private FOOTLIGHT LANE 𓆩♡𓆪 JOHNNYFLAME

[DAWNGLARE]

Johnnyflame he has always found to be a particular sort. He is a somewhat rare exemplary face of what power should be in SkyClan, despite their tendency to attract kittypets ( for reasons that very much elude him, still... ) This one is far from the only one with a moniker round his neck; far from the only one that returns to his true home come nightfall. Dawnglare finds it a lifestyle worth dreaming of. He would be much the same, if sickness was something that only ever reared its head in the day. SkyClan knew not of how blessed they were. It's a pull only the stars had, to have him abandon his true home completely.

And if Leaf - bare was not the very season that darkness often took to seize its opportunity, Dawnglare would be tucked in all the same. He would be cozy atop a lavish spread of thick twoleg hides, with a wet nose and warm self. Their artificial sun would not warm him just the same— but it was always good enough. Good enough for him to keep his claws off their own coats... It was that season that he'd see his old friend the least, much to content to be anywhere but out there.

Now, if he wishes to be anything but a hermit, he must face blistering cold. Even if all he sought was a meal, it'd be into the storm and back. At times, the ground would merely be cold, at others, he would be met with a full blanket of snow— and of course, those chances have only risen over the course of the past moon.

Dawnglare finds himself outside, if only because it is so much easier to be stuffy in his hazel den since the outburst of yellowcough. Finding himself coincidentially beside someone whom... hypothetically he may bond with for their origins amongst twolegplace, Dawnglare thinks to revel... but he does not think anything he ever said would reach the other. Missed opportunity after missed opportunity, with this one. With eyes shuttered against the flurry, Dawnglare would come to sit beside him.

" ...Why is that you're here, precisesly? " he asks without flourish. " It is cold, " he says with dryness, as if the tom hadn't noticed.

A WISE WOMAN SAID I'M ALIVE 🍷 NOBODY'S EVER TOLD HER SHE'S WRONG

• ooc: @Johnnyflame :)
  

• 

• ( I'M AS ALIVE AS HER BEARD IS LONG ) DAWNGLARE Medicine Cat of SkyClan. Mentoring Fireflypaw
  𓆩♡𓆪 He / him , deeply confused by the use of other pronouns
  𓆩♡𓆪 Currently 60 moons old as of 12.05.23. Mated to Mallowlark
  
  Unsettling and strange, Dawnglare bears a unique perception to the world and stars above on top of a generally unpleasant disposition. Holds others to uniquely impossible standards and himself undeniably above the rest.
  Mood is decided by dice - rolls per thread, with the exception of some important threads

​

 

[Johnnyflame]

HE SAID, "WELL MY NAME'S JOHNNY, AND IT MIGHT BE A SIN
BUT I'LL TAKE YOUR BET, AND YOU'RE GONNA REGRET, CUZ IM THE BEST THERE'S EVER BEEN."​

---

The worst thing about winter in Johnnys opinion wasn't the cloudy days or even the snowfall itself, but the wind. And today was an ecellent showcase of why.

He was forced to squint through the barrage of snowflakes every time a gust of chilling air sent them battering against his face, and he was pretty sure his ears were red from the cold by now. More and more often these days he was forced to duck inside the warriors den to de-thaw in the entryway, refusing to sodden anyones nest by curling up inside it. Nests and freshkill would never be a proper part of his life, but they were sacrifices he'd made himself without having to be asked. It was just... what made sense. He had food at home, and a warm bed to sleep in; there was no reason for him to take those things from Skyclan when his twolegs offered them so readily.

Which was the tom was currently standing outside in the snow.

Positioned closer to the entrance, he stood watch over the tunnel leading into camp. The snowfall was too heavy to hunt or patrol in, but he could at least do this much in case some predator or sneaky Windclanner came lurking around.

He jumped slightly at the sudden arrival and question from Dawnglare, golden eyes blinking wide in surprise as he realized not only was the medicine cat addressing him, but -blessedly- they weren't speaking in riddles.

"What do you mean?" he asked, head tilting in confusion not because he didn't understand, but because the answer seemed obvious. "It's my job to be here. Can't just take a day off because it's baltic out." he replied, unsure of what to make of the question. Should he be insulted that Dawnglare would even consider that he'd bail on the clan over some shit weather? Should he be worried that the medicine cat was beginning to doubt his loyalty?

Or were they just curious over what kept him coming back?

Johnny had been baffled by the other cat from their very first meeting. A lot of the time he felt stupid when around the other tom, unable to decipher exactly what he meant or what his intentions were. Other times, it was the awe of knowing they spoke to the dead and could pull the sick back from the brink of death with the right combination of herbs that made him uncertain. Cats like him probably weren't even blips on Dawnglares radar until they needed to be, and so he wasn't really sure what it meant that the other cat had chosen to approach him like this.

He would humor though, if only because that wretched curiosity of his always seemed to have a hand on his reigns.

"Why are you here? he asked, shooting the words back at the other tom so they could see just how strange of a question it was to ask when the answer seemed so obvious; they were there because it's where they were supposed to be. In their own ways, both he and Dawnglare had made a comittment to Skyclan, and now they each has to honor it.

---

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[DAWNGLARE]

It's my job to be here. Quite the bold claim. Dawnglare would wrinkle his nose in the beginnings of a snort, the glint of teeth peeking through his sneer. " Says who? " Blazestar would beg any young fool to serve on his council, and already, he had plenty who would freeze out of necessity, rather than out of choice with this one. Were it Dawnglare instead— Dawnstar, star - speckled as well as starry - eyed ( And this would never happen, for this forest could never handle it... ) He would make it a test. Dawnglare would relish in the fact that his upper caste knows their worth in this way. How productive could any warrior be with frostbitten ears and icey - whiskers? The likes of Slate and Orangeblossom would try to tell him very, when their hubris was simply their own special brand.

They are not the same, not in the slightest. This, is Johnnyflame's grave mistake. Shared origins gave them the start to an acquaintance, and little more. Dawnglare looms ever - closer with the question, a plume - tail coming to situate itself across snow - white paws. " Because the stars said it would be so, " he answers lowly. A secret to none— at least it should not be, but he speaks it quietly so as not to overwhelm the cotton - fluff between his eyes. " Tell me, are you fool enough to think yourself of a similar vein? "

A shiver wracks him then, abruptly wiping his grin from his maw. Pearly teeth chatter beneath his lips. Ugh, this is horrible. He had a fleeting thought to shuffle closer in the pursuit of warmth— but of course, that would not happen. Johnnyflame was not one of those he would sooner die than touch, but he is worth more than whatever this was...

" The Clan would suffer without your like. But not detrimentally, no. " he says above the wind. " I'm sure Blazestar would rather you preserve yourself, anywho. " After all, he was more than keen to use his own lives than any of those on his poor man's council...

A WISE WOMAN SAID I'M ALIVE 🍷 NOBODY'S EVER TOLD HER SHE'S WRONG

• 
  
  

• 

• ( I'M AS ALIVE AS HER BEARD IS LONG ) DAWNGLARE Medicine Cat of SkyClan. Mentoring Fireflypaw
  𓆩♡𓆪 He / him , deeply confused by the use of other pronouns
  𓆩♡𓆪 Currently 60 moons old as of 12.05.23. Mated to Mallowlark
  
  Unsettling and strange, Dawnglare bears a unique perception to the world and stars above on top of a generally unpleasant disposition. Holds others to uniquely impossible standards and himself undeniably above the rest.
  Mood is decided by dice - rolls per thread, with the exception of some important threads

​

 

[Dizzy]

HE SAID, "WELL MY NAME'S JOHNNY, AND IT MIGHT BE A SIN
BUT I'LL TAKE YOUR BET, AND YOU'RE GONNA REGRET, CUZ IM THE BEST THERE'S EVER BEEN."​

---

Johnny shifted his weight as he sat, unsure what this was all about. Why the sudden curiosity? Dawnglare had never cared before as to what motivated the lead warrior- had never really shown interest in him at all outside of that initial meeting on the fence; a test he very much felt he'd failed.

And the knowledge of that failure had walked with him ever since that day, making him wary and cautious of the star-talker whenever they crossed paths. Now was no different, and had Johnny been a lesser cat, he might have shifted away when the larger tom loomed into his space to ask his questions. He was stubborn though, and only sat taller beneath the healers unwavering gaze as they spoke of the stars and challenged Johnny to make the same claim, knowing it couldn't be true.

The stars had not asked for Johnnyflame by name. He hadn't even been born into the clans, destined to walk their path.

"No. I know the stars didn't choose me, Dawnglare. And I don't even know if they'll let me walk with you all when I die, if I'm honest," he replied with a rueful chuckle, "But I still feel like it's where I'm supposed to be; here, in Skyclan."

From the moment he'd met Thistleback and made the discovery about the clans, Johnnys heart had heard the call of the forest and been enamored with it, unable to forget or turn away as it's song was woven into the very fabric of his being, changing him forever. He knew he could never live a life without the pine forest and Skyclan now. Thistleback had been right when he said that it was an experience that his twolegs could never give him- a natural part of being a cat. And Johnnyflame would forever crave all that it was, unable to live without it.

"Aye, he probabaly would tell me it was fine to take the day." he agreed. Blazestar was all the things a good leader should be, including merciful with his clanmates. Johnnyflme knew he worked hard, and knew that the ragdoll would have been fine with him taking a day every now and then but... "But that doesn't mean I should abuse his kindness. The rest of you are all out here freezing your ears off, keeping up with work, dealing with this shit full time," he said, kicking at the snow underfoot with a light glare. "Doesn't seem fair that I sit in a warm house with all the food and comfort I could want when I should be out here with the rest of you doin' what I can to contribute. Even if it's just guarding the entrance cuz it's too damn snowy to do much else."

Yellow-gold eyes flickered back up toward Dawnglare with the same stubbornness burning in them as always. "Besides- the last thing I need are any of the fulltime warriors thinkin' I don't take things seriously. I'd never hear the end of it if I was curled up at home while they were out in this- rightfully so, might I add"

He was a lead warrior, and that meant leading by example. How could he expect to hold other Daylight Warriors to these standards if he himself fell short of them? How could he expect the fulltime clanmembers to see him as an equal if he refused to do an equal share of the work?

---

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[DAWNGLARE]

This answer— it settles him somewhat. Settles him to know that Johnnyflame was not so completely a fool. What a loss it would be, if he was. Despite his pursuit to keep his eyes from glazing over like ice atop a lake, they blink open in surprise at the admission. it has one he has never heard, nor ever thought of. What a peculiar fear, this, and it has him observing Johnnyflame with unhidden curiosity. Nothing but uncertainty amongst the stars, and yet Johnnyflame remains. Delusion is what it sounds like. No notions of the stars, but apparently a different sort altogether. Certainly it must be, to remain here without the heavens ever calling...

It is easier to ignore the freezing winds when the warrior's words are like a piece of prey waiting to be picked clean. Vulgar, that, but somewhat true he supposes. Ridiculous, is where the rest stand, however. Notions of shoulds and coulds pulled only from his own foolish mind. " He is "kind" as he is knowing that it will be abused. He does not care, " lowly, he insists. And frustration at Blazestar himself seeps through his hiss. Dare he say he nearly wishes some would take advantage of his fragile heart so that it could reform anew. Something emotional to break him, something before he could throw his entire life away— and hasn't he practically done so already...? " Just the same, the rest are choosing not to go without all they could want. Hardheadedness blinds you all from what is simplest, " he sniffs, not shy with his word.

Dawnglare meets his amber gaze with pools of blue, similar stubbornness held between them both. Unrelenting in these facets that only make his life more difficult. " You could have so much more, Johnnyflame, " ever closer, he leers. And it's out of kindess. Really, it is. " The ones who would judge you are not you or I... " left unsaid, so what does it matter? ( Perhaps because he knew it not to be true, somewhere inside ). His smile curls uneasily, still. " Fools oft redirect self - hatred towards those undeserving. "

When he looks at Johnnyflame, he sees... Perhaps an equal, if only he would not let the drivel of others grasp him so tightly. It saddens him, truly, to see him lost to such ideals. His gaze lingers on him a moment before he speaks again. " ...I do not believe the stars would turn you away. In fact, you are quite like them, " he adds, frustration hidden strangely behind a too - tight smile. His breaths form frost clouds in the open air. Slits for eyes peer curiously down at the warrior. "But if not for them, then for who, Johnnyflame? "

A WISE WOMAN SAID I'M ALIVE 🍷 NOBODY'S EVER TOLD HER SHE'S WRONG

• 
  
  

• 

• ( I'M AS ALIVE AS HER BEARD IS LONG ) DAWNGLARE Medicine Cat of SkyClan. Mentoring Fireflypaw
  𓆩♡𓆪 He / him , deeply confused by the use of other pronouns
  𓆩♡𓆪 Currently 60 moons old as of 1.1.24. Mated to Mallowlark
  
  Unsettling and strange, Dawnglare bears a unique perception to the world and stars above on top of a generally unpleasant disposition. Holds others to uniquely impossible standards and himself undeniably above the rest.
  Mood is decided by dice - rolls per thread, with the exception of some important threads

​