private HOLD THE NIGHT IN YOUR HANDS — WINTER

[LOVEBURN]

✦•··········•✦•··········•✦There is a fish on the bank. Alive but slightly bloodied, it wriggles desperately, aimless and completely helpless out of its world. Those eerie, unblinking eyes— it must be terrifying to watch the end without the lying solace of closed eyes, and pity brings Loveburn's teeth into it. The flopping subsides to a twitching, and then to stiff stillness. It has met mercy, but left behind a mystery. There are no other RiverClanners nearby this particular spot, and none would dare leave prey unattended for any swooping bird to steal, but clearly someone chased this fish to its death. Loveburn has seen far too many fish felled by claws not to recognize the familiar pinpricks.

Completely at a loss, he bends and sniffs dull scales. He cannot smell anything notable over its ripeness and the river's clinging moisture.

Perhaps it is a sign from StarClan. Perhaps his fathers look down upon him and aim to— to— what? Remind him of their presence? Surely they would know Loveburn always keeps them close. Which leaves the unsavory possibility that one of the shadowy fiends has left it as a message, some representation of how they view him. He scowls.

loveburn (formerly lovepaw and starlightpaw) — currently thirteen moons old
son of cicadastar & smokestar — brother to cicadaflight & beefang — he/him
single & not really looking — peaceful/nonviolent actions may be powerplayed
please note that loveburn has persecutory delusions & sometimes personal prose
will make patently untrue assumptions and mischaracterizations of other people.

 

[WINTER]

Behind Loveburn: a crunch. Delicate, feather-light; there and then gone– looking back reveals nothing, should the RiverClanner turn their eyes away from the fish they watch. His own catch. An intentional abandonment of one. The pale light gleaming on silvery scales that curve above clipped muscles — a lure. He is low to his stomach in the grass some distance off, his tail held carefully low and his ears flattened to his skull. From here, he can see the slim-boned profile of this stranger as features turn to a scowl. Pink eyes narrow to a deep-set squint.

One silent paw, then another, his belly still low to the earth. Hardy river grass parts before broad shoulders and shifts slowly back into place with each sandy shift beneath his stride. The air was in his favor, wafting blood and fish towards his nose alongside the warrior's half-familiar one. Hovering around RiverClan's border has him acquainted with the smell of wet stone and wetter fur, the crispness of aquatic plants. Even if this cat is not one he had seen directly, he knew enough. Each step forward is alight with anticipation. Each deliberate step adheres to rules only he knows.

The sun casts his shadow behind him along with his scent. So even when Winter straightens up from his crouch, those last few steps to circle in front of Loveburn come without warning. His shoulder comes into view the same moment that his claws extend to curl into the fish's now-still hide. Satisfaction fails to tear unblinking eyes from the stranger's expression. "Have you ever noticed how much quieter the world gets before it all goes wrong?" he murmurs, almost pleasantly.

HAVE MY HEART ( 𝙄𝙁 𝙔𝙊𝙐 𝙃𝘼𝙑𝙀 𝙏𝙃𝙀 𝙎𝙏𝙊𝙈𝘼𝘾𝙃 𝙏𝙊 𝙏𝘼𝙆𝙀 𝙄𝙏) ₀₉.₀₁

• ✧₊⁺ ️️️ ️️╱ ️️️ ️️ ️️️ OOC. —
  

  

• 𝗪𝗜𝗡𝗧𝗘𝗥 ️️️ ——— ️️️ ROGUE RIVER - WANDERER , A WRAITH AT THE WATER'S EDGE JUST OUT OF REACH. ️️️ HE - HIM - HIS. ️️️ SEXUALITY UNKNOWN , SINGLE ️️️ ( NOT LOOKING ). ️️️ —————— ️️️ a creature of uncertain origin, winter roams near enough to riverclan's borders to cause unease. his quiet, rasping voice is an entangling lure to those that manage to listen for a while.
• "speech"

​

 

[LOVEBURN]

✦•··········•✦•··········•✦ His uneasiness builds like the humidity before a heavy storm, heavy on his pelt and in his lungs. If the fish was left by one of his killer-hopefuls, to what end? Can it merely be intended to unsettle him as he originally thought? StarClan sends signs, but Loveburn is not quite as certain whether these shadows are capable of such symbolism. If so, then the fish must serve another purpose. If they knew that Loveburn would be the one to find it, if they knew when to slap the fish from the river and onto the shore, then they must know his movement. And this location is not typical of his habits, so this was undoubtedly the work of a cat posing as one of his clanmates.

They know where he is, they know what holds his attention, they must be—

He stiffens sharply as pale fur edges into view. Claws snag the dead fish confidently. Loveburn does not know the face that watches him, but it is surely one that watches him.

"It does get quiet, doesn't it?" He says lightly, shifting back a step, and then another. "But I know it isn't you who scares the fish to the deep. You might think you've taken your prize"—his paw darts out, pinning the other end of the fish to the ground—"but you don't have anything yet."

loveburn (formerly lovepaw and starlightpaw) — currently thirteen moons old
son of cicadastar & smokestar — brother to cicadaflight & beefang — he/him
single & not really looking — peaceful/nonviolent actions may be powerplayed
please note that loveburn has persecutory delusions & sometimes personal prose
will make patently untrue assumptions and mischaracterizations of other people.