you're on a path in the woods...

[Mica]

˚　　　　✦　　　.　　. 　 ˚　.　　　　　 . ✦　　　 　˚　　　　 . ★⋆. ࿐࿔
　　　.   　　˚　　 　　*　　 　　✦　　　.　　.　　　✦　˚ 　　　　 ˚　.˚　　　　✦　　　 　 ˚　.
TW: this post deals with a lot of de-realization, body horror and death!

---

There are three kinds of silence.

The first is soft, lined with duck feathers and sidelong looks. It cradles and soothes, lulling in low tones and smiling sweetly.

The second is tense; barely contained movement, vitriol dripping from teeth and claws buried in dirt. A coil about to snap.

The third is that of a predator's gaze, electric and cloying. It clings to your mind and invades your thoughts like ants trickling one by one down your ear. It promises oblivion. It promises Nothing.

Nothing woke him. Nothing at all. And yet his eyes cracked open, fluttering a few times before his gaze focused enough to see. Rather than the den he had fallen asleep in, his brother's tail in his face, there was...

Nothing.

He blinked again. Surely there couldn't be nothing. That made no sense! There was the ground, and the sky, and--ah, there. See? He stumbled to white-tipped paws, dry grass crunching under them. Where was he? Pale yellow grass stretched endlessly in all directions, lit by watery sunlight that came from nowhere and everywhere at once. He stared into the distance, brow furrowed. Something oppressive settled over his fur, and instinctively he shifted his shoulders to roll it off of him. But when he looked back, there was Nothing.

Unease grew in his chest. He turned in a slow circle, scanning the horizon for something--anything--to give him a sense of direction. Nothing in every direction. The wind had gone, unable--or unwilling?--to protect him from the silence.

Even his heart had stopped beating.

A sudden wave of nausea gripped the tom, and he staggered to the side a little as the world spun around him. Crushing his eyes shut, he hissed through his teeth breath after breath until it faded. In its place sat panic. Small, unfed. Waiting. His thoughts clambered in his skull, but he couldn't hear them.

When he opened his eyes again, the Nothing had been breached. He barely got a moment to see before space fell in on itself with a deafening crack, as though he had stood right next to a lightning bolt as it strikes a tree. Thrown an impossible distance, he slammed into the moor with a bone-shuddering thud, pain blooming along every muscle and bone along his left side. As if the landing had jostled something loose, his brain suddenly exploded in light and color and sound, a deafening roar of his own voice.

Hawkfur bolted upright with a gasp, heart pounding in his chest. The blow should have kept him down for longer, but the pain seemed to leech out of him through his paws, tugged from him by an insistent wind. He turned to look in the direction he came from, but yelped when it appeared he hadn't moved from his place at all. The thing that had breached whatever this place was stood directly in front of him, its small form dark and swirling as gusts of wind flowed into it like water down a ditch. Hawkfur stumbled back, overwhelmed by the immense gravity of this... thing.

"B̸̗̓r̸̘̊ǒ̴͜t̵̳͐ḣ̵͚e̶̫͋r̴̟̿ !̸̠̀!̷͔̎"

What?

"Ha̴̡͝w̸̢̌ḱ̵̘f̶̯̒uŕ̶̞!̸̡̃! "

"R-Rootpaw?" The tom croaked, his bright blue eyes shining silver in the pale light. "I--you--" His head felt like it was stuffed with moor grass, brittle and moments away from catching flame. The Nothing threatened to drag him back to oblivion but Hawkfur shouldered through it, eyes straining to find the outline of his sister within the darkness in front of him.

The wind howled as if furious with his attempts, whipping against his nose and ears in punishment. The Fury hunkered down, nearly eye-to-where-eyes-would-usually-be with the figure. Stars, stars, was this--where--how--Hawkfur's thoughts were a tumbleweed within the whirlwind, ripped from his grasp the moment he got a hold of it.

Through teary eyes, Hawkfur glanced to the side and caught a flicker of another shadow just beyond what he assumed was Rootpaw. It was smaller, with bigger ears and longer tail fur. Even the wind couldn't take the thought from his mind when he saw it.

"Crowpaw!" Hawkfur's voice barely made it out of his mouth before being swallowed by the maelstrom of his sister. "Son!" The panic that always sat in his chest had begun to awaken, grasping onto the disoriented fear of its host and drinking heartily. His son, his boy--missing for weeks with no sign--dead--dead--DEAD

Hawkfur threw his desperate gaze to his sister. "Is he with you?" When she didn't respond, he looked back at he visage of his son only to see Nothing in his stead. "Rootpaw, is he with you??" He was begging now, tears falling freely down his face only to be sucked into the whirlwind.

She was silent.

"IS MY SON DEAD??" Hawkfur wailed, claws digging into the dirt to keep him from being bowled over. "ANSWER ME! PLEASE!"



"I̴̯̲͇͆̾̈ ̶̫͈̯̈́̈́̊c̶͖̣̳͗̀a̷̮̮̓n̷͔͆'̶͔̐ ̪t̶͓͈̻́ --I̶̢̢̢̖͔̻̠͔͂͊̏̈́̈́͗̐̽̾͒̃͑̚͜͠� �̨̪͍̬ ̶̧̢̢̖̱͓̟̮̙͇̱̦̭̔̍̔̒͆̅̉̈́̃͜͝ ̯c̴̛̦̮̃̋ a̴̞͔͇͉͌̀̈́͋̈́͑̈́͛͋̃̒̉̓͝ n̵̨̧̯͔͍̣̲̭̥̳͎͑́͒̅̓̈́́͆̈̚͠ͅ� �̖ '̴̨̯̲̳̒̀t̵̝̺̗͑̓̈́̓͆̏͑̕͠ ̶̨̨̧̣͕̹͇͓͓̯͔͑͑̅̓͊̒̕ͅr̶͊̂̂� �̛̞͔̳̳̼̹̟͈̖̰̰̝̲̇̅ ë̴̛̻͇͉́̆̈́͒̄̔͊̓͑̋̍̂͘͝ ā̶̧̨͓͔͕̦̲́̽̊͊́̐͘͜͝͝ͅ ć̵̲̟̰͈̯̗͉̖̜͉̘̊̀͋̍̇̂ͅ ḩ̷̧̜̮͚̤̺̲̮̹̱̯̉́͌̀̇̄̋ͅ ̸̟́̍̂ you! Hawk̶̡̛̫͖̦̙͈̯̜͈͊͐͌̆̿͑̅́͒̕͘͝ ḟ̵̫̦͉͕͓̯̹̃̈́ ư̷̛̛̤̹̲͕͊̅̅̓̊̍̒̋̆̐̓̈̓̓͘͝� �͙̼͇ ȓ̴̡̡̘͎̣̣̥̰̗̪͓̮͚̣͔͖͚̍̄̈́͆͘ !̶̮̰̈ ̵̢̰̳̭͕̘̱͉̱͐́́͝Ç̴̺̺̬̹͎̀͜an ̶̝̜̯͔͈̂͌̉͋̀̋̀̐̆͂̉̿̏́̒͊̈́̕͠ ̨̪͙͖͍͓̱̤̞̹ͅȳ̸̐͛͆̃̔͊̽̍̊̀̽� �͙̞͔͛̔͆͠ o̷̡͖̣̫̝͖̱̘͕̻̞͌͛̉̓͆̍͌͋̀͒ ṵ̷̡̧̘̙͕̬̠̦͕̭̋̀̑̆̽̃̈́̈ͅ ̴̪̥͇̘̻̼̰̜́̈́͗̆̒̓͂̂̇͘h̷͋̈̀̂� �̧̛̻̲̣̞̟͈̮̻̙͖̞̥̋̅̃̀̀͋͠ ear ̸̨̡̬̲̗̥̣̺̳̼̤͍͚̈́̏̏̽̑̽̑̎̂͠ͅ ̘̰͎̖͇m̵͚̮̭͓͚̻͔̩̯̫͑̃̏̄͂̅͠ͅ� �̧̡̜ ę̶̢̧̧͓͉͉̀̓͆͑̉͌̿̇̉̍̊͌̄́̕͝� �̩͙͜?̸̛̫̼͕͈̠̜̦̻̳̲̹̘̜͐͜?̸̔͒� �̣̹̬̟̙̱͈̗̳̤̖̘̯̻̍͒̊̅̀̆͒̀͘"


Cursing through tears, Hawkfur forced himself back, step by step, each harder than the last. The gale had swelled, and it was taking all his concentration not to be pulled into it.

"Brother!"

Hawkfur's head shot up, eyes wide as he locked eyes with his sister, half cloaked in shadows, staring at him as she desperately held the dream together. For a moment, it was just the two of them, suspended in time as they beheld each other for the first time in over fifty moons. The beginnings of a smile traced Rootpaw's maw, relief and love pouring from her green gaze.

A great groan split the sky, and Hawkfur felt his very breath yanked from his chest as suddenly the world began to collapse around his sister. He felt her shoulders cave in, muscles shredding moments before bones popped and splintered, cutting jagged peaks through her starry fur.

Rootpaw opened her jaws in a soundless scream, blood gushing from her mouth as her ribs punctured through the fragile flesh of her lungs. Space crushed further inwards, contorting her limbs in impossible ways, each bend punctuated with a muffled snap and the gurgle of blood through a windpipe.

"ROOTPAW!" Hawkfur shouted over the din, throat torn raw by his own screaming. He'd thought he knew the feeling of true and utter horror.

He had been wrong.








"B̷̮͖̫͎͈͎̼̠̥̮͓̦́͊̎̒̄͝R̷̉̀̈́� �̨͎̗͉͓͓̝̣̦̙͒̀͆̇̈́͛̽̌̄̔͋́̽̿� �̲̠̺̭̦͈̳̠Ơ̷̬͖̟̱̪̬̓͊͗̊͒̕͝͠ ̢̰̠̼̹̦͇̲͍̘͜ͅT̴̢̼̬̮̖͇̬͚́͌̊� �̢̝͖͉̳̲̞̙͖ͅH̴̛̒̈́̐̍̾̒̐̐̏́̈́̕ ̨̻̞̰͇̩̥͔̔Ȩ̶͇̹̭̞̦̳͖̾̌̄͋͆́� �̨͖̹̫͖͚̬͕Ŕ̵̢͙͍͍̜̬̿̈́̎̈́͜͝͝ ̰̦̫ ̶̥̈́̋̒P̶̡̢̢̻̗̹̥͍͉͖͉̻̄̾̋͊͜ͅL ̴̨̱͔͋̑̃͘͘ͅE̵̢̜͓̱̓͒̌̓̃̀͆̅̃� �Ä̷͖͖́̉̓͛̏̑̿̄̀͒̂̄̕͠S̵̽͗͌͠͝� �̡͍̳̲̘͔͈̥͗̓̀̿̕͝Ę̶̳̗̳̻͚̬̻͘ ̗̫̱͈!̸̜̥̿̒!̸̄̑̌͐̋͌̆̉̋͆́͐̚͝ ̧̹̫̘̠̞͈͚͉̫̘͐͒!̶̰̺͂̌̔̓̃̇͝͝� �̢̪͕̮ P̵̎̀̿̇͌̈̍͆̿͗̍͐̈̒̃͒́͛̒̈́͝͠͝� �̡̧̼̻̞͈̼̩̪͂̍̄̀͑̆̊̃̊͘͜͜L̴͌̈́ ̓̋̉̅͌̈́̀̋̓̀̒̂̄̈́̓͌̄͗̒͗͑̕̚̚͝ ̨̡̣̻̤͈̫͉͎͚͖̞̻̩̙̏͊͒͗̉̈́̚͠͠E� �̧̡̡̨̨̡̛̼̫̹̫̥͚͈͔̲̬͕̙̣̍͜͝ͅ� �̧̺̙̟̟̤̣̻͙̘A̸̾͊̐̽́̔̑̊̽̈́͑̇ ̦͓̯̘͇̞̈́̌͌̓̂̃͒̃̎͌̀̉̾̚̚͘̚͝͝ ͔̺̞̥͇̗̣̞̰̮̺̻̱̳̜̺͚̦̼̭̗̳͇̞͈ ̮͇͇͈̦S̴̛͌̊̓̑̉̌̑͒͋̅͆̑̅͒̈͛̚� �̨̢̲̯̥̖̝̭͎͔̱͚̳̩̹̺̟̂̀͗̈́̊̕ͅ� �̨̨̢̫̖̗̥̰̳̮͎̭̰̭̤È̵̄̈̋̊͌̈́̚ ̧̧̡̫̬̰̝̳̲̜̲̣̦̯̞̗̟̳̱̬͑ͅͅ ̸̂̋͛̉̈́͌̇͗͋́̅̆̈́́̂̄̂͌̒̍̿̃͘͘ ̡͑̍̽͑́̋̉̃̎́̕͠Ȟ̶̭̣̱̤̻̓̿͗̽� �̞͓̟̭͙̞̤̠̱̹̖̜̫̭̦̹͕̙̭̥̖͜E̸̚ ͌͊̊̅́̑͒̋̔͋́̒̾̏̌̄͆̀̆͌̆͛̀̚̕ ̛̥̹̱̻͕̥͓̫̪̠̳͓̈̊̃̊͒͑̈͛͝͝L̵� �̈́̎́́͑͗̅͑̎̿̊͗̒̾̽͊̌̀̎͑͌̾̕̚� �̻̰̺͖̯̭̺̪̜͎͓͚͉̺͎̩̳̃̑̊̒̑͘ͅ� �̫̣P̸̛̛̩͚̰̋̊́̎̾̏̋̀̿́̑͛̓͘͝͝ ̧̳̲̦͚͙̼̼̲̝̳͖̖̲͍͙̼̭̥̹̫͇̫̝̜ ̭̫͈̘͇͜ ̷̛́̿͗͆͂̔͂͌̿́͋̌̽̑̑͋̉̈́͌̑͊̄͗ ̧̯̯̘͚̝̥͚̲͉͙͓̬̈́̔̄̍͒͒͒͗̎̏̕͝ ̲̯̰͔̲̝͇̮͕͕̟̬̻͍P̷̖̤̖͉͈̘̓̆̃� �̨̢̞̜̘͉̯̗̮͉͚͕̘̭̳͜L̵̉͛̓͗͛͠͝ ͉̗͓͕̲̦̖̎̇̃̆͂̉͆̂̈́̉̄̅̈͊͐̽͘̚ ̧̧̡͓͓̻̦̙͖͎̝̗̘͈͕É̶̈́̂̓͗̍̚͠� �̱͚̲̰͐̂̇͋̔̈́̅̂̒̉̍̈̉̈́͂̀̚͘͘͝� �̨̱̺̳̮̠͈̻͚͍Ä̸́͋̌̏̏̃͊̓͆̍͋͋̀ ̧͚͎͕̟̰̝͔̯̝͕̫̙͖̼͕̋́̒̅̆̕̕͜ͅ ̧̢̢̢͕̬̤͇̟̱̜Ş̸̧̰̮͉͎̼̪̼̔͝͝� �̨̧͍̰̞̦̟͇̺̫̠̥͜E̴͑̾͆̉͒͛̔̍̓͠ ̡̡̹̫̥̝̤͓͓͔̠̜̻̤̎̓͊͆̊̾̾̿̕̚͝ ̬̘͚͍̝̟̣̠̼̤͉̪̱͖ͅ ̷̛̺̩̲͈̦̜̆͊̍̎͂͛̋̈͊͗̅̈́͛̍̇̂͠ ̢̢̖̘͚̬̮̹̘͉̞̲̝̺̼͎̹̫̰̙̱͓͓̥͍ ̡̣̗̭̝̻Ì̶̛͋̒̄̒̉̔͒̋̔̽̈́͝͝͠͠� �̧̨̨̳͚̣̹̺̣͇̥̇̇̐̈́̃̅͊̋̉̉̒̅͑� �̢͙̬̝͓͙̮̫̯̦̮̣T̸̾̏̄̽̔̒͛͊̅͂͘ ̨̩̙͓̝̣͕͔̯͋̋͐̃͑̆̄̓̃̀͊̽̋̈́̑͘ ̖̪͇͕̩̥͖̣̬̞̦̥ ̴̛́̅̈́̉̓̓̔̐̆͗͒͛̆̊͗͋̆̀̋̕͘̕͝ ̛̭̼̳̤̭̺̲̱̦̙̦̱͚͓̣̟̙̙̙̈́̈́͛̕ͅ ͙̦̘͍̭̺̺̦̝̟̰͇H̵̏́̀̍̌̈̿̋̃̄͌� �̡̰͎̳̼̺͉̺͍̥̥̬̞̮̮̠̯̲̼̾̈͋͜͝� �̫̗͍̫̱̤Ư̷̛̲̑̑͊̓̈́̽̌͌̽̕͜͝͝ͅ ̧̨̧̢͕͖͙̗̣̦̙͉̙͓̠̦̳͇̲̬̺͙̙͈̘ ̻̩͍Ŕ̶͂̅̌̽̆͊́̇̏͌̂̓́̂͗̿̽͝͝� �̧̢̨̙̮̰̩̗̫̭̫͙͈̈́͂͗̉̀̋͋͒͂̕̚� �̻͚̗̼ͅT̴̒͐̔͌̿͒̒͒͆̀͛̂͋͊̒̚̕͘ ̢̡̡̣̜̳̯̹̹̣̺̱̀̌̄̔̈̓͐̒̊͐͝͝S� �̛̀̑̒͂̀͒̓̾̾̐͊̌̈́͂̂̈̆̚͘͝͝͝͝� �̡̨̛͎̫̥̙̼͚̝͉̦̗̤̘́͂̄̈́̒̐̑̀͝� �̟ ̴̛̽͌͐͐̋͑̓̀̽̍̍͌͌̊͑̃̅̇̓̈͊͘͝ ̧̛̛͔̤͕̙͚̻̤̖̫͓͖̯̦͈̍́̉̀͐͊̕͜ ̡̨̧̺̟̮̹̤̞̘̱Ḯ̵̢̛̃̽̀̃͒͗͘̚͝� �̗T̸̡͍̫̩̱͍̜̩͍̱̼͈̺̋̂̂̄̇́̀͘͜ ̢̲͇͓̜̳̲͎͎̖̻̻̲̣̥͚̳̳͓ ̷̈́̈͌̈́̄͗͊̔͒̂̌̓̌͑̍̄̎͌͋͐͘̚͘͘ ̡͚͇̗̥̤̠̥͑̇͜H̴̀̿̓̀̊̾̃̑̈̕͘͠� �̛̜̂̊̂͗͋͐̊͛̅͗͌̒̓̿̐̀̔́̚̕͝͝� �̡̢͓̥̪͕̬̱̯̖͔͙Ú̵̉̅̽̈́̉͆͋̓̑͝ ̌́̄͑͂́̓̇̿̾́̊̔̌̀̈́̍̀̕͘͘̕͝͝͠ ̧̨͙̱̪̯̙̬̳̹̱̯̬̰̝̲͕͈͕͈̘̼̜͚ͅ ̧̱̺͚R̸̈́̀̊̈́͊̑̌̀̊̿̉̋̏̌̐͝͝͠� �̖̮̟̦̜͎͔̜̣̞̍͜T̶̛̀̏̄̇͐͛̋̓̊̕ ͓͇̞̃̌̔͗̊̈́̀̄̓͆̎́̒͒̈́͐͐̈́̇̆͑̚ ̗̱̮̙̤̼͜S̴̐͆̆̈̄͆̐̂̋̀͊͊̓̌̚͘� �̧̡̡̡̭̣̜̖̲̖̦͓̟̭̠͔̗̜̼̮̝̣̰́! ̴̨̨̞̻͍̝̤̟̞̗͇̘̮̿̀̈́́̏̌͋̕͜͝͠ ͖͕͙̬̰̦̙̜͕̦̪̠͔͕̠!̴͐̊̊́͋̏̀̄� �̭̗͑!̶̖̥͔̰͍̽̅̒̋̒́̍̈́̌̊̀̽̚̕͠ ̧͙͙̼̩̯̮"







The end didn't come quickly. There was no final pop, Rootpaw's mangled and torn body disappearing into nothingness. No. It crushed smaller, and smaller, and smaller, long after Rootpaw had stopped screaming, her throat crushed underneath the weight of the dream. But she was alive. Oh, she was alive. Hawkfur was forced to watch as she was compressed into a tiny chunk of living, writhing meat at his paws. And still the dream shrunk. Rootpaw's screams had been caught by the winds, and now they tossed it back and forth, over and over until Hawkfur was screaming too, trapped in a nightmare beyond anything he'd ever known.

He was still screaming when he woke up.

---

[ppl who wanted mentions: @finley !! ]
[ppl who are getting a mention whether they like it or not :3: @Rani ]

˚　　　　✦　　　.　　. 　 ˚　.　　　　　 . ✦　　　 　˚　　　　 . ★⋆. ࿐࿔

　　　.   　　˚　　 　　*　　 　　✦　　　.　　.　　　✦　˚ 　　　　 ˚　.˚　　　　✦　　　 　 ˚　.

[Rani]

Crowtooth
Windclan Deputy | He/him | 55 Moons
Power Card: Cold Gust

The normal thunderous snoring cut off with a snort as Crowtooth shot up from his nest, ripped from sleep into a battle stance by screaming, already expecting to be attacked. A den raid? Why- Who they hadnt made another clan made of late they were at peace so who-


But the den was silent, calm but for some disturbed sleepy rumbling from clanmates blinking awake in shock. And Hawkfur, Hawkfur screaming like he was being murdered, totally untouched.

"Back ta yer nests all o' ya! Its a bad dream, I got it."
The call sent the rest of windclans warriors off, Crowtooths tone a clear call for them to step off and give the deputies brother space, and soon narrow eyes shifted from the settling clanmates back to the other tom.


Slipping from his nest Crowtooth crawled into Hawkfurs, settling his body around the smaller tom as a bulwark and began gently trying to shake him to more awareness, murmuring. "Hawkfur. Hawkfur its a dream ya gotta wake up. Yer screamin'. Come on yer safe, yer in the warriors den wit' me the clan is safe. Egretpaw an' Gracklepaw are safe in the apprentices den, I checked on them before I went ta bed." To not include Crowpaws name hurt, the endless silent worry over where she'd gone a burden on Crowtooth he'd not dared to voice for making the worst true.



"Come on, focus on my voice, I know it aint the prettiest just breathe, in an' out."


@Mica

[Mica]

Hawkfur
WindClan Fury
he/him | 61 moons
[Russet tabby with tuxedo markings and sky-blue eyes]
Purrks: Flock Together T3, Killer Aptitude T1
Header by @/wingnettle
⋆˖⁺‧₊☽ The Hanged Man ☾₊‧⁺˖⋆
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[Crowtooth - @Rani ]

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His ears were ringing, his lungs ached, his eyes burned burned burned the image of his sister being crushed into the size of a moss ball lingered behind his eyelids, forever scorched in his memory. Oh he was going to throw up--Hawkfur lurched out of his nest and stumbled outside, heaving dryly over the dirt. The cool night air tussled his fur, and he sucked lungful after lungful down.

If his brother followed him out--part of him hoped he did--Hawkfur would seek him out with half-crazed azure eyes. "M-my sister--I think she tried--" he swayed, nausea practically bowling him over as he remembered the pulsing wet meat gushing out of his sister's skin. "I've never--"

Hawkfur let out a jagged exhale. "It wasn't a dream--it was real, I'm telling you it was real and I saw her and I saw--I saw Crowpaw--" His voice shattered and he dropped, the intoxicating cocktail of exhaustion and adrenaline fueling his delirium. "My son is deAD." He had to be, right? There was no other reason that vision would have appeared behind his sister. "Rootpaw's spirit--I don't--I don't even know--" He had no idea what his sister was trying to tell him, and now he feared he may never get the chance to ask.

He allowed himself to be lead back to the den, wordlessly dropping onto the moss and staring absently at the wall. Wind howled in his ears, and Rootpaw's voice slipped in through the gusts.

"Brother!"

He didn't sleep for the rest of the night.

[Two months later but huzzah! Don't feel the need to reply to this]