It Doesn't Feel The Same [closed]

Ever day still seemed to drag on in an agonizingly slow loop that Splashpaw could never break free from- wake up, train, eat, train, and then go back to sleep. It was like they were trying to erase Snowpaw from her mind by putting her on some ridiculously mundane routine! Sparkwillow and Shellwater might be contented to work through their varying emotions by hopping onto the bandwagon of being ridiciously helpful, but not her. Instead of joining other cats on patrols or helping out around camp, she usually just slipped away from camp around the time that the Dawn Patrol left and did whatever she pleased. Although that usually ended up with Splashpaw simply skirting the edges of the territory in an attempt to find a peaceful, sunny place to nap- usually any place would suffice so long as it wasn't camp. The camp still reeked with the sour scent of death in her mind and often made it hard for her to properly sleep there.

Today she had set her sights on the Broken Pools- the shallow pools were usually fairly neglected during late Newleaf and Greenleaf apparently, something to do with the fact that they normally dried up from the heat. Splashpaw padded softly towards the small collection of pools, stepping lightly on the still fire-damaged undergrowth that pricked her soft pads uncomfortably, humming softy as she made her way. Perhaps on a different day she would asked Shellwater or Sparkwillow to come with her to the small collection of puddle-sized pools, but she didn't feel like having to deal with the heavy silence that seemed to yawn between them all now- plus she hardly had any friends to accompany her. So alone it was! Stopping at the shallow, rather unimpressive pools, she peered down curiously at her reflection for several heartbeats before simply dropping down heavily onto her belly on the soft, muddy bank with a soft huff.

Splashpaw let her head rest heavily upon her left foreleg while her free limb reached out to prod at the shallow water with halfhearted interest, eyes nearly completely closed. The Broken Pools were much more quiet and peaceful in comparison to the hustle and bustle of RiverClan's camp- plus it saved her from the burden of pitying glances or forced small talk with her Clanmates. Plus while hiding out here she was free from Fallowstripe and likely could skip out on patrols. The small calico stretched her hind legs out behind her, noting that she probably looked incredibly awkward splayed out like this, but the weak warmth of the sun felt too good to stay curled up. Splashpaw continued to doze at the shallow pool's edge, ears occasionally twitching at the soft buzzing of Greenleaf insects, completely unaware of the cat tromping around nearby.

ooc; listen to this song for maximum enjoyment pls

"Oh StarClan! A-are you okay? Are you alive? Oh goodness," A young, worried tom said, noticing Splashpaw completely splayed out like she was, looking almost lifeless. He bounded over. There was no blood-scent or predator-scent. Just this little apprentice laying there. Perhaps she was sick? No, no sick-scent. Or at least he assumed. He didn't know much and didn't catch onto things very quickly, as his name would imply. Oh, why was she just laying there!

The faintest whispers of a nice dream were promptly yanked away from Splashpaw at the sudden stomping of paws and loud, slightly-panicky questions filled her ears. Jolting awake, the young apprentice frantically stumbled to her paws the best she could while still in the mud, her patched nape fur spiking in a moment of panic- was someone hurt?! Scrambling fully upright, the small apprentice's head swung around for several moments as she attempted to locate the apparently injured cat. Splashpaw frantically sucked in a few desperate inhales as she searched for the scent of blood or fear she thought was there, although she was only greeted with the scent of mud, water, and slightly burned debris.

After blinking away the heavy tendrils of sleep, Splashpaw focused on Snailpaw with evident confusion- he thought she was the one who was hurt? Her head cocked to the side as she stared at the golden brown tom, her gaze having to flicker up higher to focus on his face, as she tried to piece together just why Snailpaw was panicking. Did she really look that limp and dead while sleeping? 'How flattering!' She thought with a flush of shame, although a slight shudder worked its way through her fur at the thought of how limp and terrifying Snowpaw had looked. "No no no," She hastily squawked, her amber eyes going wide as she looked at him.

"I'm not dead?" She mewed, obviously puzzled as she lifted her head to flash him a questioning look, "I was just laying down- have you never seen a cat lay down before?" She questioned, although a hint of amusement warmed her voice as she took in the equally confused looks from Snailpaw. An embarrassed fit of laughter quickly began to bubble up in her chest as she continued to observe his concerned face- the situation had gone from terrifying to quite funny in the span of a few heartbeats. For a brief second she thought she was facing off with whatever had killed Snowpaw but it reality apparently she and Snailpaw had scared each other witless.

"U-uh I have, but, uh, you were sleeping all weird! Most cats... curl up, or something. Ah, I don't know!" Snailpaw panicked. When he realized she was laughing, he chuckled a bit too. He wasn't a lot like his brother, Rockpaw. Rockpaw was brave, intelligent, and fierce. Snailpaw was afraid, slow, and cuddly. Was it embarrassing that he went to his mom when he got scared? Probably.