- Jan 29, 2024
- 57
- 14
- 8
—————————————————【 riverclan | apprentice | she/her 】————————————————
【◈】tw: slight body horror, horror imagery
Cool night mist clung to the ground as a shadowy figure lumbered to her nest. Green eyes pierced dim light from the moon and shone with exhaustion. Her head hung low, and if her tail was a normal length, it would have been dragging on the ground. Turtlepaw's muscles groaned in protest with every step closer to her nest tucked away between familiar slumbering bodies. She had been pushing herself harder the past couple of nights. She could tell Snakeblink was going easy on her ever since he returned from her imprisonment.
The apprentice understood why her mentor would think she needed a break, but in her mind she knew that she had to be better. She couldn't let that happen again. Warriors were risking their life everyday and what had Turtlepaw done when danger reared its head? She froze and allowed herself to be dragged away into a monster. It couldn't happen again.
Turtlepaw clumsily stepped over sleeping bodies, murmuring a tired "sorry" to those she stepped on. Once her paws hit the familiar feeling of moss-lined reeds, she flopped into the comforting smell of sleep. A light crunch from her beetle collection (stashed neatly under a small moss clump) made her cringe, but she decided to check up on that in the morning. Now it was time for sleep.
Turtlepaw was alone in a dark wood, bracken crackling in a steady wind. A metallic smell permeated the air, the same the "cage" (as Oddfish called it) carried. She shuddered and attempted to press further into the bracken, wanting to be home with Snakeblink and Moonbeam. The metallic smell must have been blocking the smell of wet mud and fresh fish, because she couldn't scent home at all. As her nose hit the bracken, Turtlepaw found that it wouldn't budge. She growled, deep and angry, as she pushed on the bracken with her paws, finding it not moving despite her effort. "Oh, come on!" She cried out.
Before her eyes, the bracken began to turn silvery and shiny despite the lack of moonlight in the clearing she was in. It glinted tauntingly and shifted into neat, straight lines. No. No. No. Not again. Turtlepaw's heartbeat pounded and her breath grew rapid and frantic. "Not again!" A cage, again. A cage to keep her from the only life she knew. Like last time, the apprentice flung herself at the cage and felt a sob rising in her chest when she realized she still wasn't strong enough to burst through.
Giant fleshy paws reached down from all directions and began to pull at her pelt. Her skin stretched and ripped from her body like when she would pull fur from prey. She cried out in protest and could not move against them. They poked and prodded her, grabbing at her limbs and stealing her pelt. A thin wail left her and her limbs eventually gave way, popping from her body. They stole her eyes, her ears, and every part of her she needed to find home and be safe again. The world was muffled and cold as they continued to take and take and take from her, and all Turtlepaw could do was scream.
In the waking world, Turtlepaw thrashed in her nest with limbs flailing and soft whines leaving her. She was trapped there in her mind, unable to leave the nightmare. Her paw crashed in to her nest-neighbor's backside, but she didn't notice.
Cool night mist clung to the ground as a shadowy figure lumbered to her nest. Green eyes pierced dim light from the moon and shone with exhaustion. Her head hung low, and if her tail was a normal length, it would have been dragging on the ground. Turtlepaw's muscles groaned in protest with every step closer to her nest tucked away between familiar slumbering bodies. She had been pushing herself harder the past couple of nights. She could tell Snakeblink was going easy on her ever since he returned from her imprisonment.
The apprentice understood why her mentor would think she needed a break, but in her mind she knew that she had to be better. She couldn't let that happen again. Warriors were risking their life everyday and what had Turtlepaw done when danger reared its head? She froze and allowed herself to be dragged away into a monster. It couldn't happen again.
Turtlepaw clumsily stepped over sleeping bodies, murmuring a tired "sorry" to those she stepped on. Once her paws hit the familiar feeling of moss-lined reeds, she flopped into the comforting smell of sleep. A light crunch from her beetle collection (stashed neatly under a small moss clump) made her cringe, but she decided to check up on that in the morning. Now it was time for sleep.
Turtlepaw was alone in a dark wood, bracken crackling in a steady wind. A metallic smell permeated the air, the same the "cage" (as Oddfish called it) carried. She shuddered and attempted to press further into the bracken, wanting to be home with Snakeblink and Moonbeam. The metallic smell must have been blocking the smell of wet mud and fresh fish, because she couldn't scent home at all. As her nose hit the bracken, Turtlepaw found that it wouldn't budge. She growled, deep and angry, as she pushed on the bracken with her paws, finding it not moving despite her effort. "Oh, come on!" She cried out.
Before her eyes, the bracken began to turn silvery and shiny despite the lack of moonlight in the clearing she was in. It glinted tauntingly and shifted into neat, straight lines. No. No. No. Not again. Turtlepaw's heartbeat pounded and her breath grew rapid and frantic. "Not again!" A cage, again. A cage to keep her from the only life she knew. Like last time, the apprentice flung herself at the cage and felt a sob rising in her chest when she realized she still wasn't strong enough to burst through.
Giant fleshy paws reached down from all directions and began to pull at her pelt. Her skin stretched and ripped from her body like when she would pull fur from prey. She cried out in protest and could not move against them. They poked and prodded her, grabbing at her limbs and stealing her pelt. A thin wail left her and her limbs eventually gave way, popping from her body. They stole her eyes, her ears, and every part of her she needed to find home and be safe again. The world was muffled and cold as they continued to take and take and take from her, and all Turtlepaw could do was scream.
In the waking world, Turtlepaw thrashed in her nest with limbs flailing and soft whines leaving her. She was trapped there in her mind, unable to leave the nightmare. Her paw crashed in to her nest-neighbor's backside, but she didn't notice.
[penned by muddly].
ooc: please wait for @Magpiepaω to be violently waken up by turt's super-midsleep kick!
