Yippee, more crying!(Private)

**gs29513** · #1 July 28th, 2024, 05:40 PM

Deadmoon wasn't sure she had ever felt so absolutely shattered.

She was certain other cats had had it worse. Had seen their entire families killed, maybe, by predators or rival clans or natural disasters. She was sure others had been done dirtier by the fates, but it was hard not to feel like a complete wreck when she had just buried her brother. The younger sibling had buried the older. It wasn't quite like a parent burying their kit, but it was still pretty bad. And Deadmoon wasn't particularly worried about these semantics. She was worried about the fact that her BROTHER was DEAD.

They had finally gotten their crap sorted out to some degree. It had stopped being painful to be around him. It had actually been something to look forward to. And now she was going to have nieces and nephews, ones their father was never going to raise. There were too many things going on, each one worthy of a crying session given Deadmoon's penchant for weeping. There wasn't even anyone to lament too, not that she wanted to anyway. Rookscreech would have listened to her complaints and made enough jokes to have her feeling a bit better, but she was gone. Another reason to despair.

Wolffang, too, might have received her sorrows once. Mostly he had been subjected to her family-related angst, but he had been willing to give hugs whenever needed. That was what she really needed right now. A hug. Something to ground her, make her feel more like a real cat, less like a ghost floating about on the meadow. Her mind was detached, observing her situation with a dispassionate eye. Feeling little, but well aware that much SHOULD be being felt. Laughing at her.

She could go to Snowybreeze, she supposed. But it didn't really feel like she deserved it. Her and Wolffang were stuck with each other and their issues, whether they liked it or not. Rookscreech had been just as messed up as her, equally fragile and just trying to get by emotionally. But Snowy was still so....pure. He had loved, he had lost, and he was still going somehow. This situation wasn't as twisted and mauled as some of Deadmoon's previous issues, but Rosebriar was involved and that alone meant she was angry as well as sad. Never a good mix. Never, never a good mix. No one should have to deal with her like this.

She just didn't want to think, and she wasn't really thinking. Just stumbling back to camp, tripping on things and almost falling, and staring blindly ahead into the darkness as she pushed through the barrier, back into camp.
@Alchemist Kitsune

***Alchemist Kitsune*** · #2 Today, 12:08 AM

A silent sentinel, Snowybreeze had remained vigilant by the camp's entrance shortly after the patrol had left. His vigil served double purpose here. There might be a coyote on the loose, and while he had admittedly never seen one, he had been taught how to fight one. Knew how to defend. And he would rather die than let some rabid killer destroy his home. His friends. Then there was the... anxiety of it all. The waiting. For his friend to return. For his clanmates to come back home safe.

He could smell her before he saw her, his nose ever the tattletale. Mismatched ears perked up, hoping against hope that perhaps Twistedpaw had seen it all wrong. That Wolffang had managed to get away. But the scents betrayed that knowledge before it was told to him, and as Deadmoon burst through the camp's entrance tunnel, fur in disarray, eyes looking far more lost than he had ever imagined her possible, he took in a sharp breath. He was dead. The massive, gray tom was dead. Oh stars... was he... was he Deadmoon's remaining family? Was he all the pale warrior had left in the clan?

No. No that wasn't true. She had him. Even if she didn't know it. Even if she didn't see him as family, he could never stop seeing her as such. Snowybreeze would stay with her. Comfort her while it... got easier. Because it never left. Not really. He still felt it. The sting of Berryfrost's death. But she hadn't left him to suffer it alone, and he would never, ever allow her to go through that pain by her lonesome either. Unless... of course, she asked. Which... you know... He couldn't really deny her if she really wanted to be alone. But! He would still linger. Distantly! Making sure he was paying attention to her wants while also making sure she was alright!

Cautiously he approached his former mentor, an apologetic, understanding look on his face. She didn't need to say anything. And there was nothing he could say. Because words weren't enough. An I'm sorry would not convey the heaviness of this loss. It would amount to nothing in the face of what had happened here. Instead, the tom sat, raising his two forelimbs as he attempted to wrap his paws around the smaller she-cat. Envelop her in much needed comfort. To let her know that he was here, silently in wait until she needed to talk.

@gs29513 [Deadmoon]