The night before.
Despite his dead leg, Shadedpaw didn't dare to move. Pins and needles were beginning to cause a tingling sensation as his paw went numb but he didn't want to disturb the cat lying, mouth open on her back. And yet he felt content. The wind outside was harsh as it swept grains of sand at lightning speed stinging the skin of anyone stupid enough to be out so late.
Gingerpaw snorted in her sleep and she rolled over, back facing him. He smiled in the darkness as he attempted to suppress a laugh. Most cats would gush about how 'gorgeous' and 'perfect' crushes and mates were when they were sleeping, but he loved how goofy she looked. She'd always been unafraid to be her authentic self. It was a wonder her and Silentpaw got on so well.
You had a super chatty confident she-cat and a tom who couldn't speak at all and generally kept to himself. He would never admit it but he was sort of glad the pair had fallen out. He felt guilty but without Silentpaw he'd had the chance to spend more time with her. He'd tried to teach her how to swim again, he told her she'd got better (but if he was honest only marginally so) and was hoping to do it again. With extra time he was certain she'd improve to a point where she could at least not drown quite so quickly.
Throughout the night he'd been keeping a close eye on Rabbitpaw and Treepaw. If Rabbitpaw saw this his days of peace would be over, replaced by the sing song chants and constant jokes. The tom was already onto him after all. He glanced back at the pair. They're nests had always been sort of near but he was pretty sure Rabbitpaw had moved his nest closer to Treepaw's. Rabbitpaw's white tail tip was easier to spot in the darkness as it was entwined with Treepaw's.
They did seem to be becoming good friends, even though Treepaw seemed like more of an accomplice.
A shiver passed through his body as a gust of wind blew in through the entrance, a few grains of sand stinging his eyelids as they scrunched close to protect his eyes. Gingerpaw's face creased into a grimace, red fur bristling to keep her warm. Shadedpaw wrapped his feathery tail around her in hope of staving off the bitter cold.
As her face settled back to her open mouthed snore Shadedpaw settled too. In the moment they were safe and happy and that was all he could ask for. He yawned realising how tired his body felt. The black tom rested his chin on his paw and breathed deeply, closing his eyes. In the morning when he woke up Gingerpaw would be gone.
Reviewer responses!:
Succulentsofa: Thank you! I quite like a punchy final line, I'm still in a bit of a writing slump but it's mainly due to college kicking my ass
Mintflight0245: Cloudfang has had kneecap privileges revoked
A little snippet of peace because I thought it might be nice. I don't know if I'll do a Shadedpaw POV again but I thought it could be fun to try out. I'm gonna try and concentrate writing wise on the competition back on Fallenclan as its been a little while since I did that sort of thing. Thanks for the reviews and see you nexy Chapter update :)