private death before dishonor 🥀 screechstorm

[VELVETDUSK]

VELVETDUSK

HE/HIM SHADOWCLAN WARRIOR

Perhaps it's a trick of his mind, but camp has seen especially subdued in the wake of their latest omen. Velvetdusk has shifted through the background of many a tragedy since his joining—slinking unobtrusively through deaths, disappearances, and disasters—but never has he seen a sign quite like that one. It weighs more heavily on the mind than ever when he and Screechstorm are slogging through the task of tracking a marsh rabbit's trail over what feels like endless leagues of mucky snow.

So much prey, gone to rot. It was a sign from StarClan, had been the consensus—and he does not disagree, but he wonders at the spirits' method of communication. Would a mouldering tree or lightning-wrought rock not have sufficed? Velvetdusk is spiritual, but he would not consider himself ready to be the stars' mouthpiece by any stretch of the imagination—that is firmly Marbleleaf's province. Evidently, though, their collective supplication had done little. Had their spoiled prey been a punishment from the stars, or only a portent of what was to come?

He cannot tell which is the better option; perhaps Screechstorm can. " Given our circumstances, I can't help but think of our fresh-kill pile's recent affliction. " Puffs of steam accompany his gentle voice. Screechstorm is roughly his age, but like many of his Clanmates, there has been a disconnect. Maybe it's just the force of presence of the latest doom and gloom, but he's felt a growing compulsion to speak lately. One that certainly hadn't been there before. He blinks slowly at Screechstorm, nosing at a withered tree's roots in hopes of catching hints of their quarry's wild scent. " What do you think it meant? "

ooc:

@SCREECHSTORM

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Velvetdusk is a small, sweet-faced cat with a feathery black, cinnamon, and white pelt and dark, imploring brown eyes. His left ear is gone nearly to the base, and he has claw scars over his left eye and high on his right temple.

Sickle x Isabela / younger brother to Sebastian
mentored by Doveswoop / mentoring n/a
15 moons old as of 2/1/2025

penned by dejavu

 

[SCREECHSTORM]

SCREECHSTORM

HE / HIM | SHADOWCLAN WARRIOR

His alone time has significantly diminished since the overwhelming smell of rot stirred him from his slumber. The scent still lingers, still seeps into his senses — how could he ever forget that stench, that... wretched image out of his mind? Screechstorm is constantly moving, in persistent pursuit of prey to restock their swiftly non-existent fresh-kill pile. Though he doesn't mind the walk, he is almost always with at least one other clanmate.

Today, it is Velvetdusk that he walks alongside. The tom doesn't know much about the other, save for his odd demeanor and his typical silence. He doesn't mind it — the quiet — as they follow after the scent trail of a marsh rabbit. The snow, however...

He can almost pretend he's alone. That is, until his hunting partner speaks — a rare action, though one growing from the rumors he's heard. Screechstorm stills, a red-rimmed gaze blinking at his tri-colored counterpart. Has he ever heard him speak?

" Can't help but to...? " the tom echoes, mismatched eyes squinting. Has Velvetdusk not been thinking about rot and bloat this whole time? " I haven't stopped thinking about it. Stuff like that doesn't just happen. " With a flick of his tail, he parts his jaws — they're already losing track of their target. Still, Velvetdusk proceeds.

And Screechstorm isn't... the most connected to StarClan. Sure, he'll speak to his brother from time to time, and his mentor on the rare occasion. But, the thought of his ancestors, of cats he doesn't know — how can he when his mother is as far back in his family's line as he's aware of? — seems... so far away. For them to speak back to him, for anyone other than Sweetpaw and Chilledstar to be watching over him, it feels unlikely.

Even so, the stars delivered that haunting message. There's no doubt about that.

" That we suck, " he answers after a second's thought, " Isn't that what this sort of thing usually means? Some sort of... punishment? We suck, and StarClan really likes telling us. " He shrugs at his answer, an ear twitching at the sound of nearby rustling. His head turns, and hope rises — only to quickly fall as he feels the wind blow against his fur. His attention turns back to his hunting partner.

" What about you? " He thinks Velvetdusk is better versed in this sort of stuff, anyway. " What do you think? "

Screechstorm is a lithe, scruffy-furred tom, who appears almost as a shadow, save for red tabby markings appearing as light filtering through branches and the scars at his sides. His eyes, each a different shade of green, carry a mischievous glint — often in tandem with his crooked grin.

- Forestshade x ???⋅ Single
- Sibling to Briarthorn, Sweetpaw †
- Mentored by Chilledstar † ⋅ Mentor to no one
- Penned by Abri

 

[VELVETDUSK]

VELVETDUSK

HE/HIM SHADOWCLAN WARRIOR

Withdrawing his nose from the craggy bark of the tree, having found no fresher scent, Velvetdusk tilts his head as he awaits Screechstorm's reply. He looks a touch puzzled, his off-hue eyes—one just barely set apart from the other, a fresh-sprung fern compared to a nodding one. Velvetdusk permits himself a soft, fond chuff of amusement—he may be set away from his Clanmates, placed by outstretched paws on a different path, but he finds great pride in them all nonetheless, an affection no shallower for its distance.

" Indeed. It was no accident, I'm certain, " he replies placidly, dipping his nose groundwards and swishing his feathery tail in a wordless signal. Velvetdusk steps without hesitation into the next drift of mucky snow, paying little mind to the streaky stains besmirching his pale hind limbs. The wild, sour tang of the marsh rabbit drifts idly downwards on the wind, its tracks printed in the windblown snow. Far, but not too far, now.

Screechstorm's next words punch a gentle laugh out of Velvetdusk's willowy chest. That we suck, he declares plainly, and though it may well be true, it's so point-blank it startles him into amusement. Punishment had certainly been one of the fates he contemplated; StarClan was an authority, after all, and authority always—inevitably—demanded sacrifice. When gaping and holy jaws went unfilled, nothing but disaster would follow.

He pauses. " What I think? " Velvetdusk sounds so surprised he seems nearly astonished. It's uncommon he exchanges more than a passing word with his comrades, much less is asked his opinion. This ground is unfamiliar and unhallowed, shaky and dark and sucking mud at his paws, navigated with careful pawsteps.

Velvetdusk lets a steam-laden breath slip from the corners of his muzzle as he ponders it. " What you said. Punishment, perhaps." His brow creases slightly, a tiny indent forming in its middle, and he mulls it over even as he noses through another scraggly stand of scrubs. " Or… it could be a warning, " he murmurs, nearly doubtfully. " An omen of what may be next to befall us. "

ooc:

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Velvetdusk is a small, sweet-faced cat with a feathery black, cinnamon, and white pelt and dark, imploring brown eyes. His left ear is gone nearly to the base, and he has claw scars over his left eye and high on his right temple.

Sickle x Isabela / younger brother to Sebastian
mentored by Doveswoop / mentoring n/a
16 moons old as of 3/1/2025

penned by dejavu