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Post by Deleted on Sept 17, 2017 1:58:01 GMT -5
It starts with the unexpected loss of something dear. The warmth that comforted and cradled just disappears.
As he often did, Rushwhisker found his paws drawing him toward the border at StarClan's Claws. He was in no hurry. For all the rest of the Clan knew he was out fishing. It was a nice day, likely one of the last leaf-fall would offer, and he would catch something before he returned to camp. But he had already taken on the dawn patrol so he didn't feel as if this personal trip of his was undeserved.
There really wasn't any reason to even make it anymore, but it had become such a habit, it was hard to break, made even harder by the fact that he didn't want to break it. It had become a personal ritual. Every couple days he would make his way to the border simply to settle himself at the scent line, in the shadows of the undergrowth. Before he had found out about her death, he would go hoping to catch sight of her, to share a few brief words, just to see how she was, how her Clan was doing. Now, though his gaze would be trained on TreeClan's border, he would see nothing there, his gaze unfocused as though he might be able to see into StarClan.
It was pointless, yet he couldn't stop. For just a few moments he could feel, almost, as though she was still there, still safe and alive in TreeClan. That illogical hope would flare briefly in his chest and for just a heartbeat he could forget everything, for just a heartbeat he could be happy. It would slip through his claws only a moment later and sending him crashing back to that dark place that had become so familiar, and after he'd managed to pick himself back up from it, he would return to his life in RainClan, such as it was.
But today was different. Today, he wasn't alone. He came to an abrupt stop as he spotted another cat, tense as he tried to decide what he wanted to do. After a few more moments studying her, he realized she was staring off toward the TreeClan border. A few more moments and he realized why. Echoshade. His ears twitched back even as his paws drew him forward to come to a stop at the queen's side, gazing across the border with her silently for a time. Finally he settled himself onto his haunches, wrapping his tail around his paws. “You do this a lot?” his voice was quiet, with not the slightest hint of judgment in his tone. After all, he did the same thing, and the cat he was looking for wasn't even there.
And in its place there's nothing, just an endless empty void. The path to isolation is littered with the dreams that lay destroyed. Justice
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Post by Justice on Sept 17, 2017 14:45:40 GMT -5
She came here daily now that her kits were old enough to become apprentices. She didn't doubt that would be happening soon, and they didn't need her constant fussing anymore. So she let them play, usually under the watchful gaze of their father since he seemed to want to spend time with them now for some reason and came here. StarClan's Claws seemed almost foreboding when a gather wasn't taking place. Quiet and forgotten, the place didn't hold its usual mystery and excitement that came with so many different cats moving around in a small place. She'd come to sit as close to TreeClan as she could probably ever go, to look into the distance and pray that maybe she'd catch a glimpse of her precious kits. They'd be apprentices now too, and her heart broke all over again.
Her gaze was fixed towards TreeClan's border and let herself wonder. She had no chance to keep them, Stormstar's word was law, but she'd have fought for them. She had fought for them, begged before her leader in a way that didn't become a huntress and queen of RainClan. Or so her friends had told her, but beg she had. To disinterested, dispassionate eyes. She knew he had to feel bad, but he wasn't going to make a huge scene over two kits that weren't even really RainClan kits.
But they were hers, and therein was the problem.
Echoshade didn't even notice when her solitude was invaded by another cat, and so startled when Rushwhisker spoke to her. A low hiss escaped her before she contained it, startled and wide-eyed for a long time before she calmed. He'd asked her a question, after all. Reasonable one at that. She sighed.
"Every day since they took my kits away." She told him, sorrow clouding her every word and motion, shoulders slumping.
@zen
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Post by Deleted on Sept 17, 2017 23:39:23 GMT -5
It starts with the unexpected loss of something dear. The warmth that comforted and cradled just disappears.
"Every day since they took my kits away."
He remained silent for a little while at that. He would never know the loss of a kit. It was a small mercy, perhaps, the only loss he would never have to experience after a lifetime of losses. And he knew it didn't matter that they were still alive, not really. It had not lessened the pain of his relationship with Bluejay coming to an end and it would not lessen Echoshade's either. She had still lost them forever. It was another small mercy that TreeClan and RainClan shared no border, at least the possibility of her meeting them in battle one day was far less.
At last he spoke again, his voice soft but confident, trying for something comforting, “TreeClan is a good Clan. They have shown compassion and honor on many occasions. They'll be well taken care of there.” He glanced to the she-cat out of the corner of his eye, knowing no amount of comforting words would heal her, but compelled to try regardless, even if it would only ease her pain for a moment. “I'm sure you'll see them soon. They should be apprentices any day, right?” he turned toward her a bit more then, wondering if talking about them might help.
His next words came out before he could stop to think about them, “RainClan is no place for kits anyway. They'll be better off in TreeClan.” How anyone could raise kits in a Clan that only a few seasons ago was murdering each other was rather beyond Rushwhisker's ability to comprehend.
And in its place there's nothing, just an endless empty void. The path to isolation is littered with the dreams that lay destroyed. Justice
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Post by Justice on Sept 17, 2017 23:49:07 GMT -5
Her shoulders shook as he spoke to her, nodding slowly at his reason. It didn't make her feel any better, but at least hearing him say it like that gave her some comfort. She'd see them soon, he said. That's right, she'd see if Stormstar would send her to the gathering this time, see if she could see them there. Apprentices went to the gathering, she could see her babies there, right?
Her heart felt lighter, if only for a few moments, before he spoke the next words that burned through her and shattered that fragile hope she'd gained in her heart.
"How could you?!" She hissed, a sob cracking her voice and filling her large eyes with tears. "Why did you do that? Why Rushwhisker, why? You gave me a moment to believe everything would be okay even though its hard to be away from them, then you tear it away and shred it like it doesn't matter, like my feelings don't matter!"
Her breathing hitched and she stood, pain naked in her eyes. "They were mine! RainClan wasn't ravaged by fire! I see them in my dreams, and I wonder if StarClan is telling me something even though I'm nobody improtant. My kits are in that clan, touched by flame and starving! They should have stayed with me! They're my kits, they should be RainClan apprentices! Better off? Better off starving? Better off away from their mother and their sisters? Nobody loves them there! They have nothing, they must be scared and thinking they've done something wrong! They begged me! They begged me not to send them away!"
Her head dropped as she sobbed, unable to speak for the longest time before her voice came again, sharp with tears and feeling like she'd been hit by Demon's claws. "I'm their mother, I was supposed to protect them, love them and lead them and be their safe place when they needed it. That's a queens right. TreeClan took that away from me and Stormstar let them!"
@zen
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Post by Deleted on Sept 18, 2017 0:34:01 GMT -5
It starts with the unexpected loss of something dear. The warmth that comforted and cradled just disappears.
He flinched away from her as she hissed. His ears pressed flat against his skull as she berated him. What had he said? He didn't understand what it was that was making her so upset. He really didn't think he'd said anything particularly upsetting at all. When she stood, so did he, half afraid she was about to take a swipe at him. She didn't, but he still felt the blow of her raw grief as though she had.
He wasn't quite sure what to say when she had finally finished her pain stricken tirade. He stood stiffly for a moment, then took a step forward. He took a deep breath and lowered his head, unsure if the contact would be welcome, but reaching out anyway. He touched his nose lightly to the tip of her ear, breathing a quiet apology, “I'm sorry.” He still didn't know just what part of what he'd said had caused her more pain, but he was sorry it had. It hadn't been his intention, “I never meant to add to your pain.”
He raised his head, taking a half step back and glancing across the border, thinking about all she had said. She was just worried about them. She was worried they weren't safe. She was having nightmares about it that haunted her in the daylight hours as well. She was worried she had done more than sent them away, that she'd sent them to die. He nudged her cheek lightly, “Come on. Let's go see just how the bad the fire was. It can't have been that bad or I'm sure TreeClan wouldn't have brought the kits back into it.”
He turned and stepped across the border. “If you see for yourself that everything is fine, you'll feel better,” he spoke with a certain amount of confidence. She would always miss them, that would never stop, but if she could at least see they weren't in any immediate danger, she could rest easier. Maybe her nightmares would stop. Maybe she could stop feeling quite so guilty. He carried on, past the great rock where the leaders addressed the Clans, to TreeClan's scentline. And over it without a second thought.
And in its place there's nothing, just an endless empty void. The path to isolation is littered with the dreams that lay destroyed. Justice
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Post by Justice on Sept 18, 2017 0:48:29 GMT -5
At least he had the decency to know he'd done wrong. She was still standing, her body shaking and just sobbing loudly at the place where gatherings took place every season. "Why couldn't he just let me keep them?" She asked him, her anger fading into her grief all over again as he tried to make it better with a touch of his nose to her ear. Her ears flicked and she sniffled again, trying so hard to pull herself back together. She couldn't go home like this. Her kits would have a fit.
When he stepped back she sat down, her fluffy tail coming around so she could wipe her face on it before smoothing the fur with her paws in a desperate attempt to make herself presentable. When he nudged her she let off a soft mew of confusion before rising to her paws again. "Go see? If we cross the border we'll be in trouble." But she was following him. Surely Rushwhisker wouldn't lead her astray? He hadn't betrayed his clan like Stormstar had.
"They'd have taken them anyway. They were TreeClan kits and they had a right to them." Her words were suddenly bitter, dark in a way the sweet-natured Echoshade never was. "That's what Stormstar told me. He said my kits weren't worth alienating TreeClan over, so nothing I said mattered." She sniffled again but didn't start sobbing again.
She knew they were going to be in trouble if they got caught, but she too was past caring. She wanted her kits back, but seeing that they were being taken care of would have to do. She just wanted to see them, still fat and healthy like she left them. She'd taken good care of them, done right by them as their mother and a queen, so why then did it feel as though she should smuggle them out of TreeClan as soon as she could? Or ask them to simply come home once they became apprentices? To sneak off during the next gathering and come back to RainClan.
@zen
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Post by Deleted on Sept 18, 2017 1:20:19 GMT -5
It starts with the unexpected loss of something dear. The warmth that comforted and cradled just disappears.
He gave a light snort as she suggested they'd be in trouble for crossing the border, “You'll be in trouble if we don't.” She would keep worrying, dreaming of sending her kits away with strangers to starve. And they were across the scentline and it didn't matter anymore. Here they were, might as well keep going. Her tone turned bitter and he glanced back at her even as he scented the air, searching for signs of fire damage on the wind. He shook his head, “Like I said, TreeClan has honor and compassion. They wouldn't take the kits back if it wasn't safe for them here.”
He caught the scent of ash and soot, dusty and burnt, and followed it, farther into TreeClan territory. He wasn't sneaking, he wasn't even trying to be quiet. This wasn't some secret mission, they weren't doing anything wrong. He was just proving to Echoshade that her kits would be fine in TreeClan, and then they would leave. He sighed as he walked, agreeing with Stormstar on this particular matter, for many reasons.
No matter how Echoshade felt, they were TreeClan kits. It would be foolish to risk war over kits that didn't in any way belong to RainClan. Maybe they belonged to Echoshade, but they didn't belong to RainClan. It was unfortunate she had gotten so attached to them, but there was little to be done about it. She had known when they were brought to her what was going to happen. He felt for her, he really did, but that didn't mean keeping them was right. All he could think about was the civil war and the purists that remained in the Clan. Starting a war with TreeClan over their own kits would be beyond foolish. It might have even split the Clan again.
But he was wary of speaking his mind to Echoshade. She was in a delicate place and he wasn't confident in his ability not to say something wrong again. So he opted for silence this time, until they reached the source of the burnt smell and stood upon a rise overlooking a clearing that was now little more than ash. A few sprigs of green poked up here and there, new growth trying to break through, but with leaf-fall upon them it was hard to say how long they would last. The destruction stretched away toward the LightningClan border, but behind them the forest was still leafy and full of life.
He glanced at Echoshade again, “It doesn't seem too terrible....” It certainly could have been worse. It might have an affect on TreeClan's hunting this leaf-bare, or it might not. Rushwhisker had no idea just how prey tended to run for TreeClan during the harshest season. A fire in RainClan territory wouldn't have been a big deal, it wasn't like a fire could burn away the river and all the fish. And therein laid the problem, he supposed. Echoshade felt the kits would fare better in RainClan, where the fire couldn't hurt them. But a decent portion of TreeClan's territory still stood untouched.
And in its place there's nothing, just an endless empty void. The path to isolation is littered with the dreams that lay destroyed. Justice
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Post by Justice on Sept 18, 2017 17:51:03 GMT -5
Her ears went flat to her skull as they crept further and further into foreign territory. The area stank of burnt wood and smoke, and it put her hackles up. She didn't like it. The desolation of the area extended well into LightningClan, whom she knew had been hit the hardest by the fire. Rumors and gossip spread through the clans during gatherings no matter how those that lead them told them not to talk about it. When one traveled with apprentices, they talked. She sighed as she found where the line of destruction ended, going from bleak to the lush leaf-fall colors TreeClan was known for. So they hadn't gotten completely burned out. She knew she shouldn't have gotten attached to the kits, but a queen was supposed to love her kits, no matter where they came from. Her heart clenched painfully as he pointed out it wasn't as bad as she'd thought, and a sigh escaped her. "You're right. I feel better now. Thank you for bringing me." She still wanted to see her kits, now likely apprentices. She just knew that they weren't supposed to be here and that they had to leave. Hopefully, before the locals noticed their intrusion. @zen Fawn @medusa
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Post by Deleted on Sept 18, 2017 18:15:05 GMT -5
Lichenfrost 58 Moons, TreeClan, (S) WarriorI've got a heart full of pain A head full of stress Lichenfrost was thinking deeply about things. A rare occurrence, but there was a reason behind it - multiple reasons, in fact. The things with Fogsight and the things with Frost and all the other things hiding in the background. Thoughts buzzed around her head like bees, bouncing off each other and stinging her head with each pawstep she took. Whether or not others knew what was happening was unclear, although those closer to her would recognize the slump in her shoulders and lack of venom in her words.
The silver warrior needed to be alone and sought refuge in the meadow. Silence had coated the once flowery field, just like the coating of soot and ash that still lay paw-deep across the grass. There was hope though, that new growth would soon arise, the fresh green shoots promising another start. Another start... Did she want that? Compared to what she had now, would it be better? What would it risk?
Voices. Lichenfrost's ears twitched and she crouched low to the ground, ignoring the ash that dusted her nose as she backed up into the undergrowth. Damn patrols, she just wanted to be left alon- Huh? Unfamiliar scents coiled into her mouth, unfamiliar fishy scents.
Excitement began to churn her insides, speeding up her heart until it sounded like thunder in her ears. Though still, this was nothing compared to when she saw Fog- no, no. That's not what she was focusing on. Lichenfrost shook herself to clear her head and began to slowly stalk towards the voices, professional pawprints pressing silently on the bracken floor until she could see the intruders clearly.
Rushwhisker. She knew him Well, she had insulted him, but she knew his face at least. The queen? She didn't know her, but there was no doubt that she was from Rainclan too.
Lichenfrost waited for her battle rage to emerge but she was oddly calm. As if this was nothing more than a training battle, a way to release the pent up frustrations that had been building up for seasons. She growled quietly in her throat. Her legs tensed. She leapt.
With a savage snarl, Lichenfrost burst from the bushed and landed squarely on the tom's back - relying on her heavier weight to buckle his legs. Lunging forward, she sunk her teeth into his scruff for balance and pressed a firm paw on the back of his neck. Letting go of his scruff, she growled again; glaring down at him, and then the queen he had brought.
"What are you fish-breaths doing here? You looking for a fight?" Her heart was caught in her throat and her pupils dilated into excited ovals. She needed this. She needed to fight. It was the only damn thing this waste of fur was good at. Her tail twitched eagerly as she waited for a response or a counter-attack. Anything, as long as it let her bite back.
A handful of anger inside my chest ❆ pinned w/ zeneka's permission~ lichenfrost has entered the ring @zen Justice Fawn
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Post by Fawn on Sept 19, 2017 21:16:57 GMT -5
blinded by the light of a new sun take it to the world, gonna sing it like an anthem
A large golden shape moved through the damaged portion of the forest. His paws were turned to gray by the soot and ash staining into his fur, making him appear far older than he actually was. The ruined vegetation made it easy to see farther into the forest, the tall flowers and grasses of the wildflower clearing no longer providing the coverage and shade it once had. The buzz and hum of insects had been replaced by close silence and distant bird chatter. These burnt lands had become a scar on their territory, but Lionstar, as he surveyed the extent of the destruction, reassured himself with the knowledge that this had happened before. It had been worse, even, and claimed two of his lives - yet both the Clan leader and the forest had recovered in due time. Foreign scents carried over the earth, stirred by a strong, cool leaf-fall wind. Through the stink of burnt grass, Lionstar detected scents that did not belong to TreeClan - or even one of their immediate neighbors, like he had anticipated. As cautious as he was curious, Lionstar changed course, the ground eaten away by his swift pace. Lichenfrost's scent reached him almost as quickly as her voice. "What are you fish-breaths doing here? You looking for a fight?"For once, he felt satisfaction at her hostility - when it was directed towards their enemies. These RainClan cats were trespassing, no matter how benign their intentions may potentially be. Remembering when Batear had appeared before them, begging TreeClan to help StoneClan turn the tide of battle against the combined might of RainClan, Lionstar reserved his protective aggression for later. "Lichenfrost, stand down. Rushwhisker." he walked proudly forward, looking calmly to the pinned tabby and white tom Lichenfrost had so effortlessly flattened into the grass. "I'm willing to listen to reason - a very good reason - for why there are two RainClan cats in TreeClan's territory." Golden eyes raked over to the she-cat; he could almost see his face reflected in her large blue eyes despite being a foxlength away. There was a faint layer of familiarity to that milky, mossy smell. A queen. Something clicked into place in Lionstar's mind, though it did not make him soften his stern address. Was this the queen that nursed Pantherkit and Flamekit? leader of TreeClan 385 Words | @zen Justice @medusa | notes
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Post by Deleted on Sept 19, 2017 22:19:26 GMT -5
It starts with the unexpected loss of something dear. The warmth that comforted and cradled just disappears.
Rushwhisker did not even get a chance to respond to Echoshade, having only a moment to feel relieved that the trip had indeed helped to ease her mind, if but a little, before a sudden weight on his back sent him to the ground. On instinct, his muscles tensed in preparation to fight, to defend himself, but he forced them to relax, refusing to fight back when fighting was completely unnecessary. He allowed his opponent to pin him effortlessly, ears flattened to his head. He wasn't a strong fighter anyway, and he could tell the she-cat that had leapt on him was larger than he was, heavier. It wouldn't do much good to fight even if he wanted to.
The voice that growled at him was surprisingly familiar, and his ears flicked up, and then back against his head. Seriously? The cat that had accosted him at the Gathering had been the one to find them? His tail flicked behind him in some annoyance. StarClan must be laughing it up. He'd had no desire to ever see this she-cat again, and here she was. He let out a heavy breath, “No, as you might be able to tell by the lack of any retaliation, we're not looking for a fight....”
Then Lionstar himself showed up. He let out a small sigh at the sight of the TreeClan leader, shifting slightly beneath Lichenfrost's grasp as he told the she-cat to stand down. He slipped out from under her, taking a few paces back and shaking out his fur, carefully keeping his posture completely nonthreatening, though he made sure to put himself in front of Echoshade, just in case. He didn't want to see her attacked for following him here. If nothing else she could run away while he did his best to hold them off, if the two TreeClanners decided fighting was a better option.
He turned his attention to Lionstar as he demanded an explanation, holding the much larger tom's gaze unflinchingly, confirming what Lionstar had already unknowingly guessed, “This is Echoshade, she raised your orphaned kits for you. She's been concerned about their safety since TreeClan suffered from the fire. We're only here to alleviate her fears, and we've done that. We'll leave now, if you'll let us.” He glanced briefly at Lichenfrost, who had made it rather clear to him in the little amount of interaction he'd had with her that she had aggressive tendencies.
And in its place there's nothing, just an endless empty void. The path to isolation is littered with the dreams that lay destroyed. Justice @medusa Fawn
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Post by Justice on Sept 21, 2017 2:59:06 GMT -5
Echoshade hadn't expected the attack, and her fur stood out on end when Lichenfrost appeared. However, like Rushwhisker she had no wish to fight. They'd been leaving, barely over the lands that were scorched. They were trespassing, she knew this, but they hadn't been hunting or anything like that. Her fluffy tail lashed more in fear than anger, ears laid back as her large eyes grew even larger at the arrival of TreeClan's massive leader. When Rushwhisker explained their presence she dropped her head a little, ears still lain back. "I was having nightmares that they were starving since we didn't know how badly TreeClan had been burned by the fire. I'm sorry we're here, it's my fault." She choked a little, terrified since she was not much a fighter. She'd rather raise kits than fight battles. She crept a little forward, not passing where Rushwhisker was stood sentry over her. "Are they eating okay? Have they started making friends yet? Do they seem happy?" She gave the golden tom a pleading look. "We didn't come here to fight, as he said we were just leaving. I just wanted to know how my...the kits are doing." Yes, they were hers as they had no other living mother, which was why she'd gotten so attached to them. If their mother had simply been unable to produce milk that would have been one thing, but Flamekit and Pantherkit had no parents waiting to get to know them in TreeClan. She wasn't even sure they had family at all here. She took a deep breath and let it ease out of her. She didn't need to get upset again. Her fears were alleviated from seeing that the blaze hadn't gone all the way through TreeClan's territory. @zen @medusa Fawn
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Post by Deleted on Sept 22, 2017 13:16:07 GMT -5
Lichenfrost 58 Moons, TreeClan, (S) WarriorI've got a heart full of pain A head full of stress Stand down? Lichenfrost near bit her tongue off, trying to resist throwing a barbed retort at her leader. She had been defending the starclan-damned territory and still he believed she was doing wrong; her feverish state of mind completely ignoring the pride that Lionstar had felt.
Still, the silver she-cat shifted her weight to her hindquarters so the Rainclan cat could slither out from under her like the slug he was - Lichenfrost snapping her teeth at his tail as he moved towards the queen.
"We're only here to alleviate her fears, and we've done that. We'll leave now, if you'll let us.”
Lichenfrost snorted heavily, making her disbelief perfectly clear. If they wanted to ask how the kits were, then they could have waited for a border patrol and ask to be taken to the camp. Even she wouldn't object to the queen wanting to see the kits she fostered; the warrior wasn't that heartless. But sneaking into the heart of the territory? They must've been spying.
Those that desire to see their kits wait at the border to avoid suspicion, Frost proved that. These two? They showed only desire to see the damage to the Treeclan territory. If they truly wanted to know if the kits were fine, they'd sneak in to see them instead of ash and soot.
She ignored the queen's ramblings; the frustration clouding her sensible thoughts and judgements; and shook her head fiercely, moving past Lionstar.
Hissing long and loud at the queen, Lichenfrost began to snarl. "Oh please, if you wanted to see how the kits were faring, you'd ask a patrol to take you to see them. Treeclan's soft on outsiders, I should know." She said mockingly, casting a glare at Lionstar - remembering every time Treeclan had made her feel 'wanted'. When was that again? Oh right, never.
The silver warrior turned so she could look at the three cats with ease, her body language and words dripping with sarcasm and anger. "They believed me and my siblings were full Treeclan, but born from infidelity. To make us feel like we were still a part of the clan, Lionstar here-" She blinked at the tom, as if she were fond of him. "-ignored us for the majority of our lives and the rest of them treated us like mousedung."
"Your kits might be full-clan, queenie, but Treeclan is filled with nothing but foxhearts and snakes. They were raised in Rainclan for a time, and that makes them no better than loners and they're gonna get treated as such. Isn't that right, Lionstar?" Lichenfrost turned to the tom, waving her tail innocently like an apprentice seeking approval but her eyes burning with a fierce intensity.
A handful of anger inside my chest ❆ she's in a savage mood @zen Justice Fawn
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Post by Fawn on Sept 22, 2017 15:27:07 GMT -5
blinded by the light of a new sun take it to the world, gonna sing it like an anthem
Lichenfrost let Rushwhisker go, and Lionstar gave a single look of approval in the warrioress’s direction, trusting her to let him handle this. Rushwhisker, he knew to be the former deputy of RainClan, and as for the other cat present... Echoshade. That was the name of the queen Magpiewing had spoken of, when giving his account of the past few moons. Lionstar dipped his head courteously to the one responsible for keeping Flamekit and Pantherkit alive. ”TreeClan owes you our thanks. Your fears,” Lionstar’s tail swept to indicate the burnt pieces of TreeClan’s territory, ”are hopefully assuaged. The damage was not severe. However—”A different kind of forest fire was set. This time, by Lichenfrost. For a cat with such a cold, unfriendly name, his kin was masterful at burning everything and everyone around her. Forced to listen to her tirade, Lionstar’s golden eyes narrowed with each consecutive sentence, each claw strike against him and against the Clan he would die to protect. "Your kits might be full-clan, queenie, but Treeclan is filled with nothing but foxhearts and snakes. They were raised in Rainclan for a time, and that makes them no better than loners and they're gonna get treated as such. Isn't that right, Lionstar?"
She dared to embarrass the Clan in front of outsiders? Her insolence, her complete disregard for respect and rank had gone too far this time. Giving her the benefit of the doubt never proved a sensible decision on his part; he should have sent her back to camp as soon as she’d let Rushwhisker slip away. The golden tom bristled, and he seemed to grow larger as he stared her down. His claws were pricking the ground, a furious hiss slipping through his jaws. You’ve gone a step too far, Lichenfrost. A dozen reprimands were coated in venom and sitting on his tongue, before that small voice of reason he somehow still had managed to speak up. She’s picking a fight. Don’t give her what she wants.He should have been sympathetic, with what she was going through with Frost. With the Clan. He should’ve been, but he wasn’t. Lionstar released a slow breath and turned to speak to Rushwhisker and Echoshade as if Lichenfrost did not exist. Only the hostile lash of his tail gave away his lingering fury at his Clanmate. "You don’t have to worry, Echoshade. They are the sons of Meadowleaf, my former deputy. I will personally see to it that they get the best care TreeClan can provide. If they behave, perhaps you will see them at the next Gathering. Or sooner. I’ll have to discuss it with Stormstar.”Lionstar’s gaze found Rushwhisker, and his tone of address was more curt. He had expected a former deputy, of all cats, to abide by Clan boundaries. ”Leave the unexpected visits to your medicine cats and deputy, Rushwhisker. I trust you both can find your way back to RainClan unaided?” leader of TreeClan 502 Words | @zen Justice @medusa | notes
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Post by Deleted on Sept 26, 2017 0:32:27 GMT -5
It starts with the unexpected loss of something dear. The warmth that comforted and cradled just disappears.
Rushwhisker eyed Lichenfrost as the she-cat went on off on a hostile tangent. It seemed to Rushwhisker that the warrioress had no more love for her birth Clan than he had for his anymore. Had he been wrong? Were all Clans, at their heart, tainted, corrupt? He couldn't know just what went on within TreeClan, or any of the other Clans for that matter, but he had believed that the Clan Bluejay had given her whole heart to was better than the one that had betrayed him. He had to believe it, or what was it all for... what had she died for? His ears pressed against his head and he stared down at his paws, the rest of Lichenfrost's words lost to him, or he might have angry that the she-cat was giving Echoshade something new to haunt her dreams after what they'd already done to lessen her fears.
Lionstar's rumbling voice brought him slowly back to the present as the golden tom reassured Echoshade that the kits were safe and would be well cared for, that she could perhaps see them soon. Then the larger tom's gaze settled upon him, looking not quite as friendly. He gave a thin, humorless smile to the TreeClan leader, “Somehow I doubt we would have been much more welcome if I still held the rank of deputy. Or is it your assumption that cats of rank cannot break rules or make mistakes?” He snorted derisively at that, thinking of Swanfeather, of Stormstar's decision to allow her back into the Clan. StarClan had once ordained them both, in their infinite wisdom, given them guardianship of RainClan.
It was a rhetorical question he had posed, none the less. He didn't care what Lionstar's answer was. Instead of waiting for an answer he didn't care to hear, he dipped his head respectfully, for the tom had not given him any reason not to be respectful, “Thank you for your understanding, Lionstar. I was only trying to help my Clanmate, and boundaries mean little when that's your goal... otherwise the Clans would never see battle.” Borders shifted all the time as one Clan fought to claw more territory from their neighbor, all for the good of their own Clans, after all. In the end, when it came down to it, they meant nothing at all.
“I'll let Stormstar know of our venture so he can say proper pretty words of apology for you at the next Gathering and assure you it was no act of war,” proper pretty words that he might very well eat only a few seasons later, when war did come, as it inevitably did. They were warriors, after all, it was in their very name. He glanced to Lichenfrost, and then turned, brushing past Echoshade. “It's not your fault,” he assured her quietly as he passed, “You followed me here, not the other way around.” He nodded toward the general direction of the border, “Come on, you'll see them soon.” With a final flick of his tail toward Lionstar, he padded onward, making sure to head directly for the border. Lionstar was welcome to follow them and see them off, if it soothed any fears he might have of their true purpose here, but Rushwhisker had no intention of going anywhere but back to RainClan to as he'd told Lionstar he would and take whatever punishment Stormstar might deal him for the transgression against the Code.
And in its place there's nothing, just an endless empty void. The path to isolation is littered with the dreams that lay destroyed. Justice @medusa Fawn
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