COUP DE GRÂCE ✩ open

[nightbird]

leaving the cave did little to make her life any easier. the terrain had grown steeper, more uneven. it was an uphill battle for the most part, one with icy patches that had her paws slipping from under her. it was almost good news, lungwort grew only in the cold and surely this was a sign they were creeping closer. however, a familiar ache in her hind leg had flared with a fiery passion once more, nearly every step resulted in a soft hiss of pain.

still, nightbird pushed onwards like she always did. now more than ever, time could not be wasted. who knew what other thunderclanners had been infected since their departure, would they be greeted by the familiar aroma of the oak forest or by the scent of lavender coated death? the thought racked a shiver down her spine, they had to be okay. every last one of them. the helplessness of not knowing was overwhelming, but covered by the feeling that no matter what, she was doing her part to help.

today when the group rose and began walking once more, she could barely hide her uneven gait. it was glaring to anyone who would spare a glance, but like clockwork they all left the overnight camp. the terrain was a touch more difficult, slicked by melting snow. a particularly steep area faced them, she watched as cats scaled it without difficulty. one after the other they made it up and over, not waiting for those in their wake.

nightbird hung back, waiting for a solution to strike. she knew she didn't have the strength to make it in one smooth jump, briefly she considered taking the dose of herbs berryheart had given her. a strengthening flower with rich hues of magenta, burnet he had called it. tempting as it was, she knew better than to waste the dose on herself. someone else would need it more, the molly reminded the growing voice of greed. this conclusion did little to help her, but as the cats waiting to climb thinned she knew she was running out of time.

with a sharp sigh, nightbird stepped up to take her turn. a short leap had her forelegs digging as far as they could into the rocky ground, hindlegs grappling underneath her. her effort did not change the fact that the dirt was too damp to hold onto the stones she used for support, or that she couldn't get a grip with that cursed leg. instead of joining everyone to continue walking, nightbird slid back down with a wince as she landed, an annoyed hiss parting her jaws. "shit," she muttered under her breath, inching to the side to contemplate her next move.

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‎‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎┌── ooc ⋆⋅☾⋅⋆ info ──┐‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎

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• NIGHTBIRD ✩ she/her, lead warrior of thunderclan, twenty-five moons
  ⭃ nightbird is a small black smoke molly with pale silver eyes. a loner turned thunderclanner, her loyalty and drive to provide for her clan is unwavering. however, she is not known for harboring a bleeding heart, instead equipped with sarcastically fueled wit, brutal honesty, and a sharply edged tongue.
  ⭃ peaceful and healing powerplay permitted / / underline and tag when attacking ↛ see battle info here
  ⭃ penned by vayle ↛ @vayl3 on discord, feel free to dm for plots.
  

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[dovethroat.]

At first, he thought he might think the same. The longer he spent in the the cave, however, the more he felt like he was going mad. Though he was prone to bouts of wallowing in pity, or angst, or something else like that—never before had his own senses and physical being been put through so much trauma as to feel like he might lose his mind. There were a few moments in the cave where Dovethroat felt like he would rather rend himself from the inside out than take another step.

But still, it could not have been too bad. He was here, was he not? Of course, that was more a hindsight-thinking sort of thing, and probably was more of a self-soothing attempt than anything. An issue with Dovethroat, it seemed, was his capability to be, at the same time, somehow both completely unaware and self-aware to the point of obsession. It meant that he could languish over himself for days on end, and yet he also could not realize how little they mattered, or how easily he could just move on.

Dovethroat had managed to leave the cave and the preceding rockfalls basically completely unscathed. It was a bit of a guilty talent he seemed to have; though it was probably more correct to just think of it as luck. Though he is completely unused to this sort of terrain, wetness is not something that bothers him. Dovethroat is naturally a klutz, but he does not slip unless he is not paying attention.

Unfortunately, he probably could have been paying better attention. Stumbling as he finds himself just a few paces behind another cat who fails to place their footing, Dovethroat skids for a moment before catching himself. He blows out a breath, staring at the sudden change in angle.

"...A-Are you a-alright?" He asks, cautious. She was not in his group—at least, he is pretty sure she wasn't. His memory of the caves feels foggier with every second.

[⋆]​

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[iciclefang]

Magpiepaw’s herbs had helped, but the cold air and the constant movement have agitated her shoulder all over again. Iciclefang looks with dread upon the obstacle, watching the dark-pelted ThunderClan lead warrior leap and then fail to make it. Dovethroat is quick to sidle up beside her and ask if she’s alright, and the tortoiseshell’s pale eyes narrow. She knows Nightbird from Sunningrocks—they’d driven Petalnose’s patrol off, and Nightbird had been there when they’d lost their territory, too. The young warrior’s snow-pale eyes rest on her Clanmate, then on the lead warrior, before she seems to lose her anger.

She’s friendly toward Sharppaw and Stormywing—she cannot hold Dovethroat’s gentleness against him, not here. Besides, she looks doubtfully at the incline and wonders if she won’t be in the same position as the ThunderClan lead warrior.

“Maybe there’s an easier way to get up for… for those of us who can’t clear it,” she murmurs, turning her head to scan the area. She can’t immediately see anything. Defeat weighs like a stone in her belly—will she be forced, like Nightbird, to publicly fail the leap?

ooc ✧ 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘪 𝘩𝘰𝘱𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘸𝘦 𝘮𝘦𝘦𝘵 𝘪𝘯 𝘢𝘯𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘭𝘪𝘧𝘦

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  — iciclekit . iciclepaw . iciclefang
  — she/her ; warrior of riverclan
  — lesbian ; single
  — short-haired tortoiseshell with white and ice-blue eyes
  — “speech”, thoughts, attack
  — penned by Marquette
  — chibi by Pin

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[HONEYJAW]

Being part of this conglomeration feels strange, sometimes. Like they all have some history he's not aware of. A deep-seated wound they squirm around. Between RiverClan and ThunderClan, and WindClan and...well, everyone, this journey is complicated in ways he hadn't fully expected. Been aware of, yes, but beyond that? It was anyone's guess. He can see the tension in Iciclefang, and he can see when it loosens. She melts like the ice she's named after, and oddly enough Honeyjaw feels proud of her for that. A smile temporarily graces his muzzle before it slips away once more in face of what stood before them.

Literally, this time. Each obstacle seemed insurmountable. This one quite literally was. Nightbird could not make the jump; if a ThunderClanner with such a powerful build couldn't make it, he definitely couldn't. "Oh stars," he mutters, water-deep eyes drawn to a slight scowl and breath heaved out in a tired sigh. The rocky surface seems to tower as he takes another step forward. "Well. Does anyone want to stand on my shoulders? Two cats high is better than one." A joke, of course. They're better off with some kind of running leap and a great deal of luck, but he could probably make a fine enough springboard.

𝘈 𝘗𝘖𝘌𝘔 𝘉𝘌𝘎𝘐𝘕𝘚 𝘈𝘚 𝘈 𝘓𝘜𝘔𝘗 𝘐𝘕 𝘛𝘏𝘌 𝘛𝘏𝘙𝘖𝘈𝘛  ╱╱ 9.16.2023 𝘈 𝘓𝘖𝘝𝘌𝘚𝘐𝘊𝘒𝘕𝘌𝘚𝘚

• OOC. —
• ✦　　. 　 ˚　.  HONEYJAW. HE - HIM. WARRIOR OF SHADOWCLAN. ADOPTIVE FATHER TO DRAGONFLYPAW. PENNED BY REVELATIONS. —————————————
  ——  a short-furred dark chocolate point tom with the smallest splashes of white on his forehead, front paws, and tail tip. well-built, but overall average in size and unremarkable aside from his lightly curled ears and the magnetism of his smile. seems to show signs of aging earlier than expected with a salt-and-pepper dusting.
  

  ✦ NOTICE honeyjaw is currently on the journey and will not be active outside of retro threads, or finishing those he had previously posted in! please message me on discord for plots or interactions between journey cats.

• "speech"

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[hazecloud]

A steady balance does not find Hazecloud easily, but thankfully it wasn't any different with many of the others. As her paws bumbled awkwardly through thick layers of snow and hidden patches of ice that nearly got the better of her, she still considered this better than mulling through the pitch left in the caves. Out here she was not blindly following a direction, reliant on a single cat to eventually bring forth their salvation (at the time she had wondered if they would even get that far).

She much preferred being able to see her paws shoot out from underneath her in a pitiful display than have nearly all her senses taken and not even see if coming in the first place.

It must have been pure luck that her back claws and sheer will were enough to pull her over. They hooked into the earth paired with a rush of prayers to fallen starry warriors, muscles tensing and aching in protest from the exertion, Hazecloud has overcome the obstacle. A heavy exhale brushed past her maw, a breath she hadn't realized was held in her lungs until it dizzied her.

The misty-furred molly turned to face the remaining numbers below them, particularly any of those that were injured. She glanced down at her paws. They had become bright pink in response to the cold, but thankfully that was the only source of their stinging. "Try not to let your hind legs hang, if you focus more on kicking up them, it gives you momentum to get over it instead of just dragging yourself up." ​