sensitive topics FIRES IN THE DARK ჻ღཾཿ༉ ༘჻ Vigil

[BOUNCEKIT]

//tw for kit/sibling loss and detailed grief. I got permission from Jay to backwrite the NPC illness <3

Juniperkit had gone fast.

Bouncekit, though only five moons old, still doesn't fully grasp the finality of death. Especially in this case, where it had claimed her littermate, a cat as young as herself. She's seated before her sister's still body and her mother, Myrtlefoot, holds her close, as if to shield her from StarClan's grasp in case they tried to take her too. Bouncekit feels hot tears dripping onto her head and can hear her mother's sobs of despair.

The smell of lavender hangs heavily in the air, though the unfamiliar stench of death still manages to penetrate her nose. Bouncekit notices that Juniperkit looks weird. She doesn't look like the Juniperkit she remembers, the one who played with her in the nettles and terrorized the younger kit's with. She looks tiny and frail, no longer hearty and full. While she looked serene where she lay, she no longer wore her signature smirk, no longer giggled, she didn't even sniffle anymore. "At least the medicine cat's wiped the snot off her nose…" Bouncekit thinks. While she was sick her sister had always been covered with snot, Bouncekit had been grossed out by it whenever she visited her.

Mother's paws pull Bouncekit in further, her grasp becomes tighter and her claws threaten to dig into Bouncekit's skin. Bouncekit tenses to avoid her mother's claws from digging in deeper. "Ma." Bouncekit meows as her mother lets out another heartwrenched cry. When she goes unnoticed she meows again, "Ma. You're hurting me."

Myrtlefoot's hold on her daughter releases all together, in her grief she cannot muster an apologetic glance nor word to her living daughter. She replaces Bouncekit by scooping up Juniperkit and presses her pink nose deep into her dark tabby fur, muffling her crying. Bouncekit stands to the side confused. She doesn't want her mother to be so sad, and even worse, Bouncekit knows she is suppose to be sad with her. Why wasn't she crying? Why would tears not fall from her eyes and roll down her cheeks? She had loved Juniperkit, her sister had been her best friend, her sidekick, so why didn't she feel… anything?

Bouncekit doesn't know. She does, however, know she doesn't want to stand around looking at Juniperkit anymore. "I'm gonna play, ma. By the brambles." Mom always liked to be told where she was going to play, but she doesn't seem to hear Bouncekit now. "It'll be fine. I'm five moons old now…" An event that had gone uncelebrated with her sister's passing, "…I can take care of myself!"

At the brambles, Bouncekit pounces into a deep pile of snow. She doesn't mind playing alone, she had already gotten use to it this past moon while her sister was sick. It had sucked at first, especially when the snow first began to fall and she had wanted Juniperkit to play with her in it so bad. She had tried to convince Juniperkit to get up and play for awhile, but her mother scolded her and shoo'd her out of the den before she had a chance at succeeding. She realizes now this was likely for the best, her sister had hardly been able to leave her nest to make dirt.

"I'm Bounceclaw and I'm a warrior of ShadowClan!" She exclaims with vibrant imagination, picturing a pretend mouse running through the snow. "You're no match for me, mouse! I'm one of the best hunters of ShadowClan. You'll be in my belly faster than a wink!" She moves clumsily through the snow, nearly tripping on her own forepaws, before making a flawed pounce at her pretend target. In her imagination she sees herself big and strong, her long claws striking down on the fat mouse with speed and vigor. She flings her paw upwards, picturing the invisible rodent being flung into the air. Opening her big and powerful warrior jaw wide, she catches and swallows it in a single gulp!

Pretending to be big and strong was a lot easier than figuring out the realities of Juniperkit's death.

 

[MOLTFACE]

Leaf-bare has never been kind to ShadowClan. Perhaps with their track record, they all ought to have seen this coming... An extension of the very season itself; raucous laughter in the form of blistering winds... As ShadowClan's queens had curled around their kits, resigning themselves to shivering for their sakes. As Mrytlefoot clutches the frozen-over form of her lost kit, something out there is quite proud of itself, she's certain. Only after claiming a soul or two did the Wendigos part from their shuddering flanks. A blink is all it would take to return her to Needledrift's time spent there.

Luck is all that kept him from suffering his own losses, and though he was led to the role of caretaker, he is not beyond the selfishness of that relief. Perhaps his little ones would come along with the breach of a shedding skull. Moltface has never shielded them from the cruel realities of their world, nor would he begin today. A bottlebrush tail would ease it's way along the mourner's flank. Comfort in words has never quite been their strongsuit... And in all honesty: they did not care to take the time to.

No, they turn their attention to Bouncekit instead, flitting amongst the snow as if she had not just lost a sister. It's nice to not be bothered though, isn't it? Many kits had the benefit of being carefree without a thought... or perhaps, simply not understanding enough to have the potential to. Some of them would remain that way... Others would be saddled with the weight of it before their twelfth moon. She so wonders where Bouncekit would end up in a few moons time...

" Quite the imagination, " comes the rusty mew. The cold makes her nose itch. Generously offered is the whip-thin, and then lion-tip of her tail, flicking about as if it had places to be, oh yes. " Would you like to hunt something a little more tangible? " Some might argue that Bouncekit is a little old for such a game... but, ah, they've seen plenty grown warriors take up something similar.​

 

[Snowlark.]

[ ༻❄༺ ] Death wasn't an uncommon thing in Shadowclan, though it hits hard when one so young was loss, one who neber will get to see beyond the walls of camp, or expeirence sinking their teeth into that of prey. Feeling the pride rush to ones chest when their hard work comes to fruition. Yet, perhaps in some ways it was also a saving grace. The kit would never know what death would be like, witness cats similar in age to them pass before they even get their warrior name, yet watching their mother cry made a soft sigh slip from their maw.

It would seem though, Bouncekit was all but unaware the permanent meaning behind death, and perhaps that unawareness of it all was a good thing. Moltface was quick to take initiative to help encourage the kit to play with something more adpt to help the kit hone their tiny hunter sense which brought Snowlark over with a calm look in his yellow eyes. Kits, their youth were far more lucky than him and others before the code to prevent 4 months olds being killed in needless bloodshed.

"If you wish, Moltface and I can show you a few hunting tricks" the lead warrior offered. For now, it was good Juniperkit remained blissfully unaware of what it meant to lose a sibling, for now the needless worry of if she'll also be taken by the cold would remain unburded to the kit. Yet, she was close to being an apprentice, so it would not harm to teach the young ones a few moves here and there. Afterall, Snowlark himself had been one to eagerly dive into honing his skills when he was basically the kit's age, and by her play pretend, surely she'd be happy at the offer lended to her.

‎‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎┌── Where I am going is right where I am ──┐‎

• "speak""Thoughts"
• 
  Snowlark ❄ He/Him, Lead warrior of Shadowclan, 15 moons.
  ⭃ Lithe long hair blue lynx sepia with high white, and yellow eyes. Stubby tail, permanent resting bitch face
  ⭃ Hailfreckle x Mudsplash
  ⭃ peaceful and healing powerplay permitted (ask first) / / underline and tag when attacking
  ↛ see battle info here
  ⭃ penned by Ryn ↛ @/Rynnaro on discord, feel free to dm for plots.

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[BOUNCEKIT]

The origin of the rusty meow is recognizable at an instant in Boucekit's ears. She turns to see the queen, their white fur seemed almost invisible against the backdrop of the snowy marshland. She looks into Moltface's pink gaze with what could be discerned as confusion. "…Tangible…?" She echoes as if not knowing what the word meant. "I think so. Yes." Something more tangible, what would that be.

If Moltface had gone half-invisible in the snow, Snowlark looked like he could be a StarClan cat if it wasn't for the blanket of gray across his back. "Really? Okay!" She agrees with a hop and a chirp. "Do you think I can hunt a real mouse today?! Or a frog- or a toad- I guess whichever we can find first?" Somehow a few hunting tricks quickly spiraled into leaving camp and hunting. The kit seemed to always take whatever she was given one leap more.

"I'm hungry. Ma hasn't fed me yet because of Juniperkit. If I can catch my own prey she'll be so proud! She wouldn't be able to be sad anymore." She explains to them both with pleading eyes.

 

[STONEPAW]

Stonepaw had an uncomfortable pit in his chest as his gaze lingered on the eerily still form of Juniperkit. Sure, he wasn't exactly the biggest fan of the nursery and its inhabitants, but this was a cruel fate. Withering away to nothing before getting the chance to do anything. See anything. He had selfishly hoped that Smogstar and now Mirestar's disappearances would've numbed him. He didn't want to feel all of this heaviness. Maybe... Salamandersnap would want to spar, or something. To take his mind off things. To keep his body moving. StarClan was being cruel and harsh to ShadowClan. Taking away two leaders, Needledrift and now a kit? What has ShadowClan done to deserve such a fate?

The lilac tom stood abruptly. He didn't know how to help anyone. He'd just see if there was something he could do to provide. Go hunting, spar, anything so he wasn't just sitting around to stew in his feelings.

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‎‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎┌── ooc ⋆⋅☾⋅⋆ info ──┐‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎‎ ‎ ‎‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎

• in and out !
  
  "speech"

• 

• STONEPAW ✩ he/him, apprentice of shadowclan, ten moons
  ⭃ pretty lilac with low white and blue eyes. very driven, wants to be the best, pushy. has built up a bit of muscle but is still agile.
  ⭃ peaceful and healing powerplay permitted / / tag when attacking
  ⭃ penned by Twitchtail ↛ @iliawonders on discord, feel free to dm for plots.

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