where do birds go in snow? (c)

Though she was still reeling from the illness that had settled deep into her body, Egretswoop had pushed past it to be able to enjoy the chill. Her fox pelt had been folded and stored neatly in the shelter of their warrior's den, atop the moss of the nest she had claimed. She near-flawlessly blended into the terrain as the forest changed from shades of amber and red to white. If there had ever been a time for her to be a more lethal predator, now it was.

Yet, her mind was far from violence as she moved about outside. The white that now blanketed the forest bore with it a stillness and silence that she had not previously accounted for. While the roar of their new home had not yet fully died down in her ears, this muffled it all to a murmur that was significantly more tolerable. She wasn't straining at every possible second to attempt to silence out the world, but her ears still mostly swiveled back to somehow muffle it even more. However, the honey-toned gaze was widened in kittish delight as she moved about, moving past the aches in her muscles as she walked-no, hopped-from one place to another, delighting in the gentle crunch! that came every time she hopped.

Swiveling her head towards the gentle sounds of pawsteps, only to mimic her own movements, her eyes only somehow got wider with that same joy of youth. "Snow!" The word was a singular, purred chuff from her chest, and she hopped over. Batting pieces that fell away towards Cindersky, it felt as if she'd been transported back to the simpler times when she did not have the weight of her position on her shoulders. Swiping up a particularly sound chunk as if it were a mossball, she tossed it right towards the newer warrior, unable to hold back her pure sign of glee as it flecked all across her pelt. "Ah. Shall we play?" A bit late to ask, now that she'd already pelted her clanmate with the snow, but she could at least ask before throwing more.

There was simply no word that could properly articulate the amount of glee that practically radiated in waves off of the snow-pelted warrior as Cindersky agreed to at least attempt to play in the snow with her. She could have very easily sought out some kits to participate in their game instead, but it felt particularly cruel on the warrior's part. She wanted to be able to play with whatever strength counted, and unfortunately the involvement of her younger clanmates would have landed her in more trouble than fun. But with another warrior? She could very easily play around.

Hopping about in the snow, Egretswoop's tail swished with delight. Crunch, crunch, crunch! Even though the silence of a lethal warrior had been trained into her very essence, she made no attempt to be silent. If anything, making the sound was bringing some uncanny glee, and her hoarse laughter zipped along her pelt with as much fire as the burning of her lungs did.

Egretswoop glanced back a time or two to try and spot Cindersky, which was significantly easier to do at a glance than it was to find Egretswoop herself. Having a while pelt in the midst of snow meant she blended in particularly easily, and it took looking at the treeline to be able to make out her shape. Still, just as she was about to hop, she felt the cold pack of snow collide with her side. "Eep!" The squeak came out as she lost some of her footing, tumbling over and almost faceplanting into a pile of snow.

Immediately after, though, it was nothing but kittish giggles bubbling up from the warrior. "You got me! Heheee! Good job!" Wide eyes of newleaf honey may as well have been sparkling as she beamed in her clanmates direction. There was an energy bubbling beneath her fur that she hadn't felt in quite some time, and Egretswoop allowed her legs to carry her as she zipped around, flinging snow this way and that. It'd certainly spray far enough to cover her clanmate in a light dusting of the white powder if she didn't take the time to move out of the way. "Oh, I adore the snow!"

Egretswoop was ready to keep running. And running, and running... and running. However, that didn't mean her clanmate's words fell on deaf ears. Far from it, actually. It was somehow the only thing that was able to get through to her as she sprinted, but her legs seemed entirely unable to stop. Not until that fateful idea came from her clanmate's maw, at which point, her legs seemed to lock to bring her to a complete halt. Sliding to some degree through the snow, one she was finally stationary once more, it only took a heartbeat before she was ready to practically topple over.

"Yes! Oh, how fun!" She decided. Something that would let her rest in the snow for some time. Or, at least, allow her to be more still and calm her racing heartbeat. It was thundering much too loudly for her to be able to truly think, and Egretswoop thought for a moment that her ears may even just explode from the heat that now welled in them as a result of her racing. Coughs wracked her chest, making her pay for the burst of activity she'd had for the first time since they'd gotten to their temporary home.

"...Remind me... to not... do that... again." Panting as her need to breathe had fully caught up, the molly started rolling around bits and clumps of the snow in her paws. After all, they needed solid pieces of snow to work with if they were going to make a snowcat, and she could at least work with the snow around her as her body calmed back down. "I can shape... the legs." Egretswoop declared, as she'd already failed her job of making a circular ball as it quickly became more stick-shaped.