private BEVERLY HILLS // goodbye

[BRIGHTSHINE!]

The late afternoon sun casts warm rays over the windswept moorlands as Brightshine pauses near the WindClan border, her tail wrapped tightly around Pinkshine and Downyfur. The calico's usual brightness has noticeably dimmed ever since the news of her son was shared with her, and her smiles have since been replaced with eyes that shimmer with unshed tears. It took her some to come to this decision…but now, as she sees her sister's figure approaching, she is sure that it's the right one. Clan life has never done much for her, not really. She reminisces of the old days when it was just her and her family on these moors, racing through the grass. As she looks around, she can still hear echoes of the laughter that once lived so easily here. How had so much changed?

She comes to stand beside Pollenfur, her ever-steady littermate, and looks at Heavy Snow with shimmering, sad eyes. The scent of Horseplace drifts faintly on the breeze - her future home. She hopes it'll remind her of simpler days, days without the heartache that comes with losing a piece of your heart, days before Mallowlark's cheery voice became just a memory. WindClan…all of the clans…they've taken too much happiness from her, and she needs to find it again. She was never meant to be a clan cat.

She looks at her kits then, her gaze shifting from Pinkshine's bright and curious face to Downyfur's. Brightshine forces a small smile, one that doesn't quite reach her eyes for once. "Alright," She chirps, trying to force her usual energy into her voice. "I won't ever be far. I'll visit a lot, I promise! And you can visit, too. We'll never be far apart." It's almost like she's convincing herself just as much as she is them. Her face pinches with a bittersweet sadness. She's obviously excited to move on, to return to a life outside the clans, but leaving behind her kits is the hardest part. But she knows they'll be fine - they're all grown up now and don't need her. They have their own lives to live.

// @HEAVY SNOW @POLLENFUR @PINKSHINE @downyfur
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[PINKSHINE]

She's always looked like her mom. Always had her coat— this swirl of black and red and white, even if it was hidden beneath a sooty surface, at some point. She'd always smiled like her; always wanted to smile like her... and it had been some revelation that far far away, tucked into the deepest nooks of the pine forest, Mallowlark had felt that same way too. Brightshine had been his mama before she'd been hers. Pinkshine felt like the sun shone alongside her help, and even from SkyClan, her brother had felt that same way.

She still looks like her today, with a smile that even Pinkshine can tell is not all happy. Now that she's older... now that she's here, with her mom on the edge of WindClan's territory, acting on something that was... was more than just a whim. It couldn't possibly be, not something as serious as this... Now she knows that Brightshine had probably faked a whole lot of smiles to her. Maybe Pinkshine could only tell now cause she was faking it too.

" Mama... " She's pressed to her sister's side, tricolor against the grey of her flank. They look a lot like each other — Her and Downyfur; Brightshine and Auntie Pollenfur. The mirror's not just in them; in the way they stand, but in their names... Pinkshine clings to her sister like they're the only thing she has left... and they might as well be. " I- I don't want you to go, " her voice wobbles, and she feels like a kit again... Flat ears and a drooping tail make her smaller than she already is.

She had to be okay with it, though. ...Was this how Featherspine felt? She had to be, even if this smile was the worse one she's ever worn. Bright eyes are round in their effort not to water. She isn't sure how well it's working... " B-but I know you gotta... "

She doesn't understand it as much as she'd like to, really. Pinkshine isn't sure she understands it very much at all.​

 

[POLLENFUR]

Pollenfur is not surprised by her sister's decision — not really. She had decided, after Hyacinthbreath's exile, after Dandelionwish had been mercilessly hunted by his own Clan leader, that Clan life had not been for her, either. The gentle chocolate tortoiseshell hangs close to her littermate's side; she presses her flank to Brightshine's, giving her a gentle smile of encouragement.

More than anyone, she knows that it is not easy to leave one's kits behind. But Brightshine will be close to Pinkshine, to Downyfur, and as she promises visits, Pollenfur finds her throat closing. She struggles to keep her expression as Brightshine's look-a-like daughter begins to sniffle, as her mismatched eyes gleam with tears.

"Try not to be sad, little one," she murmurs. "We'll never be far. She'll always be close, just like I have been." And she lets her amber gaze drift to Downyfur, to the daughter who remains unclaimed. Their thick pelt drifts on their small frame, buffeted in the relentless leafbare wind, but Pollenfur can see Hyacinthbreath in that fur, and she sees herself in those square-shaped blue eyes.

"We'll... we'll always be a family," she says after a few heartbeats. If Downyfur notices Pollenfur's stare, she'll look away, as though ashamed of her lingering gaze.

『 out of character. 』 ✧･ﾟ:* 『 about. 』

• ooc: —
• 
• Pollen . Pollenfur, she/her w/ feminine terms.
  — "speech", thoughts, attack
  — 60 moons old, ages realistically on the 1st.
  — mentored by n/a ; mentoring n/a ; previously mentored Melonpaw
  — loner, formerly a windclan warrior. npc x npc, gen 1.
  — formerly mated to Hyacinthbreath, currently mated to n/a.
  — penned by Marquette.
  
  
  lh chocolate tortoiseshell with white and amber eyes. intellectual; mature; whimsical; philosophical; absent-minded; avoidant.

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[downyfur]

Mallowlark's death gained meaning only in the glassy eyes of their family. Otherwise, they're not sure of what to make of him. Have made of him, even when he was still alive. He seemed to haunt even life; she can't forget his crescent moon smile, pearly silver sharp even in the holy Gathering light, and the strange vetiver of SkyClan hovering upon his moorland build.

But their mother loved him as she loved Pollenfur, even as their scents slowly disappeared from camp and more and more WindClanners forgot their names. Downyfur had wondered why at first, when they'd first met their estranged kin, but war after war they've slowly come to understand. At this moment, she feels as though she understands too much. The full weight of knowledge is a drag on her heart, pressing down on it with the weight of a hundred stamping hare feet.

Pinkshine presses against them, and they press back against her. Deep blues flick between her mother and father, trying to scry something, anything, in their faces that'd betray a hint of not wanting to go. But Brightshine just smiles. It doesn't make her angry, knowing it's fake: it just makes her tired. They've already asked why; anything more would make them a petulant, pleading kit. But that's what she is—their kit, after all.

Her squared-off gaze is glassy, and her lower lip feels fat and wobbly when she murmurs, "Yeah... w-we'll miss you a lot." Pollenfur's interjection is gentle and honeyed. They blink at her, nodding like they accept it. It's different though, she wants to whine. We never knew you in the first place.

It's true, though. These ones are not dead, and they are not far-gone. They take a deep, shaking breath and repeat after her: "We'll be a family... and we'll visit... a-a lot... right?" They glance at Pinkshine, missing the stare that lingers on them for just a little too long.​

 

[BRIGHTSHINE!]

The wind tugs at her feathery pelt as Brightshine listens to her kits, their voices breaking and trembling with emotions that strike her to the core. Her green eyes shimmer like dew in the fading light, and she draws in a deep breath to steady herself. This is harder than she thought it would be, harder than she ever let herself imagine. She had told herself she was ready, that this was what she needed to heal. But leaving them behind feels like leaving pieces of her own heart scattered across the moors.

Pinkshine's wobbly voice pulls a small, bittersweet laugh from her. She leans forward, brushing her muzzle gently over her daughter's ears. "Oh, my sweet Pinky," She murmurs with uncharacteristic softness. "I know this is hard. I don't want to go, either - not really. But I think...I need to find a new beginning. And I can't do that here. It's too hard." Her voice hitches slightly and she winces. Her gaze drifts then to Downyfur, whose strength reminds her so much of Pollenfur. Their words tugs at her heart, and she steps closer to nuzzle them as well, her voice thick with affection. "You're both so strong, stronger than I could ever hope to be. I'll miss you every single day, but you'll always be with me, in my heart. And I'll be with you, too - always."

The calico lifts her head, her green eyes glowing with resolve despite the tears threatening to fall. "We'll be a family, no matter where we are. I will visit, as much as I can, and you can visit us too, whenever you need to! And if you ever want to come stay with us, the Horseplace will always have room for you!" She presses her cheek to Pinkshine's, then Downyfur's, before she altogether loses any discipline and embraces them by wrapping a foreleg around each of their shoulders. She holds onto them as tightly as she dares before stepping back to stand beside Pollenfur. Her tail brushes briefly against Heavy Snow, seeking his support. "I love you both so much," She mews with a teary smile. "And no matter where I go, I'll never stop loving you." Her gaze lingers on them for a long moment, as if trying to memorize every detail, every strand of fur, every fleck of color in their eyes.
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