[ti]Private[/ti]Begone, Thought

[Ava]

Petaldawn could still recite every word she had last spoken to Halfpaw. The day of her warrior ceremony, was it four moons ago? No, it had been six. Her kits hadn't been born yet, and they're now apprentices. It would've been at least six. Goodness, how time flies. There were days she barely even had time to think, where all she knew was her kits and Murkdusk. It was like her clan was a blur, almost a burden. All she knew for the past six moons were her family. Three kits, her mate. Do this, do that. Sit up straight. Tuck in your stomach. Puff out your chest. Be modest, be a lady. Be tough. Act natural. That was all her mind had been, a strict command for how to live and when. It was painful, living by a schedule for six moons. It was, perhaps, the closest thing to dying without actually dying.

Did she really love Murkdusk, or was he just filling the role Halfpaw had been to her?

Woah, okay, her thoughts were getting too deep now. She shook her head, trying to clear her mind from everything. She had to stop walking, breathing heavily and staring at the ground, tightly pressing her eyes together and then opening them finally. This was the first time she had been out of camp in a while. Maybe even since her apprentice days. Finally, she arrived at the river, the one from the day she had confessed her feelings towards Halfpaw, but he admitted he'd never felt the same. Sobs bubbled in her throat, but she swallowed them down and put on a blank expression. As a mother, a caretaker, she had bigger things to think of than some crush that for all she knew could be dead. With a sigh, she got up, walking away from the river and back towards camp, though she stopped briefly, ears swiveling as she heard footsteps in the distance.

"Who's there?" she called, her voice already very changed from her first day as a warrior, light and almost feathery. Angelic, even.

[Mama]

Halfshade hadn't really been focused on his old clanmates, in all honesty. With the sudden rat attack, he was more worried about his own clan. But then, Screechstar made the choice to ask to shelter with Sablestar, the new leader of Mistclan. And so, Rootclan was temporarily housed with his former clan. Halfshade? Not so much.

The tom refused to step foot near the camp and legs had locked up in fear because of the sound of the waterfall. Despite his wounds, he wasn't ready to go back into the camp, and instead was sheltering near the Rootclan border on his own. He promised to keep an eye for rats, incase that they started their invasion of the water-loving clan. Who knew what those.. filthy creatures wanted. All he knew was that they hurt pretty bad. His legs got bit up, and there was a few nasty bites between his shoulders where he couldn't reach to clean or check, even with his unusually long neck.

Padding along tiredly, restless from the noise of the water and the fear of getting murdered by a certain former clanmate, Halfshade was trying to see if he could spot something over the border for himself. However, a sudden voice echoed through the woods, and though he couldn't tell who it was, he knew it was likely a Mistclan cat.

"Just.. Just a Rootclanner. Not very fond of water, so I prefer to stay away from your camp." The tom said. His voice was deeper, much more matured and not as nervous as it once was when he joined Rootclan. The hybrid was much more confident, even in this old land. He at least knew his way around.

(Halfshade doesn't see her yet, and is blocked by some thick bushes + trees!)