Rest and Healing (Skyclan gathering)

Honeypaw

Honeypaw's whiskers twitched at Mallowpaw's... strange behavior. Why is he acting so odd? She paused and took a good look at her younger denmate, noting the exhaustion in his posture. Oh, perhaps he is just tired from the journey, she thought. And who can blame him?

"Mallowpaw," she purred, draping her long, fluffy tail over his back and leaning against him, "Thank you so much, but why don't you take a short rest first? We have come a long way, after all." She couldn't expect every apprentice to be as hardened as she was. Ever since her first night after becoming an apprentice, she had barely ever had any time to rest. She felt like she had always been busy with something - whether it was training with her mentor, Mistflower, or with Sunfire and the other apprentices for the extra sessions Brackenpaw has asked him for, or their own personal sessions together.

A pang of heartache wracked through Honeypaw at the thought of her long-lost brother. Brackenpaw... I don't know where you are, but I hope you're safe... Honeypaw had been distracting herself from her grief. Shatteredsky thought their brother was dead, but Honeypaw thought... Surely, if that were the case, somehow, I would know? Wouldn't I feel something? The two siblings had been so close growing up and had such a strong bond. Honeypaw couldn't imagine Brackenpaw dying.

Honeypaw shook her head to clear it, re-focusing as Cricketpaw unexpectedly appeared by her side. She leaned into her friend's gesture, grateful for the comfort during such a personal moment of crisis.

"Thanks, Cricketpaw. I'm going gather some material to repair the nursery and elder's den, so would you like to accompany me? I could use some company, and an extra set of jaws to help carry things couldn't hurt." Her icy blue gaze was soft, vulnerable, barely concealing her anxious thoughts. She cast a glance at Mallowpaw. "Please rest, just until we return at least," she told him with a little dip of her head. "We won't be too long."

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Creamsky was behind everybody else as they entered the camp, his pacing having slowed from the wheeze that followed every exhale. He was tired, half of his energy felt like it had been spent just making sure he could continue breathing and there was the sore temptation to just collapse into the snow beneath him as he pushed his way through the entrance. His ears twitched, listening as his Clanmate spoke to each other as he lifted his gaze to watch them.

Despite everything, his eyes tracked for a familiar white pelt - praying that he would catch a glimpse of Astershine despite the fact that the tom had disappeared moons ago at the lake... But much like the black pelt of his mother, his old mentor was still nowhere to be seen. It stung - he didn't understand... Was it his fault? He had started to grow close to Astershine, closer than he had been expected and then the tom had just... Was it because of him? Was he the same reason Blackbear never thought to return?

His expression dropped, sinking onto his haunches as he struggled to catch his breath as his back crawled. He didn't know what to do, what to say. His eyes flickered up to scan the crowd once more - before meeting Lightningbreeze's gaze. Ah, she was looking for him, wasn't she? With a groan and a lot of effort, he pushed himself back onto his paws and started to pad over. Well... At least he hadn't managed to drive away her...

Yet.

Yewpaw entered the foreign camp - his gaze sweeping over the surroundings. He stopped in his tracks. I'm sure it was alright at one point. Now, it was an overgrown mess. He tried, desperately, to like it. But, he couldn't quite grasp why everyone else was so ecstatic about being back. This wasn't home - and his paws yearned to be back at the lake territories. To him, this was just a place and they could've settled at any other place. His heart longed to understand the hearts of those who remembered and cherished their long-lost home, but he'd never truly get it. Maybe, just maybe, it'll grow onto him with time.

Approaching Honeypaw and Cricketpaw, his ears were perked and his eyes were desperate. He wanted to get away from this 'home', at least for a minute. Maybe it'd look better later? I hope so. "Is there anything I can do to help?"

Nothing quite compared to the aching in Nightbird’s bones as he slowly followed SkyClan into camp, a place he’d once called home moons and moons ago. He’d been lagging behind for quite some time, the only thing keeping him going the promise that he’d get to see his home again, and even then, he wasn’t sure if that was real or if it was fueled by the voices he’d been imagining in his head ever since being struck with this plague. Neither would surprise him- discerning reality from the fantastical and sometimes horrific images of his mind had been difficult for quite some time. He’d fallen ill so close to the attack of those dogs, and the journey that followed left little time or herbs to help his ailments.

Panic struck Nightbird’s chest as he tried his best to focus on the words leaving Birdstar’s mouth, his eyes glazing over as he struggled to contain a coughing fit that might have rattled his chest so hard he’d be unable to stand. This camp did not smell like home, it did not look like home, it did not feel like home. It was all wrong. Everything was wrong. His heartbeat raced in his chest as his gaze flickered about frantically. Why was everything wrong? Where were they? Sounds of the camp he once knew drowned out those around him. Camp should sound like morning birdsong. Like restless kits begging their mothers to let them play outside of the nursery. Like Clanmates sharing tongues over freshkill. This was not like that at all.

Moments passed where Nightbird thought he might collapse, a combination of the exhaustion that riddled his frame and the panic in his mind, but before he did, rationality slowly returned. This was SkyClan camp, regardless of the state of disrepair it appeared to be in. He was surrounded by Clanmates. Those thoughts… the same hallucinations he’d been dealing with for moons. He was okay. His Clanmates were okay. His gaze shifted to find that of his mother’s nearby, comfort following knowing that she was nearby. After a few shallow breaths to calm his mind as much as his frail lungs would allow, he slowly made his way over to what remained of the medicine den. He sat to the side, out of the way of the stronger warriors and apprentices that were working on restoring things to working order, but hopefully near enough that he might catch the attention of one of the medicine cats nearby.