[PRP] Faded Memories (Silverstreak/Thistlefur)

[belloblossom]

Silverstreak had been sleeping between her sisters' nests since they left. When she felt particularly disheartened, she could breath in their scents before she retired for the day and fall asleep dreaming that they were still with her. She'd been losing her hope, her will to continue, her ambition every day that she'd come back to the camp without prey in her jaws. She'd witness her Clanmates with mice or birds that looked to be more feathers than flesh, but at least they were bringing in something! Even the elders were bringing back prey and Fernfire, their medicine cat, left every day to hunt for prey to contribute. She remembered with shame the one day she had found a morsel of prey, a baby bird who had fallen from its nest, but in a wild frenzy, she'd eaten it for herself.

She would never stop feeling guilty that a no-good hunter like herself had taken food that could have been given to the elders, or to Rainbowfish who had once brought in two pieces of prey in a day, or to Fernfire who could nurse them back to health if they got sick. It had felt like such a sorrowful waste when she'd eaten the preyshe found - not caught, but found just lying before her paws. How could she call herself a MountainClan warrior if she couldn't provide for her Clanmates?

She'd thought about leaving - being one less mouth to feed. She doubted that anyone would really miss her. She'd become another casualty of the stolen river, just another name in a growing list. But... she'd turned down her opportunity to leave with her kin. She couldn't leave MountainClan and she was already refusing any food that she saw on the fresh kill pile. She couldn't leave in hopes of finding a better life for herself, when she'd turned it down the first time. She couldn't leave the remaining stragglers of MountainClan to wither away on their own. She may have felt distant from them, but at least they'd be together, when they all went to SunClan.

"Is SunClan even there for us to join anymore?" She whispered hoarsely. She'd gone out to hunt, but hadn't gotten very far outside of camp. "Did SunClan leave with Sunseer and the others?" Her throat felt dry, her fur was dull and her ribs rippled underneath her skin. She was a skeleton of the once strong warrior she'd been so many seasons ago. "Will I just disappear?"

She'd shaken her head at the time, cats didn't just disappear. She'd gone on yet another unsuccessful hunt and returned to the nests only to find... there was no scent but her own on them. She stopped mid entry only to hurry forward and poke around the now brittle grasses, nosing about for any trace that Duskwing and Dawnstride used to be here. Yet, try as she might, she could find not a hair nor whisker remaining in her sisters' nests. She eventually stopped seeking for anything, just staring at the two nests where her little sisters used to reside. Maybe... maybe cats could disappear, after all.

Dismay evident on her face, Silverstreak abruptly left the warriors dens and strode off. She passed the fresh kill pile with a growling stomach - there was so little there, she wouldn't take any even if her stomach roared at her otherwise. She walked right down to the empty riverbed and clawed her way down to stand in the center of it. Had the river been there, Silverstreak would've drowned. Instead, she dug her claws into the dry, dusty earth and wept. Maybe... maybe if she cried enough, she could bring forth a new river to save the Clan. @PeterPan_da144

 

[PeterPan_da144]

Thistlefur had been struggling, yes. Just like any of the other cats who had decided to stay behind. But she didn't let that get in the way of anyone's lives. In fact, she pushed herself further than she ever had in order to be of use to her remaining clan mates. It was silly and stupid for anyone to have remained behind who was worth saving. Her, Swallowtail and Dapplelight were old and frail. Granted, she would have pushed and shoved her sisters to safety if she could, but she did understand they were too far gone to be able to travel however far SunClan needed them to in order to survive.

But those who stayed behind were mousebrained! Thistlefur would often find herself caught between huffing and puffing at those who remained, and doing whatever she could to hunt for her family. It was hard for her at first. It had been many, many moons since she properly hunted. Everything escaped her paws and her sight would grow fuzzy after too many jumps around. Her joints ached and her head throbbed. Though Thistlefur took no medicine from Fernfire if offered. Better to use it on those who could recuperate better.

The longer she went, though, the better she got. She'd captured two prey successfully in the recent days, which she strode into camp with the first one head held high. Proud of herself, she placed it on the meager fresh kill pile and set about grooming herself outside the den.

However, her most recent kill she still had in her jaws when she caught scent of a cat nearby. Following it, she would find Silverstreak down in the river bed, hunched over. Ears twitching, she strained to hear, but alas, she was too old. Grunting, Thistlefur sought out an easy pass down, and began her descent. Prey still in her mouth.

"Silverstreak!" Her voice was muffled around the prey, but eventually she reached the bottom and was able to spit it out. Huffing for lost breath.

@belloblossom

 

[belloblossom]

Silverstreak looked up with a surprised jerk of her head, spotting the bright brown elder near immediately. The fur around her eyes was damp, but the sight of her mentor wheezing down to the empty riverbed from the cliffside had momentarily woken her from her sad stupor.

"Thistlefur! Are you alright?" She asked, shoving herself to her paws and hurrying over to the she-cat. She took pause at the scent of freshly caught prey and her stomach tightened in angry knot. Gulping, she wrenched her eyes away from the prey that the elder had caught. She'd known that Thistlefur was a strong warrior in her youth, back when Silverstreak had been Silverpaw but now it seemed that Thistlefur - and every other cat who had remained in the mountain camp, were thoroughly outdoing the grey she-cat's hunting skills.

Flicking her ears as though to flick water out of them, hoping to clear her mind while in the presence of another cat, she went on.
"Do you bring news from MountainClan?" She asked hurriedly. @PeterPan_da144