BURY MY SHALLOW // SILVER

[ThistleBack]

With the return of Skyclan's missing and the addition of strangers, things needed to get back on track and quickly. Thistleback took to it as he did most things, observing quietly for several minutes before taking action. His orders spoken in fair tone but firm, patrols assigned and duties distributed. Apprentices training in the sandy areas with their mentors, and once the camp had but elders, queens, and a few strangers still settling. Thistleback made his way toward the fellow council member.

" I've told our apprentices to practice hunting leaps from the camp trees until we get back. " He begins with a tired shake of his hackles. " I figured you and I could have a productive day together without having to keep apprentices from wandering. Deersong is going to keep an eye on them " he sweeps the back of his paw against his forehead.

" that is if you don't mind the company. " He adds with a scowl and shrug, he doesn't mind the silver tabby and the ache in his shoulders and pressure of his family drama made it hard to care if it was reciprocated. " The smell of the shelter is giving me a pounding headache " he murmurs. " East half an hour and we may be able to find rabbits. Swamp rabbits but larger prey nonetheless " he recalls finding hints of their huts along the dryer grass. They smelled nothing like the moor and he still hadn't been able to see one because traveling too far took you into territorial rogue grounds. Thistleback was trying to not have to kill anyone again.

" never actually seen one. Maybe we can get lucky " he murmurs with a painful stretch of limb and patient flick of stare to Silversmoke. Waiting for an answer, if not for the slight flick of a white tipped tail, hes as still as a statue. @SILVERSMOKE

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OOC INFO REF

• — mobile! Sorry for any formet damage or grammar haha
  
  
• 
  
  
  
  forty moons EVENT TRACKER | IMPORTANT INFO
  — Lead warrior of Skyclan since 12.22.22
  — Devoted to Deersong 9.29.22
  — Father of Coyotepaw, Eveningpaw, Briarpaw, Damsel, Sunflowerpaw, and Rosepaw.
  — mentoring Snowpaw graduate(s) Quillstrike
  — very muscular piebald black and white tom with spiky fur and cold silver-grey eyes.
  — voice & accent
  — biography･ﾟ✧​
  OPEN for Dice battles | stine#3004
  
• 
  
  

​

 

[SILVERSMOKE]

Silversmoke did a double-take as the smaller tom approached him, his muscles tensing so hard he was certain they would snap against the weight of being close to the other. Tufted ears twitched as the council member spoke, his face lacking the polite restraint once offered to Thistleback out of a sense of duty. He wanted to protest the ordering of his apprentice around, the sudden insistence that they would need to spend a day together for the good of the clan, but Silversmoke realised that on most days, he wouldn't be bothered by either thing. When he blinked, there was a fraction of time where he swore he saw a scarlet-splashed face and pointed teeth grinning for the massacre that was caused. He was not a creature that feared much, but in that breadth of time, he felt his fur bristle in a brief wave with a defensiveness best saved for fire or twolegs. Silversmoke felt nauseous, not just because of the Lead Warrior turned temporary Deputy, but because there'd been a time when he'd been enamoured by the other's dedication to the clan. Glaring daggers at the tom now, it was difficult to see anything except for a creature that wore a moral mask to hide an insidious beast, a danger that could wreak havoc on a bad day and be Blazestar's reigned-in attack dog on a good one.

"Fine." He found comfort in eyeing the ground, its greens and browns making for a pleasant change from the make-believe reds. Despite his dismissive approval, Silversmoke found the other kept talking, talking about 'the smell of the shelter' giving him a headache (and not the blood?) and how there were rabbits available to provide much-needed food to their turgid colony. 'For SkyClan...' He reminded himself. That would be Thistleback's argument for maiming Kuiper, wouldn't it? It was in SkyClan's best interests to maul a monster instead of making things quick. He wished he could agree and rid himself of the sudden distrust for a former friend. The line between what was deserved and what was right was thinner than a cat's hair, many times he'd crossed it but never had he acted physically on it - it was an escalation that reminded him of the true nature of all those claiming to be rogues in a past life. For a while, he remained wordless, slowly stalking in an eastwards direction and expecting Thistleback to take the lead.

"Just so you know, I'm doing this for SkyClan, not because I want to spend time with you. You..." He cut himself off, teeth grinding together. 'You betrayed everything I wanted to believe about you.' "Whatever, it's not important. Just show me the way and we'll get some rabbits."

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[ThistleBack]

The air is strangely electric between them, he notices the edges of the silver tabby shifting into something defensive. If his tone didn't say it, his words nearly did. He doesn't finish it though, claims it doesn't matter. Thistleback pauses mid-stretch with a pinched brow. Having been caught up in his storms too long to realize the other's distaste until this moment.

" well. I didn't necessarily ask you on a date, Silversmoke. " Thistleback responds with flat toned sarcasm.

' Just show me the way and we'll get some rabbits '" that's heavily assuming we're fast enough " he jests in return, despite the tensions. Avian hunting was the specialty of the sky sailing felines, hardly foot-races with hares. The thorn coated piebald prowls across the ground, he'd flick his tail in passing toward his mate before leading the other out of the bramble entrance.

" seems important. " he speaks after a long silence of the hammer of their heavy paws. " I hope you know, you can speak to me. " he offers gruffly. " especially if it pertains to me " he finishes.

Silversmoke had hardly offered a word his way since the day he slaughtered Kuiper. It's no secret where the roots had been severed. A lot of Skyclan approached him warily since then, only to find the same old Thistleback. Whether that made it worse or not was up to them. He was fortunate enough to have the patience to accept it. He's always been the camp scarecrow, clinging to the edges like a gargoyle and working during the moonhigh. Time had tamed the beast, however.

" perhaps we agree on some things " he offers, rotating his jaw idly. A scowl pressed hard on his countenance yet the birdsong of the pine jungle kept his mind at peace.

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OOC INFO REF

• —
  
  
• 
  
  
  
  forty moons EVENT TRACKER | IMPORTANT INFO
  — Lead warrior of Skyclan since 12.22.22
  — Devoted to Deersong 9.29.22
  — Father of Coyotepaw, Eveningpaw, Briarpaw, Damsel, Sunflowerpaw, and Rosepaw.
  — mentoring Snowpaw graduate(s) Quillstrike
  — very muscular piebald black and white tom with spiky fur and cold silver-grey eyes.
  — voice & accent
  — biography･ﾟ✧​
  OPEN for Dice battles | stine#3004
  
• 
  
  

​

 

[SILVERSMOKE]

Silversmoke rolled his eyes at the piebald's sarcastic suggestion. 'A good job you didn't,' he almost retorted, finding that he was saving himself for a date that would likely never happen with his closest friend. The one with a coat like fire briefly entered his mind and the Lead Warrior's tail coiled like a snake waiting to strike. Would Thistleback be a threat to Auburnflame as well? It seemed asinine, the boar's ire only seemed to be direct to his enemies, yet doubt still pressed at the back of his mind - he tried to shut it down before it caused him to act more irrationally than he already had by admitting his problems. "We'll be fast enough," he assured dismissively, angling his body away from the other, his ebony claws out and ready to defend him from any threat - be it killer bunny or delusional clanmate. Silver and blue hairs bristled when the tom's voice entered his ears again, bringing up a topic that Silversmoke thought he'd been ready to talk about until the words caught in his throat. Now it seemed Thistleback hadn't given him much choice, bringing it up again in the interest of getting information from the spotted tabby. He looked the other up and down, brows twitching in scrutiny.

To feel alive, he was a cat that always needed an enemy, he couldn't help but ponder if making Thistleback that foe was the worst thing he could do for his clan. Still, a window of opportunity had been opened to give the other Lead a piece of his mind, a permission he'd readily accept as he turned to face him fully. "Killing monsters is always the best thing to do. Killing. Not making pulp out of their skull, not acting on your own sick desires without your leader's permission. Killing. That's all you had to do and you turned it into a damned spectacle for child and elder alike to see." He realised as he spoke that, lacking any sort of sympathy for Kuiper, some of his ire may have come from twisted envy - he couldn't bare his fangs at Slate without feeling the clan breathing down his neck, but Thistleback could viciously maul someone and he was allowed back into clan society without a second thought. Silversmoke deserved the clan's respect, Silversmoke didn't deserve the clan's respect; a vicious cycle of security and insecurity that the very basis of the other's actions threatened. There was stability beyond his own that the purple-collared rogue threatened though, something the tom consistently had to remind himself of as he felt his temper begin to flare.

"I have no interest in associating with a cat that takes justice into their own paws. We're on the same council and I'll work with you for SkyClan's sake, but I want nothing to do with you outside of that, not unless you can come up with a damn good explanation for acting like that — and don't say it's because he deserved it or whatever, if everyone got what they deserved then there'd be anarchy."

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[ThistleBack]

" ah, confidence- may she come swiftly at the flank of success " he murmurs with a slight smirk, he was never deterred by the tune of unwelcome. He had never been welcome anywhere, but Skyclan’s ranks and Deersong’s heart, hadn’t he? he had tasted acceptance as a dog would chicken blood and now he craved it madly. Emotionally touch starved, he has a certain patience for it.

Metallic eyes flit down to the white of the other’s paws, claws hanging on the ends with threat. Thistleback’s own stay curled in the sheathes of nicked knuckles that carry him forth. He opens his maw to persuade the lead that keeping his toes flexed would make them sore later on- but snaps it shut as the man speaks. Seemingly quiet at select times, he was now a fountain of opinion put straight forth. good. Thistleback didn’t like games unless it was with an enemy. Silversmoke was no enemy, no matter how much it seemed he was trying to be. Perceptive eyes peer silently. Taking the stinging remarks as they were, the lead’s mouth was a wasp of thoughts.

" yes. my children. My mate. " he reminds with a rotation of his jaw.

" Sick desires? " he snatches the word with mind and soul, narrowly stopping in his tracks but his pace only stutters. " The only thing I desire is to protect my children until they are grown, and maybe meet my grand-kits one day if I’m lucky, die next to my mate or against whatever dares to threaten my clan. I’ve never had a desire to do any of the bad things I’ve ever done, but they were necessary. " Thistleback’s tone is husky, as a man who only lived a life of pain would. Life was unfair generally, but for him it had been hell from his first breath.

" It hurts me, what I did. In ways you’ll never believe it has. I don’t expect you to. Not a moment goes by where there isn’t the echo of screams and agony in my memory. " he explains, " I’ve met a lot of killers in my life, but that day- I met my first Kuiper. " he drops the name and the ghost of his nightmares resurfaces. The screeches of agony and growls of his own throat. " Every moment that thing was alive, was another chance of it getting away. I looked at my daughter and decided I wasn’t going to let that happen. I’m not a good man, but i’m a father and sometimes it’s of lethal consequence " he finishes with a curl of his tail above the grasses. " Since my kits first opened their eyes, I’ve been trying to be a better man. Even if it doesn’t earn me a place in the stars, I’m hoping for the chance to walk the ones I love to them safely. " he accepts that his paws may forever be too heavy of sin to stand in Starclan. He admits this now, his deepest sadness.

" We as creatures. Tend to make mistakes. I’ve made a lot of them, but- I won’t give up. Too much counts on that. I may be a bad man, but I’m an honest one. " The forest floor is covered with dancing shadows, a veil of quiet between them with each raw word.

​

⛤ OOC INFORMATION REFERENCE ⛤

• —
  
  
• 
  
  
  
  forty EVENT TRACKER | IMPORTANT INFO
  — Lead warrior of Skyclan since 12.22.22
  — Devoted to Deersong 9.29.22
  — Father of Coyotepaw, Eveningpaw, Briarpaw, Damsel, Sunflowerpaw, and Rosepaw.
  — mentoring Snowpaw graduate(s) Quillstrike
  — very muscular piebald black and white tom with spiky fur and cold silver-grey eyes.
  — voice & accent
  — biography･ﾟ✧​
  OPEN for Dice battles | stine#3004
  
• 
  
  

​

 

[SILVERSMOKE]

His words seemed to have the desired effect, barbed like brambles, he noticed a shift in the other. It was not as defensive as a conversation with Chrysalispaw, or as heated as an argument with Slate, it was a third thing that the spotted tabby struggled to comprehend. Emotions were complicated unless expressed at their fullest potential, he couldn't help but bristle the fur across his spine at the confusion that Thistleback's offered him. "Necessary?" He repeated, tone betraying his surprise. Since when was it necessary to betray the clan's trust in a way brutal enough to put even the worst rogues to shame? His mouth felt acrid as he tried to express how unnecessary Thistleback's actions truly were, attempts at words burning his tongue further and further until he was sure he'd lost it. When he blinked next, Thistleback was in a different light. Hope of the piebald seeing the error of his recklessness was gone, it took Silversmoke considerable effort to not sag his shoulders at the sudden defeat. Perhaps a speech from a hypocrite wouldn't quell the collared tom's decisiveness, but he didn't know anyone else who'd be willing to speak out.

Silversmoke cocked his head as his peer expressed... something similar to regret, but not quite. "I don't believe that for a second." He remarked dryly. Anyone truly hurt would not work so hard to defend themselves, he thought. Admissions of guilt were near-synonymous with admissions of weakness when faced with bristled fur and angry faces but sometimes, they were a necessity. Through critical eyes, he assessed Thistleback's face, glowering at the idea that he would never reach the silver sky. As unhinged a beast he was, he was a loyal one, it was that dedication that seemed to matter more to StarClan than good or evil. It should've been some small comfort knowing that he had a chance in StarClan too, but all Silversmoke felt was apathy to the idea. "I don't care about good or bad, they're binaries too easily crossed to be worth a damn. I believe in what's right for SkyClan. Killing Kuiper was right for SkyClan, torturing him was not. That goes beyond a simple mistake, to have the ability to do such things is..." Not good, not bad, troubling, perhaps. Even he'd been willing to stop at only taking one of Slate's eyes, it seemed that had it not been for exhaustion, Thistleback wouldn't have been satisfied until naught was left of the killer but bone.

"You're dangerous. That's not a bad thing until you put SkyClan in danger. What do you think our new clanmates would say if they heard of how we handle criminals? They'd be scared to speak out for fear of losing their tongue to the mad dog of the pines." He narrowed his eyes, daring the other to protest his perspective. Even if he didn't believe Thistleback would turn that savage maw upon his home, there was no telling what strangers and other clans alike would believe. Reputation was important, and the piebald was damaging his own, Silversmoke almost hoped that he was the only one hurt by Thistleback's brutality, at least then, the consequences would be easier to navigate. He increased his pace, looking to be done with the conversation before he suddenly whipped his head around to Thistleback once more. "Not to mention, you weren't even asked to do that. You're not the only parent in SkyClan, but you're the only parent who went against Blazestar's direction." Bitterly, he wondered if Thistleback would be the only parent who'd ever be praised for such recklessness too.

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