[versailles]

SQUIRRELRISE
she/her. 14 moons. small, scarred russet molly with brown markings and yellow eyes.
[ chill of death, hulk SMASH ]

ever since shadowclan's move and the battle, squirrelrise hasn't been sleeping much. not that her sleep was good at the old camp or anything. nightmares seem to plague her, swarming her like moth to a flame, and her brain just loves to work against her. it's a little harder now to simply go back to sleep since goopywhisker is..somewhere. usually, she'd talk to the tom – something she can't do now, which makes her frown and suddenly feel heavy-hearted. she refuses to wake up mistlewhisker for some mere comfort from a nightmare, her mother's busy with deputy duties and no doubt needs all the rest she can get.

so, to ease her mind, she's started settling for sitting in the clearing and simply observing everything. taking in small details of the camp, how the trunks of the four cedars look, the distant singing of crickets. lightning bugs flickering in the trees and, sometimes, in camp. tonight, the sky is almost impossible to ignore – inky dark veil dotted with white stars that peek through the openings of the trees above. she wonders if the stars are cats from starclan peering down at all the clans. her relationship with them is a little complicated at the moment, though, so she brushes it off.

russet ears swivel towards the sound of pawsteps, and squirrelrise's gaze swiftly snaps away from the starry night sky. yellow eyes gaze up at one of the four cedars, spotting a pelt that's familiar enough that she recognizes they're one of her clanmates. dizzycloud, a molly who she's never talked to - or at least, she doesn't remember if she has before. she's stargazing, too.., the warrior thinks, glancing back at the twinkling stars briefly before looking back at the cream rosette. should she say something or just keep quiet..? I feel like both options are so awkward, she thinks, feeling her pelt warm up in growing embarrassment. what she's embarrassed of, she not sure yet..darn. her heart still races when she tries to make conversation, but she likes to think shes getting better.

after a few minutes of heavy, awkward (at least on her side) silence, squirrelrise speaks up. "...they're pretty..right? the..s-stars, I mean.." she meows, breaking the silence as she looks back to the night sky.

[ @Aolani ]