private BLINDLY INTO THE DARK [rattle]

[SCORCHSTAR]

༄༄ Time—and perhaps a pawful of luck—has returned two long-lost cats to Scorchstreak and her kits. Badgermoon and Curlewnose have returned to WindClan, and they are both alive and intent on staying. Her closest friend and the father of her kits are both back in her life, and their disappearance had not been their own choice.

This should make her happy. This should make her feel… something, shouldn’t it? But as the calico thinks it over, she cannot bring herself to feel anything but tired. How long will it be, she thinks, before they leave again? It isn’t fair to wonder, she knows, but isn’t it? She’d never imagined that they would abandon her the first time, and yet here she stands watching the father of her kits return only weeks after she’d lost one of them. If they had come back only a month sooner, would it have been enough to change Rumblerain’s mind? She cannot help but to think that it wouldn’t have mattered. If they hadn’t left her, left the kits, in the first place, then Scorchstreak wouldn’t have messed everything up. She wouldn’t have let her kit be deluded by Sootstar, damning themself to forever be a clanless hound.

She finds Rattleheart near the Tallrock, and after a moment she joins them in the shade. The two of them are alone, with few prying ears around, and so she settles onto her stomach beside them, golden eyes dull. There is no tact when she speaks, tone filled with poorly-feigned nonchalance. "What do you think of Badgermoon and Curlewnose returning?" Tell me how I should feel. Her sibling has always been more in touch with emotion than herself—what would they do, if fate put them in her situation? "I don’t know what to tell them about everything, and especially about Rumblerain." She has never had to think about what she will tell Badgermoon—because Badgermoon had ceased to exist as anything more than a memory. He had been as good as dead. But now, he is back, and she cannot avoid the issue of her missing kit for very long.

// @RATTLEHEART​

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[RATTLEHEART]

AS HE RAISED HIS FIST BEFORE HE SPOKE — After a certain amount of time had passed, Rattleheart had honestly expected that Badgermoon and Curlewnose would never return to Windclan, no matter how things happened to change. Such a thing had seemed obvious when the story had been that they betrayed Sootstar - after all, why would they ever come back to where they would surely be killed on sight? Still, even after the tunneler had started to doubt their former leader's words and their validity more and more, they hadn't ever expected that their sister's best friend or the father of her kits would return. The pair had become inexplicably tied with the past, and now came the complicated and messy process of severing that tie to drag them into the present.

It was no surprise when Scorchstreak joined them in their little hidden hollow beneath the Tallrock, enjoying the shade that allowed them a moment of cool. They were glad that newleaf marched ever closer without delay, but the return of the sun blazing down on them would be a difficult obstacle to overcome with their shaggy pelt. Rattleheart was quick to lean briefly into their sister's side, abandoning their quest for a pleasant chill in order to provide her with a moment of silent support. It was easy for them to see the struggle written all over her face, even before the first words left her muzzle. "Well, I can't really say that I expected it. No matter how much I had doubted Soot, I had figured she had ended up sending them away for good... whether it was a lie or not." They believed the story that Badgermoon had told upon his and Curlewnose's return, but they were also sure there were some in Windclan that wouldn't. Some that would always look at the both of them and see a pair of cowards and traitors.

Their tail twitched rapidly behind them as they laid there in thought, trying to figure out what the best answer would be to soothe their kin's mind - though nothing came naturally. It seemed like they would just have to speak from the heart, instead of speaking platitudes. "I think a part of me is still upset with them, even with the revelation that they never wanted to go. So much started to go downhill after their appearances... it's hard not to assign blame, even if it isn't deserved. Ultimately though, I think them being back is a positive thing. If not for them or us, then for your kits." Who were hardly kits anymore, but they were still her children and Badgermoon's children. They would nearly always be kits in their eyes, no matter what names they earned or how much pride glowed in their chest over each of them. "I'm not sure what the best way to tell them about Rumblerain is either. They already know a bit, but it's complicated. All too complicated, frankly." It seemed that things were still weighing heavily on their own shoulders, even when they had thought they were feeling better.

Letting their chin settle down against their paws, they glanced sideways at Scorchstreak, hoping their gaze alone could somehow convey their support for her. "I think in the end, you'll just have to be honest with them. Say that Rumblerain made their decision because of Soot's manipulation despite what any of us said. And that even with that in mind, Scorchstorm and the others need them." Rattleheart didn't really want for their backs to be turned on Rumblerain, either, but what were they to do? They had made their decision and they were gone now, and it was doubtful anything they said could drag them back.

THE RIGHTEOUS HAND OF GOD 𓆩♡𓆪 THE DEVIL THAT YOU FORGOT

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  ❥ longhaired black and white tom with pale green eyes
  ❥ 48 moons old; ages the 1st every month
  ❥ afab; uses he/she/they pronouns
  ❥ homosexual homoromantic; mated to venomstrike
  ❥ sibling to scorchstreak, lizardbounce, and rabbitclaw
  ❥ currently mentoring downypaw
  ❥ somewhat difficult to befriend; wary but kind
  ❥ "speech", thoughts, attacking
  ❥ peaceful powerplay allowed
  ❥ all opinions are ic

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[SCORCHSTAR]

༄༄ Rattleheart is quick to offer comfort, a solid foundation to press her shoulder against for a brief moment. The presence of her sibling never fails to relax her; she trusts that they will always have her back, even in the midst of all the volatility in her life. It is clear that they think Badgermoon and Curlewnose should be allowed to stay, should be given second chances—and that is what Sunstar’s WindClan is built upon, isn’t it? They are all deserving of second chances. But is Badgermoon, who disappeared when the clan needed him the most? "It’s just…" A growl escapes her muzzle, frustration frosting the edges of icy words. She doesn’t understand, no matter how she attempts to wrap her head around it. "If what they say is true, then why would they confront Sootstar in the first place? They knew the consequences of turning against her." Exile. Imprisonment. Death. It could have easily been Badgermoon, becoming the new Dandelionwish. It could easily have been Curlewnose, meeting the same fate as Larkfeather or Lilacstem. Would that have been better for her? Would it have been better for their kits? The worst part of Badgermoon and Curlewnose’s disappearances was not the loss of them. It was the uncertainty. Sootstar had driven them off, but were they still alive somewhere out there? Had they met their fates somewhere in the wilds, unbeknownst to their family in WindClan?

Her shoulders tense, tail lashing once. "I wish that they had at least told me they planned to confront her. I could have-" She cuts herself off, gritting her teeth together. She could have done nothing. She would not have stood up to Sootstar, not before she’d gone off to the mountains. She would not have turned her back on the smoky-furred queen so soon. But if Badgermoon had stayed, then Rumblerain would never have been alone. "Do you think we’ll ever see Rumblerain again?" Now that Badgermoon has returned, could they convince Rumblerain that their family can be whole again?​

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