Private DON'T LIKE HOW THINGS CHANGE | juniperstar

[Murkyfang]

𓆝 . ° ✦

Clan life. It's a change to be reckoned with. It's one Haunt would have never considered. The comradery, the responsibility, the safety - it's foreign, it's unknown. She could quit this place; she could flee far from prying eyes, from her own shame. And yet.. it is dangerous out there in those wastelands tainted with warm and famine. Like it or not, she is here day by day, until her luck runs out. Until somebody realizes she'll never be like them.

Just like in her few days amongst the Colony, Haunt is a mere shadow, living up to her namesake. In the days that she is riled up to hunt, she hunts for herself and keeps her possessions close. Such is today, as she hunches over against a wall in their quarry home, bent over a scrawny shrew that she had only stumbled upon by pure luck. It's not much but, small as she is, it'll feed her. And feast she will, until..

Pawsteps patter across the cold stone and dirt, increasing in volume until they pause somewhere behind her. If she pauses and swivels her ears, she can hear them breathe, can hear their schemes. Haunt's shoulders tense as she turns, slowly, keeping one paw between her prey and the cat who approached her as her fur bristles up on end. In this moment, she feels that all her fears are confirmed; as righteous as these cats appeared, they would stoop to her levels all the same, thieving upon the scraps of the weaker kind. She'd defend her catch with a flurry of claws and teeth, but..

It's no average cat, no one that she can fight back. Juniperstar. A cat blessed by the stars as they fell that day in the forms of cats long past. A phenomenon she would not dream of, would not fathom had it not occurred right before her. Haunt's curling lips droop back into her telltale frown, and though her fur stands on end, she feels like she had become so much smaller. In the presence of a celestial being, worlds above her in might and wisdom, she feels her aggression reluctantly wane; in a begrudging act of service, Haunt slowly leans her muzzle down to the ground, raises her paw and flips the shrew over towards her leader with one nudge of her nose, while her eyes avert themselves..

✧ ° . ✶ . ° ✧

ooc Information

• ooc: — @juniperstar
• 

  HAUNT — SHE/HER ･ 18 MOONS ･ WARRIOR ; THE COLONY ･ PENNED BY IXORA

  a ghastly loner - blink, and you might miss her.

 

[juniperstar]

juniper

the bareness of the trees is a haunting reminder of what suffering may yet remain... that there is scarcity ever persistent and it would not change without the simple passage of time. like all things in this damn place... only time can heal its wounds. her clan find its pace in careful, cautious steps, looking for footholds that felt secure before they could advance. there are cracks, chips in the friction of new relationships forming, old ones being tested...

the bristle-back figure of one who'd become alike shadows themselves is testament to that difficulty. the fact that fear still motivated some more than the promise of the future. she pauses behind her with a frown laden with guilt, knowing her own belly to be prioritized by kin and friends alike- did Haunt not have the same? was their existence in this space just as isolated as it had been before?

there is a war of decision in narrow eyes, a choice to cower away from conflict though Juniperstar had no interest in the prey she huddled over. it goes flicked towards her like an offering, one that is watched with a silent stare. "You don't need to do that- you caught it, it's yours," she murmurs, lifting her attention back towards Haunt. her paw gently presses the meager meal back towards her, taking a seat only to indicate that she doesn't intend to abandon her company quite so immediately. "We don't need to fight each other for scraps. Did someone try to steal from you already?"

that would need to be nipped in the bud swiftly if that were true...

──✩°｡⋆⸜ ✮

• juniperstar leader of thunderclan nine lives remain

  ignore me

 

[Murkyfang]

𓆝 . ° ✦

Patience is a virtue that Haunt does not yet comprehend. It drips from the leader's mouth honey-sweet as she kindly pushes the prey back to Haunt, who stares with an uneasy, unwavering gaze. While Juniperstar takes a comfortable sweet, the foggy warrior settles into somewhat of a crouch, unbreaking their eyes as she pulls the prey closer once more with an outstretched paw. In the leader's company, her appetite wanes, but the small twinge of relief she feels is undeniable still.

We don't need to fight. Haunt's whiskers twitch, doubtful. Life was all about fighting for scraps - survival depended on it. She recalls her time before the Colony, trailing after the fortunate and capitalizing off the less. There was no room for kindness as a loner; she's certain that those that regarded her with pity regretted the emptiness of their stomachs that their gifts could have filled.

And yet, she cannot find an answer to her question. You're right, she thinks, as she finally snaps her gaze away and shuffles her paws self-consciously.

"Not here,"

Haunt admits finally in a voice raspy with disuse. She'd been aggressive in her few days amongst the Colony, defending her food with whatever strength she possessed - but since the forming of ThunderClan, she's been otherwise left alone.

But hope is a fickle thing. To feel safe and comfortable is to be vulnerable; and Haunt could not let her guard down. Not here, not anywhere. The molly's gaze hardens, as does her stance.. which she did not know had become less tense.

"But they could. They will."

And she'd be ready, for each and every approach, to defend what was hers.

✧ ° . ✶ . ° ✧

ooc Information

• ooc: —
• 

  MURKYFANG — SHE/HER ･ 19 MOONS ･ WARRIOR ; THE COLONY ･ PENNED BY IXORA

  a ghastly loner - blink, and you might miss her.

 

[juniperstar]

juniper

it's hard not to ignore the way that Haunt seems unable to settle... made of rigid muscles, sturdy bones- they jut out in awkward places that tell of her hunger and that enough makes their heart sore on her behalf. to be so frightened of those you share a sleeping space with... it must do so much harm to the nervous system, constantly on alert. terrified. unwilling to believe in things like hope and charity.

at the very least Haunt seems to believe her when she says that the prey belongs to her. that they will not snatch it up as some sort of offering to their position held aloft above her. relief trickles down their spine with a slow nod, gladdened to hear that ThunderClan has not already lost sight of its greater virtue; compassion. companionship.

it doesn't seem enough yet to undo whatever bad experiences have followed her like an apparition... still, hesitant... "They could..." she is willing to hear that much, "It wouldn't do them any good though... They wouldn't be welcome here anymore, they gain one meal and lose ten more for it." she doesn't seem the least bit concerned with the possibility, shrugging her shoulders- they absolutely could, had the free will to, but will they remained to be seen. and she wouldn't dishonor them of their integrity by assuming otherwise.

──✩°｡⋆⸜ ✮

• juniperstar leader of thunderclan nine lives remain

  ignore me