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Blackfoot laid in his nest with his paws and tail tucked under himself. His eyes were closed, trying to ease the thoughts coursing through his mind. Of course, it was too much for him to bear. He believed that StarClan had no power over him because of Sol, and as far as Blackfoot was concerned, the traveler was ultimately correct. StarClan didn’t care what happened to the Clans, they had let too much peril loom over ShadowClan especially.
Blackfoot yawned, and blinked his amber eyes. He looked around his den to surprisingly not see Sol anywhere around. He untucked his paws and tail and stood up, arching his back in a stretch. Where was he? Blackfoot padded across his den into the darkness of the night. He licked his chest nervously, and stepped down from the Highrock.
He padded quietly across ShadowClan’s camp, making sure not to wake any cat up. Blackfoot exited the camp and walked through the pine forest in search of Sol. Surely he had to be around somewhere? He looked up to the night sky, where the stars glittered down at him. He shook his head; they were just ordinary stars that held no power over him. They meant nothing. Doubt flickered in his mind, but he quickly pushed it back down.
Blackfoot spotted black, orange, and white fur a fox-length away, and his eyes lit up. He quickly padded over to him.
“Sol!” he exclaimed quietly. They weren’t far from ShadowClan’s camp, so they had to be quiet.
The loner turned around. “Blackfoot, I was waiting for you,” he murmured. The ShadowClan leader sat down next to Sol, peering up at the tall tom with curiosity flickering in his eyes.
“What are you doing out here?” Blackfoot inquired. He couldn’t get his mind off the majestic cat in front of him, and it surprisingly was not frustrating in any way, shape, or form.
“I was getting some air outside of the camp, I was sure that you were going to follow me at some point,” meowed Sol.
“You were sure?” questioned Blackfoot. Sol didn’t reply, he merely peered down at the large white tom.
“Do you see those stars? They’re just ordinary stars. They hold nothing over you,” he began. Blackfoot nodded in agreement, but he couldn’t help the flutter in his chest that ignited at Sol’s mere words. “Of course, there are unfortunately still cats who believe in such a thing like StarClan.”
Blackfoot blinked and looked up into Sol’s eyes. But before he could get a word in, the tortoiseshell rested his muzzle on his head. Stars ignited throughout Blackfoot, causing him to not be able to think straight. It felt calming and hypnotizing, and Blackfoot couldn’t help but purr at the sensation.
“Are you okay?” Sol suddenly asked. The question was so unlike the mysterious loner. Never in a million moons would Blackfoot think of Sol asking whether or not he was okay.
“I’m fine,” Blackfoot meowed in a low tone. Frankly, he wasn’t fine, but being with Sol took a massive weight off his shoulders. He made the bad and doubtful thoughts go away. He gave Blackfoot the fluttery feeling in his chest that felt so good he couldn’t help but want to chase after it. He yearned for it. Begged for it.
Sol lifted his muzzle from his head, then stood up, his tail held up in obvious positive emotions. But his amber eyes were filled with concern. That was an emotion that Blackfoot had not seen in the loner yet. He lowered his head, trying to gather his thoughts.
“I-I should head back to the camp,” meowed Blackfoot. But Sol immediately shook his head and rested his tail on his flank.
“No, we have all night. Unless you need to,” he murmured. Blackfoot didn’t need to head back to camp, at the moment he just wanted to get away from Sol before it went too far despite how much he yearned for his company.
So Blackfoot nodded. “Right, we do have all night,” he meowed. He sat back down with his tail splayed out behind him. He gave his chest the second nervous lick that night, and he watched as Sol rested one paw on Blackfoot’s chest.
“You seem oddly tense for ‘fine’,” he observed.
“You’re right, I lied. I-I’m not exactly fine,” Blackfoot meowed nervously. Sol tilted his head, and blinked slowly. The ShadowClan leader bit back protests, should he really be this close to a loner he barely knew? “I should go now.”
Sol let go of Blackfoot, who padded away from him, regret lingering in his heart.
I will be back. But I must care for my Clan first.
But even he knew that his thoughts would be filled with Sol.