Please review the more detailed TW summary at the top of the post.
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This thread takes place inside the clan's camp.
I have always been a storm
tw! discussions of kit death, dog death, and injury. reader discretion is advised.
Stormcrow returns from a hunting trip carrying two mice. One she leaves on the fresh kill pile, the other she brings with her as she heads towards the kit she'd caught it for, who's lying curled up near the nursery… a small thing, Des was. Stormcrow puts the mouse down in front of her, pushing it closer with a paw.
"
Caught you some food," Stormcrow says, matter of fact, too blunt.
She flicks her tail, sighing softly. She thinks of Snowveil, her mother, how she spoke to kits… and speaking again, attempts to find that voice in her own red painted chest. What could she say, what could she possibly say to comfort one who had lost so much?
"
How are you faring, young one? Is your tail feeling better?" She pauses for a moment, hesitating before finally continuing on– "
I'm sorry we couldn't do anything for your brother. But the dog that did this to you both is dead now… died a coward's death, like it should. I hope you can find some peace in that."
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ooc: please wait for @D e s
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Stromcrow, - 42 moons / Skyclan warrior/scout
Daughter of Snowveil, temporary mentor of Teaselpaw
Strict, devoted, rational. Peaceful powerplay allowed.
Find me where the wild things are. . .
SkyClan
Consumed by the darkness they bore
She will never wake up anymore
.
tw - grief, dissociation, and mentions of a dog attack.
Des barely even managed a twitch when the pawsteps approached her. She didn't even blink. Her small body was curled tight, limbs tucked in close, eyes half-lidded and staring into space—watching nothing, really. The mouse placed in front drew some of her attention. Her nose twitched slightly at the scent, but she didn't reach for it.
There was food now—always food—a nest—and warmth. Voices that spoke gently or at least tried to between the awkward juggling, none of them quite sure how to handle her or what to make of her grief. Things she hadn't had before—things she should've wanted. Maybe part of her still did. Not that she wasn't grateful to have those things, but mostly she just felt… tired. Not the kind of tired that sleep could fix. A kind that lived deep in the bones and kept her up at night.
Stormcrow she remembered, the she-cat's words filled the silence, and Des tilted her head to watch her mouth move. Her ear twitched at the mention of her tail. It didn't hurt much anymore. It had healed fine, even if she'd chewed through the first few bitter wraps that spindly apprentice had applied.
Des wasn't sure how to answer the questions. Her eyes finally lifted to look at the warrior at the mention of her brother—wide and stark blue. "It died? I didn't think anyone could kill that thing..." Des supposed that should've given her some comfort… But right now she felt so… empty. "I guess that's good. At least it won't kill anymore kits." The beast's death didn't change anything. It wouldn't bring her brother back from the dead or stop her from waking in the middle of the night, thinking she still heard him screaming.
"Who killed it? Do you know?" That dog haunted her dreams and even her waking hours. Sometimes, Des swore she could still smell it in her nose or hear it in the wind.
Speech, thoughts/emphasis
I have always been a storm
♱ She watches the young cat's face change and react to the information she's given with quiet consideration. Des was much like Stormcrow in some ways. And not at all in others. But there seems to be in them the same distaste for mincing words and half truths, so Stormcrow decides to speak plainly, to not sugarcoat things.
"
Neither did I," Stormcrow replies, sitting down now, although leaving ample space between them so as to not intrude on the younger cat's boundaries. "
And no. No it will not." Des poses a question, and Stormcrow looks up and away for a moment, ears flicking as she searches for a familiar face who isn't there. "
Flowercloud managed it. Led it to a thunderpath where it was hit by a monster. She's the cat you might've seen around the medicine cat's den with Swallowpaw; she was injured when she did it, but there is no need to pity her or feel indebted. Injury– even death– is part of being a warrior."
She turns back to Des fully now, studying her. She is weary, that much is certain. Shaky too. Not that Stormcrow can blame her. Sometimes when she tries to sleep, she can feel the snow and hail beating down on her, the storm that almost took her mother's life shaking her out of her stupor.
"
If you are having trouble sleeping, you should tell Swallowpaw," she continues. "
She will give you something to make it come easier. Usually dreamless, too. Not sleeping enough is detrimental for full grown cats, and for young cats even more so. A good night's sleep would do you good, I think."
♡ STORMCROW. 42 moons
temporary mentor of teaselpaw,
daughter of snowveil
peaceful powerplay allowed
ooc -
Find me where the wild things are. . .
SkyClan
Consumed by the darkness they bore
She will never wake up anymore
.
When the warrior speaks, Des is silent. For the first time in a while, the words reach her with clarity. They are not hushed or sweet or at the expense of the person saying them. Des doesn't think her feelings are worth all the fuss. Not when she doesn't feel much of anything anymore.
Sometimes, she's thankful for that—the hurt is gone—but there are other times, when she remembers her brother, and that hollow ache settles deep in her chest. It feels like she could cry then, but the tears won't come.
"Oh." Lucky that a monster found the dog. She wonders what would have happened if it hadn't. Would they still have been able to kill it then? Her eyes bore into the dirt before lifting to look at Stormcrow. "Are warriors just not afraid of dying, then? Flowercloud led the dog away even though it could've killed her too."
If they aren't, then Des wants to know why. Because after her mother died, and it was just her and Rowan, she was always afraid. Afraid of the dark, of the things that chased them, of other cats, of waking up and finding herself alone. Now that Rowan is gone... she thinks maybe she shouldn't be afraid of dying. But a small part of her still is.
When Stormcrow mentions sleep, her eyes fixate on the ground again. She doesn't like to sleep anymore. The idea of swallowing more bitter herbs doesn't thrill her, but a dreamless sleep sounds nice. Since coming to SkyClan, she wakes constantly, heart hammering in her chest, screams echoing in her ears.
"Can Swallowpaw really give me something to make my dreams go away?" She asks, peeking up at the molly. The things these SkyClan cats say about StarClan and the dead make her wonder if he's haunting her too. "I think my brother is upset with me." Des adds in a quieter voice. "For not saving him." There's no sadness in her tone. She isn't looking for comfort by asking, but rather to understand. "He's there when I dream. The dog is too." Des frowns softly. "They're so loud sometimes that I can't stand it."
Speech, thoughts/emphasis
Learn To Play Our Part
SkyClan
⋆˚✿˖° "I'll Be Fine On My Own" She Said
⋆˚✿˖° The mottled warrior was unsure how to approach Skyclan's newest kit. What she had gone through was so much for one so young- watching family die so violently before one's very eyes scarred even the battle hardened cat. For a kit to bear witness to it was... Sagesong was unsure how to help. Or if Des would even accept it. Still... They suspected the kit would need some reassurance.
Sagesong pushes into the nursery on soft steps, catching the tail end of Des's statement.
Oh. A brief frown crossed her face before training it to something more positive.
"I think..." They begin, nodding at Stormcrow in greeting before sitting beside the warrior.
"That your brother is just glad that you're alive. The dreams of that day will fade with time, they always do."
They know it to be true, had had similar dreams of the den collapsing shortly after joining Skyclan themself- but did not elaborate beyond sounding confident in their words.
"It might be hard, but you are not alone. Skyclan takes care of each other, you simply have to ask and someone will be willing to help. If you want to talk, someone will listen. If you need company someone will sit with you. They helped me when I joined Skyclan, and we will do the same for you."
Putting words in her clanmates mouths a bit, perhaps, but she was certain they would.
-
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Sagesong
✿— Skyclan Warrior
✿— They/She
✿—"SPEECH", 'THOUGHTS', ATTACK
✿— Small, Curly-furred, Mottled Black And Brown She Cat With Heterochromia.
#5fb49c
I have always been a storm
♱ Stormcrow acknowledges Sagesong with the return of their nod, before her eyes drift back to the young cat. Sagesong speaks, and while she speaks sense, Stormcrow's ears flick, unsure if it will help. It's not untrue, but… it's more platitudes, things Des has probably had enough of for a lifetime. Realism will help more. Something to ground her in this new world she's entered.
"
I suppose some warrior's are afraid of dying," Stormcrow replies, "
but not in the same way as those outside the clans. We have an afterlife, you see– a place where the spirit goes once the body has died. And more than that, performing one's duty is nothing to be afraid of. Dying to protect others… that is an honourable way to go indeed."
She hesitates here, unsure of how to mediate her words. She doesn't actually know if such a plant exists, but… if Des believes it, and Swallowpaw goes along with it, then… perhaps it'll work?
"
Swallowpaw has an herb for most anything," she says at length. Then, with a voice far softer than her words, she says, "
and how would you have saved him? That dog was as rabid and violent as a fox, and neither you nor your brother are trained in fighting. If your brother is upset with anyone, it is me– me, and all of us warriors who arrived too late to save him. Or perhaps he is angry with the world, for taking him from you too soon. I did not know him. But if you miss him this much, he must've been a good brother indeed." A beat. "
Do not think so little of him, Des, that he would visit you only to haunt you. In dreams, you are both strong and alive… you have the power, there. The next time you have that dream, you kill that dog, and it won't bother you again."
♡ STORMCROW. 42 moons
temporary mentor of teaselpaw,
daughter of snowveil
peaceful powerplay allowed
ooc -
Hello and welcome to Purrgatory! We are an 18+ Warrior Cat Roleplay set in an AU where the clans were unable to leave the forest territories and perished!
It has been 100 or more years since then, the clans of the forest are but distant memories to any cats still alive, stories passed down to kits of strangely named wild warriors and leaders with nine lives but the time of the clans is upon us once more and the stars shine yet again.
