work yourself to death [open]

There was an air of awkwardness that hung over her as Leopardsun navigated SkyClan's camp, as well as their territory. It was unfamiliar to her, the space and the scents and most of the cats, and while Froststar and Echomist and Honeypaw were safe and accounted for her sister was still missing. A lingering fear that the worst had happened tugged at the back of her mind, but she refused to give such a thought the time of day. She had lost her parents twice. She would not lose Vixenpaw.

And then there was Echomist's injury. She could see that not being able to hunt bothered him, and it motivated her to push herself harder than she should. She knew she should slow down, but... She could rarely bring herself to. She felt a sense of responsibility and dedication already to ShadowClan, and now they were reliant on SkyClan's hospitality, so she felt the need to make her presence as unintrusive and beneficial as she possibly could. It helped that if she was working, she didn't need to stop long enough to think. So she hunted more, ate and slept less, and after an extended period the exhaustion was finally catching up to her.

She curled up in a presently-empty corner of the camp, taking a rare moment to rest. She could feel her paws about to give out underneath her, but even still she willed herself to remain passive, observing the cats in camp both familiar and not. Searching for her friends, for her mentor, for the strangers of SkyClan, and watching as they went about their day.

She would rest for a while, then she would hunt more, and then she would eat (always offering to share with Echomist or Honeypaw, a sweet reprieve from the rest of the day), and she would sleep, and she would do it all again the next day; for as long as she had to, until they could finally return home.

Leopardsun startled at the approach, but relaxed when she realized it was only Honeypaw. "No, not at all. Make yourself comfortable... Or, as comfortable as you can, I suppose." Was Honeypaw also feeling that sense of the space he was in not feeling quite right? Was it just her that still felt so out of place, or was it something they were all struggling with? It couldn't be easy, and she knew she wasn't the only one missing their home, but even still she couldn't quite bring herself to ask.

The exhaustion of the day had hit her all at once, as soon as she slowed down, and now she rested her head on her paws. Tired as she was, her thoughts came to words more easily- falling off her tongue without a thought, before she could stop them. "We're safe for now, and sheltered, but... What happens next? We can't live like this forever, can we? ShadowClan can't survive if it's only on SkyClan's charity that we do..."

Leopardsun blinked gratefully at Honeypaw. "I really hope you're right... For everyone's sake."

She tried not to think about Vixenpaw, or about any of the other cats they hadn't yet found. Nightstalker, Iceheart, Harechaser., so many others.. Plenty of cats were still missing. She counted her blessings each day that at least some of the cats she cared for were safe and accounted for- and that Froststar, thank StarClan, was counted among them. Could ShadowClan have survived without their leader? They were strong, they were clever, they were resourceful... But with no leader and no deputy, only their medicine cat, how long would they have really lasted?

She shook her head. Such thoughts had no place in her mind now. "We survived the Dark Forest. We survived their defeat, and StarClan's return," she murmued the second part with no small amount of bitter sadness. The warrior lifted her head with new resolve. "We will weather this. ShadowClan has survived too long to be destroyed. So long as any one of us lives, we will survive, because we must."

She would not pray to StarClan for strength. She would not look to them for guidance. But she would look to her clanmates and see their own strengths, and she would encourage them to lean on each other. No matter what fate befell them, they would always have that.

Leopardsun liked Honeypaw. She considered him one of her few good friends, someone around whom she could speak freely. And perhaps that was why she actually listened when he did the same. "So that's what this is," the warrior murmured, exhaustion showing in her voice. "Lulling me into a false sense of security so you can tell me to sleep, hm? You're lucky I happen to like you, Honeypaw," she yawned, though there was no bite to the words.

She closed her eyes, letting the greenleaf breeze wash over her. "You're right," she admitted, more seriously. "I don't know that I could keep going if I tried... But I don't know if I can sleep, either."

Leopardsun followed him easily, bumping her own head against his shoulder in return. "Yeah, okay. Let's take a break." A purr rose in her throat. "The world will still be here when we get back up again- and then we'll be ready for it."

The warrior sighed softly, warm sentiment washing over her. "I'm glad to have you as a friend, you know. It's... Nice, to have someone else who understands it." Opening her eyes again to follow him, the last words came out as a hazy whisper: "To feel like you're not alone."