two moons. two moons had gone by, and where had he been? training, that was the simple answer. after he had been kidnapped by that traitorous thunderclanner-turned-bloodclanner and was all but helpless during the entirety of it all- which he loathed to think about- it had made him think. for a while he had wondered, why did starclan allow this to happen to him? he was destined for greatness, was he not? and, why had he, the future leader of thunderclan, the greatest clan, not been able to do anything to save the npc warrior who had been murdered by the traitor? that wasn't the makings of a great leader; it was the makings of a coward. a brief period of time had passed after his return, where a worrying thought of; what if i was wrong about my destiny? passed through his mind. but then, he had realized something.
perhaps starclan had meant for the abduction to be a sign that he needed to get stronger. it was a thought that he had clung to, even though it still hurt his pride to realize, but it was better than the previous option. yes, that had to be it. starclan wanted him to strengthen his body and his mind as a step to bring him closer to achieving his destiny. so, that's what he did. he trained, and he trained, and he trained. it was exhausting; most evenings he came back into camp only to eat a quick meal and head straight for his nest. but, he kept reminding himself that it would be worth it in the end.
and when the mysterious poison had spread through the camp, sending his mother into a coma that many feared she wouldn't wake up from, training and working had become a coping mechanism. it distracted him from the fear that his mother's story was coming to an end, and that he was going to lose her too soon in his story. and when he wasn't working, he was praying to starclan that his mother's story continued.
and his prayers had not gone by unanswered.
flameseeker had awoken from her coma a few days ago, and was rehabilitating and reintegrating herself into clan life. it was like a giant weight was lifted from his shoulders; he felt the happiest he had ever felt in moons. even with the unbearable heat that grew stronger with each passing day. all that mattered to him right now was that his mother was alive and well. it was a high that would never last long, but for now, he was really feeling it.
"who wants to accompany me on a hunting patrol? the freshkill pile is looking rather measly as of late!" asphodelpaw called out from the center of camp, sweeping his tail over the meager offerings on the prey pile to further prove his point.