Get on with it already! (c)

(OOC: everything is time soup, this topic happens right before the most recent site-wide topic, i was just a couple hours late to post this <3)


Sitting under the gloomy sky and listening as thunder growled off in the distance, Curlyfluff sat alone near the edge of the semi-established group of ThunderClanners. Having taking some time to rest, for the most part the clans had grouped up amongst their respective clanmates, though of course there were some cats here and there that wished to mingle more. The curly-coated tom wasn't one of those cats and he was currently one of the most antisocial cats in the clan, keeping to himself and staying quiet as he sulked at the edge of the crowd. Though fluffy, his thin form had begun to show and was a testament to the lack of food the clans had been hunting as well as the smaller amount he'd actually been consuming. Lately, nothing had tasted good to the tom and he'd found himself more often than not giving his food to the queens and their kits. At least his hunger was for a good cause, he supposed.

A slight smile played at the corner of a very worn down Firefly as she watched apprentices play their little games from a distance. Their parents humored them, occasionally breaking up a play fight that got too rough or telling their kit to come back after wandering a little too far. However, as green eyes scanned the crowd, one cat in particular failed to be present: Curlyfluff. Russet tail twitched with irritation. Where was he during a time his children needed their father the most...? A cough shook her shoulders as she forced herself onto aching paws, stumbling once as her stuffy head swiveled left to right - stopping only when a slightly matted and thinning curly pelt came into view.

He was sitting alone, which would be unusual if she hadn't taken notice of how he acted during the beginning of their journey earlier. He barely looked at anyone, barely spoke to his own leader when given the task of scouting, barely acknowledging Sweetpaw with her incessant chattering... In fact, a stranger could have mistaken her for the kits parent! The more she thought on it, the angrier she became. They were no longer naive little kits anymore, so why wasn't he at least pretending to be okay for their sake? Uneven steps carried her to where he sat alone in his own misery. "A family, huh?"

All he wanted was to sleep or even just doze off for a moment, but he simply couldn't due to the nightmares of Rosethorn's death that had been haunted him. So unfortunately for him, he was stuck being plagued with exhaustion and his own deafening thoughts, which he wanted nothing more than to escape from. Not to mention, his clanmates nosiness had begun to grow somewhat... irritating. Every-cat kept bothering him and he didn't know how much more he could take. No, he didn't want to go on patrols. No, he didn't want to go chit-chat with members of other clans. And no, he did not want to spend time with his kits right now. He... he just couldn't bring himself to face them, not after what he'd done to their mother. Firefly's words rang in his ears, but he just couldn't bring himself to believe them. It was his fault and he understood if they never forgave him.

Speaking of which, the russet molly's familiar scent wafted over his nose and in the past he would've greeted her, but he had no strength nor energy to do so and kept his head hung low. He wasn't expecting her to say much, but her sudden comment dug itself deep into his pelt and his ears laid flat against his head. "Don't patronize me," Curlyfluff grumbled under his breath almost immediately, his shaggy fur growing more and more damp with every passing moment from the chilly mist that had settled over the hillsides. The thunder seemed to be keeping it's distance, for now, but the lightning that it'd brought began to slowly creep towards them, lighting up the sky with quick, sharp flashes every so often. Firefly was his best friend and she would always be, but she couldn't do anything else for him right now and he hoped she understood that.

Was it the rumbling thunder behind clouds that deafened the world around her, was it her own boiling blood roaring in her ears? He had the audacity to not look her in the eyes as he said such irresponsible words, his head never leaving it's miserable hang as the mist slowly turned to tiny droplets of ice-cold rain. He had never spoken to her like this before, no matter how mean she had been to him in return. While he had every right to answer her back in that gruff tone, she did not appreciate it. Not when she was here on behalf of those poor, abandoned kits. The warrior scoffed. "Patronize? No, I've come to confirm that those kits are orphans; you didn't disappoint." A flash of lightning made her flinch, but her stance stood firm, eyes never leaving the curly pelt that she could imagine her claws ripping into.

Her next words were deliberate. They weren't said with love - and they definitely didn't come from the heart because she herself would have ripped someone apart for it - but they sure did drip with purposeful venom. He needed to wake up. "To think Rosethorn gave her life for a love that was never returned. What a waste."

Not moving a muscle, he sat still and involuntarily listened to Firefly's comments about his kits. Her words were sharp against his heart, but she'd never been one to sugarcoat anything and he was able to except the facts of what she said. He had been a horrible father to them. And what she said was true, seeing as though it wasn't like his daughters didn't have the rest of the clan to look after them, at least for the time being. What he couldn't except though, was her last comment, which sent his blood boiling more than he'd ever felt before.

"You shut your mouth!" the curly-coated tom snapped suddenly. Jumping up with his back arched and teeth bared, he met Firefly's olive gaze. His fur stood on end and if his pelt hadn't gotten all soggy from the haze, he probably would've looked even larger than his current scraggly stature showed. "I loved her more than anything and I still do. But you wouldn't get that, would you?" he hissed with ears flat against his head, his words overflowing with bitterness and his eyes filled with an overwhelming sense of anger that he’d never felt before. Her whole life she'd gotten away with being cold and apathetic; with no repercussions. What did she know about love? Every day he worked his tail off to please others, show his clanmates that he cared, and for what? To have his whole life stolen from him in split second? StarClan sure had a cruel way of going about things and he'd had just about enough of it.

Firefly's heart ached as he spat at her, something she had only barely seen once before when they were younger. "Love? Sweetpaw is the spitting image of her mother and you don't even dare breathe in her direction. One would think a lover would cling onto whatever is left, not squander it in favor of pitying himself! You're a coward, Curlyfluff, through and through. Not fit to be a father, and never fit to have ever been involved with Rosethorn." Her voice cracked, eyes stinging as she choked back tears. "She's long dead, yet you continue to kill her!" In one leap, the pent up rage Firefly tried to keep contained exploded into a furry of blows to the poor toms shoulders. Why was he acting like this? Where was the tom she knew and loved? The tom Rosethorn had chosen to raise her children, to spend whatever little time she had left with?!

Firefly used Front Paw Strike on Curlyfluff, dealing 10 damage and costing 7 SP.

"I have tried to be understanding, I really have. But you give me no choice but to be angry not just for Rosethorn's kin, but for Rosethorn herself." Did he not understand that it wasn't just himself that was hurting? That his friends and his family all looked at him with the same sorrow in their hearts because there is nothing they can do - no, nothing he would allow them to do to help? "With ThunderClan as witness, I will beat you until you bleed, my dearest of friends." Every strike she laid onto Curlyfluff felt like an attack against herself. Her harsh words did well to anger him, and she pleaded with StarClan that he would use this opportunity to release whatever it truly was that held him back. Words were of no use when the tom in question refused to use them. Rearing up, Firefly slammed her russet paws onto his head with as much force as her sick body could muster. Perhaps something would start working in that empty skull of his.

Firefly used Thunderous Stomp on Curlyfluff, dealing 4 damage and costing 10 SP.

Curlyfluff: stunned for 1 turn
HP: 51 / 65  (-14)
SP: 130 / 130

Firefly:
HP: 65 / 65
SP: 113 / 130  (-17)

Anger filled his veins as Firefly spoke and he refused to accept anything that she said. Tears began to stream down his face at her sharp words. He loved her and would always love her, so why couldn't he just grieve her in peace? He loved his kits, but every time he looked at them the pain in his heart grew even more. Surely she must feel the same way, at least a little.

The striking of his friend's paws against his curly pelt stung like a thousand bees and his vision became blurred from the tears in his eyes. Before he could maneuver far enough away from her, Firefly struck her paws against his head. With his head slamming onto the ground below, a bright light filled his vision and the pain he'd felt from her claws disappeared as his body grew numb.

Letting out a groan, Curlyfluff did his best to push himself up but his legs felt weak as if he were a newborn kit. "I j-just can't..." he coughed, trying to push out some sort of coherent words while his head spun. "I just can't look at them. They're... they're too m-much like her. Why does StarClan want to torture me so?" the warrior struggled to speak. Tears continued to stream down his maw as he laid in the dirt and he did his best to hold back audible sobs. Firefly... though ever harsh with her words, was one hundred percent right. He was a terrible mate, father, and clanmate. He really was a coward, through and through.

Curlyfluff is stunned.

Curlyfluff
HP: 51 / 65
SP: 130 / 130

Firefly
HP: 65 / 65
SP: 113 / 130