sensitive topics well informed talks, in a non-confrontational way // open

[Periwinklebreeze.]

I'M NO BURDEN - NOT SO WORTHLESS
BENT SO MUCH THAT I JUST MIGHT BREAK ​

---

periwinklebreeze ❀ 16 moons ❀ demi-boy ❀ he/they ❀ windclan moor runner​

---

Really, periwinklebreeze doesn't mean anything by it.

He's been gone for nearly two moons, lagging behind the others who had ventured on the journey. Has missed many important conversations, hasn't yet noticed the rising tensions. Hasn't noticed the lack of prayer, of the way green eyes turn cold and hard at any mention of the stars shining down overhead. When the words leave his lips, they are naive but well meant concerns.

It is his ignorance that will be his downfall.

"But... what of th-the stars? Aren't you w-worried? Wh-what if... what if starclan p-punishes us for h-hunting near the moonstone? F-for c-claiming it as windclans alone? D-do you not f-fear what they m-may do?" he says quietly, tail twitching nervously as he speaks to the cat beside him.

The boy himself is terrified - visions of red stained paws and impossible ghostly children haunt his mind, delusional as he has become. He only means to warn them - certainly, they don't want to become like him, subject to their wrath. It's painful, coming home after finding out his mother had been exiled from not one home but two. Painful, to hear from his own sisters lips that she's joined the stars. That she hadn't made it on her own. That she was up there, with wisteria and dazzle and vult and snail, watching him. Watching what a failure he's become. Cursed - he's already cursed. His very existence had upset them, and now he is cursed to watch everyone he loves die.

Helpless.

He only means to help - sootstar has always believed so strongly in the stars after all. They had prayed to the stars when cats had one to take much needed herbs from skyclan by force, when they'd gone to battle against shadowclan and riverclan and skyclan allike. Had given thanks to the stars for their very meals, had visited the moonstone before earning their warrior names. Sootstar is the moorland queen chosen by them to bring down their bloody wrath, given nine lives as their prophet, their warrior. That's always been his haunting image of her. He expects his words to at worst be brushed off as foolish naivety, as cowardry. To be lectured on something he doesn't understand, perhaps.

Clearly, he'd been wrong.

━ actions & " speech, " & 'thoughts/quotes' ━

---

T H E ━ Q U E S T I O N S ━ T H A T ━ K E E P ━ M E ━ A W A K E

---

// TL:DR for this thread: peri questioned the choice to claim highstones, and was publicly punished by hollowcreek. please bear in mind this happened in front of sootstar, with her unspoken approval.

this is now open ♡

 

[hollowcreek]

( ✧ ) The return of their wayward cats were not greeted with the grand celebration Hollowcreek would have imagined the night they set out. As time stretched on, day by day losing precious food to rogues and even more numbers to sickness, the tabby had become soured with the pointless demands from the stars. What use was it? Hadn't they learned the sensation of starvation enough? Wasn't their daily survival a meaning of overcoming the struggle to see the next day?

Hollowcreek had always been the kind to prioritize his own survivability over anyone else's, but he would certainly leverage his environment to make that happen. The Clans codes were not all followed (though some that existed were already established in his own code of morals and duty)- he found no point in feeding the mouths that couldn't contribute first. He saw it would only fall back on those already working their damned hardest to hunt in the first place, not every season was as bountiful as greenleaf and leaf-fall. With Sootstar abandoning their ancestors, come leafbare he might even suggest they oust any freeloaders into the cold if they weren't nursing or bringing in food.

Scheming plans had been put on hold once he heard Periwinklebreeze suggest their Queen should be fearful. An offended hiss seethed from his teeth while his eyes narrowed into a piercing stare. A large paw, calculated in act threw itself against the right side of the toms skull. Aimed to come from Periwinklebreeze's blindside, he would never see the attack coming. Periwinkle's frame fell with ease from the impact of his strike, sending his body straight against the cold ground while he held the boy's head beneath his paw.

Hollowcreek did not speak immediately. His rage is clear in the glow of burnt honey eyes, glowering down at Periwinklebreeze. Instead he took the few moments to watch him struggle and writhe, caught blind and unaware of his attacker. The fear of not knowing what was the come next.

"Are you scared, boy?" He practically spat the words, disgusted. "You carry the stench of fear like a disease. This how you dare wish for your Queen to feel? Weak, pathetic?" Claws dig into the toms shoulder but his tone is unchanging. "WindClan will fear nothing. If StarClan had any of this power you mousehearted cats believe of, would they not have already cut her down?"

Hollowcreek chuckled coldly as the trickle of blood warmed his paw. "StarClan should fear her. You should be grateful your sorry tail is still breathing right now." He paused before his maw curled into a sick smile. "Yes! What a wonderful idea, Periwinklebreeze. Show your gratitude for being allowed to live. Beg, if you must."
​

( I SEE YOUR COLLARBONE ; AND WANNA LOSE CONTROL )

 

[Periwinklebreeze.]

I'M NO BURDEN - NOT SO WORTHLESS
BENT SO MUCH THAT I JUST MIGHT BREAK ​

---

periwinklebreeze ❀ 16 moons ❀ demi-boy ❀ he/they ❀ windclan moor runner​

---

The first thought that runs through troubled mind is that he is a failure. All his training with bluepool amounts to naught, even his refresher failing him as the bows come crashing down upon him before he can react. Hollowcreeks gamble is correct - periwinklebreeze is completely blindsided, and he never sees it coming. The second thought that crosses his mind, paling his skin beneath smoke-stained fur and sending dark pupils dilating, is that he'd let his guard down. Never, not even once, had he expected this. Sootstar paints a haunting figure in his nightmares - as cruel as she is great. If any were to strike him down, he'd always thought it to be the moorland queen herself.

Maybe he was naive. Maybe, he'd put a bit too much faith into his clanmates, let his guard down too soon. Bolstered by the number of cats coming to his defense against thriftpaw's scathing accusations, he'd thought that maybe - just maybe, hisclanamtes didn't dislike him after all.

He'd been wrong.

The blow against his skull sends him crashing down, the taste of bitter bile and metallic blood coating his tongue as jaw snaps shut painfully. His world spins blood rushing as he writhes - but though he is big for a windclanner, hollowcreek is bigger still, with a heavier build to match. The frail figured tom stands no match, and eventually his attempts peter out with a high-pitched whine deep in his throat.

He'd made a promise to himself at journeys end - that he'd stop running, that he'd stop being such a coward. ALl of that flies out the window in this moment, blue eyes flicking to meet green, and though vision is half obscured by shadows, he understands. There will be no help coming - there will be no intervention. " S-sorry... I'm... s-sorry, " he chokes out, abandoning what little scrap of pride he'd had - what good will it do if he's dead?

" P-please.. I'm sorry... I d-didn't know, d-didn't mean it, " he's not sure who he's speaking to - sootstar herself, or the tom that currently holds his life in his paws. Maybe both or maybe neither. All he knows is that he does not want to be joining hyacinthbreath so soon after his return - there is too much he still want's to do.

━ actions & " speech, " & 'thoughts/quotes' ━

---

T H E ━ Q U E S T I O N S ━ T H A T ━ K E E P ━ M E ━ A W A K E

---

 

[hollowcreek]

( ✧ ) Not a single voice came to stand for Periwinklebreezes defense. At least, not immediately. Hollowcreek does not feel the eyes of those who watch, of his Clan that harbors those with the same thoughts as the weak Moor runner beneath his claws. Pitiful how such a cat could hold the same rank as himself. Embarrassing that some weeks away had made him forget his place before the Queen, so bold to question.

"Did those mountains rattle the sense from your head?" He snarled as claws tore down the flesh of Periwinklebreezes hide. Despicable, traitor blood spilled to continue warming his paws. He had the thought to paint the soil with it even after he begged, to refuse his mercy but they were not ready for that yet. The time would come where any traitor would be a useless corpse or none at all.

Claws pull back, sheathed as whining his mewls rang, pleading for his life. "Then apologize. Thank your Queen for your life." The chimera stepped back and flicked the blood from his paws back onto Periwinklebreeze with a disinterested huff.
​

( I SEE YOUR COLLARBONE ; AND WANNA LOSE CONTROL )

 

[WOLFSONG]

──ᨒ↟↟ᨒ↟ᨒ↟↟ᨒ── "He will do no such thing," Wolfsong snarls, bending to press a paw against Periwinklebreeze's wounded side to stem some of the bleeding. All the while, he stares at Hollowcreek, his sole eye coldly bright as the glare of sunlight off of jagged, icy peaks. These beasts of Sootstar's have grown arrogant, and confident in their brazenness; if a punishment should be meted, it should not be by Hollowcreek's paw. That Sootstar should sanction this is further proof of her decaying mind. His upper lip remains curled in disgust. "Periwinklebreeze went into the mountains for lungwort. He saved Sootstar's daughter and sister— what have you done, Hollowcreek, but circle like a yapping dog astray from its master?" Below his pawpads, he can feel his clanmate's breaths, panicked as they are, and they spur Wolfsong onward. "Leave me with my patient. I do not care for mutts panting in my face while I work."
​

WOLFSONG of WINDCLAN FORMER ROGUE TURNED MEDICINE CAT. 41 MOONS, HE/HIM, NPC X NPC. MATES WITH SUNSTRIDE (07/05/2023). BIOGRAPHY, PINTEREST, & PLAYLIST.

medicinal expertise med. part ii med. part iii med. part iv

• — ★★★☆☆ WOUNDS: You're (mostly) in safe paws. You'll know if he's less experienced if he asks for your permission to try a treatment. No wound can scare him away from knowledge.
  — ★★★☆☆ INFECTION: He can prevent most infections. If you feel feverish, let him know; he'll hum thoughtfully over herbs and sniff your wound before saying, "With your blessing..."
• — ★☆☆☆☆ ACHES & PAINS: If you complain to him of pain, he'll ask where. If it's a headache, you'll likely feel a bit better. For anything else, "Try this, if you'd like, and tell me how you feel."
  — ★☆☆☆☆ BROKEN BONES: At best. he can ask you to remain lying down in the den. He may try to distract you with conversation while he considers what herb to feed you.
• — ★★★★★ TRAVELING HERBS: Going somewhere? No worries; Wolfsong knows just what you need to stay hale and healthy during your journey. The rest is up to you.
  — ★★★☆☆ KITTING: Thanks to Starlingheart and his own pregnancy, he's better prepared for the arrival of kits, but any complications will need a little faith and a lot of luck.
• — ★☆☆☆☆ POISONS: It's best if you avoid eating anything unfamiliar to you— it's probably just as unfamiliar to Wolfsong. The best he can do is offer you yarrow and sit with you.
  — ★★☆☆☆ ILLNESS: If it's white or greencough, you'll likely recover. Otherwise, prepare for odd concoctions and the usual request that you consent to a little trial-and-error.

​

 

[Azaleafrost]

Her blood is boiling so hard she might burst. She prowls towards Hollowcreek with murder in her eyes and claws extended and ready to rip into his flesh. How dare he lay his claws on Periwinklebreeze. He needs to be knocked down a few pegs.

She circles around him like prey, her teeth bared and just aching to bite down on his throat. She stops between him and Peri, standing protectively in front of her friend. Her friend, who journeyed far and suffered injuries for a clan that hates him regardless. It threatens to send her into a frenzy.

No matter what Peri does, Windclan will hate him. No matter what Azaleafrost does, She will be hated as well.

She lets this reality soak into her very being. Her hatred, her rage, it will all be brought forth against this clan some day, and she'll make sure Hollowcreek is among her victims when she finally lets herself go.

She chooses not to speak. Her expression says it all, touch Periwinklebreeze again and it will be the last thing you ever do.

She will not see her friend suffer at the claws of this clan anymore. She stands there bristling with rage, waiting for Hollowcreek to either back off, or give her a reason to spill blood. Hopefully he will listen to Wolfsong.​

 

[Ebonylight.]

*+:｡.｡ "Hey, hey, let's all calm down now," mews a melodic voice as shadows writhe together to form the languidly approaching Ebonylight. The feline takes in the scene with eyes twisted into as close to a look of sympathy as those serpentine eyes would allow, but their heart skipped a beat. Home, it came in the scent of rust, intertwined with the sharp tang of fear and shame. When the weak was felled to the strong, the story wrote itself out upon the red-stained concrete...or, now it was grass. Sootstar had saved the twoleg-place rogues from that dingy hell. Yet, Ebonylight would never stop herself from longing for one more visit, just to savor the taste of poisonous familiarity. This? This was lovingly close enough. It took everything in her not to marvel at the sight, admire Hollowcreek and his ruthlessness, gush at Azaleafrost's beautiful blood-lust colored eyes...No, instead Ebonylight carefully set her eyebrows down into a furrowed, worried expression she'd practiced many times and smiled compassionately at the motley crew of warriors held tragically back by invisible leashes.
"He made his apology,, Hollowcreek, I'm sure he won't insult our Queen ever again." Ebonylight mewed, voice velvety as they stood beside the massive tomcat. Shifting her focus to the victim and his protectors. If it were any other cat, Ebonylight wouldn't have dared come to their defense, but Ebonylight recognized those lovely blue eyes - Periwinklebreeze was Nightingalecall's brother, wasn't he? For Nighty, she would come to her brother's defense. Just this once. "Take good care of him, Wolfsong." Ebonylight said, the heartbreak in her tone painted solely by the image of poor Nighty's beautiful, distraught expression when she finds out the news.

*+:｡.｡ Updated 11/22/23

• 
  
• 
  
  
  
  
  GENERAL:
  ☆ Ebonylight
  ☆ DFAB— He/They/She — Pansexual
  ☆ 16 moons — Ages 1 moon every month real-time
  ☆ Mentored by X
  ☆ Windclan — Moor-runner
  
  
  
  
  
  
  COMBAT:
  ☆ Physically hard | mentally hard
  ☆ Attack in bold black
  injuries: None currently

​