Dim Light (Stormwind)

“I️ had to be sure,” Riverflight sighed, starting to pad towards their old territory once more, his tail wriggling around until it wrapped around hers.

“Not towards Camp!” Glaciertail yowled to Graycloud. They couldn’t risk the welfare of Shadowleaf’s kits by leading the Fox there. Their options were therefore limited: scramble up a tree in hopes of getting out of reach, and then wait for it to go away, or turn and fight.

Swiftstream let out another sigh. “I’m fine, Riverflight.”

Graycloud’s eyes widened in alarm and she turned tail and bolted.

Riverflight gave his mate’s shoulder a few loving licks, relieved to not find any obvious injuries on her. “Swiftstream…” He mewled quietly, pressing his nose into her fur.

Glaciertail whipped around when he reached Graycloud, yowling “Fox!” Just as it burst through the bushes after him.

Swiftstream sighed and let him check her over.

Graycloud whirled around at the sound of rapidly approaching pawsteps.

Riverflight dashed forward instinctively when the log began to crumble, rubbing himself all over Swiftstream.


Glaciertail came charging back to Graycloud a few moments later, something even bigger following right behind.

Swiftstream eventually made it across without any incidents except for some more creaking. Of course, as soon as she set paw on the bank the log gave way.

Riverflight’s heart nearly jumped out of his throat when the wood creaked beneath Swiftstream’s paws.

Glaciertail pinned his ears back as more of fur flew overhead, and he padded in the direction it was coming from, investigating.

Swiftstream flinched slightly when the wood creaked but carefully kept at a steady pace.

Graycloud easily caught the pigeon, burying it before returning to her hunt.

Riverflight’s claws curled nervously into the ground as he watched his mate start the crossing, dark blue eyes wide with worry.

Glaciertail was in the middle of burying his prey when a tuft of white fur blew past, the tom watching it curiously. Where did that come from?

Swiftstream eyed it warily before starting to inch across it, slowly and carefully.

Graycloud pricked her ears when she caught the scent of pigeon and followed it.

Riverflight eventually made it across the log, but it wasn’t him he was worried about. He’d destabilized and broken up parts of the log, which Swiftstream now had to cross. “You too, Swiftstream!” The Tom’s tail twitched anxiously.

Glaciertail eagerly wriggled his haunches before pouncing, landing on the tail of a mouse that he swiftly killed with a neck bite.

“Be careful!” Swiftstream cried out to him, flinching slightly.

Graycloud kept her mouth open slightly as she stalked through the forest, scenting the air.

Glaciertail remembered vaguely the mysterious injured cat on the territory, and hoped he wasn’t tracking the stranger by accident. When he opened his jaws, however, the unmistakable scent of prey washed over his senses, and he stalked closer.

Riverflight flinched when his back paw punched a hole in the bark beneath it, which at that point in the crossing was all that remained of the log.

Graycloud glanced back at him, saw that he had spotted something, and went searching for prey of her own.

Swiftstream stayed back and watched anxiously, cringing slightly.

Glaciertail tried to think of a way to continue the conversation a little less awkwardly, but was interrupted when he noticed some rustling in the grass, the tom quickly dropping into a huter’s sfouch.

Riverflight decided he would cross first, stepping carefully onto the more sturdy end part of the log. Then, he began to walk across the brittle, hollowed-out part, flinching slightly with each step, the wood cracking and crumbling into charcoal dust underpaw.

Graycloud certainly wasn’t going to talk about personal things with someone who she barely knew, even if they were her Clanmate.

Swiftstream grimaced at it.

Glaciertail looked away, a little sad The she-cat wasn’t playing along. He had found himself gravitating towards her more and more of late, and had hoped this patrol would have been a good time to bond with her a little.

Riverflight nodded, looking out towards the middle, where a lot of the logbhad already decayed and what remained was charred black from fire.

Graycloud glanced back at him briefly with a frown before continuing onwards, not responding to his question.

Swiftstream frowned at the log, glancing at her mate. “It might be the best we can find.”

Glaciertail smiled a little bit as Graycloud reacted to what he had to say, barely suppressing a chortle of laughter. “Have you ever taken a mate?” The tom asked a little while later, genuinely curious and wanting to assess Graycloud’s own experience, if she had any to speak of.

The log was somewhat rotted.

Graycloud made a small sound of which the nature was unknown and huffed before speeding up so she wouldn’t have to walk next to him.

Swiftstream carefully tested out the log before using it to cross.

Riverflight flicked his ears towards something that looked promising, a fallen log over a slight rise in the ground that looked like it would bridge the gap from their angle.

Glaciertail snickered knowingly. “Well, if you must know, I wasn’t necessarily lounging around that whole time.” He eyed the she-cat a little bit before adding “I spent a fair amount of time relaxing with a partner. Sometimes a tom, sometimes a She-cat, sometimes both.”

Swiftstream searches the ice for any stepping stones that might be there or perhaps a log.

Graycloud arched a kittybrow in question.

Riverflight followed close behind his mate, careful to not step on anything that looked unsteady.

Glaciertail shrugged nonchalantly. “It works for me, and I did what I had to to keep Snowstar happy, so I don’t see any problems.” After a heartbeat he daringly added “It’s had its advantages, too.”

“I did notice that, yes,” Graycloud agreed drily, thinking about all the times she’d seen the tom lazing around the camp when he really should have been working.

Swiftstream nodded and set off downstream, searching for a way across.

Riverflight gave the ice on the bank a testing step before quickly withdrawing his paw. “We need to find another way across, for sure,” The tom shuddered as he glanced over at where he had just stepped, visible cracks forming after only a slight amount of pressure was applied.

“You know me,” Glaciertail shrugged good-naturedly, eyeing the she-cat with a smirk again, “Relaxing is my forte.”