Warrior Cats Online - View Single Post

**dino.** · #**1975** February 2nd, 2024, 09:42 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by tallulah

Redhawk
She/they | 29 moons | Ultimate Predator • The Collector • Kitty Softpaws [inactive]

The way Wolfpaw surged forward, pushing himself into her fur... Redhawk stared blankly at the both of them. "W-Wolfpaw, I-.". Bumblestar was dead. Violetfreckle was dead. Mapleface... Anger flared in her chest again, though it was quickly snuffed right back out. A loud voice somewhere near her (Mudhound?) spoke and suddenly paws were pulling her away (...she was dangerous, not trusted). She had allowed this to happen by not killing Mapleface in the first place. Without a sound she stumbled back from the pull, falling back onto her haunches.

And then Violetfreckle was up. She was... wait? Alive? Coughing and sputtering. Moving closer to Bumblestar. Who was also... up. Alive? (of course, she was a leader). She was hugging her son in close with her nose pressed into Violet's fur. Then Bumblestar's eyes found hers and everything stopped, her blood freezing to ice. Pale green eyes searched for the anger she knew the leader must have with her, but there was none (or was it just that the reality of them was too difficult for her to recognize?). Her leader was angry - she had to be. Red had failed and in the process caused the greatest leader ThunderClan had seen in moons to loose a life.

She was a coward.

Faintly aware of a Clanmate (she couldn't tell who) coming to take the body away, Redhawk just sat there and stared blankly. Her pale chest fur was still covered in crimson blood, splatters on her muzzle and face from when Maple had been killed. "I...I..." Her words were weak, barely audible even to herself as she swallowed and tried to steady her already racing heart. Inside her chest she could feel her heart ripping clean in two - anger on one side, guilt and grief on the other.

Getting to her paws, albeit shakily, Redhawk finally tore her gaze away from the scene, unable to look anymore (she didn't want to find the betrayal she knew was there, that had to be there). Instead she just looked numbly at her paws. It was difficult to discern what was fur and what was blood - and for the briefest moment, a flash that made her breath hitch in her throat, she saw her claws out, crimson droplets falling from them, before it vanished.

"I-I'm sss-sorry, Bumblestar. I sss-should've... sss-should've..." It was all she could manage to say in a strained voice. Head down, eyes on her paws. Maybe if she stayed extra still... StarClan could finish the job and take her out as well.

[ @dino. @Rani @BEAR. ]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rani

Be strong. Be strong. Be strong.

The mantra felt like the only thing holding Mudhound up along with their complete denial that Bumblestar wouldn’t come back as the situation continued to grow more insane.

Idly they noticed Fernwillow gathering the kits and felt greatful, they’d be doing it themself if they were not wholly focused on the corpse of their dead sister and further distracted by violetfreckle coming back to life?!?
The tripod yelped even as their mind raced trying to figure things out. The Molly had been dead not even dying dead and this wasn’t a sudden salvation move by Drizzlecloud but resurrection. Mudhound has not seen that in a cat not a leader and things clicked into place. This was why Bumblestar had died wasn’t it. She’d given a life for Violetfreckle, somehow. The warrior would be shocked about this later, for now they were busy being strong for everyone and tried to reassure the frantic tabby “Bumblestar will come back give her time. She wouldn’t blame you Vi.” Suppose Violetfreckle had a nickname now like many did even if Mudhound doubted she’d really hear over the hysteria.

The group just had to wait and wait Mudhound would, assured by Drizzleclouds certainty.

This was eventually rewarded by Bumblestar coming back to life and promptly ‘sorting’ the lingering chaos. Mapleface was dead, Violetfreckle lived, Bumblestar lived. Mudhound promptly snapped, no longer having to be strong and started sobbing.

Their breath shuttered in their chest, great watery tears streaming down and a head was summarily rammed into Bumblestars flank, a tail brushing over Violetfreckles. “I thought we lost you! Don’t ever do that again that was way too scary you idiots!” Pot kettle yes we know don’t be mean Mudhounds nose was starting to clog up with how hard they were crying, not even noticing the rat being taken away. “No more getting killed! It’s not ok! An- and will you two stop dancing around eachother now!?! It’s also stupid!” Bumblestar and Violetfreckle were luckily spared any more public revelations that basically everyone knew they were head over tail for eachother and after witnessing them dying on and for eachother were sick of them not actually being together however. As Mudhounds bawling had turned to incoherent blubbering as they soaked a patch of their siblings fur and used Redhawk as a crutch to keep their weak legs standing.

@dino. @vellichor @tallulah

Quote:

Originally Posted by eris

Springpaw
long-furred, oriental-shaped, gray-and-orange calico molly with blue eyes; torn right ear
purrks: herbal knowledge - tier 2 | the collector | mind reader | skip the steps[all perm. active; sts for battle training]

Everything was a blur. Voices were growing numb; into a vast nothingness of white noise. Each of her five senses felt like they were giving out on her, growing weaker and weaker by every passing second. Her vision barely foretold the figures of her clan-mates crowding the high ranks, only setting her eyes on the sights of pools of crimson gushing out from Violetfreckle’s exposed throat and feeling her paws growing dampened by the gushing of scarlet that stained her fur. Her emotions felt toyed; almost as if they were being tugged upon by reckless heartstrings. Her heart grew hollow, but quickly rejoiced with life as her eyes finally regained focus on the present.

A sudden splash of scarlet streaked across her young eyes, the young latter’s youthful eyes turning wide as the unspeakable unforetold right in front of her. Her throat clenched and squeezed as words restrained her voice, unable to escape as fear quelled her stomach. The blood pooled the naturally porcelain-white snow, smearing it a deep strawberry red.

Her muscles clenched; her jaws quivering, a shade of helplessness slid itself up her spine and grasped itself onto her shoulders with its spindly fingers. Frightened, sapphire blue orbs watched as Bumblestar stumbled, her eyes suddenly lifeless, and then dropped dead. Almost as if some foreign force had come and gone to finish its job by mercilessly killing the leader with zero remorse. Silence had ticked by for a moment, her brain finally processing the inevitable situation that had foretold right in front of her as her own leader‘s—no, her own aunt’s blood began to pool the already-stained snow, covering it with a fresh layer of blood. Tick tock. Tick tock. Tick tock. Tick tock.

Realization grasped onto her rather quickly, her lips quivering at a futile attempt to try speaking but to no avail. Drizzlecloud’s attempt at being comforting brought her no remorse. The acrid stench of blood that had been lingering around her nostrils was already too much for the young molly to bear, attacking at her system without any hesitation. Her panic began to rise, her breaths growing shallow as her mind grew hazed. No, not hazed. Her thoughts were jumbled, tangled, unfiltered. She failed. Again. The death of another clan-mate felt pressured onto her shoulders. Guilt and regret flourished into her veins, her body finally regaining momentum after being ignorant to the hard traces of reality for so long. Her limbs grew weak as she felt as if each strangling emotion was bursting at the seams. Confusion. Hurt. Anger. Springpaw couldn’t make sense of her stumbling thoughts, but she found herself moving subconsciously towards the group, hesitance drawing within each step.

“B… B-Bumbles?” Her voice quivered, the single, pleading word expressing past her lips as sorrow overcame her frame. She didn’t know what to think. What to do, even. She just saw Bumblestar die from some unforeseen force, the horror from the scene alone only making her feel more hopeless than the last. The name Bumbles had been drawn towards her by instinct; feeling as if stating her full name would feel foreign and wrong on her tongue. Bumbles was a proper choice for now. At least, in her eyes it was. She looked… so lifeless. Gone. Something in her chest felt tight, like a vice squeezing her heart, stealing the precious air out of her lungs. She wanted to draw closer, to see if Bumbles was truly gone. “Bumbles… if you-”

Then the unspeakable happened. Her aunt finally stirred, the life redrawing back into her body like a phoenix rising from the ashes it created to rebirth itself. The same could be equally said for Violetfreckle, but the calico bore no attention towards that, only hawkishly observing the situation happening right in front of her. Throughout her entire life, Springpaw never witnessed anything as remarkable as a leader coming back alive after losing a life. It was regretful to think of such an extraordinary incident as something as highly as remarkable, when it should be worrisome. She didn’t know how many lives Bumbles held in store, but she didn’t want to impulsively ask out of curiosity. Bumbles was alive and well, and that was what she needed to draw her attention towards.

Words had clamped in her throat, pitifully falling as her brain pitifully scrambled for the right things to say. A part of her wanted to sob; another wanted to curse at the stars for their mockery for the living and treating lives like they were a game of chess. Her expression turned stoic, glassy sapphire eyes glancing up towards the sky. For once, the brittle sun was shining against the bleak clouds, and the snow brightened its rays tenfold. It may be a sign of hope, but Springpaw only felt her jaw clench against the heady feeling of betrayal sitting deep in her stomach. She was no delusional fool to believe their constant mockery. They may be her ancestors, but there wasn’t any way that she was going to say anything towards the bleeding burning skies above that’ll quench their desires.

Letting loose a sigh through gritted teeth, the calico molly finally focused her attention towards Bumbles, her emotions turning turmoil as her stomach quenched and churned with the restless tension that unfolded over her. “You’re… you’re alive… I thought…” she thought what, exactly? Did she think that she was going to be gone forever? Embarrassment at its finest, she suspected. She couldn’t focus on everything else at the moment, merely focusing on her leader for a brief moment before finally turning towards her mentor, noting the matching streaks crimson staining their naturally pale fur. Another wash off was going to be needed, she supposed.

@dino. @Omari @vellichor @/whoever else

Quote:

Originally Posted by vellichor

•° Violetfreckle °•
Rapid Recovery • Collector • Master Scout
It took too long, far too long. She could barely make out the sights and sounds of other distressed cats -- Wolfpaw, Redhawk, and Mudhound to name the few she knew at least decently well. Their wails and cries had echoed her own, but now she was focused on listening for the faintest sounds of life. Bumblestar's chest was still and silent until she heard a heartbeat. And then, she lifted her head and began to stand.

Dizzy with relief, Violetfreckle let out a sigh, then a choked sob. She willed herself desperately to hold it all in, for just a few moments. To show the overwhelming crowd of cats that all was fine. She put on a brave face and stood up as well, nearly falling over when Bumblestar pressed her head into Violet's shoulder. Another, smaller sob escaped her. She had to stop herself. "I did too," she tired to let out a light-hearted chuckle, but it fell flat. She was shaking, still taken aback by everything that had happened in... it had to be just a minute or two, max. Alive, dead, then alive again.

She shook her head and as Bumblestar reassured Wolfpaw, Redhawk, and Mudhound, all she could do was nod. Her gaze was fixed somewhere in the distance, her thoughts torn between cycling through what she'd experienced and forcibly repressing what she'd experienced. She was brought back to the present by Bumblestar leaning against her shoulder. She caught the other tabby's words and felt herself choke up. It was Violetfreckle's turn to press her forehead into the leader's shoulder, if only to ground herself for one moment.

At the softer words, Violetfreckle looked back up and shook her head. She hadn't realized it, but it was just her throat wound that had been miraculously healed. Her scratches were still there, just a few crisscrossing her pelt. What was worse was her leg -- the bone was still broken, and as the adrenaline wore off from, well, dying, she found it hard to stand again. She managed to sit back down, not-so gracefully. The crowd was starting to become too much. "I think I wanna lay down." The words were spoken softly, almost a plea.

// @dino. -- mentioned characters: @BEAR. @tallulah @Rani \\

Skunkfire took the corpse away. Good, Bumblestar didn't want to look at it anymore. Hopefully it ended up where she wanted it, away from familiar territory to rot without honor.

Redhawk's voice would have been enough to break her heart if her focus weren't elsewhere. Bumblestar shook her head once, muttering, "Worryin' about what you should've done never helps anyone."

Mudhound's sudden assault was enough to make her stagger and lose her balance. She managed to catch herself on unsteady paws and shot her sibling an irritated look, harsh words primed, but Mudhound's distress had her swallowing them before she could speak. "It won't be happenin' again," she grunted, standing awkwardly as Mudhound practically sobbed on her. Those were the terms and she doubted she could break them. "Q-quit cryin', I'm fine now, I don't see what the-"

'Stop dancing around each other.' Bumblestar shut her mouth and glanced over at Violetfreckle. The subsequent sob made her brow pinch in concern, Mudhound's comment shoved to the back of her mind immediately, and she leaned up to press her nose to the side of Violetfreckle's face as she glanced her over.

"...Your leg, it's still- medicine den, now." She pulled away from Wolfpaw and Mudhound, slipping back into business. "Drizzlecloud, Springpaw, you too, need your help."

Springpaw was terribly bloodied. Bumblestar supposed that was her fault. Oops.

[ @Omari ]