[ti]Private[/ti]Not Strong Enough

[Meow]

A gray tom rested upon a small boulder nestled in a grove of trees, his form splayed out in a weak ray of sunshine that filtered through their branches. He was thin- too thin for the bountiful prey that they had been blessed with this newleaf, so thin, in fact, that his ribs poked out of his thin skin. His eyes were ever so slightly sunken in, and the look in their pale green depths spoke of nothing but exhaustion as he stared at the waving grass below. What once had been a vibrant, cocky tom was merely a shell of a warrior. Even his once always well-groomed fur was messy and patchy, untouched for a moon.

Rainfur hadn’t been the same since Starling and Scorchpaw left IvyClan and Owlstar started giving him the cold shoulder. It was as if StarClan had played a cruel joke on him- he’d finally had everything he ever wanted. He’d had love, companionship, a family who would stand by his side no matter what. Now, though, he had distant children who were too busy to notice their father’s decline in health, and a mate who no longer sent him the warm loving smiles that had once made him feel so at home.

It was as if the world had blamed him for his children leaving him…

...maybe he was starting to believe it.

mewmehh

[mewmehh]

The scent of fresh prey wafted through the air as a sleek, snowy form slowed his trotting pace to a halt. Longwing stood with his head held high, scanning the forest expanse ahead of him as a fat squirrel hung limply in his jaws. With his sense of smell clouded by the prey, he could only barely make out the scent of one of his clanmates nearby and his heart did a quick flip. It was Rainfur.

Rainfu had seemed like a hollow version of his former self. Longwing himself had little knowledge of his clan's personal life- it wasn't his business to pry- but from what he could gather, the warrior tom was not in a good place. Though, it had been some time since the silky cat had seen Rainfur out and about. Was it possible that he was trying to move on and being the healing process.

Quickly, the ginger and white tom cat dug a small hole in the loamy earth and dropped his catch there. Making sure to have buried it carefully, he took note of where it was in the area before hurrying off towards Rainfur's scent. It didn't take the tom long before he found the blue warrior lounging by some rocks. Well, not quite lounging- he looked more like a limb corpse. With a softened gaze, Longwing padded over and purred in a gentle tone,"Good afternoon, Rainfur. The sun's out and feeling nice, isn't it?" He was sure that wouldn't be near enough to soothe the forlorn warrior, but it was at least a gateway to Longwing figuring out the root of the issue.

[Meow]

Rainfur slowly lifted his head as he took notice of Longwing’s presence, his deadened gaze flicking over to the other warrior. It took a moment for him to absorb the other cat’s words- as much as Rainfur needed kindness right now, he almost felt like he would prefer to simply rot away on this rock than open up to any of his clan mates. The tired warrior’s head then tilted up as he looked to the sunshine, as if he hadn’t noticed the nice weather, before he let it lower back onto the warm surface of the rock. “...yes, I suppose,” Rainfur muttered in response, his voice completely void of emotion. Even working up the motivation to speak was difficult- but, even in his current state, Rainfur wouldn’t ignore an honest effort to start a conversation with him. “...I see you’re enjoying the weather as well, Longwing. Out on a hunt?”

[mewmehh]

Longwing felt his heart clench at Rainfur's flat tone and the long warrior wondered if the cat were truly on the cusp of death. Sucking in a breath and forcing a smile to once again light up his face, Longwing dipped his head softly and purred,"Why, yes. It's early, but I've already caught a squirrel. I hope to catch a bit more though. What are you up to the afternoon?"

He moved fluidly over to the blue tom's side, his gaze of gold and aquamarine glowing warmly as he peered down at the older warrior. His he wished he could comfort this cat, but he knew it was likely not his place.