pafp I LOVE YOU, AIN'T THAT CRAZY? // flowers (prompt)

LIKE A PICTURE IN A FRAME
WISH WE COULD'VE STAYED THE SAME
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periwinklebreeze 23 moons demi-boy windclan queen
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Tired eyes roam the clan as sigh slips past parted lips - and in truth, Periwinklebreeze's heart is not in it. Not now, not anymore. He's roped his family into an activity today - or tried to, at least. his smiles don't quite reach his eyes, fall a little to fast from his lips when he thinks they aren't looking. He doesn't know what to do - what to say. How to convince them - convince himself - that everything will be okay. Because it won't, will it? Not for his niblings - their mother is dead. His sister is dead. Not for his own - Vulturekit still missing.

Clanmates come and go with warm words and kind promises - empty things, he's sure, when Pinkpaw claims Vulturekit had left willingly. And so he seeks out distraction. Todays comes in the form of wildflowers strewn throughout pale fur - a familiar habit, one he could do with eyes closed if he cared to try. Greenleaf brings with it new life - greenery popping up upon the moorlands once more. And yet as eyes fall upon the colorful blooms, he struggles to shake that melancholy reminder that with life had come plenty of loss.

It's Witherkit who catches his attention - coaxed into helping by insistent words, soft and cajoling. The bright yellow flower at his paws is hardly unique amongst the bunch - a simple dandelion, one of the worlds most common weeds. And yet, it's not something Peri would normally coax into tailed fur - to bright, to showy. It's enough to give him pause, blue eyes catching upon it's petals. Drawn even further - to figure lingering upon the fringes of a den he'd once nearly called his own.

The medicine den had been as good as, once upon a time. Back when Peri wasn't so alone - when he had friends, his brother in all but blood. Now, there's only one face within that catches his eye, and it's enough to make him think.

' I want to be with you. As friends, as… more, as anything'

As anything. Once, perhaps, Peri would've felt the same - had felt the same. But now? He feels only the burning weight of all he's already lost, of all he could continue to miss out on. And he doesn't - he doesn't want that. No, he is tired of hiding, and waiting, and running circles around his own head. He gives only the vaguest of apologies, of excuses to the kids as he stands - flashes an apologetic smile to them as he gathers up the flower in his jaws.

Pawsteps are more certain then ever as he pads over, blinking slowly at a face with scars so similar to his own. " For y-you, " he says quietly, head tipping to the side.

actions & " speech, " & 'thoughts/quotes'
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I ' V E - A L W A Y S - B E E N - R E A L - B A D - W I T H - C H A N G E
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// Prompt Response, please wait for @GRAVELSNAP to reply first

Greenleaf has arrived, and although the moor is not quite what it should be thanks to the scorching flames, it's possible to find life blooming once again. Your pelt yearns to be decorated once more like you usually do. You've got your kits to help you — such fragile stems need to be woven into tufts of fur with much care and precision though —, and despite everything... you notice the reason for your heart's fluttering has been glancing your way. Gravelsnap watches.
 
➴➴ They have never felt so terrible before, so close to death in spite of being near-healthy. Their wounds are not fatal—they will live. Yet Nightingalecry cannot say the same, can she? And Vulturekit is… is gone, perhaps to a worse fate than the silvered she-cat. Gravelsnap could have prevented both losses, if only they were stronger. Faster. Better. Their enemy's command to stay down echoes in the dark recesses of their mind even now. They cannot dwell on their loss, their injuries, their failure, though. Not now. Not when… when the one they care for most has lost so much more. How Periwinklebreeze is still able to function, they don't understand. They watch the queen interact with his kits, with Nightingalecry's kits, and it sends at first that he is unaffected. Trying to heal and be healed.

A closer look reveals the truth that they knew they would find. Their friend is not one to brush off this loss so easily—Peri is not so stoic, no matter if they try. Their emotions show on their face, clear in a smile that drops too soon or a blank-eyed gaze when there should be brightness. Hazel eyes narrow in focus as Gravelsnap observes them, only to widen once more when that clear blue eye settles upon him. The black-pointed queen draws nearer, a flower clutched in their mouth, and Gravelsnap finds themself frozen as the distance between them disappears. Peri stands before them, announcing that the flower is for them, and the warrior suddenly sits up straight—they wince as pain jolts through their shoulder at the motion, but attempt to keep a stiff smile on their face as they gaze up at the other tom.

"For me…?" At first, they think to begin chewing on it. It's the very plant that Wolfsong has been plucking leaves from and forcing them to eat. It dulls the pain in their shoulder, but Periwinklebreeze wouldn't offer medicine to them like that. No… this is a gift, isn't it? Their heart gives a tentative thump against their ribcage, rattling around like a nervous dove. "Thank you," they say once their heart's normal rhythm has returned. "It's very pretty. Fragile, though… I'll be sure to take good care of it." Their eyes lift to look the lead warrior in the eye, dark tail giving a nervous flicker. The day they gave their friend flowers of their own drifts to the forefront of their mind. "I love it."

  • ooc:
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    GRAVELSNAP ❯❯ they/he, moor runner of windclan
    average-sized black and white warrior who seems smaller than he is. speaks rarely and quietly.
    sibling to slateheart
    mentoring sheeppaw
    peaceful and healing powerplay permitted
    penned by foxlore
 
LIKE A PICTURE IN A FRAME
WISH WE COULD'VE STAYED THE SAME
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periwinklebreeze 23 moons demi-boy windclan queen
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There's a moments hesitation, hazel eyes moving to meet his own before Gravelsnap accepts, and Peri smiles. He is relieved they like it, truly - they like giving gifts, sure, but never so... openly. So publicly. " I'm g-glad, " Periwinklebreeze says quietly, body turning to sit down - gaze flickering back towards the kits even as warmth spreads through his chest. Perhaps things are... well, not okay - not just yet anyways - but they are... better then he'd been giving them credit for. The weight in his chest lessens, and he breathes out a quiet sigh. He is uncertain this grief, this worry that hangs over him like a hawk will ever truly leave, that he will carry this burden with him forever, but it is fading with each smile he feigns and each day that passes, with each simple moment like this with those he hasn't lost just yet.

actions & " speech, " & 'thoughts/quotes'
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I ' V E - A L W A Y S - B E E N - R E A L - B A D - W I T H - C H A N G E
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