sensitive topics ENJOY THE SILENCE ;; PAFP OWL !!

( tags ) CW: owl attack & kitten injury! not very graphic.

The warm, late greenleaf evening was uncharacteristically quiet, a moment of tranquility as the sun touched the horizon, the twilight sky fading from vibrant orange and rose to grey. Poppykit was alone—as she often was found as of late, many of the kits grew bored of her silence and her tendency to fixate on a single object for extended periods of time—holding a crow feather between her paws in the center of Shadowclan camp. They stared at the glossy black feather, quiet as they ever were, red tabby tail swaying in the last dapples of sunlight.

Poppykit liked the little bone that sat in the center of the feather, perfectly middle-positioned and sharp. Feathers were the fur of birds, and she wondered if the fur of cats had needly bones within their fluffy midst. She couldn't see any fur bones on herself unless her tail counted as one—it was particularly middle-positioned... Perhaps they were too small for her kitten-eyes to see. Poppykit learned there was much that existed that chose not to reveal itself to her eyes or ears. Sickness was one such hidden object, an invisible trickster that latched unseen teeth into the throats of cats and made them cough and sneeze and droop where they sat. Shadowclan was scared of the sickness, and Poppykit wondered if it would be less frightening if they were able to see it with their cat-eyes, or if the thing would be all the more terrifying when it showed its face. Poppykit didn't think they were all that frightened of things they could not see. In fact, they were somewhat unsure of what fright was supposed to be, as they had never felt the feeling described yet in their short life.

In the sky far above Poppykit, another creature still unseen and unheard by her hungered. Two black holes bore through a flat white disc face like a fang-punctured moon, and a bone-sharp beak jutted out harshly, clicking together in anticipation. A sharper-eared cat may have heard the muffled sound of wind through feathers as the owl made its dive, and onlookers would certainly see its blurring white shape descend upon the kitten, but Poppykit would remain in pleasant ignorance until the moment talons hit her body in a sunburst of pain.

The small kitten would have hardly a chance to react—in confusion and distress at the hot stabbing feeling upon the delicate skin of their chest—before their paws were dangling above the crow feather that now remained flat upon the ground as the predator lifted off on its tawny wings. A rush of something invaded her small body and exploded in a brain that was only accustomed to pleasantly drifting, twirling thoughts. Overcome by instinct, the typically silent kitten would let out a piercing, resonant shriek of terror.

Upon later reflection, Poppykit would come to the conclusion that the feeling they felt at that moment was in fact, fright.
// pls wait for @Skunktail

"SPEECH"


 

The black and white tom took life in stride, each pawstep taken with unquestioning confidence and optimism that was not entirely foolish. He was realistic enough, but he never let it alter his perspective of make decisions for him. Skunktail walked a unique path, one not dictated by himself or the clan and often times not even the easiest but it was HIS path to walk and he took to it without faltering. The sickness that was rampaging through the forest was at the back of his mind most days even if he couldn't do anything about it, hence why he hardly let it affect him in his day to day actions. The medicine cats had their work cut out for them, but he hunted and he patrolled and he did what was asked and no more because it was what he always did and what he'd keep doing. Not that he didn't care, he did, but what was stressing going to do about something he had no control over? Still, it did make him uneasy when he looked to the nursery and remembered most the clan was kittens at this point, little weak and mewling furballs who could fall to illness easily and die just as quick. The tom huffs where he lounges, glancing out across the camp to see the white and red scrap of fur at its center.

Poppykit was one of Frostbite's litter, named for his apprentice who perished to the bears that attacked their territory. One of the only casualties thankfully, but even the one was one too many. He glances away for a brief moment to look back at the dens, wondering where the other kits were playing while she was out here alone and pawing about a feather with great interest and when he turns back he sees the shadow. For a moment Skunktail doesn't move, its a passing cloud obviously, but the sound of wings beating the air has him standing before his mind can even process what he knew instinctively was about to happen. An owl. One of those wretched, horrible birds with talons the size of slim branches and sharper than any feline claw could be.
He's not fast enough to stop it, rushing forward as it slams down to muffle kitten screaming and fling itself back upward into the air but he is JUST fast enough to launch himself to the nearby tree and start scaling it as the bird struggles to take off with the new squealing weight burdening its claws.
Skunktail was always a cat driven by impulse and reflex, hardly a thought passing his mind as he clings fast to the tree and then bunches his limbs together before springing outward; one chance.
His teeth sink into a bird wing and he clamps down hard as he slams back down onto the ground, dragging the owl with it who hopefully has let go of its easy prey now that it was being assaulted, "OWL-OWL!!!" His alarm cry is muffled through feathers and frantic flapping, wings slapping into the side of his head repeatedly to force him off but he refuses and tightens his grip.
 
He is inside the nursery, working on nests and reinforcing den walls. With all the kittens around, things get tattered very quickly and need to be repaired. He was never the best at it, but he has gotten plenty of practice since coming to stay in here.

With Halfshade sick, he is left to watch the nursery on his own. He feels overwhelmed most days, calling after kits to behave or be careful, stay within sight and not to get caught under foot. It's exhausting.

He's just finished the last nest with a relived sigh when he hears a squeal that turns his blood cold. He bursts from the nursery in time to see Poppykit in the talons of an owl, and Skunktail attacking the wretched bird.

"POPPYKIT!!!" He shrieks in terror as he races to save her. He can't lose her too. He's here this time, he can rescue her, he won't fail. He can't. He won't let history repeat itself.

With claws unsheathed and teeth bared, he leaps onto the bird and digs his claws in, sinking his teeth into whatever he can with a vicious growl.

He can't kill a bear, but he can certainly kill an owl.

He won't let this bird get away. It gave up it's right to live the moment it attacked his child.​
 
( tags ) A cacophony of noise explodes in the air around her, shouts and yowls sound behind the rushing of the wind in her ears. In a split second, they're jerked suddenly as Skunktail leaps onto the owl, talons scratching along their underbelly painfully, but as the bird—and Poppykit with it—plummets toward the ground, its claws loosen and release the small kitten from its grasp. She tumbles back to the earth without another sound, falling hard onto her back. The breath is knocked out of her, and her vision swirled with a ringing sound blaring in her brain. Vaguely, she's aware of the commotion taking place next to her, but she can't bring herself to recall what it would be that she was even looking at. Besides, she's soo tired and the ringing in their head has quickly begun to be replaced by pain.
I might be dying,

Don't worry, you'll be okay!

A small, unfamiliar voice, unlike her own inner monologue chirped in her aching brain, but she had neither the wits nor willpower to question it, so its presence was simply accepted.
Oh. Alright.
Poppykit's vision blurred as she blinked blearily at the sky. Above them, floating blissfully over the chaos below, fluttered a moth. Its white wings would be the last thing she'd see before being overcome by darkness.

OOC: @STARLINGHEART . @Magpiepaw tagging medics ! Poppykit has passed out nearby and is suffering from (fortunately rather shallow) claw wounds on her torso and a concussion from the fall

"SPEECH" ???

 
————— —————
I WANNA BE HAUNTED
The cry of owl turns Swanpaw's eyes to see a new creature, a warped predatory bird-thing screeching with child in its talons and cat on its back. The twilight paints a bleeding blend of red-orange and pink behind it, sickly greys creeping in at the edges. He does not move, merely watches in still silence. Frostbite is not like him, lightning-quick, a crack of star-white latching onto the beast, and it is not long before the child is freed.

Swanpaw moves, only once the beast is gone. He dared not try to fight it himself.

Poppykit's pelt bleeds red into white, dark blood creeping further and further into pristine fur. She is alive, maybe, but she is very still. It's hard to tell. Swanpaw peers closer, concern in his eyes. "Oh dear," he murmurs. "Oh dear. They're... Ah... Such a little thing, it could have eaten them... Must have um, wanted to take them, just - just like the other one... " He hovers, considers the tiny creature before him. They're not much younger than him, truly. His mouth twists worriedly.

But oh, she's breathing. Alive, then? "I'll... fetch someone... who'll know what to do," he murmurs vaguely.

Swanpaw shuffles quickly away, towards the medicine den. "Starlingheart...? Magpiepaw...? Ah, um... An owl came for Poppykit... She's bleeding, and her - ah, her little body doesn't have much blood to lose... Um. It's not good. Come fast, please," he calls into the mouth of the medicine den, not daring enter for fear of the sickness that creeps within. Still, he leans forwards, eyes searching for someone to help.
I WANNA BE LOVED !
————— —————

  • // fetching the previously tagged medicine cats!
  • SWANKIT named for his pale fur, after his maternal grandmother.
    — he/him. 5 moons.
    — shadowclan apprentice, mentored by sabletuft
    — quiet and dreamy.

    penned by saturnid.​
  • "SPEECH"
  • Untitled147_20230514003200.png
 
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An owl in camp is a terrifying thing, and certainly more so when there are so many little ones scampering about. The one it chooses, though, is one of the ones Granitepelt would not have blinked at losing. She is wordless in her terror as the creature seizes her with its massive talons, as if lifts her away from the earth, her little white and red body an echo of the one who’d gone before it. This time, instead of into a bear’s jaws, she is lifted into the sky. He wonders if StarClan is punishing Frostbite for his hubris, for thinking he could bring the dead back by forcing her name onto his daughter.

But, alas, there is interference. Skunktail, insufferable as he is, launches into the air to intercept fate. Frostbite surges after him, white and black bodies weighing the bird down until it lets Poppykit go. She hits the ground and crumples, and Swanpaw leaves for Starlingheart and Magpiepaw. He watches him go with disinterest. “Poor little scrap,” he says to no one in particular, eyes narrowing as they focus on Poppykit. “We wouldn’t want to lose her… not when she’s so special, so small.” Would he feel what Frostbite does, he wonders, had it been the she-kit in the bird’s clutches?

Granitepelt finds he doesn’t know.


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  • granitekit . granitepaw . granitepelt
    — he/him ; warrior of shadowclan
    — heterosexual ; taken by Starlingheart
    — short-haired gray tom with white and green eyes
    — “speech”, thoughts, attack
    — penned by Marquette
    — chibi by Meg