pafp HE’S OUT THERE BURNING SLOW [questioning]

[SCORCHSTAR]

༄༄ Calico paws do not often stray to the nursery, except to take prey to one of the queens when necessary. In these past weeks, she has not entered the den even once. There are no cats there worth visiting now, in Rattleheart’s absence, and Scorchstreak has admittedly found herself too busy to worry over the kits and queens who reside in the nursery. The matter of Thriftfeather’s presence in the den had come to her attention as a complaint, a concern in the form of a raised voice. And it had come from perhaps the last cat she had expected it from—Sootspot does not seem the type to worry for anyone other than himself, but perhaps his concern has its merits. Still, the question he had put forth is a valid one, and one that the deputy intends to follow up on.

She ducks through the nursery’s entrance without fanfare, scarred shoulders rolling stiffly. There are matters to be settled, and of course, said matters must include some of her least favored clanmates. Her eyes land upon one of these such cats, and his name leaves her maw with only a touch of disdain. "Sootspot." She does not draw him away from the nursery. Thriftfeather surely lingers about somewhere, confined as he is, and the other residents are exposed to whatever the smoke-furred tom has to say. Should the kits have to hear what is said about the rogue Sunstar has chosen to shelter? The answer is a resounding, certain no—but she also does not wish to corner the tom. Cornered prey tends to lash out, and she has endured enough bruises from frightened hares already. "You worry for the safety of your kits, given that you share a den with him… What are your… specific concerns?" Are you truly afraid for your kits at all, or do you only care that everyone around you should be just as miserable as you are? She does not say it, does not allow her lip to curl, but a spark of it lies in her scrutinous golden gaze.

YOU KNOW I DESERVE IT ☽♰☾ WELL, TAKE IT OUT ON ME

• ooc: @SOOTSPOT
• 
• SCORCHSTREAK ❯❯ she/they, deputy of windclan, tunneler
  ༄ small, slim flame-streaked calico with fiery golden eyes. cold and closed-off, ferociously protective of her clanmates. rarely seen aboveground.
  ༄ mate to bluepool ; sibling to rattleheart & rabbitclaw
  ༄ mentor to bilberrypaw & brackenpaw ; previously mentored pinkshine
  ༄ peaceful and healing powerplay permitted, but may react aggressively
  ༄ penned by foxlore

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[SOOTSPOT]

Within the Nursery, the curled up tom lifted his head, squinting at the silhouette of a figure that swallowed the sun. Her question was as swift as any WindClanner's stride, undoubtedly rehearsed to catch him in a moment of weakness. He didn't rise to the bait straight away. He looked towards Scorchstreak, staring wordlessly until he was confident that the tortoiseshell hadn't caught her own blunder. "You are asking me why I do not trust a kit thief in a den that houses kittens?" He tried not to sound so amused by that. To him, it was utterly ridiculous that she didn't know why he may have some misgivings. But then he caught her eye, the amber fury that lay behind a narrowed exterior. Within a millisecond, he knew.

'This isn't about him at all. It's about me.'

His gaze wavered and Sootspot sucked in a breath, his flank rising and falling with a haste uncharacteristic of the usually aloof tom. A withering glance was offered in Thriftfeather's perceived direction and, on instinct, he tucked his tail closer to himself as if sheltering kittens that were too big to be protected in such a way. "I would sooner feel safer sharing a burrow with a badger than letting my kin live with a DuskClanner. How many sunhighs did Thriftfeather dwell on bringing Vulturepaw back before he finally did it? What sort of atrocities has he committed out of his obsession with Sootstar, only to be 'redeemed' and given a second chance because he conveniently fell in love with her daughter?"

He pressed his paws forward in a pleading gesture. "None of this makes any sense, Scorchstreak. You are intelligent, I know you can see how dangerous it is for my mother's followers to be near our most vulnerable. My littermate is dead, even if my mother and father were not dead they would be dead to me. These little ones are the only kin I have left, the very notion that they may be taken away is one I cannot stomach. They are too precious to deserve a life toiling in service to the Mad Queen's followers."

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[Thriftfeather]

To be spoken about as if he isn't near enough to hear isn't anything new to Thriftfeather, neither is the indignant heat that rushes to Thriftfeather's gut. He wisely—unwisely?—doesn't protest, doesn't suggest the conversation be taken elsewhere. Instead he folds his paws beneath his chest so that no one could see the way his claws want to nervously work into his nest and he holds his tongue between the points of his teeth. Thriftfeather's torn ear flicks, and doesn't stop flicking.

It would be pointless to pretend as though he doesn't hear. Does Scorchstreak expect his involvement? Thriftfeather's eyes move between Sootspot and the deputy, caught in uncertain wondering.

"Your littermate isn't your only sibling," Spoken bitterly, and it is all Thriftfeather allows himself. As much as Sootspot liked to pretend such a thing was possible, there was no denying the reality of blood—Sootspot was kin to Thriftfeather's litter whether or not either of them liked that truth. He couldn't come to his own defense, not when Scorchstreak wasn't addressing him directly, but he could allow himself this.​

DUSKCLAN DEPUTY ✦ GOLDEN TABBY TOM ✦ 19 MOONS ✦ TAGS​

 

[SCORCHSTAR]

༄༄ From the corner of her eye she spots the familiar, traitorous golden figure, but Scorchstreak does not invite him to join into the conversation (the interrogation). He should know already how she feels about his presence here—he is unwelcome, only tolerated because Scorchstreak is chained by the leash of her leader’s command. Sootspot does not seem to understand that she feels the same, and his anxiety is on full display as he pleads his case to her. There is nothing she can do to soothe his nerves (not that she would want to, anyway, for she so enjoys watching him squirm like the snake he is), but she can do this. Collecting information will never be a useless endeavor, especially when that information pertains to a cat who had followed Sootstar, and then Granitepelt after her. Who the tom follows now is uncertain, but the current leader of DuskClan cannot be any better than Granitepelt had been.

Golden eyes cut over to Thriftfeather as the tom speaks, and then flicker back to bore into Sootspot. "Rest assured, he has not been redeemed, and he certainly will never be forgiven." Second chances are rarely offered from the calico deputy; Sunstar’s word is the only force that keeps her from lunging at the golden tabby herself. It would not be the first traitor’s life she has snuffed out. But stars damn it, Sunstar feels like he must offer second chances to even the most loyal of Sootstar’s followers. "I can bring your concerns to Sunstar, but the choice is not mine to make." Momentarily, she finds herself glad for the lack of authority on her part. Sootspot may play the part of concerned parent well enough, but his love for any non-blood kin is surely wavering at best. With the way he has cast off his younger siblings so easily, perhaps he also has no love for the living kin that Thriftfeather alludes to.

"The most I can do is assign an extra guard to keep him—and your kits—where they belong." There is no consideration given to Bluefrost’s own brood; if the little half-breeds’ own father wishes to whisk them away to DuskClan or beyond, then he can do so, for all that the calico cares. Bluefrost knew the risks of sharing her nest and her love with a rogue. Having a kit taken would be just what she deserves, after her betrayal.

YOU KNOW I DESERVE IT ☽♰☾ WELL, TAKE IT OUT ON ME

• ooc: —
• 
• SCORCHSTREAK ❯❯ she/they, deputy of windclan, tunneler
  ༄ small, slim flame-streaked calico with fiery golden eyes. cold and closed-off, ferociously protective of her clanmates. rarely seen aboveground.
  ༄ mate to bluepool ; sibling to rattleheart & rabbitclaw
  ༄ mentor to bilberrypaw & brackenpaw ; previously mentored pinkshine
  ༄ peaceful and healing powerplay permitted, but may react aggressively
  ༄ penned by foxlore

​

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[SEDGEPOUNCE]

It's becoming of Sootspot to make a socially-advantageous scene in the middle of a meeting, but that doesn't make the humdrum any more tasteful. Even so, it's not like he was wrong, per se. His concerns stuck with Sedgepounce despite it all, and so he can't help but gravitate toward the unfolding scene as Scorchstreak dutifully needles Sootspot into some kind of confession.

Amber eyes flicker between the three figures at play. The Queen is as vaguely malicious as ever, yet Scorchstreak seems to find some believability in him. It's actually a little alarming how easily Sootspot was able to put Sedgepounce's burgeoning thoughts into words—his own conversation with Thriftfeather assured him somewhat that there'd be no sudden kit-nappings, but it did nothing to change those plain-faced coincidences that Sootspot lays out. He doesn't like how Thriftfeather just gets to be...forgiven. How he's allowed this comfort and safety because he stumbled into fatherhood. It's already a drain on their sanity and resources, and now there's an offer of even more. How many more warriors need waste their time sitting in front of the nursery?

"I can help," Sedgepounce offers, stepping forward. He pins his gaze on their deputy rather than either tom nearby, shrugging briefly, frowning. "I gotta be able to train Bunnypaw still, obviously. But in my off time I don't mind taking up watch at the nursery." Better him than anyone else, he thinks. It feels like less of a burden on the clan that way.
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[BLUEFROST]

Perhaps Thriftfeather is used to the indignity of being ignored, but Bluefrost is not. Her mother's presence had commanded the attention of the entire Clan, of those outside of it, and she'd learned from the ground up how to capture that poise, that power. She cannot stifle her hackles; they stiffen, and though no growl leaves her mouth, it begins to thicken in her chest, a warning to her brother to shut his damnable mouth before she makes a fool of them both and shuts it for him. Were Scorchstreak not present, she would silence Sootspot and relish the quiet aftermath.

The fact that Scorchstreak is here is another thing entirely. The tortoiseshell warrior pays no mind to Thriftfeather and even less of one to Bluefrost. It stings, more than she can say, to have a cat she'd once served alongside treat her as though she is nothing more than filth under ivory paws. You watched me grow up. You watched me become a warrior. A lead warrior. You should love these kits like they're your own. You're the deputy, for better or worse, she wants to hiss, but she does not.

Her green eyes smolder from the darkness, lingering on her detested brother's smoke-gray pelt. She wants to hurt him. She wants to make him pay for his moronic ramblings. Sedgepounce's entry is awarded a slightly-less poisonous look, one that is full of suspicion. Just to what end does he offer to play guard duty? Bluefrost wants to scream, and the effort to keep quiet has her eyes prickling with frustrated tears.

『 out of character. 』 ✧･ﾟ:* 『 about. 』

• ooc: —
• 
• Bluekit . Bluepaw . Bluefrost, she/her w/ feminine terms.
  — “speech”, thoughts, attack
  — 18 moons old, ages realistically on the 14th.
  — mentored by Sootstar ; mentoring Brackenpaw ; previously mentored n/a.
  — windclan queen. sootstar x weaselclaw, gen 2.
  — penned by Marquette.
  
  
  lh blue smoke she-cat with white and emerald eyes. aloof, dignified, poised, haughty, composed, distant.
  
  

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