sensitive topics AN EYE FOR AN EYE

[BAYING HOUND]

Baying Hound's body is failing her.

She has grown too bold, she knows. Too many trips across the border, too many fights she did not run away from. Her wound, cobweb-wrapped, only grow more red, more painful. Her body is the only thing she has, the only thing that she can trust. When all the world is against her, she is left with nothing but herself - and now she has thrown that security away.

She can't quite bring herself to care. Spite colors her veins black, seeps out through every wound that mars her pelt. She is a wild, thrashing thing, a rabid dog.

She knows that she is dying. Infection slows her steps, addles her mind, twists her gut.

She can only hope to bring as many cats down with her as she can.

Three little mirrors of a long-gone tom trail behind her stumbling paws. She does not look at them. She prefers to go out alone, but - well, there is still kindness in her spite-bitten heart. If she is to die soon, then her kits will need to know how to take care of themselves.

She has told them of the harshness of the world; now it is time for them to see it. She has told them of the cruelty of the clans, now she will show them of it. They shall carry out her anger in death, and that, more than anything, soothes the fear of her looming demise.

There, a familiar scent: ThunderClan. Her maw curls into a grimace, and her ears swivel back to the three kittens behind her.

"Get back," Baying Hound snarls. Her head whips around and she bares her teeth at the kits, ensuring that they know her words are for them. Quieter, an urgent hiss: "Hide." And watch. They are not yet ready to tear their claws into the flesh of clan-cats.

They will have to learn, and she will show them.

// @HOWL @YIP @THRASH

"SPEECH"

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[YIPPINGKIT]

Baying Hound rarely brings him out of the den. In fact, Yip spends most of his time there, writhing against the mirrored bodies of his littermates, while Baying Hound leaves and comes back worse. More ragged. She has been coming back to the den later and later, more and more blood-scent clinging to her, and now she smells sick, though he does not know what word to put to it. She does not love him, he doesn't think. She has told him that, anyway. But he can't help the sticky ache he feels when he looks at her; can't help the way his ears tear down the sides of his skull; can't help but feel ill when her breaths shudder.

What would he do without her?

His world is entirely within that den. Only recently has it expanded, at Baying Hound's own behest. They travel to a stinking border, and when they get there his paws ache, and his stomach rumbles, and he wants Baying Hound to bring him a meal, but he knows far better than to ask. When she whips around to snarl her orders, Yip complies without question. It is better to follow her word, he thinks, than submit to the dangers of whatever she hopes to sequester them from. He pushes past one of his littermates to duck into a nearby bush, curling his too-big kitten body as tightly as he can manage, hoping that it is small enough to remain out of danger.

From there, Yip watches, grey-and-amber gaze netting around Baying Hound's form. A fight is brewing, he knows. He hopes his mother can weather the storm.

𝐈 𝐊𝐍𝐎𝐖 𝐈𝐓 𝐌𝐔𝐒𝐓 𝐁𝐄 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐊𝐈𝐋𝐋𝐈𝐍𝐆 𝐓𝐈𝐌𝐄, 𝐔𝐍𝐖𝐈𝐋𝐋𝐈𝐍𝐆𝐋𝐘 𝐌𝐈𝐍𝐄 !

• ooc.
  
• YIP —— loner kit . baying hound x duke . littermate to howl and thrash, sibling to many ✦ penned by meghan
  
  ✦ a hulking black smoke with low white. striking dual-toned eyes. fluctuates between total apathy and a need to fit in; difficult to befriend, and does not trust easily. unsure of thunderclan as a whole.
  ✦ intersex, nb masculine / he they pronouns / 03 moons & ages every 5th
  ✦ peaceful and healing powerplay permitted / underline & tag account when attacking
  —— will start fights / will not flee / may show mercy. a kitten, he can hardly defend himself, but that will not stop him from trying. apt against opponents his age thanks to his sheer size.
  
  ✦ "speech", thoughts, all opinions are in character
  ✦ full biography — msg on discord for plots — toyhouse
  

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[HOWL]

Howl's ears twitch at Baying Hound's snarl, a familiar sound that stirs a deep-rooted caution within him. He halts, amber eyes narrowing as they dart around their surroundings. A scent lingers in the air, thick and oppressive, and his muscles tense instinctively. His mother’s command to hide echoes in his mind, but Howl hesitates, caught between the urge to obey and the need to understand what lies ahead. His paws remain rooted, his gaze shifting to his siblings, unsure which course to follow. The world has always been a place of threats—Baying Hound made sure they knew that. Yet, each new encounter feels like a test, another layer of the harsh reality she has drilled into them since they first opened their eyes.

A shoulder bumps him while moving to hide, and he pulls back, his form shrinking into the shadows cast by the undergrowth, a practiced motion that has become second nature. Howl doesn’t hide out of fear; it’s strategy, a calculated move. He watches his mother, her form hunched and ragged, the sickness in her step betraying the ferocity she tries to maintain. His eyes, though wary, are not devoid of emotion. They flicker with a guarded concern, a silent question left unspoken; how much longer can she keep this up?

Howl doesn’t let the thought linger. He pushes it away, focusing instead on the scene before him. He needs to watch, to learn. Baying Hound has made it clear that their survival depends on it. The clans are enemies—monsters who will tear them apart if given the chance. But beyond the anger, the stories of cruelty, there’s a part of Howl that wonders what else there could be. A part of him that questions if this is all there is to life—constant fear, constant vigilance. He shuts that part of his mind down before anything can come of it; the world is cruel, and Clan cats are crueler. This is a truth he knows by rote.

As he crouches low, shadowed pelt blended with the shadows of the undergrowth as he hides beside Yip, his heart beats in time with the rustle of leaves and the distant sound of clan cats approaching. His mother’s words are sharp, but her actions reveal the weakness that gnaws at her. Howl isn’t blind to it; he’s just as aware of her failing strength as she is, if not more. His chest tightens, but his expression remains impassive, a mask he’s learned to wear well. Here, in this moment, there is only one thing that matters: survive. And for now, that means hiding, watching, and waiting, as he's been told.​

 

[THRASHKIT]

-ˋˏ ༻☾༺ ˎˊ-​

Thrash supposed that she should feel lucky right now, being given the rare opportunity to walk outside of the den that he shares with his littermates. To be guided along the harsh and gnarled wilderness around them. So why is that sense of dread following him too? There's a stench of death that lingers, not one yet here but it will come to pass all the same. His mother, cruel as she can be was strong, death would not take her they were fairly certain of that. As fairly certain as a kitten can be. So he walks, soaking in that opportunity to walk semi freely, there is a tremor to him, counting each step as it walks and she begs his paws to not fault her now. Balance was a fickle thing, not a concept that Thrash had managed to grasp and keep hold of. That tremor is in anticipation that she will inevitably trip again and cause some kind of scene. So far though, that scene has not come.

Baying Hound's growl commands obedience, they find their breath hitching and halting entirely for a moment as she listened to snarl of her mother. A command to hide, he liked to think he was pretty good at that. The thought was that all of them were pretty good at that, tiny fangs poke and prod at the insides of his mouth as he watches Yip push past Howl to hide into a nearby bush and despite that urge to squeeze against his littermates like they do at the den they deny that urge. This wasn't the den, this was the outside world, the wilderness that brought nothing but danger and death, his mothers words proved true and he knew better then to try and crowd an area. Not wanting to expose either sibling to that danger that this world brings he burrows his way through a different bush. Thorns prod at it's flesh and it can't help but grimace in turn at this, they don't vocalise any displeasure for they knew better.

Instead, breath stilled in slow and delayed inhales and exhales he lays in wait. Watching Baying Hound and the area surrounding her for any signs of the monsters from her tales to be a reality. Brain racing to try and figure out what she was supposed to do if waiting and hiding wasn't enough. All the while her eyes bore into their mother, taking in how she stands in this moment even at her weakest.

‎‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎I was born hungry ☆ What do I need‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎

• 
  
  

• 

• THRASH
  any pronouns, 3 moons
  ☆ A black smoke with abnormally bright amber eyes and a habit of crouching while they walk.
  ☆ Baying Hound x Duke | Littermates with Howl & Yip
  ☆ Due to her circumstances surrounding it's life she will be confrontational in the majority of their interactions { will start fights | will not end fights | will not run away and might be merciful }
  ☆ "speech" | thoughts | attacking
  ☆ All opinions are IC only!

​

 

[FALLOWBITE]

ˏˋ*⁀➷ 　Fallowpaw recognizes the scent this time. Rogue. Sweet like rotting meat, putrid in a way that could not be anyone else. It has decayed further from her own encounter, carrying a tinge of iron and sick. Her lip curls. The torn flesh of her face is still tender.

"Get back," snarls a voice from the shadows, and Fallowpaw's teeth click together. It's her. She knew it. Rage curdles in her stomach, bitter and spiteful. Baying Hound ceased to be her mother moons ago, her snarling maw proclaiming that she was not her daughter. It holds no love for her now, kithood admiration festering into hatred.

She made it like this. Fallowpaw has become a twisted, violent sort of beast - and there is no one else to blame but Baying Hound.

She catapults herself from the bushes - an ambush. She won't let the rogue catch her off-guard this time. There is only a moment to see Baying Hound's eye widening before she is bowled to the ground.

And oh, how satisfying it is. Broad paws press into her mother's shoulders, digging her claws in deep. Its teeth bare, a snarl tearing from its maw. It is more beast than cat, all that inherited violence coursing through its body. A terrible reflection stares up at it from the rogue's eye, a mutilated creature bearing a horrifying glare. It shakes, and it does not know whether it is from fear or anticipation.

A raspy, rueful laugh meets the apprentice. "Crawling back to me again... You really are desperate, aren't you?" Baying Hound's voice is a strained croak. She looks - sickly. She looks small. She looks nothing like the monster from Fallowpaw's memory, and she does not fight back.

It wants her to fight back.

"Shut up," it growls, snapping its teeth at her face. She flinches.

"You don't scare me," she drawls after a moment - though her actions say otherwise. "Looking for justice, are you? Like all your righteous friends." She barks another laugh. "I'm a dead woman walking, hah. Nothing you do could possibly hurt me! You'll just be leaving all your siblings -" She spits the word like it is nothing but dirt beneath her feet. "orphaned. Go ahead and -"

Fallowpaw sees red.

Red, the anger simmering in her gut. Red, spilling from Baying Hound's throat. Red, bubbling from her mouth. Red, reflected in that terrible mirror of an eye, dripping down its own chin.

Her teeth tear into the rogue, and then it is over.

Baying Hound is still.

There is noise from the bushes. It is not her patrol.

Fallowpaw bounds forward, blood still dripping from her teeth. More rogues, killers just like her, just like her mother - She shoulders the branches aside, and meets the faces of three terrified kittens.

Baying Hound's words ring in her ear. Your siblings. Her stomach drops.

She is frenzied, the adrenaline of bloodlust still coursing through her veins. Panic mixes with the fear, the weight of what she's done settling upon her shoulders. Her eyes sweep over the kittens; they can't be much older than she was, when she ran away. They certainly can't hunt for themselves. She swallows thickly, thinks fast.

"Come with me," she grates out, voice rough. She knows how terrifying she looks, and can only hope that she can scare the kittens into following. The thought makes her feel strangely guilty, but she can't just leave them here. "Come with me, or you're gonna die out here."

‎‎┌── GOD KNOWS I❜M ONLY HUMAN ⁀➷ I GET SO INHUMANE ──┐‎

• 
  
• 
  
  

  "SPEECH"

• 
  FALLOWBITE ⁀➷ she / it, warrior of thunderclan, twelve moons.
  ➳ a scarred, pointed brown and white molly with shaggy fur and golden eyes.
  ➳ standoffish and solitary, always seems to have a dark cloud hanging over its head.
  ➳ baying hound xx npc, littermate to antlerbreeze & doepath.
  ➳ peaceful and healing powerplay permitted / / underline and tag when attacking
  ➳ penned by SATURNID ↛ saturnids on discord, feel free to dm for plots.
  

​

 

[YIPPINGKIT]

Had Baying Hound known that this would be her end? Is that why she had directed them all to watch as Fallowpaw tears into her? Yip does not let out a sound as flesh rends away from bone, as blood blooms on the bare pink of living bone. It is not living anymore. Baying Hound is dead.

Your siblings, his mother had told the beast, referring to Yip and his littermates. When the monster talks again, it invites him away — Yip wants no part in that. Bisected eyes have not left Baying Hound's stinking, sickly corpse since the moment it fell. Too many claws unsheathe and till the dirt beneath them. His polydactyl paws tremble. He would like to leave. He would like to nose Baying Hound awake, and not run off with whatever had felled her.

But beneath Fallowpaw's headlight gaze, Yip freezes. He spares his littermates a glance each, trying to gauge how they might react, but receives nothing. He looks again to Baying Hound, and there is rope around his heart pulling so taut he thinks he might explode, and finally he works up the courage to look Fallowpaw in the eye. Would it kill him, too? Is there somewhere more convenient, maybe? He doesn't know. But when she speaks, she tells them that they'll die out here — an odd detail to include, if their death was her ultimate goal.

"Can we wait for her to wake up?" he bargains, hopeful. Maybe she isn't really dead. Maybe dead didn't even mean anything, even though all of Baying Hound's stories usually ended with someone dead, and they never woke back up. He does not realize the tears that spill from two-tone eyes. He lifts the lamplight to Fallowpaw's face, pleading. "She'd be mad if we didn't wait." He does not realize how hopeless it is.

𝐈 𝐊𝐍𝐎𝐖 𝐈𝐓 𝐌𝐔𝐒𝐓 𝐁𝐄 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐊𝐈𝐋𝐋𝐈𝐍𝐆 𝐓𝐈𝐌𝐄, 𝐔𝐍𝐖𝐈𝐋𝐋𝐈𝐍𝐆𝐋𝐘 𝐌𝐈𝐍𝐄 !

• ooc.
  
• YIPPINGKIT —— kit of thunderclan . baying hound x duke . littermate to howlkit and thrashkit, sibling to many ✦ penned by meghan
  
  ✦ a hulking black smoke with low white. striking dual-toned eyes. fluctuates between total apathy and a need to fit in; difficult to befriend, and does not trust easily. unsure of thunderclan as a whole.
  ✦ intersex, nb masculine / he they pronouns / 03 moons & ages every 5th
  ✦ peaceful and healing powerplay permitted / underline & tag account when attacking
  —— will start fights / will not flee / may show mercy. a kitten, he can hardly defend himself, but that will not stop him from trying. apt against opponents his age thanks to his sheer size.
  
  ✦ "speech", thoughts, all opinions are in character
  ✦ full biography — msg on discord for plots — toyhouse
  

• 

​

 

[THRASHKIT]

-ˋˏ ༻☾༺ ˎˊ-​

It's a ghastly sight, to see one's mother be rendered to a bloodied corpse. Granted Thrash didn't understand the concept of motherhood but Baying Hound was the closest thing to it. As he watches, eyes wide as the moon he can't help but hope that this is real. That this wasn't some form of dream, she would stay down. Then the guilt sets in, rising alongside his mother's assailant. How could he possibly wish for that? Maybe if he didn't then she would have risen, fought valiantly? Something. Anything.

Her heart is a steady drum against her chest, rattling ribs and wearing down bone. Time feels fast yet slow at the same time, already wild fur fizzles out in expansion to make them look more like a bush than they already did. The movement of the branch being shoved aside is violent to the kit, against all his tiny might the action makes it flinch. All he can do is hiss, try to act bigger than she actually is. The sound is fractured, broken in pitch as a tremor takes hold, fear wins ultimately and neither fight or flight kick in.

Instead it tries to look around Fallowpaw, to get one last look at Bayinghound before they too are killed. Maybe if he was older then there would be rationality in their thought, but in this moment she would swear up and down that the cat who was once their mother was looking back at them. He blinks and the body is as still as ever, nothing had changed yet simultaneously everything had as well.

“You're not killing us?” They finally spit out, not daring to look Fallowpaw in the eyes. Would a good child be upset at this fact? Would a child that his mother may have wanted be revolted, demanding to be slain by her side? In this moment he can't be a good child because all they feel is relief.

‎‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎I was born hungry ☆ What do I need‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎‎ ‎ ‎ ‎

• 
  
  

• 

• THRASH
  any pronouns, 3 moons
  ☆ A black smoke with abnormally bright amber eyes and a habit of crouching while they walk.
  ☆ Bayinghound x Duke | Littermates with Howl & Yip
  ☆ Due to her circumstances surrounding it's life she will be confrontational in the majority of their interactions { will start fights | will not end fights | will not run away and might be merciful }
  ☆ "speech" | thoughts | attacking
  ☆ All opinions are IC only!

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