Cherryblossom had disappeared. Minkstream felt a sigh bubble up in his chest as he leapt onto the rock, eyes seeking out over the clearing for the apprentice he had to assign a new mentor to, the grey clouded sky overhead sending a chilly breeze to wind through the ravine, flattening his fur against his frame and drawing a shiver. Gone after her former apprentice, after Dock.... Some part of him irrationally hurt at that. He'd trusted her with this apprentice, and now she'd gone off, left. He understood - stars, he would have gone and done that if he could, back when the leaves were still falling from the trees, before the snow laid cold fingers over the forest. Maybe that was why that niggle dug at his heart - because she could, and he couldn't.
Dark stars condemn him for not ignoring all of his responsibilities and running off to find her. Everyone else, but not him. Never him. Tied down, stuck to the ground. Forced to stay here with these foxdung-faces called Asylum. Fighting the snarl from his lips, he let his claws gently scrape the stone, breathing in the icy wind and closing his eyes for a moment. Let it go. You made your choice. You chose this. If only it would stop hurting....
Opening his eyes again, he blew out the breath, wisps of mist frosting out into the air and streaming away as he called out into the wind, "Let all cats old enough to catch their own prey gather here beneath the High Rock for a Clan meeting!"
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