do you think it matters | staring

[BONERIPPLE]

જ➶ The woman is a listless thing these days. She looks more like a ghost, a phantom on the end of existence. She walks like one, so quiet and silent it's almost creepy. Her eyes that once held life in them, such burning are now like smoldering cinders, dying. A pelt smooth and sleek is now dull and filled with grim and dust. As time goes on she begins to look worse for wear and she has not touched any meal. Not even the smallest mouse. She sits now on the edge of camp, eyes staring out listlessly into the heavily fogged morning. Her body almost looks like she could crumple at any moment. Her chest barely moving to breathe. She is still and quiet as she watches nothing at all. Her mind shut off and trying to remove. But it won't fix anything, nothing will be the same as it once was. She doesn't remember if she let them take the body or not. She doesn't remember anything really of that day. Her mind forbids it it seems. Her head barely tilts as she heada something but the withered skeleton keeps her stance. Her gaze far far away.​

 

[CRAPPIEPATCH]

Another clanmate lost. Another corpse buried. Another day spent wishing that they were anywhere else, anywhere but trapped in this clan where they so clearly do not belong. Anywhere but this river land, cursed as it must be with death, with disappearance. Their clanmates have given up on Gloompaw—have they decided her dead? And Ashpaw, another friend missing, leaving another friend without the cat she loves.

Wolverinefang’s death is only the latest of many. They feel sympathy for the tom’s mate, for his kits. All left behind, powerless to stop the force that took a mate and a father from them all. Boneripple certainly looks powerless now, ready to fall over at the slightest breeze. It is strange, seeing the former ShadowClanner so defeated. She looks lost, as though she has nothing left inside of her. Hollow. The apprentice trots toward her, most recent catch carried in their mouth. They do not drop it until they reach her side, careful not to get it coated in too much dirt. "Boneripple?" Their voice is small, hesitant. An attempt to draw the attention of the older RiverClanner without disturbing her too badly. They would hate to frighten her and end up on the wrong end of a clanmate’s claws. And besides, has she not been through enough fright already? They settle onto their haunches beside the she-cat, leaning forward to glance at her eyes. Dull, as expected.

Their own bright eyes widen again, fixed upon her tired face. "Are you not hungry? I brought this for you." A snowy-white paw taps at their offering, scooting it toward Boneripple. "If you want it." They hope that she wants it. They hope that they will not have to watch her be lost, as well.
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[ my my, cold hearted child ]​

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[✧ Stalkingpaw.]

˚⊹ COME ON MAKE ME FEEL ALIVE ⊹˚
stalkingpaw | 06 months | polygender | any pronouns | physically easy | mentally medium | attack in bold crimson

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Sometimes, stalkingpaw wants to fade away too - to wilt like a flower, or vanish like a ripple in the water. But she won't, because she's strong - has to be, for her mother and her siblings. Wide green eyes are saddened, eyebags and tearstains seemingly etched into her features as she watches boneripple, a frown on her face. She still has nightmares sometimes - or worse, the day-terrors. Still sees and smells that day, and she certainly can't look at mice the same anymore. But... things are getting better, she thinks. With time, and friends, and distractions. She gives a deep breath - in-wo-three out-two-three - and strides over. White fur shining like the moonlight she goes to rest beside her mother in silence, a comforting presence. She's quiet for once - simply giving crappiepaw a baleful smile that doesn't reach emerald eyes, before closing them to simply sit and think and be there. Her mother needs them more than ever, she thinks.

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[☆ Brightpaw ☆]

Brightkit is blessed with the luxury of a family in its completion: mother, father, siblings. She has never known anything else. The worst her world has to offer is the biting itch of bugs and the irritation of her sibling's paw in her face while they sleep. She's only just begun to understand that there are things more terrible than being hungry or angry or scared. There's sadness. And emptiness.

Death is a tragic thing, but nature does not care for the grieving friends and family left behind. A body is simply carbon and water and calcium to be returned to the soil so that the carrion beetles may feast and return the nutrients back into the earth. It is complex and necessary and unavoidable. Death is logical. The end of the path. Life goes on, the cycle continues. But people aren't logical, no matter how much time they spend in their thoughts. They are creatures of emotions who cry and laugh and hate and fall in love in spite of everything the world has to offer. And they grieve. Emotionally and physically.

Brightkit is still learning about all that life, and death, has to offer, but she doesn't need to know about death personally in order to understand how it has touched Boneripple. It's written in the peaks and valleys of her spine and the jut of her hips. That distant, faraway gaze that sees nothing and everything. Brightkit wants to fix it. She wants to make the sadness go away or travel to Starclan herself and scold them for taking away Wolverinefang. But she can't, and something tells her that she should probably keep her mouth shut. Without any obvious way to fix the situation, Brightkit decides to be a little more creative. When she's sad, she doesn't really like to be touched, but she does like it when her parents bring her something to cheer her up.

Inspired, Brightkit sets to work searching the camp for something suitable. Eventually, she settles on a brightly colored feather in the same shade of orange as Boneripple's sunset eyes. She trots over to Boneripple, waving her tail in greeting to Stalkingpaw and Crappiepaw before depositing her gift right next to the offering of food. "Um," she pauses, suddenly unsure. "This is for you." It bothers her that she doesn't know the right thing to say, but maybe that's not important right now. Content that she did what she could, Brightkit wanders a few steps away and busies herself by sorting pebbles into piles based on their color. This, at least, is something that she can definitely fix. Neat little piles make the world feel a little less out of control.​

 

[Sablemist]

In every situation you give me peace

Unlike Stalkingpaw, Cindershade's quick thinking sparred Sablepaw the unsightly horrors of what remained of her father's decimated body. Although she did not see it, her mind still lingered upon his loss and how it affected their family. It took a heavy toll on them all and undoubtedly hit Boneripple the hardest. Cindershade kept Sablepaw busy, the dark lead never allowing her mind to stay idle for too long throughout the day. But at night, when she curled within her nest, she mourned the loss of Wolverinefang. Ebony paws lead her forward as her head dips silently and butts against Boneripple's shoulder with grounding comfort. No words are exchanged, the gesture in itself speaks volumes as her dark fur brushes against that of her mother's. Although there is a twinge of something stirring within her belly. While she mourns her father, Sable fears for her mother. Watching her waste away into nothing terrifies her and the thought of losing Boneripple to grief scares her more than anything else. Periwinkle eyes water as she blinks, pressing further against her mother's skeletal frame. No, she couldn't lose her too. ​

Don't gotta be afraid because you're in the lead​

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