camp Ai Vist Lo Lop || Return

[Chickbloom]

// direct continuation of this thread!

// one quarter-moon. One week. Seven days. Seven days, that was all it had been, but Eggshellbloom swore it had been seven years. Ever since his housefolk had locked down any way out of the den, the crybaby felt his already fragile nerves begin to crumble completely. It would be at least slightly manageable if the boy’s twolegs were around, but the pair were absent as always. The only difference now was that the Scottish Fold would find no solace in escape.

It was a sanctuary-turned-prison, with two wraiths as wardens. Each morning amber eyes would open in darkness, meandering to a food bowl that had been filled sometime in the odd hours of the night. Sometimes there wouldn’t be a bowl, and instead a strange creature would dispense him pellets at regular intervals. Whenever that machine showed up (he’d dubbed it Pebblesneeze), Eggshellbloom knew it meant his twolegs wouldn’t be back for days. It was all a reminder of his time before Skyclan. Shuffling around in eternal night, holding conversations with a glorified food container, it was like he’d been sent back to the past, but this time there was no way into the woods that lay just beyond his window.

Why would they do this to him? “Am I not allowed to be happy?” Normally wavering features had fashioned themselves into a self-frustrated frown more and more often as of late. “I thought - I know - they want nothing to do with me, but they’re punishing me for staying away!” It didn’t make sense. What did they want him to do?! The coward wanted to claw his eyes out when he felt tears well up within. Tears, tears, always tears. Crying wouldn’t make him any happier, but it was all he did anymore.

“I want to see everyone…” The wish was mumbled into stale air between sobs, Eggshellbloom hoping that a patrol of Skyclan cats would wiggle their way in and whisk the weakling back to tall trees and chittering birds instead of stuffy rooms and the buzz of machinery. It was a fantasy that grew more fleeting with each passing second. After being gone so long, what if his clanmates assumed he’d quit? What if they didn’t want him back, thinking he’d taken their title only to retire back to the twolegplace? A splattered-yolk pelt twisted and writhed with emotional agony. The only thing worse than being stuck in isolation was the thought that no one was waiting for him to get out. “I want to see them…I will see them…” Determination had tinged the boy’s voice when he first made that promise at the beginning of his captivity, but now it was wild with desperation.

That desperation was evident in Eggshell’s amber eyes, now glowing in the darkness he’d been waiting in for what seemed like hours. A potted bush by the front door, just big enough to hide in. The daylight warrior remembered Silversmoke as muscles remained tensed, pressing down like a spring. It was simple. Whenever his twolegs returned, they would have to open that door. When they did, he would make a break for it.

It was the middle of the night when the moment came. Folded ears flicked up as he heard thumping just beyond the thick block of wood, then familiar metallic meshing. Butter-stained paws shuffled one final time, a cream-colored tail correcting for balance by a few degrees, then he saw the knob turn, and the door swing open.

Eggshell couldn’t help it. He tried to keep his head down, to not think of who he was betraying, but it was impossible. The boy’s entire body froze as he looked his housefolk in the eyes. The housefolk who’d raised him since he was a kit, the ones who played with him and let sleep in their bed. They’d given him treats and toys, hugs and kisses. They’d given him attention.

One of his housefolk spoke and Eggshellbloom was brought out of his memories, reminded that it was all in the past.

The boy became a white and yellow blur, shooting between the two and trying to get to the exit, pushing all doubt from an anxious mind. He focused on the hollow thump of his paws against hardwood, or the gentle greenleaf breeze blowing from the door. One leg out. Then two, then his head. Half of the coward’s body was outside for the first time in a week when he felt a hard tug against his neck.

Both housefolk had grabbed his collar, and were hauling him back inside. A cool breeze was turning back into the hum of air conditioning, hardwood turning to ice as paws fruitlessly scrabbled against it. They were pulling too hard. it was difficult to breathe. They were hurting him. Instinct took over, and before Eggshellbloom even knew what he was doing, he’d twisted around. Claws unsheathed, flailing wildly. He felt something, soft scraping that caused an image of freshly-caught prey to flash in the Skyclanner’s mind. He lurched out the door as the pressure on his neck abated, but it was replaced by immeasurable guilt as he saw what just happened.

Both his housefolk were clutching their arms, newly stained with crimson violence. “I…” The boy started, grasping for words they wouldn’t understand. He hadn’t meant it. They knew that, right? Did they know that? Eggshellbloom loved them, they had to know that. They had to. But as wide amber eyes met his owners’ for the second time that night, the coward’s hope wavered. Before they could make another move - before they could reach out or say anything - Eggshell turned and sprinted away.

Once, the kittypet warily wandered into wild, untamed woods. Now, the Skyclanner was racing past trimmed hedges and picket fences with a desperate need to return there. Eggshellbloom ran and ran, carelessly crashing through the undergrowth and unwilling to spend a second longer away from everyone. He was beyond caring. He didn’t care if they were angry, he didn’t care if they thought he’d quit, he just wanted to see them all again.

Amber eyes were flowing freely with tears as Eggshellbloom stumbled into camp, overwhelmed with both gratitude and guilt. “I-I’m sorry!” He choked out before anything else, speaking to the clanmates he was waking up and the housefolk sitting in their den far away. The coward collapsed into a sobbing mess, trying to speak. The hands tugging at his collar might have disappeared, but the strap of leather felt tighter than ever. “I - They would - they w-wouldn’t let me leave…I’m s-sorry…I wanted to b-be here so bad, but I - I - Oh g-god, I attacked them!” He was inconsolable, practically incomprehensible, but at least he was home.
​

 

[FIGFEATHER]

Eggshellbloom had not been seen in a quarter-moon. Not even the daylight warrior’s knew for sure of his whereabouts and Figfeather had began to imagine the Tom-cat simply had decided to stay with his twolegs permanently. It happened sometimes with their daylight warriors, everything seemed to be going dandy then…. gone. Not to be seen or spotted again causing the clan to go into grieving. Though not dead, they had permanently lost a clan-mate, a friend. Figfeather couldn’t be blamed for beginning to wonder if the same fate had occurred with Eggshellbloom. She wracked her head for any warning signs the Tom had given prior to the fact he was leaving, but she came up empty every time.

Just before she officially writes him off as gone, he appears like a bat out of hell in camp. He’s frantic, inconsolable as he pours out the reason for his absence. Figfeather blinks, unsure how to comfort the Tom, especially when he mentions he attacked his twolegs. This was not something a warrior like Figfeather could handle, not appropriately or sensitively anyways. In moments like these she wishes Tallulahwing was still here, how she longed to usher the daylight warrior over to Eggshellbloom’s side to comfort him. Her mentor had always known how to pluck Figfeather out from the darkest corners of her mind, save the red tabby from herself.

She hangs back wearily, watching for someone who could bring the now reunited Daylight warrior some comfort.

♡ INFO BATTLE

• 
  » Figfeather
  » SkyClan Warrior
  » She/her . AMAB
  » Mate to Fantastream
  » Sire to Sangriakit & Coffeekit
  » Mentoring Wolfpaw
  » A red tabby she-cat with a mangled leg.
  » ”Speech”․ thoughts ․ attack
  
• 
  » A foe in battle whose ability to strategize can shift tides.
  » Excels in strategizing and pre-planning her battles.
  » Fights defensively and to aid her clan to victory.
  » May powerplay minor harm. Can powerplay healing

​

 

[SILVERSMOKE]

He had been nearly blinded by a clanmate and bitten by a venomous snake, but more painful than either had been Eggshell's betrayal. There had been something different about the Scottish Fold, something that set him apart from any Daylight Warriors - a willingness to improve that he'd admire just as much in wild-born warriors. But when hours turned to days and days turned to a week, Silversmoke's ears burned with humiliation; he'd been duped into thinking Eggshellbloom had loyalty to SkyClan just as much as his Twolegs. His glares to others he'd once thought similar to the other had been harsher, words curter as if getting close to them would be another thorn in a heart already grieving a friend's deception. He thought he hoped never to see the other again, that the Daylight Warrior would just become a nameless reminder of why the rank was unsustainable. Then, there was a commotion, and mentions of a ghost before it burst into his home. Eyes widened at the yolk-like shape at the entrance of camp, before he forced them to narrow. A pained sneer creased upon his muzzle as he moved forward, his tail lashing. "You foxhearted piece of—"

Silversmoke could scarcely see past the red in his vision; how dare Eggshellbloom come back after all this time?! How dare he waltz in as if clanmates didn't think him dead or a traitor?! Accusations prepared to flow freely from a parted maw, but the anxious tom was a quicker speaker than him, no sooner did his ears flatten, Eggshellbloom apologised and collapsed like an amateur's omelet. He felt the twitch of paws that wanted to pick the other up, instead, he remained statuesque save for the deep rise and fall of his flank. They wouldn't let me leave, he said first, I wanted to be here so bad, he followed up. A cranium poised between his shoulders slowly lifted at the revelation, his teeth retreating behind a glum frown. 'He didn't want to leave at all...' Silversmoke's mind returned to other Daylight Warriors that had mysteriously disappeared, some after the blizzard, others recently. He'd thought them traitors too, disrespectful curs who could not commit to a simple oath of loyalty. He'd never considered that they may not have had a choice but to leave... StarClan, had he been wrong to cut them off so quickly?

Odd-eyes blinked in his stupor and found Eggshellbloom once more when a final statement came from him: I attacked them. He'd put his claws and teeth to the Twolegs that had left him lonely and Silversmoke would celebrate if not for his rage and Eggshellbloom's panic. The Lead Warrior moved forward, head feeling like a heavy cloud. He wanted to say sorry for presuming the worst, he wanted to comfort the other, instead, he kept his distance. "Stop that. It was self-defence, they were keeping you as a prisoner and you acted as any cat should." Even as a foxlength away, the smell of Twolegs was prominent on the other. The Lead Warrior's nostrils twitched in uncertainty. "You... you won't go back, will you?" How could he after what they had done to him?

​

 

[Chickbloom]

Anxious claws flex into the earth, digging in like the boy was in danger of being blown away. Eggshell was trying to center himself - to calm a racing heart and screaming brain - but it felt like his twolegs were still grabbing hold of him. The coward’s collar was tight - too tight. It was digging into his fur, stabbing him, choking him, he was positive. The kittypet was vaguely aware of a pair of eyes on him, but more aware of how they didn’t approach.

Why wouldn’t they get close? Why wouldn’t they say anything? Was the sobbing mess really no longer welcome in Skyclan? A butter-and-cream figure retreated into itself, curling into a ball as Eggshellbloom tried to hide away from the world. He wished someone would speak, to drown out the sobs and sniffles and the senseless noise in his head. The universe listened, and the monkey’s paw curled.

‘You foxhearted piece of-‘

Yolk-drenched paws moved to cover folded ears, not wanting to believe what he was hearing. Amber eyes screwed shut as well, for if they never confirmed where the voice was coming from, there was a chance it wasn’t him. With forced ignorance, the faintest possibility that it wasn’t Silversmoke still remained. But of course, it had to be him. The stern warrior hated kittypets, he was probably glad when Eggshell up and vanished. They were never friends, just a burden and their carrier. The boy’s collar felt tight. He couldn’t breathe. An errant paw tugged at it, trying to gulp down air between sobs when Silversmoke’s next words both lessened and increased its grip on him.

The stern warrior’s bluntness was one of his best qualities. He was always there to let the crybaby know what he was doing wrong, or tell him when anxiety was making him act like an idiot. Silversmoke was a solid rock of reality amidst an ocean of doubt, but that didn’t mean Eggshell appreciated what he had to say.

“S-Self defense?” Eggshell repeated, warily raising buttery features to finally look at the lead warrior. “Self…defense?” Anger and confusion tinged the ball of nerves’ voice now, maw fighting his emotions as it writhed and twisted into a fang-bearing frown. “I-It’s not like that. I didn’t - I didn’t mean to, it - it was a mistake - an a-accident. They weren’t - t-they’re not - not p-predators or - or rouges, they’re my housefolk! They g-gave me so - so m-much, and I…I…they were bleeding!“ Another wave of tears rolled over the whelp, and he spiraled once again. Maybe - Maybe this was fixable. Maybe if Eggshell quit Skyclan, they would love him again. He could go back and focus all his efforts on pleasing them. The whelp would be the perfect pet. He wouldn’t speak, wouldn’t eat, wouldn’t give them anything to attend to or worry about. If the kittypet did all that, there was the slightest possibility that he would be forgiven - and rewarded with love once more.

However, like before, Silversmoke’s question brought everything into sharp focus. The hint of concern in the other’s voice reminded the whelp of what the past week had been like. Was a lifetime of dark rooms and sterile silence worth the possibility of their love? “I…I have to…don’t I?” Eggshell answered like someone with a gun to their head. He was their kittypet, after all. There was no way the coward could cut that tie. He was nothing without them, just a leaf blowing in the wind. “B-But if I do, they’ll - they’ll lock me away again. I love them s-so much, but I want- I want to see all of you, t-too. I…” This was so hard. The Skyclanner didn’t know what the right choice was. The collar grew tighter, the kittypet felt like he was drowning. “S-Someone…anyone…p-please, tell me what to d-do…” Right now, the whelp just wanted a hug. “Help me…”​

 

[Orangestar]

A wail jolts Orangestar from restless sleep, on her paws before her mind fully catches up. She brushes past Slate's nest, eyes adjusting to the dim of night only to see a familiar face, ears and tail tucked close to his body. Eggshellbloom cowers in their camp, Silversmoke looming over him even at a distance like a pale spectre. Orangestar makes eye contact with Figfeather, a heartbeat's worth of communication and acknowledgement. She could go back to sleep if she wished, but Orangestar would welcome her presence all the same.

The leader steps closer to Eggshellbloom, not quite making contact but standing a tail-length from her Clanmate. Aside from his tremble and the inconsolable whimpers that quake from his maw, he doesn't seem hurt; just panicked, and understandably so. He'd ... attacked his housefolk? Orangestar looses a long exhale. He couldn't go back to them now. Not anytime soon, anyway. Certainly not tonight.

"Stay with the Clan tonight." She orders, rasping voice weary with the sleepiness she still fights to shake from her limbs. Despite the slight haze to her, Orangestar's eyes are sharp as ever. "You'll be safe here. Once you've slept, we can discuss it in the morning. Are you injured?"

​

 

[Fireflyglow]

Eggshellbloom is back! He's back!

The shout of clanmates, the growl of Silversmoke- it all brings Fireflypaw back into reality. He's staring at the wall of his den, eyes squinted and unseeing as he daydreams of being with his family once more. The chatter makes him turn, walking out of his den to listen to the gossip. As much as he hated rumors, word got around camp quickly and allowed him to know what was happening. He steps over to the group of cats welcoming Eggshell back, and Fireflypaw rounds the daylight warrior's side to attempt to brush his muzzle against his cheek in greeting.

"All will be well, my friend. If your twolegs love you dearly, they'll forgive you for hurting them." He whispers softly, Orangestar's order to stay in camp for the night one he could agree with. "You have not betrayed us. You returned, that shows your loyalty to the Clan." He shoots a look towards Silversmoke, a telling one- he would not judge his friend for something he couldn't control. Eggshellbloom wouldn't lie about being taken by force. "Take a moment to breathe, Eggshellbloom. You are safe here, as Orangestar said."​

SKYCLAN MEDICINE CAT APPRENTICE ✦ 21 MOONS ✦ CHUNKY, BIG-FOOTED SEAL POINT ✦ TAGS​

 

[Chickbloom]

And like descending angels, more voices came to Eggshell’s aid. Folded ears twitched as the boy once again buried his head in his paws, the only indication that he was listening to Orangestar. The kittypet took note of her tone, still unwrapping itself from sleep’s embrace, and all at once felt guilt and gratitude. He felt sorry for waking her up - waking everyone up - to deal with his problems, self-valuation so low that he was ashamed of ruining their good night’s rest. At the same time, the knowledge that Skyclan’s leader heard his cries and cared enough to come and make sure the coward was okay touched his soft soul. It was the bare minimum, but it was much more than his housefolk had been providing.

“Thank you. I’m - I’m really t-tired, so -“ Eggshellbloom didn’t really know what he was saying, a short-circuiting brain simply running on autopilot as he attempted to articulate the overwhelming emotions coursing through him. “Um - but yeah - I’m f-fine er - not f-fine fine, but, y-you know. T-Thank you. Thanks.” The skittish Scottish Fold certainly didn’t sound fine, especially when every other word was punctuated by the sniff of further waterworks being fought back, but the boy was trying to let his leader know that physically, he was okay.

Eggshell might not have needed a medicine cat, but as soon as he’d finished, Fireflypaw was by his side with a different form of medicine. The whole time he’d been in camp, Eggshellbloom had been unnerved by the distance between himself and everyone. Of course the cowardly wasn’t normally big on physical contact, and the others in Skyclan were taking that into account, but right now all the boy wanted was a hug. after a week locked away, deprived of any interaction, Eggshell wanted to be reminded that he wasn’t a specter.

So, when Skyclan’s doctor brushed egg-battered fur, the boy couldn’t help but hold on to that touch like a life preserver. Eggshellbloom pressed himself into Fireflypaw’s side, crying all over again as soft reassurance met folded ears. “It - It was an accident. I didn’t - I wouldn’t - I -“ The whelp was repeating himself, as if laying out the tragedy all over again would offer a new outlook. But emotional exhaustion wouldn’t allow the coward to relive the experience again, so the skittish Scottish Fold stopped himself, opting instead to relish the warmth of another cat’s fur. “Thank you…”​