[occultation]

( @starry @talle )

Slatestripe followed behind the pair rather dejectedly, head hung low. Was he feeling sorry for himself? Absolutely. Did he feel bad about that? Absolutely. Was he going to do anything at this very moment to try to rectify that? Absolutely not.

In recent moons, the fire that he'd once held within him had... faded somewhat. Grief was like a waterfall, pouring over his flame and reducing it to nothing but sparks. Maybe one day that fire would blaze again, but for now he was relinquished to trailing behind his two Clanmates with not a word spoken.

Slatestripe didn't do anything to argue against splitting up. Getting away from this stuffy, awkward situation was a blessing. He scurried away at the first opportunity, keeping his amber eyes peeled for the herbs they were supposed to find.

Part of him wanted to spend as long as he could out here, if only to delay the inevitable of having to go back and acknowledge Dusklion's coldness once more. The warrior seemed especially irritable today, as well; whether that was solely due to him or due in part to something else, he wasn't sure. He had a feeling it was the latter, considering her outburst at the meeting.

Eventually, he managed to find a single dandelion, poking out of the cold earth. Newleaf was approaching, but the herbs weren't yet following. Leaning forward, he nipped the dandelion as carefully as he could.

Further searching yielded no results, so he took his single herb and made his way back to the rest of the patrol.

( +1 dandelion )