from the bite ⋆⁺₊ ☾ ⁺₊⋆ who's to blame?

[Swansong]

⋆⁺₊ ☾ ⁺₊⋆ This should not have happened. Above anything else, Swansong knows this.

Smogstar had only just recieved his lives when a plague struck him down - and now he has vanished into the night. Taken the stars' blessings and fled with them, left his daughter alone. "How..." Her voice wavers, speaking more to herself than anyone. It doesn't make sense. She would beg the stars for answers if she thought they would speak to her. Their voices come distorted, hazy and half-remembered. If she could only grasp onto them, steal the stars from her dreams, demand that they explain themselves...

Maybe she could have, if things were different. Her eyes drift to the medicine cat den, and she feels her claws sink into the soft mud beneath her paws. She cannot make the trek to the moonstone; such things are forbidden for mere warriors.

(But she is not, is she? The stars speak in her dreams, she remembers it. She remembers her mother's face, remembers the shimmering landscape of StarClan. She remembers dying. It is the closest that she has ever gotten to anyone who could give her answers.)

"Someone... was supposed to be watching my father, yes...? He was sick..." They should have never let him out of their sight. "Is it not the duty of the medicine cats...? To take care of their patients?" Their voice sounds hollow, their eyes fixed upon the mouth of the medicine den. Starlingheart chose Marblepaw for her apprentice. She chose wrong. A foolish choice, nepotism and pride. The stars made Swansong's body their vessel when they took the breath from her lungs. She should be by her father's side, both of them remade in stardust. It's all wrong.

‎‎┌── WE FOUND TWO DEAD SWANS ⋆⁺₊ ☾ ⁺₊⋆ AND FILLED THEIR BODIES WITH FLOWERS ──┐‎

• set before Mirestar's departure to the moonstone!
• 
  
  

  "SPEECH"

• 
  SWANSONG ⋆⁺₊ ☾ ⁺₊⋆ she / they, warrior of shadowclan, seventeen moons.
  ➳ a pale, silky-furred cream tabby with tired blue eyes.
  ➳ dreamy and detached, known for her perpetual sleepiness.
  ➳ halfshade x smogstar, littermate to applejaw, garlicheart, & ashenfall.
  ➳ peaceful and healing powerplay permitted / / underline and tag when attacking
  ➳ penned by SATURNID ↛ saturnids on discord, feel free to dm for plots.

​

 

[IVYPAW]

Could anyone truly be blamed for what had happened? Surely if he had wanted to leave for whatever reason, regardless of being watched, he would have still left wouldn't he? She can't imagine what it was like to have a go parent missing. It had to be a lonely, uneasy and terribly sad feeling. Still, even if she didn't know the pain Swansong was feeling, she could still try and be a friend to her. "Swansong.... I don't think that its anyone's fault.... Starlingheart and Marblepaw do a great job of taking care of us... They're only two cats. If Smogstar really wanted to leave wouldn't he have left on his own anyway regardless of what they said? Maybe he knows what he's doing... or Starclan sent him on a special mission for something?" She approaches cautiously, not wanting to startle or anger the molly any more than she already was. It was evident she was upset, and Ivypaw only wanted to help, not make things worse.

ON THE STAGE IN MY HEELS ・❥・ ITS WERE I BELONG

• ooc. —​

• 

• IVYPAW
  ↪ ivypaw / cisgender female (she/her)
  ↪ 08 moons / ages realistically on the 2nd
  ↪ shadowclan apprentice
  ↪ lh blue tortoiseshell smoke
  ↪ "speech" / thoughts
  ↪ peaceful/healing actions may be powerplayed / attack in underline & @/account
  ↪ note: all thoughts/actions are based off ic opinions only !!
  ↪ penned by halimede
  ​

​

 

[SCREECHSTORM]

✧ . Screechstorm knows what it's like to be in the depths of the medicine den for a prolonged time. He knows what it's like to be stuck there, to wish to be anywhere but. Disappearing from Starlingheart's watch was on his mind more than a few times, though no one should really be surprised — should they?

However, the tom knows grief too. He knows trying to find reason, the need to place blame — on himself, he finds most common, for it is he who lived instead of Sweetpaw, instead of Chilledstar. He knows the need to question every movement made in final moments. He isn't surprised that Swansong does the same, in the wake of her father's disappearance. Smogstar's disappearance.

" Maybe he got sick of being in there, " Screechstorm reasons with a shrug, " It is pretty stuffy in there — I would've snuck out if I could've. " As for what happened after… would they ever truly know?​

✦ ABOUT

• 
  SCREECHSTORM ✦ AMAB. He / Him. Warrior of ShadowClan.
  ✧ . A black/red tabby chimera tom with mismatched green eyes.
  ✧ . Forestshade x Vulturemask
  ✧ . Mentored by Chilledstar
  ✧ . Peaceful and healing powerplay permitted!
  ✧ . Penned by Abri ‣ @_abri_ on discord, feel free to dm for plots!
  ✧ . " Speech " ; Attack

​

 

[scalejaw]

★ She presumes, even into the long hours of the night, that Smogstar left because he didn't want to die in camp. He didn't want to trouble them any longer- to take the sickness away from where it would hurt the clan. Selfish. Even in what she thinks is a selfless act, he was selfish. He thought about himself, about his death, and not how it affected them. How it affected his kits, how it affected Scalejaw herself, the way she had stood guard now and again at the mouth of his den.

Swansong's words are more that of aching grief, and a hint of accusation- but more confusion about how it all happened. Scalejaw could attest that at least she didn't know. Would it have been mercy, perhaps, to blood-let Smogstar's life in order to heal him? No, there had to be some reason as to why he had left like that, instead of- Scalejaw inhales sharply and pushes those thoughts from her head. Selfish.

When she speaks, her voice is thick with grief still heavy on her shoulders, but with a tone that indicated she did not want to speak anymore then she needed to. "Someone was supposed to be watching him." She agrees, standing and stepping closer. "But the medicine cats have... a responsibility to the whole clan." She says, coming to a stop nearby. Her own statement caused a resounding pause in her whole being. A responsibility to the whole clan. Favoritism was only given by the stars to those they favored- couldn't they have favored him?

Glowering coals of eyes shifted, turning towards the sky. Ears flattened. She had been there when the spirits rose, witnessed the stars eating souls whole, witnessed their souls becoming Starclan. Her mate was up there, yet she knew she was not owned explanations as to what has happened. Ears twitched and turned backwards, folding down.

‎‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎┌── MESSES WITH YOUR SANITY ⋅❁⋅ TWISTING ALL YOUR THOUGHTS AROUND ──┐‎

• "speech"

• 

• SCALEJAW 🌧 she/her, warrior of shadowclan, sixty five moons.
  ★ A SH black/LH blue smoke chimera with glowering orange eyes, tufts of fur that make her look dragon-akin, and scars that she wears with pride. motherly and stern attitude, with a warm streak for clanmates and a cruel streak for enemies.
  ★ mentoring no one
  ★ padding after no one / / mother to bonerattle, nightwhisper, and shadefall
  ★ peaceful and healing powerplay permitted / / underline and tag when attacking
  ★ penned by dallas ↛ dallasofnines on discord, feel free to dm for plots.

​

 

[Starlingheart]

Starlingheart is not so naive as to believe her clan wouldn't point the paw in her direction for this. It's never a surprise, not anymore, the lack of trust, the ready accusations weighed heavily upon their tongue. It used to bother her, used to keep her up at night when her claws would curl into the moss at her feet and frustrated tears would spill. But now? Now she merely blinks. "Marblepaw and I only-we only have so many eyes- so many sets of paws. We cannot be everywhere at once." she says, her voice gentle, kind despite the way she can feel Swansong's blue eyes heavy with accusation upon her face.

She knows what it's like, for someone you love to go missing, to not know where they are or if they're okay. She remembers the day that Ghostpaw had disappeared with surprising clarity. She would've liked someone to blame back then, she thinks. Someone she could have lashed out at, some reason past the fact that her daughter just didn't care enough to stay.

She blinks appreciatively at those who defends her and her apprentice. It is nice, she thinks, that the whole clan didn't hate her yet. "If you need me, I'll be in-in my den." she turns her head to fix that lonely gaze upon pale covered fur before she goes, eyes swimming with empathy before she turns and heads to the sanctuary of the medicine cat's den.

( ‧₊˚❀༉‧₊˚. ) fly me up on a silver wing

• 
  
  
• 
  STARLINGHEART SHADOWCLAN MEDICINE CAT; SHE / HER ; SISTER TO PITCHSTAR, CHITTERTONGUE, NIGHTSWARM, SKUNKTAIL, AND LILACFUR. MOTHER TO NETTLEPAW, FLINTWISH AND GHOSTMASK.
  

  A skinny she cat with short black and white fur littered with scars and one singular green eye.

  ✦ Easy in battle + has little to no formal battle training
  ✦ Easy to befriend but doesn't trust easily
  ✦ Mentoring Marblepaw
  

 

[Briarthorn]

.·:*¨༺🕷༻¨*:·. Grief is a funny, twisted thing. Briarthorn is standing with her brother when Swansongs musings catch in the warriors ears, and she feels them twitch in surprising irritation. Grief is a funny, twisted thing, how many cats had she blamed for Sweetpaws death? What would she have done to lift that shame from her own shoulders? Briarthorn had always enjoyed the pale warriors company, but her displaced feelings strike an unexpected cord.

Screechstorm's input is less than helpful, and Briarthorn spares her littermate a subtle, disapproving look. Ivypaw speaks with reason, sugar-coated in Briarthorn's opinion, but reason all the same. "He was the leader, not a stubborn kit, Swansong." Her tongue does not contain the same dull edge as Ivypaw and Scalejaws, watching through narrowed optics as Starlingheart excuses herself.

"Whether or not you want to believe it, Smogstar leaving had nothing to do with not having a babysitter." While she does not necessarily know this to be the true, when Sweetpaw's life had been torn away by the rats, it was not the tender paws of Starlingheart she had blamed. Or perhaps it was the twisted sense of loyalty Briarthorn felt to the medicine cat that drove her loyalty to the surface now. Pointedly, the she-cat turns away from her acquaintance with a disappointed grimace. She hates grief.

‎‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎┌── KEEP YOUR DEMONS ⋅ ࿏ ⋅ ON A LEASH ──┐‎

• 

• 
  BRIARTHORN ꔫ she/her, warrior of shadowclan, 12 moons.
  ⭃ slender, lean-muscled black she-cat with sharp hazel eyes & large ears.
  ⭃ daughter of Forestshade && Vulturemask ࿏ sister to Screechpaw && Sweetpaw
  ⭃ peaceful and healing powerplay permitted / / underline and tag when attacking
  ⭃ penned by Noor ↛ @toyangel on discord, feel free to dm for plots.

​

 

[SALAMANDERSNAP]

She can't help but snicker from across camp as the cats began to side against Swansong, finding herself grateful that finally they were siding with her. Of course, she couldn't argue against them, and found herself in agreement. Swansong was stricken by grief and she understood that. But at some point she'd have to move on wouldn't she? "They're right you know." Her meow comes as she runs her tongue over her paw, and drags it across her head and over her ears, silently grooming her fur as she listens in on the conversation further.

I AM THICK TAR ON THE INSIDE BURNING ☽｡⋆ DO YOU REMEMBER ME

• ooc. —​

• 

• SALAMANDERSNAP
  ↪ salamandersnap / cisgender female (she/her)
  ↪ 24 moons / ages realistically on the 19th
  ↪ shadowclan warrior
  ↪ lh black smoke
  ↪ "speech" / thoughts
  ↪ peaceful/healing actions may be powerplayed / attack in underline & @/account
  ↪ note: all thoughts/actions are based off ic opinions only !!
  ↪ penned by halimede
  ​

​

 

[Swansong]

⋆⁺₊ ☾ ⁺₊⋆ Ivypaw's words are kind, if misplaced. Her reassurances of the medicine cats' helpfulness ring hollow in the face of the gaping hole where their leader should be. If Smogstar really wanted to leave, he would have told someone. She closes her eyes, exhales slowly through her nose. "A special mission, hah... It is... a nice thought." The words are wistful, longing.

She might have agreed if she were a more hopeful cat, but she knows the tragedies of ShadowClan all too well to be so optimistic.

Pale eyes open halfway at Screechstorm's words, kitlike and flippant. "He would have... told someone..." they murmur, the same thing they've been telling themself again and again. He would have, wouldn't he? If he planned to leave and not return, he wouldn't have done so without notice. They need to believe that he wouldn't just abandon them. They nod at Scalejaw's hesitant agreement. "He had... a responsibility to the clan as well... And the clan to him." Should they not have given special attention to their most important of patients? Without the leader, the clan will fall apart.

They fix Starlingheart with a glassy stare, face blank. The gentleness of her voice feels insulting, her explanation lukewarm. Inatentiveness is a poor excuse for losing a leader. They are silent as she speaks, tail flicking contemplatively. Here is the cat who has doomed the clan, spilling excuses. All she can think of is herself, how hard it is for her and her apprentices. They would take the burden readily; she shuns it as something too difficult.

Briarthorn's words are sharp, petty and childish insults. They had thought her worthy of respect, but it seems that there is a blackened heart beneath that spiny fur.

And Salamandersnap laughs. Taunting her, laughing at her misery, her grief.

It takes a measure of restraint not to let their lip curl. Thier claws slip back into their sheathes, and wide eyes sweep across the gathered crowd. They feel outside themself. Everyone speaks against them, siding with the medicine cats. The false prophet, the cursed bloodline that has doomed their clan. They are blind to the stars' vision, and Swansong is breathless. They bear death's touch, the spirits' mark upon their body, and still no one listens to them.

"Are you all... so quick to give up? Should we not be more vigilant in the face of loss?" Their voice shakes, just slightly. "A sick man should not be left to wander... when he cannot defend himself, cannot think clearly..." When they were delirious, when they were dying... It is only through the medicine cats' watchfulness that they did not slip away entirely. Starlingheart has grown careless.

Her ears droop, her eyes turn downwards. "I... I meant no offense..." she murmurs, keeping the bitterness from her words carefully. She must be gentle. "I merely thought... Oh, is it so wrong to wonder... If this could have been avoided...?"

She sets her jaw. "I am not... naive, whatever you all may think." Far from it. She knows well thr cruelty of death, the care that must be taken in mitigating it. "...I seek only to prevent further tragedy. We have..." A pause. "We have... We have already faced far too much..." Can they not see? If they are so blind to criticism, then they whole clan will fall.

ShadowClan needs a change, even if she seems to be the only who realizes it. They cannot let the rot which caused Smogstar's disappearance stay.

They are cursed - and they cannot sit idly and let it stat that way.

‎‎┌── BUT NO ONE❜S REALLY THERE ⋆⁺₊ ☾ ⁺₊⋆ DOES THAT MEAN IT❜S DONE IN VAIN? ──┐‎

• 
  
  

  "SPEECH"

• 
  SWANSONG ☾ she / they, warrior of shadowclan, eighteen moons.
  ★ a pale, silky-furred cream tabby with droopy blue eyes.
  ★ dreamy and detached, known for her perpetual sleepiness.
  ★ halfshade x smogstar, littermate to applejaw, garlicheart, & ashenfall.
  ★ peaceful and healing powerplay permitted / / underline and tag when attacking
  ★ penned by SATURNID ↛ saturnids on discord, feel free to dm for plots.

​