everything's perfect here, and the sun is shining // blizzard materials

[Periwinklebreeze.]

ATOMS AND LOW SELF-ESTEEM,
IS THAT ALL THAT I'M GONNA BE ? ​

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periwinklebreeze ❀ 28 moons ❀ demi-boy ❀ windclan lead warrior ​

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Snow paints the world around them white - and, perhaps Periwinklebreeze would enjoy it, were it not for nightmares and memories haunting his mind with each step. He remembers the way he'd felt lost inside the mountains - the feel of suffocating beneath the darkness of tunnels and thickets. It is no better now - for all that the moorland is his home, the scene before him is foreign and strange, utterly unfamiliar. Just a day before, they'd thought to rejoice in their success - oh, how starclan must be laughing at him and his foolish hopes that things would get better from here on out.

Ears pinned against his skull as wind buffets his fur - jaws parted and eyes squinted in his efforts, and yet he has nothing to show for it. False-pointed figure trudges along, ignoring the shocks of icy fire that twinge in his limbs, high-stepping over increasingly thicker snowfall as he reunites with his patrol. Somewhere overhead, he can tell the sun is begining its decent - a flicker of shadow amidst the white-out haze that send shivers down his spine, not from cold but from unease.

━ actions & " speech, " & 'thoughts/quotes' ━

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W H A T -D O E S - M Y -L I F E -E V E N -M E A N ?

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// health roll: 8 - frostbite
materials roll: 1 - nothing
@SOOTSPOT this is private for now, please do not post until this is marked as open

 

[SOOTSPOT]

This clan would be the death of him.

It was the case for every warrior to die in servitude, but he had never been so keen to confront his mortality, not when he should've been above the roll placed upon him. There was much he could tolerate in service of a greater good, but this, as a cruder cat may say, was taking the piss. No amount of fur protected his tiny bones from how Stars-damned cold it was, nor how foul the snow felt when it got in his eyes or touched his nose. Periwinklebreeze had called for a patrol and Sootspot had volunteered, but as he moved past burrows and well-worn underground paths, he saw their entrances drowned by snow - so beyond living problems, he hoped the shudder down his spine was from the thought of having to dig so far down to escape more than the cold itself.

Sheep's wool hung as liberally from his maw as it'd done three-quarter moons ago, a particularly aggressive bout of wind dragging it from the horseplace all the way to their moors. He didn't see it as luck, to spot off-white against white, but rather an apology from someone greater than the stars for making him endure such nonsense. Someone's nest would be warm, more than ever, he hoped it would be his own. He had done so much for the clan while the weather turned sour, he had carried their hunger as a burden and provided them more than leaders passed ever could - he deserved a reward for that, he deserved something greater than this.

He shuddered in place waiting for the Lead Warrior to return, tail curling over his back in a meagre attempt to protect it. It felt like hours since the other had left, but there was no relief when he did arrive. He looked to the empty space in Periwinkle's mouth where materials should be and his gaze hardened. It was not Sootspot that spoke next, but the cat behind the mask, one who had done his part and wished to do no further.

"You made us wait... for nothing." He looked the other up and down, exasperated, and turned his back. "Lead us home, it is getting too cold."

// rolled a 19 for materials (+3), but gets chills (will be backwritten to have happened on the way home)
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[Periwinklebreeze.]

ATOMS AND LOW SELF-ESTEEM,
IS THAT ALL THAT I'M GONNA BE ? ​

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

periwinklebreeze ❀ 28 moons ❀ demi-boy ❀ windclan lead warrior ​

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Sootspots gaze burns holes in Periwinklebreeze's face - and for once, he finds he cannot find fault with his former-friends judgement Teeth grind against eachother as he draws to a halt - in that moment, suddenly, stubbornly, irrationally, violently angry. '"You made us wait... for nothing'

It is not as though it is the first time someone has returned empty-pawed this moon - but something about the blizzard seems to have them all on edge. Perhaps its the memory of nightmares, of being burried alive beneath the snow; or perhaps its Scorchstars visions - but suddenly, paws fel rooted to the ground as half-blind gaze narrows. Eyes flick across each gathered figure, shivering from cold, fur slowly raising in his anger - not at them, but himself. He is a failure yet again - some lead warrior that makes him

In that moment, heart makes its decision, and head suddenly shakes - " No - I'll... I-I'll stay out a l-little longer... g-g-go on without m-me, " he says. He doesn't give anyone room to argue, tail lashing as figure turns - quickly vanishing into the wall of white that only grows thicker with each passing moment.

He won't return home until he has something to show for his efforts.

━ actions & " speech, " & 'thoughts/quotes' ━

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W H A T -D O E S - M Y -L I F E -E V E N -M E A N ?

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// this is now open, && peri is out!

 

[SOOTSPOT]

The warmth of sheep's wool within his maw could not halt how the rime crawled into his throat, each swallow of new air hurting more than the last... and Periwinklebreeze seemed no closer to directing them home. The scar upon his chest prickles in pain, throbbing like a fresh wound, only fuelling his disdain further. When he thought that the Lead Warrior could not make a decision, finally, they spoke.

Go on without me.

In that moment, there was an opportunity. The one who had stolen his mother's dignity with an attack, the one who sat unearned on a council, who had lied and sniffled and still thought himself good enough to talk to Deputies. They could perish in the blizzard if he didn't stop them and another obstacle would be gone. Not even memories of what once had been caught warm the icy realisation.

But, as another cog fell into place, he found himself numb to it, numb to anything but the desire to live and crawl out of the danger that his once friend had put them all in. He bared clattering teeth, tears pricking his eyes as frost began to burn them. 'Was this how my mother felt? Left with nothing but thoughts of survival?' Sootspot wished he could overlook it, overlook her, but thoughts of a warm nest became too tempting.

"Go then. Go and die, but do not drag them into your martyrdom." 'Don't drag me into it.' Sootspot began moving back towards camp, shuddering at a particularly nasty gust of wind. He looked at his other patrolmates and, with memories of his little ones in mind, mewed, "Do not follow. Y-You will be a strain on the clan's resources if you come back..." And dead if they didn't.


​

 

[Mallowtail]

Mallowtail was surprised when she was unfortunate in her materials hunt. She had always brought something home to keep her clanmates warm each week, but today was different. She closed her honey-brown gaze and listened to the talk between Periwinklebreeze and Sootspot. "Be safe, Peri." With a feeble smile, she shouts against the howling winds. He must have had a calling that inspired him to want to travel alone through the winter regions, but she refused to follow. Periwinklebreeze showed courage by making this choice, which further supported her claim that he would risk his life for his clan, even for something as basic as bedding.

She gave Sootspot a look of indifference, although her jaws were empty. Not surprisingly, one of Sootstar's children, like their predecessor, the moorlands queen, had a terrible personality and seemed to care only about themselves. The cream sepia turns on her paws and heads back to camp, shaking her head shamefully. She's been gone long enough, but she'll bring back something, even if it's not materials. Whatever patrol she joined next, she would put in more effort to find herbs or prey.

/found nothing!
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