THE STOLEN || OLD - being rewritten

Chapter 23 - { Uncertainty }

Darkness, darkness everywhere.
Do you feel alone?

Darkpaw and her little group had fallen asleep safe and sound in their nests when the sun rose. They had managed to make their way back to camp as unseen and illusive. The group managed to fit in a few hours of sleep before all of them had to wake up and continue on their days as they normally would in The Legion. For Darkpaw, that meant spending her mornings with Sagepaw who had been seeming more and more out of character lately. Darkpaw didn't have that much concern for the silver tabby given how she betrayed her when the ordeal of The Legion and its blood hungry regime begun; but still, she was curious.

Turning her pale amber green gaze to the crystal sky, there wasn't a cloud in sight and the sunlight was weak and pale. The last of the Leaf-Fall leaves had almost completely fallen in wake of the Leaf-Bare that would be here next moon. The foliage had become brittle with frost in the morning and slippery and rotten after the weak sunlight shone down on it.

The tortoiseshell lifted her cranium and parted her maw, drinking in a cool breath of the icy air, feeling it chill her lungs as she closed her eyes. Opening her pale gaze she searched camp for the dark silver tabby, looking for her pale green eyes among the early morning bustle. She frowned slightly when she saw nothing. Sagepaw was normally awake at first light and it was unlike her not to greet Darkpaw the moment she woke. Seeing Pineclaw passing by, Darkpaw bounded over to him, the dark tabby instantly stopping and bowing his head respectfully.

"Have you seen Sagepaw this morning?" Darkpaw asked.

Pineclaw shook his head. "She had a fight with Crimsonpaw last night. I haven't seen her since. If you find her, let her know Sunwillow and I need to talk to her." The tom mewed, unbothered with his daughters absence.

His disregard for Sagepaw rubbed Darkpaw the wrong way. Nevertheless, if that was the case, Sagepaw likely didn't return to camp. Leaping up the ravine, as she reached the top, she bumped straight into Crimsonpaw who looked at her with an intense amber gaze. Darkpaw frowned, walking by her before she broke into a slow run as she bounded through the trees. She followed Crimsonpaw's scent trail to the river but it seemed to end there and there was still no sign of Sagepaw.

"Sagepaw!" Darkpaw called, listening closely for a response. "Sagepaw, it's me, Darkpaw!"

After a few moments, she saw a silver head pop out from behind some boulders on the opposite side of the river. Locking gazes with Sagepaw, Darkpaw bounded across by using the stepping stones before trotting upstream towards where Sagepaw was. Peering around the large rocks, Darkpaw saw Sagepaw sitting down, staring at her own reflection in a puddle.

"Sagepaw?" Darkpaw murmured in a soft voice.

Sagepaw didn't move, still staring down at her reflection.

Padding forward lightly, she sat down carefully beside the silver tabby. Following Sagepaw's gaze to the puddle, and then back at the silver tabby.

"Sagepaw? Are you alright?" Darkpaw echoed in a gentle tone.

Sagepaw took a moment to respond. She opened her mouth a few times before actually saying anything. Then, it finally came out. "I hate my father." She mewed. "And my mother. Sometimes even my littermates." Sagepaws voice was cold. Icy. Full of long brewed and hardened emotion.

Darkpaw didn't say anything, looking at her attentively.

"They always expect everything of me. They think I should be able to do everything when I just can't. And when I get worried that I can't do something I spiral and panic, and then I go down this hole where I just feel worthless and like a disappointment to them. But that's all I do no matter how pleased I am with my effort, it's never good enough for them." The silver she-cat explained, her words so full of feeling. Darkpaw could see Sagepaw struggle to swallow the lump in her throat. "I'm a kit still. Sure, eleven moons isn't nursery kit age, but how is someone that's eleven moons old expected to do all that and be perfect at everything?"