The Tunnels

Heatherpaw flinched. She hadn't meant it to sound like that. "Ok." She voiced simply, not wanting to accidentally insinuate anything again. Pausing, she waited for Shadepaw to make his way out and back towards camp. Maybe Russetstar would be able to do more to help.

Shadepaw turned back, but he left a small bit of marigold in the tunnels, a small tribute of respect to his mentor if he was here. He turned back. "Let's get back to camp." He said, his eyes watering as he left. He caught the scents again. But it smelled of apprentices and pups. What had happened?
-WC Camp-

Heatherpaw nodded, "Indeed, lets." Padding past the piece of marigold, she checked to see that Shadepaw had disappeared out of sight before looking back into the tunnel and whispering, "Keep safe Skydust." She highly doughted that they would find the Medicine Wolf, but she wasn't ready to give up hope yet. Limping forward, the scent of ShadowClan and RiverClan drifted to her on the wind. ShadowClan and RiverClan? What is going on?

-WindClan camp-

Tallfeather entered the tunnels before Okamipaw, breathing in the earthy scent. Clumps of dirt and moss dislodged under his paws as he padded a ways down the underground path, finally coming to a broad spot in tunnel. He sat down, squinting in the dim light as he waited for his friend to arrive. Alone, the tunnels were rather eerie, but with a companion he knew it would be much more sufficient.

Okamipaw padded up to the entrance of the tunnels and scented around for Tallfeather. her black nose let her know that he was already within the labrinth. taking a deep breath she plunged into the penetrating darkness of the tunnels. she could still see kind of though because her pelt was so white it caught any smidgen of light. okamipaws flank burned almost where Tallfeathers tail had touched it. Noone had ever touched her, she was the freak the weirdo. they didnt want to touch her just incase they caught whatever was wrong with her.

Tallfeather remained silent as Okamipaw descended the tunnels behind him. The windclan warrior was still trying to adjust to the darkness; he was forced to squint in order to see a few pawsteps in front of him. He cocked a ear in curiosity as Okamipaw's white pelt seemed to glow in luminscent light, giving him more room to see. He found his eyes drawn to the orangey-red markings along her pelt, and he briefly wondered how she'd turned out that way. Tallfeather didn't ask for fear of being rude, but he wondered why it was that so many wolves sneered and outcasted Okamipaw. He found her markings elegant and outstanding, setting her out from the norm. It was a refreshing sight as opposed to every other familiar face. Tallfeather cleared his throat as he realized he was staring, looking pointedly in front of him.

If Okamipaw could read minds she would have blushed. Luckily for Tallfeather she could'nt, however she did pinken a little under his gaze she said gruffly "sorry about my white pelt makes it hard for hunting in the dark and stuff, guess its like a lantern in here". she flicked her ears and inhaled the air, there were stale scents of windclan. she frowned. as she inspected them more the scent of Direstar prevailed. she recognized that from her first day out of the nursery. he must have been in windclan once. she mused.

"Nah, don't apologize." Tallfeather said. In a situation like this, Tallfeather was grateful for the luminescence of her white pelt. He wasn't sure what made it that way, but the brightness made it easier to see and provided a sort of comfort in the dark tunnels. He could see how the color was probably a bother during night hunting, but Tallfeather enjoyed it.

She nodded and continued walking behind him, inhaling the crisp cool air with gratefullness. she hadnt been out of camp for a while so this excursion with Tallfeather was a relief. she rememberd being shownhow to hunt chickens and gave a slight smile. hunting chickens were fun because you could chase them just for the chase. she blinked her black twinkling eyes and contninued trotting after the warrior.

Tallfeather slowed to a halt as the tunnels came to multiple different forks. He knew from previous knowledge that each path led off to a different part of the territory. Tallfeather was uneager to leave the solitude of the tunnels so early on, and instead of continuing forward he dropped into a sitting position. The ceiling of the tunnel was scarcely high enough for him to raise his head, but he managed. The glow of Okamipaw's pelt cast ominous shadows on the corridor walls around them, and Tallfeather watched them move in trepidation, slightly fascinated.

She lay down and the green plate on her back with its heatless flames on it cast scant light. their light reflected of her pure white pelt making her pelt look luminous. she smiled a little thinly her black eyes glancing up at him. what was hethinking about she wondered in slight wonder. her ears twitched listening to teh dripping sounds and the scuttles of mice in this secret underworld. she gave a contented sigh she could have stayed here for ever.

Tallfeather grinned as Okamipaw laid down, obviously comfortable in the little earthen prison. He had to admit, despite his recent situation, the place had a calming effect on Tallfeather, too. He sat down on his haunches, yawning widely as he cast a quick gaze around the place. "Enjoying yourself?" Tallfeather asked the younger wolf, craning his neck to look down at her.

She grinned up at him and said "all it needs are rabbits and i could live here! can you smell the fading scents of Direstar and another wolf i dont know? its still windclan scent so it must have been before he became direstar". she grinned and shoved her muzzle into her paws. she enjoyed the tunnels immensly. she glanced up at him and tilted her head.

Tallfeather looked around in surprise when Okamipaw mentioned Direstar - he hadn't even payed attention to the individual scents. Tallfeather breathed in deeply, and though it took him a minute, he finally managed to pinpoint the familiar smell of once-Windclanner. "Yeah," Tallfeather said, grinning slightly. "That seems like forever ago, dosen't it?" Tallfeather wondered how old Okamipaw had been when Direstar and Moonwhisper split off to form Sunclan. Probably very young - it was a miracle she could remember his scent amongst so many others.

She nodded and rested her head down a soft sigh echoing through her "i may have to leave to join sunclan Tallfeather... you and Jadepaw and maybe amberpup ar emy only friends". a sadness appeared in the normally bright eyed apprentices eyes. she licked her paw pad morosley.

Tallfeather looked down in surprise as Okamipaw told him that she was contemplating joining Sunclan. For a moment he hesitated, unsure what to say. He wanted to protest, obviously, but Tallfeather didn't want her to think he was speaking just out of pity, because he wasn't, and something like that might set her off. Instead, he flopped down next to the younger wolf, his head resting a few inches from hers. "You know thats not true. You have a whole clan of wolves that adores you and looks out for you."

her black eyes turned and looked at him "really?". she thought back to the gathering, she had hidden herself away because she had seen other wolves laughing at her. maybe they had just been laughing. and not at her.... she gave a quiet smile "ill stay, because you obviously would be lost without my guidance". she giggled and stood up straight. stretching a little she said "one of these tunnels branches off and goes all over the place"

Tallfeather snorted at her teasing, more than relieved to find out that his friend would be staying in Windclan. "Whatever you say, wise one." She was, perhaps, the only wolf he was close to inside his own clan. What a pitiful thought - Tallfeather was more acquainted with his potential enemies than his own clanmates. Pushing away the thought, Tallfeather contemplated Okamipaw's next words. "What, you wanna explore?"

She raised her eyebrows and replied "what you scared?" there was a definate note of challange in her voice. a smile curled up her muzzle with a delicate ease. she lifted up her fine boned narrow face and said "come on, it might be a secret route to shadowclan land!". she said that because she knew that skyfeather was originally in shadowclan. "and if it doesnt well i need practise digging"

Tallfeather shouldered past the younger wolf at her obvious challenge, a ridiculously arrogant look on his face. "Not a chance." He quipped back, hiding the grin tugging at his muzzle. The thought of finding their way into Shadowclan land made Tallfeather hesitate slightly, but he pushed the worry aside. The place was uninhabited anyway, it had been for moons - and besides, it was much more likely they'd end up in a random patch of moorland. Swinging his tail from side to side, Tallfeather strutted forward in a silly gesture and led the way down one of the corridors.

Her laughter echoed in the tunnels, she walked beside him. Her black eyes glittered with well masked affection. there was no way that she would tell him her feelings. he loved skyfeather, better to be his best friend instead. her black eyes turned forward as she trotted beside him into the darkness.

The further they delved into the tunnels, the darker it got. Even Okamipaw's luminescent pelt began to dim as they strayed deeper into the earth, and Tallfeather's senses sharpened with every step forward. He didn't know if these tunnels could potentially hold any dangers - reclusive predators, fragile supports that could crumble on top of them - but Tallfeather wasn't taking any chances. At the same time, like heck if he was going to turn back now. His and Okamipaw's bet was still on; he wasn't going to show weakness now, not so far on. Accidentally slapping her muzzle with his tail, Tallfeather muttered a quiet apology before continuing on.

She nipped it back and returned his apology. as she walked beside him her inner sorrow welled up a bit. she shook her head to rid her eyes of any extra moisture. howver a song continued to play around and around. her theme song if you would, as they delved deeper and deeper her face became more and more lonesome. She treasured this timewith the warrior.

Even in the darkness of the tunnels, Tallfeather could sense the sudden drop in mood. He turned his head over his shoulder as he walked, not looking where he was going. "You okay?" Tallfeather asked his friend, eyes furrowing in concern. Perhaps she was growing as weary as he was and they should start getting back. Tallfeather was just about to voice his thoughts when he suddenly slammed into a wall of earth and rock. He hadn't been looking where he was going and rammed straight into a dead end. Tallfeather let out a muffled groan as he bounced back a few steps and suceeded only in tumbling over Okamipaw, his larger figure rolling right on top the smaller wolf. As he tried to push himself to his feet, the cavern began to shake. Tallfeather bit back a cry of alarm as the tunnel collapsed around them.

Moments later, Tallfeather's vision cleared. He whirled around. To the back of them was the impenetrable wall of stone and earth. In front of them was a pile of rubble and debris, stretching up to the ceiling of the tunnel. As far as Tallfeather could tell, only this small portion of the tunnels had caved in, but that was no reassurace. He and Okamipaw were trapped in this tiny space until they found a way out. "Starclan help us," Tallfeather muttered, his voice sharp with irritation. He shuffled to the side, plastering his body to the edge of the stone wall. There was scarcely enough room for both of them to stand up at the same time. What a day.

Okamipaw lay on the ground blood dribbling from a cut on her head, she gave a soft groan and moved her head wincing. she glanced up and frowned "tallfeather what happened?". her voice wasnt its normal pitch, it was softer lower more like a pups voice. she shook her head and batted it with a paw. the blood staining her white fur red. she blinked.