pafp base of my skin // altercation

[skyclaw]

[ pls wait for @antlerpoison <3 ]

Skyclaw does not dwell on the intricacies of her words. The details matter little when the broader picture is clear enough - she insulted him. Many of them did, surely, but to her he took great offense. After all, he gifted her with a name that would better carry her legacy, did he not? Kittypet saver, is she. Guardian of the deathberries if Gentlestorm were ever out of commission (...oh, right.) The disrespect resonated with him more than much else in her short spittle of a speech, but perhaps that's what she wanted. Maybe Antlerpoison wanted a rise out of him - and a rise she would get, with too much ease at that.

"Hey, Antlerpoison," he speaks with a too-silky tone, far too aware of the position he's put her in. They're in the territory, close to the sandy hollow - his own warriors flank him though hang several steps back. He's not sure if she has anyone to defend her side. "Look, I just wanted to talk, y'know?" Skyclaw continues, "What you said during the meeting really... hurt me. I just want to help the Clan get back on its paws..." He trails off. Admittedly, he does grasp at straws in trying to piece together what she did say, ultimately. His tail twitches.

"Do..." he starts, but none of him softens as he asks, "Do you think I feel guilt? For what happened?"​

 

[antlerbreeze]

Hey, Antlerpoison.

Antler's head turned. Her fur was already on end, the tone alone sending alarm bells ringing in her head- warriors flanked him, his own personal murder of crows. Were they here to pick her free of meat off of her bones? She swallowed the thought, locked the fear behind a beaten and bloodied door in her mind, padlocked it and threw the key down the drain. Her ear twitched, signaling anyone that was close that she was going to need help, probably.

She ignores the scoff that threatens to leave her. Howlingstar taught her better- letting her defenses slip meant the end of her life. Even here, even with 'clanmates' nearby. "We're talking." She said, barely an agreement, her tone devoid of any edge that he could use to climb above her. A slow drawn breath caused her to re-evaluated, ensure that no one else was any closer. To ensure her throat was away from his terrible fangs.

"Hurt you? You do know that was the intended effect, right?" She speaks. Her tongue looser then it had been in months, sharper barbed then she had been born with. No, this was learned- a defense tactic against all of him for all of the right reasons. "Apparently you're too dumb to understand curses." She muttered this aside to herself- hopefully quieter then his lackeys bothered to pick up on.

Back on it's paws. What is he, insane? He killed us. He killed us all, when he murdered Howlingstar. It is but a seethed thought within. Her ears twitched at his next question, however, golden-orange eyes narrowing at his own. "I don't wish to live in your head, to dissect every thought of yours and understand them." She responded after a moment of consideration. Stars, she felt exposed- was there a cat in the trees above, ready to descend and break her, like they broke Howlingstar, Mousenose? "Well? Do you feel guilt, Skyclaw, for murdering your kin, for destroying Thunderclan's stability?"

The words are out of her mouth before she can stop them, cruel and bitter. Starclan, protect me.

‎‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ┌── AND KNOW THAT MEANWHILE ⋅❁⋅ RISES THE MOON ──┐‎

• "speech"
  

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• ANTLERPOISON she/her, warrior of thunderclan, twelve moons.
  ⭃ LH cinnamon lynx sepia with low white. smaller body, agile and slippery, fits really well in small gaps in the underbrush. soft spoken but strong and determined.
  ⭃ previously mentored by howlingstar / / mentoring no one
  ⭃ padding after no one / / sibling to fallowbite and doepath
  ⭃ peaceful and healing powerplay permitted / / underline and tag when attacking
  ⭃ penned by dallas ↛ dallasofnines on discord, feel free to dm for plots.
  

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[skyclaw]

Petulant creature. Where was the Antlerpoison from the week prior, or weeks before that? The weepy she-cat who always stared at the stars, or the quiet, formidable apprentice that couldn't get enough of sniffing Howlingstar's behind? The shift in personality is jarring, in truth, but Skyclaw chalks it up to fear. You're scared of me, he thinks, and there's a slight bounce of giddiness in his paws as he trails around her, circling her no different than a sheparding dog would.

"Oh, don't be childish," he remarks. His gaze flows over to his pals, his tail lashing with the wind. Playground fighting, that's all this is. "I should've bid you a paw, since you cannot manage anything better than calling others dumb." Pathetic, he thinks. If she's to continue this facade of being so angry with the world, she could at least make it more interesting. Let his fury be justified in real insults, not whatever... this is. He hates that he grows angry with her lack of effort instead.

Skyclaw clicks his tongue, however, as her curiosity falls to its knees. She does not want to see how his mind works, sure - yet she queries him still. How do you feel, Skyclaw? She nearly begs him. He can imagine her former persona, the tears in her eyes, her claws clutching her chest. How do you feel? Words within words, and he feels nothing but justification within them. A grin cracks onto his face, as he gently shakes his head.

"No," he says, simply, his claws unsheathing into the dirt beneath him. Without much more of a hint, he springs towards her, clashing their bodies together. He's named for his battle prowess, something Howlingstar used to be so proud of - she's named for their shared mentor. And be it ineptitude or surprise, he overpowers her, one paw pressed down on her chest to keep her pinned whilst the other dangles beside his chest, claws unsheathed.

"No," he repeats, regaining his breath after the brief scuffle. "I don't think I feel guilt at all, actually. I'm sad, she was my grandmother," Skyclaw would sooner rub into Antlerpoison's face their blood bond over whatever the two woman molded together. He feels like the venom on his tongue is burning his lips, and so he doesn't withhold, "But it's not the first time I've killed my kin, unfortunately. I know what I must do, to set things right..."

Antlerpoison becomes him, for a brief moment - pale brown fur shifts to gold and cream. Brown eyes to blue, fury and sorrow to remorse and reluctance. Skyclaw does not soften, does not stiffen or linger. His anger flares in his chest, blazes in his eyes, and his limp paw strikes without mercy, scoring down the she-cat's side with no care for what marks he ends up with. Her claws swipe and mark him, too, but he doesn't flinch. He steps away from her, he gives her the right to stand again, to breathe again, to be again.

You're under my claws, Antlerpoison. It'd be her throat next time, he's sure of it.

"Watch yourself," he hisses, grimacing. "I've closed the borders. Your kit-siblings only just made it in, Antlerpoison. Don't ruin it, not for your kin." He sucks on his teeth again, a frown etched into his face before he turns to stalk away.

[ out :) ]​

 

[FALLOWBITE]

ˏˋ*⁀➷　She trails out with the rest of Skyclaw's followers, keeping close to his flank. It sickens her, to stand beside him after he defiled his sisters' names - to look at Antler and know that she sees an enemy. Still, there is no better place to keep an eye on him. She'll be here if anything goes wrong.

And her closeness is warranted. Red spills from its sister's side, and it holds back a flinch.

It's upon her as soon as its "leader" has left. Drawing closer before anyone else can, any one of the circling vultures who would surely delight in tking more of her flesh. She looks to them with a level stare, jaw set. Her head jerks in the direction of Skyclaw, urging them to follow. "I'll take it from here," her rumbling voice offers, steely and certain. Hopefully her reputation will carry her.

When she turns to look at Antler, her single eye softens. Her voice lowers to a soft hiss, something private. Something just for the two of them. "I'm sorry," she breathes. She hovers for a moment, not quite touching. She doesn't want her sister to flinch away. A thousand more apologies swim through her mind, and she swallows thickly. "Come... C'mon, you need to see Gentlestorm," she settles on, choking back all the words she really wants to say. She'll save the rest of her apologies for when she can make things right. For now, it slowly moves to Antler's to that she can lean on it, hesitantly pressing its flank against hers. It can be here to steady her, if nothing else.

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

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  "SPEECH"

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  FALLOWBITE ⁀➷ she / it, warrior of thunderclan, thirteen 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.
  

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