Camp SkC mom, i see dead cats // flowercloud

[Teaselfeather Teaselfeather]

Let me die, let me drown, lay my bones in the ground
I will still come around when the time for sleep is through
Over hill, over dale, through the valley and vale
Do not weep, do not wail, I am coming home to you

.

A tremor coursed through the young warrior as they hurried forward, mismatched hues wide, ears angled back. During the hunt, the forest had been still, save for the flicker of glowing embers that moved between the trees. A tom had stood there, throat torn, darkness leaking through wounds that should not be survivable. One of the many dead who wandered the planes between life and loss. They had seen him. He had not seen them. It was always that way.

Teaselfeather had once believed every cat could see the dead, that it was something that came with age, with faith, with the calling of a warrior. But the older they grew, the more they understood: this sight was theirs alone. And what could they do with such knowledge? To speak of it would be to unearth grief that never slept.

Cygnet... She carried her own storms. Rose... He had never been one for comfort, for ghosts or gentle things. Lavender... Perhaps once, but not now she was lost. And Flowercloud, oh, their poor mother. Her heart had already been pierced too many times. What right did they have to add one more wound? So Teaselfeather swallowed it all down, the fear, the visions, the quiet longing for someone to believe. They stood near Flowercloud now, words forming at the back of their throat before dying there.

No. Not tonight.

The shadows pressed close. The whispers of the dead brushed their ears like wind. And so, as their mother turned to speak, Teaselfeather stepped backward, shoulders shrinking, paws trembling as they slipped away before she could see the ghosts reflected in their eyes, praying she would not follow him.

Speech, thoughts/emphasis

15 MOONS

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SKYCLANNER

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SONG

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