camp for the stars and all they cover // post-invasion

[leafhusk]

leafhusk hadn’t slept, but really, who had? as she crouched on the top of the ravine, close to stormfeather and company, she watched the wolves. it brought her back to a simpler time, one of warm blankets and the scent of candles, a soft hand running across her back. the picture on the den wall moving, muffled voices speaking about large muscled beasts running across the plains. being able to see them in person, they were… mundane? basic? she struggled to find a proper word, maybe the adrenaline wearing off was making her too apathetic.

a single microsleep later, and she helped carry stormfeather back down. when the molly is set down, she returns batwing’s head bow and slips out of the den. leafhusk doesn’t notice that her pawsteps maneuver around the blood, cautious to not ruin what remains of the tom. time slows down as she finds a spot in camp to fix her pelt, smoothing it down to force some normalcy right now. her thoughts of buzzing flies, howling, and screams are interrupted; the gorse tunnel clumsily trembles as ghosts float into camp. leafhusk jumps to her paws, freezing in her spot, unsure of what emotions are rushing through her.

anger, sadness, frustration— is she allowed to feel this way? yes, of course, nothing will stop her from that, but can she verbalize it. leafhusk bites her tongue, eyes widening like spotlights as the new warriors shuffle towards their leader, the guilt becoming heavier in camp. what happened to them? untouched, not a single fur out of place, unlike the camp full of terrified cats. it made her sick.

//not an intense reaction, but obligatory ic opinions nonetheless​

 

[Rabbitnose]

He doesn't notice the stray guards come back until he hears Palefire ask for Howlingstar and Lightflower's small apology. It's the softspoken apology that breaks him. That causes something to snap inside. Grief now shares a space with anger as he looks to the returning guards with nary a hair out of place while the rest of the clan had to scramble for safety.

"Where were you?" His hiss is strained. "Why didn't you tell us there were wolves coming?"

He wants to know, and he wants to know now. He wants them to explain themselves. This didn't have to happen. If someone had just... Come back to warn them, they could have safely evacuated. Sunfreckle would still be alive. Had the wolves kept them from returning? Surely there was a reason for their lack of communication? Rabbitnose was always a kind and gentle soul, but now, there is only bitterness and pain. He can't stop the tears or the trembling and the look in his eyes is cold and tired.

What hurts more is the instinctual urge to press into soft red fur, but that soft red fur is scattered in scraps and blood and the gentle soul that resided inside it has left for the stars, leaving him alone.​

 

[DEERPAW.]

Tiny ears folded against a dark and ginger splattered skull, he was crouched low to the ground hiding behind Moonwhisper's legs. Starclan as really gave him a rough start to his new.. home. He learned what 'Wolves' where that night, he saw how huge they were. Those huge bodies, messy coats and.. big teeth he was terrified of them. Nervous jitters hit him, making him let out a tiny squeak from his curled up form. He couldn't get to sleep, even if he wanted to he was too scared. A new fear was unlocked in his small body, and it shaked him to his very core. Deerkit felt so exhausted from the horrible night he had, eventually fallen off to sleep for a while.

The tortie awoke to his more adult clanmates voices, he peeked his head from around Moonwhisper's bigger tail. Hazel eyed gaze, looking at the bloody wreckage that littered camp. The light was shining down, illuminating the puddles of splattered gore on the ground. His curiosity was piqued- staring at the blood, he felt... strange? He doesn't know what to call it, but he was interested in this new thing. Anyhow, the longhaired kitten shook his head to crane his neck up at Moonwhisper hearing her speak. "G-game?.. I w-wanna h-help make a.. n-new m-moshball." He slurred the last part, with a soft nervous voice.

OOC ◟✦◞ STRANGE CREATURE

• ooc: interacting with @Moonwhisper
• no ref yet </3
• ( uh.. i don't get it ) DEERKIT : kitten of thunderclan
  — amab ; HE / HIM ; currently 2 moons
  — undecided / single / not looking / open to puppy-crushes
  — a LH black/dark ginger tortie and white tom with hazel eyes
  — action , thoughts , "Speech, ff7844"
  — smells of fresh caramelized apples & faint damp earth musk
  
  -tags / @ on discord for plots
  - penned by calzone
  

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[nightbird]

⋆˖⁺‧₊☽◯☾₊‧⁺˖⋆ peering down into camp, there was a sickening silence amongst those that had climbed the carved out walls. her ears still rang with a prolonged howl, screams of terrified clanmates. not once then had her mind drifted to the fate of palefire and her friends standing guard, she knew whatever it could imagine would not have been productive in the moment. now when the dust has settled, her gaze flicks around anxiously.

eventually, a muted pelt joins the fray. nightbird stares at her former apprentice as if she is an apparition. if palefire, lightflower, badgerstripe, and phloxflower all stood here alive, then where the hell have they been? scattered at the first scent of wolves without waking any one of their sleeping clanmates? howlingstar put her trust in them to guard the camp in such a dangerous time, at the first chance they snuffed it out.

the lead warrior blinks, dismissing palefire's call for howlingstar and lightflower's pitiful apology with a sharp flick of a torn ear. rabbitnose gives them a well deserved interrogation. nightbird wouldn't stop him if he wanted to close the distance to the young warriors with flashing claws. she couldn't even look at her former apprentice for longer than a moment, jaw tight with anger. instead, she turns over her shoulder to follow batwing. it was best her paws worked on something productive for the moment.

‎‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎‎ ‎‎ ‎ ‎‎ ‎┌── AND TIME IS RAGING ⋅⋆⋅ MAY IT RAGE IN VAIN ──┐‎

• ooc ↛
  

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  NIGHTBIRD ✩ she/her, lead warrior of thunderclan, 31 ☾'s
  ⭃ a small black smoke molly with a single white paw and pale silver eyes.
  ⭃ mate to raccoonstripe / / mentor to none
  ⭃ peaceful and healing powerplay permitted / / underline and tag when attacking ↛ see battle info here
  ⭃ penned by vayle ↛ @vayl3 on discord, feel free to dm for plots.
  

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[HOWLINGSTAR]

The bramble entrance rustles, and for a moment Howlingstar's spine goes rigid in fear. Her attention snaps up, half-expecting to find bloodied snouts sticking back into camp, returned to finish what they'd started. But instead, she sees ghosts. Or rather, cats she would have thought were ghosts, if not for the ways their eyes shone with unshed tears. Green eyes widen slightly as Palefire, Lightflower, Phloxdawn, and Badgerstripe pad towards her with their heads low and tails dragging, shame rolling off of them in waves.

At first, when the surprise fades, it's relief she feels. Relief that they're alive, after everyone had assumed they'd been torn to shreds and eaten. They're alive. But that relief is quickly overshadowed by confusion and anger. Her eyes flash with something unreadable as she gets to her paws, watching as Palefire addresses her. "Rabbitnose," She utters, but there is no sharpness in her tone. Her gaze doesn't leave the brand new warriors as the apology reaches her ears and her heart aches with an onslaught of mixed emotions.

She steps forward and places her tail momentarily across Rabbitnose's shoulders. His anger is justified, but he is in no state to handle this. She glances to him before looking back at the new warriors, eyes narrowing. She tries her best to keep her voice level, but it still manages to shake in hidden rage. "Where were you?" She reiterates her clanmate's question. They'd been placed on guard, trusted to watch over their camp, and they weren't here when ThunderClan needed them most.​

 

[skyclaw]

Skyclaw finds silence the least comforting aspect of their situation. It felt like days, not mere hours, where they were trapped in watching wolves make a short vacation home out of their camp. It was clear that no cat could truly fight off the beasts - the splattered blood made that obvious - but that does not shake the feeling that they could've done more from his pelt. Eventually they climb back into their torn-to-bits camp ground, and instead of uniting beneath a threat, they fall apart.

It's short - comfort comes quickly in the form of friendships and family members sharing the same grief - but Skyclaw witnesses it first hand, how quickly cats can turn on one another amidst fear and upset. Chickadeepaw says something, and without thinking he snips a quiet, "You are not leaving my side," to her. Wolves - they're still out there. Still feasting on Sunfreckle's body, no doubt. Chickadeepaw will not go searching for her brother, not even when her sister is one of the many to have perished.

Flamewhisker calls out. Falconheart is missing. Skyclaw swallows thickly as other warriors recount the freshly made ones, and the reminder of their doom weighs heavy in his stomach. Palefire, too? Should he be so brazen to declare them dead already, or should he be useless in hope that they each made it out in the end? He stays quiet as Batwing commands use out of the apprentices (he gives Chickadee a nudge, as if they need his permission at all,) and says, "We'll find him, Flamewhisker," to the queen. Alive or not, they're sure to find him.

Palefire enters camp, and Skyclaw has a second of brief relief - only to have it followed by pounds of betrayal and confusion. Howlingstar has them, now - she's questioning them just as she should. And so, he holds his tongue. ​

 

[badgerstripe]

⋆.ೃ࿔*:･ Could Badgerstripe have ever wished to come home to welcoming paws and relief, after what she had done?

She knows ThunderClan would be waiting for them. Part of her, the part that is naive and selfish and so, so clueless.. expects that when her friends and herself return to camp, they will be happy that they survived - no questions asked. Please, no questions asked..

She sees the reality in their eyes and hears it in their words. Rabbitnose is first. Badgerstripe had never seen so much anger and despair in the tom's eyes, the fatherly warrior who was always so compassionate and gentle. He questions where they were. Where were we? All this time? Badgerstripe thinks as the scent of blood hits her nose. Sunfreckle's blood, his mate. StarClan, what have we done?

Her gaze travels across the other faces regarding their presence - Leafhusk, Nightbird, Skyclaw. She sees only anger, confusion, betrayal. When Howlingstar steps forward, repeating Rabbitnose's inquiry, Badgerstripe feels herself shrink. Her paws feel weak and shakey, and she wishes they would fall into the earth and take her body with them, to the depths where none could see her shame. There is no mistaken the shake in Howlingstar's voice, despite the composure she desperately tries to hold. In that moment, Badgerstripe holds her breath, weighing her options.

She could lie. She could pass on the blame to her friends. She could pass the blame to anyone in this camp. She could undermine the gravity of the situation, play it off as some dumb mistake made by young warriors who didn't know better. Oh, she has done this so many times before when she gets herself into trouble. She recalls her days as a kit, playing too roughly and getting someone hurt. They started it! she'd say. Or her times as an apprentice, neglecting her duties to play with her friends. Someone else took care of it. They said they would. Not my fault if they didn't, she would lie.

There is blood in the air. Blood on her paws. Blood on her conscious. Her Clanmates look at the group expectantly as the fear radiates off her friends' pelts and Lightflower apologizes. Lightflower, the friend she had insulted just to get her to follow them out for a nightly stroll. Palefire, the cat who stayed behind and left out of the goodness of her heart to ensure her friends were safe under Badgerstripe's careless watch. Phloxdawn, the only cat who vouched for the idea - a follower at heart, Badgerstripe was certain she would not have left if not for her.

Howlingstar named her for her empathy, and here she was, trying to worm her way out of all responsibility. Contemplating passing on the blame to her friends who had followed her, lessening the impact of her decision when cats have died - all to save herself from the consequences of her actions. Badgerstripe felt sickened by her own thoughts.

Finally, the tortoiseshell steps forward, ahead of her friends, facing Howlingstar with a lowered head. "Howlingstar.. I-" again, she pauses, pressing her tongue to the roof of her mouth. As sickened as she was with her own attempts to avoid punishment, she could still not bring herself to explain what really happened. Not in front of everyone. Badgerstripe speaks up again, louder, with a wavering voice: "I-it.. it was my fault, Howlingstar. Not theirs. Please.."

She looks back towards her friends, recognizing the guilt on their faces. It was never their fault, not in any of Badgerstripe's antics that they have simply followed her into, not now. "It was my idea.. to leave." Again, she dodges her question. We went on a walk, Howlingstar. We abandoned our post, left you all vulnerable, because I was bored. Stars, what would they think of her? She can feel the gazes of her Clanmates burn into her pelt. Would her life ever be the same again, after what she had done? After everyone knows? Selfish. Stupid piece of fox-dung. You're so.. selfish.

‎‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎┌── EVERYONES WAITING FOR DEATH ⋅❁⋅ JUSTICE DELIVERS ITS GIFT ──┐‎

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• 

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  Badgerstripe ✩ she/her, warrior of thunderclan, 12 moons.
  ⭃ a long-furred blue tortoiseshell with a notable black dorsal stripe and green eyes.
  ⭃ formerly mentored by burnstorm
  ⭃ peaceful and healing powerplay permitted / / underline and tag when attacking
  ⭃ penned by ixora ↛ @.ixora on discord, feel free to dm for plots.
  

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