PAFP Shipyard Quixotic || Aftermath

[Russetfall]

FALLING FOR THE PROMISE OF THE

EMPTINESS MACHINE

She was extremely lucky to be alive, she knew this. Wave didn't have to run back inside and drag her to safety and while Russet was grateful that she hadn't been left to die in the rubble she found she couldn't understand why the other had done it. Any sane cat would have chalked her up as a loss and saved their own hide while there was plenty of time to do so.

Back when she ran with the rogues her parents had been with since before she was born she had learned quickly that if someone fell behind like that they were left behind as dead weight. The sick and injured were a waste of precious prey that could be used to keep the healthy strong and fighting fit. Russet wondered idly if it would be much of the same here and found she wouldn't blame anyone if so.

Movement at the entrance of the temporary new shelter had Russet lifting her head from where she lay with green eyes narrowed and body tense. The arrival of Willow barely settles her nerves enough for rust colored fur to lie flat.

"Oh Willow, it's you..." She begins awkwardly, voice tight with pain as the molly struggles for a moment to get to some semblance of sitting upright despite the protests of her shoulder. "Your whole family got out of there alright?"

She was sure they all had but frankly everything after Wave had dragged her out was a foggy whirlwind in her mind.

ITS BEEN DECIDED HOW WE LOSE

───────i only wanted to be part of something──────

• ooc: @willow
• 
  Russet
  — Future Riverclanner
  — She/Her
  "SPEECH", 'THOUGHTS', ATTACK
  — A Green-eyed Chocolate Mackerel Tabby With Low White
  #8a2c55

 

[willowburn]

(☾) willlow will admit it - she's grown attached to the shipyard and its inhabitants. from sweet rose to motherly wave to grouchy russet, she has slowly but surely built a relationship with each cat. when the denb had collapsed, there had been no question about helping her fellows, no hesitation when wave had dragged russet out of the rubble. now a day later, she still worries for the injured, visits the temporary shelter when she can. russet has not yet awoken, but she has hope.

pale green eyes adjust to the slight gloom of the temporary shelter as the smoke tabby slides in, a leaf full of silver cobweb in her jaws. she can still smell the faint tang of blood on the air, mixed with the heavy scent of dried seawater, can still feel the pull of her muscles from her desperate scramble out of the collapsing den. as she shakes her paws of remaining dampness, she hears the gravely tone of her patient, and finds russet's leaf hued gaze. setting the cobwebbed leaf down, willow dips her head. "good morning," she greets, stepping closer. "yes thank the ocean, all the little ones are safe with smoke." the molly blinks, bending to sniff at the various scrapes and scratches littering the other's frame. "i think every cat who was there is safe, save for dewdrop." willow bows her head for a moment, sparing a thought for the former shipcat, whose kitten now lays amidst smoke's own.

"it is good to see you awake. you gave us all a scare," gaze flicking back up, she meets the rust hued woman's eyes. "is it alright if i check your wounds. i don't know much about healing, but i brought some fresh cobwebs." if she is given permission, the feline will move forward, getting to work. "are you hungry? i can see if some cat can find something."

WITH THE ECHOING HYMN ☾ OF MY FELLOW PASSERINE

• // " #979c88"
• 
• WILLOW ☾ SHE / THEY, SHIP-YARD CAT. 28 MOONS OLD, PENNED BY LAVS
  
  
  a lithe black smoke feline with ghost striping and leaf green eyes. long smoky fur dashed through with grey and white adorns her frame, sliced across by darker stripes that frame her face and legs. eyes like sage, brilliantly green, gaze with an intelligent look. she is scarred across the bridge of her angular nose.

 

[Russetfall]

FALLING FOR THE PROMISE OF THE

EMPTINESS MACHINE

Despite her best efforts to remain distant Russet has, somehow, come to vaguely know at least most of the cats here. Willow and her family are no exception. They had never once been unkind to her even once but still Russet found herself unable to relax.

"...Good, I'm glad most everyone got out alright." Russet's gaze moves from the leaf covered in cobwebs to Willow's own emerald greens near mirroring her own, and she hesitates. A deer caught in the glowing eyes of a monster on the thunderpath. How many times had she seen a similar scenario play out? How many times had help been offered to someone among her number only for her to witness the same maw bare fangs when someone's guard was down and sink into the back of a neck? How many times had the offer of help been held above someone's head, only to turn one away once they got what they wanted?

Her shoulder burns, and Russet finally sucks in a strained breath before nodding to Willow's request to look at the wound. "I gave MYSELF a scare," Comes the quiet admission. "...I didn't expect Wave to go back in after me. I thought she'd gotten out already." If Russet closes her eyes she can just barely make out the molly standing over her in the shed, meowing words that couldn't be made out in the howling storm but still carried an encouraging tone as teeth grabbed her by the scruff to drag her to safety.

She can't help the way she freezes as the other moves closer, as if expecting Willow to turn into a snake before her eyes and strike. The offer to send someone out to find food for her leaves her baffled. Truthfully she's hungry, like everyone is. She can't understand why someone would waste precious prey on an injured cat like herself. "I'm fine for now, save it for your kits, perhaps." And the lie slides effortlessly from her lips.

ITS BEEN DECIDED HOW WE LOSE

───────i only wanted to be part of something──────

• 
  Russet
  — Future Riverclanner
  — She/Her
  "SPEECH", 'THOUGHTS', ATTACK
  — A Green-eyed Chocolate Mackerel Tabby With Low White
  #8a2c55

 

[Iciclepaw]

SPOOKY

Just close your eyes, the sun is going down... You'll be alright, no one can hurt you now

Spooky peered through a narrow crack, his wide blue eyes fixated on the two cats inside. R-Russet? And... W-Willow? He knew them. Not personally! No, never personally... But by name, by presence, by the way they moved through the world with confidence he could never muster. He had watched them from the shadows, memorized the sound of their voices, the way they carried themselves. But that was the extent of it.

Because Spooky didn't interact. Not with them. Not with anyone. It was his fault. Once, it had been fear that held him back. Now, shame shackled him in place. So many had been hurt that night. So many had risked themselves, thrown their bodies into the chaos, fought against the storm and the wreckage. And what had he done? He had run. Hid. Curled into the safety of his lonely little world while the others bled and broke and stood tall.

His ears burned. He swallowed hard, guilt pressing down on his chest like the weight of the sea. Then Russet looked up and he felt his heart plummet. Spooky froze to the spot, hardly able to suck in a breath. For a heartbeat, their eyes locked... His were wide and startled, barely visible through the thin gap in the wood. Then instinct took over. Panic surged like lightning down his spine, and before she could fully process what she had seen, he scrambled backward. Heart pounding, he turned and bolted, paws barely making a sound as he vanished back into the darkness.

Oh no. She had seen him.

Russet and Willow... They had been so brave. All of them had. Even those who seemed rough and jagged at the edges had stood together. Had fought for each other. And him? He was a coward. A small, miserable whimper escaped him as he tucked himself into his hiding place, curling in on himself as if he could disappear. His paws pressed over his head, his eyes squeezing shut. One day. One day, he would have to face them.

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