Open Shipyard Backwritten the ocean's last embrace // a farewell

[Wavesong]

Though Wave had stood unwavering with Adder when he returned, she was not blind to the turmoil that stirred deep within her. She knew why she was doing this. Saying goodbye to this place was hard, but necessary... For their survival. Alone, she could have thrived here, yes. With just her family, perhaps. But they had friends now. All of them had made bonds that were not easy to sever. She wouldn't force anyone to stay just because of her affinity with the ocean... She was not that cruel, never would be too. If choices needed to be made, no matter how hard.. She would stand by her family. Always and forever. Together, or not at all.

She wanted to see them thrive, succeed, live.

She had been shaken once before, when Crescent had nearly fallen victim to the currents, pulled from the waves just in time. It had terrified her then, and it terrified her now. Her strength came from being older, used to this life of water and waves, but they were not. Her family was not. And she couldn't bear the thought of losing them. Not Adder. Not Crescent. Not Rushing. Or Stars forbid, Rose, never Rose. No, she would not stand for that.

With a slow breath, Wave padded forward as the sea began to lap at her paws, sitting down on the familiar sand. She closed her eyes for a moment, simply listening to the rhythmic song of the ocean, the waves gently kissing the shore and then pulling away again. This had been her home, her life for so many moons. Now, she had to let it go. She had found a new home. Not in a place, but in the cats that had come to mean so much to her. Cats who had become her family, just as much as the sea had. Willow... sweet Willow. Peachy, Rose, grumpy Knot... Pretty Garnet. Firm Smoke, feisty Shark. A smile flickered across her face. And then, the quiet one... shy Fox, sweet Shimmer... Funky Jingle with his bells, Thistle and Bay. They had all found their place in her heart.

Though she was not their captain, she cared for them deeply. Their well-being mattered to her, more than anything. A soft snort escaped her as she felt the waves tease at her paws again. Her heart ached, but she knew she could not stay. She had to say her farewells to this life, her first life, the life of the sea.

" I waited for ye. " Wave murmured, a faint smile tugging at her lips. Her old captain would not return. She could feel it now. She had to accept it. This was the end of an era for her. " Thank ye, fer the love ye gave me. Fer the stories. The companionship. " She dipped her head toward the sea, feeling the weight of it all settle in her chest. She could still hear his gruff voice, feel his hand as it scratched beneath her chin. It had always made her purr. He had taught her much. She would never forget that.

" I leave Coral in yer care... " she whispered, her gaze drifting to the water. The kit that hadn't been with them long, the kit they had let go far too soon because sometimes life just was that cruel... " Let her dance with th'waves and tell her all the stories ye told me, won't ye? Ye ol' sea scoundrel. "

She gave a final knead of the wet sand, breathing in the salty air, her heart filled with a strange peace.

" Yer stories will come with me, aye? " she added, her eyes glinting as she whispered one last tribute. " Thank ye fer bringin' me to Adder. I wouldn't know what I'd do without him. " A chuckle bubbled up from her chest, followed by a playful splash of the water. The sea was a part of her. Always would be.

" ...Don't ye forget about Wave. "

___________________ We sail the seas of life and believe, ☆ The tides will lead us home ___________________

• "speech"
  

• 

• WAVE she/her, RiverClanner, thirty-three moons.
  ☆ a black and white lh cat with light blue eyes
  ☆ mentored by who / mentoring no one
  ☆ whichever relations / want listed
  ☆ peaceful and healing powerplay permitted / / underline and tag when attacking
  ☆ penned by lion ↛ lionheartedphoenix on discord, feel free to dm for plots.

 

[Adderfang]

Adder didn't have the same attachment as most other cats in their group. He hadn't arrived there on a ship nor faced the crushing disappointment when those ships never moved again. The place he came from was solid—unbending—nothing like the ever-changing, flexible chaos of the shipyard.

But despite that, the shipyard held its own kind of importance to him.

It was where he met Wave.

She had shaped him—painted his dull world with bright colors and taught him that there was more to living than just surviving another day. Adder had time to adjust, but she had to face that change in such a short time.

That was why, when he lay down to rest and woke to find her gone, he already knew where to find her. The tom emerged to find her sitting there, staring out at the sea—a solitary lighthouse on the shoreline, with no ships left to call home.

Adder still remembered how they met. He'd been dragging his paws through the damp sand, hunger twisting him into knots. These shores were more forgiving then, more to offer than the desolate place he crawled out of. He nearly missed her entirely—her sleek pelt weaving through the shallows until her voice cut through the crashing waves. She'd called him, asking if he intended to help her fish before the storm rolled in, as if they'd known each other for years. Wave was that way with everyone—warm inside and out—but back then, she was like a distant island, so far away and yet achingly familiar.

He grew to love her more than anything, in all her beauty and defiance. A rare and wild spirit that wouldn't be held down for long. Adder counted his blessings every day that she decided to keep him.

He knew she would be okay. Wave would make her peace with or without him. But he wanted to be beside her—through this and anything else they would face. Now and always.

The sand was soft beneath his paws as he padded over to her. His heart tugged as he watched her, listening to her murmur softly to the waves. They would offer no response, but she expected none. Still, he could speak for the sea on one thing. "There's not a soul who could forget about you." He purred, moving to settle down beside her. "Not even if they tried."

Once, when he looked at her, he saw his entire world. Now, their world had expanded—to their kits, to the cats of the shipyard—but even so, she would forever remain at the center of his heart. That was one thing that would never change.

___________________ There wasn't a wrong or a right he could choose 𓆟 He did what he had to do ________________

• "speech" - thoughts
  

• 

• Adderfang he/him & riverclan
  𓆟 Chocolate ticked tabby w/ amber eyes. Peppered with scars. Deep gash across the right side of his face exposing one canine slightly. Missing left ear.
  𓆟 Deep gravelly voice that might unsettle others.
  𓆟 Would and will kill a man.
  𓆟 Peaceful and healing powerplay permitted. For other powerplays, DM.
  𓆟 Fur smells faintly of river reeds and damp earth.
  
  
  penned by Scarlet​

 

[ROSEPAW.]

This beach, this shipyard was everything Rose had ever known. This was where she had been born so it was all she knew. It was scary to think she was going to leave all of this behind to go out there into the world and find a new place to belong. All of the things that she was forced to leave behind. Out of them all it was her mother and sisters who would be the most heartbreaking. She had wanted to have a word with them, despite everything that had been said and done Rose couldn't bring herself to hate them, to depart from them in the way things had ended last time.

Unfortunately, her family was nowhere to be found. Heather had left with her sisters before the group even had returned back from their journey, probably staying away until they all had left. It broke her heart that she might not even get a chance to say a proper goodbye to them. It didn't seem like she even would get a chance to repair thier shattered bond.

Rose had ended up by the beach after giving up trying to find her...old family now, she suppose. Out there by the shore she discovered Wave standing in the shallow water pouring her heart out to the waves to take farewell to this place, to those she would leave behind. A story Rose had not been told about. Adder joined her and together the two would stand there by each other side to share the moment with one another. The two truly loved each other. Anyone could see that even someone as young like her. A powerful love like that...she wonderd if she too would find someone like that one day who would love her the same way Adder and Wave looked at each other. A love like that would be nice, to know she was truly loved. To be someone's whole world.

It took some time to decide whether she should approach or not, to intrude on thier moment. Finally, the kit dared build up some courage as she walked up to the two and decided to seat a bit away while her gaze shifted over the ocean to look at the horizon. Always, she had always wondered what lay behind the sea, what sort of world existed beyond the eye.

" Uhm, aren't you t-two...scared to leave this p-place?."

she knew she was although trying her best to not show it. Rose had made her decision already so it would be shameful to have doubts now considerd what she had lost because of it. Still, she was nowhere as brave like Adder or Wave who looked ready to face this new chapter.

Rose who had only knew this place her whole life felt uncertain about the future even if she knew it was the right decision to leave.