He'd lost count of how long he'd been in camp.
Several sunrises, at least. Or...a moon, even? Flamepaw's tail tip twitched irritably as he lay in the entrance to the apprentices' den, claws kneading the wet earth below. It was moonhigh, the light of that orb in the sky giving just enough to see comfortably with. Frostgaze kept him busy, that was for sure...but when the white deputy had other business to attend to, Flamepaw got a chance to relax a little.
...If he could even call it relaxing. This ruse he had to keep up was draining, honestly. With a sigh, the orange tom flopped over onto his side, barely flinching at the moisture from the ground sinking into his cheek fur. How long did he have to stay here? His father wanted him to gather information, of course, but...how much? There was no way to ask, unless he found a way to sneak out of camp... Flamepaw screwed up his face in thought, nose wrinkling. His original plan had...gotten a bit side-tracked. Scoffing at his own stupidity, his yellow eyes found an ant crawling across the ground. A heavy paw crashed down on it from above, his own, and he lifted it to find that the poor creature was no more.
That's what Father's going to do to these stupid Clan cats... he thought, pupils narrowing, although he was shocked to find that even that thought didn't hold as much conviction as it once did. The Clan cats were numerous, and, if it was true what they said...the 'stars had eight more lives. For as much as the Clan cats mentioned it and held it with reverence...could it be true? A shudder ran down Flamepaw's spine and he shifted back up onto his stomach, suddenly uneasy at how openly he had presented his soft underbelly.
Lost in thought, he turned his paw over to lick the black smudge off, not noticing the ShadowClanner that approached.
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