hold on to [open/intro] your heart

[featherear .]

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  A silver tabby stood near the edge of the medicine den, her ears pinned back as she paced. The hurricane had done awful wonders to the she-cat, and she glanced around for any signs of life, be it in the den or around it. She had been separated when the hurricane started, swept off by the suddenly strong and high current and washing up somewhere else. It took the tabby a long time to find her way back, and with finding that familiar rock and the partially-hidden tunnels, hope flared in her white chest.

  She poked her small head in once more, and upon seeing no movement in the den for the umpteenth time, she decided to look around in the other dens. She hoped someone had been spared, that they were safe and okay. Featherear was used to the feeling of sand in the long fur between her paw pads, but now, as she slipped on the loose sand and struggled to get up to a higher point to see, the sand felt like it was trying to drag her down under.

Anxiety fluttered in her chest, paws scrabbling for purchase as she hopped up onto a near-by rock. It was still wet from the storm, and she barely could hold on. She dug her claws into the crevices of the rock and sat down, swishing her long tail as she glanced about. The fluff in her ears, which gave her her name as they resembled feathers, fluttered in the wind, making her reach up and swipe her front paw across her ears.

Featherear hopped someone would see her.

[RHINESTONE.]

[glow=#b8dcf8,2,300]▶ NATURE'S CORRUPTED IN FACTORIES FAR AWAY ◀[/glow]

The hurricane had done a number on everyone, and it was difficult for Rhine not to see that. The feline had been doing his best to make sure things were running smoothly once again, but it was hard to deny that the camp was a bit of a ghost town. With so many gone, Rhinestone was honestly stuck half between wanting the clan to remain solitary, and half desperately hoping that they would get some new joiners. For the moment, however, he knew he needed to focus his – and everyone else's – time and resources on rebuilding. If things began to feel normal again, there would be less panic, and less panic was generally something that a leader was supposed to be going for. He didn't need some kind of advanced prior deputy training to know that.

Although the reddish feline had been trying his damnedest to keep a level head about everything, he could understand why others would be worried. He could feel his resolve starting to crack a bit as he padded through the still shoddily patched up camp, trying not to seem like he was pacing. He was trying to think of what to do next, when he noticed movement from the rock high above. Lifting his head, the feline felt a bubble of hope in his chest as he saw Featherear, a little yelp leaving him. After she had been separated from them, like many others, during the storm, he wasn't sure that Palmclan would ever see her again. Making his way to the base of the rock, he clambered his way up, touching his tail to her spine to alert her to his presence, before he spoke, "Featherear... I'm relieved to see that you made it. I wasn't.... we weren't... we lost a lot of warriors. And others... I wasn't sure if you'd be back." She was only one cat out of many that had been swept away, but at least her return marked a happy occasion.

[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.

[deimos]

SAN + SUN + VIX

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Resting was one of the things Vixen got little of these days. Food was hard to come by- and even harder so to share. The hunger itching at her, while their stocks got restored, made her restless and anxious. However, Vixen didn't show the latter, her eyes calm and face stoic. Upon hearing.. Rhine's yelp her head whipped about, fur standing on end. This could mean anything. Vixen followed in Rhine's pawsteps, ready to defend camp- as she couldn't have seen what it was- but came to a slow walk upon seeing Featherear.

Her eyes blinked once, and a bit of relief touched her. However, seeing Featherear riled up even more upon arrival, she felt a bit of a frown touch her face. "I'm fine- Sanguine's fine. Sunpaw.. is a live. The kits survived." She spoke, her tone even and solid. But the twinge of doubt in her showed a bit, ears flattening slowly. "I'm glad that you're alive and.. mostly well. "

"VIXEN"
"SANGUINE"
"SUNPAW"

tags - penned by [member=79]auto[/member]

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[RHINESTONE.]

[glow=#b8dcf8,2,300]▶ NATURE'S CORRUPTED IN FACTORIES FAR AWAY ◀[/glow]

Rhinestoneeyes. It was strange, hearing his old warrior name, even if hadn't been long since he had shed it in favor of the star suffix that came with being a leader. Still, it was also a sort of relief to hear someone using it again, because it reminded him that there might still be those out there who had known him before his ascension. Cats that, like Featherear, had survived the hurricane, and had simply been ripped away from the clan that they called home. He knew it was a mere fever dream to hope that everyone who had been swept away in the storm would end up coming back, but it never hurt to have a bit of hope, especially in such a dire time. He smiled genuinely as Featherear pressed into his shoulder, touching his nose affectionately and soothingly to the top of her rather fluffy ear. Although the smile was soon to vanish when he noticed the tears in her eyes, he couldn't help the genuine joy he felt at hearing her familiar voice – especially after having thought she was lost to the waves, forever. Taking a deep breath, he muttered softly, "It's... it's Rhinestonestar, actually. The leader didn't make it, and I was the last senior warrior around, so I had to step up..." He realized quickly that made the situation sound even more dire than it really was, so he hastily followed it up, "There... there are still plenty of us, though. We're still alive, just a little shaken, don't worry." Not everyone would be around to see them recover, but those who could, would hopefully be happy about it.

It was not long after that Featherear's panic began to grow, and Rhine felt his ears flatten against his skull in response, worry gleaming in his eyes. He lifted a paw to gently rub at her spine, trying to provide her with some comfort to get her through the anxieties bubbling up from her in waves. He opened his muzzle to respond, but Vixenvenom beat him to it, causing him to jump slightly. Turning, the crimson feline nodded in greeting to Vixrn before he spoke, a frown curled on his muzzle, "As Vixenvenom said, Sanguine and Sunpaw are alright... the kits are doing fine, if a bit shaken up." He then felt his heart sink a little, briefly biting down on the inside of his cheek. It took a long moment before he continued, his tone seeming dour, "As for Haystripe... I'm afraid I haven't seen him, Featherear. I'm sorry... there is a possibility that he's out there somewhere, just as you were, but I don't believe he's here, at camp." He had taken a rather comprehensive role call after the camp had finally been cleared of water, and he didn't remember seeing the shecat's brother anywhere.