The Vine and the Bumblebee [P]

[TheNyanCatMinecart]

(Ivysnake can only appear for two posts, so this'll be fast!)

~ IVYSNAKE OF THE DARK FOREST - AFAB SHE/HER - SPIRITUAL ENCOUNTER ACTIVATED ~

Tall, angular, dark brown she-cat with piercing amber eyes and distinctive black stripes.

Ivysnake was still in high spirits after launching that boulder at - what was her name? Right, Redhawk. One of ThunderClan's precious Hornets. Of course, it was just like Bumblestar to name a rank after herself. ThunderClan's elite... She snorted. ShadowClan's Enforcers were far more powerful. They'd crush those frog-brained bugs and hardly feel their sting. Just like Ivysnake intended to do. To see Spiderthroat sitting in the deputy position, unavenged after he ripped her life away too soon... It made the fur rise along her spine.

They would never stop feeling her wrath.

And she wanted Bumblestar to know that.

As the pale brown-and-cream tabby returned from the Gathering, Ivysnake made herself visible. She doubted any of the others could see her, not that she cared. Bumblestar was the only one that mattered. She sauntered forward, angular head high, shapely muscles sliding beneath a short pelt. Her sharp amber gaze gleamed in the shadows. This camp had once been hers. ShadowClan's. Bumblestar needed to know who owned her.

"Hello, Bumblepaw," Ivysnake meowed in her sharp, gruff voice. "How are you liking your home? It seems awfully empty without ShadowClan in here. A shame they don't own you anymore. Though they're why you're alive. After all, when I first met you, you were an overaged apprentice who hardly knew how to fight. Then we gave you the will. Those scars suit you nicely." She eyed the ones on her face. Then her expression sharpened. Any teasing vanished.

She took a step forward and shoved her ghostly face closer to the squirrel leader's. "You think I've forgotten what you did to me? How you disgraced ShadowClan and took my life away too soon? I had so much to give my Clan, and it was taken away. Now my murderer is sitting high and mighty in the deputy spot. ShadowClan may not be at war with you anymore, squirrel, but I sure am. I will never let you forget what you've done."

Her seriousness was briefly broken by a sly smirk. "I hope you enjoyed that boulder I sent your way. What was that Special Squirrel's name again? Redhawk? She didn't seem so special when her paw was crushed."

@dino. (Since Ivysnake can only stay around for one more post, this will be relatively short! She'll bust out the Acornkit corpse illusion in the next post.)

[dino.]

Bumblestar had kept back after the Gathering, allowing someone else to lead her Clan home so she could keep an eye out for any further supernatural threats. The whole situation had thrown her a curveball, and even as she fell behind the furthest cat in the group, she still kept her eyes on the forest's undergrowth. Not paranoid, not uneasy - just attentive. Always attentive.

So once she reached the edge of the clearing she'd just passed through, Ivysnake's sudden appearance hardly fazed her. The only outward sign of any surprise was the brief prickle of fur along her shoulders and the way her ears twitched sideways, until she clamped down on her expression and fashioned it into an irritated glare. She was angry that this cat was the one who had incapacitated one of her better warriors, but she was absolutely not about to give the pompous-headed spirit the upper end here.

"Not even gonna bother with the how 'n move straight on to the what the hell," she scoffed. "You really still stuck on that? You got nothing better to do than wallow around down there 'n fume about the past? Do yourself a favor 'n get a life. I'm sure you've got better things to be doin' then flingin' rocks at Gatherings." A curl of her lip as she looked away and started to walk past Ivysnake. "All you're doin' is inflating my ego by provin' you're still obessed with me. Next time you get murdered, don't make yourself such an easy target."

The dead were all the same. StarClan or Dark Forest, it didn't matter - they were all too wrapped up in their own heads to understand their own irony. It was far from Bumblestar's issue.

[ @TheNyanCatMinecart ]

[TheNyanCatMinecart]

~ IVYSNAKE OF THE DARK FOREST ~

AFAB | SHE/HER | WORLDWEAVER TIER 2 | SPIRITUAL ENCOUNTER

Tall, angular, dark brown she-cat with piercing amber eyes and distinctive black stripes.

The squirrel leader didn't have as much of a reaction to Ivysnake's appearance as she'd hoped. Surprise flashed for an instant in her green eyes, then faded into a look of ire. Ivysnake's pelt twitched. Something was better than nothing. She wanted to rub the bug's fur the wrong way. She wanted the wannabe leader to know that Ivysnake wasn't gone from this world. The former medicine cat apprentice's mild disappointment morphed into satisfaction. You'll see what else I can do, she thought, flexing her long claws. They passed through the clearing's floor without leaving a mark, mist swirling in their wake.

Bumblestar was quick to snap, though. Some things just didn't change. Ivysnake listened quietly, eyes narrowed, gaze fixed on the other she-cat's face. It felt nice, looking down at the ThunderClan cat. Ivysnake would always be taller than this pest.

She couldn't help the dark fur from bristling along her spine and the low growl from rumbling in her throat when Bumblestar insulted her. It was more than just being "hung up." Revenge was a worthy cause. Ivysnake was the better cat here for making her enemies suffer instead of rotting away in the afterlife with nothing else to do.

Next time you get murdered, don't make yourself such an easy target.

Ivysnake stiffened. Her muscles rippled beneath her dense coat.

An easy target? Ivysnake had been far from an easy target. It had taken a fox to distract her Clanmates and three ThunderClan warriors to strike her down. Bumblestar knew nothing. She wanted to fire that off at the ThunderClan leader, but where would that get her? Ivysnake could feel her connection fading. She had to do something else to really rub Squirrelstar's fur the wrong way. To show that she wasn't messing around.

So, she conjured a vision in front of Bumblestar as the smaller she-cat stalked past her.

A vision of Acornkit.

(TW: Gore)

The small, fluffy, chubby scrap lay on the ground, limbs splayed, eyes shut closed in the desperation she'd felt in her last moments. Vicious bite marks marred her body. Pink flesh and white bone poked from beneath; dark red blood matted her brown pelt. The stench of fox permeated the air.

"Oh, I can do more than throw boulders at elite squirrels," Ivysnake meowed. "That little hairball - what was her name? Right, Acornkit. It was real easy to appear to her and help her sneak out of camp. And then point her in the direction of a fox den." Ivysnake grinned, amber eyes sparking with joy at the memory.

"It's not just your warriors, Bumblestar. It's your kits. So keep an eye out. Because I'll never forgive you."

Ivysnake felt herself fading. Her time was up. With a smug look on her face and a hardened gaze, she shimmered out of sight.

@dino. (It feels so weird roleplaying her after a year-)