[Estelle]

[ oops, that's my bad! I completely blanked on the fact that WindClan is no longer in the tunnels ahah; thank you! ]


Or not. The hustle and bustle must've been nothing but a trick of the mind, and yet the scent of WindClan remained strong. Hailpaw felt oddly alone in these tunnels, her voice echoing once, twice, before silence engulfed her surroundings. How strange it was. Maybe this was a sign she wasn't meant to return home, maybe this was just another trick pulled by whatever surreal being held control over this world. How... Stupid. First her assessment getting pushed back again and again, her mentors going missing, getting catnapped, now this? What kind of sick joke was this? Was she nothing but some toy to play with? Well, the pretty apprentice would be damned if she let this slide.

That's when she heard it. The stomping of paws; the familiar scent of her home growing increasingly strong. A silhouette appeared. For a moment, she thought it could Weaselskip, here to take her home - but her mind knew better than to yearn for a traitor, someone who lied and abandoned her. This wasn't Weaselskip. Defensive at first, the molly raised her head high, painful as it was to tense her muscles. You never knew what knucklehead this could be; what idiot would think her an outsider. What kind of outsider would know WindClan's tunnels and Twilightstar? Thank the stars this one was calm.

The glint in Hailpaw's light eyes were one of suspicion as the cat revealed their name, Dustbunny: a feline she hardly remembered, but dully knew as one of the clan's few tunnellers, a position she'd always thought to be interesting. It didn't seem as though Dustbunny recognised her, to which Hailpaw held back a scoff. Just as she expected; WindClan hardly ever looked her way, why she recognised after so many moons. At least this one could take her home - or so she said. A certain pair of words stood out to the molly, and her ears perked, momentarily forgetting the pain.
"Lead tunneller?" Her voice echoed, brows quirking. "Whatever happened to Crowtooth?"
Last she checked, the ragged breathing tom was the lead tunneller. Not... Her. Something must've happened. He died, or disgracefully went missing as well - you'd expect better from a lead tunneller (and if anything, he owes her lessons).

"Oh, never mind."
With a light tsk at her own surprise, Hailpaw painfully shook her head; this was not the matter at paw, and frankly she'd like to see Twilightstar as soon as possible. If this cat could take her there, then she ought to not hold them back with silly chit-chat. She'd find out what happened to the feline when the time came, and that time certainly wasn't now. Why did she even wonder about him? They had no relation what so ever. Her ears briefly pinned back, irked by her own concerns. Stars above, what's wrong with her today.
"I know."
Hailpaw quickly uttered, voice clear as she averted her gaze. She was well aware of the maze-like qualities these tunnels had, and didn't need to somecat to tell her. Certainly not one she was hardly familiar with. In fact, the only bit of reassurance Hailpaw had that she could believe Dustbunny was the strong scent of WindClan to her fur - if it wasn't for that, the apprentice would have long since turned tail and left to find them herself.

That's when she offered a shoulder to lean on, and Hailpaw visibly grimaced. If Dustbunny made any attempt to come close to her, Hailpaw would retreat.
"I'm fine."
She quickly mew, hoping ahead a few steps as though showing off just how fine she was, despite the pain searing through her limps as she did. But Hailpaw was tough and stubborn, unwilling to give in and accept any form of help save for the guide back to WindClan.
"Please just... Take me to Twilightstar."
The word 'home' lingered on her tongue, but was left unsaid as she replaced it with Twilightstar. Her eyes darted down to the ground, grimace long since disappeared. She just this journey to finally be over. 'Let us not waste time', is what she thought as blue eyes flitted back to Dustbunny with determination, silently urging the lead tunneller to begin their road back.


[ @Moonraven ]