the girl who thought she was a bird [p]

[redshiftreign]

the children of the city play between the cars.
you're a child of the valley and you look to the stars.
i saw your face in a carnival mirror,
and i prayed for the day you'd be delivered to me.

rushwater never thought he'd see the day. eaglepaw was getting so big, filling out into her adult coat, muscles wound tight under thick fur. she was growing up, and it made an unfamiliar tightness coil in his chest and catch his breath like swallowing hot stones. she was growing up. like a bird fledging, shedding her downy layer for something more capable of flight. finding her footing.

he had watched her adjust to the quieter, less regimented life that rushwater had found as the most harsh punishment of all. she had taken to it much better than he had, for sure. instead of lamenting and sulking in the dim shade of the bridge, she found renewed purpose. like the peace melted the icy talons curled around her heart, and let it beat a new melody. it was a fascinating thing to watch, and with indigo eyes fixated on his daughter, he rarely left her side (barring the very rare and occasional escapade into the city, if only to scout out exactly what he was planning) in those short few weeks since her rescue. he doted and lingered; even if they didn't talk much more than meaningless noise, her mere presence grounded him more than he could say. she was an anchor for him, holding absolute leverage against the glass walls that often blocked him from touching reality, from fully processing the world. where previously, he had found himself at arms length to existence itself, far away, she dragged him dangerously close to reality. and he was left to grapple with it, feelings and all.

he supposed being a pain in the ass ran in the family. epigentics, though. not actual traits passed through blood. not that he knew the right word for it.

she had been healing well, he had noticed. better than he had (which, admittedly, was no surprise, since rushwater had been nearly strangled, left bleeding and battered, and scarcely saved within an inch of his life). he had found his own footing again, and his coordination was getting better. he doubted he'd ever be as precise as he once was, and some spots in his memory were blank like someone had taken a pin and poked holes in it, but mostly, he was the same old rhadamanthine sleuth as before, a darker hint of melancholy in his strides instead.

the sun rose early, and with it too did rushwater. wriggling out of the shared nest. he met the sunlight with an upturned head, squinting through narrowed indigo eyes at the horizon as gold and orange crested the cityscape. it painted the park in a glorious golden glow, as if liquid fire had rained down upon the world without so much as burning even a fleck of grass.

"eagle," rushwater said gently, though firm as he turned his gaze over his shoulder to his still curled up daughter, "up and at'em, love."

training. she had been practically stolen from riverclan- wherver they were, now. not that she. . . sounded keen on returning- which broke his heart more than he cared to admit, leaving a sinking dread like claws in his heart. he wanted to go home. he wanted to take her home and hold her in the safety of warriors and lionhearts and claws and paws, even for all the vices. still, he especially could not deny how painfully peaceful life had been here, compared to the complex and usually lethal clan politics and strife.

"we're siezing the day. it's nice out, i thought. . . perhaps we could train and talk. you're almost a warrior, what all do you have left to learn?"

your wings unfurled,
the girl who thought she was a bird.
you always were the girl who thought she was a bird.

@Mica

[Mica]

Eaglepaw
Outsider
she/her | 10 moons
[Golden and white tuxedo tabby with green eyes and a heavily scarred face]
Purrks: Dreamwalker, Herbal Knowledge T2
⋆˖⁺‧₊☽ The Star ☾₊‧⁺˖⋆
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[Rushwater - @redshiftreign ]
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Eaglepaw had never thought she would see a day where she did not lament waking up. When she didn't go to sleep wondering if she would awake to screams and the choking scent of blood running in rivers through camp. When she didn't fear opening her eyes to Dusklion standing over her with ready claws because Eaglepaw had finally snapped and cursed out Fadingsun. This last fear was irrational, and the surviving kernel of reason in Eaglepaw's mind reminded her of that. But the rest of her refused to listen. She was constantly on high alert, taking every movement as threat and every glance as accusation.

But here... in the Caduceus Place... she was safe. In Twoleg territory, of all places! The cats here minded their own business, rarely interacting with one another and when they did they were civil about it! No one got killed over a misunderstanding, no one got offended and maimed anyone. Nathaniel and his kits were downright pleasant, especially young Snowdrop. Stars, had she been that tiny once? She was so innocent. Eaglepaw had expected to feel the hot claws of jealousy tear into her belly, seeing a kit with the childhood she had been cheated out of. Safety, a family. But instead, all Eaglepaw felt was relief. Relief that this little kit could smile so freely, and that her dad could look upon her sweet face and see it change with the moons.

Besides, Eaglepaw had some of that now. Rushwater might have been different from the last she had seen of him, but Eaglepaw saw how his eyes melted when he saw her, how his voice grew softer and smoother. Eaglelove. That's what he called her now. Admittedly, Eaglepaw wondered if she was too old for pet names. She was warrior aged now. But she couldn't deny the way her face bloomed into a smile, and the way her stony heart warmed every time he did. Even if they didn't talk about much, since Eaglepaw couldn't talk much anyway, each conversation was easy, as though their humors and interests had developed in tandem over great distances.

Eaglepaw specifically avoided answering questions about RiverClan. She could tell her father missed it, and hadn't settled into their new life as quickly as she had--was there something wrong with her? Was she wrong for feeling this way?--but Eaglepaw had something good here. In truth... Eaglepaw didn't want Rushwater to know how she was back in RiverClan. She had a suspicion that he would be upset over it. She had been cold, vindictive, paranoid... she had wanted to hurt cats. No matter how violent the clans got, Eaglepaw knew that whatever RiverClan had turned her into, it wasn't normal.

Two things she did miss about RiverClan was training and patrols. Her movement was limited, but her morning walks got longer and longer as her muscles and stamina grew. Talking was still difficult, but she could hold short conversations as long as she got water and breaks. She wanted to join Rushwater on his patrols, but her father was nervous to let her do anything before Nathaniel gave the all-clear. She also wanted training. She missed going out and learning new things, new tactics, new techniques. She missed hunting. She missed swimming. She was so bored! Grateful! But bored.

When Rushwater's voice pulled Eaglepaw out of a pleasant dream, the former apprentice groaned and cracked open an eye to look up at him. Orange light filtered into the den, meaning the sun had only just started rising. She tensed, reading his expression and body language to determine what kind of sitation they were dealing with. Was there a threat? It didn't seem like it. His voice was soft, and he seemed to be watching her expectantly. She studied him for a moment longer before pushing herself to a sitting position, bringing a paw up to run it over her face and clean the sleep from her fur. Suddenly, Eaglepaw's head shot up. Training? The golden and white tabby immediately leapt to her paws, eyes sparkling. Oh, what did she have left? She considered all the trainings she had. Swimming with Seabreeze... land hunting with Pigeonpelt and Fadingsun... battle with Fadingsun... That left fishing for the main requirements, and two trainings of her own choosing. She thought for a moment. She definitely wanted advanced battle training, as well as water combat. Seabreeze had said he would teach her, but... Well, if Rushwater was offering to complete her training, Eaglepaw would never refuse.

Slowly working her mouth open without tearing the delicate healing skin, Eaglepaw answered. "Fishing, advanced land combat, and water combat." She croaked, voice hoarse from sleep.