after the storm // return

[sheepcurl]

It was a mistake by her twolegs, leaving the door open for a split second longer than needed. The youngest one was talking to another little twoleg kit at the front and she had taken her chance, bolting past them despite their shrill meows of surprise. Out the front door, towards the back garden, over the fence, and she’s home free.

The trek back to camp is full of emotions as she picks through undergrowth so very familiar to her. Guilt, prickling excitement and fear, and mostly worry. Anticipation makes her stomach feel sick. She hopes Lilyfang is okay, as well, the poor warrior that she had pushed out of the trap. It’d been a spur of the moment thing, and she had lay awake each night pondering her decision. Had it been a good one? Were the others proud that she had carried out her duty? Part of her, some selfish part of her, wishes she hadn’t. She squishes this thought down to the depths. She had done all she could, afterall. She saved another cat.

But she’s tired now. So incredibly tired, pent up in the den doing absolutely nothing but plotting does wonders to your stamina, and not in a good way. She huffs as she walks, trying to catch her breath as she nears camp. Theres a fleeting thought, one that hopes she’s caught by a leaving patrol; just so she doesn’t have to walk. She thinks to her friends, the ones in Blazestars council; were there more, she thinks, was she replaced? She only hums. She hopes Greeneyes is okay, poor boy, he had been a staple in her thoughts, a motivation to escape.

She would see her true home again.

She reaches the camp and pushes in, giddy with excitement, tired from mental and physical exhaustion. She turns to the nearest cat. "…What did I miss?" theres a slightly prickle of nervousness at her neck, but she wouldn’t have waited at the border in fear of her twolegs. She just wanted her nest back.​

"speech"​

 

[TWITCHBOLT]

Grizzlyridge, Sheepcurl, Daisyflight. Lost to the Shelter or traps or the like. Bodies never seen, but- spirits still there, at least in the latter's case. Daisyflight's passing, now confirmed by Snowpath's own dying confirmation, still had not quite settled in Twitchbolt's heart- and it did little to quell the worries of the other two's fates. Sheepcurl was horribly sudden, too. He'd keened for Daisyflight, heard the yowls from outside as Grizzlyridge had been taken, marched somewhere unseen. But Sheepcurl- the last time he'd seen her was before Quillstrike and himself had been swaddled into a trap and captured. He'd not forgotten her name, her face, her fate.

He had been attempting to work a particularly stubbon lock of knotted fur out of his pelt when a snow-splashed figure had barrelled toward him, asking him what she'd missed. He parted his lips to speak when the realisation of who it was surged through his body like a lightning-strike, paralysing him with his jaw slack for a few long moments. A flurry of spasms shocked his muscles, tremors and twitches exacerbated by the bolt of bewilderment that had just hit him. "Sheep- Sheepcurl?" he spat out, his face the perfect picture of disbelief.

Was he seeing a ghost? He was no prophet, not one who received message from the dead. And he was not dying, close enough to the brink that he could see the lingering star-spirits. And she didn't look dead, but- had he choked on his breakfast or something? Or- swallowed a clump of fur that had blocked his airways, or- or-

"Wuh- Sheepcurl?"

Very articulate.​

penned by pin ✧​

 

[Orangestar]

Occasionally Orangeblossom will catch the scent of a fallen Clanmate on a breeze, or on the specific underside of a leaf near where their nest had been; or, rather, she catches the absence of it, and just confuses herself. Sheepcurl's, of twoleg soap and an odd sweet-earthen combination she'd never quite found an explanation for, is one her brain has been caught on lately.

At first, she thinks this is another one of those times, though she's never caught a phantom-scent through a mouthful of prey, and Orangeblossom turns her head to try and track the scent as she usually does, but never before has there been a source: Sheepcurl, who is right there next to Twitchbolt, the latter of whom looks like he's about to pass out (even more than usual). The mouse drops out of her mouth, jaw slack with shock. It hits the forest floor, rolls over itself once and comes to a halt, but the deputy doesn't even see it.

She doesn't say anything either, as Orangeblossom pads across the clearing- her ears are pricked straight up, brown eyes wide, and without a word the long-furred she-cat knocks her head into Sheepcurl's shoulder. She is real. She lets out a long breath, but does not move for a moment. Instead, meow slightly muffled, she complains, "StarClan above, give us some warning next time; a stiff breeze would knock Twitchbolt over right now."

She leans back after a moment, taking the fawn-spotted she-cat in- slightly plumper, but entirely unharmed. Some of the fur on her shoulders starts to lay flat.

"You got out," she says. Maybe their other missing Clanmates would start to come home too.

— info

•  
• 
  orangeblossom. tags.
  — she/her, skyclan deputy.
  — mentor to eveningpaw.
  — attack in #e08550. uses trees as an integral part of her fighting style.
  — mean enough to note that her thoughts don't reflect my opinions as a writer haha.
  — penned by mercibun; @ me in any official tabbytales discord for plots. :]
  — art by merc!<3
  

​

 

[Johnnyflame]

HE SAID, "WELL MY NAME'S JOHNNY, AND IT MIGHT BE A SIN
BUT I'LL TAKE YOUR BET, AND YOU'RE GONNA REGRET, CUZ IM THE BEST THERE'S EVER BEEN."​

---

Hid hunt that morning hadn't got the greatest. He hadn't failed spectacularly or anything like that, but it still left him a bit frustrated having to return to camp empty-pawed, especially after he seemed to be doing so well with the hunting lately. Of course, he did his best not to left it hinder him too much given that Scorchedpaw was with him. He wanted to set a better example for the younger tom, letting them know it was okay to have imperfections. Every cat did, whether they liked to admit to it or not.

"It's the way she goes, Scorchedpaw- sometimes you catch em, sometimes you don't." he explained as he led the way into camp- nearly running into another cat on the other side.

"Whoa! Sorry about that, didn't see-" his words cut off abruptly as he realizes he's not talking to a cat he's actually seen recently. "Sheepcurl? Stars, is the clan gonna be happy to see you!" he exclaimed with a grin. Too many cats had gone missing during and after the return of the shelter cats, but this at least, would be one less loss to count.

If only they could get the rest of them back now.

OOC- @>Scorchedpaw

---

​

 

[sheepcurl]

"I'm not a ghost, don't worry." theres a tired smile that spreads across her face as she watches poor Twitchbolt react. Perhaps I should have stayed at the border, she exhales in amusement, or maybe I should have said something else? Poor Twitch looks like he's ready to collapse and Sheep doesn't know if she has the strength to haul him upright if he does. The trek back was tiring, and extremely annoying, and she's exhausted- "I'm alive, I promise, you're alive! Nothing to worry about, hijo." she's not sure how to soothe him, or if she even can. It's been so long that... even his face feels somewhat unfamiliar, despite knowing him since his early apprentice days.

She's so focused on Twitch that she stumbles as someone knocks their head against her shoulder, curled ears pinning back as she looks over slightly defensively. Bristling fur relaxes, it's just Orangeblossom. She giggles in slight apology. "Sorry, sorry!" though anyone could see that shes elated at the fact that shes finally home, theres no room to be truly sorry. She feels slightly bad about the latter fact. "I did. It... It took a lot longer than I wanted it to. My twolegs kept everything closed." she grimaces. She hopes Redstorm is okay, wherever he is.

And then theres voices and a cat nearly smacks in front of her again, causing her to slightly jolt. She's not sure why shes so on edge, shes home now... "Johnny!" she trills in greeting just as he had done for her. "I missed you guys! I'm so, so happy to be back." she smiles, again, genuine. But she wants to sleep, lay down again- Stars, shes so tired.​

"speech"​

 

[GREENEYES]

His days as a warrior have been restless - nightmare ridden. Tragedy after tragedy, clanmates leaving his life in one way or another. Moments of grief, one after another, claws and fangs to strike at him when he closes his eyes.

It's no surprise that exhaustion bites at Greeneyes. It's no surprise that his once bright gaze sits dimmed upon his face, heavy with the ache to stay within his nest - the want to curl up in a bed of feathers and moss, to sleep for the next moon. But, he's a warrior. Has been for two moons, now. A warrior with the responsibility of providing for the clan he calls home, with the responsibility of defending it, should something happen.

StarClan knows the pine forest can't lose anymore. That Greeneyes can't lose anymore. Sleep will have to wait for later in the day, when he doesn't have somewhere to be.

When he steps out of the warrior den, he's met with an image he doesn't expect to see. The sight of familiar snow-speckled fur, the sight of soft brown curls rushing into camp - it's enough to make Greeneyes wonder if he had gone back to sleep, if he was dreaming.

Because... Sheepcurl is gone. Sheepcurl is gone, and yet, his mentor stands in the middle of camp.

"Sheep...?" he asks, eyes going wide as he takes a step forward. "Sheepcurl!" Another step, and then another. Until he's face to face with his mentor, until he knows this isn't a dream - that his mentor's image won't twist with green, that a blink of his eyes won't place him back into the nest he'd just left.

"You're here... You're... You're really here!" he squeaks out in disbelief, moving to press against her side in greeting. He'd lost hope in seeing his mentor again, thought she would just be another face he'd lost to the stars. His vision begins to blur with that of tears - happy tears. For once, a moment of happiness.

"Are... Are you okay?" he asks suddenly, his gaze moving to look up at his former mentor - as concern begins to take shelter in their reunion. She says she's happy to be back and she's missed everyone, sure, but, what about her journey home? Who knows if something happened between the twolegplace and the pine forest? Greeneyes can't lose her so quickly; he can't have the celebration of her return be as short-lived as Snowpath's. "Do you want me to get someone?"
​