BLUE MOON ☽ BLAZESTAR

[grizzlyridge]

Gloom is a heavy weight upon SkyClan, and there are none who bear it as wholly as their leader. When he had lived a far kinder life than this, cuddled against a softly rising chest beneath the materials of their nests, Grizzlyridge had known the terror of choice. Not by his own, but by proximity. Knew the sniffling sounds his twoleg would make, the way that they would hold onto him as if the world would end the second they let go. Eventually the feeling would pass and normalcy would return, but the difficulty of each decision never fully left. As far as he knows, however, in all the time that has passed, never had Blazestar had such constancy in his life. All those he had relied on seemed to disappear, in one way or another. He had lost his love, too many of his children– the warriors whispered, and the other clans judged. Could he blame them, when they were all so affected?

Where his sympathy fades is in the ending of it. The thought that they felt this more than Blazestar; that he chose these things with cruelty in his heart, or air within his head. Maybe that is what drives him there now. Towards his den: to check on him, his paws had decided. It was late enough that the clan has begun to settle down, and not so late that he would be asleep so soon. Even still, Grizzlyridge's voice is quiet as he rustles against the bush guarding the leader's resting spot. Had he any right to guess, it's more likely the tom is deep in though, rather than eager for sleep. "Blazestar? A question for you, if you don't mind the intrusion."

˗ˏˋ〚  OOC NOTES INFORMATION 〛´ˎ˗

• ooc: —
• GRIZZLYRIDGE. world-weary warrior of skyclan.
  ──── uses he - him - his, may accept they - them - theirs.
  ──── about four years old.  a former pine group member.
  ──── homoromantic homosexual, but this may develop.
  
  a large, broad-shouldered highlander cat with lightly tufted curled ears and large paws made larger by extra toes. a solid seal point with only a small white marking on his muzzle and deep blue eyes.
• "speech"

​

 

[BLAZESTAR]

Blazestar's darkness has returned. He had tried hard to fight against it, but it sucks at his paws like thick mud after a storm, and he feels himself sinking too quickly to escape. He wears grief and regret draped across him as easily as he wears the shadows slanting into his den. His solitude is broken by Grizzlyridge's paws at the entrance of his sanctuary. "Blazestar? A question for you, if you don't mind the intrusion."

He blinks, tired. Did he mind the intrusion? Part of him wants to pull his tail over his nose and forget his troubles. Another part knows that isn't possible. There are frightening things in the recesses of his brain that only dreams seem to summon. Visions of his daughters, one brutally slaughtered, another killed at four moons. Cats screeching from the steely confines of a Twoleg trap. War like a tempest to bear on his Clan.

He once could have called Dawnglare into his den. Even at his most eccentric, there was comfort in the familiarity of his old friend's strangeness, his rigid faiths. There will be no more of that. Blazestar feels nausea cramp in his belly at the thought of one more cat lost to him.

"Please." His voice cracks with lack of use. He has not left his den since sunhigh. "What is it you want to ask of me?"​

[ PENNED BY MARQUETTE ]​

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[grizzlyridge]

Gently, gently, Grizzlyridge pulls himself closer inside. His eyes are soft as the leader's sadness appears to be, though he knows that both have come through thorns. To come to where they were took effort, took a mountain's movement. In his travels, so far before the troubles that led him here, he had seen the breadth of the world as twolegs did. He saw great deserts, and the stars beneath the snow. He had seen the way that the night sky would dance, its whispers of hopes and dreams for the future falling on gentle ears. And he had seen pain, and suffering, and he knew all too well what it was like to carry that burden alone.

At the leader's allowance, the great tom comes to his belly and crawls a little closer still. There is still a distance between them — he would not call them close enough for the comfort of touching fur — but he is close enough that he can see the misery as clearly as his whiskers. His head rests on too-broad paws much like a resting dog. "It was very much the opposite of that," he murmurs gently, with a mouth that wobbles into a smile. Despite the way this pain settles into his lungs, Grizzlyridge is ever compelled to share the weight. "For one in charge of so many others, it seems too few ask after you."

A beat of silence, full of feeling. "How are you, Blazestar? Really and truly?"

˗ˏˋ〚  OOC NOTES INFORMATION 〛´ˎ˗

• ooc: —
• GRIZZLYRIDGE. world-weary warrior of skyclan.
  ──── uses he - him - his, may accept they - them - theirs.
  ──── about four years old.  a former pine group member.
  ──── homoromantic homosexual, but this may develop.
  
  a large, broad-shouldered highlander cat with lightly tufted curled ears and large paws made larger by extra toes. a solid seal point with only a small white marking on his muzzle and deep blue eyes.
• "speech"

​

 

[BLAZESTAR]

Blazestar watches almost warily as Grizzlyridge settles a respectful distance from him. The tom's attitude is comforting -- there is no hostility, nothing he immediately wants of Blazestar, not like his deputy, his lead warriors, his Clanmates. He can feel his shoulders relax, and some of the clouded darkness leaves his blue eyes. "Ah, there's no need for anyone to ask about me. I'm fine, really." A badly told lie, but he feels uncomfortable sharing the severity of the shameful pit of shadows he's still wading through.

The way Grizzlyridge sits, dark-masked face resting on his dark paws, is oddly endearing to Blazestar. He laughs. "You look like a dog, doing that." He wrinkles his nose a bit and adds, "Better looking, though. And better smelling."

After a moment, Blazestar's amusement changes to seriousness. He looks over himself, dismayed to see the state of him. Thinned again, after he'd gained some of his weight back, his pelt ragged and ungroomed, losing its silkiness and shine. Scraps of moss cling to him. "How am I? In need of a washing. A walk. A meal." He hesitates, unable to meet the warrior's eyes. "A friend." He isn't able to admit to the full truth, but it's close.

After a heartbeat, Blazestar ventures, "It's felt like many moons since we've spoken beyond pleasantries." He does meet Grizzlyridge's cerulean eyes now, and murmurs, "How are you doing, really and truly?"​

[ PENNED BY MARQUETTE ]​

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