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Post by Justice on Nov 23, 2021 17:22:16 GMT -5
Pain. Exhaustion. Fear. And a heart deep sense of mourning for those who were lost. The shaking had been so bad, cats screaming and running, things falling. And the ground opening up underneath. Seeking, consuming, destroying. She shuddered. If her nest was destroyed then where would she rest? Would Sunnyheart still be alive? Had any of her kits survived? What if they were all dead? What if Firestar wouldn't want her now that she had lost a limb? What use was a huntress with only three legs? Blood was drying all over Larkflower's body, mostly from laying in it but some from cuts and nicks along her body from the fall down with the rock that had severed her leg. She tried not to think about it, but her mind was fuzzy and the pain was so severe she felt sick. Would Kindleflare know what to do? Would anyone even still be there? The she-cat hobbled along, feeling the wet stickiness of blood in her pelt and beginning to drip from the haphazard spider webbing she'd done to staunch the bleeding before she died. It had worked, but she hadn't done something right. She wasn't a medicine cat, how was she supposed to know how to stop bleeding correctly? She knew to use spider webs, so at least there was that. She was cold, dizzy, and each step cost so much energy. Her center of balance was off, and every time she tried to put down her back leg she remembered all over again that it was gone, that she was no longer whole. Would they still love her like this? She was broken, useless. Would she be cast aside? No. She had to believe that her clan would care for her, that she'd find some way to be useful. After all, if a blind cat could remain useful despite everything, then a three legged cat could as well. Firestar would bop her in the head if she could hear her thoughts now. 'Don't give up Larkflower, you can make it. Sunnyheart is waiting for you, the kits are waiting for you. Just keep moving.' Her own thoughts, the same thoughts of encouragement that she didn't really believe but kept her moving forward so she kept thinking them. She followed the scent of LightningClan, of home. She just had to keep going until she found home. Note : I know Firestar is dead, she's delusional from blood loss. Hellion |
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Post by Hellion on Nov 28, 2021 16:13:57 GMT -5
I'll be there someday, I can go the distance. I will find my way if I can be strong.
Skyshadow We have to assume she is dead, Sunnyheart's voice was empty, void of any hope, of any optimism that he was known for. Skyshadow sat across from his father, hearing those words with his face twisted in disbelief. "You can't be serious! She is your mate! She is my mother!" Skyshadow argued with his father, who could only hang his head and force himself to retain his composure. For the sake of their small family. "We can't go back there, not till it is safe; who knows when that will be. If she is inj-, we can't risk losing more cat," Sunnyheart explained; he spoke not as a mate but instead as a loyal cat of LightningClan, one looking at safety and security of the entire Clan opposed to his happiness. "I can't believe you would leave her out there," Skyshadow spat, lip curled in a snarl. Sunnyheart offered no complaint, took his son's anger in silence as the bob-tailed tom ventured away from him and toward whatever nook in the Tribe's cave he had rested.
Skyshadow refused his father's final words on the matter and, when the coast was clear, left the safety of the Tribe and outwards into the remains of their old home. He didn't precisely know where he was going, but he trusted his paws and heart to find their way home. He kept his pace steady to avoid wearing himself out. Picked paths carefully to ensure they could keep his weight; he did not tread on unsteady ground and found it took longer but was safer. The sun had just peaked when on the wind, he caught her scent. The memory of the nursery and her company sparked the fire in his chest and out went his caution. Skyshadow sprinted along the scent trail, backed track only twice before he saw her. Bloody and mangled, but moving! "MOTHER!" He called out, leaping over fallen logs and upturned tree roots. He skirted in the dirt as he nearly slipped, making his way toward her, but he did not falter. Instead, he paused just a tail length from her, joyful and oblivious to her current state. "I've found you!" He meowed in such joyful excitement he feared his heart would burst from his chest. - ♥ - I know every mile would be worth my while. When I go the distance, I'll be right where I belong.
Words: 420, blaze it / Tags: Justice
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Post by Justice on Nov 29, 2021 10:18:46 GMT -5
Someone was calling for her, someone familiar. Sunnyheart? No. Could it be one of her kits and if so why were they here and not with their father? Had everyone made it out safely or was there nobody left. Was she at the edge of a ruined camp, lost lives and dead bodies? Was she hearing things because of the pain? Had a patrol come looking for survivors and found her? She didn't know, and she didn't have the energy to care. Her body finally gave out on her, sending her to plop to the ground in a mangled heap and her injured leg to start bleeding through the webbing she'd haphazardly wrapped around it to staunch the bleeding. She wanted to go home, back to her mate and her family, back to where it was safe and the world hadn't ripped apart and eaten her then spit her back out. She hurt so much, and her head was foggy. "I want to go home." She started sobbing uncontrollably, her exhaustion and fear finally overwhelming her. "I tried so hard, why did nobody come and get me?" She didn't even know her son was there, all she could scent now was her own blood. She felt like that scrawny, half starved kit again, buried in the snow and freezing to death while her brother was out hunting. A large black and white tom appeared to one side of her then, and Larkflower truly believed she'd died and StarClan had sent someone to get her. Instead the figure looked right at...her gaze focused. "Skyshadow?" She sounded confused. "Tell me you aren't dead too?" There was a nudge to her side and she flopped over onto the 'good' side of her body. The webbing was stretched out carefully and reapplied more securely around her mangled leg, the bleeding finally stopped. "Help me get her up." Shadow. The brother she hadn't seen since she was an apprentice, the one she'd thought long dead due to the harsh life of a loner. Alive, though his muzzle bore signs of age and he seemed not as large as she remembered him. "We're taking you back where you belong, Larkflower." Hellion |
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Post by Hellion on Dec 19, 2021 0:33:03 GMT -5
I'll be there someday, I can go the distance. I will find my way if I can be strong.
Skypaw He neared her, panic growing louder in his ears. What if her movement wasn't from living but something crawling within. He had seen it happen once, a hot Greenleaf day when fresh-kill quickly rotted. He had accidentally torn into a mouse that had become home to crawlie things. He stopped eating mice that day. He calmed naturally when he heard her calling; even if her words pained him, he could trust she was living. Joining with her, he was surprised to see the other tom aiding his mother. He could only guess it was someone who knew his mother, a cat that cared for her at one point. He seemed older, so it wasn't likely they had been mates or even romantic. Skyshadow was also certain his parents were only ever interested in each other. Then it clicked! Kin! It had to be his mother's half-brother. His stories were infrequent, but he was told about his existence. Relief flooded him, allowing him enough stability to speak. "Thank you," He praised the tom, joining in aiding his mother upright again. It was then he noticed her missing leg; sorrow furrowed his brow. Pity joined his expression; she'd struggle ever to be a full warrior again. Not that it matters in the grand scheme of things. "It's not a slow trek, but we can make it by nightfall, I hope, I can also run ahead when we get close enough to get more paws to help," He explained, ready to set forth and head home. To bring her back. - ♥ - I know every mile would be worth my while. When I go the distance, I'll be right where I belong.
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Post by Justice on Jan 5, 2022 20:51:13 GMT -5
She was still foggy, but she did believe that someone had finally come to get her. "I want to go home." She whined, a helpless sound like one lost. A lick between the eyes was her answer. "Hush now, little Lark. We're taking you home." Another nudge to her side and she wobbled as her weight adjusted to her new three legged state. Shadow dipped his head towards the cat that had called his sister mother. He kept his frame tucked close, letting her lean most of her weight on the side missing a leg against him as he started them onward. "Talk to her, she has no idea you're real. I imagine fever has started to set in. She'll need your medicine cat, and her mate should he still be living." The black and white tom stayed close to his sister's side, and slowly she seemed to become coherent since she'd stopped losing blood. "My kit..." She felt tears coming down her face again. "I was so worried that I'd lost you all." She put her face against him and rubbed, shaking and trying so hard to be brave. "I was coming home, I really tried." "Shhh...." He stopped them to comfort her again. Larkflower swayed on her paws again, but remained upright. They were going home, she was going home. Home to her Clan, her family, her friends. Home to familiar scents and warm bodies. Another tremble wracked her frame. Shadow had come to get her, just like when she'd been a kit. "Am I dead?" "No. I doubt your StarClan would want to deal with a rude old tom like me." Hellion |
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Post by Hellion on Feb 21, 2022 13:02:41 GMT -5
I'll be there someday, I can go the distance. I will find my way if I can be strong.
Skypaw Skyshadow had only limited words for his mother, unnerved by her state. He told her stories of the Tribe cats, details about their daily life since their coming to the tribe. He didn't want to speak of all the destruction that had occurred out of respect for her mental state and his own anxiety about the events. His heart threatened to fall out of his chest with the emotional pain that tugged so aggressively at his heartstrings. Larkflower thought herself dead? The idea of her being gone from him was made him feel sick, and given her state, he feared StarClan would still take her. He tried not to dwell, and once they crested a series of uprooted trees, he realized how close they were. "I'm going to run ahead," He told his mother and the other cat. He couldn't wait long enough for her to agree, but he did pause to press his nose to her cheek. "I'll be back soon," He promised, just before turning tail and sprinting. His paws dug deep into the ground for added traction. Once the terrain changed to the rock earth that led up the mountain toward the tribe's home, they started to ache. He ignored it the best he could till he managed to catch his father's scent and nearly collided with the tremendous orange tabby. "Mom! Mom! I found her". He blurted out the words between pained pants. Sunnyheart did not hesitate, pushing his son with his head; Skyshadow took that as a command to lead the way. The pair of them took off again, Skyshadow suffering greatly with his paws becoming sore and tend with each stride; Sunnyheart panted loudly, moving his greater sized form took more effort than his swift built son. They arrived, and Sunnyheart's heart lept with joy. He cared not that Larkflower was missing a limb or that her loner brother was aiding her. The only thing that crossed his mind was the most profound comfort. 'She is alive,' He hesitated briefly, so he didn't sprint into her and topple her over; he managed to approach slowly. "Larkflower, you are home, Larkflower, you made it," He spoke the words softly; while they were directed at her, he had to speak them to believe them for himself. "I love you" He couldn't contain himself much longer and moved to bury his head into her neck, taking in her scent, reminding himself of her warmth and all the love he had given her. - ♥ - I know every mile would be worth my while. When I go the distance, I'll be right where I belong.
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Post by Justice on Feb 23, 2022 13:00:18 GMT -5
Larkflower listened to the stories and concentrated on her pawsteps. Surely this had all been a bad dream. Surely she was fine, just knocked out somewhere and now found by her brother and her son. Everything would be okay, she didn't almost die, she didn't lose a leg, she wasn't going to be left alone. Everything would be okay. Stories about a place she didn't know anything about, about cats and about life with those strange cats.
All this time she had most of her weight on her brother as she trudged along, quietly listening and trying to make sense of everything that had happened. What was real anymore? Was she horribly maimed and left ugly and useless? Or had she just hit her head and was nauseous and seeing things? She didn't know, she wasn't sure if she'd like the answer if she did know.
The she-cat canted her head and purred when her son spoke to her, finally able to hear him. "Okay, be careful."
For awhile after he left she listened to her brother's soft words of encouragement and his tales of life outside the clans, of the change in the valley and those who hadn't made it to high ground in time. It was both sad and a testament of just how lucky she was to still be alive.
She didn't notice her mate was there with her until he started speaking to her, and when she did she swayed on her paws and plopped onto her rump. "Sunnyheart." Her words came out breathy and pained, but she did recognize that he'd come. "You came to get me." Tears burned her eyes and she couldn't help but melt in against his much larger body. Sunnyheart meant life and love and warmth. He was real, he had to be real. If he wasn't then she wasn't sure she wanted to be real either.
"I love you too." Larkflower spoke quietly and purred even though she hurt and she was tired and scared. "I was so scared I'd lost everyone. This is real, isn't it? You and me, our son and my brother? Its all real and your here and I'm still alive and everything?"
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Post by Hellion on Apr 28, 2022 23:20:40 GMT -5
Love doesn't discriminate
Between the sinners and the saints,
it takes and it takes and it takes
Oh, StarClan, how he loved her. The hammering in his chest eased only slightly as she started to speak. The soft voice he knew, admired and trusted further quelled the hurricane in his throat. She was alive, mangled but alive.
Nudging her close by his head, Sunnyheart wanted to pull her into him. By some miracle of grace, take away her pain and shoo away any fear that had taken residents in her mind. Alas, he couldn't, but she was home, and that was all that truly mattered to him.
"Let's us carry you the rest of the way," It would be awkward, but he was taller than her and broader in frame. If he and Skyshadow walked paw in paw, they could do it. A bit unlike himself, but given the circumstance, it was justified, he did not give her time to consider. Instead, he lowered himself down and under her to hoist the she-cat onto his back. It took a few shifts of his body to adjust most of her body to be on his. "I'll be careful," He told Shadow, half concerned the loner would protest and slow down the overall rescue.
Glancing toward Skyshadow, he flicked his tail that they would walk, and together they did. Slow and steady back toward the tribe's domain, to safety, to their temporary home.
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