Cold, Scared: But not Alone

*Somewhere in the hills above the lake*

(cocoa agreed to have a little mini topic of frostpaw and swiftheart temporarily lost after the wolves chased everyone scattering them)

Swiftheart had run so far, her apprentice safely on her back as she carried Frostpaw.

She panted hard as she felt her lungs burn and her paws were bleeding from what felt like miles after miles of going.

She glanced behind them and sighed standing there panting her sides heaving as she pushed a little further ahead to get them to a cover of thick undergrowth yet again to give them some amount of shelter out of any potential ambushes. She did not want to risk being caught in the open.

She huddled low under the bush they had found and slid her apprentice off her back.  Frostpaw had been sick just earlier very severely just before all this hit.

She felt like might collapse and could sleep for moon after moon.  But forced herself to keep standing.  They had to be aware of everything now, each snap of a twig or rustle of leaves sent her head spinning and heart racing.  She never felt this at risk in a forest before.

She breathed a long shaky sigh her white pelt was all dirtied and matted up from the mud they had used to hide their scent earlier.  

Still, she managed a small smile, she was known for her resilience and despite their awful conditions... they were still alive, Frostpaw was still okay and even though still in nightmare-ish conditions she would take them being alright and alive as a little win.

"W-where are we?" she wondered quietly aloud as she peeked out of their hiding place.  Far down below them, at the bottom of the valley she could see the lake that the clans had lived around and she let out a slight sigh of relief, at least they had some amount of bearing as to where they were, but they were high up in the hills now away from the main group of their clan.

She gingerly licked at her apprentice's ears keeping in mind that Frostpaw was not as touchy as she herself was so she was careful to be very gentle.

The cold wind up here on the hills made her so cold, she fluffed her pelt out and tried to keep her apprentice warm too, putting herself between the wind and Frostpaw as a little shield wall of it
"Frostpaw?" she whispered quietly wondering what in the world they would do now...

She knew as the warrior that she was supposed to be the one with some plan... but she had been focusing on just not letting either of them die that she had not even thought ahead of that so far.

Frostpaw curled in on herself, focussing on each rasping breath grating against her ribs. She could’ve run, she told herself, but deep down she doubted that her shaking paws would ever recover their strength. If it hadn’t been for Swiftheart, she would’ve been food for the wolves. Somehow, now that she knew so clearly what laid upon the other side, past the veil, what waited for her after death; somehow, she wasn’t quite as scared as she should have been. The world had felt distant ever since she woke up. It was odd for the mud to not have stars.

The cold cut right through Frostpaw’s short pelt as she subconsciously leaned into her mentor’s side, gaze traveling down the valley. The others had fled in a relatively straight line… if they truly were headed for the forest, it should be easy to cut them off before they broke out into the open moor, where it would be a pain to try and find anyone.

Her paws were still shaking, she noticed distantly. Hmm. She was probably in shock. Frostpaw took a deep, raspy breath, trying to categorise what exactly this felt like for future reference, and abruptly burst into tears. Miserable, ugly tears, trickling into her fur and making her eyes warm again, accompanied by sad little sniffles. Oh, stars. She hated this. Why was she even crying? The threat was gone, and everyone she cared about was probably safe, and if they weren’t, she knew better than most that she’d see them again soon. If Swiftheart had been nearly any other cat, apart from perhaps Heatherberry, Frostpaw would’ve tried to hide her tears, but as it was, she merely leaned further into her mentor’s pelt, uncaring of the muck that splattered them both.

It was all just too overwhelming, she decided. She hadn’t recovered fully from the sickness yet (and some part of her knew she never would, sickly and fragile as she had been even before the lake) and that horrible cacophony in addition to everything that had gone wrong… and blood had been in the air as they’d fled. Pain hurt. She didn’t want to see anyone she loved in pain. The stars would take them, but if they had to slowly choke on their own blood…

At least Swiftheart was here.

Distantly, Frostpaw registered the older molly’s questions. “I’m okay,” she mumbled, sniffling slightly. “Thank you.”

A quiet and gentle purr instinctively sounded from Swiftheart as she felt her apprentice snuggle closer to herself. She gently pulled her in and laid her tail gently across her apprentice's back in any attempt to warm her that she could.

Soon after, her apprentice was crying and that was enough to also send her over the edge and she felt tears running down her cheeks as well. She hugged her apprentice close and let herself also sob a bit as well. She had always been mostly open with her emotions, and while she had tried to limit some of that while around frostpaw to try and keep her from being scared... she couldnt hide anymore how fearful she was too.

She also figured... a good cry session could even help if they did not try and bottle all that up. Sometimes letting it out was the only way to feel any better, you had to feel worse before you could recover and feel better.

She nuzzled back into her apprentice as well meeting her snuggles as she cried as well.

If she had been alone right now she was not sure what she would do... having another clanmate was such a blessing, she would do everything to get them back and let them become unlost...

Hearing that Frostpaw was alright made her much more relieved, she nodded a little wiping the tears from her own face no longer ashamed or worried if frostpaw saw them. "You are welcome Frostpaw, I would do it all over in a heartbeat trust me." she whispered

"we are going to get back home... you are going to get your warrior name" she meowed trying to be determined.


She felt so exhausted, all aspects: physical, emotional, and mental had been taxed so much from all this and while she wanted to try and push up to her paws to look and scout around for which way the clans had gone she felt her paws protest against what her mind wanted them to do as she lay still breathing quietly. Her eyes drifted shut off to rest.

Right by her apprentice's side she drifted slowly into a little nap desperately needing the sleep.

She felt mostly at peace, but a part of her felt so guilty for not trying to at least catch them some prey... Frostpaw was bound to be just as hungry as she was.

"I'll try and catch us something later" she muttered quietly already half passed out

If the reassurances had come from nearly any other cat, Frostpaw would’ve brushed them off as some flimsy attempt to make her feel better, but it was Swiftheart, and Swiftheart never lied. With a quiet, shuddering sigh, she pressed herself into her mentor’s side. Her own short pelt did little to protect herself from the cold, but curled up against the older cat, she felt almost safe. Almost warm. ShadowClan might not be here, but her mentor was, and that was almost enough. It was almost better to suffer here than remain in perfect death.

Her thoughts were fragmented. She was tired.

With a quiet purr, Frostpaw drifted off to sleep.

When Swiftheart awoke she shakily got to her paws. Shivering she groomed down her pelt quickly and was about to nuzzle her apprentice awake when she paused staring worriedly.  Her apprentice's side was not moving at all.  Swiftheart felt her heart drop in her chest as she gently at first shook her apprentice... Frostpaw felt cold to her paws touch and limp.  Swiftheart shook tears already streaking down her face.  Deep down... she knew frostpaw was gone, the warrior had lived long enough to know what death looked like and this was it...

This however did not stop her from shaking her apprentice a little more trying to awaken her.  She began to sob uncontrollably and buried her nose into Frostpaw's pelt.

She had tried so hard to protect her appretnice and she had failed her all the same.  She might have kept her from the wolves but she couldnt get her back to Heather fast enough for herbs.  The sickness and stress of it all had been too much.

Swiftheart just let herself cry for awhile too sore physically and emotionally for anything else.

After some time she forced herself to her paws.  Looking out at the lake... it was beautiful and if it was not for the losing of her daughter here, her med cat here... and now her apprentice too she would have found it even more beautiful.  This would be their final resting place... In the stars one day maybe they would meet again.

(in character she doesnt yet know of echos death yet)

Wiping the tears from her face she glanced back to her fallen apprentice.  She felt so empty inside.  So defeated, but she would not leave Frostpaw out exposed like this with wolves around, the least she could do now was honor the traditions of a burial.

Although usually the elders task she slowly began scraping out the start of a hole aided by picking a spot already dug out earlier from nature.

Once finished she looked one last time at it until she was sure that if she stayed any longer she might never be able to leave this cursed place.

Turning she left to go out and refind her clan... She was tired of being lost...


EOT (end of topic)