| Dapplebreeze | 69 Moons - WindClan Fury Lieutenant
Agatha Kitty - Active | Silver Tongue - Active | Beefed Up [Tier 3] - Inactive
Silent, round paws padded through the meadows, sorrowful eyes keeping to the stars as the WindClan fury made the rounds, ensuring everything was at peace in the clan's territory. She did not enjoy this. The solitude. Not today. It made her feel the loss of her darling Brightpaw all the more soundly.
Was the young paw lost to the stars now, she wondered, or did she walk among them? Dapplebreeze wasn't so self centered as to believe that it was her fault. That some singular action she had made had somehow scared the apprentice away. But she couldn't help wonder once more if she had missed the signs? If perhaps she was too soft on her apprentices? A silly notion in her eyes. How could a cat that had disowned her own son due to his failings be too soft now?
She knew better now, though. Didn't she? How his failings had merely been her own naive views of the world blinding her. Partly. The mate he had chosen, that despicable kittypet... she had proved her worth. Had betrayed the clan and gotten rightfully exiled for it. Not even exiled, really. There had been an order to kill on sight. After having attempted to murder her own kit, there was nothing else to be done. But... she hadn't judged her based on that. And instead she found herself sitting now in the starlight. Mourning those she had lost.
| Open |
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Lightningstorm is WindClan's current medicine cat.
She has a semi-closed den policy.
Rabbitpaw listened with a slight frown as he looked around some more. He knew that they were dead...or umm... or gone. What Rabbitpaw had been asking was where their bodies were buried, so that he could visit them properly. Perhaps they would even come down to visit him and mama if they visit their graves or something. The apprentice wasn't too sure how Starclan worked, but maybe the kits were too little to remember who mama was and they never met Rabbitpaw so going to their grave to introduce himself was a smart thing to do right. He blinked his green eyes and moved his gaze from the field up to his mom's eyes. A baby brother? That sounded nice, Rabbitpaw was one of the youngest and then everyone... he doesn't have any younger siblings but he wouldn't mind having one. "That sounds nice mama! Vixenkit, that's a nice name. Did you find him like how you found me?" The Young apprentice asked, curious, he was very little and he doesn't remember when Quailheart picked him up all too well to be entirely honest. Though he decided that he should ask his other question as well, "I was wondering where Sweetkit, Wispkit, Sparrowkit, and Nectarkit are buried... they died before I was around right? I need to say hi to them when did you last visit them mama?"
| Snowybreeze | 26 Moons - WindClan Warrior
Heightened Perception [Smell] - Active | Rapid Recovery - Inactive | The Collector - Inactive | Not Skiddin' Around - Active
Night time was always a time of self reflection for the young warrior, sky blue eyes up towards the stars as they shone and glimmered up above in the cloudless sky. He didn't approach the meadows often. An unshakable guilt always took over him whenever he did. But today he brought gifts. Two flowers. One for his beloved. The other for the father-in-law he had lost. Berryfrost and him had been inseparable. Friends before love had ever bloomed between them. They had become apprentices the same day... had been there for each other through thick and thin. Until the day she died. It brought into perspective just how worthless of an addition he had been in her life...
The breeze ruffled the quiet tom's fur as he left the first bloom upon her grave. He no longer cried at the thought of her. His eyes no longer growing misty and blinking extensively. He... hadn't moved on. He'd found it impossible to. How did one simply forget the cat one loved? Especially after not having been able to live up to the sort of mate she had deserved. Only the best... something Snowybreeze would never be able to accomplish. And yet he felt drawn here once in a while. If only to let her know he had not forgotten her. How else was she to know, after all?
The Maine Coon mix did not speak. He never really did. Not unless forced. Never speak unless spoken to. No one wanted to hear what he had to say for the most part. That was one of the rules of his very existence. A rule that Berryfrost had not been particularly pleased with and vowed to make sure he shook off whenever he was around her. But what could he say now, other than I'm sorry? And what meaning could it possibly carry when he was still alive instead of her?
Dipping his head in solemn farewell, the giant stood, paws heavily leading him towards the next grave. More recently fallen, but just as forgotten it felt of late. WindClan was like the wind in that way, he supposed. Whatever was lost was carried away with the breeze, even the memory of them. Fallownose had been a great deputy, and yet it sometimes felt as if only Twilightstar still remembered him. He knew she must. She hadn't picked a new deputy for a reason, and whoever was picked would have big paws to fill.
A sigh escaping him, Snowybreeze dipped his head once more, depositing his second flower on the gray tom's grave. Another rush of guilt consumed him as he remembered the lost look in the deputy's eyes the last time he had seen him. Attempted to speak to him. The feline had ignored him, but he hadn't blamed him. Like the younger warrior, he had lost Berryfrost as well. Had lost a daughter. And not long after the tom's mate had gone missing. A sting the pale cat could very well understand.
He wasn't much use to anyone. That much he understood. But... maybe... If he had paid more attention, perhaps Fallownose's loss could have been made to feel less lonely. To remind the deputy that he still had some family within the clan, even if it was just... well... him. He wouldn't have gone off to the border all alone. Wouldn't have been ambushed and killed. Yet another failure on his part, he supposed. Stars alive... With his track record, it would be a miracle if he was even allowed into Silverpelt at all.
| Just a post of Snowybreeze visiting his family at Starry Meadows, but open if anyone wants to talk to him. |
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Lightningstorm is WindClan's current medicine cat.
She has a semi-closed den policy.
Rabbitpaw listened with a slight frown as he looked around some more. He knew that they were dead...or umm... or gone. What Rabbitpaw had been asking was where their bodies were buried, so that he could visit them properly. Perhaps they would even come down to visit him and mama if they visit their graves or something. The apprentice wasn't too sure how Starclan worked, but maybe the kits were too little to remember who mama was and they never met Rabbitpaw so going to their grave to introduce himself was a smart thing to do right. He blinked his green eyes and moved his gaze from the field up to his mom's eyes. A baby brother? That sounded nice, Rabbitpaw was one of the youngest and then everyone... he doesn't have any younger siblings but he wouldn't mind having one. "That sounds nice mama! Vixenkit, that's a nice name. Did you find him like how you found me?" The Young apprentice asked, curious, he was very little and he doesn't remember when Quailheart picked him up all too well to be entirely honest. Though he decided that he should ask his other question as well, "I was wondering where Sweetkit, Wispkit, Sparrowkit, and Nectarkit are buried... they died before I was around right? I need to say hi to them when did you last visit them mama?"
Quailheart's soft brown gaze met Rabbitpaw's, and she smiled slightly as she thought about Vixenkit. A lovely little baby for sure. "Similarly, dear. His mama died, so I took him in. He has three paws, and wants to be a tunneler." She purred, sore tail giving one flick to shoo away an approaching ladybug. But the Pain Pain thinking about her other kits had her smile being forced. Eyes were somber, but she was happy to be with Rabbitbaby anyway. Brown tinted paws shifted as she rose to her paws, a jab of unsteadiness overtaking her legs and lightheadedness clouding her thoughts for a moment before she managed to overcome it for the most part. She didn't want to dry heave now. Never, actually. But especially not now. So with a soft chirrup she nuzzled her cream pelted adoptee. "Of course we can see them." She reassured, looking over to where their Graves were. Before she got sick she had visited them often."Right over there, baby." Quailheart mewed, turning and plodding toward the burial site of her beloved kits. She looked down at the Graves forlorn for a moment,, before swiveling her head to face Rabbitpaw. "Right here. This ones Wispkit, This is Dustykit, right here's Sweetkit." She informed. "Nectarpaw and Sparrowswoop... I don't know where they are. But they were a warrior and an apprentice, love." Quailheart turned back to the graves with a faltered smile that she forced to perk up again..
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@/Dolomedes
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:3
isla, Alec, Bean, phantom, Morrigan, Dolomedes, Marigoldwhisper, and iliri all reside in here. They will never escape :>
For the longest time, silence ruled. It encompassed all, a quiet presence but unyielding. There was darkness, there was a sense of four other specks in this endless void, a bond forged from death, unbroken even by life. It existed, and it did not. It both lasted forever, and it was the mere blink of an eye. One moment, there was nothing.
The next, a gasp, a desperate inhale, air filling previously empty lungs. Something bright filtering through the soil. Something thudding fast inside. Speeding up. What was happening? What was this? Limbs flailed, tiny ivory claws digging through the rain-moistened soil. Suffocating, no air to breathe. The earlier drizzle had cleared by now, but a desperate race for life had begun as a paw reached for safety. A gasp as the kitten crawled free, dirt-browned paw landing on the flower that had been placed on her mother's grave not so long ago, the energy seeping out as exhaustion hit.
[ Spiritual Encounter Active ]
And so Berryfrost bore witness to her wish coming to life, a force beyond StarClan granting the desperate plea she'd made when seeing Snowybreeze, her mate, her love, so alone, so bereft. It was... frankly not the prettiest of sights, but a mother would never find any flaws in her children. Five kittens, dirt-covered and shivering, both new and familiar, and everything in between. For a minute, Berryfrost watched them, heart in her throat, eyes misty with tears, heart swelling with love.
Still, she only had a little time. No matter how much it hurt to leave them there, Berryfrost turned to go after her former mate. These grounds where she'd been buried, these lands she hadn't visited often before her death because they'd only just moved camps after the fire. Chasing after her mate's distant figure, Berryfrost only slowed upon nearing him, her paws faltering. "Snowybreeze..." She whispered, voice wavering. Guilt threatened to overtake her for dumping this on him. Her longing had brought this. What if he didn't want it, what if she was shoving a burden onto him instead of a reason for happiness?
A string was tugging at her heart, and Berryfrost realized she was running out of time. She was being called back to StarClan, her glowing form flickering in and out. A candle being doused. "Snowybreeze, I..." The pale molly's words cut off as she gasped softly, rushing up to him, wanting, yearning to press herself into his side. Pretending that she could. Pretending that he could hold her one last time.
A desperate fantasy.
"I'm so sorry-" She began rambling. "So sorry for leaving and not knowing and- and- you're all alone and I hate seeing you all alone and I waited and waited to see if you'd be happier but you're so sad Snowybreeze and IloveyouandithurtsandImissyou." Tears dripped down her face, dissolving into nothing as they hit the grass. A reminder that she did not exist on this plane.
"I don't w-want you to be all a-alone, Snowybreeze. I-" Her words cut out as she faded out of existence for a moment, and then reappeared duller and weaker than before. "-Kits." Her peppered form flickered again, panic rife in her eyes. Her time was running out, and if the kits weren't found in time, she wasn't sure if they would survive. She wasn't sure if Snowybreeze had ever suspected. "I'm so s-sorry for springing t-this on you, Snowybreeze. I was expecting kits when I.. died, and I- I didn't want t-them never to live. They deserve to have a life, even without m-me, so I... I wished for it." She rasped out.
"It d-doesn't make sense, I know, but they're alive, they're-" Her head whipped around, mismatched eyes glancing back in the direction of Starry Meadow. "They're there, Snowybreeze. By my... grave." The words were hard to say, the truth harder to swallow. Something she'd always wanted - to raise kits. Something she'd never be able to have. But her countenance was bright, with hope. "I hope..." Her eyes were soft, with love, with longing, with sadness. "I hope they'll bring you happiness."At least, she hoped they'd make him happier than he had been.
"I love you so much, but I will never hold it against you if you find another to love. Please know that, Snowynose." She breathed softly, the nickname her very own version a term of endearment, and then disappeared. Back on the StarClan plane, Berryfrost stared down at her family, heart breaking with want. She wanted to be down there, with them, wanted to be-
A flash of white, briefly blinding, and then Berryfrost was elsewhere, mind fuzzy with confusion as the curse took hold. Where was she? What had she been doing? It felt like something important, something she could not remember. The eggshell-colored molly sat there, staring blankly at the sway of grass in the breeze. What was so important she needed to remember, but could not?
| Snowybreeze | 28 Moons - WindClan Warrior
Heightened Perception [Smell] - Active | Rapid Recovery - Inactive | The Collector - Inactive | Not Skiddin' Around - Active
The lonesome night did not respond for the longest time. He didn't expect it to, but considering how little he came to visit - his guilt ever present - Snowybreeze couldn't bear to simply leave. The silence was cold, looming on him awkwardly and frostily despite the warmth of the greenleaf breeze. And he deserved it. He deserved that spiteful cold shoulder after all his failings. And yet, even in his acceptance of this, it seemed that he was clinging on to some need for forgiveness. To some hope that a pair of mismatched eyes was on him despite how undeserving of the attention he was.
A scent he hadn't felt in seasons now wafted over his eternally oversensitive nose, making it twitch desperately as if hoping to never let go. A ghost of a scent, he was certain. She was gone. That much he knew. Making his eyes grow impossibly round when he heard her melodious voice calling out his name, an instant reaction earned as he swiveled his head swiftly to meet her, sky blue eyes piercing azure and green.
"B-Berry...frost..."
The name left his tongue heavily. In disbelief. By instinct he ran to her, wanting nothing more than to wrap his massive paws around her. Never let her go. Never let her be alone again. A hopeless dream. Her starry pelt made sure to keep him grounded in reality. A choking feeling that left him desperate and wordless. Blessed by her presence and cursed by his inability to be there for her. Comfort her. Stars above... she looked as beautiful as he remembered her. Even as she broke it. The Berry Law. Apologies escaping her before he could speak, her words confusing him so much he could almost not keep up.
"I-I. I love you. Too," he stammered out, unable to help himself even as she spoke, needing to let her know that he always would... that he would never doubt her love for him again... even if he would never resent her for finding someone better up in the stars. He was not worth the wait, he understood as much.
He felt horrible the longer she spoke. Had she come down here for him? Had he made her feel forced to come cheer him up. Stars, he truly was the worst mate in the world, wasn't he? To think that she was the one who had departed from this world... and he somehow had the gall to make her feel guilty over it somehow? Inconceivable! Unacceptable! Oh, he would never outlive this monstrous selfishness he had obviously displayed here today! Yes! He would take any punishment she saw fit for him! Even the unborn kits that she'd carried when she'd die- No wait... Hold up. Can we back up and repeat that one?!
"K-Kits?!" Snowybreeze squeaked, a mixture of complete shock and sorrow for the little ones he would never know lacing his voice.
It was automatic. He followed her gaze without question, anxiety gripping his heart when he noticed her fading away. No. No no no. Please no. It wasn't enough. He knew it was greedy and selfish. That it served no point but to heal his broken heart. But stars above him... he couldn't bear to part with her again!
In his anguish he almost missed it. The meaning behind her words. Because... golly... They weren't complex in and of themselves, but the meaning behind them. Kits? Their kits?! Alive! H-how could this be? Was she... was she so desperate to give their kits life that she willed them into existence?! Snowybreeze couldn't help it. His heart swelled with love for his beloved Berryfrost. So kind and selfless of a mother she was, that instead of wishing for life for herself... instead of willing StarClan to save her, she gave it all for her kits.
No. Not her kits. Their kits. Both of them. And they were there. Just beyond his sight. But he could smell them. O dear Silverpelt he could smell them. They carried her scent. And the unmistakable scent of dirt. Of the meadows around them. Their birth might have been... unexplainable, but they were WindClan cats. They were their little ones. His little ones. And he would love them. And cherish them. Now and forever. He didn't need to see them to know. And they would know. By the stars they would know. How much their mother loved them. So much so that she ensured they would make it home even from the stars.
"There could. Never be. A doubt. They are. Our kits. Ours. They will. Be the. Berry coolest. Of all the kits. In WindClan. Make everyone. So very. Very happy. And glad to meet them," Snowybreeze whispered, broad head turned to his beloved, eyes glimmering with nothing more than the deepest of adorations for the cat he'd loved more than he was aware was possible to love.
Her response made his heart skip a beat, and closing his eyes, he shook his head furiously. No. Never. He could never. How could he even consider loving another, when she had done this... this miraculous feat... Not for her. For them. For their precious little ones. For him. So he would have a family once more. How could he ever turn his heart away from such a selfless, wondrous one.
Tears stung at the corner of his eyes, the nickname bringing a flood of old memories from a happier time. Coaxing a timid smile that lit up his tear glazed gaze. And then, far too quickly, she was gone. Entirely so. Not even her scent remained. Unable to hold himself, the Maine Coon mix felt the warmth streaming down his cheeks, a wretched sob escaping him as his shoulders shook. Had he imagined it all? Had his desperation been such that he had been able to picture her so vividly in the meadows? He almost believed it... if not for the scent that lingered just beyond his gaze. A scent that was accompanied by a single, pitiful whimper.
It took but that single plea for safety to shake him. To dry the tears from his face. There would be time to mourn his beloved later. For now, there were kits to care for. Their kits. That she had left for him to safekeep.
Gingerly, he approached. A small part of him afraid that it had really all been a dream. An illusion he was still not entirely awake enough to discern from reality. His trepidation proved to be for naught, however, as the closer he got he could see them. The bundle of fur that squirmed about, each kit seemingly trying to get warmth from the next. Oh stars... they were so... so tiny. He would need to take them all home. Now. Thank goodness it was greenleaf and the night was nowhere nearly as cold as it could have been. But still... the nursery would be best. There they would be safe and sound, with plenty of milk to-
Oh...
Oh... Oh no. How would he feed them? Not a single moment as a father and he was already failing his little ones! No no no. Okay... breath. Breath Snowybreeze. Focus. First. Take them home. Then, hopefully have a queen have a merciful heart and feed them. Maybe... maybe he should give them names. Yes. Names. Introducing them to the cat who would foster them while they could eat solids with a name would no doubt go much better than introducing them as Kit One, Two, Three, Four, and Five. That and... these kits. They were special. To him and Berryfrost. It might be selfish, but... he wanted to name them. Name them all names that he knew his mate would have loved herself.
The first to catch his eye was a tiny tom. So reminiscent of his mother there could be no doubt who he was related to. This brought its own fresh wave of memories to mind, times spent with Berryfrost in all stages of life. Their apprentice ceremony as kits. Their bonding as apprentices. His using his new rank as a warrior when he had just been given his name to take her out across the territory in search for little treasures. Treasures like the little ones she had left here today.
"J-Jaggedkit. You are. My tiny. Jaggedkit. My little treasure. Found. Lighting up an. An otherwise. Sorrowful. Lonely day."
The second kit to catch his attention seemed a little bit more like him. Fur white and feathery, with little black dots peppering his face. His heart skipped a beat, the sight of her bringing tears to his eyes once more. There could be no doubt with her. They really were his. A new beginning for him in WindClan. A new family. And he couldn't wait.
"You. Are. My little. Seedkit. My precious. Pinecone. The sturdy, yet beautiful bloom. With you here. We can. All. Have a new life. Together. Be a family. It wouldn't. Be the same. Without. You. I am. Sure."
Tenderly, Snowybreeze ran his tongue over both Jaggedkit's and Seedkit's foreheads, making sure the two of them were nice and warm. Wondering how he would carry them all back. They were so very small. Surely if he could carry so much prey there would be little chance of him not being able to carry his kits to safety. Even as he slowly ensured Jaggedkit and Seedkit came closer, he took note of a second little one that looked just like his beloved. An identical twin for little Jaggedkit. Well... if one was named for the precious jagged rock that Berryfrost had cherished so much, surely it would make sense for the second to be named for the second strange rock he had brought for her during her warrior ceremony. The one that he had brought her to remind her of her beauty and her very, very grand heart. Of how very Berryfrost she would always be.
"Frostkit. Your name. Is Frostkit. Because even though. You and Jaggedkit. Look oh so. Similar. You are. Very much. You. You will always be. You. And I know. You will find. What makes. Frostkit. Be Frostkit. And make. Your place. In the clan. Just like. Your mom. Did."
There were two kits left. Snowybreeze was well aware of this as he took Frostkit under his paw. Making sure he was safe. Two she-kits, from the looks of them. Yet only one gift left... Or... was there? A timid smile on his maw, he poked the mewling one, a little crest of fluff on her head, so feathery and breaking apart the bright, reddish brown and black of her face. Letting the world know she was here with lungs made of whatever powerful material songbirds' lungs were made of.
"You are. Cardinalkit. For the sun. Will never set. Without you. Announcing your presence. To it," he purred, a small huff of a chuckle escaping him as she complained away his name. Everyone was a critic, he supposed. His gaze softening, he added, "You might. Be. A little. Brash. Too earnest. In what. Bothers you. But I think. You will. Always. Use that. Honesty. To lead. Your brothers. And sisters. Onwards. To new horizons."
A small ruffle of her fur with his nose coaxing nothing more than a half hearted complaint followed by a reluctant purr, he grabbed Cardinalkit closer to him, the fluffy she-kit instantly settling among her littermates with ease. One last daughter remained, and the tom nuzzled her lovingly, a small purr escaping him as he whispered, "And you. My precious. Precious little one. Are named. For the. Greatest. Gift. Of all. To name you. Berrykit. Would not. Do. Because. You are not. Her. No. You are. Yourself. But still. Carry. A little bit. Of us. Both. With you. Just like. Your brothers. And sisters.
You. Are Strawberrykit. A sweet. Kit. A wonderful. Kit. Who will. No doubt. Find her place. With her family. Hopefully. Just like. Mom and dad. Did."
Jaggedkit, Seedkit, Frostkit, Cardinalkit and Strawberrykit. Yes. All of them named. All of them unique and individual, but still precious treasures in his hearts for as long as he lived. Nuzzling them all, getting acquainted with their scent, he grabbed them carefully. Making sure to be gentle enough as he made his way through the meadow. Back home where they belonged.
@Rose [Berryfrost - Strawberrykit] | @burntToast [Jaggedkit] | @Omari [Seedkit] | @Dolomedes [Frostkit]
| This was meant to be a small, quick post to get them into the nursery... Oops. |
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Lightningstorm is WindClan's current medicine cat.
She has a semi-closed den policy.
Re: Starry Meadow
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