⋆⁺₊⋆ ☾⋆⁺₊⋆ Jaypaw ⋆⁺₊⋆ ☽⋆⁺₊⋆- 
He was cold, so very cold out in the open. But Jaypaw could not sleep in the apprentice den tunnel, not yet - everytime he stepped in, his breathing quickened, his legs shook, his mind returned back to that moment. Leg stuck in a root, his voice crying out for help - and Merrystalk. The Gale Guard who asnwered his cries and came, only to almost pay for it with his own life.
Jaypaw could not shake those memories off when he was inside the tunnels, he could not stop the terror seeping back into his bones. And so he slept outside, or tried to, despite the cold crawling over him, encompassing him. He slept badly, but at least he could sleep, though nightmares still plagued his rest.
He hadn't gotten much rest these past few nights, his mind beginning to grow foggy. If only he could get some sleep soon...
Crack
A thunder echoed in the distance, and Jaypaw was on his paws at once. His eyes widened, his breathing quickened and his legs trembled in fear. A soft rain began to fall down on his pelt, nothing threatening nor dangerous, but to Jaypaw, that was the final straw to bring all the bad memories back once again. Tears poured out of his eyes, releasing the storm of all the bad emotions he's been holding back in front of everyone. He couldn't let them see, always the carefree tom who made humor out of everything - how could he even begin to open up?
And now he found himself sobbing into his own pelt in the middle of the night, because of a few light raindrops falling down onto his coat. It was ugly crying, snot finding its way into his fur, sobs so quick Jaypaw had barely any room to breathe, body trembling so much he could barely move.
How long he lay in camp like that, he could not say. But when his sobs finally calmed down for a moment, all he wanted was to be held; held in a warm embrace. Jaypaw's mind was too foggy and exhausted and pained to think clearly, only one thing remained, one goal in his mind - companionship. There was one place he could go, one shelter not ending in a tunnel, one cat he wished would hold him. Perhaps if he had enough sleep, he would realise there was a reason he had not seeked this cat out before, there was a reason he had been avoiding her. But in this state, cold and sad and so alone, he did not care.
His paws led him towards the den, an entrance leading into a cave. Jaypaw stumbled inside, a familiar pelt in front of him, sleeping, and he all but collapsed at her paws. Despite what his senses would have told him, he curled around the warm pelt, silently, tired and tearful still.
OOC: @Meadowpaw