Backwritten The Colony the trials of youth | marble

[possumgrin]

It was a wickedly cold night and felt like every cat was holding their breath. With Sable on the verge of being offed, Thorn sitting on their posterior as cats wither, there was little left to be spoken. All they could do was huddle up and pray starvation wouldn't steal their lives in the night or worse their own kind strangling the breathe from their lungs. His heart ached at the thought of Thistle and how Charcoal seemed so indifferent. Bastard. Awkwardly, he pressed himself to his sister's pelt, a grimace tugging at his maw as the wind bellowed outside their makeshift nest. It was times like these he felt little reason to hold up airs. Right now, it was just him, Marble, and the night.

A small instance of vulnerability overtook him as his yellow eyes glowed in the gloom. Mouse brained idea. He scolded himself, but the idea pushed past his lips before he could stop it.

"Hey… Sis." His voice was softer than usual, stripped of its usual humor. "Do you want to run away?"

The words tasted strange in his mouth. A half-joke, half-despair. As if saying them might make them true. If admitting it aloud would crack open the fragile shell of control he had left. Of course, it wasn't really a question, was it? It was a test. A desperate, grasping thing, searching for something in the dark. Maybe permission. Maybe an excuse. Maybe just someone to tell him he wasn't as much of a coward as he felt.

Possum's tail flicked, restless, as he locked eyes with his sister in a silent plea. See it. His gaze begged. See what I see. See how bad it's gotten. How there's nothing left here worth dying for. Because if she didn't… Skies help him, he wasn't sure what he'd do. Her bleeding heart may be the death of them both.

OOC Sorry for the late thread! @Marbleshine it's a bit backwritten to give these two some more depth as siblings <3​

 

[Marbleshine]

MARBLE OF SHADOWCLAN

Marble lay curled against her brother, the warmth of his fur a familiar comfort against the gnawing cold. Every now and then, her ear twitched, her half-lidded eyes staring through the dimness ahead. There was tension in the air. A heaviness. She felt it, too. She couldn't deny it. But they could get through this. Surely they could. That's what family did.

A soft shuffle beside her made her ears flick again, and as Possum curled closer, her eyes fully opened. His voice was quiet, almost fragile, slipping into the air like a ghost of a thought. Run away? Marble blinked, her head lifting slightly as she turned to him, studying his face. Run… but where? And what of Copper? Cinder? Flint? What of Charcoal? What of Thistle's memory? What of the cats they had grown up with? The cats who were family? " O… Oh. " The sound left her in a whisper, her head tilting slightly. Her ribs weren't yet as sharp as some of the others, but she was getting thinner. Starvation was creeping into her bones, just as it was everyone else's.

Still… she shook her head. Soft. Certain. " I don't… I don't think I can. " Her voice was gentle, but there was a quiet conviction behind it. " Possum, there are so many cats here we know. " Her voice wavered, but she pressed on, nudging her cheek against his in an affectionate gesture. " We grew up with them. We can't just leave them. " A pause. Her heart ached at the thought of him even suggesting it. She pulled back slightly, gaze searching his.

" Are you… worried, Possum? "

GO ON AND TRY TO TEAR ME DOWN ——･ﾟ✦​

･ﾟ✦ —— I WILL BE RISING FROM THE GROUND

 

[possumgrin]

Of course. His teeth clenched until he thought his fangs might crack under the pressure. Always for some other sorry soul. What about her? What about them? Anger surged inside and his expression hardened. He turned his face to the dirt below, hot and heavy with resentment.

"You don't think I already know that?" He muttered, words tight, unwilling to meet the pity swimming in Marble's eyes. That same sorry look. The one that clung like a tick, made something small and bitter in his chest twist. Yet, no matter how much it gutted him, some pathetic part of him always gave in to it. Possum exhaled through his nose, trying to bury the frustration bubbling in his chest. Her question brought his mind to a halt. Worried?

His jaw slackened. Ideas fluttered in their mind, broken and uncertain, until finally something soft slipped through. "I'm always worried, Marble. Especially about you." Because if I didn't worry, who else would? The thought tasted like mouse bile.

Unshed tears pressed behind sunken eyes, hunger gnawed at his gut, and it all pulled at his voice. Sometimes, he truly couldn't understand her. How she could care so much about every cat, every leaf and stone, yet never spare the same concern for herself. The tom finally looked back at her, his meow raspy and strained. "What are we gonna do, huh? Just sit here and starve?"
This question hung dead weight in the air. Their despair behind it barely veiled.

Possum wasn't stupid. He knew how useless he looked in this state. Without Marble, he was as good as dead alone. He could fight, sure. Hunt when he had to. None of that mattered when ribs scraped his skin and his thoughts wandered endlessly. Marble had the strength he didn't. The grace, the competence.

All he had was a shabby act and brute force to hide behind.

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