🔥 Scorch 🔥
Soft wisp of clouds dotted the pale blue skies, the sun barely giving a sense of presence, its once powerful hold relinquishing to that of the winter days that had so gracefully welcomed itself without a single warning. It had been quite a long time since this golden feline had seen the sights of the once homey swamps having spent quite a lot of hours hanging about, growing up to a bunch of rough loners he had the luckiness of staying in an area long enough to have grown use to the way of life in said area. He could recall.... no he can talk about a certain molly he'd spend his afternoons with practically every day in his youth. A certain little brown and white molly that had made life a little bit more bearable for him. Yet just like that it had been whisked away from him like it was nothing having to relocate due to some twolegs messing with their home causing it to be rather unlivable for them. Scorch had regretted never telling that then Juniperpaw that he had to leave and might not be able to come back, having promised to see them again the next day he could all but feel sadden about the notion of never seeing them again. It had been many upon many moons since then, having grown into a rather handsome looking fella he had done just about anything he could to stay alive during the harsh seasons, the many fights for his temporary lands, to each and every chance he had with his family before they too disappeared into thin air. The urge to relocate once more was rather strong with him, taking the last half moon trudging through the long stretch of territory that had been laid out for him unsure where the next spot for him was going to be for him. That was until he noticed a stretch of swampy area that had looked rather familiar for him, his pale blue hues shifting about as he took in the scenery, taking a seat in his spot he wrapped a bushy tail around his paws as he let everything soak in a bit. He had to admit the area had changed, the once youthful appearance having been damaged to the recent oil spills, he couldn't help but miss the times he had spent here so many years ago. A soft breeze tugged against his coat as he relaxed a bit not entirely caring if anyone were to find him in their territory not afraid to protect himself at all costs. Perhaps he'll have a chance to stay goodbye to the friend that he had still held on today, the one he never got to see again.
🔥 Scorch 🔥
Hearing some rustling in the distance caused the tom to drop low in a crouch, his claws sinking in the earth below him as his eyes narrowed watching the molly come into view. He was ready to strike if he had too and was certainly not afraid to get down and dirty about it either. Despite getting a sense of knowing about his surroundings he couldn't be sure that it was truly Shadowclan territory or even if the molly was around to this day. That was until he heard the feline in front of him speak for the first since coming back to the area.
It was almost as if time had completely halted for the tom, his heart pounding so loudly he could barely hear what the other was saying his eyes growing wide as he laid there frozen. It had been so long since he had seen her but there wasn't a day in which the molly was on his mind, the guilt that had fester over the year because he never had the chance to say goodbye. He had moved so far away he wasn't sure he could ever find his way back or if the feline would grow to resent him for never coming back until now when they've clearly grown up and maybe moved along with their life.
What was he to expect? They were friends when they were barely the age of apprentices, he was a loner belonging to no customs other then what he was shown as a way to survive in the world. Slowly and surely the ginger feline slowly rose from his spot but didn't dare get close in case the molly would strike him. "J-june... it's- it's good to see you again..." His voice was barely a whisper as he stared at her. A few loose tears rolled down his cheeks as he watched the other. Scorch wasn't completely sure as to why he was crying, other then the fact that his long search was finally over, that he found the one thing he's been looking for and he couldn't be any happier.
"I- I-I'm sorry for never saying goodbye... I didn't have a chance too.." He blurted out taking a single step forward. "T-there was a bunch of twolegs that had messed with our camp and we had to leave... er I had to leave my parents and siblings disappeared or passed away I'm not completely sure what happened... I wanted to come but there was no way I could..." He continued feeling that weight just come rushing out of him in a slur of word vomit. In that moment he didn't care if the molly wanted to listen to him or even really remembered him but he just had too. He knew this was the feline he had been looking for for so long, from the way she spoke to the way her eyes would sparkle in the sun light it had done a number of swarms of butterflies to endless nights he'd wish he could just listen to her talk.
"I'm so sorry."
Juniperskies
It was a rather nice day for the middle of winter, so Juniperskies decided to go on a walk. Due to her warm, chatty nature and rather large family, she often found herself with company. This didn't bother her. After all, her papa always said that as long as she had friends and cats that loved her, she would have everything she needed, and her father was the wisest cat she knew! But she had to admit that it was nice to just get time by herself every once in a while. When she was alone, she could experience the beauty of her home without having to worry about keeping up a conversation. Certain conversations had been getting rather... awkward lately. She was getting to the age where the other she-cats in her closest circle of friends were settling down with nice toms or she-cats. Two of them were even expecting kits already! So, naturally, that meant that there often came questions about her own particular interests. And honestly? she didn't really have any. Sure, she found a few cats here and there to be attractive, but she didn't have a spark with any of them. Her best friend, Sunnyberry, had even tried to set her up on a pawful of blind dates within the last few moons, but try as she might, Sunnyberry was not a good matchmaker. The most recent one ended in disaster because Juniperskies and Badgernose weren't compatible whatsoever.
Juniperskies couldn't help but giggle when she thought back to her 'date' with the tough, stoic warrior. He could barely hold a conversation with her, they couldn't agree on anything, and then he ran screaming when a harmless beetle landed on his nose during their walk by the stream. It was a nightmare, but at least it amused her to think about now. She sighed wistfully, pausing to absentmindedly drag her paw along the dirt. She'd felt a small spark with someone once, but it was a long time ago now, and he had clearly grown bored of her, because one day he just stopped showing up to their meeting spot and she never saw him again. She thought about him often, but as the moons went on, she found herself forgetting more and more of his features. She was trying to move on, after all... but one thing she couldn't forget was his eyes. They were this bright, striking blue that made her heart leap every time they made eye contact. They were both so young at the time, so she hadn't been able to name what she was feeling then... but she knew now, and she couldn't help but wonder if there had ever been a time where he felt the same about her.
But, she shook the thought away. No point in dwelling on that now, since he was long gone. She sighed once more and continued on her walk, pushing through some foliage and into a small clearing, stopping dead in her tracks when she saw a stranger sitting there like he owned the place. Her whiskers briefly twitched in annoyance, but she pulled a friendly face and cleared her throat to get the loner's attention. She didn't like confrontation, so she was going to be as nice as possible, but she was fully prepared to throw down if necessary. "Excuse me, it seems you missed the scent markings along the treeline there. You're on ShadowClan territory, so I need to ask you to-" Her words caught in her throat when the tom's eyes met hers, and she stood there, mouth agape in shock for a moment. She blinked, then spluttered out his name."Buh- I- Scorch?!"