black sheep ( halle/falconstar )

do you hear the lion roar?

[attr="class","itdscroll"]Night was casting her long and gloomy shadow on the Thunderclan camp, turning everything inside out as the daylight receded and night-time grew. Falconstar was witness to this envelopment of darkness from within his den, where he lied just inside the mouth, light slinking away from where he dug absent-minded furrows into the soft earth with his claws. Everything about the Thunderclan leader was monstrous, and so when he glanced down, having been unaware of his actions, he found several miniature channels, in which Falconstar could imagine rain water gathering and pouring into his den, creating all kinds of damp nuisances. The tom sighed, his exhale hard enough to stir up the dirt he had displaced; he used the sides of his large paws to shove the dirt back in place and pack it down. When Falconstar lifted his paws to see if he had fixed the damage, the light had receded so much that Falconstar couldn't tell the difference. "One more item on my list!" he meowed and found the enthusiasm in his voice, such a staple of his larger-than-life personality, lacking. Perhaps he really had pushed it today. Two patrols, hunting by himself, and training with Tinypaw for most of the afternoon might have been too much. The last he'd seen of his little apprentice had been her falling into the apprentice den for a much-earned and long-awaited nap. Falconstar could not fault her with that. He rather wished he'd made time for a nap himself, which was why the dedicated leader was here in his den and not out with the clan's guard, awaiting the final reaches of the sun.

As the night fell, so rose some of the clan to attend to needs they hadn't during the day. Falconstar kept his eyes on the camp, waiting to see if anyone he might need to speak with would make an appearance, but nothing of interest appeared. Falconstar returned his gaze to his gargantuan paws, examining the dirty claws with idle interest. It occurred to him that sharing tongues with one of his clan mates might rejuvenate him into getting something productive done during the night, as he was prone to do, but the tall leader decided against it. He couldn't see any of his closer friends out there right now, none who would offer him solace in this moment of exhaustion. Falconstar was so busy staring at his claws and thinking that he didn't notice his sister's entrance into his line of sight, and so when she approached the leaders den and spoke, Falconstar twitched, sheathing his claws and lurching into a sitting position, eyes widening with surprise. "I've brought food, brother, so tear yourself out of whatever you're scheming to come share it with me." As usual, Birchsong made quite an entrance and did so without waiting for his permission. Falconstar smiled to himself. His sister had as much patience as a hungry chipmunk: no time to wait on anyone else to get their act together, when she wanted that nut, she was going to get it. If only she had put such headstrong behavior towards more appropriate venues, he thought to himself, allowing only a moment of melancholy before straightening further and meowing, "Good evening, Birchsong! Or is it night? I think I am too tired to tell." He side-stepped in order to meet her in the middle, eyeing the vole with delight that was only half-fabricated. "What a juicy-looking morsel! Did you catch that yourself, sister? I am impressed." Falconstar sat down again, pulling the vole towards himself, and adding, with his usual humor, "Please! Make yourself at home."



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