quiet days [o]

The shadow of the Asylum loomed over ThunderClan like a coming storm, and the thought of that bothered Batbite almost as much as their actual presence. The idea that it was only a warning sign, an omen of worse things to come - she couldn't shake it, after all she'd seen, as much as she wanted to. The only things that should have concerned her were her family's well-being and the probable scarcity of prey in the coming leaf-bare, but now she was meant to look over her shoulder at every turn to know who was watching her? Not even permitted to leave without one of them at her side, meaning there was no escape from under their watchful eye.

It was enough to drive anyone to madness, she was certain, even just the thought of being so constantly observed. She liked to watch others, certainly - but for StarClan's sake, she took the time to blink while doing so, and besides that she was just one cat. One cat who happened to live here, thank you, unlike these rather unwelcome guests.

So it was that she seemed more openly irritated than usual, feeling quite confined - because she wasn't stupid, she knew better than to leave the camp with one of them alone unless at least one other cat knew her intended whereabouts, and that took away much of the spontaneity that she'd come to live for - and overall distinctly unhappy with the current state of affairs. Life without spontaneity was dull, and the looming threat of cats that skinned their prey to wear it as a trophy was proving far less interesting than her younger self's nightmares would have her believe.

Taking a mouse from the fresh-kill pile, she closed her eyes as she took a bite. Even if it was only for a few moments, she could pretend that it was just an average leaf-fall day, that the stability she'd reluctantly accepted hadn't come crashing down around her, and that no one was lurking in the shadows just to watch her do something so mundane as enjoy her meal.