Private Leader's Den TONIGHT THE STARS SPEAK ☼ JUNIPERSTAR

[burningdawn]

There is still time to back down, if Burningdawn wishes to. He stands by the opening of the tree trunk that Juniperstar has claimed as her den — whether it's official or not does not matter; she is in there, and he itches to talk to her, so he is here.

The itch is unbearable. It is what had propelled him into action, rare as it is. A million questions whirl in his head about the past, the future, the present... does he have the right to voice his own thoughts, especially to their leader? Burningdawn doubts he would be able to sleep peacefully until his worries and inquiries get answered, but he loathes to think his presence will be unwelcome. There are so many important things to take care of. So many cats in need. He should not take up her precious time with theories and the like.

Just as he turns to stalk off to try and make himself actually useful, the emeralds of Juniperstar's eyes peek from the shade, and she steps forward into the sunlight that adorns her perfectly.

There is no escape.

"Juniper...star."

It is vital to add that last part. As foreign it is, it'd be wholly disrespectful to call her anything else.

"I didn't mean to... get in your way."

Burningdawn's entire body droops like a branch heavy from snow, gaze seldom meeting her own. He could make up an excuse here, but it would be transparent — none of his duties would explain the proximity in which he placed himself to her den. Perhaps he can get out the easy way; with a swift question, Burningdawn places the decision entirely into Juniperstar's paws.

"Can we- could we talk? If you're not too busy?"

@juniperstar

 

[juniperstar]

juniper

to be placed into a nest, held lofty in the trees with barren branches so that any might notice the bulge in the boughs... it is a pedestal that exposes her every move to the hungry predators that loom on the forest floor... and sometimes even the smiling faces of her clan-mates feel like the grins of wild dogs. there is a watchful, pleasant-faced stalker that looms on the other side of the shadow's rigid bars... they keep her caged in this web of roots and darkness, easily found and easily hunted.

she isn't sure when Burningdawn had first taken to roosting just out of the cast shadow of the den, watching... waiting... biting the insides of his cheeks, running his tongue over his teeth. he's anxious... and his antsy behavior makes her own skin crawl sympathetically. it is with a resigned sort of sigh that she admits her time to be alone and brooding over her young is over... that this needs confronting. new-leaf greenery pins him to his place as she draws herself from the shade, the inky blackness melting to reveal chocolate, speckled tones where she parts it. inquisitive, wary brows lift in quiet question, listening to the lilt of her name spoken hesitantly. like it is one that belongs to a stranger. "You're not in the way," she answers on an exhale, tail whipping at her ankles as a betrayal of her nervousness.

the prompt to talk is one that feels as if it has been burned into her skin, doomed to be read aloud and repeated as often as possible. what more was there to discuss, whose fears needed to still be assuaged, what temper would she be made to coax back to a simmer? "I have time." even though it never feels like she does. even though she begs for the chance to curl up in silence and spend a day rotting in her woes. Serpentberry wouldn't allow it... Graybird, equally keen to preen her ruffled feathers and set them straight again. they are selfish in their selflessness... and it makes her all the more thirsty to be left to her own devices, to marinade in her sorrows. "Keep your voice down... but you can come in."

──✩°｡⋆⸜ ✮

• juniperstar leader of thunderclan nine lives remain

  ignore me

 

[burningdawn]

He cannot be certain if Juniperstar means what she says. Her body language — something he has learned to remain perceptive over, for better or for worse — is not nearly as calm and composed as the words she speaks in an attempt to soothe him. They work, at least. Burningdawn feels his shoulders sag a little with relief. He has never been quick to pick up on secret meanings, so he takes them all at face value, and he will just have to trust Juniperstar. That's what being a leader is all about anyway, is it not?

But other leader matters surely contain of privacy. Very few things remain hush-hush in big groups; even if the Colony is now split, Burningdawn has a hunch that keen eyes and curious ears will always hold onto something, anything, and carry it along like a leaf drifting on the breeze. What he asks Juniperstar is to allow him a peek into that very private and important life... even though he is not at all worthy of such an honor.

"I wanted to talk about... StarClan."

All these Clans. Everything feels so much more complicated with them.

"You talked with them. One on one."

Burningdawn remains still — there is no flick to his tail and no twitch in his whiskers. He regards Juniperstar with- something. Respect, but that is already given. Envy? No, nothing like that. He would never dream to walk in her pawsteps.

What she is to him is something near holy.

He clears his throat and finally averts his gaze, like usual.

"I just... it's still hard to believe that they exist."

Burningdawn all but spits that last word despite the lack of emotion he normally tends to speak with. Juniperstar had not been the only one who talked with the deceased; he remembers when they showed themselves in the aftermath of the battle, and how their presence (funnily enough) had demanded attention. It is impossible to call that a group hallucination... but moons spent within the careful weaving of his own community, before he had ever set paw near the Colony, means he shall remain a skeptic. Unless Juniperstar has a way?

"Don't you feel different? After speaking with them?"

 

[juniperstar]

juniper

StarClan...

questions circle back to them time and again and she is often left wanting for answers. they showed themselves willingly, but only when it was most dire and even then, left such a cryptic message behind. perhaps that was the gift they'd promised to Serpentberry instead, to see and speak with them in further clarity than Juniperstar deserved. held at arm's length, even while dressed in their blessings; a promise she'd join them someday but only after having suffered the requisite amount to satisfy the weight of a soul.

it was hard to deny they existed, when so many of their own lived in that starry light. but the question of if she felt different...? seafoam eyes search his face, trying to decode what sort of answer she was meant to say. what he needed to hear to feel at peace with their new circumstances. what would reassure him. but Juniperstar cannot fathom what might ease her own wounded spirit, much less Burningdawn's.

"Burningdawn...." her voice clings to steadiness, trying to find the strength of someone untouched by grief, unphased by the harshness of fate and all its scars. "I spoke with my dead kin and my friends... I have to hope that's worth trusting. Because if it isn't actually them, then I'd have to fear who wears their spirits as a second skin." the idea is haunting... and leaves her to wonder if what Sablestar had mentioned falls in line with something of such sinister intent.

"They gave me nine lives... I've no interest in testing that gift. We'll just have to see... when it happens."

──✩°｡⋆⸜ ✮

• juniperstar leader of thunderclan nine lives remain

  ignore me