With the rat-bird gone, Wolfhive forced his fur flat and didn't protest when Mudhound told him to break. He was.. exhausted, already, just from the walk.
He sank down in a little huff as Mudhound did their thing. At this point, he was drifting a bit - a side effect of sickness fatigue - and Mudhound's voice made him jerk back awake. He blinked, muffled coughing into his fur, and moved to get up before it happened again. "yeah.. bumba.. will.. wanna.. know.." more coughing, and he grimaced. "maybe.. once.. this.. is over.." no point in making this trip when they could hardly walk one way, especially when they should conserve strength. the cave wasn't going anywhere.
He made it to the wall in question, peering up at it. "keep it simple.. for now, maybe.. we can add more someday but.." he stuck his paw in the nearby mud and boinked the wall to leave his print behind. "how's... that?"
he slouched back down and sank near the pool of water, the exertion wearing him out once more. after a moment to gather himself he also took a drink, trying to relieve some of his discomfort - to minimal success.
Mudhound
Thunderclan Hornet | They/them | 40 Moons
Bilingual T3 | Flock Together T3 | Rapid Recovery | Killer Aptitude T3
As always, Wolfhive had the best ideas. They could come back here, after all this was done, after they werent sick anymore as a family. It... It could be like a new beginning, something to look forward too among all this horribleness to stop Mudhound from sinking into despair. And suddenly even if the tripod felt like their world was still ending, horrible and dark, there was a light at the end of the tunnel, or the cavern, so to speak.
They had Wolfhive, who understood the worst of this sickness as someone who was in the same boat as Mudhound, and they had Bumblestar, their ever dependable stable elder sister they could lean on. As long as the hornet had that, had their family they could, and would, come back from this.
There was hope.
It was an emotional thought and tears welled in the tripods eyes, tail wagging as they oh so gently butt their head against their nephews shoulder, a true grin flitting across their face like the first breath of spring. "Y-yeah. The just three of us when everything is better. You got the best ideas Woofie..."
The tripod withdrew, heart hurting on hurts to see how badly he looked and coughed, suddenly tired and ready to go. "T-thanks for coming with me, Im really glad youre family."
Reaching up Mudhound pressed their paw to one side of Wolfhives print, dwarfing his but sharing the space perfectly. Two perfect paw prints, for now, in a big space marking the duo who'd found it, two parts of a family that could fill out the space later. Two prints whos makers would never be here together again. "Theyre perfect. Now lets get back before Spider-dude finds out were gone and kills us."
The journey back would be long and hard for the sick duo, and Mudhound would probably need to carry him the last stretch, but for a final adventure it wasnt half bad.
Mudhound
Thunderclan Hornet | They/them | 40 Moons
Bilingual T3 | Flock Together T3 | Rapid Recovery | Killer Aptitude T3
Slowly blinking awake the tripod gazed at the side of the warriors den, idly noting that it was late in the morning with most cats having filed out long ago. It was strange, how grief went. They'd been doing better of late, talking for the first time since Wolfhives death, active and doing things finally, pained but doing their best to move on they lost their nephew so suddenly. But then there were days like this, where the pain was back as badly as ever and there seemed no point of getting out of their nest.
Except... Well except grief was funny, and had a habit of distorting and fading memories in the worst of it. In their dreams Mudhound had gotten one of those memories back of an adventure that was too much to remember that now was too much to forget.
They couldnt forget, not when they'd told their nephew that after all this was over they'd.... they'd all....
It felt like a betrayal now, not to take Bumblestar to that place, even if it hurt to do so.
Padding into their sisters den the tripod was more present then they'd been in awhile, gently nudging the leader until she was paying attention and beginning to speak. "Bumble-sis I.... Before... Everything became worst me and W-woofie we... we went for a walk. I-I couldnt be in that place, not after and it was smart for me to not be alone s-so we walked." It was hard not to sob, remembering it now, their last outing before Wolfhive had passed so suddenly. A part of Mudhound tormented themself, wondering if the trip had sapped the last bit of life the tom had but.... But he'd held out for some time even after that. In truth it was probably the hopelessness instead. "M-me and Wolfhive found something really cool and decided we'd show you, w-when we were better." The tears that'd slowly started as they spoke didnt stop now.
"I know its not the same but... We're going. We're going now. So you can see the cave so-"
So the last unresolved want of Wolfhive could be done. And the tripod wasnt taking no for an answer. Bumblestar would be carried, if it came to that.
It was the first thing that came to Bumblestar's mind. How is Mudhound, famously emotionally erratic, doing better than Bumblestar, typically grit and gravel? Mudhound is capable of standing on their own four - three - paws. Bumblestar? She may as well have been dead. She'd certainly been acting like it for the past several weeks, moping in a pile at the back of her den. Mudhound's words were acknowledged with nothing. Not a shift, nor a prickle of fur, nor a flick of an ear. Bumblestar opened her eyes to stare at the wall she was pressed up against, but said nothing in response. 'Wolfhive'. She wanted to scream. Internally, she was, a string of curses directed toward Mudhound and herself and her ancestors and the cats she'd sent out to find the damned cure in the first place.
She swore in silence for a long minute longer before pushing herself unsteadily to her paws and turning back to her sibling. Dull green eyes met golden ones. "Fine."
Mudhound
Thunderclan Hornet | They/them | 40 Moons
Bilingual T3 | Flock Together T3 | Rapid Recovery | Killer Aptitude T3
You see Bumblestar while you may have power leadership brains and girlbossery Mudhound had this little thing called ~emotional intelligence~. They didnt bury their emotions in work and suppression and instead felt and processed them, yanno like you should do instead of bottling it up until they choked you from within. So while it meant they were an utter wreck for a time, drowning in feelings and staring down the barrel of it all where the repressors might be holding it together in the moment better, it also meant that in time they were up and doing better first.
Because they'd reached acceptance. The grief and pain wasnt gone but Mudhound had accepted it'd happened and was working to do what the cats they'd lost wouldve wanted from them and move forward. Not rot in a den hating the world.
The tripod didnt blame their sister of course, stars they got it more then anyone, and they were still suffering, but they were also here downright shoving Bumblestar out of camp as soon as she'd stood, flicking a tail to Spiderthroat in a silent 'youre in charge' on the way out.
The walk was... Well long and awkward, the two had to reach the edge of the territory after all, but eventually as they were prone to do the tripod broke the silence, voice still shaky. "I think I tanked the hornets reputation recently by the way." The laugh was a bit watery and broken, more ironic then Mudhound was prone to. "I was out with a patrol (cant remember who) and saw a hawk in the distance and just broke down crying. Honestly I cant even tell if it was because of.. well yanno or that I HATE hawks in general after all my bad experiences with them. Crazy that I couldnt tell...." You'd think you'd know why you were crying.
"Is that.... Normal? Youre the only other cat who.... Gets it, right now but I havent really seen you a lot and I dont wanna bother you in your den if too many cats is part of the hurt." That was another part of grief, when just normal interaction was too much and hurt rather then hindered. Mudhound had been rather afraid of pushing in too much and hurting Bumble-sis but also afraid of staying away and leaving her oh so alone. So they didnt know how much of the weird parts of grief they felt were also plaguing their sister or if it was just them being weird.
Suppose Mudhound would find out soon if reminders of Wolfhive caused breakdowns like reminders of Redhawk did for them soon, arriving at the entrance, the sight choking them up. "I... I dunno how no one found it before us but me and Woofie followed the noise and- and its like nothing we've ever seen before." Another wet chuckle "We both thought it was soooo cool. T-thought maybe we could celebrate here a-after when things were good again.
I-its safe but watch out for the annoying weird flying rat thing."
Mudhound was gonna whack the first one to try and attack them, they'd decided. In honor of their nephew. It hadnt hurt him but its stupid squeak attack and flapping had disrespected him and no dummy like that should live in a world where he didnt get to.
It may have been awkward to Mudhound, but Bumblestar was oblivious. Being lost in one's own thoughts didn't leave much room for outside examination. She wasn't even really aware of where her sibling was leading her, and only looked up once Mudhound spoke.
"...Not sure if I'm the best judge for normal," she muttered, looking away again. "Don't even know what's part of the hurt 'n what isn't. Some days it feels like nothing. Others feel like it's everything." She wondered if that made any sense. A major part of her didn't really care whether it did or not.
'Annoying rat thing' was what made her zone back in again and register everything said prior. Something Mudhound and Wolfhive found. Bumblestar lifted her eyes, scanning the cavern's entrance.
Something flew at her face as she nudged her way through the vines and lichen hanging in front of the entrance, and she ducked with a startled snort, watching it flap around uselessly in the sky before disappearing into the tree-line. Annoying rat thing. Bat, more like. She pushed the rest of the way in, ears flicking with the sound of water dripping into little pools.
It looked and sounded like a safe haven. Thick vegetation, the soothing rush of water from the twin falls outside - Bumblestar sucked in a slow breath and let it out, closing her eyes for a moment before she reopened them. "You 'n Wolfhive found this?"
Mudhound
Thunderclan Hornet | They/them | 40 Moons
Bilingual T3 | Flock Together T3 | Rapid Recovery | Killer Aptitude T3
RAT THING!!!! Unwilling to let the bat, the same bat that they were pretty sure swooped Wolfhive too, escape Mudhound briefly abandoned their sister to bolt after the thing, wildly throwing themself into the air to tackle it to the ground. It was a sloppy catch and Mudhound was possibly thrashing the poor dead thing more violently then it deserved but JUSTICE FOR WOOFIE AND BUMBLE-SIS!!!! DIE!
Eventually they did pad over to rejoin their sister, putting the bat down to the side and asking "Do you know if these things are edible? There is a lot of them in the cave which could be useful." They werent very meaty though so maybe not. Just shrill and irritating.
Sitting and soaking in the quiet calm of the cave Mudhounds voice was subdued compared to before as they replied "Yeah, we followed the noises and found this place. Its very quiet isnt it, like here is separated from everywhere and everyone else. It..... It helped. At least for a bit made it feel like stuff didnt exist." Like Redhawk wasnt dead, like they and Wolfhive werent sick with no hope. They hadnt been able to linger for long in their state, but it'd been an escape that Bumblestar might need. "And theres one more thing, follow me."
Padding further into the cavern, away from the water but still damp and cool but not cold Mudhound led Bumblestar to the mud wall, the one with two paw prints stuck deep into it, one large and one smaller, side by side. The sight was enough to cause tears to well and silently flow again, and the tripod raised a paw before pulling it back again, fearful of disturbing one of the few signs their nephew had walked this earth. "I-I... We, we did this, thought it might be cool for every hornet and high rank to mark the wall. The paw prints stick but its soft so the bad ones can be wiped away a-and... and now Im really h-happy we did." He was here, Wolfhive had been here he had lived nothing could take that away and here was proof.
"W-we wanted you to have this place too a-and I think he'd like it if you took the other space next to his print." So their little family could be immortalized and never separated in some way, no matter how fate turned.
A glance at the now-deceased bat before she shrugged one shoulder. "Probably. Give it to Spiderthroat 'n make him try it. That way it won't be too much of a loss if it's poisonous or somethin'." All jokes, of course. She would never want to poison her deputy. Whack him upside the head for stress relief, sure, but that was fairly tame as far as most impulses went.
Bumblestar's ears twitched again as she listened to Mudhound speak. She slowly trailed after her sibling, scanning the rest of the cave as it opened up to her gaze. Lush moss, small pools, ground the seemed to sink ever so slightly beneath her paws where she stepped. She could get lost in here - go for a night walk and come sleep beneath the waterfall whenever she needed something to snap her out of her haze. The hardest part would be convincing herself to stand.
Then she saw what her sibling had intended to show her.
Her throat went dry and closed up. She stared at the prints indented in the soft walls, silent for a long while, before she slowly lifted a paw and allowed it to hover over what she knew was Wolfhive's. "When-" Her voice cracked. 'When did you do this?' she wanted to ask, but couldn't bring herself to finish the question. Instead, she swallowed.
She had seen him. At least, she thought she had. Glimpses, flickers in the corners of her vision that vanished whenever she turned in an attempt to catch him fully. Sometimes she thought she was going crazy. It wouldn't be too far off, would it? Seeing her dead son when no one else did?
Tears didn't fall - she'd lost the ability to cry at some point - but her eyes stung and she blinked hard to make the pain go away. Carefully, fearing a sudden slip that would ruin his imprint and the last physical reminder she had of him, she pressed her paw against the wall beside it. It was smaller than his, and much smaller, than Mudhound's. If she were able, she'd have laughed at the difference.
Words wouldn't come, so instead Bumblestar closed her eyes and pressed her nose into Mudhound's shoulder for a long moment in silent thanks.
Mudhound
Thunderclan Hornet | They/them | 40 Moons
Bilingual T3 | Flock Together T3 | Rapid Recovery | Killer Aptitude T3
Days had been.... Peaceful in the chaos since the leadership turn over, the dying breath of the tyranny of the otters and the neglect that followed. It almost felt akin to the lightness prior to the disaster where good things were planned, if vaguely, and the world was napping in the sun. Except.... Well now it felt more like the first breath of a kitten facing the world rather then a well settled warrior whos future was still strong but more limited.
Ah Mudhound was feeling sentimental stuck in camp and not allowed to resume warrior duties yet. With nothing to do their oft unused braincells were racing and it was NOT A GOOD FEELING. MUDHOUND WAS NOT MEANT FOR THINKING, ABORT ABORT DISTRACTION NOOOOOOOOWWWWWWW.
Yeah, no. Mudhound was getting out of here. But how how, just leaving would get them saddled with a Treetiger (again) so they needed something Official like that couldnt be stopped and non strenuous. Hmmmm hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm....
Ah! Idea!
Hauling themselves up to an overhang the tripod used their (considerable) volume to get the party started! "THUNDERCLAN!!!! PSPSPSPSPSPSPSPS WERE DOING AN OUTING!!!!!!
Soooooooo Bumble-sis talked about a new territory location uuuuuuuh it doesnt have a name, why doesnt it have a name? Well thats dumb uuuuuh it sounds like thunder in the back of the cave and its near the thunderpath so.... Thunder...bird! Thunderbird Cavern, yep named now.
Anyways in introducing it we kiiiiiiinda got interrupted by evil otters sooooooooo we're doing it now! Everyone gather up and maybe grab a snack for the trip! Im taking you all to the caverns and we're all gonna explore it and hang out and Im gonna teach everyone to make flower crowns!!!!!!!!!!
Uh high ranks and hornets make sure to come too, you gotta add your names to the high rank and hornet memory wall thing to make your mark~ No baby kittens allowed (sorry) but we're gonna be walking slow so yes elders if you wanna tag along and of course yes warriors and apprentices!"
The cave was safe and all but kits were fragile and Mudhound was just not gonna take that risk thank you!
Waiting for cats to gather the tripod hopped down, wincing as the impact jolted their still healing leg (when would the limping STOP), and padded into the medicine cats den to snag the herbs they'd requested (with permission). Violetfreckle and Bumblebreak were still camp locked like they were and surely eager to escape so this was an excuse for them as well really. "Vivivivivivivi, Bumble-sis, I got some burnet and have been cleared to carry you part of the way if you wanna go with? The cavern is SUPER cool, Bumble-sis can back me up, and its really relaxing and a good excuse to not be stuck in camp at least." Violetfreckle might not like the water part but there was cool non water parts and maybe they could work towards making her less scared by being near mud and damp first.
Regardless, fun for the whole clan!
(This starts in camp for cats to gather, next post muddy will guide everyone to location~ See the first post in thread for the location description!)
FLINTCLAW
Thunderclan Deputy | 23 moons | Massive, scarred dark tabby tom with pale blue eyes.
Killer Aptitude T1 | Just a scratch
~~~
Mudhound's call reached his ears and the dark tabby stretched gingerly before padding over and sitting as the hornet disappeared into the medicine cat den. His good ear flicked and he waited for the rest of the clan to start gathering.
Mosstangle is an Enforcer in Shadowclan! Mention me whenever she is needed! My characters' thoughts, emotions, and actions are simply descriptions and roleplay, and do not align with my personal thoughts, emotions, and actions. *Pockets Full Of Purrkies active!*
Re: Thunderbird Cavern
