TW: Death Closed The Colony There's a lullaby for suffering | Battle

Character death is present in this thread.
This tag is specifically for The Colony prior to the clans forming. It can still be used for any backwritten plots!

Snakeblink

Venom & honey
ThunderClan
Colony Clan Founder
8
1
Freshkill
29
Pronouns
he/him
šŸ
Chaos in the darkā€”Sable, the backstabbing son of an owl, is attacking the colony, attacking Hawthorneā€”the colony shaken awake just in time, fur flying and yowls rigging before the break of dawnā€”

And Water Snake, mostly blind, straining to catch a glimpse of his sister through the fighting and the lack of light (curse his useless reptile's eyesā€”), thinking (panicking): where is she? Where is my sister? Sable and Hawthorne are struggling against each other, and she would not be far from her mate, no matter how pregnant up to her eyes she is, if only because the traitor caught them one paw out of bed.

Finally he catches sight of her: he could recognize her pelt in pitch darkness, by the space she takes in the world alone. He slinks around the fighting, keeps low to the ground and to the edges of the conflict as he darts towards his sibling. She's too close. Anyone could stumble into her, or worse, turn their hostility on her. That's what he would do, in their place: take Hawhtorne's heavily pregnant mate hostage and force him to relent. He would do it, the tender-hearted fool; Water Snake would make him, otherwise, teeth in his throat to make him bend before claws could tear at his sister's pelt.

He's nearly next to her when his straining eyes are drawn to a flash of white rushing their way; a black and white cat coming straight for Serpent, yelling: "YOU HAVE TO -"

Water Snake is not a fighter; he has neither the inclination nor the instinct for it, especially like this, heads-on, confused, outnumbered. But he is startled, and terrified, and his sister is vulnerable right next to him; those feelings pull him up like a spiderweb wrapped around his throat, up on his hindlegs, and his claws flash towards the attacker's face as he throws his entire meager weight and all the violence he is capable of into knocking her off-course, away from Serpent.
  • ooc: @Flintberry @Needle @serpent KILL!!
  • WATER SNAKE ā€” HE/HIMļ½„ 23 MOONS ļ½„ COLONY CAT ļ½„ PENNED BY @Kangoo
    A thin, short furred chocolate tabby with bright green irises and a scar over his right eye.
 

Serpent can hardly hear Needle over the droning noise of the battle - cats arguing, bickering, yowling and screeching. Even as the molly warns her, feverishly or otherwise, the pregnant she-cat doesn't notice that the other gains on her before it is too late. Vibrant green eyes flash towards Needle, her claws gnarled with the withered ground underneath her. Bear it, she prepares herself for brute force, says in silence that fate will not damn her so fervently. She closes her eyes and tenses her body so hard that even her unborn litter stills.

And before she knows it, the fastly approaching blue furred molly is knocked aside. Serpent feels a wash of air as her brother (when did he get there? Had he been by her side even as she edged into danger? Was he trying to pull her away, only to lock himself into battle?) A shout of his name - "Snake!" - rips from her throat in surprise. Her name tremors off of her lips in disbelief, a wobbly, "Needle...?" as even in the moonlight she can see ribbons of red for where her brother's claws made true. Her ears pin to her head and she scans - for Hawthorne, for Juniper, for Rowan and then Cicada - and then falls back to her brother and the perpetrator.

"Stop this - stop!" She demands her voice hardly louder than even the quietest among them. Her stomach churns with vague discomfort and pain but she doesn't relent. Persist, for what else are they to do? Survive, because they have no other choice.
 
FLINT OF THE COLONY

The clearing was one and all chaos. Flint's paws twitched with uncertainty, his movements halting as his nervous amber eyes darted around the battle. Every instinct screamed at him to act, but hesitation gripped him like frost clawing at his chest. The soft brush of Needle's fur beside him was an anchor... until it wasn't. The warmth had disappeared, being replaced by the sound of pounding paws as Needle broke away from his side. Flint's heart ran cold, a gnawing dread settling deep in his gut.

" Needle, no!! Please, come back! " he cried, desperation thick in his voice. His ears pinned flat against his head as he surged forward a few paces, his claws tearing at the earth. His breath came in ragged gulps, each one fueling the rising panic in his chest. She shouldn't be doing this. She shouldn't be throwing herself into the fray. The scene unfolded like a nightmare. Needle darted toward the battle, Flint's mind raced to catch up. Protect her. Keep her safe. But before he could even get close, something streaked toward her, a flash of brown fur, claws glinting in the light.

His heart stopped.

" Stop, stop! " Flint's voice cracked, the plea tumbling from his throat as he staggered forward, paws moving of their own accord now. His cry twisted into a growl of raw anger. He wasn't angry at Needle, not at Water Snake, not even at the chaos tearing through the colony. He was angry at himself... furious at his own failure to protect the cats he loved. The red splattering the ground blurred his vision, the coppery tang of blood hitting his nose like a slap in his face. Flint's golden eyes locked onto Needle's trembling form, her fur darkened with streaks of red as Water Snake's claws raked over her.

No. Stars above, no. Don't hurt her. Please, not her.

The growl building in his throat erupted into a yowl, the sound ripped from somewhere deep inside him. Flint's paws struck the ground hard as he launched himself at Water Snake, his teeth bared and his heart hammering. He clamped his jaws onto the attacker's scruff, not to maim, not even to truly harm, but to force their attention away from Needle. His bite lacked the deadly precision of a fighter, but it carried all the desperation of a tom who would give anything to shield the ones he loved. "Leave her alone!" The words were muffled through fur, but rang true nonetheless.

Somewhere, faint and distant, Flint thought he could hear Serpent's voice rising on the wind, her cries mingling with the chaos of battle. But all he could focus on was Needle, the blood staining her fur, the faint tremble of her frame, and the deep, bone-deep fear clawing at his chest.

Stars above, don't let her die.




my body's on the line now, I can't fight this time now ā€”ā€”ļ½„ļ¾Ÿāœ¦
ļ½„ļ¾Ÿāœ¦ ā€”ā€” I can feel the light shine on my face



 
šŸ
Flesh under his claws, impact, the scent of blood in the air, Serpent's voice, another's yowl. It all happens so fast, and Water Snake registers so little of it, or maybe all of it but too fast: he cannot think, cannot plan, can barely react as a grey shadow tears out of the night and closes its jaws around his neck. The cat is bigger than him; his voice rumbles through Water Snake's body as he speaks around a mouthful of him. Serpent's yell cuts through the noise and he is helpless to answer it: stop what? Stop how? Half-blind in the slowly-dissipating darkness and scruffed like prey, Snake can do little.

But he tries, anyway. He twists his body like an eel in Flint's grasp, opening his mouth around furious, panicked hissing to bare his teeth at the unseen threat.
"Let me go!"
He tries to turn around, wrench himself free of Flint's hold with flailing claws--all too aware of how easy it is, once you hold an opponent's spine, to break it. It only takes a strong shake, or a snap of the jaws. He's done it before.

He might never do it again, never do anything again. Will this cat kill him? Will the other one, knocked aside but hardly unconscious? His wide eyes seek Serpent in the gloom, begging along with his mouth:
"Help- Serpent, help me!"

  • ooc: ā€”
  • WATER SNAKE ā€” HE/HIMļ½„ 23 MOONS ļ½„ COLONY CAT ļ½„ PENNED BY @Kangoo
    A thin, short furred chocolate tabby with bright green irises and a scar over his right eye.
 
Her eyes flash, and before she knows it -

It's them, in fields and forests, with trees that reach to the stars and rivers that touch every horizon line. It's them, surrounded with others, laughing in the morning light, playing in the moon's glow. It's a mother, a father, a litter of kittens turned adolescents - and one by one, it grows dimmer. One by one, they are taken. By poison, by predators. By illness, by foe. One by one, they are lost. Until it is just her and Snake. And they traveled together, waiting for whatever phantom hunted their bloodline down to find them.

The phantom is here - in a flurry of anger and fear, the phantom is dressed in brown and white fur. The phantom's eyes glow with ferocity, with righteousness - the unsteady breathing of the fallen turns into the sharp talons and fangs of the beast. She watches, stunned. She watches, afraid. She watches, and he calls for her, and Serpent tilts forward.

- she's in the fray. She wastes no time, heaving her body against her brother's perpetrator, slamming everything she can into the brute and hoping desperately to shove him away. Go, go away! She screams in the depths of her mind. Everything is so loud yet soundless, she realizes. She tries again, this time prolonging her shove against Flint, Go!
 
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FLINT OF THE COLONY

The weight of Water Snake's struggles pressed against Flint's resolve, each frantic movement forcing his golden eyes to flick toward Needle's unmoving form. His heart hammered in his chest, desperate for any sign... ANYTHING... to assure him she still lived. But he couldn't let go. Not yet. If he did, what if Water Snake finished what had been started? What if Needle... He couldn't think about it. He wouldn't.

" Stay on me... " he growled under his breath, his voice trembling with suppressed panic. His grip tightened, his body locking like a vice as Water Snake hissed and thrashed against him. Flint clung to the other tom like dried mud to fur, refusing to be dislodged despite the flurry of claws and teeth coming his way. Around him, the sounds of battle, the caterwauls, the screeches, the sickening crunch of bodies colliding, clawed at his mind. It was too much. Too loud. Too wrong.

Stars above, he thought bitterly, I never wanted this. None of this.

His teeth prickled dangerously against Water Snake's fur, a warning that wavered on the edge of breaking skin. He couldn't, no he wouldn't cross that line. But his desperation gnawed at him as fiercely as his grip. His body screamed at him to let go, but his heart refused to yield.

A sudden scream tore through the chaos, a cry aimed not at him, but at Serpent. Flint's head whipped around, golden eyes locking onto hers, pleading for something he couldn't put into words. Help me. Help them. But before he could process her reaction, a weight barreled into him from the side, tearing his hold loose.

He stumbled, the breath rushing from his lungs as he hit the ground. He didn't fight back. Not when he saw her. A heavily pregnant queen had thrown herself into the fray, and Flint's blood ran cold. If she was hurt... If the kits--

" Stop! " he gasped, his voice hoarse and cracking as he scrambled to his feet. His stance was shaky, his legs trembling, but he forced himself to shield Needle, his form blocking her from view. He squared his shoulders, golden eyes fierce despite the terror threatening to engulf him.

" Enough! " he barked again, his voice steadier this time, though his heart screamed with uncertainty. Let it end. Let it all end.




my body's on the line now, I can't fight this time now ā€”ā€”ļ½„ļ¾Ÿāœ¦
ļ½„ļ¾Ÿāœ¦ ā€”ā€” I can feel the light shine on my face



 
šŸ
Let it end-- let it all end.

This is how they have survived: by relying on each other, like a tree relies on its roots to keep it upright, like birds rely on their wings to hold them in the sky. The bond of trust between the two siblings was once a wide net cast over an entire family; it could not be diminished by loss nor by the love for Hawthorne that pulled her away from his anxious side, if only by the width of a single new cat brought into the fold. Water Snake loves his family fiercely, unthinkingly, to the point of irrationality, and these cats want to take it away from him.

Serpent throws herself at his opponent in spite of her condition and he loosens his grasp on Snake, dropping the skinny tabby in the dust. He's yelling: stop, it's enough. At another time Water Snake may have listened to reason. But these are unprecedented times, and he does not know this cat, what they seek to accomplish, whether this is mercy or a ploy. What he knows it this: Serpent is distracting him, has offered him an opening, and their mother always told them to be the one to end a fight.

Quick as the asp, he pounces from his curled-up position, jaws wide open, aiming to close around Flint's bared throat. If successful, he would do the same thing the other tom did to him: shaking his head until something gave. If not, he would try to pull him down--leave him open for Serpent to take the kill.
  • ooc: ā€”
  • WATER SNAKE ā€” HE/HIMļ½„ 23 MOONS ļ½„ COLONY CAT ļ½„ PENNED BY @Kangoo
    A thin, short furred chocolate tabby with bright green irises and a scar over his right eye.