AFTERTHOUGHTS - open

[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."​

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OOC- take place the night after the fight with Windclan

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Johnny didn't stay in camp after dark very often. Normally by the time the sun fully set and dark encompassed the land, he'd managed to make his way back to his twolegs just in time to curl up on the end of their bed for lights out.

That evening though, the koi patterned tabby could still be found in the Skyclan camp, even with the sun sinking dangerously low on the horizon.

The slashes along his cheek and shoulders had numbed away to a dull ache in the 24 hours since he'd received them, but the clawmarks to his chest and neck were still raw. He worried that if he returned to his twolegs before letting them heal that they might try to confine him for a bit to try an help, and as well meaning as they were -and as grateful as he would be for their show of care- it wasn't something he was willing to risk right then.

What if Windclan came back?

The fact that they had attacked after dark last time only made his resolve to stay all the firmer, worried that the cowards would come back to jump his clanmates in their own beds while he slept safe and sound in his own. It just didn't feel right, and so Johnny had stayed.

The tom was sat on the edge of camp with a clump of wet moss and a large pale bone that may have been familiar to some of the cats. It was the one he had gifted to Thistleback weeks and weeks prior, a fox femur for the piebald tom to gnaw on when they needed the fixation. While the ex-leads nest and things had mostly been cleared out to make room for newer warriors, Johnnyflame had been adamant that this had to remain.

More often than not it was tucked up into the wall of the warriors den out of the way of anyones nest or walking area, but sometimes when the daylight warrior needed something to occupy his mind, he'd pull it out and give it a polish- which was exactly what he was doing now.

Couldn't have it all filthy if Thistle came back and wanted to use it, could he?

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[MALLOWLARK]

With no Twolegs to retire to, a life protected by those up-walking creatures one that had never appealed to him, Mallowlark had grown used to who was supposed to be in SkyClan's camp at night and early mornings, and who was not. He rose with the sun, wide grey eyes scanning the surroundings like a searchlight. Face occupied with a bright smile to greet the new morning, one that sang with the victory the battle patrol had achieved last night, his attention at last landed upon Johnnyflame, sat by the camp's entrance with a blanket of moss.

Thistleback was a face Mallowlark had not forgotten. One of the first to greet him at the border, and one that made his disapproval of his choice obvious. He and Coyotecrest had a familial relationship, it seemed- and anyone who was a friend to fellow exiles was at least partially forgiven, in his mind. If the lead warrior was to return, Mallowlark would be glad- especially for Johnnyflame, who had always been close to the black-and-white tom.

"Did you stay overnight?" he asked, head tilting too much to one side. Curiosity injected in his tone, pupils flickered down toward the nest. Was that his, or... another's? Or simply a project? The bone seemed rather an interesting thing to just be used for decoration...​

☺PENNED BY PIN​

 

[sparrowsong!]

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Sparrowpaw didn't much like watching the daylight warriors head for home with the setting of the sun. It spurred a prick of anxiety within them and, as morbid as it was, they often found themself worrying for the day that they wouldn't come back. Thistleback had disappeared. Honeysplash had disappeared. Sheepcurl had disappeared - although she had miraculously come back.

On some level, they understood the attachment. They had once thought the twolegs were very nice as well - but couldn't they see? Twolegs couldn't be trusted. They were dangerous. Cruel.

Even so, Sparrowpaw was surprised to see the calico tom even as the sun's shadows deepened. Was he still hurting from the fight with WindClan? It still weighed heavy on their mind. The thought that cats would travel so far for the sole purpose of hurting them... it didn't make sleep come easy. Was that it? Did he feel the same?

The small tabby crept over, momentarily watching him work at the large bone beneath his paws. What did it come from? Was he the one that killed it? It didn't seem possible, yet they could vividly remember his story about the great water. Johnnyflame was an unlikely cat.

Mallowlark was the one to break the silence first, and their gray eyes flickered up to the tricolor tom's face. "Are you not going to... to Twolegplace anymore?" They hoped not.​

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[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."​

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"Did you stay overnight?"

He blinked in surprise, glancing up from his task to find Mallowlark gazing back at him with those wide eyes and toothy grin grin tipped sideways.

"Aye, I was here overnight." he admitted easily, "Figured it'd be easier to let Dawnglare patch me up than for my twolegs to hand it. Probably gonna stay for this next one, too, just to be safe." the patched tabby added as he glanced up to the setting sun fading behind the trees.

Stars. He wouldn't lie- Mallow was definitely something else. Creepy in a deeply unnerving way with their exaggerated expression, and yet the fact that said expression seemed to be 'happiness' surely had to count for something, right? He was tempted to ask, but it was neither the time nor the place, especially when young Sparrowpaw came padding up to add to the question with one of her own.

He chuckled softly at the apprentices words as his gaze shifted to her, but not unkindly. If anything, he was flattered by the note of concern woven within the question. "I'll still be going back, I just don't want my twolegs to worry about all these cuts. Better to let them heal up a bit first so they don't look so nasty. That way they won't feel like they have to take me to see their healer- who might tell them to keep me inside for a few days to let them finish healing." he explained.

He twolegs looked after him, but he couldn't risk being kept away from the clan for any extended period of time right now. If something happened while he was away and he wasn't among his clanmates to bare the consequences too, he'd feel like a traitor. As a Lead Warrior it was his responsibility to be here when things got rough, and he knew his twolegs would forgive him for a few missed nights.

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[Orangestar]

"Probably for the best." Orangeblossom agrees as she joins the trio, whiskers twitching in greeting. Mallowlark without Dawnglare is a tolerable sight; not her first choice in company, far lower on her mental hierarchy than Johnnyflame and Sparrowpaw, but without his crazed mate within earshot the former WindClanner isn't the worst to be around. The deputy settles nearby Johnnyflame, tail curled loosely around white paws, inviting herself into the conversation. Her gaze turns sad for a moment as she realises the tricolour tomcat is clutching Thistleback's bone close to his side, but the conversation turning towards twolegs distracts her somewhat.

"It's a bit different, but- when the blizzard hit during leafbare, I know some of our daylight warriors who were caught out in the territory weren't allowed to return for a while once their twolegs got them back. They're possessive things." She thinks of her sister briefly, Honeysplash's nest long cleared from SkyClan camp and no sign of her in twolegplace according to Quillstrike. They'd be able to be mentors now ... Orangeblossom sighs, mostly to herself. "I don't know how you daylight warriors run that risk with such attachment to SkyClan, but I respect it."

— info

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  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
  

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[PIPITKIT]

Pipitkit had daylight warriors explained to her already, the cats who came to camp during the day and went to twoleg dens at night. The idea of being away from her clanmates for even that long had sent shivers up her spine, eyes wide and pupils big. They had to be so strong and brave to return to a place where they slept alone, next to those towering beasts of legend, braving the night with no other nest around...

She'd been watching Johnnyflame from the other side of camp, not wanting to intrude but curious about the thing in his paws. It looked like the inside shells of prey animals, but those were so miniscule and this was so big. Pipitkit didn't want the tom to be upset by her inquiries about saving meal leftovers, and was embarrassed to ask in the presence of more cats in case her question was actually stupid.

Her paws moved on their own, and suddenly she was shuffling closer to the conversation. Pipitkit hears Orangeblossom recall the blizzard, how the daylight warriors just disappeared for a few days. How did they know they'd ever come back? What if one did never come back? Her steps tremble. The twolegs could just choose to keep the daylight warriors in the dens forever!

"You'll come back, right?"

ʚɞ it's my problem if I feel the need to hide​

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[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."​

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Orangeblossoms arrival to the conversation was an easy thing to welcome. The Deputy wasn't just a respected figure in the tomcats eyes, but a friend that he trusted. He had more of those than he knew what to do with now, and often the weight of that realization made his heart swell with a fondness he'd never felt before. Thistleback had been right when he told Johnny that there were jut some things a twoleg couldn't give him, and he felt like he was finally beginning to understand that now.

"Aye, that they are. A lot like queens with their kits, in a way." he admitted with a warm chuckle, knowing full well she wasn't wrong. Twolegs could be driven to do unreasonable things at times- sometimes out of the goodness of their hearts, and sometimes for the sheer desire to be cruel. And Johnny wasn't blind or naive to that; he simply knew it wasn't the case with most actual decent housefolk.

"I can understand why, though. As much as I believe that any kittypet can become a warrior if they're willing to work for it, I'm not blind to the fact that many of us do start out soft and naive thanks to our easier lifestyles. And I think our twolegs know that too. It makes them nervous when we get banged up or left out in a storm, because they'd be sad if somethin bad ended up happening."

He'd seen it before- the way the children would wail and shriek in horror when the family cat didn't get out of the road in time, or the quiet, distant look in an old twolegs eyes when their lifelong friend finally passed away of old age and they were left with the task of burying them in the family garden.

The neighborhood cats always lined the fences in vigil back home across the water.

They didn't do that here, and the realization made his heart momentarily heavier.

"I don't know how you daylight warriors run that risk with such attachment to SkyClan, but I respect it."

The smile that tugged at his lips was quieter than usual, not the beaming half-grin of pride he might have normally given upon receiving praise from another.

"Thanks. That means a lot." he replied, and he meant it. Many cats doubted the loyalty and devotion of the Daylight warriors for keeping a paw in both worlds, and it was good to know that the ginger and white shecat didn't think that of him.

"You'll come back, right?"

Pipinkit, bless their little soul.

"Of course I'll come back." he assured her. "My twolegs would never lock me away for good, and if they ever tried I'd make it clear it wasn't an option."

He'd claw every piece of furniture in sight, yowl everytime they curled up in their nests, and would bolt for the door every time they so much as rattled the handle. His refusal to let his loyalty lay with just one side went both ways, and just as he'd refuse abandoning his twolegs for Skyclan, he would also refuse leaving Skyclan for his twolegs.

He would walk with a paw in both worlds until the day he died.

"So don't you go worrying about me, little one. I'll be walking this forest for seasons to come, starclan willing."

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