GROUSEPAW THE TRAILBLAZER
⋆˖ The Fool ˖⋆ SILVER TONGUE - JUST A SCRATCH - BURN, BABY, BURN
"the world is burning, feel the heat. blink and miss it: happens fast."
it was bloody hot. summer was winding up full-swing and bearing down on shadowclan in all its righteous fury. the anarchistic healer could see a lot of cases like this on the horizon where cats would come in with heat sickness. Grousepaw himself had to be careful- his pelt was thick and two layered. On his side solely was the fact that he was mostly lighter coloured. er. . . more or less.
so, he wasn't surprised when mossboss called him over and his gaze alighted on an unconscious warrior. for a brief moment, amber eyes widened before he surged forwards to help mossfreckle settle the she-cat into the stream and in the same motion, scoop a ball of damp and cool moss up and trot forwards towards darkfire.
it was then, much to his surprise and panic, that he saw the tom sway then topple. grousepaw surged forwards, dropping low in an effort to catch the warrior with his large and sturdy build, wincing at the scorch of warm fur against his own. carefully, he attempted to hook a shoulder under the other tom and guide him to the stream.
"easy, easy, easy." he soothed, more to stifle his own nerves than anything else. sparing a nervous glance to his mentor, he flashed an awkward smile, the moss still clutched between curved fangs.
❦ A sleepy dramatised protest slipped from Hillstrider’s awakened honeyed ginger form as the lanky herbalist slipped from his warm embrace and padded on weary paws, beckoning the larger tom forward and out, beyond the lichen shrouding and into the quite world that slumbered under the moonlight that hazed the clearing as it glistened off wisp of fog and tiny swirls of dust puffed up by tiny zephyrs that carried the lingering scents of heat wilted sweet blooms and the heady alpine of the conifer canopies that surrounded them. Mossy hues glanced to settle in sleep ridden sunny orbs that rested half lidded, blinking open and close as they grow heavier with lingering sleep, heavy head resting on the herbalists freckled shoulder. Soft barbed tongue licked gently and comfortingly against his still prickling pelt and Mossfreckle smiled a little to himself as he shuffled his white tipped paws and oriental into a stance more sturdy and resilient against the heavy weight of Hilly that sleepily nudged into him.
Nightmare?
❦ One word, the answer should when been so simple, so cut and dry and exact… yes OR no… no “yes and no but that’s what it was a fundamentally wrong and whether it be a prophecy or omen or dream or some hell sent concoction of all and none the medicine cat was not too sure how to state the feelings of what he had experience… death awakening to a mock rebirth. With wide eyes the medic took in the sky, followed each tinkling spark as his thought danced along internally with the glimmer of each wink of the stars, ”Ye-“ he starts and catches himself, ”Yes, or so I think for now… it’s hard sometimes to differentiate the horrid reality form the grasp of one’s imagination…” how much was he willing to share, ”omens come in all shapes and forms, some easy to solve and others ripping at you from the inside out and others are subtle almost dreamlike, it’s hard sometimes to know if it’s some archaic cat or the manifestations of all the things in my core. But enough about that,” a somewhat fake smile and a gesture to lay done, ”No reason to ruin a pretty clear sky… and it looks like someone could use some sleep,” lilting and calm Mossfreckle’s tone reveal none of the strife of the starry reeling of his mind, only life cold composure and an immaculately painted mask of ease.
Hillstrider
ShadowClan
he/him | 21 moons
[Big fluffy orange tabby with yellow eyes] Purrks: Heightened Perception (Hearing)
⋆˖⁺‧₊☽ The Sun ☾₊‧⁺˖⋆
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[Mossfreckle - @elio ]
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Hillstrider did his best to listen to Mossfreckle as his friend struggled to wade through his swirling thoughts. A rounded ear flicked Mossfreckle's neck in sympathy, the orange tom frowning. "Yo, that's some heavy stuff my dude." Dreams could be that bad? To make you feel like you were being torn apart? Hillstrider was suddenly glad he didn't dream at all. There was a moment of silence between them, Hillstrider sorting through the sleepy remains of his intelligence and trying to figure out what to say. "Well, at the end of the day..." his plumy tail swept the ground, kicking up a small flare of dust that twinkled in the starlight. "You can only do so much, Moss m'dude. The more you bash your head against a problem, the harder it becomes to solve." Hillstrider straightened, twisting to look down at his lanky compatriot. "That's why I stopped trying to knock squirrels out of trees with my head." He gently bumped Mossfreckle's shoulder with his striped head, then grinned smugly. "And let me tell you, I'm an expert problem-solver now."
As the pair slipped into comfortable silence, Hillstrider set his gaze up at the stars. They twinkled merrily, and his eyes sparkled in return. "Gee, y'know Moss..." Hillstrider looked back to his dappled friend, expression impossibly open and kind. "You got those same stars in your eyes. Same as the ones up there." His sunny eyes flicked between the sky and Mossfreckle's face. "Ain't that something?" The words tumbled out of him, piling onto the ground in front of their paws like sticks.
Yewkit was exhausted, but she couldn't suppress a giggle of delight as the dark gray she-cat - whose name was really long and confusing; Bookfire or something like that? What was a Bookfire? Then again, she didn't know what a Cheeto was, either - grabbed her by the scruff and lifted her into the air. Her stomach swooped with excitement as her gaze rose closer to the sky. Was this what the adults saw? That was, like, great! A purr rumbled in her dry throat as she waved her muddy paws - then promptly let them hang as fatigue clenched her muscles like teeth.
She wasn't sure where she was being taken. All she knew was that was her home now. The place she was meant to be! The place Mama and Papa had been looking for! Well... except they wouldn't be here. But that was alright! Yewkit had a name now, and she'd get food once she wasn't... gross? Did Bookfire call her gross? Yewkit scowled. She wasn't gross! She was strong! How dare she?! Mama and Papa always say me strong! Why not these cats? Was she not... being strong enough?
The giant tree they'd passed earlier, different from the others, loomed up ahead. Yewkit felt a burst of excitement, but it didn't completely chase away her sadness. Was she not being good enough? Well, then... then she'd have to be better! She clamped her jaws shut and tried to ignore her tired body or the rumbling in her stomach. She swallowed the weird wet, burning sensation she got when she felt sad. Tears? Was that what they were called? No cry. Me strong. Yewkit strong!
Wait, why were they going into the tree? The weird, tangled roots loomed closer. Were they being eaten?! Yewkit kept her head high - as best she could with Bookfire holding her, anyway - and refused to give in to the rising feeling in her belly. She was not scared! Nuh-uh! The roots ate them, and everything was dark for a second even though Yewkit kept her eyes wiiiide open, and...
Woah!
There was a huge den in here, even bigger than Mama Badger's den! So many colorful, pretty things lay all around the area. A sharp, disgusting smell hit Yewkit's nose. She gagged as her stomach turned. That wasn't fun. Strong, she reminded herself, trying to curl her lip to drive out the taste while keeping her expression as neutral as possible. Yewkit thought she was doing a great job. However, she was failing miserably.
She wanted to be put down so she could run around and drink from the stream and eat the colorful flowers. Surely they were edible? Yewkit wanted to ask Bookfire! However, she didn't want to be called gross again. She had to be quiet and good and not complain so she would be happy!
@alec @elio @redshiftreign (Yewkit is covered in mud, which isn't mentioned in detail here! She also doesn't feel her scratched pads because she has Just a Scratch)
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Some of my characters think or act in ways I disagree with. Please understand that I do not support or condone these thoughts or actions.
rookfire entered the medicine den like many times before, a bit more stiff than usual though, with the kit between his teeth he felt like he might knock into something if he didnt move very carefully, which was stupid. but he couldnt make it stop by accepting how stupid it was.
once they were in, rookfire almost dropped the kit from standing height, forgetting and momentarily not caring that it was a bit more of a fall now than it wouldve been a few moons ago and the kit was not even close to apprentice aged in addition to probably being malnourished, and reluctantly bent down to put the kit down gently instead. "mossy?" rookfire called into the den even though the herbalist had most likely already taken notice of them as there had been no effort to be quiet. the nickname had passed his lips with a soft reluctance so very different to the one he had felt when putting the kit down. whilst he hadnt loved bending down to put soil beneath yewkits paws because he didnt like bowing down to those he didnt deem worthy, this time it was fuelled by fear of rejection and the general discomfort he felt about letting nicknames slip into conversation. trying to redirect his thoughts away from this, he watched the kit carefully, the heavy herby smell that never quite thinned out enough to smell the fresh air outside was nothing short of comforting though, soothing some of the tension that had settled into rookfires muscles. someone remind him to keep away from kits in the future tho... "stay where you are or im throwing out back out into the outskirts" the enforcer spoke calmly yet firmly enough for the kit to realistically realise he was being serious, even though he had no right in deciding something like that. the kit didnt know. so why should he care.
[ @TheNyanCatMinecart - yewkit @elio - mossy | short posts only today yall, im half asleep apologies if anything sounds weird ]
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"i wish things were different, but it werent us who changed."
Re: ShadowClan Medicine Cat's Den
