ShadowClan Medicine Cat's Den

[BEAR.]

SMOKEKIT was waiting for Mossfreckle when the tom eventually fell asleep. He knew he wasn't expected, and frankly liked the element of surprise - he was about to give the medicine cat a fright of his life.

The dreamscape was a shadowed version of ShadowClan territory, the ground beneath their paws watery muck. The more Mossfreckle would move, the deeper the substance would become - until he was forced to paddle against the force of the swampy fluid.

"Gnashing, thrashing, in depths I seek
To fulfill a gnawing hunger not meek
Brave the waters, dare you try
Unless you are afraid to die?"

Around his legs, something large slid past - and in a flash he'd feel a biting pain in his flesh; scarlet would tinge the brown water.

Then, another pain - and as Mossfreckle looked to find the source of his attacks, Smokekit in the form of a massive, fish-like creature, would surface from the water. He rushed him, jaws agape.

"Treat me well, sate my hunger
Or countless will forever go under!"

Then Mossfreckle would wake up.

[ @elio ]

[elio]

Tw: Nightmare, blood, pain, dissociation

｡ﾟﾟ･｡･ﾟﾟ｡
ﾟ。 Mossfreckle (ShC)
　ﾟ･｡･ﾟ they/he ~ medicine cat

⋆˖⁺‧₊☽ The High Priestess ☾₊‧⁺˖⋆

❦ Gnashing teeth and gnawing guilt. A fundamentally wrong feeling that slumbered deep within the freckled tom alongside the beast and burdens of a life hewn and given from so much taken… he has failed… time and time and time again, he had failed. A cumulation of all the evils so deeply locked within the cage of his rib cage, an appreciation broadcast unbeknownst to him by the very being that seemed to materialise in the shadowy conifer canopied forest of a much darker Shadowclan, it was the territory but the tension was ominous and almost stifling as the watery murk beneath his paws became a shifting almost quick sand esc substance which threatened to swallow him whole as it grew deeper until it was a rapid of churning, midnight waters. White tipped paws scrambled to curl against the waters as lanky limbs flailed in an almost futile attempt to propel himself forward, to keep his bobbing angular head above the water as the waves rippled in swells that glinted in claw like crescent’s against the star streaked skies weary reflections.

Gnashing, thrashing, in depths I seek
To fulfill a gnawing hunger not meek
Brave the waters, dare you try
Unless you are afraid to die?

❦ Wisping tones and crippled form. Slippery and large the beast slide past, a gentle brush of pelt and cycloid scales before the enviable storm broke and archaic hunger became a victor. Thrashing, Mossfreckle was thrashing as sharp, jagged teeth dug into soft flesh and thrust deeper into hard bone, dreamlike terror became searing pain became a warning in his mind as he relinquished control and let his starry mind slip from his being until he became no more than a messenger of the pain and spite and reeling hatred. Swirling murk became crimson as blood welled from tattered spotted tabby form which floated just above the surface, adorned in crimson and crowned in lapping waves… a warning… a warning or a truth or some sick self serving fantasy of punishment for all the times he had failed - those fake, self inflicted failures that weighed heavily on him, the weight of the world pushing him under the waters depths. Mossy hues remained open wide in shock and morbid curiosity as he sunk in a forced danse macabre of the to and fro pressure of the water as the word kept moving on even as the freckled herbalist moved backwards in time with each tick of the clock and each inch that he sunk. Above him a familiar presence in a morphed form broke the surface, the source of his attack show in a hellish halo of light.

Treat me well, sate my hunger
Or countless will forever go under!

❦ Large gapping jaws and eel like body cast so starkly again the muddy waters and deep down the medicine cat knew something was wrong, an aching question loomed in his mind but he couldn’t place his paw on the feeling as it slipped away form him as the soft thud of large paws on hard packed earth sent his living body tumbling awake as large ears pushed back in aggressive fright, hazed orbs blinked rapidly to adjust to the darkness that had consumed the burrow, small pin pricks of starlight the only minuscule source of light, a glint of honeyed ginger tabby pelt was all he took in before a warm form pressed against his tense form as relieve and reality slowly flooded back. ”Hilly…” a soft lilting question no more than a whisper as angular head shook to clear a reeling star hewn mind, he must have yelped in his sleep or cried out in momentary, dream state pain that lingered only as a mental scar which had been physically healed as if it had never existed against his pelt… it never really had… ”I- I am heading outside for some air, watch the stars… I’m okay love,” he paused to lick the toms stocky head in comfort that he refused to let be placed on himself, he was nothing after all, ”You are more the welcome to join me, it will be nice to have some company,” alone was probably best but alone meant addressing and reasoning and this wasn’t really something he could move around within his brain enough to make it make sense… real… it had felt so real like a cry for help… but it couldn’t be real… or could something so unnaturally wrong really have been created and dredged up from the depths of the dark forest realms.

{ @BEAR. ~ eelboy } { @Mica ~ Hilly // let me know if any of the hill parts need edited. }

[alec]

ROOKFIRE

white tipped paws hit the ground in a rhythmic pattern as rookfire paced in lopsided circles, slight ache slowly setting into long limbs at the strain of repeated movement executed by overworked muscles. he wasnt sure how long he had been pacing the same bit of dry hardpacked soil but by the time he finally decided to turn his back on camp, a thin film of dust had settled on light grey pelt, and he was almost sure distinct paw tracks could be seen between dust and pine needles.
along the barren path paved into soft soil by hundreds of pairs of paws, warm summer light speckled the ground and coloured the air a distinct pale orange, standing in stark contrast to the dark leaves and cool soil resting in the shadows. the sun, not matter how split and scattered by the leaves above, was pleasant and welcome on rookfires dark pelt, warming the enforcer from the outside whilst cool anxiety continued to coil within his flesh. thick fog twisting around conflicting thoughts buried deep in the toms mind, distorting relevance and chasing him further towards irrationality. he had to clear his mind, sort through past choices and recent changes. finally wrap his head around everything relating to mossfreckle, the pride, his sudden shift in behaviour, the urge to be close..close in order to protect, to serve shadowclan in protecting their most important assets and put them even. rookfires thoughts lingered on that, the uncomfortable pull to mossfreckle and shame like discomfort swirling in his stomach when even just thinking about the tom. he was almost sure that if there was a surefire way to finally set them even and claw his way out of this suffocating pit of debt, the enforcer wouldve already gripped this idea. however, where he was now, the closest thing he could do to repaying mossfreckle was working for their clan..giving him space, even if..no, no he had been polite. he was accepted as guard for safety reasons and rookfire, if he really tried to see things realistically, knew mossfreckle only agreed because he knew the enforcer had come straight from a meeting involving dawnstar and mistlewhisker.. thoughts melted into a heterogeneous mass in his mind, half heartedly following selected thoughts and chewing on the same issues without much resolve whilst dust coated paws carried him through the forest, deeper and deeper into the depths of the thick forest covering a majority of shadowclan land without any goal or reason. the flicker of light breaking through deep green foliage slowly lulled the dark pelted feline into a kind of floaty mode of existence, limbs moving on their own account whilst eyes stared ahead unfocussed and the roaring of thoughts rushing through his mind quieted to a low humming.
as colourful butterflies danced around dark pelt and sweet flowers, rookfire slowed to a stop, head canting up to follow the fragile colourful insects that had gently pulled him out of his thoughts with curious eyes. mesmerised by beauty and elegance, butterflies engaging in graceful duets, framed by soft orange light and dark leaves, the tom remained unmoving, taking in the peaceful scene in its entirety, the undisturbed flutter of fragile wings in the soft breeze, accompanied by the full smell of warm grass and blooming flowers. a few of the butterflies had a soft brown colour, some of them striking yellows or reds, but a singular pale blue one caught his attention almost immediately, it looked almost soft, even through the fast paced flutter of wings, and the enforcer could see the dark tips of its wings, the fine white border rounding out its lower wings.
then, with one swift motion, rookfire swiped a paw through the air, colliding with the butterfly forcefully before watching it plummet out of the air and towards the ground, quickly swallowed by sharp blades of grass. carefully, to avoid harm to its delicate wings, rookfire pushed the grass out of the way, revealing the slowing flutter of stunned wings, the blue so much more calming and silky amidst lush green. the flutter had stopped by the time rookfire picked it up carefully, making safe transportation easier and erasing another pointless concern from his mind.
for the first time since the beginning of this trek, the enforcer let grey eyes wander over his surroundings, promptly realising his position rather far away from camp.. without much more to entertain his mind on the way back, rook had taken to thinking about his earlier issue with mossfreckle again and surprisingly approached the subject with more success. a delicate gift to soothe a delicate relationship, appease the need for contact and forgiveness, give into the urges and crawl back to a cat far above him once again.

impatient, he had sped up to a trot halfway back, cutting through a bush or two and collecting a fair amount of burrs on the way before slowing to a more appropriate speed upon entering the camp and finally coming to a halt in front of the medicine den, briefly reconsidering his choices before finally taking a step inside, then stilling to let his eyes adjust to the dim light. the first thing that came to his mind was the big big gap in his plan, that being what he would say. somehow, this had been the easiest part in his mind, right before getting the butterfly here without damaging the animal, yet he had somehow overseen that there would have to be words spoken.
"err little thank you for patching me up..n the other thing" he shuffled his paws, gaze falling to linger on the hard packed soil between their similarly white tipped paws, eyes snapping back and forth between unspecified places without actually focussing on anything before returning to meet the herbalists mossy hues.


[ @elio - rooks one and only (for now) the butterfly is a spring azure btw. if moss decides to pick the sandburrs off rook you could get that off your list as well : D. !!!no pressure to write that much, i really only wrote 177 words of actual moss related stuff!!!! #rooksummer24 ]
[ repost cuz i forgot where i was supposed to post this ]