Solace Tides (vm)

[starry]

MISTYSHARD
she/her | riverclan medicine cat | 37 moons

The scarred tabby had had a pretty hard time sleeping. The medicine den still felt weird to her, like something she did belong in, but she couldn't quite make out how to settle down and start feeling at home. It was lonely, compared to the warrior's den and apprentice's den. Now she was finally asleep, dreaming about... oh gosh. There was blood, too much blood, claws, and the whole clan was relying on her saving that one cat... she felt like her one amber eye was about to tear open, and she was about to awaken from the dream, but suddenly she was somewhere else. She materialized on an odd, cold stone and could scent the seawater around her. As she glanced at the ocean a sense of dread overwhelmed her. It was so deep, so dark... if she fell in there, would she ever get out?

Wide-eyed, she finally let her one eye settle on the cat was here, staring at her. She felt like she recognized them but she could not quite make out who it was. "...Hello? Who are you? Why am I here?"

[ @Apollo. - Misty doesn't know those! Also this post is super messy, sorry, my brain is dead from schoolwork ]

[Apollo.]

- Sootkit -
starclan - he/him - 25 moons dead

Well she showed up quicker than the last two. Once again, the sudden, loud, beating of a living cats heart felt defining, but after a few moments he got used to the noise. It was getting a lot easier to adjust to the sound compared to when he first called Tansypaw. He'd come to expect these questions by now, pretty much every cat he summoned asked the same three questions; who are you, where am I, and, why am I here. To be fair, he'd ask the same thing if he was them, it just gets boring answering the exact same questions over and over again. Perhaps he should try re-summoning a cat, that way he wouldn't have to repeat himself as often. "Mistyshard," he regarded her with a nod, "my name is Sootkit. I was born and died while you were an apprentice, so I don't blame you if you don't recall me." it felt odd speaking in such a casual tone. Its true he wouldn't blame her, it was a long time ago, and with everything going on there must be more important things on the new medicine cats mind than remembering old clanmates, however it would still be disappointing. If questioned, Sootkit would probably be able to remember 80% of Riverclans cats that have lived in the past eight seasons.

"Naturally, I'm here to help you." it seems like all clan cats he'd summoned assumed that immediately, probably because they had encountered the likes of Fawnlight, or some other former medicine cat, previously. Perhaps, Mistyshard hadn't been reached out to by Fawnlight yet. Weird, especially seening that Fawnlight actually supported, (or suggested?), that she should be the medicine cat. He didnt fully approve of the choice, but there werent many better candidates. Minkpaw was promising, but she was an apprentice. Last time Riverclan put that much pressure on an apprentice they ran away. Actually the last two times. Tansypaw and Stonepaw. Suppose he should reach out to Minkpaw, having disobedient or depressed apprentices running around could spell trouble for Riverclan. "I know a pawful of herbs, but they'll be useful nonetheless."

[ @starry - youre good! sorry it took me so long to get this out ]

[starry]

MISTYSHARD
she/her | riverclan medicine cat | 38 moons
dreamwalker ⦁ beefed up t2

Ah, Sootkit. There was a faint hint of recognization in the herbalist's eyes. Sootkit had been alive during her apprenticeship, so this wasn't just any random cat teaching her herbs. A part of her wanted to ask what had caused the tomcat to die so young. He appeared to be helpful and sweet... why take such a young life? Why had she been brought back but not a deserving cat like this? Through all the qualms she had about coming back to life... maybe it made sense. She was medicine cat now, after all. The fact that StarClan would grant her another chance at life and allow her to serve in such an important position for her clan surely meant something.

Her attention snapped back to the tom when he said he was here to help her and teach her some herbs. That was good; she required all the assistance she could get due to being thrust into such a position with not too much experience. Mistyshard gave him a grateful dip of her head, then let her curious gaze meet the starry cat's again. Her head tipped and ears pricked with interest as she wondered what he would teach her. "Anything is helpful. Thank you for doing this, Sootkit," she purred.

And with that she forced all her wonders and worries to go away for a few moments, fully dedicating her attention to the herb lesson that would happen now. She really only knew the staple herbs and was inquisitive to find more about all the wonders of this plant world she now thrived in.

[ @Apollo. - So sorry about the delay, it won't happen again ]

[Apollo.]

- Sootkit -
starclan - he/him - 32 moons dead

It was dark, yet it was light.
A draining cold, yet a loving warmth.
Harsh stone, yet soft fur against his pelt.
A rancid blood and carrion, yet a calming milky scent.
Piercing screeches, yet gentle purring.

It was as if every single one of his senses contradicted itself.
It was confusingly both soothing and unnerving.
A giant oxymoron, if you will.

Drifting quietly within the thrashing current of Solace Tides was one very exhausted kit. Sootkit couldve been in the water for only a minute, or even an entire season, and he wouldnt know. He wasnt aware that he had ever entered the water, by means of slipping or on his own terms. He simply existed here now. Until the tides let him go. If they ever let him go.

It felt like not a moment had passed before he was blinking awake on the shore. As if the thought of wanting to return simply retuned him. Or perhaps he'd never been in the water at all? Nope. That wasnt the case. The black water he just coughed up would say otherwise. Sootkit was drentched, his chest was burning, and his ears rang slightly. Stars.. he never wanted to experience that again. He couldn't recall much of what had just happened, but he knew it left him in an odd state of fear, yet his mind felt as though a fog had lifted. Like something that was previously impossible could now be molded by his paws. Despite that, it felt off.

He.. he should probably stay clear of the water from now on.

[ an intentionally confusing post, for the sake of my brain. ]

[Apollo.]

- Sootkit -
starclan - he/him - 36 moons dead

Why him?

Why was he still here?

Other cats had completely vanished, and yet he remained?

Was there a reason for this or than to torment him?

WHY HIM?? WHAT DID HE DO WRO-

Violent coughing and a sudden rush, which could only be described as adrenaline, brought the tom to rise. Sootkit shivered, he was cold. His fur still soaked through from the tide, and his chest ebbing with pain he thought he had lost the capability to feel when he died. Did he drown? Maybe. And yet he was still spat back out again. What even happened? Painfully, he coughed and shuttered, his starry lungs emptying yet more water. Painfully? Wait, what? Is that even possible? Pain is a physical concept that he shouldn't even be able to fe- his thoughts were interrupted by another coughing fit.

Forget it.

The words were simple and his own. Did it truely matter? Starclan was weird, and Solace Tides was one of the weirdest areas. He would think about it later. When he can be bothered. Making a mental note of it and adding it to the "starclan breaks all realism" board, he gingerly dragged himself to his paws and shook out his fur. Was it always so cold here? A small grumble rose from his chest, his legs now aching worse than his lungs, and his head pounding.

Sootkit half walked, half dragged and half stumbled his way over to his collection cave, where he flopped ungracefully onto his makeshift little nest. It was full of dust. How long had he been out? How long was he in the tide? He shuttered, not even wanting to think about that. His little brother could've died, or worse, in this time.. "I'll check on him when I wake up." he mumbled to himself, before slowly drifting into a dreamless and restless sleep.

[Apollo.]

- Sootkit -
starclan - he/him - 36 moons dead

This was insane. WHAT DO YOU MEAN WERE CUT OFF FROM THE LIVING CLANS? Sootkit had rushed in a half daze half anger back to his home from central starclan. It was not a short journey but with the amount of furious storming about he did it felt surprisingly short for once. THIS WAS ABSOLUTELY INSANE. WHAT IS THE COUNCIL ON??? His tiny claws, now wrapped in starry grass from the long walk and him keeping them flexed the entire way home, dug furiously into the ground. He had no idea if his brother was even alive now. Fishfreckle could be dead in a ditch and his spirit trapped in STARS KNOWS WHERE by now. PLUS he couldnt even attempt to check on his mother. THIS WAS RIDICULOUS. If the council had just taken action and FIXED THE STAR FORESAKEN BORDER EARLIER none of this wouldve happened. MOUSE BRAINS. Sootkit has always held the covenant in very low regards, but now even beetle dung was more deserving of respect than that daft lot.

He didnt even care that whateverhisnamewas 'fragmented', although he did plan to do a little research on the matter later, seeing as fragmenting is completely unheard of, why the hell did they leave the border open for so long?? It was very painfully obvious that it was broken, there were darkforest cats in the STARCLAN CAMP. But it didnt seem like the covenant really cared all that much, especially since they had darkforest cats as members (not that sootkit disagreed with that entirely, but he had some thoughts about it that he couldnt be bothered to explain to a 3rd person right now.. it was complicated.). "hhhh.. this is ridiculous." he mumbled with an exasperated sigh.

As he paced the dark beach, mulling over how stupid the covenant was, he hardly noticed when a soul arrived on the rocky sand. After all, there was no heartbeat to alert him this time.

[ @iliri - oml i am so sorry, im really not giving you much to work off of :sobs: ]