Fall Through the Trees [closed for Acrylic]

Owltalon slunk into camp far behind his clanmates, fur tinged with shame. Though it was a warm night, his paws felt cold and he tilted his head toward the ground, aqua eyes watching the rest of the cats' paws disappear into their nests, one by one. The new warrior shivered, huddling closer to himself, glancing quickly up to the night sky speckled with stars. There was no more trace of any clouds.

Does Starclan hate me now?

He found himself kneading his claws into the tough dirt below, scoring deep marks into the earth. He was young; about three-fourths the size of his mentor; shoulders broad and paws still a little big. His eyes, however, gave his immaturity and youth away. They were wide, now, the pupils slightly dilated, and his grey-russet fur appeared almost black in the darkness.

Vixenheart watched as the SkyClanners dispersed to their dens, and some even didn't head to sleep, but they hung towards the edges of the camp speaking quietly with each other. The deputy turned and headed over to Owltalon before he could head off. Her expression gave away nothing, but the lashing of her tail did expose something. After meeting his gaze briefly, she sighed.
"Owltalon," The ginger-and-white she-cat began, sitting down.

"StarClan send their emotions through nature, and clouds covering the moon do signal anger. However, I can tell what you're thinking, and StarClan have not turned against you or that ShadowClan apprentice. However, I am a bit disappointed...what happened back there?""

A fierce beating began in his heart as Vixenheart arrived—Am I in trouble?—but soon quieted down as the deputy spoke. She wasn't quite so angry at him as to banish him, and her words gave him small comfort.

"Well," Owltalon began, shifting. The truth was quite frankly embarrassing, and he glanced away from the she-cat's eyes, finding himself looking at the ground once more. "I…um…came…up to…her, and she…" he gulped nervously. "I…told her my love for her was like Addergaze's fur because it just kept growing."

The tom looked up at Vizenheart once, quickly, just to see her reaction for a heartbeat. Then his stare fell back onto the hard dirt below.