pafp πœ—πœšΛšβ‹† Fear the unknown | Rambling β€§β‚ŠΛš. ⸝⸝

βš›οΈŽβ‚ŠΛšβ€§ The frantic pattering of hasty paws reverberated through the otherwise still air, any serenity left to be felt in camp shattered by the sound of despairing cries, the combination of the two incessant sounds creating an unpleasant and disconcerting cacophony for any listening ears. "Wormwatcher- Wormwatcher!" The scrawny little cat sought out one individual in particular, making rounds around the campgrounds with anxious determination, weaving through a sea of colorful pelts and sticking his narrowed head into the entrance to every den he passed until he was finally met with the familiar coloration of black and blue. The sight of the brooding tom was enough to quell the nerves of Amberhaze just slightly, however it was short lived as he pressed forward with urgency, words spilling from his twitching jaw in a cascade before allowing himself the opportunity to come close enough to be heard clearly.

"D-Did you hear about- uh- about Applejaw? What- What happened? It's not a c-coincidence, I swear it! First Smogstar a-and now her too. What are the odds of t-two of the same family- g-going missing or being killed...a-and so close together too! Someone- uh- or something's behind it, I can f-feel it! The other clans maybe- Applejaw was literally f-found on the ThunderClan border! W-What reason would she have h-had for being there? Who was she after- or who was after her?" His ramblings were broken up by sharp intakes of hyperventilating breaths, his chest heaving with the effort of simply trying to take in an ounce of oxygen. Clearly, he was in one of his spells, inconsolable until the bulk of the storm bred from his mind had passed overhead, but he was certain that despite whatever may be nothing more than a baseless conspiracy, something was amiss with the disappearance of Smogstar and the circumstances in which Applejaw had been found.
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  • ooc: please wait for @Wormwatcher !!
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    AMBERHAZE β€” HE/HIM ο½₯ 20 MOONS ο½₯ WARRIOR OF SHADOWCLAN ο½₯ PENNED BY SLOANE
    a short but lengthy black cat with a boney build and striking ocher eyes filled with unveiled trepidation. black oriental shorthair.
 
It may be shocking but Wormwatcher has chosen to keep his lips sealed on the matter of Smogstar's disappearance. He observes the fallout with a peculiar feeling of disconnect and neither does he react with any strong emotion to Applejaw's death. There are others who were closer with the two, or have more influence upon the clan and Wormwatcher considers himself nothing more than a plebeian. His own anxieties are inconsequential. He tells them to them to the stars at night, or keeps it all internalized. It'll only be shown through his persistent sour moods and outburst, which he has tried to rein in after Smogstar's disappearance. He would rather attempt to be a... more level-headed fixture of the clan.

Wormwatcher tears at his meal of a toad, ears swiveling as he chews in hopes to pick up on any grievances. He could of heard Amberhaze's calls from across the marsh, though. "Amberhaze," he greets politely, swallowing his last bite whole as he realizes the tom is not visiting for any sort of causal conversation. Bat ears flick back as the ramblings cascade from Amberhaze's jerking mouth. The blue tom huffs and pushes upwards into a sitting position. "Okay... okay! Sit down, you're gonna talk yourself to death..." The way in which Amberhaze nearly chokes on air during his frantic yakking always concerns Wormwatcher and he'd rather if Amberhaze pass out he does from it from a height closer to the ground.

"Of course I heard of Applejaw's passing... I am your clanmate, aren't I?" Wormwatcher attempts to lighten the mood with some humor but grimaces- it is likely the worse thing to do at the moment. "Shhh... shh, you're gonna rile others up. Come on now, take some deep breaths..." He demonstrates, inhaling deeply through his nose and out through his maw.

He sympathizes with the black tom, these are lines of thinking he has gone down very often before; but the vital difference between himself and Amberhaze he does not empower the invasive thoughts with his voice. "Now, Amberhaze, you know better..." He murmurs softly, standing now and shuffling towards the hysterical cat to press his shoulder reassuringly against his- Wormwatcher hopes this gesture will ground him, something which'll be a tether to reality. "We can grieve these two... losses, but we mustn't say there is any correlation between the two, not when there is no evidence for this." With anyone else, Wormwatcher would have already walked away and left one to drown in their own hysterics, but he'd never do this to his prodigy. "Trust that Mirepurr will guide us, alright? They'll get to the bottom of Applejaw's death."


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    WORMWATCHER β€”β€” black/blue chimera with low white
    β€”β€” shadowclan warrior
    β€”β€” he/him ⋆ homosexual (closeted)
    β€”β€” 30 moons ⋆ ages every 10th
 
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Reactions: Amberhaze

Gigglepaw hears Amberhaze's rambling before she sets eyes on the nervous tom, and she can't help but fight off a frown as she pushes her way out of the apprentices' den and moseys over to where he and Wormwatcher are sat, apparently discussing conspiracies. She herself thought it strange, unfortunate, really, that Applejaw's death and Smogstar's disappearance had occurred so closely in time to one another, but she wasn't ranting and raving in the middle of camp about it in the way that the warrior was. She knew that there were nervous types - she knew Sharpshadow, of course - but this was unseemly.

"I think it's kinda bad to think that there might be a..." Gigglepaw scrunches her nose up, searching for the right word. "Curse or somethin' on Smogstar's family. It's not really somethin' that bears thinkin' about..." Her tail brushed the ground behind her as she looked between Amberhaze and Wormwatcher, thankful for Wormwatcher's attempts to soothe the other tom. "Like, I think it might just be bein' a ShadowClanner, y'know? Everybody's always sayin' that ShadowClanners have it worse off than any other Clan. Maybe it's got somethin' to do with that." She suggests, shrugging, as if what she's just said is the gospel truth.

She perks up with Wormwatcher's final words, and nods along enthusiastically. "But, yeah, you're totally right! Mirepurr'll figure out what happened, and then everything will end up just fine. Well, kinda fine, considering..." Gigglepaw's tail goes from cheery to droopy to cheery again as she tries to maintain her composure. Since Smogstar had disappeared, everything had seemed so lifeless, something that Gigglepaw wasn't used to. She'd found herself crying without meaning to on occasion when she was by herself, and she wondered if it would always be like this, even after Mirepurr stepped up and assumed their role as leader.

 
THE GODS CAN KNEEL β‹†βΊβ‚Šβ‹†
"The death of Applejaw was truly unfortunate, as is the disappearance of Smogstar, but lets not bat around notions of curses and conspiracies. Sometimes bad things just happen, but we cannot allow ourselves to become unravelled." Willowburn had seen far too many of ShadowClan's ranks chatter about such things during his time. Though he wouldn't deny that ShadowClan seemed to be the primary victim of life's wrath. Starvations, bears, nearly every leader meeting a grisly end, and of course traitors and murderers festering once in their number.

The tabby turned his focus towards Gigglepaw and he offered a small smile. "It is best that we cling to hope for the future. We will soon have Mirestar leading us, and we should enter the new age with heads held high. I am sure that StarClan will give them guidance and perhaps even answers to our woes." Willowburn liked to think that he was pretty resilient in the face of life's trials, he always seemed to find a reason to smile or to be chatty. But in truth he was just a master at masking his true self.

"Steady your heart, Amberhaze. I know it is hard, but we must have faith." He wanted to add that they needed to be patient as well, but he decided that he had perhaps spoken enough for now.

- ⋆ -
 

✧ . More than ever, he is a shadow to the marshes, to the camp he'd spawned into as a kit. His free-time spent among ShadowClan's fallen, it is a rare sight to see Eerienight now β€” save for patrol-bound excursions, for meals, for…

Things like this, he supposes.

A mirror of sorts, lanky and strange formed, but with eyes aflame. It should be no surprise, this mimic spouts such words, such truth to those that deny his frantic words. A curse, the youth says, though her words try to find reason.

" Might be so, " Eerienight decides. Bat-ears twitch as he sifts through the fallen family in his mind. One a fresh plot in his most frequented spot, one cast away by the stars that had bestowed him extra life, extra time. It must be a curse, a blight on their star-marked family, for such waste to be cast upon them so.

" Perhaps the mother missed them. " Eerienight offers, instead of words of assurance in the opposite direction. Halfshade, Halfshade β€” she must've been lonely up there, no? A family as big of hers, all left behind. There's no doubt, no doubt she would be. She cannot simply take a walk like he can, cannot spend all her time with those she misses.​
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    EERIENIGHT ✦ AMAB. He / Him. Warrior of ShadowClan.
    ✧ . A spindly black tom with unblinking, dark brown eyes.
    ✧ . ??? x ???
    ✧ . Mentored by Spectermask
    ✧ . Peaceful and healing powerplay permitted!
    ✧ . Penned by Abri β€£ @_abri_ on discord, feel free to dm for plots!
    ✧ . " Speech " ; Attack