private AT THE TOP OF THE WORLD / wolfsong + shrikethorn

[cottonsprig]

Cottonpaw opens her eyes slowly, as if aroused from a deeper slumber than intended. The sights around her, while phenomenal in their own right, are not ones she wishes to grow used to. Becoming so familiar with StarClan's landscape means less of joining paws with her ancestors and more becoming one of them - perhaps as she ages her opinion will change. For now, however, she offers the glittering world around her a starlight glance. She does not detest them, after all. Not anymore.

Her gaze falls on a familiar pelt, and for a moment she thinks of Sunstar - how the tom believed Blazestar alive despite seeing him in the stars. She understands now, for the alternative of seeing Wolfsong in her dreamscape scares her too much. Her ear twitches as she trots to join his side, briefly touching her nose to his shoulder as a greeting. "We haven't done this before," she says, curiosity tinging the corners of her voice like always. "Dreaming together, I mean. I hope everything's alright..." she says, and her blue eyes turn outwards again, seeking out some figure to greet them.​

 

[WOLFSONG]

──ᨒ↟↟ᨒ↟ᨒ↟↟ᨒ── In the past, Wolfsong's StarClan-given dreams and experiences have been a far cry from simply walking among the stars. The search for lungwort involved no such contact, merely a vision of the herbs growing among frost-hewn stone. He certainly hasn't shared such a dream with Cottonpaw, whose presence is strange— but not uncomfortable. Far from it, in truth. In this unconventional manner of speaking with StarClan —unconventional for Wolfsong, that is— her familiarity is a welcome steadiness, and as she touches her nose to his shoulder, he smiles, sole eye crinkling slightly.

He nods slowly and searches their surroundings, peering at the blinking stars blooming like the brightest of moor flowers. "I have no doubt it is important if we are both here," he agrees, and now he frowns, suddenly concerned. WindClan is still fresh from Sootstar's reign; he does not want to be faced with more omens of a coming sickness or battle, even if said omen will help them prepare. "I wonder what might happen if a medicine cat and apprentice were to battle in their dreams."

Not that he has any intention of it, of course.
​

WOLFSONG of WINDCLAN FORMER ROGUE TURNED MEDICINE CAT. 42 MOONS, HE/HIM, NPC X NPC. MATES WITH SUNSTAR (07/05/2023). BIOGRAPHY, PINTEREST, & PLAYLIST.

medicinal expertise med. part ii med. part iii med. part iv

• — ★★★☆☆ WOUNDS: You're (mostly) in safe paws. You'll know if he's less experienced if he asks for your permission to try a treatment. No wound can scare him away from knowledge.
  — ★★★☆☆ INFECTION: He can prevent most infections. If you feel feverish, let him know; he'll hum thoughtfully over herbs and sniff your wound before saying, "With your blessing..."
• — ★☆☆☆☆ ACHES & PAINS: If you complain to him of pain, he'll ask where. If it's a headache, you'll likely feel a bit better. For anything else, "Try this, if you'd like, and tell me how you feel."
  — ★☆☆☆☆ BROKEN BONES: At best. he can ask you to remain lying down in the den. He may try to distract you with conversation while he considers what herb to feed you.
• — ★★★★★ TRAVELING HERBS: Going somewhere? No worries; Wolfsong knows just what you need to stay hale and healthy during your journey. The rest is up to you.
  — ★★★☆☆ KITTING: Thanks to Starlingheart and his own pregnancy, he's better prepared for the arrival of kits, but any complications will need a little faith and a lot of luck.
• — ★☆☆☆☆ POISONS: It's best if you avoid eating anything unfamiliar to you— it's probably just as unfamiliar to Wolfsong. The best he can do is offer you yarrow and sit with you.
  — ★★☆☆☆ ILLNESS: If it's white or greencough, you'll likely recover. Otherwise, prepare for odd concoctions and the usual request that you consent to a little trial-and-error.

​

 

[SHRIKETHORN ★]

( ☄ )　 Shrikethorn will take her place as messenger readily. It is a kind of purpose that she could not find in life. Always looking to the stars for guidance, she did not think of what would come when she joined them. It brings the air of wisdom in a way that demands respect. She falls into her role readily as she approaches the two medicine cats; a guide to the living on starry wings, although her message now pertains more to the dead.

Their voices reach her ears, and a small smile curves across Shrikethorn's maw. "I should hope that you won't," comes a voice dry and amused. Accompanying it is a pelt of scattered stars, shimmering white and silver with distant eyes like gleaming suns. Her voice levels to a more serious tone as she continues. "Keep your peace, I come bearing news." She sits herself before them, yet distant, raking narrowed eyes across them. Wolfsong, she did not know well. And Cottonpaw, though her sister, she must say the same of. She was not a cat known for closeness, and she keeps her distance now as well. The coldness that marked her adult life lingers still in death, though dulled.

"...A danger, perhaps. I am uncertain." She remembers the ranks of StarClan debating whether to tell the Clans of the wall of mist, or to wait until they knew more. Mouse-brained, the whole debate. They are to serve the living, and to create distance would be folly. WindClan has always been so close to the stars, who is she to hide anything from them. "Recently, we have discovered a wall of mist among the fields of Silverpelt. None dare cross, it brings a sort of... unpleasant chill." She isn't one to approach, not for the pit in her stomach should she even get near to it. "It came not long after Sootstar's death. I thought it best you know, as I fear it cannot mean anything good." She dips her politely head as she finishes speaking, watches with a practiced neutrality as she waits for their reactions.

I DONT WANT WHAT YOU HAVE ☄ I WANNA BE YOU !

• //
  ​

• "SPEECH"

• ˏˋ　• ☄ SHRIKETHORN. FORMER WINDCLAN TUNNELER. SHE / HER.
  19 MOONS & AGES ON THE 1ST.　PENNED BY SATURNID.
  
  

  

  ☄ A SMALL WHITE MOLLY WITH ASHY GRAY PATCHES AND PIERCING YELLOW EYES.

  
  SOOTSTAR xx FLINT. LITTERMATE TO SOOTSPOT.​

​

 

[cottonsprig]

She frowns only partially when Wolfsong muses, mimicking his expression as he does. She had not considered battling amongst the stars, in truth - doing so during gatherings seems to upset their ancestors, and so committing treacherous acts on their land seems... blasphemous, so to say. Cottonpaw posits a quiet, "If we were to die here..." Where would we go? The question remains verbally unfinished as she watches a familiar ghost step out before them.

Though she and Shrikethorn were never close in life, Cottonpaw feels some sense of relief seeing her here. Her body - she's not sure if it was treated kindly after her 'treason,' but it is nice to know that regardless of where a body lays, the soul is welcomed into StarClan regardless. She sits, paws neatly drawn together as if splaying them in anyway may distract her from listening properly. The news is unnerving to say the least, and Cottonpaw can't help but turn to her mentor to gauge his expression.

"That -" she starts, but her words crumble together and she struggles to find a coherent thought in the mess of it. "You've no idea at all what it could be?" And after their mother died, too? She cannot help but wonder if Sootstar somehow had a paw in its creation - this wall of mist. "I - I - ..." Again, she looks towards Wolfsong. An adult she may be, but she still seeks the guidance and wisdom of her mentor.

Regardless, after a few beats of silence, she does bid her sister a quiet, "Sootspot misses you." Another beat and she adds, "We all do. It is nice to see you, even if it's here."​

 

[WOLFSONG]

──ᨒ↟↟ᨒ↟ᨒ↟↟ᨒ── A troubling possibility, indeed. Death among starry dreams— while appealing for those who may wish to die in their nests at a ripe old age, it is far more appalling to Wolfsong, and he finds that he wishes he hadn't broached the topic at all. At least he's not given more time to think about it; a familiar voice rings out from what is simultaneously near and far, and the glittering pelt belongs to none other than Shrikethorn, Cottonpaw's kin. She appears amused, and Wolfsong is...grateful, in fact, that she has found a measure of peace in death that she no doubt deserved in life.

And yet what she speaks of is not peace. It is mystery, and the unknown, and the danger inherent to both— as well as the unfortunate timing of its arrival coinciding with Sootstar's death. His mother told him that the cowardly and dishonorable were lost to wander forever in a terrible place, one much, much colder than the mountains, but does such a place exist for the clans? Where has Sootstar's spirit gone, if not to StarClan?

He meets Cottonpaw's troubled gaze with his own, frowning slightly, and he does not speak as she speaks to her sister as family does.

"Thank you for the warning," he says eventually, in the silence after. "I will bring Sunstar this news, but there is little the living can do for the world of the dead. I imagine this discomfort means none of you have entered the fog?"
​

WOLFSONG of WINDCLAN FORMER ROGUE TURNED MEDICINE CAT. 42 MOONS, HE/HIM, NPC X NPC. MATES WITH SUNSTAR (07/05/2023). BIOGRAPHY, PINTEREST, & PLAYLIST.

medicinal expertise med. part ii med. part iii med. part iv

• — ★★★☆☆ WOUNDS: You're (mostly) in safe paws. You'll know if he's less experienced if he asks for your permission to try a treatment. No wound can scare him away from knowledge.
  — ★★★☆☆ INFECTION: He can prevent most infections. If you feel feverish, let him know; he'll hum thoughtfully over herbs and sniff your wound before saying, "With your blessing..."
• — ★☆☆☆☆ ACHES & PAINS: If you complain to him of pain, he'll ask where. If it's a headache, you'll likely feel a bit better. For anything else, "Try this, if you'd like, and tell me how you feel."
  — ★☆☆☆☆ BROKEN BONES: At best. he can ask you to remain lying down in the den. He may try to distract you with conversation while he considers what herb to feed you.
• — ★★★★★ TRAVELING HERBS: Going somewhere? No worries; Wolfsong knows just what you need to stay hale and healthy during your journey. The rest is up to you.
  — ★★★☆☆ KITTING: Thanks to Starlingheart and his own pregnancy, he's better prepared for the arrival of kits, but any complications will need a little faith and a lot of luck.
• — ★☆☆☆☆ POISONS: It's best if you avoid eating anything unfamiliar to you— it's probably just as unfamiliar to Wolfsong. The best he can do is offer you yarrow and sit with you.
  — ★★☆☆☆ ILLNESS: If it's white or greencough, you'll likely recover. Otherwise, prepare for odd concoctions and the usual request that you consent to a little trial-and-error.

​