FACE IT ALL TOGETHER | sedgepounce

[SOOTSPOT]

There were few clanmates Sootspot could consider himself close to, the irrefutable stench of deceit and treachery clung to their skin and made their company dangerous at best and tempting at worst. Sedgepounce was... not bad. Whenever the tabby had entered his mind these past few moons, he had wondered what it was about him that made Sootspot feel indifferent, why the Tunneler could smile at him without feeling his teeth shatter beneath a concealed grimace. Within the camp, the chimera watched as the other spoke to some clanmates, his gaze darting between watching the tom and watching his kittens.

His understanding began to unravel in the peace. Sedgepounce was harmless, no more threatening than a butterfly. Yet, the reason didn't sit quite right with him, not when he'd thought the same of Periwinklebreeze (not when his former friend had condemned Sootstar to a brutal death). He decided he needed to know more before he wrote the other off. Every smile told a story and Sedgepounce wore his like a second pelt.

As clanmates began to disperse around Sedgepounce, Sootspot stood from his place amidst the sun's gaze, feeling the warmth crawl off of his pelt as he crossed the camp. With a little shudder, he came to a standstill before the other, dipping his head in greetings before settling down before him. "Apologies, I wished not to interrupt your conversation." Like a parent trying to coax a lie out of a child, a soft scrutiny settled upon his gaze. "I have been curious recently about your many moons away from WindClan. Would you spare me your time and indulge a curious Queen?"

@SEDGEPOUNCE
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[SEDGEPOUNCE]

Sedgepounce is aware of Sootspot like he's aware of the sun in the sky, or the wind on his back—it's this constant thing that he only ever thinks about when it's particularly present. As it were, there's nothing special about Sootspot skulking outside the nursery like a particularly scheming gargoyle, so Sedgepounce doesn't pay him any particular mind. He's just there, looming.

As he parts from his clanmates with a smile and tail-wave, Sootspot pries himself from his place in the shade and takes their places—and finally Sedgepounce regards him fully. I wished not to interrupt your conversation. "Oh, uh...yeah. No worries," he offers haltingly. It's maybe the first time in his whole life that Sootspot has actually...approached him? Said more than two words in his direction? Theirs has always been a mutual distance, though, so there's a prickling in his pelt at it breaking.

Sootspot carries himself with a masterful grace, but the saccharine of his voice has always bordered on sickly to Sedge. It sours, now. Many? his brain echoes dully, the very thought discordant to how he'd compartmentalized the moons of his disappearance as only a few. "...Sure," he says slowly. The frown on his face goes unsmothered. Discomfort creeps beneath his skin. "What...what is it you want to know?"
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[SOOTSPOT]

The chartreuse eyes of the chimera drifted from Sedgeponce's own, gliding over each inconsistency in their form. The corners of their mouth were pulled down, their fur did not seem as smooth as it had been moments ago, and there was hesitance in a voice that he'd known to speak easily. The tabby's flaws were unraveling before him and, though insult rippled the fur on his tail, he was equally enamoured to be treated differently, as if it justified the tiny voices in his head telling him the clan was against him. A toothed edge appeared on his smile, happy at how quickly one mystery had been solved. 'Your weakness is pride. You think you are important enough for me to mess with you.'

His shoulders slumped, a tail that hung so highly above his head lowered and Sootspot shrugged at Sedgepounce's enquiry. "Everything," he mewed, and though he could feign indifference or friendliness, there was little he could do to hide the sincerity of his curiosity. Knowledge was a light in the dark so often forgotten when the rest of the clan was too busy looking at the stars instead. "You can start from the beginning if it is simpler for you. What did you do to convince a rabbitheart like Snakehiss to attack you? How did he win?" The whole event had been shrouded in mystery, Sedgepounce's first explanation had been passed from clanmate to clanmate until it reached him like a broken bird call.



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[SEDGEPOUNCE]

It's not something he often talks about. It's not even something he wants to talk about, least of all with glint-eyed and conniving Sootspot. But as little as he wishes to dig up bygone tragedy, even less does Sedgepounce want to come across as deceptive—like he has something to hide. He'd rather weather the uncomfortable conversation instead...Still, he doubts Sootspot has any altruistic reasons for interrogating him, no matter the perfectly congenial expression plastered to him like a mask.

Sedgepounce's own face darkens at the mention of Snakehiss. Despite himself, he scoffs. It's an ugly sound. "He, uh—he said I wasn't loyal enough," he admits bitterly. This—the conviction of his greatest enemy—he has little problem rehashing. "Which was true, in a way. Sootstar had just made him deputy. He felt...empowered, I guess." Through the haze of anger, Sedgepounce still has half a mind to watch Sootspot warily. Sedgepounce holds no affection for Sootstar or her memory. Her only living son might feel differently.

Would Sootspot condemn him for it? Defend his mother's memory, demand respect for the dead? Outwardly, Sedgepounce doubts he would.

"He followed me out near the river one night. To kill me for it." The more outspoken disbelievers were either cooped up in Horseplace or thrown in the Gorge. Those who remained had to be discreet with their dissent, but Snakehiss, the mind-boggled fanatic, could see right through him. "But...the—the river was flooded, and the banks were all...icy and jagged. I slipped and fell in." And Snakehiss had wailed. He hates to remember it.
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