Backwritten Camp WindClan STARKISSED | goldy

This thread occurred at a date previous to its posting date.
This thread takes place inside the clan's camp.

REDVEIL

stayin' in the cut
WindClan
9
0
Freshkill
10
Nickname
Red
Pronouns
He/They
Rank
Warrior
{$title} TW: mentions of injury, near death, and depression.

Shortly after the former kittypet had collapsed he took acute note of the other barn cats grouping together.

Snuggling up close to their loved ones, voices quieting and whispering soft reassurances. For some reason this left Red feeling disconnected. As a silent gesture of understanding, he dragged himself further off into a less crowded space. Hoping to give the barn cats their time to mourn peacefully.

He was not one of them after all. Now laying off by himself, Red did his best to sleep in the open moorland. The wind tickled at the tendrils of his thin coat, brushing it forward and back with a steady rhythm. He could feel the sun peek into the blue gloom of early morning, saw it shine a faint light across the moors.

His attempt at sleep a pitiful one as time seemed to fly without regard for his exhausted body. Creating an even wider void of loneliness within him.

Life was more complicated than ever before. He had dreamed of the day he could escape that shabby little den. A prison made of cold walls and sad eyes. He used to imagine seeing his family again, tasting something other than waterlogged kibble, hearing something besides the sorrowful mews of the cats trapped alongside him. He'd longed for the grasses, the open sky, and the trees that arched over his twoleg fence. Now he feared the future more than he ever fretted the past.

The taste of ash still clung to his tongue, and his pale skin prickled at the memory of suffocating heat. He thought of the wash stall as his hideaway for days. It was the last place he ever thought he would miss, but now he longed for its quiet darkness, the stillness it had offered. However, that small nook could've easily been his grave. Had Goldy come even a few heartbeats later, Red knew it would have been the end. A short, pitiful life full of fear, neglect, and barely a whisper of hope.

Goldy, with that grinning face and warm scent, had been one of the few flickers of kindness he had known. Maybe it would of been the last memory he clung to as the darkness pulled him under. The thought made him shiver.

Would he have found peace? Or would he have faded, still yearning for something more in life?

Trying to pull himself from the spiral, Red shifted to glance back at his legs. The wound had finally crusted over, but the soreness never left. If anything, it had worsened. The tom laid there, curled into the cool grasses, eyes stinging with unshed tears. He didn't know where he belonged anymore. He didn't know what 'home' was supposed to be. Yet, in this moment, he just wished his racing mind would fall quiet.

A soft rustle stirred the grass nearby, and Red's tired eyes flicked to the side. It seemed all his restless tossing had drawn the attention of another.

OOC
SURPRISE SURPRISE - SURPRISE SURPRIIIISEEE 🏳️‍🌈 @GOLDY
Set very early in the morning during Goldy's watch when they arrived to the new territory.
 
Last edited:
Goldy thinks to himself that as things keep going, he's going to be exhausted no matter what time of day or how much sleep he has. The walk, the wound on his leg that he reminds himself to see somecat about soon, the watch- it's pulling on him already and it hasn't even been a full day since the fire. He exhales, picking himself up from where he has allowed Dusty to begin sleeping, making his way towards where Merry was. Ears twitch, vision shifting and turning to find another face in the crowd, frowning gently when he doesn't see him- nevermind, there he is.

He releases a breath he didn't realize he had been holding, padding towards Red. The smaller cat was shifting and turning in his resting place, eyeing the nasty wound on the inside of his leg. Goldy speaks, voice low and quiet in the early dawn. "Looks nasty." He mentions, which is really nice of him- not. He sighs, moving to sit nearby. Finally, aqua eyes are torn from the other's leg, looking towards the tortie with renewed vision. "Y' didn't sleep, I take it." Goldy says, his short tail flicking behind him.

  • "speech"
  • 91069760_OIBZA0VMXIWLLeP.png
  • GOLDY he/him, to-be-windclanner, thirty six moons.
    a lh golden red marbled tabby with low white and glimmering aqua eyes. often seen with a smirk, confidence oozing from him in heaps, but always the ever-helpful guy.
    mentored by who / mentoring no one
    older brother to merry
    peaceful and healing powerplay permitted / / underline and tag when attacking
    penned by dallas ↛ dallasofnines on discord, feel free to dm for plots.
/code]
 

Awkwardness seemed to strangle the ebony feline as Goldy quietly treaded closer. Passing the other sleeping cats and wandering into his corner of empty space.

His frail body felt the others larger frame settle beside him and unknowingly steal away the solitude Red had so carefully chosen. The tom felt his body tense as he caught the other's eyes flick toward his injured leg. Self consciousness crept in, and Red quickly averted his own eyes the moment those bright blues struck. Still, he listened. Of course he listened. Even if he couldn't meet such sincerity just yet.

"Hurts too much to sleep." They admitted, voice hoarse and barely more than a whisper as they passed speckled lips. It was an easy excuse. Easier than admitting the rest. The burning in his chest. Scalding memories clawing at his mind. He could blame the leg for now.

Red turned his head slightly, just enough to catch Goldy's expression again, and immediately he regretted it. This cat was too bright and far too kind. Sometimes, Red thought it hurt just to look at him. Then he would scold himself for such a silly thought.

"I'm amazed you can stay up right for so long after…" He trailed off, suddenly unsure if it was right to say it aloud. To name what they'd endured. A breath passed, and then he tried again, more gently. "Last night."

Throat bobbing with emotion he swallowed his fears. Wide, tall ears flickering to either side, betraying his discomfort. Despite the days spent together, he couldn't help but feel the strain of their distance. To an outside viewer, he might seem a lost soul, and Goldy, a selfless guide. If anyone asked how he really felt, Red would call him his savior. Whether that made them friends or something more fragile, he didn't know.

It was a complicated mess to unravel and far too heavy for a single moment like this.
 
His head tilts and nods at the admittance- that alone was a lot to say to a cat that Red barely knew. Goldy's words are out of his mouth before he really considers what he's saying, but it's not like he needed to hide anything from Red. After all, they were all stuck together now. "Y' aren't the only one, y'know. Lot of us got bad wounds." As if to prove his point, Goldy shifts, revealing the burnt paw and ankle on his rear leg. He says this not as a point-proving moment, but more like you can relax. We aren't going to take advantage of you.

Red complements, or mentions, his steadfastness. A shrug follows, shifting back to sit more comfortably so he wasn't exposing the burn wound. "Ah, yeah- well. I'm used to being up really late." He says, almost uncomfortable now that the conversation has targeted him instead. He's used to flirtatious comments- not comments like this. "I uh... when I found you." Goldy starts, glancing at Red then back away to the swaying moorlands. Even now, the wind was ever present, sighing softly in the gaps of their conversation.

"I do that pretty often. My brother and I got dropped not far from there." Goldy swallows gently. "So it's only a matter of time before others are dropped like us." He says. The rest of the story is left to the open air- he thinks that Red is intelligent enough to assume that Goldy would night-patrol there. That him being up late meant he was used to staying up late, until the sun brushed the horizon and twolegs were less likely to dump cats, where other barn cats could take over where he would haunt during the night. A long breath is taken, shoulders shuddering briefly.

"But, anyways. I'll see if someone can get you something for that wound. I'm no healer myself." Goldy tries, a weak chuckle following. That was obvious- otherwise, he would have already tried to heal the wound that Red was careful to admit to.

  • "speech"
  • GOLDENROAR he/him, windclanner, thirty six moons.
    a lh golden red marbled tabby with low white and glimmering aqua eyes. often seen with a smirk, confidence oozing from him in heaps, but always the ever-helpful guy.
    mentored by who / mentoring no one
    older brother to merry
    peaceful and healing powerplay permitted / / underline and tag when attacking
    penned by dallas ↛ dallasofnines on discord, feel free to dm for plots.
/code]
 

Red could only stay still, save for the way his feathered tail flickered. The larger tom's voice like a warm draft through the chill he couldn't quite shake. Gentle, but not pitying. Eyes followed the shift in Goldy's stance, gaze catching briefly on the darkened burn along his leg. Mind lingering on Goldy even after the tom had turned away, voice fading into the sighing wind between them.

His stomach twisted with guilt. Red hadn't meant to sound like he was ignoring what others were going through. They were all wounded, all tired. Some inside, some out. He listened closely, ears tipping forward at the mention of being 'dropped.' A word he knew too well. The recent memory that was so raw and familiar it twisted in his stomach. Hearing Goldy explain why he wandered so late at night stuck even more with him.

"Oh." Red murmured. The response seemed so small, but it hung heavy in the morning air. He looked away again, blinking hard. "That's kind of awful." The tom lowered his head, grasses brushing softly against his cheek. Wind stirring said grass again, brushing through his thin fur. It was such a vast world out here. Sun now bleeding over stretched rows of greenery. Fizzling out the dappiling stars as cats snored away.

He swallowed down the lump in his throat hoping not to lose this small streak of bravery. Cutting through the hesitation he muttered, tone softened. Albeit, heavy with muted admiration. "You sit out there. Waiting for cats who might never come. Must be... Lonely." Almost seems like fate that you found me. He pondered warmly between breaths.

A pause, and then his voice dropped even quieter.

"To care like that." He didn't say it bitterly and if anything, it sounded almost mournful. He wished he knew how to be that kind of cat. Someone brave enough to wait in the dark for others. "You shouldn't have to be the only one to do it." The statement came out before he could overthink, quiet but earnest.

Talking hurt more than the wound. If he didn't say something now, the moment would slip between them like everything else he failed to hold onto. "It's crazy you went back for me." He started suddenly. Hesitant words tumbling out before he could second guess them. "Most cats wouldn't have."

Tall ears flicked down, embarrassed, but he didn't stop. "Yet... Goldy. You came back." He exhaled, letting the sentence hang in the between them like a confession. "I keep replaying that more than the fire." This cat had to know their efforts were worthwhile even if it made his paws shake from nerves.

Brown eyes wandered, then slowly found Goldy's face again. Opting to skip over lingering emotions. Instead he needed the other to know his gratitude. "Thank you for... Y'know. Thinking about my leg and for being there." Their lips twitched, not quite a smile. The conversation still felt too open, but it was true. He'd been withdrawn and bitter from the start, always on edge, but Goldy kept showing up anyway. Red shifted, just enough that their body now arched in their resting form. Only a smidgeon closer than before.

Nodding with a grateful little smile he croaked out. "I'm not either so it's appreciated." Happy to know he wouldn't have to sit with the pain. For now he would allow whomever had healing capabilities to work their way to him. Red wouldn't dare seek it out himself. Not when there were others with more serious injuries. What really bothered him was knowing that the barn cat began gently hinting towards departure. Not that he could stop the pale feline but it was hard to ignore a sudden urgency. A peculiar selfish need to keep them close.

Instead of being earnest, his pride interjected, causing him to haphazardly blurt. "Hey, you don't have to sit here, if you're tired." Red added a bit too quickly. "Not that I mind just... Stay or go. Whichever."