck the silver tabby the moment she heard her name, and tears welled up in her eyes. Featherear had not heard of the clan surviving, and to hear there was a we gave her so much hope. She pressed her head against Rhine's shoulder for a moment.

"I'm so glad to see you, Rhinestoneeyes, I thought- I thought everyone was gone," she did not know he was leader, "is- are there others still here? Did some survive?" She asked, her voice so quiet, as if afraid that if she spoke any louder, Rhine would disappear.

Her flank rose and fell in rapid, panicked breaths as her anxiety from earlier kicked up. Her brother was gone, she had not been able to find him, and she turned to face Rhine with worry in her eyes. "You wouldn't have seen Haystripe, would you? I- I couldn't- I haven't been able to find him anywhere. "Is Vixenvenom okay? Sanguinepaw? Sunpaw? Cloudpaw? Did any of the kits survive?" Tear sprung in her usually confident eyes again.

Featherear swiped her paw across her face.