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INVENTORY
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Post by Ginger on Jun 26, 2020 23:40:17 GMT -5
 Emberlight "In the darkest times, hope
is something you give yourself." Emberlight panted ever-so-slightly as he made his way to the place where he and Honeynose had been meeting. It was hotter than the Dark Forest on fire today. Mouth parted and tongue sticking out, the deputy reached their favorite spot: a rock that stood a bit of a distance above the water, yet it was close enough to feel the radiating waves of cool from the stream.
Perfect for a Greenleaf day such as this one. Even more perfect if he got to see her again.
Ever since Emberlight had lost Sparrowfoot, the closest thing to a daughter he ever had, the senior tom realized that he truly did want a family, and there was no point in stopping himself from experiencing happiness and love. Besides, protection and power were overrated anyways.
Wait a second. Did the word "love" come up when he was thinking about Honeynose? The beautiful she-cat with the warm nose made him feel warm. Made him feel content. When he was with her, he felt as if his life was complete. Honeynose was often the subject of the deputy's wandering thoughts, and he found himself thinking of her more and more with each passing day. Wanting to see her laugh. Wanting to make her laugh.
Was this the beginning of love?
The tom shook away the thought as a familiar scent approached him. "Honeynose," he purred from his perch, the bottom of his tail soaking wet from being in the stream. "I trust that you're staying cool?" With a wink, Emberlight flicked his tail towards Honeynose, sending a cascade of cool droplets at the she-cat.
62 Moons. Deputy. RainClan |
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Post by Fawn on Jul 2, 2020 19:57:07 GMT -5
There was nothing she looked forward to more than meeting Emberlight. He had become a beacon of warmth and hope, particularly in tough times. In fact, it was hard not seeing him in StoneClan's camp whenever she wanted to. He had become such a fixture in her head that the variety of colors and patterns of her Clanmates seemed... duller, by comparison.
Earth tones were all the more muted when Honeynose had Emberlight's sunrise pelt in mind. And like the sunrise, she could see him on the horizon line, and her heart was in her paws she spotted him exactly where he said he'd be: on their rock in the stream.
"Honeynose," he purred from his perch, the bottom of his tail soaking wet from being in the stream. "I trust that you're staying cool?"
"Not when you're smiling at me like that!" She giggled, her namesake crinkling at the spray of water droplets arcing towards her from the end of Emberlight's plume. A few gathered on her whiskers, but most decorated the fur above her eyes and across her cheeks, causing her to give her head one quick shake. "It's so good to see you," Honeynose purred, kneading the smooth water stone for a moment, before finding a place near him so that their pelts were just... ever so gently brushing.
"I think... I think things in StoneClan are finally starting to calm down. Birdstar is a kind leader." Wait, Honeynose, back up. He wouldn't know about Smokestar. Or... Sedgefoot... Memory of her brother's mudcaked body, Orioleflight wailing her grief to the unforgiving skies above, made Honeynose's smile drop into the water. "Newleaf was painful. I lost one of my littermates in the mudslide that killed Smokestar."
Every time I talk to him, it's about tragedy and loss. I bring down the mood so much. Guilt pushed more words off her tongue, tumbling like rocks over a cliff's edge. "Sorry. I'm so sorry. I always come to you with the saddest things. Please forget I said that. I still have Cloverspring, and all of my friends." Warrior || 57 Moons || StoneClan Honeynose Ginger || Made by Fawn || 341 Words |
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| I will not be like a bird bred in a cage, I thought, too dull to fly even when the door stands open. |
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INVENTORY
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Post by Ginger on Sept 22, 2020 20:10:57 GMT -5
Emberlight "In the darkest times, hope
is something you give yourself." Emberlight couldn't help but smile as Honeynose brought herself so close to him. Such a tease. He loved it.
There was that word again. Love.
The warm tom was drawn out of his surprise at his own thoughts by a new surprise: Birdstar? The last time he had checked, Smokestar was alive and well, enjoying her reign as StoneClan's new leader. Emberlight licked Honeynose right on her namesake in an attempt to comfort her.
"Do not apologize for your suffering. You have seen much." His words were plain and simple. He would not lie to her. Her pain was real and true, and he deeply understood it. How he wished that she did not have to suffer so many losses in her life. He wanted nothing more than to see her content.
"Losing a family member is hard. The pain never truly goes away. You can only learn to accept it for what it is and live with it."
He edged a little closer, bringing contact to their two pelts. "Living with it becomes easier when you have someone to share your life with."
Emberlight was always blunt, but rarely was he this bold. But something about Honeynose made him bold. Made him better. Made him not feel so small, so broken, so unloveable. It felt right to be with her on this rock. He wished this rock extended into both territories.
"Tell me more about your brother." Sometimes speaking about lost souls helped to give them rest.
65 Moons. Deputy. RainClan |
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Post by Fawn on Sept 24, 2020 20:25:58 GMT -5
Honeynose leaned into his touch like he was water after a long drought - and she supposed he was. StoneClan was StoneClan, but Emberlight brought the rain with him, and it revitalized her in ways she couldn't put into words. With him, she could grieve and he would not harbor judgments. Borders simply... vanished. The Code suddenly felt like this tiny, distant, irrelevant thing other cats were supposed to heed.
But not them.
Maybe the Code didn't matter compared to something so... precious.
The she-cat sniffled, letting their fur mingle as she laid her head against the fur on the side of his neck, feeling the faint tickle of a whisker against her ear. "He was the only brother I had left. We were born in a litter of four; me, Cloverspring, Sedgefoot, and Kitekit... Kitekit was the bravest of us. Everyone in the nursery thought of him as a leader." These memories were so old, and so seldom spoke of that Honeynose had to stop for a moment, the lump in her throat too hard to overcome.
Emberlight didn't rush her. When she finally felt ready to speak, Honeynose tried to summarize as best she could. "Kitekit and I got greencough when we were very little. Kitekit... he didn't make it. It felt so empty without him in the nursery. I promised myself I'd live and experience twice as much, for Kitekit's sake." Honeynose's namesake twitched with her smile. "Big dreams from a foolish, hopeful little cat. Sedgefoot tried to fill the gap Kitekit left behind; he'd check up on Cloverspring and I all the time. He even helped me with battle training, which I am not so good at. I think he... And then our parents died. We drifted apart after that; I found my best friends in Hazelcloud and Herondive."
Those nights they spent watching the stars were some of the happiest she'd ever experienced. Honeynose's eyes glimmered, sadness and joy fighting for dominance. "I hope Sedgefoot knew how much I loved him. I... I didn't show it enough. I didn't say enough. Even with Kitekit leaving us so early, I somehow thought Sedgefoot would be around forever." Senior Warrior || 57 Moons || StoneClan Honeynose Ginger || Made by Fawn || 360 Words |
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| I will not be like a bird bred in a cage, I thought, too dull to fly even when the door stands open. |
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INVENTORY
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Post by Ginger on Sept 30, 2020 14:32:02 GMT -5
Emberlight "In the darkest times, hope
is something you give yourself." As she spoke of her brothers and family, Emberlight felt a surge of empathy. He understood her pain as well as he understood that the sky was blue. The constant ache, the awkward moments when you forget they are longer there. It was a pain that became a part of you.
A slight smile broke Emberlight's lips at the mention of friends that helped to fill her heart. His thoughts went to his new friends in Skychaser and Silverstar. He appreciated them more than words could ever describe.
The last thing Honeynose said really resonated with the orange tom. He had expected his former apprentice and dear friend to outlive him. She was nearly twenty moons younger than he, yet he still had to watch her enter the heavens before he. "That's the peculiar thing about life: nothing is guaranteed. All we can truly know is that we are here now, feeling the sun on our pelts and the love in our hearts."
He said it out loud. It didn't feel wrong. The two cats were made of love. Love for their families, love for those who had passed, and a new and blossoming love for one another.
It really put things into perspective. What if this day was his last? What if he never saw Honeynose after this? Maybe the river would flood and take him with it. For so long, he had often wished it would, so that he could join his family in the sky. But now, new love kept him afloat. It hurt to not see her every day, but Emberlight couldn't imagine the hurt he would feel if he would not be able to see her at all.
Nothing was certain, so Emberlight had no excuse to hide his feelings.
He looked to the sky, addressing it directly. "Sedgefoot, Kitekit! Thank you for always keeping loving watch over Honeynose." He looked back into her glowing eyes that were somehow both melancholy and optimistic. "You can count on me to be there for your sister whenever she needs me."
The love in his eyes as he gazed into hers was unmistakable. He need not directly say it, but everything about him was screaming it.
I love you.
62 Moons. Deputy. RainClan |
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Post by Fawn on Sept 30, 2020 17:31:47 GMT -5
Honeynose's eyes widened. His words wrapped themselves around her heart so tightly, so snugly, she felt warmth spreading through every inch of her. Moisture brimmed under yellow-green eyes, threatening to spill into the soft fur where her splotched muzzle began. That deep and unselfish compassion took her breath away; Honeynose's heart hiccuped inside her chest, the she-cat drowning in the look of love he gave her.
"Oh, oh Emberlight." She whispered, as if speaking too loudly might shatter the moment, might burst the protective bubble they were surrounded by. "I-I wish... I wish you'd been born in StoneClan. You make me feel so safe and loved." The way he looked at her, as if she was everything he wanted... It made her heart want to shatter and reform itself so it could shatter all over again.
This was nothing like the way Vipertail had looked at her. His affections had been passing, and her apprenticehood crush had gone unrequited for as long as it had existed. So this is love, said a breathless voice inside her head. It made those old affections pale in comparison, as if they were moonlight she'd mistaken for sunlight, when the warmth of sun was right here in his smile.
Honeynose touched her muzzle to just beneath Emberlight's jaw, breathing him in and letting out a soft, shaky sigh. "What a selfish thing of me to say. I'm so sorry, Emberlight. You must have family in RainClan, loved ones and duties that mean so much to you. I-I can't help the way I feel, please forgive me if that burdens you. It's just--it's just--" Honeynose leaned back so she could look him in the eyes, wanting to drown in that golden color. "Being with you is like coming home."
Oh StarClan had she really just said those words? They were terrifying in their gravity, and the weight of them Honeynose feared would crush her into the pebbled stream beneath their feet. Her heart tried to retreat to some secret place behind her ribs, but Honeynose didn't fully cave in to the feeling. Love... Love demanded bravery. So that's what she would try to be.
Brave. Senior Warrior || 57 Moons || StoneClan Honeynose Ginger || Made by Fawn || 360 Words |
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| I will not be like a bird bred in a cage, I thought, too dull to fly even when the door stands open. |
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INVENTORY
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Post by Ginger on Sept 30, 2020 23:13:06 GMT -5
Emberlight "In the darkest times, hope
is something you give yourself." Amber eyes widened at Honeynose's breathless statement, and then they crinkled at the edges in a smile as Honeynose began to stutter her way through an apology. But she didn't need to apologize. It warmed his heart that he was a source of love, a promise of safety, a hope for something new. For so long he thought a curse followed him around. That those who came near him were destined to die. To live lives of insecurity.
But Honeynose proved him wrong with a few simple words.
"Never apologize to me for speaking from your heart, Honeynose." The way her name soothed his throat as it passed through his vocal cords. The way her name danced around his teeth, and escaped his mouth. It was right.
It didn't feel like some giant end goal of love had been reached. It just felt like all the pieces were there. And, Emberlight realized, they had been there a long time. He didn't feel a surge of pride or wild raging passion. Instead, he felt comforted, content, and peaceful. This was not a feeling he often truly experienced with others.
"Sadly, all my family, chosen or blood, have been laid to rest. All but one." Waspstrike. He sighed, looking into the water. "But even he pushes me away, partly because of his mother's death, partly because he doesn't need my help anymore."
Away from the melancholy that came with accepting loss and separation. Back to what made him happy. Her. Every feeling she expressed to him was felt in return tenfold. His past hurts could not find him while he was with her. His future could only be bright when he was with her.
"Honeynose," he said again, feeling her name caress his lips again. "There will come a day when we will come home to each other in a literal fashion. Where we will sleep in the same den every night. For now, I can settle with knowing we sleep under the same sky." His tail brushed hers. "Under the loving gaze of our families."
62 Moons. Deputy. RainClan |
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Post by Fawn on Sept 30, 2020 23:29:32 GMT -5
Honeynose hung on his every word, breathing in the hope and certainty of that final, fateful statement. There would come a time when they could share a den together... For a second, her stomach dropped. Did he mean in StarClan? The idea that they would only share each other's lives in death made her want to protest, but Honeynose again reached for Emberlight's certainty. He was not an unkind cat. Unkindness, deliberate or otherwise, was an impossible thing for someone like him. He wouldn't say something so grim.
Questions and doubts and worries bubbled on her tongue like a babbling brook, but Honeynose gave her head the smallest of shakes to clear it. "Could that really be true, Emberlight? That he doesn't need you anymore? Because I need you very much," she nodded firmly, coming into possession of these feelings in her heart. "And I haven't known you even half my moons. I... I wish I could meet your family. Even the ones that say they don't need your help anymore." Would they like me? Would they approve? Are they as open and kind as Emberlight? Oh StarClan what am I saying... It wasn't that long ago that I was afraid of RainClan cats, because of what they'd done to my Clan.
Oh Stars. How would Herondive react? And Hazelcloud? Imagination had always been a powerful strength of Honeynose's, but in that moment it turned against her, and she pictured their looks of concern and dismay, as if she were somehow being a foolish young warrior with her heart on her sleeve all over again.
Her thoughts ran circles around each other, finding it hard to believe that Emberlight could have a falling out with someone he cared about. She was utterly biased in how she observed the situation, Honeynose wasn't so silly as not to recognize this. But... It was obvious that everyone else saw what she saw in him: Silverstar had picked him for deputy. Gently, she mewed to Emberlight as her tail brushed against his. "You don't have to tell me what happened, but I promise I will listen to anything you say, or don't say. If that makes sense." She flushed beneath her pelt, grateful he would never laugh at her inelegant way with words.
Senior Warrior || 57 Moons || StoneClan Honeynose Ginger || Made by Fawn || 330 Words |
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| I will not be like a bird bred in a cage, I thought, too dull to fly even when the door stands open. |
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INVENTORY
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Post by Ginger on Sept 30, 2020 23:45:11 GMT -5
Emberlight "In the darkest times, hope
is something you give yourself." Emberlight sighed, his thoughts lingering on Waspstrike and Sparrowfoot. Only the most recent of a long timeline of tragedies. "The day his mother died, she had told me she thought of me as a father." His voice, usually so radiant, had quieted down a little. Nothing could take the warmth out of it though. Especially while she was here with him.
"I suppose he never truly accepted me as his chosen family. But I'm trying because his mother would have wanted me to guide him to a life of light and love."
He purred and pressed his flank to Honeynose. "You may not know this, but, Honeynose, I need you too. And I would very much like for you to meet Waspstrike. He's all I have left in RainClan."
He hung onto those last words, hesitating for a moment. A tom that was growing into a fine young warrior, whose heart was learning to love instead of hate, who didn't need Emberlight as much as he once did, was his only familial tie to RainClan. His only other true tie was his duty. But he couldn't be deputy forever. One day, he would not be able to serve his clan. On that day, his ties to StoneClan would be stronger than those to RainClan. He belonged with Honeynose, wherever she was. She could be living in the driest, most barren wasteland ever, and Emberlight would still view his life with her as paradise on earth, an oasis of love and warmth.
62 Moons. Deputy. RainClan |
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