The future's in your paws. Shape it well.Roleplay in a cat Clan of warriors. Based off the Warriors series by Erin Hunter. Takes place in an AU before the cats in the books existed.
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Foxtrot lay nestled in his mossy nest his sister and niece had made for him within the medicine den, his black fur was no longer matted with blood and dirt from the battle that had raged just a few sunrises ago. His injuries, sustained in the war, throbbed with a dull ache, the unmistakable scent of infection hung heavy in the air.
When the first wave of sadness was over, they had all accepted the inevitable. Foxtrot had tried to bear it happily, had tried to keep his spirits up, putting away grief and trying to make his last moments as happy as possible. The first week or so after the battle were indeed happy ones. Foxtrot would often comment on how nice it was to see everyone, to have people visit him, with Mistflower coming to stay with him, Thymelight allowing him to help organize herbs, Stoneheart assisting patients near by. It was here he felt the closest to his family than he had in moons.
He was thankful for the peaceful times, that period of time gave them time to prepare for the inevitable sad hours to come. Soon, Foxtrot said the herbs were too heavy and put them down forever. Talking made him tired, faces made his head swim, pain was claiming him as its own, and his once bright spirit was tarnished by the infection that had contaminated his flesh.
What came next were the heavy days, the long nights filled with aching hearts and silent prayers to Starclan. On these nights the pain was so great he cried for his ancestors to take him. When his loved ones were forced to hear him cry yet not be able to help.
The heavy days were followed by a renaissance of peace. With his body at the climax of fragility, Foxtrot's soul brightened and strengthened.
He would request Mistflower stay with him, he always felt his strongest with her at his side.
As he gazed out of the den entrance to the moon with clouded eyes, he smiled. Mistflower was asleep beside him, he wrapped his tail around her and pressed in just a little closer, "More than anyone in the world. I thought I would never be able to let you go. But...I will always be with you. I love you." he croaked, his voice barely a whisper.
The night grew colder, the sky grew darker. He clung to Mistflower, tears falling on his cheeks.
In the hour before dawn, Foxtrot quietly drew his last breath, and with one last loving look, passed.
Subject: Re: we'll always be good company - open death topic Sun 3 Mar 2024 - 22:58
002
All Hail SkyClan's Resident Disney Princess
thymelight
No matter how your heart is grieving, if you keep on believing.
Seeing her uncle in such pain caused Thymelight’s heart to throb every single day. She was constantly forced to swallow it down and put on a smile in his presence. It was her job to act as a form of comfort for her Clanmates, especially those that were kept in her den because of their injuries. She made sure that her aura was light and sweet as she paraded around camp and the medicine den to perform her duties when all eyes were on her, but when she curled up in her nest to sleep when the sun sank below the horizon line, she let the tears that had threatened to escape all day fall freely down her cheeks and stain her paws. The aftermath of war lived on, and it refused to be quenched no matter how hard she and her Clanmates tried to move forward. Flashbacks of that horrible day seemed to haunt her throughout the day, and there was nothing that Thymelight could do but take it all in stride and act braver than she actually was.
The day was only beginning, and the first light of dawn hadn’t infiltrated the camp walls quite yet. Thymelight embraced any bit of rest she was able to get, but she had felt rather uneasy that night. The air in the medicine den had felt colder and desolate, but she had managed to close her eyes and drift off into sleep anyway. She decided not to complain about her body waking her up so early. Her slumber had been tormented by nightmares and anxieties, and she wanted to step away from such horrors until the following night. The she-cat stretched briefly as she stepped out of her nest and took a quick glance around the medicine den. Her eyes landed on Kit and Mistflower who were comfortably sharing a nest. It warmed her heart to see just how much her uncle was cared for, and she was glad that they appeared to be sleeping more peacefully than she had. The bi-colored medicine cat admired them for a few more moments before her soft, adoring smile slowly faded into a frown of concern. Mistflower’s flank rose and fell as she breathed, but Foxtrot’s flank was still… eerily still.
Her blood ran cold as she took a couple of unsteady steps forward. She had seen such a thing before. She had determined whether a fallen cat was alive or dead in the midst of battle based on whether or not she could see them breathing, and the cats that were too motionless were confirmed to be dead moments later. She remembered how relieved she had felt when her uncle had walked out of the fight alive, but it had never occurred to her that cats could still die of their injuries in the following days. No, what was she saying? Her uncle was alive. He was just asleep, that was all. Thymelight paused once she reached Kit’s side and stared down at his lifeless form once again, practically squinting in an attempt to see what wasn’t there. Bile collected in her throat and her heart dropped down to her stomach. Her body fought her brain as her limbs remained rigid and her head began to spin and throb.
“Kit? Hello? Wake up, please, I have some herbs for you.” Thymelight had never sounded so desperate in her life as she bent down to press her nose into her uncle’s fur. There was no steady heartbeat there to greet her. Still, the she-cat found herself drowning in the denial of grief.
“Please? Please, please, please… you’ll die without these herbs, please let me give them to you. Stars, please.” Her voice was quiet and scarily calm as she begged her uncle to awaken, and begged the stars even harder to spare his life and return him to her. There was no comforting response to greet her prayers, and there was no further movement to signify life. Thymelight went silent for a few heartbeats. The medicine den was so quiet in those few painful moments that she could’ve heard a leaf drop to the ground with ease. In fact, she would’ve gratefully greeted any noise that decided to disturb the nightmare that she had woken up to… but she was left with nothing but the sound of her own thoughts. Just like that day by the river, her vision became misty as tears filled her eyes and started to drop to the ground.
And then she screamed.
It was a horrific, earsplitting shriek that could quite possibly be heard in all corners of the forest. She wasn’t quite sure how long she screamed for, maybe it was only for a few heartbeats and maybe it was for days, but she couldn’t even hear her own voice over the sound of her violent heartbeat. The medicine cat was cut off by a brutal coughing fit as heavy sobs started to wrack her entire body and she collapsed to the ground beside her uncle in a fit of weakness.
Foxtrot was the only cat in the entire forest that Thymelight was truly related to by blood. She had spent moons upon moons watching her Clanmates call each other their kin, and even though she knew that she had her sisters Sorrelmist, Ploverpaw, and Bubblebeam, they weren’t related by blood. They were the closest thing that she had ever had to biological littermates, and she was so grateful for their presence everyday, but there were often times where she would still look at her reflection in the puddles left in the territory after a rainstorm and see nothing but a cat trying so hard to fit in and failing every single time. When she spent time with her uncle, she didn’t feel that way. She felt as if she was a part of something…
…but now she had nothing. Nobody.
All of her fears had been confirmed that morning. She truly was an outsider now, and there was absolutely nothing she could do about it.
“STARS, WHAT DID I DO WRONG?!” She looked up toward the sky as she screamed through her tears. “PLEASE! I’M SORRY… PLEASE STOP!” Thymelight pleaded with the ancestors to have mercy on her. Were they punishing her? Had she done something to inflict their wrath? This wouldn’t be the first time that she had witnessed StarClan’s anger firsthand, but she was confused. She had never once condemned the stars, but she had constantly been confused by their motives and their methods of punishment and justice, and perhaps they were now aiming at her. If they intended to strike fear into her heart, they had succeeded. She wasn’t too concerned with how many of her Clanmates she had woken up with her screams. At least they had the ability to rise… Foxtrot would never rise again.
Subject: Re: we'll always be good company - open death topic Thu 7 Mar 2024 - 13:12
Thymelight's scream from the medicine den had brought Wolfblossom running, alarm making her fur stand on end. The medicine cat's screech was bloodcurdling, filled with a mix of raw pain and grief and fear. Wolfblossom heart sank as a feeling of dread washed over her. So many of their clanmates were wounded, so many had only just recovered from the sickness and famine... She approached the medicine den, almost terrified of what she might find. A fight perhaps, like the horrific aftermath of what had happened with Bloodstrike, the den coated in blood? Some horrific vision that had terrified the medicine cat beyond belief, of yet more misery to come? No, her friend's wails had been far too visceral for that, and there was no scent of fresh blood to mask the scent of herbs.
The scent of death, however... Wolfblossom's heart squeezed painfully in her chest.
One sweeping glance found the medicine cat collapsed on the ground next to Foxtrot and Mistflower. Thymelight would not have been so distraught if her uncle was recovering from his wounds... And he hadn't been, the knowledge a heavy weight for anyone to bear. Wolfblossom had hoped that the wounds simply needed some time, more herbs than what had been given... But it seemed the medicine cats had done everything they could. Foxtrot's flanks were still, unmoving.
Another clanmate lost to those foxhearts, she thought hollowly. Not directly in battle, but still.
Wolfblossom stepped forward, tears blurring her vision as she pressed against Thymelight's side. Foxtrot had brought her into the clan and raised her. She knew the pain of the loss cut terribly.
"I'm so sorry." Stars, what could she even say? Sorry wouldn't bring him back, sorry wouldn't ease Thymelight or Mistflower's pain. "This wasn't your fault. You did all you could for him."
"I'm so sorry." May the stars light Foxtrot's path.
Subject: Re: we'll always be good company - open death topic Sat 9 Mar 2024 - 9:42
Every day since Foxtrot returned from the war, retiring into the medicine den and not getting any better, Mistflower had felt her heart shatter into enough tiny pieces to match the number of stars in the sky. She loved him with everything she had, she had promised him a safe place to come home to, and she curled up beside him to provide it every time he asked.
She thought she hid her sorrow well, masking it under a soft smile and whispered words of affection, but it threatened to swallow her whole. When she woke, the scent of death was heavy over the den, and she allowed herself a few quiet sobs as her nose pressed gently into his fur. She stayed where she had been, curled into him, for as long as she could.
She spoke, her voice so soft and low that no one else would be able to make out the words.
"Oh, Foxtrot. I love you. I'm sorry I couldn't fight for you, I'm sorry I'm not strong enough, I... I love you. I love you so much, it still it wasn't enough... I'm sorry."
Some things she couldn't bring herself to voice.
You never deserved this.
I never deserved you.
Still, there was no reason to hide that pain now.
Not until Thymelight entered the den, and her scream immediately shattered the silence.
Thymelight--oh, Thymelight; they'd never been close, exactly, but she'd always been fond of the medicine cat, ever since Foxtrot introduced her to little Thyme--and this was as hard for her as it was for Mistflower, surely, if not even more so.
In that moment, never becoming closer with Thymelight was something she added to a long list of regrets.
When she had no more sobs to give, she closed her eyes; then looked up to regard the medicine cat.
"Wolfblossom is right," she spoke softly. "You did everything you could have done."
The sad, bitter thoughts on her mind she swallowed down again; forcing herself to wear that soft smile that had become a mask of its own.
No matter what, none of this was Thymelight's fault. She wouldn't allow her to believe it was.
"You did everything right. I promise."
you never had a chance, you know (incurable romantics never do) —— info.
