DEMON PLAY, DEMON OUT — starlingheart

[GRANITEPELT]

Granitepaw jerks awake with a silent gasp. The pads on the gray tom's paws are wet and hot with the sweat of a feverish dream. The edge of the Thunderpath, blood-flecked foam, the stench of death, it slowly seeps into his reality. He inhales raggedly, taking in the sweet scent of the she-cat curled next to him, spiced with the herbs she spends her life gathering. She's right here. She doesn't know. She'll never know.

He shakes Pitchstar's twisted visage out of his mind almost desperately, as though the rosette will stalk from the darkness of his nightmare and into the medicine cat's den with them. Starlingheart sleeps on, peaceful, oblivious. Her warmth settles his anxiety, and he presses his nose into the ebony of her fur, trying to ground himself in reality.

She's the only thing that makes sense anymore. The thought of her finding out about what he'd done nearly causes his heart to twist and shatter. Shaking with determination, Granitepaw vows in silence: "I will never lose you. I will save you from the truth. I will protect you from everything bad in this world."

Granitepaw breathes into her neck fur. "Starlingheart. Are you okay?" Perhaps she'd been shaken awake by the force of his nightmare. He reframes it with ease. "You were having a bad dream, I think."

The stone-pelted tom lets her come to slowly. The delicacy of her fluttering eyelids, revealing brilliant bud-green eyes, tender and new, sends him reeling. I would do anything to keep you. The ferocity of his feelings startles him, but he revels in it, basks in the closeness of her body against his.

"I love you," he murmurs. A long gray tail curls around the two of them, drawing her as close to him as she can be. "Do you feel the same?" An impossible question, one he is almost afraid to ask. What would he do if she denied him now? What could he do?

// @STARLINGHEART . ​

[ PENNED BY MARQUETTE ]​

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[Starlingheart]

Eyes the color of leaves in spring slowly blink open, her mind foggy due to the deep sleep she had been enclosed in before being shook awake by her dear friend. It had been a while now that they slept in the same nest. They both had nightmares, she knew that. Hers were of her brother, Rainshade, Viridianskies, sometimes even her mother. They taunt her in her dreams, they tell her ‘everyone knows how much of a failure you are’ sometimes, even though she is not dead yet, Bonejaw is even there. She tells her that she will follow in her footsteps, that she can’t save a damn cat and look at everyone she’s failed already and she hadn’t even been a medicine cat long. Had the others lost so much? She wonders.

It could have been one of those dreams she was having, she was not sure but she is thankful she cannot remember, thankful that Granitepaw has awoken her from her nightmare before it had the chance to engulf her. He has them too, she knows. They take turns coaxing each other out of the restless dreams, take turns comforting each other. What he dreams about, she is not really certain. She never pries. If he wanted to tell her he would.

She leans into him, pressing her nose into his shoulder. "Th-thank you for- for wuh-waking me waking me up" she says, her voice quieted by sleep. She pulls away, her mouth opening into a wide yawn.

The next words take her by surprise. Immediately as soon as it’s out of his mouth she feels her heart hammering in her chest, the butterflies flying around her stomach. It felt natural, to hear those words come out of the gray furred apprentice. It felt right to say it back. He asks if she feels the same and the words come out of her mouth without her even having to think about it. "Of-of course I do!" and why shouldn’t she? He had been there for her since day one, had comforted her when her mother had passed, had stood up for her when she had needed it. He was there when she woke up from the bad dreams that plagued her and she was there for him in turn. More than her own family had been, even. He had even saved her life, once. "Granitepaw" she says quietly, gently, reveling in the moment where he pulls her closer into his familiar gray fur.

She closes her eyes and drinks in that scent she had come to know better than her own. She feels safe here, with him curled around her, his green eyes watching over her and ensuring nothing bad would ever happen to her ever. "I love you too" she said it and it felt right, complete. A breathy sigh escapes her lips, as if a weight has been taken off her shoulders with such an admission. He loved her and she loves him back. It feels like the most natural, sure thing in this world.

She opens her eyes and twists her head so that her green eyes lock onto his, a serious expression on her face. "Wh-when you become a warrior, let’s-lets become mates. I-I love you and-and you love me it-it only makes s-s-sense. And - and you-you don’t have to, not if you don’t want to bu-but Granitepaw I-I don’t think I could live without you" it’s true. Who would she be if not Starlingheart, medicine cat of ShadowClan and mate to Granite? She is afraid to know, afraid to find out what would happen to her if he said no, though she is certain she knows the answer before it even leaves his lips.
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[GRANITEPELT]

She awakens slowly, like a blossom opening toward the sun's rays. Her nose pressing into his fur is a reassurance, a gift. He rests his chin on the crown of her head, listening to her tell him how she feels. "I love you too." Granitepaw's chest is warm; he purrs, and it's a strange sound coming from him, a strange sensation. He has likely not purred since he was a kit at his mother's belly. His throat rattles with the force of it.

"We will become mates. I would like nothing more." His voice is gentle; he meets her gaze steadily and with conviction. "I would die without you." He dispatches a tender lick to her ear, his purr echoing in his own ears. "I'll get my warrior name, and we will be mates, just like StarClan intended. I swear it."​

[ PENNED BY MARQUETTE ]​

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