Closed The Colony dark skies, blue eyes [private]

[GHOSTSTRIKE]

WE SLEEP SAFELY AT NIGHT BECAUSE ROUGH MEN STAND READY TO VISIT VIOLENCE ON THOSE WHO WOULD HARM US

​

---

When Ghost had eventually gotten to his feet and left the colonies camp behind, he told himself he wasn't going anywhere in particular. Just getting away from the oddly uncomfortable atmosphere that had taken over after Frays death was announced, not used to seeing so many cats grieve at once time for the same cat.

Most Coalitions cats didn't even get the chance to bury their dead, let alone have the time to properly mourn them.

And when he began tracking the scent-trails around him and began heading off toward a familiar stretch of woodland, he told himself it was just to track down whatever bird was making that racket off in the distance. And he did catch that bird, a large, plump thrasher with rusty colored plumage and a speckled breast. It hung from his jaws, limp and warm, as he continued farther into the cold, frostbitten woodland, ignoring the fact that his zigzagging path kept bringing him back to a familiar scent line heading toward an equally familiar log.

When he arrived, he told himself it wasn't on purpose, that it was sheer happenstance that had carried him in this direction and not damp blue eyes. But when he paused a few feet away from the entrance, he found himself out of excuses. There was no reason for him to go in there. He wasn't even entirely sure what he was trying to accomplish. Was it just curiosity? Boredom? Surely not an attempt at comfort.

"You're in my spot. Move over." A statement, blunter than the tips of his claws could ever be, half muffled around his catch, as he appeared in the entrance, blocking out the light with his hulking frame.

OOC- @THUNDER
​

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future thunderclanner - male - a large, grey tabby with dark amber eyes and several scars​

​

 

[THUNDERFLASH]

☆ He had come here because he didn't expect company. The piece of prey- he didn't give a shit what it was now- dropped carelessly between paws, pressed against the walls of the decaying log, paws pushed up against stormed blues, ears lowered and sobs hiccupping into the dense air within the log. Thunder had let it out, in a way that he normally didn't. His bleeding heart, ever present on his sleeve, wide open with all the truths it could bear.

He certainly didn't expect the approaching footsteps, which had him ragged for breath, sucking in precious air to attempt to make himself normal, presentable, what's expected of a esteemed- he couldn't even finish the thought before the entrance darkened, and red-rimmed blue eyes split wide open. Of all cats he expected, it wasn't him. Thunder bit down on his tongue, a muffled noise leaving him- surprise? Another sob? Even he wasn't sure.

Silently he complied, gluing himself into the now-familiar space of the deepest end of the hollow, ears still pressed backwards and vision cast away from Ghost. Silence rings for but a moment later before his mouth- his fat mouth, he can't ever keep it shut- opens and he speaks. "Sorry y' had t' find me like th's m' not really-" A cough, eyes narrowing critically at his paws. "No' a grea' host when m' like this, ya'know." He mumbled out, toeing a piece of dirt that had clumped into a ball.

‎ ‎ ‎‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ITS TIME TO DO IT NOW ☆ AND DO IT LOUD

• "speech"
  

• 

• THUNDER he/him, future thunderclanner, nineteen moons.
  ☆ a sh/lh chocolate tabby with low white and stunning baby blue eyes. stands of average height with a 'mohawk' and spiky-shaped mane.
  ☆ mentored by who / mentoring no one
  ☆ whichever relations / want listed
  ☆ peaceful and healing powerplay permitted / / underline and tag when attacking
  ☆ penned by dallas ↛ dallasofnines on discord, feel free to dm for plots.

 

[GHOSTSTRIKE]

WE SLEEP SAFELY AT NIGHT BECAUSE ROUGH MEN STAND READY TO VISIT VIOLENCE ON THOSE WHO WOULD HARM US

​

---

Dark, watchful eyes looked on in quiet patience as the other shuffled farther back, wiping at their face and looking at anything but the dark tabby lingering in the entrance. It occurred to him that in such a vulnerable time, perhaps Thunder might not want to be stared at, but he couldn't quite find it in him to care much beyond that simple acknowledgement.

I'm never a great host." he reasoned bluntly, finally breaking off his one-sided staring contest as he stepped inside to take his own spot, ears trained on the space behind him. He still didn't like having his back to an opening, but he still found it less dangerous than putting it to another cat.

Dropping the bird between his own paws, he took a moment to clean the blood from his lips, letting the silence settle for a long moment, either to give the chocolate tabby a chance to get their shit together, or to figure out just why he'd even come in and sat with them in the first place.

"You said weren't close with the old man." A question disguised as a statement. And while it wasn't quite what'd been said, in Ghosts fractured mind they equated to the same thing. Why cry for someone you wouldn't bother to die for, as well? It, like so many other things surrounding these clan cats, left him confused about just what the 'rules' were in this place, where cats grieved the dead together and patched each other up when hurt.
​

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future thunderclanner - male - a large, grey tabby with dark amber eyes and several scars​

​

 

[THUNDERFLASH]

☆ His eyes burned like coals against his skin- Thunder knew he was staring. Ears shifted and flattened backwards. He knew that he was a mess, fur clumped and dirty, eyes red-rimmed and face tear-streaked. There was no use in hiding that. He almost wished it was raining so he could have an excuse there, at least. Thunder cleared his throat as Ghost finally stepped in, still avoiding his gaze. The dirt ball beneath his paw was really interesting, yep, that's why he wasn't looking.

It was quiet for a long moment. Not... stifling, but it definitely wasn't easy, either. Ghost was an intimidating figure, and while he wasn't bothered by that, he was still a presence he was growing used to. You said you weren't close with the old man. His ears flattened backwards further, eyebrows drawing together and lips pursing slightly. "I- well-" He breathed in, then turns his head the other direction, as if seeing if that would help him escape the question.

Ghost wasn't likely to budge, so Thunder did first. Save himself some headache there, maybe. "He... took me in. When m' own family wouldn'. Accepted me." He swallowed thickly, eyes shifting slowly towards Ghost. Maybe resting at his paws, those oddly white-patterned digits staring back at him. "Wasn't close, but he meant somethin' t' me. Did somethin' fer me." Thunder said, his voice possibly the softest that Ghost has heard from him yet. He sniffled, then chuckled awkwardly, trying to cover it up.

‎ ‎ ‎‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ITS TIME TO DO IT NOW ☆ AND DO IT LOUD

• "speech"
  

• 

• THUNDER he/him, future thunderclanner, nineteen moons.
  ☆ a sh/lh chocolate tabby with low white and stunning baby blue eyes. stands of average height with a 'mohawk' and spiky-shaped mane.
  ☆ mentored by who / mentoring no one
  ☆ whichever relations / want listed
  ☆ peaceful and healing powerplay permitted / / underline and tag when attacking
  ☆ penned by dallas ↛ dallasofnines on discord, feel free to dm for plots.

 

[GHOSTSTRIKE]

WE SLEEP SAFELY AT NIGHT BECAUSE ROUGH MEN STAND READY TO VISIT VIOLENCE ON THOSE WHO WOULD HARM US

​

---

Ghost tried to imagine that scenario, tried to make himself feel and understand only to fall laughably short. In concept he understood why someone would appreciate being helped, but it'd been so long since he'd been on either end of the situation that it was hard to remember. The closest he could summon was Cicada and Thunders interference with what should have been his death when he first arrived, but he couldn't imagine shedding tears over the detached healer, and Thunder… Well, he couldn't say he would cry for them either, though there was something in him that suggested he would be annoyed or perhaps disappointed to lose his main source of information when it came to the clan.

But that didn't imply that Thunder meant anything to him. Ghost had trained himself out of those kinds of attachments and he couldn't imagine he was going to go back on them any time soon. Things were less complicated this way. Easier.

And yet, the notion that it was that easy to mean something to Thunder was as unsettling as it was curious. How many other cats would they cry over when they died? How much blood would his bleeding heart pour for cats who showed him such small kindnesses?

And why?

Would he bleed for Ghost now, too? And would he expect Ghost to do it back?

(Please, you don't have any debt, ya' know.) The memory surfaced, unbidden, as if to answer his question for him.

"You give yourself away too easily, pup." came his rumble of a response as he finally settled, shoulders not quite as stiff as the first time they found themselves there. " Not sure how you have so much left, honestly." he tacked on, a muttered afterthought.

A lifetime of caring and losing and feeling that loss. Ghost had only been able to suffer it thrice before he cut himself off, hoarding his broken pieces to himself lest they be snatched away or crushed into even smaller shards under the cruel paws of another or a sick twist of fate. And yet Thunder seemed happy to bleed himself dry for anyone who needed him. It was the stupidest, most ridiculous thing he'd ever seen, and he wasn't sure he wanted to understand it.

"Suppose that means you fit in here. You're all a little strange like that." he noted. Even the majority of Sables supporters– seen as instigators by many of Frays cats– seemed to have their frustration and motivations rooted in a desire to be able to care for their loved ones. They were just willing to go a little farther than the others, not afraid to cut the dead weight off and move on. That was more aligned with what Ghost was used to, and yet he felt no temptation to pick a side or voice any support for Sable and his cats.

It didn't matter anyways, he'd be gone in a week or two anyways.

​

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future thunderclanner - male - a large, grey tabby with dark amber eyes and several scars​

​

 

[THUNDERFLASH]

☆ The nickname stopped him dead in his track, stormy blues shifting from his paws straight to those piercing, dark browns. Stopped, so irrevocably focused on Ghost he didn't know if he was breathing or not. He had to break it down in his brain. First- that nickname. Pup. It was far removed from what they were, normally lent to the young of dogs or foxes, and a warning for the future, but on the timber of the larger tom's voice... he blinked as the second point came across him and started to make sense. Give away too easily.

A stuttered breath finally came out of him, and by the time Thunder realizes he's staring it's too late and he's sure that Ghost knows that he's starting, so he looks away, eyes wide and still red, but nothing but surprise follows. Embarrassment doesn't touch him, and he ignores the funny feeling in his stomach. But Ghost is still talking and he needs to keep up, else, Ghost would likely leave him here too.

"Yer one t' talk." Thunder uttered under his breath, a sniffle and a tiny cough leaving him before he tried to straighten himself out and square his shoulders. Act like he didn't just get caught sobbing into his paws about someone that likely didn't even remember his name right before he died. "Fer th' record, I don't know how much I go' left either, but.." His head turned away briefly, catching light where there was no rain right now, where lightning didn't strike.

It occurred to him just before he opened his mouth that Ghost came looking for him. That it wasn't by chance he lead himself here. That either Thunder was awful at covering his tracks, or Ghost was really, really good at tracking. "Am I bein' right? Fair? If I only give a bi' of m'self to everyone I think deserves i'?" He says quietly. "Don' think m' allowed t' be selfish like tha', yeah?"

‎ ‎ ‎‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ITS TIME TO DO IT NOW ☆ AND DO IT LOUD

• "speech"
  

• 

• THUNDER he/him, future thunderclanner, nineteen moons.
  ☆ a sh/lh chocolate tabby with low white and stunning baby blue eyes. stands of average height with a 'mohawk' and spiky-shaped mane.
  ☆ mentored by who / mentoring no one
  ☆ whichever relations / want listed
  ☆ peaceful and healing powerplay permitted / / underline and tag when attacking
  ☆ penned by dallas ↛ dallasofnines on discord, feel free to dm for plots.

 

[GHOSTSTRIKE]

WE SLEEP SAFELY AT NIGHT BECAUSE ROUGH MEN STAND READY TO VISIT VIOLENCE ON THOSE WHO WOULD HARM US

​

---

Pup. it slipped out so easily that Ghost hardly realized he'd said it, but he found it fit the other well. Thunder did remind him of the younger dogs he'd see running with the packs back home; loud, and full of energy, and always rushing into things. Too trusting of the hands that fed. Not yet wise to the claws of their quarry or the luring calls of a twoleg looking to slip a noose around their necks. Eager to bounce back once they were, too dumb or too stubborn to know they should be afraid,

Not like the cats he'd lived with, all dull-eyed and jaded or hiding behind a false bravado. Waiting for an early death.

And maybe Ghost was a little canine himself, because as Thunder stared up at him in what appeared to be surprise, Ghost stared back calmly, head tilting in almost doggish fashion of curiosity.

Cat got your tongue? he seemed to say. A first for everything, then.

"Yer one t' talk."

He huffed lightly, feigning what could have been offense if you squinted hard enough. "M'not strange. The only sane cat here, actually." he shot back, though he'd long ago come to the conclusion that he was the odd man out, indeed.

"Don' think m' allowed t' be selfish like tha', yeah?"

"Why not?" he asked, the gruff inquiry holding a genuine tone of curiosity to it. Another thing Ghost didn't know how to understand. Why couldn't Thunder be selfish? Why was it bad to hoard his pieces to himself? To not hurt?

He felt like there was some secret he wasn't privy to. Some piece of information all of these cats had that he didn't that made them willing to feel these things for each other. And here he was, just a brute trying to figure out a more sophisticated species.
​

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future thunderclanner - male - a large, grey tabby with dark amber eyes and several scars​

​

 

[THUNDERFLASH]

☆ A snort left him at Ghost's defense of his persona. It was almost distracting for the moment, to think about Ghost's place in all of this instead of himself. He didn't open his mouth to tease him about it, to point out his flaws- no, that would be rude. It was come and gone by the time Ghost sent him down another tumble of thoughts, his eyes widening and ears laying flat against his skull.

Why not?

Thunder's family flashed into his mind. What he once was, the daughter of a royal family, cats who ruled above what rivaled the colony's size by double. In a plentiful land far from this, being trained as the middle child to become second-in-line. Despite being second, he was always meant to become something more then he was here. Give himself to the greater good, or something like that. His father never respected her, the weaker version of the cat Thunder was today. Less muscles, less senses, more naive.

But he- she- had always been a bleeding heart. Feeling for families who lost kits and elders. Feeling for the cats less fortunate then her. Thunder made a quiet, pitiful noise as he bit down on his tongue. "... No' how I was raised." Thunder's voice almost ached with how quiet it was.

‎ ‎ ‎‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ITS TIME TO DO IT NOW ☆ AND DO IT LOUD

• "speech"
  

• 

• THUNDER he/him, future thunderclanner, nineteen moons.
  ☆ a sh/lh chocolate tabby with low white and stunning baby blue eyes. stands of average height with a 'mohawk' and spiky-shaped mane.
  ☆ mentored by who / mentoring no one
  ☆ whichever relations / want listed
  ☆ peaceful and healing powerplay permitted / / underline and tag when attacking
  ☆ penned by dallas ↛ dallasofnines on discord, feel free to dm for plots.

 

[GHOSTSTRIKE]

WE SLEEP SAFELY AT NIGHT BECAUSE ROUGH MEN STAND READY TO VISIT VIOLENCE ON THOSE WHO WOULD HARM US

​

---

Ghost had no family to remember- not really. His sire and dam had both been members of the Shoulder Mark, a title that was usually flaunted with prestige, but even back then he'd been able to recognize that his family was at the bottom of the pecking order up there, just barely respected and kept there through his mothers connections to that side of the colony. Ghost was born to a litter of two, the bigger and stronger of the pair, but also the quieter one. He didn't look up at his tyrant of a father with awe and an eagerness to please like his smaller sibling had. Didn't even like speaking to the tom or being around him.

And so they knew right away which kit would be sacrificed to the Hind Mark and which would be raised as an heir into the upper class. His mother, while not cruel like his father, treated him like he was already dead and gone, a walking corpse she was forced to feed and care for. A ghost. At eight weeks old his own father carved the mark onto his hind leg and shoved him passed the borders of the Coalitions inner sanctum, out toward the edges where the Hind Mark lived, acting as a living barrier of food and distraction between the Shoulder Mark and the dogs.

That was the last he ever saw of any of them, though he would eventually catch word of his fathers death about a year later.

He had no clue what became of his mother and brother, if it was the collapse of the building that killed them or something else long beforehand.

Would he have been a different cat if it'd been his brother chosen to go to the Hind Mark? Would Ghost have been better, or worse for it?

No matter how he spun the picture, he couldn't see it painting a picture of anything but pain and disaster. A life of suffering.

He thought he might recognize the same thing now, looking at Thunder, something too jarringly familiar and out of place on the other. It didn't feel like simple grief over a lost leader anymore, the weight behind those quietly spoken words too heavy with whatever emotion lay there.

So he grunted in acceptance and let the quiet hang over them, quietly warring with himself. They weren't in the Coalition and Thunder wasn't his responsibility. Ghost was past that now. He was done with leading cats to their death, with being the one to make those calls, with having his paws soaked in so much blood he was surprised they weren't permanently red by now. And yet, the part of him that had been conditioned to see vulnerability as a weakness could only sit and point, saying look at what you did. If Ghost left them here now, Thunder was liable to be picked off by whatever hungry beasts might be prowling out here, and while his heart may be as cold as a stone in this frigid leafbare, it still existed, still beat beneath flesh and blood like any other cat.

"Thunder." he called, looking to grab the others attention. "Where does the enemy go on a Thunderpath?" he asked, the words falling almost casually between them, as if Thunder wasn't on the verge of having a mental crisis. "Everywhere." he answered after a moment of pause, watching the other cat with steady eyes.

​

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future thunderclanner - male - a large, grey tabby with dark amber eyes and several scars​

​

 

[THUNDERFLASH]

☆ It grew quiet- he didn't like the quiet. At least, not right in this instance. It still felt like a pressure, like he was baring some part of himself to the other. Thunder didn't quite know him as intimately as a close friend, yet.. the distance wasn't so hard with the mysterious figure. Ghost let some part of him back open to the world, the more delicate side. His ears twitched and laid backwards as he considered all of this on top of the lagging thoughts of his family, that was of course, until, Ghost opened his mouth.

Red rimmed eyes shifted towards Ghost in curiosity, mostly thinking he was going to say something about how weak he might have looked sobbing over someone he didn't really know, or his fur was messed up... but certainly not that. He blinked for a long moment, and his lips twitched, and he blinked again, almost in disbelief. "You-" His mouth opened, then closed, and a snicker broke free of his closed maw, head turning away. "That was awful." He said, yet, there was no denying the grin spreading on his face.

Because, even under all the layers of his own outwardly kind persona, Thunder was still a weak creature who relied on others. Perhaps he found Ghost's sense of selfishness, the sense of detachment the other carried in his soul, to be inspiring. That maybe Thunder could finally let go of what has been a ceaseless giving existence and do something he wanted for once. Thunder reached up, a paw wiping up at his eye as another snicker- a giggle, really- left him. "Where did y' even hear tha', huh? Or did y' come up with i' on yer own?"

‎ ‎ ‎‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ITS TIME TO DO IT NOW ☆ AND DO IT LOUD

• "speech"
  

• 

• THUNDER he/him, future thunderclanner, nineteen moons.
  ☆ a sh/lh chocolate tabby with low white and stunning baby blue eyes. stands of average height with a 'mohawk' and spiky-shaped mane.
  ☆ mentored by who / mentoring no one
  ☆ whichever relations / want listed
  ☆ peaceful and healing powerplay permitted / / underline and tag when attacking
  ☆ penned by dallas ↛ dallasofnines on discord, feel free to dm for plots.

 

[GHOSTSTRIKE]

WE SLEEP SAFELY AT NIGHT BECAUSE ROUGH MEN STAND READY TO VISIT VIOLENCE ON THOSE WHO WOULD HARM US

​

---

The words had the intended effect, breaking apart whatever uncomfortable thing had just settled over them and lifting some of the tension from chestnut shoulders. Some of the weight from what was left of Ghosts conscience.

"That was awful."

"Oh?" And yet, they were grinning again, wet eyes just a little brighter. It shouldn't matter. It didn't matter. He was just making sure Thunder wasn't too far into his own head to keep it on his shoulders once Ghost left. "What do you call a dog with no legs?" he answered, straight-faced. "Whatever you want– it's still not coming."

He had too many of these, really.

"That one better?" he asked, dark eyes not quite so dull as they regarded the other.

"Where did y' even hear tha', huh? Or did y' come up with i' on yer own?"

"Trade secret." he answered coolly and with perhaps the slightest bit of smugness, clearly not about to give his secrets away.

It'd been a while since he'd told anyone a joke.

He would decide how he felt about it later.
​

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future thunderclanner - male - a large, grey tabby with dark amber eyes and several scars​

​

 

[THUNDERFLASH]

☆ The joke that followed the first almost tasted like ashes, but it broke forth something inside his chest- that dark humor really was a hitter for Thunder, even thought he was going to follow it up with mock-complaint about the subject. A snort left him, head shaking deftly at the dog joke. "Steamin' skies, really?" He uttered to himself, but the grin was solid on his lips and his eyes, still red but definitely less wet, settled on Ghost.

"I think tha' one is worse." He answered, simple steps away from cheery in his answer. His ears twitched at the slight smug tone in Ghost's voice, a part of the other tabby that he thinks he's the first to withdraw- the first to make any kind of pride show. "Yer gonna have t' tell me one day. I want t' know." Thunder decides aloud, chin lifting in near defiance. He doesn't want to think about the fact that Ghost is going to leave.

‎ ‎ ‎‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ITS TIME TO DO IT NOW ☆ AND DO IT LOUD

• "speech"
  

• 

• THUNDER he/him, future thunderclanner, nineteen moons.
  ☆ a sh/lh chocolate tabby with low white and stunning baby blue eyes. stands of average height with a 'mohawk' and spiky-shaped mane.
  ☆ mentored by who / mentoring no one
  ☆ whichever relations / want listed
  ☆ peaceful and healing powerplay permitted / / underline and tag when attacking
  ☆ penned by dallas ↛ dallasofnines on discord, feel free to dm for plots.