If you lose yourself, your courage soon will follow (closed)

The night had been wet and chilly. It seemed his golden spotted pelt would never be fully dry again, no matter how far away from the flood waters he was. An ache had developed in his back and joints from sleeping on solid rock night after night. He didn't know the land and couldn't find enough moss to scrape together a nest. Even if he managed to find a slightly more comfortable place to rest his weary bones, it would have to be abandoned before the next dawn. It wasn't safe to linger.

Pale gray clouds loomed in the sky above, threatening to let loose another torrent. He couldn't help but be nervous and it caused his long tail to sway gently just above the ground. He was perched on top of a slick stone, muscles bunched beneath his body, with amber eyes trained steadily on an adjacent rock. A squirrel, red with long, tufted ears, sat motionless upon it. They'd spotted each other at the same time. Both refused to move, watching the other with intense interest; for the tomcat, his interest was eating. The squirrel likely didn't want any part of that. He couldn't blame it. His sympathy dredged up the echoes of SkyClan and WindClan's clash with the dogs moons ago, and the fur along is spine rose despite the rainwater that had previously slicked it back. He couldn't dwell on the screams now. He had to put an end to this stand off - but how? Was he fast enough to chase it down? Not likely, but... he could go for the jump.

'I can make that,' He mused as his eyes dropped from the target to the gap between them. It had to be several foxlengths wide, maybe five or six, but he was determined. Arrogant, even. 'Of course I can make that. I'm the best jumper SkyClan has... or had. Whatever. I can make this.' His claws slid out and braced against the wet stone beneath him. The first drop of rain splattered against his shredded ear and caused it to flick by instinct. 'I was named for this. I was born into this. And I've been practicing.' It was true that his strength was increasing even as his food intake had been decreasing. The few moons he'd spent in such rocky, unpredictable terrain had built in him a new kind of strength and willpower that was previously unknown to him. Sure, his home territory was rocky and had tall, sparse pines to navigate, but none of it compared to scaling the sheer rock cliffs that now surrounded him.

When he looked into the distance, only silent blue rock greeted him. He would climb it all to find his mother and young brother and valiant leader. Surely they were looking for him too?

The rain was picking up. He felt it saturate his pelt with a mild sense of disgust. It was now or never, and it certainly wouldn't be never. The golden tom flexed, his tail lifting up for balance, and then launched himself at full-stretch towards the squirrel. It barely registered the blur until he'd closed most of the gap, claws reaching out as far as they could. The creature scrambled against the rock and turned to flee, and the tom's last glimpse of his prey was its bushy tail waving behind it. His arc peaked too soon and he was hurtling towards the rock face in front of him.

His paws met it first, then the rest of his body, hard enough to force the air from his lungs. He scrambled to hook his claws into the slippery surface, wrenching several of them in the process, and managed to find a single pawhold. It lasted for only a heartbeat, and with a sharp yowl the tomcat lost his grip and met the pile of paw-sized rocks that lied haphazardly on the ground below the squirrel's perch. His gasps of pain echoed on the exposed rock that surrounded him, but no one else was present to hear his whimpering and feel pity.

And yet his isolation was a comfort. Spottedleap knew nothing of responsibility. When he failed, only he himself tasted the bitter blood of defeat.

Spottedstar could almost smell mountain rain on the air when he awoke that evening. He'd been sleeping throughout the day, and now there was no way he could fall back into it when his dreams reminded him of some of the worst days of his lives. His dull eyes flitted to the sky that darkness had begun to blanket. Clear. There would be no rain, just like there hadn't been for at least a season. It was funny in a sad way that rain used to scare him and now he begged StarClan for it daily. It fell on deaf ears as most of his prayers seemed to do. His dreaded sickness, for one, was a standout issue that his ancestors seemed wholly uninterested in helping. How could he have gone so long without improving? Was someone out there torturing him for some kind of sick and twisted pleasure?

His dreary thoughts wandered further into dramatic scenarios in which enemies in life stalked him after death. This went on until the distant sun finally set, and he was left in the silvery light of the moon. Spottedstar thought absently of home and how SkyClan territory was much prettier at night than RiverClan's reeds and mud at any time. Still, he was grateful it wasn't a trash heap in twolegplace. He sighed, set his head back on his paws, and attempted to sleep again. No success. His dream still lingered. 'Leave it to Sagelight to prescribe rest to the restless.' Spottedstar heaved himself to his paws. If he was going to suffer, so would his dear brother.

At the medicine den entrance, the SkyClan leader peered in and spotted a single dark figure. He cleared his throat loudly (and painfully) to announce his presence, then stepped inside before his eyes adjusted and he realized the figure was not in fact Sagelight, but another tomcat. Perhaps... perhaps this would work to his advantage.

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Sun // Living Characters // Deceased Characters
If you lose yourself, your courage soon will follow (closed) 713E5771-31B2-4EA8-B75F-EC3A67DB4C32

Turtlefur || Tom || RiverClan T5 Warrior || Requirements || #cc9900
Goldenstar || She-cat || WindClan T5 Leader || Requirements || burlywood
Lynxpetal || She-cat || SkyClan Queen || darkblue
Lightningpaw || Tom || WindClan Apprentice || #dfd47e
Creekpaw || She-cat || RiverClan Apprentice || #4c5682

Spiderquill jumped on the spot, tall ears brushing the top of the den before he landed again and pivoted to face the newcomer. He couldn't quite recognise them, so he slowly padded closer. They were a lot bigger than him, ginger and spotted... Spiderquill suddenly realised who exactly he was staring at and just managed to bite back a startled yelp. Spottedstar, visiting the medicine den, and Spiderquill was just silently ogling him. StarClan. He made an odd set of movements, a kind of lopsided head bob mixed with a curtsy. What was he supposed to do? He had no idea how to talk to a leader. He'd barely managed to strike up the courage to talk to Torrentstar way back when, much less the leader of an entirely separate Clan. "Sp-spottedstar! Uh, were you looking for Sagelight? He's, er, out right now. I can pass along a m-message for him, if you'd like?"

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If you lose yourself, your courage soon will follow (closed) CWNAdMS

Woolywing of RiverClan-45/90*
Butterfly the Loner-40/100
Blackbear of SkyClan-50/120
Lousekit of ShadowClan-10/30
*=disabled
**=unborn