development CAN YOU FACE YOUR TRUE FEELINGS? ✶ border skirmish


I AM THE DEVIL THAT YOU FORGOT

Blackmoon is all but prepared to keep up the assault on Deersong, prepared to keep pace with the SkyClan deputy, but... As the reality set in of what had just occurred he knew that the fight was done. Both sides had lost and now StarClan's ranks threatened to expand. "Ah shit, kid..." Blackmoon feels his chest tighten, he takes no pleasure in seeing a young life slipping away. Maybe if he had been there sooner... or if they had maybe avoided bringing the apprentices along in the first place. It's too late now, the deed was done.

Blackmoon sheathed his claws and he watched as Morningpaw was carried away to SkyClan's camp, her life now in the paws of their medicine cat. All he could do was offer a small prayer. Eventually his gaze finds Burnpaw and he makes his steady way over, looming over the youth. "They must. They're right, their camp is closer. If Morningpaw is to stand a chance then she must go there. Burnpaw, you have a choice to make; go with them and be by her side, or come with me back to ThunderClan's camp." He has nothing but sympathy for the young apprentice, but he knows that Burnpaw can't just remain there on the border.

//Talking to @BURNPAW !
 
her claws find something, tearing out chunks of fur from lightpaw. a mantra in her head, thrumming nearly as loud as her own heart; leave him alone, leave him alone, leave him alone. there's others shouting for lightpaw to cease and desist, too. he jerks away from her claws, upon an unfamiliar warrior's command to leave for thunderclan's camp. and this time, violetpaw is glad that he does.

snowpaw- she has to get to snowpaw. stumbling, violetpaw cranes her neck; trying to find her brother's scent beneath everything, but all that she can smell is blood. "snowpaw?" she repeats, claws entangled with fur sinking into the snow, fighting to ground herself. she couldn't even hear her own voice in this storm of grief. it's too loud. everything is too loud. they're screaming. screaming for a healer, screaming for the fighting to stop, screaming at snowpaw. snowpaw, her brother... he didn't mean to. violetpaw knows him, and she knows he would never...

never do what?

she doesn't know. all she knows is that morningpaw's collapsed (she was protecting lightpaw from snowpaw, because violetpaw couldn't fight) and there's too strong of a blood scent in the air. and there's fear, now, too. it's choking her, crawling down her throat. she hates the taste of it. is morningpaw dead? did snowpaw kill her? did violetpaw make snowpaw kill her?

he didn't mean to, he didn't mean to!

why did she fight? for justice? for a squirrel? it'd seemed so significant only heartbeats ago, rightfully skyclan's the moment it'd ran across the border. it belonged to them, violetpaw had been so sure of it. because cats can't cross borders, but thunderclan did.

and violetpaw can't fight, but she did. she'd thrown herself at the first thunderclanner she'd heard, because she didn't want justice to go undelivered. she'd been pinned, because she couldn't predict the other's movements like a sighted cat could. and snowpaw had tried to help her- he'd only been trying to help her.

"he didn't mean to," she rasps, to no one and everyone all at once. thistleback's at her side, now, telling her follow him. violetpaw turns her head in the direction of his voice. "he didn't mean to." they have to believe her. snowpaw couldn't be punished.