sensitive topics don't close your eyes [open /post Kuiper trial]

[Johnnyflame]

LIVE AS IF YOU WERE TO DIE TOMORROW​

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OOC- this thread takes place the same day as Kuipers trial. tldr; it's more toward the end of the day, and Johnnys grooming himself of the days work while contemplating everything he saw :)

He was unusually tired when he returned to camp that evening. With the sun hanging low in the slowly darkening sky, Johnny felt about ready to drop as he pushed his way through the bramble entrance . If the patchwork tom hadn't been so dedicated about going home at the end of every day to see his twolegs, he might have contemplated sticking his head into the warriors den to try and share a nest with someone rather than make the trek back through the woods to his own. He sighed though, knowing that wasn't an option for him. His people would get anxious if he didn't return, and he wasn't about to start making them worry this early into things.

So, Johnny made his way to a nice quiet spot in camp, unusually subdued, and went about trying to groom his fur into something resembling presentable- that is, he tried to make it look like he hadn't been running through the woods with a pack of wild cats all day. Oddly enough, it was something he didn't really enjoy doing, not because it was tedious or anything like that, but because he kind of liked the way the wind and underbrush would ruffle his short fur, felt more accomplished when there were streaks of dirt darkening the white and red of his coat. Wiping it all off every night felt like he was hiding something, like he was ashamed and he wasn't.

He just didn't want his people to worry.

Tonight though, his mind drifted fast from his twolegs. No, what had happened earlier was still fresh in his mind despite having to compartmentalise it in order to carry on with the work of the day. There just hadn't been any time to reflect or think about what had happened, but now, with nothing but the comforting background noise of camp around him, his thoughts were quick to return to Kuipers trial.

Johnny had met a lot of assholes in his life, a lot of antagonists who got off on causing trouble for those who'd never asked for it, but he'd never seen anything like the tomcat made to stand trial before them all today. The only words he could come up with to describe them were delusional and evil, a kind of threat the patwork tabby had never before crossed paths with. He'd known in his heart what the outcome of that trial had to be, but still....

Having a front row seat to it was a lot.

The fact that Thistleback had been the executioner was a lot.

He knew he could have looked away, that nobody had been standing there holding his eyes open, and that was fine. Johnny had wanted to see it, had needed to see it in order to fully grasp the severity of this life he'd chosen and the risks it posed. He just hadn't expected it to happen so suddenly. And the kids- they shouldn't have been there at all. He'd thought Thistle would have had more control than that, but then again, he didn't know much about the other- not really.

One thing Johnny knew for certain now though, was just how capable they truly were.

He wondered if in a similar situation, he'd be able to pull the trigger as easily as they had. He wanted to say 'yes', that he'd do what needed to be done, but the truth was that Johnny had never stared death in the face like he had today, let alone been a part of the process. He liked to fight, sure, but did he have it in him to kill if necessary?

He supposed that was something he'd only truly find out if the time ever came.

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[WYRM]

Today happened to be one of the few days he was somewhat averse to twolegs. Talk to any happy cat in the neighborhood, and the could give you at least one day to pinpoint they wished they didn't have to deal with. Nevermind the horror stories spread of the cutters. Stories that had reached even clan cats (alongside no others, apparently, because it was all they would talk about). No visit thereafter managed to top the quiet horror revealed after such a thing. The 'cutters' were mostly prodders you'd find. It was something you could manage, even if unpleasant.

He wouldn't deny though, that he wanted out as soon as possible; an excuse to stretch his legs. It's why he slipped into the forest much later than he typically did if only to roam for a few moments. His eyes are wary with sleep and his paws ache in the slightest, but there was little else that amused him as much as his beloved SkyClan did.

But the day was dreary here, too. it seemed. There's a certain stench he can't place in the air and the clearing is full of sorry spines and gross faces. In fact, there's one that he recognizes, though he couldn't quite place a name to it. Wyrm steps to them all the same. "Something happen here today? You look like shit," he tells him, tears budding in lieu of his yawn. "Ahhh-ll of you do, actually," His head shifts to the suspicious clumping of dirt beneath their typical meeting spot, tall branch, or whatever. Devoid of ideas, he may be, but his pelt prickles in unease just the same.​

 

[Fireflyglow]

You look like shit, a dark colored-tom states, and Fireflypaw feels his face sag just a bit more in response. So tired he was, but the smile on his face wavers with every second that passes. Maintaining such a smile took a lot more energy than he thought.

"I'm fine, really. That trial.. It took a lot out of me. What about, um.. You guys?" He asks softly, trying to get everyone to open up and talk about their feelings for once. Perhaps that would help the Clan become closer. "At least his victims have obtained peace, now that he's gone."​

 

[SILVERSMOKE]

The lead warrior's alabaster paws were stained various shades of pink, red, and brown as he was finally rid of his clean-up duty, his gaze kept away from the evoking collage as best it could be. His soft fur still reeled with the disapproval of the way in which everything had happened, how despite everything, not even Blazestar or Orangeblossom had been willing to offer a coup de grace to the beast with no name. Silversmoke had done no better, his thoughts had been set on protecting Auburnflame, but with hindsight having greater vision than him, he wondered if he should've stopped Thistleback from traumatising an entire generation of young apprentices. Wyrm spoke up first and Silversmoke cast him a firm glance, his claws flexing at the naivety. It was a double-edged sword in this situation, asking meant others had to relive it, but... asking also meant that Wyrm had been one of the lucky few to be absent from the proceedings.

"Thistleback mauled a multiple-child-killer to death in front of everyone. Though, perhaps mauled is too soft a word." He explained to Wyrm, his tone lacking the inflection of one bothered by the sight. Death didn't faze him anymore, blood didn't faze him anymore, Thistleback however... Silversmoke wouldn't know how to answer. He'd felt his heart flutter at the thought of gaining Thistleback's approval, a beacon of the community and a loyal warrior that anyone could aspire to be like. Now he'd seen an attack dog, no different than Slate, only occasionally brought to heel by loyalty to Blazestar. He supposed the parallels to himself were the scariest thing. "He was given no direction to do so." That wasn't the biggest crime. No matter what Thistleback had done, Kuiper's actions would always overshadow them, but now that the bastard was dead, there was only one animal whose savagery was worth mentioning. A look was given to Johnny, equal parts stern and unreadable, hoping to prompt a question out of the chimera with a question that Silversmoke didn't even ask - what did he think of SkyClan now? Did its reputation match what the snootiest kittypets said? Did he feel any different about the spiky-furred lead warrior now this side had been revealed? They were important queries, but ones he found his pale tongue unable to put forth. Now was hardly the time for gossip, even when Fireflypaw egged it on.

He began to groom his stained paws, hiding the flinch of washing cat blood off of them. It should've been no different to his first kill... but his brain applied meaning to it when all he wanted was to be done with the situation. "The outcome was satisfactory, the method was a vile miscarriage of justice. A swift bite to the back of the neck would've given the victims the same peace and saved us all from having to witness that... and now, he can be made into a martyr by kittypets and rogues alike." Rumours sacrificed context for kudos, he could imagine the daylight warriors spreading gossip of the events like wildfire, reaching all corners of the Twolegplace until it diminished and only one truth remained: the vicious clan cats in the forest had brutalised a cat that crossed them. To some, it was a glorious reputation, but as his eyes scanned the soft faces of his clanmates, it was one that he doubted they would like. He could think of a few contrarians within SkyClan, to Silver though, they were as vile as Kuiper if they wanted to be feared and hated - at least when he saw bared teeth and flattened ears, it was because he had SkyClan's best interests in mind.

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