RiverClan Clearing

[Wingnettle]

Mintkit (she/her)
White fur with shades of grey and blue eyes


· · ─────── ·✧· ─────── · ·

Mintkit observed silently from afar the group of cats gathered around an unmoving body. Slatewhisker.
The she-cat's eyes were closed, she could tell even from distance. Her gray pelt brought weird patterns on it, but in a few moments she realized they were death injuries. She crouched and stepped back, too stunned to join in and watch the dead cat from closer. A terrible thought pierced into her mind. What... if something like that had happened to Slatestripe, too? The black tom had disappeared without giving away his reasons, but Mintkit's hope that he may come back would never fade.
She curled up her tail around her body and waited, trembling, under the branches of a willow tree near the nursery. Tonight there would be an important vigil.

[SplashyLumi]

Originally Posted by lonely.lilyx

-Bluebellkit-


She smelled someone else enter the camp, and jumped, remembering the murderer on the loose, before calming down. That was Beansprout, Fawnpaw's father. Someone else was there to! Mother!, she thought joyfully.

Slatewhisker, her mother, and her idol. Bluebellkit looked up to her, and wanted to be like her in every way. Kind, smart, strong, friendly. Her mother, so, so, so, strong, but so warm and nice, and loving.

She looked up, intending to give her mother and Beansprout meows of greeting, when-

Her eyes widened. What..?

The limp body of her mother laid on the ground. Unmoving, unseeing, nothing. She barely heard the older cat as she walked over, nosing her mother.

"Mama," she whispered in her ear. "Mama, this isn't very funny." She expected her mother to wake up, purr and laugh an apology, and give her a hug, but there was nothing. She was so cold, so lifeless, so unlike herself that she was foreign. Her mother wasn't like this.

She nudged her mother again, praying it was all some sick, hyper realistic joke that was being played on her.

Dead. Killed. Dead, killed. Dead. Dead. Dead, dead, dead, dead, dead.


Mother, was dead.

She refused to believe it. "Mama," she tried again. "Mama!" Her voice grew louder and louder, framing her urgency with sharp edges. "Mama! Wake up, this isn't funny anymore!" The tugging of her heartstrings, the large tears forming in her eyes, none of it was real. None of it could be real. Her mother was not dead. Her mother was alive. She was in the nursery, really, asleep, and this would all be over soon.

"Mama!" She tried again, the hurt spilling onto her tone. "Mama, if you don't wake up, I'll never forgive you!" As she cried, she could feel how foolish she was being. No words could bring her mother back. Her cries melted into sobs as she cried herself hoarse.

Her mother was gone. Dead, like Sproutkit, like Weedkit. Is this was Miss Lilycreek felt like when her son was ripped away from her? This, painful tightening of her chest, so strong all Bluebellkit wanted to do was rip it out of her?

"Mama," she tried one last time. "Mama, mama, please, come back to me. Don't go mama, don't leave me alone! Not like my other mama. Mama, mama, mama, please please, don't go!"

She was gone. Dead. Gone, like dust in the wind.

She choked, burying her head in her mother's fur, and let out a long, drawn-out wail.



"Mama!"



---
( @Ghostly Stars )

open to anyone else who wants to comfort the two.

Koipool just wrapped her tail around the kitten “It's okay, Mama is safe now and admiring us from the stars.” She smiled gently, her tone light.

[vellichor]

// @lonely.lilyx @Ghostly Stars @Wingnettle -- open for all kits/young apps

violetfreckle

the tabby couldn't say she was particularly moved by the death of slatewhisker; that was just the way things were. besides, the deputy had been kind of absent anyway. while no cat deserved to die, she supposed it was a good thing in the long run. that was, if pikestar chose someone who could actively help out around the clan. but that was a problem for later. the problem now were the two screaming kits.

she felt her heart twist with pity for the young cats, and took it upon herself to provide some comfort. violetfreckle supposed if no one else was going to help out, she would just have to. out of duty, of course. "come here, kits. it's going to be okay," she let out a soothing purr, beckoning the young cats to come to her.

[Estelle]

Gingerfrost had just returned from the territory minutes before - a somewhat eventful outing - leaving the the grumpy tom semi irritated as he just lay down in the den. It had been mere minutes, and already the voice of Beansprout he had come to know as less... Something than this, called him back outside. A frown already settled on his brow, head emerging from the den to first find Fawnpaw, Mapledawn, then Otterfluff and Beansprout and... He took in a sharp breath. Slatewhisker. The expression on his face only deepening in one resembling a frowning stone, the shield stepped forward to sniff near the deputy's body while he still could. Lifting his head back up, eyes falling on Beansprout as he spoke again. Outsiders. Again. The Tabby's eyes fell back into Slatewhisker. His expression hadn't much changed, he was just watching. She was really dead, gone, taken by outsiders. This was worse than mere idiots breaking into camp, this was murder. This was too far. When did this even happen? Could it have been while he was out in the territory too -- did he miss this? Neither warrior would likely know the answer, so Gingerfrost said nothing. Taking another breath, he simply lightly dipped his head, stepping aside to let others past. This had long gone too far.

Then he heard the unmistakable scream of Snowkit. Swatemama? Had Slatewhisker been that trouble maker's mother? His brow twitched just so slightly. Snowkit lost a mother. For a moment, he watched her. She was just screaming, crying. And then another too, another one who called Slatewhisker 'mama'. That... They shouldn't see this, and yet they did. Looking at the gone deputy's body again, the tabby tom exhaled a small breath as he got up from his spot -- to sit by Snowkit and Bluebellkit, tail ever so slightly moving towards laying around them. He wouldn't know what else to do, it was at least something.


[ @Ghostly Stars @lonely.lilyx ]


----------


From a corner of the nursery, sat Elkkit with flowering eyes, watching. The sight of it all made the sickly kit uncomfortable, but, it had the gears in his mind turning as well. That cat was supposed to be second in command or something, someone strong, if even she was taken down by some outsider then maybe Heronkit had been right? She's a dummy, but still. This was what she had been talking about or something. Glowering, the grey kit bit his cheek before slipping back into the nursery, out of sight. He didn't want to see this anymore, it was ugly.

[sol.]

Originally Posted by SplashyLumi

Koipool just wrapped her tail around the kitten “It's okay, Mama is safe now and admiring us from the stars.” She smiled gently, her tone light.

-Bluebellpaw-

She felt the tail of another wrap around her, and she wailed again. "Mama, mama!"

She didn't want her mother in the stars, she wanted to her mother here. Now, by her side. She wanted Slatewhisker wake up and just hug her damn it.

---

-Lilycreek-

She felt the dread course through her again. Another death. It seemed like it followed her everywhere. The cries of Bluebellpaw broke her head. The little one sounded like herself- how she had screamed and cried for her son when her found him. Koipool walked over and hugged the kit, and it compelled her to walk over as well. Silently, she sat next to the kit, and rest her head on Bluebellpaw's, small tears leaking from her eyes, and staining her fur.

So many losses, so little time.

[stardust.]

> Snowkit <

Bluesister was a Sadcat too... why.... why... why did it have to be like this... if only... if only... luckily her sister was here with her.. "B-b-bwues-s-sister... W-we... c-can cwy and b-be S-s-sad-ca-cat's to-togeth-together" Snowkit spoke, bye bye Slatemama... She walked over to her sister.. yowling: "YOOOOOOO!!!" Before crying on her.. "I wove you mama..." She whispered in her now dead adoptive mother's ear... today wasn't like the others... it was a sad day... She needed a cat to comfort her...

// @lonely.lilyx

[sol.]

Originally Posted by Ghostly Stars

> Snowkit <

Bluesister was a Sadcat too... why.... why... why did it have to be like this... if only... if only... luckily her sister was here with her.. "B-b-bwues-s-sister... W-we... c-can cwy and b-be S-s-sad-ca-cat's to-togeth-together" Snowkit spoke, bye bye Slatemama... She walked over to her sister.. yowling: "YOOOOOOO!!!" Before crying on her.. "I wove you mama..." She whispered in her now dead adoptive mother's ear... today wasn't like the others... it was a sad day... She needed a cat to comfort her...

// @lonely.lilyx

-Bluebellpaw-

She cried even harder as more cats came to comfort her and her sister. She latched onto her sister's side, feeling even more hopeless than she already was.

The realization of her mother's passing, and the pressing sympathy of the other cats made her so, so, tired. Violetfreckle's comforting words made her even more upset, and angry. Her mother had left them, and left the task of drying their tears to others. She didn't understand why, but it made her mad.

Selfish. The word floated through her mind. Her mother hadn't even talked to her all week- the only scrap of interaction they had was that small moment during the gathering. And while she knew she was being irrational, more of her temper bubbled inside of her.

Gingerfrost came, and she said nothing. Nothing, meant anything anymore, because her selfish, selfish, mother was gone. Because they ran out of time. Because, she realized with horror and disgust for herself, she was going to miss the idea of her mother, and the moments they had with each other, more than her mother herself.

She sobbed harder. Why did it have to be this way?


---

@vellichor @Estelle

[Pitou]

**Doeheart**

The lilac queen’s ears perked as a clear call reached her from the clearing. She rose and slipped out into the still warm sun. The sight hit her before Beansprout’s words sunk into her conscious mind. Slatewhisker was eerily still. Her heart dropped. She was aware of Elkkit emerging from the nursery before disappearing back inside. She was thankful her kit chose to remove himself as she realized she hadn’t the capacity to address her kits in the moment, though her litter was at the top of her concerns. The news of yet another rogue attack, so soon after the attack on camp where one had been targeting kits of all things, and this attack had been strong enough to take out their deputy. Doeheart felt the bile of nauseating terror rising into her throat. What were they to do if even their own deputy was caught and killed by the rogues? Her kits were so near their apprenticeship, she’d have little to no control over their safety as they ventured out.

Everything ripped over the edge as Magnoliakit, Bearkit, and Shellkit came to mind. She’d already lost Falconkit and Brightkit; she’d tried to maintain hope that the other three would be found though she herself had had little success, but now with the very real threat of rogues she was sure they must’ve been caught by rogues. Her world suddenly crumbled as her last bits of hope whirled away from her. Her knees buckled and the trout she’d eaten earlier rose up and spewed from her mouth. This can’t be happening…This can’t be real… How had she spent so long looking forward to being a mother, so many moons raising her siblings alongside her mother, then fail so miserably?

[Faith.]

Dappledpaw was sitting curled in a corner of the camp. The whole camp seemed to be in a state of sadness, from Slatewhisker's death. She shuffled her paws, unsure what to do with herself.
[Open]

[stardust.]

> Snowkit <

She spotted Gingercat, GINGERCAT!! YAY!!! GINGERYGINGERKITTY!!! She offered a small smile to Gingercat as she latched onto his leg. "Thanks for offewing Swirlcat!! But Gingercat is the best!! He helped me with the Badcats!! And cats who kill Badcats are Goodcats!!" She then stopped, she just said kill.. She started crying again.. Now she was a Meancat... "HEY FWEND!!! YOU AWE A FWEND!! GINGERCAT!! NOW YOU CAN'T ESCAPE ME!! HAHAHAHAHAHA!!!" Then.. oh no.. She stopped.. thinking about Slatewhisker once again..

// @Estelle @vellichor @lonely.lilyx