CHRISTMAS PAST ☀︎ BONES? PROMPT

[freckleflame]

the snow had been falling steadily since sun - high, a pale blue haze dipping over the forestlands. the air seems crisper today, a bite to the thin winds that has her wrinkling her nose. dawn was beginning to settle over the horizon, seeping further golden as the hunting patrol trudges through the banks of powdered ivory underpaw, bringing a merciful warmth pooling in through the canopies above. it made the ache in her nose, her pawpads, her bones more tolerable. tolerable enough to keep out until she had a mouse bleeding onto her tongue, or a vole to feed batwing's kits. she isn't bitter about it. leopardtongue was a great warrior, and she wasn't bitter about it. but -- there were a lot of kit bellies to fill. objectively. she should be glad to be out here, marching away through the frost for scraps to throw to a cat that could not do the same. she should be, because yeah, bravekit is sweet and all. yeah, batwing is her friend. but her paws hurt, and she finds she is only glad to be able to return to her nest after this long, surely uneventful hunt.

her eyes are dull, mouth open in some desperate attempt to catch any lingering scent amidst the fresh snowfall. all she can smell is the thick, acrid odor of thunderpath, its oily surface half - concealed with ice. there are less monsters today, she realizes ; the strips of frozen grass near the path littered with a pale, fragrant nettle and something white. she nearly mises it amongst the snow, the fields of white clinging to her lashes, catching on her tail when she lifts it towards the patrol behind her. come look, it says, as she crouches and makes to step slowly closer. her father's incident is heavy on her mind, but this doesn't look like the heavy - barred fixture sunfreckle had been ensnared in. this was.. well, it was a deer. or, it was shaped like a deer, with twining limbs of long, twisted alabaster, studded with little baubles. some are broken, revealing short, glittering veins inside ; there is no immediate smell, but her muzzle twists anyway. were these actually remains? it was the only thing she could think of, a corpse picked clean by the vultures overhead. still, something stalled her.

she eyes it dubiously, stretching her neck out to sniff it closer.

wit smalls harsh, but plain. vaguely of monster, but mostly of mud and icy water where it had been left along the thunderpath before being uncovered. there is no hint of blood, meat or viscera. a frown etches hard into her maw as she sits up, stumped, " it's.. dead? i think. these are.. booones? " she draws the word out, questioningly, eyeing the members of her patrol as they gather as if one of them would have a better idea and stop her from telling them wrong. it was already in motion.

𝚈𝙾𝚄 𝙼𝙰𝙺𝙴 𝙼𝙴 𝚂𝙼𝙸𝙻𝙴 -`☀︎´- 𝘗𝘓𝘌𝘈𝘚𝘌 𝘚𝘛𝘈𝘠 𝘍𝘖𝘙 𝘈 𝘞𝘏𝘐𝘓𝘌 𝘕𝘖𝘞

• i. they found one of these wire reindeer decorations that fell off a truck by the thunderpath !! for prompt two, the bones of an unfamiliar creature.
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• FRECKLEFLAME 𖦹 . LESBIAN, SINGLE. SMELLS LIKE SUN - WARMED OAK AND EARTHY MUSK. SIXTEEN MOONS. FRIEND & SISTER TO MANY. NAMED A FULL WARRIOR OF THUNDERCLAN ON 8 / 3 / 2023. PENNED BY ANTLERS --------
  
  f. she / her, daughter of sunfreckle and rabbitnose. large cream - ribboned tortoiseshell with seaglass eyes. larger than life! shades of vibrant russet, dousing swathes of shadow and interwoven with ribbons pale cream come to drape like licks of flame over a thick, broad - shouldered figure. unspecified maine coon heritage born of sunfreckle's kittypet background shows itself in large, round paws and tufted, long - furred toes set upon thick, tabby - splotched limbs. a characteristic lack of personal space leads her to a slouching, touchy posture, often inclined to lean or bump against her peers, all while bearing a wide, bright - eyed grin. she seems to sing confidence from every laugh, every word.. that can't all be for show, can it?
  

  prone to bouts of explosive emotion. all opinions are solely in - character and during these times, often untrue or said only in anger.

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[ROEFLAME .]

ROEFLAME — I fell in love with the fire long ago.

The sound of fresh powder crunching underfoot in an otherwise silent atmosphere was about a whisker-length from driving Roeflame up a metaphorical wall.
Leaf-bare hunting patrols were often dull and exhausting at best, but a necessity no matter how futile at times- and today was no exception, not even with good company.
Roeflame suppresses the urge to dwindle, trying her hardest to keep the usual upbeat spark that those in her presence were often graced with going. The acrid scent that the wind pushes towards the patrol is like a slap to the nose, the Thunderpath never ceasing to cause a slight crinkle on the tabby warriors muzzle.
"Bleh.." She mutters under breath, barely registering the slight shift in her friends demeanor.
Optics searching in vain finally glance sideways at Freckleflames wandering form, bouncing through the snow towards something invisible.
Hope springs in the young lead warriors chest for a moment, perhaps her large-pawed friend had found a scent trail to follow. Until, she stops.
Brows beginning to furrow in curiosity, Roeflame begins her own trek through the snow to join the other, following in Freckleflames dips in the snow to make her short trip easier.
Narrowed optics are quick to widen with intrigue as they finally find what Freckleflame had been so enamored with.
Bones? She guess aloud.
"I've never seen one so intact…or frail.." Roeflame murmurs in a small echo, an emboldened forepaw reaching to touch it.
"Maybe it's a different type of deer?"

"speech"
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☀ —

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[Shinebug]

Sun-dappled fur shuffled slowly alongside the rest of the patrol, small stature having trouble overcoming the snow on the ground. At this moment, Shinepaw felt more like a boat than a cat. A hairy boat trudging along a sea of frost. As he stumbled into a particularly deep bank with a tiny yelp of surprise, the anxious apprentice let out a huff of annoyance, realizing that he'd practically be digging after prey instead of chasing it.

The Warrior-aspirant's woes are temporarily forgotten as Freckleflame and Roeflame move ahead, and he hears voices talking in questioning tones in the distance. "Hey, wait for me!" he calls, working hard to catch up amidst the fresh snowfall.

When Shinepaw finally reaches the duo, he suddenly regrets his desire to catch up. The apprentice was used to carcasses, used to bones, but not like this. Immediately, an anxious mind and overactive imagination go into overdrive. "What happened to it?" he asked before immediately realizing it was a dumb question and trying to course-correct. "I mean, like, bones don't just stay together like that, right? Maybe…maybe something swallowed it whole? Like a big monster or something?" Sky-blue eyes begin to search their surroundings, fearing a sudden attack.​

 

[OAKFANG]

don't try to rush your enemies .
︶꒦꒷♡꒷꒦︶

He peered at the oddity with peculiar eyes, thoughts straying to a life long before he joined ThunderClan, but for worse, Oakfang could not come up with an explanation. He frowned, letting out a quiet tsk. "If only Spiderlily was here." He rumbled, peering over the others to inspect, nose crinkling at the rancid smell of thunderpath. "He is most familiar with bones, no?" He added with a rumbling hum, pulling away.

"Or perhaps SkyClan would know." He commented, plume-like tail gesturing toward the monster-ridden path with a raised brow. "One of those twolegs must have left it behind." He murmured curiously. "No meat? Or maybe it was sick with some illness." He finished. ​

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thought speech​

 

[SMUDGEPAW]

Of course he was stuck on another patrol. Why did he always have to go out on patrol? Why couldn't he have some sparring practice or something more interesting than a stupid patrol? The last thing he would have guessed was that in a matter of minutes, the patrol would suddenly become much more interesting. He was ready to once again complain about the patrol and how long it would take when they stumbled across the strange deer bones. Brows raised in confusion, he would listen to the rest of the patrol's thoughts as he walked around it. Was it really deer bones? While he'd never seen any before, so how would he know for sure? "What even make it look like that in the first place?"

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