As Above, So Below [closed]

Becoming a warrior was supposed to be filled with excitement. New experiences. Motivations. Trials. Some tribulations, sure, but the feeling of pride would trump them. The victory of surviving them. But for some reason, the patterned feline felt... almost none of that. All it was seemed to be the monotomy of life, becoming more and more suffocating. Get up, go on patrol, wait for another patrol assignment. Make sure the Clan is safe. Is it safe? Great, go hunt. Take that prey back to camp, make sure everyone is taken care of. Once everyone is taken care of? Time to go back on patrol, this time to another part of the territory. Take a hint of time to eat, because a warrior can't keep up if they don't eat, but not too long, or else you're being lazy. Elders need fresh bedding and the apprentices didn't get to it in time, but because you're the cat in camp, it's your turn to take care of it all. After that? Make sure the queens got fed. Oh, one of them is hungry? Got to bring them a snack.

All those myriads of tasks. It felt as if there was no down time, and perhaps the only thing that saved the she-cat's sanity was the fact that she didn't have any apprentices under her belt. It felt like an act of pure selfishness, but she needed to do it for her sanity. Mothcatcher had made herself scarce from camp as soon as she had completed her required patrols for the day and had added adequate kill to the pile. The cinnamon-patterned molly had let her paws carry her aimlessly in the territory, finding some location where she could simply calm her mind. The persistent need to observe and take in every single ounce of detail from her surroundings always got overwhelming rather quickly, to the point that any other sense just became... static.

It was only the roaring of monsters that seemed to catch her attention. For the time of night that it was, it was oddly... busy. Bright flashes of light zipped by with each roar of the monsters, but... it drowned out everything else. It made it so much easier not to tihnk about what was going on around her, how her paws were itching to go back to camp. How she needed to be doing something more for her Clan, less she be failing her duty as a warrior. Surely, it wasn't too selfish to take a bit of time, right? It wasn't like she was about to toss herself into the belly of one of those monsters. Though, for just a moment, the idea flit by her brain, only to be quickly dismissed. No, instead, she would let herself space out as their roars rung in her ears.

Time to yourself almost didn't exist when you were a warrior, even less so when you were a leader. Amongst the numerous tasks expected of a warrior, Nightstar was also expected to delegate relationships, be someone to look up to, and punish those that were doing wrong, though this was just skimming the surface of the tom's tasks. It was out of concern for one of the newer warriors that he was out here, following her scent that was heading towards the thunderpath, instead of taking time to rest in his den that had slowly begun to feel more comfortable to sleep in, and more... his. Nightstar could feel the fatigue pull at his eyelids, but he pressed on. He had to look strong and unaffected for his clan, especially the youths. There was nary a cat he himself could consult and confide in after all.

It was not long of a walk, though it had felt like forever when Shadowclans leader had found Mothcatcher. Silently, the tom slunk from the shadows to sit himself wordlessly next to her, flawlessly putting on his practiced pose and neutral expression that he would lay on himself like a second pelt. "You're not in camp?" He meowed, but phrased it as a question. He wasn't going to rush her, he saw how hard she worked for Shadowclan.

Perhaps that was how Skyclan cats climbed trees.

At least, that was the only explanation that Mothcatcher could think of for the way that she practically lept out of her fur, a jump higher than she'd ever done sending the patterned molly landing a few tail-lengths away from her initial spot. For as short fur as she had, it now stood on end, her pelt now rivaling the poof of the cat that had excellently scared her to the point she swore her soul traveled to Starclan and back. His question did nothing to soothe her, either, and her ears quickly pinned right back to her head. Guilt. That was the very first thing that she felt in response.

"I-No, I can go back right now, though. It's time for the night patrols, isn't it?" It took the warrior a moment to figure out her words again, but she found them quickly enough. Another monster roared by, and she seemed much more spooked by her leaders' appearance than the rumbling monster. Looking down, her claws anxiously flexed in the soft earth. Part of her felt as if she was about to be in trouble, told off by her leader for daring to spare a few selfish moments to herself. "Sorry, I just... wanted to take a break from the never-ending cycle of work." Guilt riddled her tone. Mothcatcher wasn't a pushover of a warrior, but when it came to disappointing her leadership? It was like she practically got her tail yanked.