it's getting late to give you up ──✩°｡⋆⸜ the split

[juniperstar]

juniper

time had passed like claws through thin fur... it cut cleanly, leaving behind only the core of memory. a promise made in the pale moonlight, to be fulfilled now, with bittersweet breaths of scents once familiar and now completely estranged. he had once smelled like her... would he recognize her scent on them? grow to resent his foolish ambition and repent for it for the chance to have a life with them? how many more times must she climb that tree to find herself shoved from the tall branches before the fall finally registered . . .

plucking through the undergrowth, there is only the softest rustle of a warming breeze, one that teases the coming of spring and full bellies. Magpiekit does his best to keep his footing... but the distance is great for one still so fresh as to hardly be weaned, especially for one of reed-thin limbs. dew-drop evergreens search the determined furrow of his brow, sympathetic but proud of his persistence, leaning only to brush her nose tenderly against his ear. "My brave bird..." Asterkit and Dreamkit too bound eagerly ahead, frolicking through grass that rival their heights... a soft breath unfurls itself in foggy tendrils, lashes brushing together where eyes squint in a smile.

"See those big trees up ahead? That's where we're going..." would hungry amber eyes lurk in the shadows? had he remembered, watched the nights in obsessive eagerness for this? a part of her hopes he has forgotten... hopes he has cast the first stone against frail ice to crack what brittle shell remained. but the air stinks of sulfur... and the shade shifts like it breathes... "Stay close," the spotted molly implores her tiny adventurers, feeling her spine tingle as its fur stands at nervous attention.

"Make sure you tell him all about your first mouse, hmm? Only big kits get to try fresh prey and you're all very brave and grown up," Juniperstar purrs in hopes of boosting their confidence.. that they might not pick up on the fear that trembles in her toes. that this meeting might prove to be something they treasure, free of the conflict of their parentage... the war between clans that she sought so desperately to keep at tail's length. any chance they might have to live a life wandering between two homes and feeling loved and welcome by both, should they want to... should Sablestar want them to.

──✩°｡⋆⸜ ✮

• @Magpiekit @asterkit @DREAMKIT @SABLESTAR
  it's time..

• juniperstar leader of thunderclan nine lives remain

  ignore me

 

[Magpiepaw ★]

WE DON'T GET WHAT WE NEED

we're all wrapped up in GREED - THERE'S AN EGO TO FEED

The black and white kitten rebuffs any attempts to help him steady himself with a scrunched nose and shake of his head, toddling along with his awkward swaying and only stumbling a few times as he adjusts to the uneven terrain. The camp had much flatter ground of which he was thankful, but out here ever root and vine surged upward in a cruel bid to entangle his already struggling limbs. His siblings move ahead much steadier, much faster, but he remains undeterred by it and presses on at his own pace, trailing alongside Juniperstar because even if he didn't want help he still felt more secure in his mother's shadow than he did out in the open on his flailing paws.
"Is papa gonna like us?" It was baffling to him that he could never truly get a clear answer when he prodded about the older cats for information, it was either something vague and pointless like a remark that he looked like the tom or it was an insistence that he go speak to Juniperstar directly and she was rather subtle in her commentary as well. Did their father even want them? He wasn't around so it was the easy assumption to make. When Magpiekit had asked Graybird their uncle's face darkened and he said nothing, only walking away dismissively. It was hard to tell if that bothered him or if that was just Graybird being Graybird.
"...but what if I didn't like the mouse...?" The dark kit said with a low whine of a tone, unsure if he was supposed to do that 'lie to be polite' thing or not.

❝ i don't know euphoria - i'd like to meet her someday - c'est la vie ❞

MAGPIEKIT

— kitten of shadowclan
— He/They
"SPEECH", 'THOUGHTS', ATTACK
— Solid black w/low white & blue-violet eyes.
— Has 'wobbly cat' syndrome.
#9272ee

 

[DREAMKIT]

(𓆩✧𓆪) galloping ahead of his mother, dreamkit feels excitement sparking with each pawstep. fur of the forest blends naturally amongst the bracken and bramble of thunderclan territory, though eyes of ember glow eerily from the shadows as he weaves and ducks under fallen logs. his thrill at this freedom has gripped him in a fervor, a desire to explore, to hunt everything, to find treasure and bring it home to his fellow kits. as his mother calls out a warning, dreamkit slows his stride, coming to a calmer walk on juniperstar's other side. "of course he'll like us, magpie!" he assures his brother, craning his head up to beg for a touch from his mother. his ears barely brush her, so he pushes up onto his back paws to duck his head beneath her chin. "mama, why can't da visit us at home?" he asks, plopping back down on white splashed paws.

"graybird won't talk 'bout him, 'n serpy won't either, or hazel." he'd tried to get his mother's friends to spill more details about the mysterious cat that dreamkit has idealized in his mind. all he knows about sablestar is the tomcat shares dreamkit's amber gaze. when he looks in a puddle, the boy imagines himself as his strong father, a leader of cats far away. the idea of meeting him now is slightly daunting, but nonetheless thrilling. magpiekit's words echo back, the ones dream has just reassured his brother about. what if he doesn't like them? what if they are too thunderclan, too soft from their sacharine life within the forest. what if everycat is lying to dreamkit and his eyes don't match sablestar's at all! earthen striped ears flatten slightly, and dreamkit droops in his walk. "what do we do when we meet him?"

SCATTERED ACROSS MY FAMILY LINE 𓆩✧𓆪 GOD, I HAVE MY FATHER`S EYES

• // " #e9af74"
• 
• DREAMKIT 𓆩✧𓆪 HE / HIM, KIT OF SHADOWCLAN. 01 MOONS OLD, PENNED BY LAVS
  
  
  a longhaired chocolate spotted tabby with low white and orange eyes. silky chocolate fur cascades in waves across his boxy frame, darker dapples giving him his tabby pelt. creamy white splashes his paws, belly, tail tip, and muzzle, freckling across his face. the hue of a crackling fire sparkles from narrow sockets.

​

 

[SABLESTAR]

Time ticked with each rise and fall of the moon with Sablestar unaware of how his mate and new kin had become. If Graybird and the ThunderClan patrol were any indication to how they would take his presence in their home, he would have been cut to ribbons even if he had found a way to climb into their camp. He was stuck in the bounds behind the Thunderpath to wonder and pray for the good of their health. To imagine how many were there, to hope she was given the care and attention to not leave her feeling lonely.

Did any look like him? It is cruel how much he wanted them all to share his likeness, just to ruffle their pelts. To see him in the innocence of kithood and forced to remain cordial and kind for the fact they were royalty to this forest. Kits of two kingdoms, maybe they would serve to forgive these sins of the past and ignite a new era- one that allowed their Clans to interact and cross paths as friend and kin again.

The moon had disappeared from the sky a second time, telling Sablestar that the following day would be time for him to collect what was his at the oaks. He didn't wait for sunset to arrive when he left the pocosin on a blood-beaten path, his breath in steady tandem with the march of his paws, stomping across the mud and over gnarled roots until he was met with the Thunderpath again. The cold cement scraped the mud from his pads as he darted across into sturdier lands. Soil hardened by the lack of rainfall and coated in scrubby brush and rocky earth. He found the center of the towering trees once more, and idly flexed his claws in impatient waiting.

Hours pass and finally tattered ears perk up to the sound of squeaky tones and of course the familiar gentle wisp of his mates. The smile that cracked through his maw is involuntary and unshakable, his tail-tip thudding excitedly as their sounds drew closer. His nose can pick up three distinct scents outside of her own, all covered in the thick of that sappy air from their birth Clan.

A breath held still in his throat as they greet his sights. Three, just as their scent foretold. Two could pass for being Juniper's miniature selves, an honor that brought the warmth of joy in his chest. They play and bound ahead from their mother without the feeling of fear or hesitation, only giving slight pause for the third to catch up. A black-and-white scrappy thing that walked with a swaying gait that made him think of a duck. Sablestar rose to stand again, only able to clearly catch Dreamkit's words.

"Hurry and come give'im a hug, I'd hope." The leader answered warmly, lowering his chest in a playful bow. "And maybe tell me your names, while you're at it!"

this heart beats cold like the devil his own

• "mew"
• 

  SABLESTAR— he/him ･fifty-four moons ･leader; shadowclan ･penned by gonkpilled

  a black and white tuxedo with dark amber eyes

 

[Magpiepaw ★]

WE DON'T GET WHAT WE NEED

we're all wrapped up in GREED - THERE'S AN EGO TO FEED

Dreamkit's words do little to ease his worries, its not until they finally catch the whiff of unfamiliar loamy earth scent does he stop dwelling on what was to come and starts looking forward to it as if the anticipation was more gut wrenching than the actual event itself. Magpiekit is not prepared for how true the remarks that he looked like their father were, the tom was dashed ivory in places still dark on his own pelt but aside from that the resemblance was obvious. The black and white kit broke from Juniperstar's side on hobbling steps, his long and awkward legs carrying him jittering forward until he came to a stop next to his siblings before the tom with the scarred eyes, "I'm Magpiekit." He trilled out in greeting, chin thrust upward - he was proud of his name, he liked it because it put him closer to the sky, to the birds, his fascination with them had started early and was not slowing down. Remembering their mother's encouragement to share more about themselves he continued, "We ate a mouse, I didn't like it." Honesty was the best policy and he had not yet developed the need to lie for niceties. "Are you really our papa? You look like me."

❝ i don't know euphoria - i'd like to meet her someday - c'est la vie ❞

MAGPIEKIT

— kitten of shadowclan
— He/They
"SPEECH", 'THOUGHTS', ATTACK
— Solid black w/low white & blue-violet eyes.
— Has 'wobbly cat' syndrome.
#9272ee

 

[ASTERKIT]

Asterkit bounces along with Dreamkit watching as their littermate seems excited about this expedition from camp and the spotted kitten nearly trips on their own paws but is quick to catch himself before his snot crusted nose dives into the earth, his mother gives them a small warning to stay close. He didn't know why but his chase after his twin ends there as a sniffle escapes Asterkit and the small kitten runs back to be by his mother's side, Juniperstar mentions how they should bring up the mouse that they've eaten and Magpiekit asks if their father would like them or what if he hadn't liked the mouse. "Uh... I think it was okay." They sniffle with a blink of their eyes remembering how the mouse had been a lot different from what they had been used to, their mother's milk that's sweet, comforting, and lulled them to sleep. The mouse had been warm, yes, but the copper-like taste against his tongue made him recoil in slight disgust and the velvet color of it plus the gore, eugh, it made their head lightheaded at the mere thought of it.

The shadows shift and amber eyes stand out against them, the sight itself causes the fur on their body to prickle in every direction as the fever-coated kitten hides behind one of the front limbs that belonged to his mother and the shadow speaks to them in a warm tone like their mother took when addressing them and a small frown pulls at his lips. Sablestar hopes that his own kittens would give him a hug and to tell him their names yet Asterkit continues to struggle in mustering up the courage to do so, the bug-eyed kitten glances upwards to his mama to see any approval in her gaze or if she'd give him an encouraging nudge forward so that he meets the mysterious cat that they've always wondered about. "W... what happened to his eyes?" The kittens whispers to his mother lingering for a long heartbeat to hear what she may say about the clawmarks carved across the flesh near Sablestar's eyes and to him, it makes the tomcat a lot more fightening than he would've liked.

His wobbly littermate is the first to approach the two-toned tom admitting that he didn't like the mouse that they've eaten and introduces himself to their father, a frown continues to pull at their jaws causing it to tighten for a heartbeat before Asterkit finally decides to peel himself away from the side of his mother but with utmost hesitance. Graybird had scars but they didn't startle Asterkit like this black and white tom did, although, the gray tomcat is familiar to whereas Sablestar had been mentioned in small broken fragments and to see that cat that no one wished to speak about makes the kitten wonder if it had been for good reason. He scares me... The silent thought forms in his mind but the words are swallowed because he didn't want to ruin the meeting for his littermates or for Juniperstar to hear his words and collect them all from this stranger that's apparently their dad, it's hard to deny when he sees Magpiekit close to the Shadowclan king.

To be born of two royal bloodlines and yet, their little family is separated though Asterkit tries not to think on it for much longer as he speaks trying to soothe the way his words tremble "I-I'm Asterkit..." A part of him wants to say that he doesn't look like him but once more, the small kitten steals a glance towards his littermates noting the inky pelt of Magpiekit with ivory patches and the way that Dreamkit's eyes mirrored the marred toms as well. The sickly kitten falls silent once more unable to stop the sniffle that leaves him and a paw lifts to dab away the runny boogers that threaten to escape his nose and he swallows dryly once more. Would Sabelstar love him just like his mama too?​

 

[juniperstar]

juniper

"Why wouldn't he like you? You're all so handsome... and smart... and brave," she purrs, trying to list all the reasons she has grown to love them and hoping without a shadow of a doubt that it will be love at first sight for their father too. if Sablestar really loved her, why wouldn't he cherish them too...? she wasn't vain by any means but when two of them adorned her speckled coat... and they all took from his eyes.... little mimicries of two flames held apart. Dreamkit certainly doesn't seem bothered... confident as he surges forth, sallying on that Magpiekit had no reason to be worried at all. but he does have a question that she still can't surmise how to answer at age-appropriate terms... how did one approach the subject of your parent having drawn blood before your birth? who that blood belonged to? why it was spilled? it's too much for them to understand... "Well... he... made a choice that upset a lot of cats... He thought he was doing the right thing. Not everyone agrees so... it's easier if we just meet him privately."

the chance to elaborate on it comes and goes quickly, the split-pelt token of her affection appearing like a specter from the brush. he is as rugged as the last time... but lighter now in the way he carries himself. to see him so relieved, so carefree.... eager to have and hold them. it's like thorns dug into her chest... a necessary pricking sensation in order to behold a rose so sweet. Asterkit peers up at her skeptically, a hushed query shared in hopes of understanding the stranger he's meant to adore and call his blood. "A fight... A stupid one..." one that never should've happened. and she makes no effort to dull her voice for him in answering it. Sablestar knew how much she loathed his choices, what final act had earned him a face made more ugly.

slowly, they introduce themselves to their father and part of her wants to mention Littlekit.. the fact there was a fourth... but a twisting shame keeps the StarClan kit's name from leaving her lips. he... he wasn't there. he didn't need to know. didn't deserve to know.

"It's their first mouse... they'll get used to it," she tries to smooth over the fact Magpiekit is so plain in his speech to admit he didn't like it. there is a nagging fear there that he might come across as ungrateful, to Sablestar who has not had the last two moons to grow used to kitten antics and understand their harmlessly selfish nature. "I'd like to do this regularly, Sable... I don't want them not to have the chance to know you. Is... ShadowClan amenable... to them? Did you tell them?" he had the luxury to hide them, the fact they existed... and she had not.

maybe if he said no, this could all be done. she could give up on the ruse of pretending she was excited to share them between two halves back and forth... could gather them up and return home to the comfort of an over-full nest. her eyes flick towards Asterkit, watching a bubble of snot form around one of his nostrils. "We can't stay out here too long... it's not a short trip back and Asterkit doesn't do well in the cold. Magpiekit- how are you legs? Are you tired yet?"

──✩°｡⋆⸜ ✮

• juniperstar leader of thunderclan nine lives remain

  ignore me

 

[SABLESTAR]

They bound forward, all but one, at first. Sable looked to Magpiekit as he introduced himself first. It wasn't far off from his true appearance with white hugging unders in the same fashion as himself, it had been a name likely for even his own mother to have given. Had she a little more creativity than naming him and Gray after the simple colors they resembled. His ears twitch as the pause in the darker kitten's words give way for whatever Juniperstar and Asterkit are discussing to reach him.

Unfortunate he found himself in enough messes to wonder exactly which fight she was referring to. Had Gray ran to her and tattled that her mate tried to bring her prey while she was pregnant? He couldn't imagine her believing that to be such a horrible thing.

"You must've got that from me, mouse isn't my favorite either." Sable reassured Magpiekit with an easy shrug of his shoulders. After having Stoatkit and Fleapaw trailing after him the past three moons, his bluntness was hardly the worst he had heard from a kit. At least he didn't swear and cuss and shout. "Of course I am, I'm here, aren't I? I had to wait for you three to get big enough, I lead another Clan just like your mama. I think you'd fit in, there's no mice there." The hesitant kit spoke up with his name next, Asterkit. Like the flowers he had often found and gifted his mate in the springtime. "That's a pretty special name." He looked to Juniper as he said it, the smile on his maw unbreakable.

"Juniper picked great names for all of you! I don't think there's anything more fitting on you guys." Dream, Magpie and Aster. One with shared halves and two that favored each parent more.

"Of course, they're great. You did great." Sable wanted to see them however he could, his heart twinging to know he had already missed so much. What had Magpiekit eaten when he didn't like the mouse? What soothed Asterkit's sniffling best, did he sleep well despite it? Answers best known if he had been there, if he could have been. Sable wanted to show them the unsteady earth of the swamp and explore the sycamore, too. To let them explore his home just as much as hers. "The Clan knows to expect them, I told them the day that patrol with Brightpetal by the Thunderpath- which, I didn't want that. You have to believe me, the warrior that acted against me has already been dealt with." He pleaded only because he knew the stir of this false reputation had changed her. It had made her flinch away from her, still round with their kits. Because she had believed there was any want in him to harm her.

The tom stepped forward to press his forehead to hers in affection, the voice she used to speak to their kids bubbling and sweet. "Why don't I take them home, to ShadowClan? I don't want to be their father for a few hours each moon... They can be kept safe, and maybe we can go back and forth." Sable pulled back to look at them again, his smile turning sad. He couldn't say goodbye to them now, not so soon. "Maybe Asterkit should stay with you, just until he's got those sniffles gone. Magpiekit and Dreamkit can make the trip with me."

this heart beats cold like the devil his own

• "mew"
• 

  SABLESTAR— he/him ･fifty-four moons ･leader; shadowclan ･penned by gonkpilled

  a black and white tuxedo with dark amber eyes