a bed of heather to rest my head [p]

[idia]

SAGE
he/she/they . 38-40 moons . dusty brown and white tabby; blue eyes; bobbed tail.

life's been quiet. not an eerie, disturbing quiet that leaves one with goosebumps – ridden with fear and discomfort, paranoid that something might go wrong. not a peaceful quiet that's experienced by one when they wake early and watch the sun slowly rise, a promise of the day to come, and the hope of tomorrow. no, it's been neither of those. it's just quiet, static quiet. ever since the night they'd stumbled upon the thunderclan border and talked to rose...

the days have blurred together. it's a cycle that sage repeats: wake up, hunt, eat, drink, sleep - repeat. there's no trespassers, no visitors. no rose, and certainly no aster (a memory that still makes their muscles tense.) it's just them and the quiet of their little abode, save for the sounds of nature. and maybe, just maybe, that's how it's supposed to be. guilt weighs heavy on their mind, of course. as it should – she's abandoned her only living sibling, once more. maybe the thought of seeing rose perish in front of her scares her more than the thought of not knowing if something happens to her sister at all.

besides, he's not meant for clan life. that's obvious enough. if he'd returned, he'd just have been a burden to rose anyway. that's scarier than anything – weighing down your family.

I hope rose has a long, meaningful life..aster couldn't, but rose..she still has a chance, sage thinks with a small sigh as they stretch their limbs. they then curl up in their little nest, summer night crickets idly chirping outside of their makeshift den. me? I'll just keep existing, stay here...even if I miss them both, it's okay, she assures herself. eyes fluttering shut, she pushes away any lingering thoughts. over the past few moons, she's learned that as long as she doesn't focus on the bad stuff ..sleep comes easy. it's the dreams that are haunting.

but this time it's ..oddly peaceful. the dream, that is. as his eyes crack open, the scenery is nothing like the empty black void that typically shows. I know...this place, he realizes, eyes widening. the familiar landscape, the badgers den. a place of (long forgotten, but welcome) serenity. their old home. no, wait, to put it more correctly ..

aster's, rose's, and their old home.

[ @wolfie THEMMM eheh, hope you don't mind me setting the dreamscape ;w; thought their childhood home would be cute ]

[wolfie]

✿˚ ༘ ⋆｡˚ [ ASTERDANCE ‼ ] ˚｡⋆ ༘˚✿

┆彡 THE MENACE

| STARCLAN WARRIOR | ❀❀❀

✿｡°°｡✿ they. . them ➔ short yet muscular brown feline with darker brown flecks and back. they have a white underbelly and and a stubbed tail. their fur is fluffy and they have orange eyes.

╭₊˚purrks﹕worldweaver ₊˚੭
∘₊✧──────✧₊∘∘₊✧─� �────✧₊∘∘₊✧──────

// @furrensic
Asterdance hadn't even realized they would be able to see Sage. From their understanding which was so very brief (you would think the dead would've solidified some basic information somewhere but nope) it didn't seem like outsiders came to StarClan. It had been by chance that they had decided to check up on Roseraven in that particular instance as she talked to Sage. They had only caught the ending but their eyes immediately became fixated on the brown & white tabby.

How do you cope with the fact that your sister has been alive longer than the time you really knew him? That you hadn't been able to stop them from leaving. That you had failed. That your actions had ended with her being in pain.

By the time Asterdance had been able to look away from their brother their eyes were red & puffy, tears unable to stop flowing. As if they were a kitten again, where their emotions got the best of them. The guilt ate at them. They had to talk to him. They needed to. It didn't matter what Whisperingwolf had told them anymore. At - at least with their other siblings, with their clanmates they were - satisfied with it. Trying to talk to them seemed like it would cause more pain. They had never got to say goodbye to Sage.

The feline didn't even know if it was possible to talk to her but for the following days that was all Asterdance could try and do. Which was easier said then done. Throwing things down at the living world? Not exactly easy but they had figured it out. It wasn't like trying to create a dreamscape and drag someone else into it who didn't really had much connection to StarClan in the first place.

And then it starts to crack - bit by bit. Asterdance pokes, and pokes. At least one thing about being dead is that your body no longer requires anything from you. It's all a luxury.

After what seemed like forever, the brown tabby finally reached towards Sage and tugged at him with all their might. There was a crackle that rang inside their head and suddenly in a flash and a thump the other was standing outside their birthplace -- their grave.

She had to be inside of there. Their heart starts to beat so fast - or or at least, it feels like it. Expect when they press their paw against their transparent chest, it does not make a movement. It startles them. The reminder that they are dead. They set their paw back down, every part of them feels jittery. They take a slow, deep breath - squeezing their eyes shut.

They knew they only had to pretend.

Asterdance's eyes open and they swiftly manifest a bird. It's the first thing that came to mind and it also happens to be first thing they had ever caught. They blink slowly at the bird. They force a toothy grin onto their face as if the possible outcome of this (whatever outcome there could be) didn't terrify them and picked up the bird.

They stepped into the den, their breath catching in their throat. They drop the bird. "I'm hoomee! Are ya hungry?" They ask, and they wait for a reaction; some type of telltale sign of what Sage was thinking.
c
could you even eat in dreams, actually?

[idia]

SAGE
he/she/they . 38-40 moons . dusty brown and white tabby; blue eyes; bobbed tail.

sage steps inside the old badger's den, surveying the inside. as much as they want to be disturbed, for some odd reason, it's comforting. it's like nothing's changed, not a cobweb in sight. even though in reality, the den had definitely been deserted for seasons. he kinda wants to lay down and take a little nap. seems that someone had other plans, though.

turning upon hearing pawsteps, sage's heart drops to his stomach at the sight of aster. it's her sibling standing there with a bird at their paws and that familiar yet heartbreaking toothy grin. aster is...dead..what? she wonder, blinking. "aster..? aster!! you.." she croaks, throat running uncomfortably dry as she races towards them – paws outstretched to envelop them in a hug if they allowed. (could..you hug a ghost?) she can already feel a lump forming in the back of her throat, and the bird is long forgotten. it's very clear this is a dream now. unless, he's gotten to the point he's imagining his siblings half ..transparent ghost. that'd be tragic. or...

"am - am I dead?" they blurt out with a small sniffle. their blue eyes are glazed over with unshed tears, but not because of the fact they could be dead. well, they hope they aren't but -- aster!! is!! in front of her! there's really only two possibilities.

[ @wolfie ]

[wolfie]

✿˚ ༘ ⋆｡˚ [ ASTERDANCE ‼ ] ˚｡⋆ ༘˚✿

┆彡 THE MENACE

| STARCLAN WARRIOR | ❀❀❀

✿｡°°｡✿ they. . them ➔ short yet muscular brown feline with darker brown flecks and back. they have a white underbelly and and a stubbed tail. their fur is fluffy and they have orange eyes.

╭₊˚purrks﹕worldweaver ₊˚੭
∘₊✧──────✧₊∘∘₊✧─� �────✧₊∘∘₊✧──────

// @furrensic
Oh stars, its the croaky voice that Sage answers back — the realization they could hear him was startling, something they had forgotten but its so familiar, so like home but yet its changed — it brings tears to their eyes. Any illusion of pretending as if seeing Sage again was anything but something of a miracle was shattered. And their heart breaks softly as paws try to wrap around them only to meet nothing but air.

"Aye Sagey, l - long time no see, eh?" Asterdance cracks a grin, reaching a paw to brush away the tears that glistened against their fur. "Sorry it er, took so long. This ain't my area of expertise, " they confessed, settling down next to the bobtail feline.

They couldn't help but to erupt into a fit of laughter as Sage suddenly brought up the idea of her being dead. "Nope, " they piped up, popping their p's. "Only dead one here is me! RiverClan is filled with a bunch of assholes I'm afraid, It's fine, stars know I was overdue on the death date. It even comes with some cool perks. 'Nough bout me though, how've been?" The warrior breaks into a ramble, it's always been their first response to any situations that made them nervous.

Which was stupid. Sage was their sibling - but still. Asterdance would be a liar to say they knew what had been happening to their brother. Hell, for all they know they could be a auncle. Wouldn't THAT be something? (Wait - actually, Sage didn't know he was an aunt either.)