Life 2:13

Snakepaw stopped digging when he hit an air pocket. He gestured for Tallstar to back up as he sniffed at the air and widened the hole. Snakepaw did not immediately enter the old Windclan tunnels. There was a real chance that the other entrances got blocked, so the chamber could have been full of stale and dangerous air.

"Any reason you haven't gone in yet?" Tallstar queried.

"Finding an underground chamber is a risky thing. While I know the origins of this one, I don't know if there are any other access points to the surface. If there isn't the air in there could be bad. I need to give it time to air out. Theres very little chance that this is the case, but I'm not going to risk it. Normally, I'd gamble with these odds, but asphyxiation on thin air is an extremely painful way to go. Done it once and never again. Thankfully, this chat has let enough time pass for me to check the den chamber. I won't take long." Snakepaw answered before reentering the tunnel.

Snakepaw tasted the air in there, looking for the familiar signs that a tunnel was compromised by bad air. To him, it manifested as a slight sting in his nostrils. Thankfully, this was not the case for the chamber. In fact, Snakepaw could make out the scent of grass coming from the back. That meant one of the escape tunnels still had surface access. It also meant there wasn't stale air, so he could afford to explore deeper. There was the thin debris of what once was likely nests aged to dust. A few other materials remained like a twig or two. Nothing notable.

Snakepaw then went about testing the walls and ceiling. He was looking for cracks in the wall where they crumbled and cracked from the weight of the earth above. There were a few, but they could be patched easily. They'd just have to pack the cracks with dirt and soak them with some wet moss to harden mud into the gaps. The next test was the ceiling. Snakepaw was looking for any spot that the roof got crumbly or displayed a hard fault line. Snakepaw found that this den aged relatively well. There was one bad spot near one of the escape tunnels, but the air that direction felt stale. To mitigate the risk, Snakepaw purposefully collapsed that spot, meaning no cat would fall victim to that spot's weak ceiling. Snakepaw did pile up dirt in front of tunnels he felt no airflow from, but otherwise left the area mostly untouched. The den overall was one and a half times bigger that the outside warriors den. It's walls were strong, and the entrance was close enough that light could filter in. It'd always be dark in here, but it wasn't pitch black. Snakepaw pulled himself out of the tunnel, back into the evening light. Tallstar was waiting for him.

"How was it?" Tallstar asked.

"There was a bad spot, but I dealt with it. A warning first. If there's a dirt pile in front of a tunnel, it is not a trustworthy tunnel. There is no fresh air passing through the tunnel. I or someone else will likely have the duty of collapsing them later. Otherwise, it is safe. It weathered well without our maintenance. We'll have to patch the walls later though. To do that, you just pack any cracks you see with dirt and wet it with wet moss. If anyone finds a crumbly ceiling that I somehow missed, just pull it down. It can't be fixed, so t is better to just collapse it while we have control of it." Snakepaw lectured.

"Is it safe for kits?" Tallstar asked.

"It should be. As long as they are kept from wandering off, other clans won't think to dig in and the tunnels are too small for foxes or badgers. There are three other tunnels in there. One of which goes to the surface. I can probably collapse the other two if you want." Snakepaw answered.

Tallstar nodded in acceptance. "Hold off on that. Since some cats are considering taking up digging, we'll leave that as a lesson to them. They might learn something by looking at the tunnels of old diggers, and we can't just count on you for tunnel safety."

Tallstar the left to alert Morningflower bout the potential den. Meanwhile, Snakepaw expanded the entrance to allow cats even as tall as Tallstar to enter without needing to crouch. Morningflower briefly surveyed the den, noting the three extra tunnels and the potential hazard they were to the kits, but overall she approved, provided that sometime soon two of the tunnels would be closed off.

With that done, Tallstar and Snakepaw departed from the den to settle for the night. Snakepaw made to head for the apprentice den, which was still in shabby shape, before Tallstar stopped him. "I believe it'd be for the best if you stay with me. I've heard tale that bouts of clumsiness often precursor your demise, and I've also noticed you've a habit of tripping. I'd rather not chance the den collapsing on you. We still need you." Tallstar mewed.

Snakepaw dismissively waved his tail. "You're worried over nothing. I'm usually pretty good at guessing when I'm about to go. Though, I will take your offer to settle your nerves. I'm kind like that." Snakepaw jokingly mewed.

"Yeah, you're still getting tick duty. Don't think I forgot." Tallstar teasingly responded.

"Stercus! I'd hoped that it slipped your mind. Even after hundreds of moons, I still find it unpleasant. It doesn't help when they use those 'when I was your age' comments. Please! I'm older than your grandpa's grandpa. I was there to witness when ghosts demanded we cooperate or die. I only know of three beings older than I, and one I can't even be sure is a living thing. They act like they are owed rest. What about me? I've been serving and dying all this time. Where's my rest?" Snakepaw ranted.

Tallstar's ears flattened. It really was unfair that Snakepaw never got the honor of being an elder, never getting rest from his cruel cycle. "You don't have to do it. You are owed your rest. I can find someone else."

Snakepaw let out a huff at that. "No. I'll do it. I know my tantrum was unwarranted. It's just hard. My body is so young, so its inhibitions are low, and my emotions are heightened. I promise I don't mean to get upset this easily. The elders aren't that bad. It just rubs my fur the wrong way when they belittle me like an unruly kit. Most elders are the sweetest cats you'll ever meet. It's the other ones, the ones who are never happy and accomplished little in life who irk me the most. So, you wasted your life. Big deal. I can't fix it, and you can't expect me to. If I could just paw off my immortality to them, they'd come to appreciate their time a little better. Even an elder can make a difference as long as they're attempting to better the clan or forest as a whole. I've done the 'wallow in their own misery' thing they do, and it doesn't help. It's a pit that gets harder and harder to escape the longer you dig it. I can put up with them for now. I just hate those who won't put in the effort to help themselves."

Tallstar nodded sagely. He understood the pain one unwilling to change could bring. "How about I reduce it to half a moon? A moon was a bit of an overreaction on my part anyways."

"I can accept that." Snakepaw answered with a small smile.