Raccoonpaw ♦ He / Him ♦ Riverclan apprentice ♦ 7+ moons
(not sure if i need to tw this, but depression obv and then just a nightmare lol)
Raccoonpaw had been resting in the apprentices' den. First the cat who was supposed to be his mentor vanished... then his sister... then- He curled into a tighter ball, not wanting to even think about his most recent loss. He'd barely left the den since being made an apprentice, other than to go to the gathering.
Three remained... There was ten, including their parents, and now... there was three. Crowpaw, Shallowpaw and himself. As such, nightmares had begun to haunt the young tom ever since his family had begun drifting apart.
He opened his eyes, but not in the den. He was... out in Riverclan territory? He stood there, two taller black and white vaguely cat shaped figures stood on either side of him, resembling his two remaining siblings. The sound of roaring water suddenly became overwhelming, the tom's eyes shot wide as a huge wall of water came rushing toward them, almost like a flashflood but somehow more violent. His gaze desperately searched for somewhere to escape the quickly approaching water.
He shot toward the nearest tree, scrambling up, kicking bits of bark off as he struggled up, before whipping around to face his siblings once he reached a safe enough branch
"Crowpaw! Shallowpaw! Over here!" He called out frantically.
The two figured remained featureless, unspeaking and still, allowing the crashing water to collide with them. Terror filled Raccoonpaw's eyes as he pinned his ears back
"No... nonononononoNONO" His panicked gaze scanned the dark waters below, desperately hoping to find any hint of his siblings. They couldn't leave him! This wasn't fair! Why was Starclan taking every single thing this tom had in life? His friends? His family? What did he have left after all that was stripped of him... ?
The branch below him began to creak, a crack beginning to show itself closer to the trunk itself. Racc's gaze shot towards the crack, he did his best to turn around before the branch snapped but didn't have the time,
Once the branch broke, time seemed to slow. He squeezed his eyes shut bracing himself for the icy cold depths of the water to swallow him whole.
He was awoken with a jolt, his eyes slowly adjusting to the lighting of the inside of the den. It'd just been a dream... His breathing began to slow as he realized he was safe... everything... for the most part- was fine. He took a deep breath, pushing himself to his paws, grimacing as he noticed he'd torn his nest to shreds while asleep, but his attention was quickly grabbed by his sister's voice.
He glanced toward the den entrance, awkwardly weaving his way through the sleeping apprentices in the den, relieved he didn't seem to have woken anyone, despite his restlessness. Once at the entrance he flashed his older sister a tired smile. He didn't care much about the exhaustion, he was just glad that Crowpaw was still here and alive...
Raccoonpaw's gaze swept over the den quickly, looking for Shallowpaw before returning to Crow
"Hey Crowpaw" He rasped, he took an unsteady step forward before pressing his forehead against her chest. He could hear her heartbeat, she was alive, he wasn't alone. It was okay... for now at least.
{ @
Rowan ♦ @
Neptune. }
The Final Survivors [P]
