The In Crowd (closed to SkC elders)

On a particularly hot afternoon, when the sun was still high and heat hung heavy in the air like fog, Juniperlight rested in the shadow of the elder’s den on a bed of soft moss and down. At his paws was a partially eaten squirrel that he was sharing with the cat next to him. His companions, the elders who resided in their spacious but warm den, sat with him in an uneven circle and ate or shared tongues with each other. The one-eyed tom was not yet an elder, but he might as well have been; he shared his youth with these cats and suffered trials alongside them. He also experienced immeasurable joy and love alongside those trials. ”I’ll say one thing,” Juniperlight meowed, entering the conversation of some of his friends. ”The heats brings the prey to the Moonlit Creek in droves. We have that to be thankful for, at the very least.”

Foxfire laid curled up in his nest, not paying much attention to the fact Juniperlight was hanging out with them. He didn't mind, and he was doing his best to be a bit more...Active, as it were. But even in the shade of the elder's den, the heat wasn't pleasant. There was some comfort in the fact that Foxfire had rather short fur but it didn't make it any better. His ears twitched as Juniperlight spoke up, causing the elder to raise his head and look at the tom, listening as he mentioned the prey heading to the Moonlit Creek.

He huffed a little, drawing his paws beneath him. "Perhaps...I guess its nice that we still have a lot of prey to fill our bellies," he meowed, although his expression was crestfallen a little as he thought about how at this time of year, he would be out there hunting all of that with Flowerthorn. A lot of things hurt - once he had admitted his feelings for her, he had rarely left her side. He couldn't do anything with that stab of pain in his heart but... He glanced around at the other cats. ...It was at least nice to be surrounded by his friends, it eased it a little.

Smokefeather twitched an ear as Juniperlight spoke. She was glad that at least someone cared to hang around the elder's den and keep them company, though she hoped that the dark-furred tom wouldn't have to actually join the den for many more moons. "I'd be more thankful if I could still hunt. There was always a nice breeze when you got high enough in the trees, almost made this greenleaf foxdung bearable." Smokefeather muttered wistfully. "Though... Not needing to go out in this heat at all is nice." Her pale tortoiseshell fur was thinner and patchier than it should have been, but it was still long enough that the greenleaf weather wasn't something Smokefeather agreed with. Her companions were no doubt grateful to have shorter fur.

"So long as the heat doesn't dry it up!" Wrenspring chimed in, with his whiskers twitching. He rolled comfortably to his side, stretching out a forepaw to playfully prod Juniperlight's side. It was moments like this where the former warrior relished in his retirement. All of these moons had lead to the aging of not just him, but of his kin and companions as well. Admittedly, it was nice to bask in the glow of their friendship. Juniperlight still had plenty of life in him. The distance did not stop him from spending time with the dark-pelted warrior, "I'm never going to forget when it was little more than a shallow scoop in the earth. Not something you forget, huh, Foxfire?"

As Smokefeather spoke, he twisted around to catch sight of her. The she-cat looked like the seasons hadn't treated her well, and he'd seen firsthand how cruel they could be. There was a flicker across his features and a pause before he piped up, "Never too late to try to jump the trees around camp. I'm sure I could still beat you in a race." There was a teasing smile. One paw pulled his prey closer, a slender bird, and he began to pick easily at the feathers. Maybe he could sneak them into Smokefeather's nest later on and it would provide some small comfort.