give great thanks [O]

A slender tail whisked through the undergrowth, stirring the surrounding ferns. Dayquill's steps were slow, but deliberate; his path didn't waver as he guided the dawn patrol towards the Owl Tree, not even pausing to shake away the dew that collected in his fur from passing through the brush. Only when he reached the crest of the hill looking over the great tree did he finally paws, whiskers twitching to clear any droplets clinging to them. He didn't look back to view his patrolmates, and the delay was brief; unceremoniously, he cleared his throat and trotted down the slope until he went stumbling into the pools of standing water.

This was meant to be a hunting patrol, but the idea of chasing something down made the pale tom wither. The battle weighed on him, heavy, and he hadn't even been involved. For a moment, his hackles bristled until he could will them to lay flat. Huffing through his nose, he circled the base of the tree, splashing along as he dragged his cheek and sides across the bark. He'd linger there a moment, gather himself before he started the hunt in earnest. Let his patrolmates spread out, get ahead of him, so maybe he could claim they'd caught anything that was out.

She barely felt able to join the hunting patrol. Her eyes struggled to focus on anything, just gazing down at her blurry black paws. The molly would respond to her clanmates, but sparingly. Only a few hushed words at a time. She couldn't quite figure out how to talk to them yet. Slowly she followed along, trapped in her thoughts.

Comfreypaw had felt this way before when her little sister died. Littlekit wasn't actually any younger than herself but it felt like she was. It felt like Littlekit was a little sister to protect. There was nothing she could do for her littermate, who passed away in her sleep. It was simply out of her paws. But Morningsun, she felt like she failed him. Like she failed to protect him. There was something I could've done, something I could've said. Something... Could I have saved him?

The soon-to-be warrior glanced at the squirrel darting away. It had been so close, if only she could focus. If only she hadn't froze up and let Morningsun give himself away. Then he'd be here beside her, hunting with her. Not up in the un-touchable sky.

Comfreypaw watched the leading patrol-mate, Dayquill, pause once reaching the top of a hill. She blinked at the rising sun and it's warm orange glow. It reminded her of a friend who shared the same name. "Morningsun," she breathed, quiet enough that no one would hear. Before another thought, Dayquill continued down the hill towards the Owl Tree.

The black molly watched her brother circle the tree, leaning against it. She couldn't figure out what he was doing, but it worried her nonetheless. While most of the patrol spread out to hunt, Comfreypaw chose to search for prey near her brother. She briefly scanned the shrubs for any obvious prey before turning to Dayquill. Clearing her throat, she pushed away her feelings for a moment and focused on the tom.

"Hey," she started, her tone as gentle as it could be, "Do you feel okay?"

Pawsteps spread out around the clearing, but a set of approaching pads and a voice to accompany them drew Dayquill up short. He stopped, mid-rotation, half-tripping over his paws and dragging his cheek along the bark harder than he meant to. A little wince and recoil of surprise, then he straightened himself out, and put on a tight-lipped smile. "Comfreypaw. I'm fine." The words came out shorter than he meant to, and his ears fell at the sound of his own voice. Ducking his head, Dayquill stepped away from the tree, tail waving in the vague direction the rest of the patrol had gone. Despite himself, and despite never wanting to be cruel towards his sister, he couldn't keep the hurt sarcasm from bleeding into his voice when he spoke next. "I'm as fine as anyone else is right now. Probably better, all things considered, you know. You run at the first sign of claws, you can't have a lot to complain about." He shrugged lamely, and kicked a paw through a shallow pool.

"You should go off and hunt with the rest of them, Comfrey. Not worry over me. Unless–" A flash of his Clanmates' grief passed through him, making Dayquill shudder from nose to tail. In a lower voice, the tom whispered, "Stay here with me if you want. I'll, uh... yeah, I'll keep you company." He didn't say anything outright, but something made him feel he didn't have to. There was no sense in digging in to raw nerves. He had seen how close Comfreypaw and Morningsun had been; probably, the whole Clan had taken note of it. Between fighting for her life at such a young age, and losing someone she was so close to... he shivered again, and stiffened, then wilted entirely. Oh, stars. I abandoned her, didn't I? All of them. Maybe something would have gone differently, if I– Abruptly, he cleared his throat, forcing out any thoughts of self-pitying. Wavering, Dayquill stepped closer, feathery tail sweeping side to side as he moved to stand at Comfreypaw's side. "I'll catch something for you on the way back to camp and let you carry it in. I'm sure Stoatstar will be proud. Maybe you'll be a warrior sooner, then. I miss sharing a den with you." The smile he offered alongside his words was painfully forced, and all the tension in his muscles made him look horribly awkward and out of place. But... it was Comfreypaw. Tired, uneasy, and snappish as he was, he couldn't help it. For all her efforts to look after others, he had to made sure someone looked after her, too, especially with Morningsun... gone. Not dead; gone was much easier to grapple.