Private TC SC SOMEWHERE DEEP INSIDE, YOU MUST KNOW I MISS YOU ˋঌ˖ dunehusk

[BLISTERINGFURYBLISTERINGFURY's icon]

x

The patchwork tom hardly finds time to walk on his own when it comes to hunting or patrols, he knows that it's safer in numbers rather than on his own, but he's capable of handling himself and whatever the forest may throw at him. His paws carry him through the woodland territory that makes up Thunderclan's home, his ears occasionally curving in certain directions at the softest of sounds, and it doesn't take long until he catches the sight of a bird; a pigeon. Blisteringfury wouldn't be picky with whatever he ends up bringing back to camp, his muscles rippling underneath his mismatched pelt, and his pupils narrowing into dangerous slits as he focuses on the bird. He wonders if it struggles to find any food itself and how long it would be before a lot of the birds end up leaving to search for warmer weather where they don't risk starving.

One wrong pawstep and its head lifts, the pigeon quickly unfurls its wings to fly and leaps forth into the air but the ranger is swift on his paws. He closes the tail-length of a distance between them and knocks it out of the air with outstretched claws, droplets of scarlet painting the ground, and the avian flailing around as it continues to try flying away from him. It struggles in doing so but Blister simply follows not realizing how close he is to the Thunderpath and he finally slams a paw down to capture the bird with his claws. The creature flails around as if slapping the tomcat's limb would cause him to release it and he doesn't hesitate to allow his head to dip as his teeth latch around its thin neck.

The body finally goes limps once he yanks at flesh to break it and cause feel the way that the blood paints his jaws. Despite the scent of copper, he manages to pick up another one and his head lifts from his kill only to find a growl emitting from his throat. A scowl forms on his face as he realizes who it is that stares at him from across the Thunderpath. "Dunehusk." There's no warmth in his voice, he held none of it for the tom that had abandoned him especially in his hour of need, and had run off to Shadowclan with Blacktree leaving him behind to raise his brood on his own. Even if there's a faint flutter of his heart within his chest, his mind cages whatever feelings stir from the battered thing, and his tail lashes behind him.

He's ready to part from this scene and to give his former mate the cold shoulder yet his paws remain frozen to the ground as if the leaf-bare frost had formed upon them and made it difficult to leave. His heart seems to fight back with a sense of hopefulness and truthfully, Blisteringfury knows that nothing might come out of this interaction and he might be lucky enough if Dunehusk left him first… he had expertise in that regard. His claws flex against the ground prepared for whatever may happen, whether it be for better or worse.

ARE YOU MAN ENOUGH TO TAKE THE BLAME FOR THIS?

BLISTERINGFURY

THUNDERCLAN WARRIOR
TRANS MASC x HE/THEY/IT​

x

"speech", thoughts, attacking
a longhaired tortoiseshell with several scars littering his body from the battle that broke out between the split colonies, a cruel reminder to the betrayal that he felt that day, and has a pair of emerald toned eyes. he has patches of ivory on his body along with more smoky gray spots near his cheeks, limbs, and tail.
parent of flickerdance, searingpaw, torridpaw, gutsypaw, and tenebrouspaw ; ex-mate of dunehusk and blacktree ; currently not interested in seeking out serious relationships or courting anyone

venom and sharpened words are normally thrown out from his jaws whenever he ends up on a patrol near shadowclan. this doesn't lessen in the slightest when he catches sight of his old flames either, if anything, he only feels angry and brandishes that anger as a weapon. the moggy isn't friendly to anyone outside of thunderclan and he's especially unkind to shadowclan.

 

[Dunehusk]

By some sick twist of fate, Dunehusk is trotting through the muddy pocosin in search of something edible. It seems that's all that ShadowClan can think of these days. Where they might have once thought to collect stray herbs or strengthen borders, the clan has become obsessed with the lack of prey. There had even been groups who dug through twoleg trash and raided their yards for prey animals that they kept as pets. He'd already decided that he would not partake. Dunehusk, truthfully, would rather starve. But even a stick-in-the-mud cat like him would eventually have the ache of hunger wear him down.

He knows that the thunderpath is an unlikely place for there to be freshkill, but he still finds himself trotting along its border. His nose wrinkles at the horrible smell of asphalt, and as a monster rushes past his pelt prickles from its foul smell and hot air that rushes over him. The disgust is shortlived. Rusting and the scent of prey-blood snaps his gaze across the thunderpath, mouth watering. Dunehusk's amber eyes widen when he recognizes the coat of white, smoke, and red.

"You're alone," Dunehusk comments mildly, surprise edging his voice. Though there could, perhaps, be some ulterior meaning to his words, Dunehusk means it earnestly enough; it had been startling to find Blisteringfury so close to ShadowClan territory without an entourage of ThunderClan warriors in tow. The cinnamon tomcat's tail flicks back and forth. His belly churns with equal parts agitation and curiosity. "It doesn't seem very much like you to stray so close," Dunehusk adds in a murmur, half hoping that his voice will be swept up by the sour-scented wind and carried away before it reaches Blisteringfury.

Dunehusk clenches his jaw when he notices hope rising in his chest. How childish. How foolish. Blisteringfury has likely not forgiven him or Blacktree, and truthfully, Dunehusk is nowhere close to apologizing to him either. Still, there is some intrinsic pull toward the patchwork tom. Some tingling in his paws to throw himself on the thunderpath and beg for forgiveness, to ask him how his children are fairing and to ask for some semblance of connection. Blisteringfury would never want to take him back- he's no fool- but did they have to be so distant? A hysterical laugh almost climbs up his throat when the realization that Blisteringfury had been brought here by prey alone, not by some connection to him or Blacktree.

Stubbornness keeps Dunehusk's paws rooted in the marsh.

YOU, YOU PLAY ★ BUT THERE ARE NO WINNERS IN THE GAME

• "SPEECH"
• ★ DUNEHUSK — he/him, shadowclan thief, 60 moons
  — penned by carat, feel free to ping or dm for plots!
  — shorthair cinnamon classic tabby with amber eyes
  — peaceful powerplay ok! all interactions ok!
  
• penned by carat!

 

[BLISTERINGFURYBLISTERINGFURY's icon]

x

"You're alone."

Dunehusk seems to comment, to remind him that he's alone, and it causes the fur along his spine to prickle upwards. He knows the cause of it, the only cat to blame stands across the Thunderpath, and if it wasn't for his children waiting for him back at camp… he would've bolted across the river of asphalt and crowfood to brandish his claws against Dunehusk. A frown remains on his scarred features though his ear flicks in a nonchalant manner trying not to show that it bothered him and he simply utters "I've been alone." It's said bluntly as the patchwork tom continues to glare daggers in the direction of his old flame, he recalls how once his eyes once held so much adoration and a rare softness that no one else could afford, and now there's judgement… resentment.

A part of him feels fortunate enough to not have brought any of his children along with him, he knows that Torridpaw would've foolishly tried reconnecting with a father they never knew, Searingpaw would be his shadow and remain steadying and as unforgiving as him, Tenebrouspaw would've darted across the Thunderpath to score her claws against the cheek of the parent who left her before her birth and didn't care for her as much as Blister did. Gutsypaw, unmoving and unshowing of what it felt, and it would prove to be steady but who knew what lay underneath.

"I prefer it this way." He adds on dryly, to be alone would mean that he wouldn't be burned by love another time, and to risk his heart being torn out from his chest and ripped apart. What his mind speaks, his heart cries at the cold words that are sharpened like icicles of which are eager to pierce, and the ranger hopes that it stings… that it hurts just as much as it had when both Dunehusk and Blacktree had left him on the battlefield covered with scars, bleeding, and expecting kits. They had made their choice and he had made his own, he would rather get bit by an adder than to ever say that he was in the wrong, and he would rather die before ever giving Dunehusk or Blacktree the pleasure in knowing that he still hurts now.

He brings the pigeon closer to him and away from Dunehusk's eyes, he doesn't know what to make of this meeting nor what would come out of it, and even if his heart yearns for the pelt of the Shadowclan tom against his own... he refuses to move or speak lest his heart get the better of him and he utters something completely foolish. "So how's Shadowclan? Is it still miserable?" These bitter words tumble out from his throat as he keeps his sharpened gaze on the cinnamon tabby with a frown still present on his jaws, he doesn't know why he bothers talking to him, and he knows that he should just turn tail and head home... but his heart betrays him and for a heartbeat, his mind does too as it entertains this unfortunate reunion.

ARE YOU MAN ENOUGH TO TAKE THE BLAME FOR THIS?

BLISTERINGFURY

THUNDERCLAN WARRIOR
TRANS MASC x HE/THEY/IT​

x

"speech", thoughts, attacking
a longhaired tortoiseshell with several scars littering his body from the battle that broke out between the split colonies, a cruel reminder to the betrayal that he felt that day, and has a pair of emerald toned eyes. he has patches of ivory on his body along with more smoky gray spots near his cheeks, limbs, and tail.
parent of flickerdance, searingpaw, torridpaw, gutsypaw, and tenebrouspaw ; ex-mate of dunehusk and blacktree ; currently not interested in seeking out serious relationships or courting anyone

venom and sharpened words are normally thrown out from his jaws whenever he ends up on a patrol near shadowclan. this doesn't lessen in the slightest when he catches sight of his old flames either, if anything, he only feels angry and brandishes that anger as a weapon. the moggy isn't friendly to anyone outside of thunderclan and he's especially unkind to shadowclan.

 

[Dunehusk]

Dunehusk flinches when he notices the fur rising along Blisteringfury's spine and he shrinks beneath his own pelt, his joints folding as if in some childish effort to make himself disappear. Guilt sours the inside of his mouth. He feels pathetic, and to make matters worse he knows that Blisteringfury thinks that exact same thing about him. If he came across the thunderpath and tore him to ribbons, would Dunehusk even fight back? The cinnamon tom flattens his ears at the ThunderClanner's blunt reply, but Dunehusk forces himself not to look away from his glaring eyes. If nothing else, he at least owes him the respect to look in his direction. "I'm sorry," he murmurs in earnest for his comment had not been intended to be a jab toward his former mate, but he isn't sure if his words are torn away from an acrid gust that kicks over the thunderpath.

His ears twitch as no words are shared between them for a long time. Yet Blisteringfury does not turn his tail on him as he had after the great battle, and so Dunehusk remains too. Many of those silent moments are spent wondering about their kits. He barely knows anything about them other than their names; Dunehusk thinks with a jolt that he wouldn't even be able to describe them if he were asked. Should he ask Blisteringfury to let him see them? Should he seek them out himself? Last he had heard at least one of them had become a warrior by now... Did he really need Blisteringfury's permission to do everything?

A sourness fills his heart. This is the same cat who had mourned with him and Blacktree over Pine's death. Who had seen what starvation and infighting had done to his family, but had chosen to follow the cowardly visage of cats like Hawthorne and Loonstar. Dunehusk had been torn in two by both of his mates choosing different paths- the grieving mother of their only kit or the expecting parent of his litter- but had ultimately chosen what he thought was right. To follow Blacktree to Sablestar's colony and give any of their future kits the best chance possible at survival. Blisteringfury blames Dunehusk for this, calling it betrayal.

He is jolted from his rumination by the patchwork tom's jeering words. "Yes," Dunehusk replies after a long moment, giving into the bitter trap that Blisteringfury has laid for him "It's miserable. Our fresh-kill pile has not even been half-stocked for moons." He is not the sort to complain, but there is just something about the yearning to have a kindredness with Blisteringfury that draws it out of him. An ember that has been fanned. Dunehusk leans closer to the thunderpath, that ugly black scar that divides them, but he does not put a paw on the asphalt. "How is... ThunderClan...?" He asks feebly after a moment, eyes round. Hope flutters once again in his chest, and he has half the mind to pluck it from the sky and tear its wings asunder for its foolishness.

YOU, YOU PLAY ★ BUT THERE ARE NO WINNERS IN THE GAME

• "SPEECH"
• ★ DUNEHUSK — he/him, shadowclan thief, 60 moons
  — penned by carat, feel free to ping or dm for plots!
  — shorthair cinnamon classic tabby with amber eyes
  — peaceful powerplay ok! all interactions ok!
  
• penned by carat!

 

[BLISTERINGFURYBLISTERINGFURY's icon]

x

The tom of ember and smoke notes how his former mate seems to flinch at his sharpened words, only a small part of him feeling guilt, and the rest of him felt that he's in the right... Dunehusk had made his choice, Blacktree had made her choice too, and so had he. Even if there's a quiet voice in the back of his mind that whispers that it regrets what had happened on that battlefield, the venomous words that had been spat out, and the claws that had been brandished against another loved one. Blisteringfury could hardly hear the pathetic apology that slips from the jaws of Dunehusk and it sounds earnest even if he refused to believe that the other is truly sorry, there was only so much an apology could do or fix, and it wouldn't make the scarred tissue fade from his body nor would it fix the absence of a father that never got to meet his kits.

A part of him wishes to bitterly tell Dunehusk that he could shove his weak apology where the sun didn't dare to shine but his teeth grit instead and his serpentine-like tail lashes behind him once more "I wish you were sorry." He growls to the other as his ivory paws take a few daring steps towards the Thunderpath but he doesn't dare cross it, no, he wouldn't risk his own hide and have a monster potentially shred him into pieces especially with his kits back in camp. He's the only parent that they had and... the last thing he wanted to do is die and give way for Dunehusk to get into their mind with kind words, gentle eyes, and poison their minds so that they'd end up betraying Thunderclan. To betray him.

He'd tear his claws through the cinnamon tabby if he ever saw him around his kits, Dunehusk had lost the right to being part of their lives when he decided to join Shadowclan alongside Blacktree, and the thought alone makes his blood begin to boil once more. His claws flex on the ground at the thought of ever seeing his ex-mate anywhere near simple-minded Torridpaw who would fall victim to the gentleness of the tabby, he doesn't worry about his other kits, and believes that they'd make him proud in not being so keen in welcoming a stranger into their family with open arms.

These thoughts subside when the other tom answers that Shadowclan is miserable and how their prey hasn't been half-stocked in moons, a pit forming in his stomach as he thinks of Pine, and his ear flicks to the side with a frown present on marred features. He inquires how Thunderclan is and he swallows the bitter taste on his tongue as his tense jaws part to speak once more "It's miserable... but we aren't starving." I'm miserable... He almost wishes to say but that would be a jab towards his own pride, he notices how Dunehusk seems to lean closer towards the Thunderpath, and for a heartbeat, there's only silence... before a breath slips out through Blisteringfury's fangs and for a moment, he isn't ready to bite or as angry. No, its almost as if he's not a warrior of Thunderclan but a colony cat by the name of Martinez.

So many questions pool at the back of his throat threatening to spill... Did Dunehusk miss him? Did he miss what they had? Did he - "Do you regret it?" Blister asks at last not knowing what kind of answer he would recieve from his former flame, his heart scared for a fleeting second, and he wants to curse himself for uttering such a stupid question.

ARE YOU MAN ENOUGH TO TAKE THE BLAME FOR THIS?

BLISTERINGFURY

THUNDERCLAN WARRIOR
TRANS MASC x HE/THEY/IT​

x

"speech", thoughts, attacking
a longhaired tortoiseshell with several scars littering his body from the battle that broke out between the split colonies, a cruel reminder to the betrayal that he felt that day, and has a pair of emerald toned eyes. he has patches of ivory on his body along with more smoky gray spots near his cheeks, limbs, and tail.
parent of flickerdance, searingpaw, torridpaw, gutsypaw, and tenebrouspaw ; ex-mate of dunehusk and blacktree ; currently not interested in seeking out serious relationships or courting anyone

venom and sharpened words are normally thrown out from his jaws whenever he ends up on a patrol near shadowclan. this doesn't lessen in the slightest when he catches sight of his old flames either, if anything, he only feels angry and brandishes that anger as a weapon. the moggy isn't friendly to anyone outside of thunderclan and he's especially unkind to shadowclan.