camp I CARRY YOUR HEART(I CARRY IT IN MY HEART) — return

Her initial patrol had proven fruitless. She, Foxglare, Sootspot, and Brackenpaw had padded through scrub until the roots of their claws ached, finding bits of fur, grasping tendrils of scent, but they'd not found whatever rotten pit DuskClan hides in. Bluefrost had been loathe to return to camp without Periwinklebreeze's kit—and the next time she'd left, alone, purpose in her every step. Her heart had guided her to Thriftfeather; it had guided him to her. She knows that now.

The gray warrior lowers her face to gently nose Vulturekit through the camp's gorse barrier. "Everyone will be happy to see you," she murmurs. "But remember... we must not speak of our friend." Had he chosen to return with her, Bluefrost would have groveled to Sunstar, would have pled with her leader until her tongue rubbed raw, but as it is, she does not want to further endanger Thriftfeather.

StarClan knew what he'd face when he'd show his face around Granitepelt again.

"Vulturekit has returned," she declares. "I found him wandering in the scrubland. He is unharmed." Physically. She wonders what the poor little scrap has borne witness to while captive to those outlaws, but she has to have faith that Thriftfeather did his best to protect him.

  • ooc: tagging @Vulturekit. and @Periwinklebreeze. but no need to wait!
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  • Bluekit . Bluepaw . Bluefrost, she/her w/ feminine terms.
    — “speech”, thoughts, attack
    — 16 moons old, ages realistically on the 14th.
    — mentored by Sootstar ; mentoring Brackenpaw ; previously mentored n/a.
    — windclan warrior. sootstar x weaselclaw, gen 2.
    — penned by Marquette.

    lh blue smoke she-cat with white and emerald eyes. aloof, dignified, poised, haughty, composed, distant.


 

˖⁺‧₊ ☽◯☾ ₊‧⁺˖  Vulturekit's paws are unsteady as he slinks back into camp. He keeps his head down, his tail tick-ticking back and forth behind him. Every bit of him carries uncertainty, as if he does not yet know that the attack has ended. He is thinner than when he left, spiky fur scruffier without his father to groom it. He is shakier, something hurt hiding behind the molten gold of his eyes. In his mouth he carries a downy feather with some care, its color a burnished copper that nearly vanishes amidst the dark of his pelt.

It is placed hesitantly upon the ground so that he may whisper to Bluefrost: "You think so?" It is hopeful, almost. He gives a quick nod at her instruction. "Okay. I - I won't." He doesn't know if it's true or not, but it is the right thing to say.

He freezes at the warrior's declaration, tensing as he waits for the cats to begin flooding him. It all looks just the same as he remembers - and the blood has been cleaned. "Where's - um. Where's my d-dad?" He asks timidly, eyes scanning for that familiar face. He longs to see all the cats he's been missing, safe and unharmed: his dad, his siblings, his cousins. He has to remind himself not to search for his aunt.


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    "SPEECH"
  • VULTUREKIT he / they, kit of windclan, four moons.
    a spiky-furred dark tabby with amber eyes.
    skittish and dour, with little time for typical kit games.
    micheal x npc, adopted by periwinklebreeze. sibling to dustkit and bilberrykit.
    peaceful and healing powerplay permitted / / underline and tag when attacking
    penned by SATURNIDsaturnids on discord, feel free to dm for plots.

 
While initially distressing, Bilberrykit had eased himself into a world with Vulturekit's absence. If Vulturekit had been harmed in some way, Bilberrykit thinks that he would have somehow felt it or known—he knows everything about Vulturekit. (He, notably, did not know where Vulturekit went. But he knows almost everything, and that is practically everything!) It is excitement that sees Bilberrykit bounding towards Vulturekit without the tinge of desperation one might expect from a kit lacking their sibling.

"You were gone!" Bilberrykit stops short of barreling into Vulturekit, but it is a near thing. Stuffing his face against Vulturekit confirms what Bilberrykit had suspected—they still smell the same, beneath the dust and scrawn, "Everyone was looking for you, you know," There is the start of a question there, or rather the revelation of some itching confusion without any amount of bitterness—why would you go if everyone was looking for you?

Seeing Vulturekit now, whole and before him, Bilberrykit is both filled with the want to tell Vulturekit all of the tiny things he would have said to them throughout the days of their absence and the overwhelming sense that he doesn't know where to start. Bilberrykit's black ears quiver on top of his head and his eyes scrunch with the force of his smile—at once he is reminded that he did miss Vulturekit and that he is overwhelmingly happy to see them again.

"If you do that again I should go with you too!" Chirped rather than spoken, and meaning: I would rather not be seperated again. Bilberrykit imagines it could be fun to explore someplace new with Vulturekit, and Dustkit could come too, and everyone else in WindClan if they wanted to. ​
windclan kit | black and white harlequin | four moons | tags
 
  • Love
Reactions: Vulturepaw
He does not know what would become of him, had the truth of Vulturekit's escape spill from either of their tongues. Grief, he may imagine — whole-body, an overflow of aching, for in these kits he sees pieces of who once had been. Of all the cats he mourns from the death throes of Sootstar's rule, the kits fill him with the greatest of sorrows. Bluefrost and Addervenom, Cottonpaw, even Sootspot holds a place of weakness in his heart. That they had suffered all that they had without knowing anything better. . . if it had taken him so long to tear off the normalcy that had settled over their eyes, how could he expect even as much from those that had no stronger foundation to stand upon? He would grieve Thriftfeather.

So too would he rage against him for all that he had done. His place in DuskClan was not without cost. They had every chance to turn from the life before them. They had not taken it. Even if none were as terrible a creature as Sootstar or Granitepelt, could he truly allow them with no greater promise that they would do the same again? (He does not think, even briefly, on how much he desires such a thing. To be held accountable by claw and fang. To be driven out, or put down, should his path head such a dark manner. He thinks of his aching grief after Bearflight's demise; would he have tread further down the same path she had, should StarClan have abandoned him as well?)

This is a story of success. Not a moment of grief or heavy thought. The three-legged leader heeds Bluefrost's declaration with an exhalation he did not know he had been holding. Tension unwinds within his chest. "Wandering?" he questions, surprise tinging his voice as much as the smile that lifts its edges. "Had you escaped on your own?" Once upon a time they had apprenticed their young at this age. The resiliency does not surprise him. The youthfulness of Bilberrykit's response reminds him of all the reasons they had stopped this as well — they are complex creatures, kittens. "I'm certain Periwinklebreeze will come to you soon. He has been desperate for your return, as we all have."
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  • ooc:
  • ↟ 𝐒𝐔𝐍𝐒𝐓𝐀𝐑.  ╱  AMAB  HE - HIM - HIS.  LEADER OF WINDCLAN.    ⋆̴͖̻̌͛⋆̵̼͈̐̿̓̏͝ ⋆̶̬́̀
    ————  a rogue brought to windclan in a search for greatness, one of sootstar's most loyal warriors turned into her downfall. with a mate and kits to worry about, and now nine lives from starclan with a missing limb, windclan's leader has a lot to prove.

    82190121_9CSsSGfEk2LJ5dF.png
    a large chocolate and white rosette tom with seaglass eyes. the first thing many see when looking at sunstar now is not his proud posture or un-windclan build, but the scarred stump that remains of his front left leg. a wound that would have killed most other cats took one of his lives; not even starclan could repair it.
 
"Vulturekit!"

Scorchstorm cries out for the kitten, joy ringing clear in the bell-chime of her bellow. Vulturekit is home, and he is home safe, at least physically. Mentally she cannot be sure what he endured — a simple wandering through the territory must not have been too terrifying, and yet... the child's eyes betray his soft pelt, his scarless frame. Maybe he'd seen some predator. A fox, a bird, a badger; maybe he'd escaped just in time, or made himself small enough to avoid its ire. But at least... at least it had not been DuskClan. Right?

Bilberrykit barrels into his sibling, chirping and cheering, and Scorchstorm turns her own gaze to Bluefrost. Her dual-toned gaze sparkles with the force of her joy; her pride in the newly-crowned council member. "You found him," she breathes, flame-splashed muzzle splitting wide for her smile. Periwinklebreeze would be relieved — her friend, though she is not sure what he thinks of her. To see his child returned... it lifts a weight from her shoulders, a grief that he never asked her to carry. But Scorchstorm takes it on all the same. Her own shoulders feel lighter now, thanks to Bluefrost.

Bluefrost, the she-cat that she had viewed with so much suspicion before. Bluefrost, whose pelt she had groomed each speck of ash and dirt away from. Bluefrost, who thought she had something to learn from her. Scorchstorm's dual-tone embers crinkle at their corners, amused and lightened by the good news. "Good job." She steps forward, touching her nose to the icy she-cat's notched ear, and pulls away just as fast, eager to join in celebrating Vulturekit's valiant return.
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  • ooc.
  • SCORCHSTORM —— warrior of windclan, mentored by sunstar & badgermoon . scorchstreak x badgermoon . littermate to rumblerain, frostwind, and luckypaw ✦ penned by meghan

    a broad-shouldered tortoiseshell with low white and dual-toned amber eyes. extremely loyal to sunstar and her family, and enjoys a deep connection to the moorlands
    demigirl / she they pronouns / lesbian / 14 moons & ages every 1st
    peaceful and healing powerplay permitted / underline & tag account when attacking
    —— will start fights / will not flee / may show mercy. fights honorably and with great ferocity. can tank a few hits, but is not the sturdiest cat in windclan. starts fights with the intention of finishing them permanently, but will not aim to maim or kill obviously young cats

    "speech", thoughts, all opinions are in character
    full biography — msg on discord for plots — toyhouse
 
AS HE RAISED HIS FIST BEFORE HE SPOKE — Anxiety. Terror. Fury. Those had been the emotions that had shocked Rattleheart from the inside out when Duskclan had invaded camp. Like jolts of lightning running along her limbs as she had been crouched in the nursery, huddling her kittens close and aching to protect them from anything or anyone that dared to get near them. Thornrunner had learned just how much her furor could accomplish that day, her claws having forcibly cut out the rot that had existed within him. If only she could've done the same thing with Ebonylight, and with whoever had ended up snatching Vulturekit away from them.

Though, it seemed he would have sunk his fangs down into nothing but air if Bluefrost's explanation rang true.

Bluefrost's declaration was enough to draw her from her usual nest in the nursery, wearing a surprised grin on her face as she looked between her fellow lead warrior and the rescued kit. Or the retrieved kit, rather, considering he had apparently been found wandering. So caught up was she in her joy that she didn't even hesitate in rushing forward, aiming to jab her head lightly against Bluefrost's shoulder. "Bluefrost... thank you. It's a relief that you found him, really." Rattleheart was sure her words wouldn't mean quite as much as those that would inevitably come from the young tom's father when he became aware of Vulturekit's return, but she felt the need to say them anyways. To make sure the blue smoke was aware of just how much gratitude was directed towards her, after so much suspicion being given in equal measure.

It was after taking a step back that she looked towards Vulturekit, scanning the little shadowed tom over for any signs of injury. Only after she came up blank did she seem able to relax, tail flicking back in the direction of the nursery. "We've been missing you quite a bit, Vulturekit. My litter will be eager to tell you all about what you missed, I'm sure... but your father especially will be glad to have you back. I think he's in the nursery?" Rattleheart couldn't think of where else he would be, considering his now not-so-recent rank change. Though it was just as likely that Periwinklebreeze was out somewhere, on the lookout for Vulturekit himself.


  • 75034712_8183RsjuzqJmQXv.png
    longhaired black and white tom with pale green eyes
    53 moons old; ages the 1st every month
    afab; uses he/she/they pronouns
    homosexual homoromantic; mated to venomstrike
    sibling to scorchstreak, lizardbounce, and rabbitclaw
    mother to thistlekit, breezekit, splinterkit, crunchykit, and vinekit
    somewhat difficult to befriend; wary but kind
    "speech", thoughts, attacking
    peaceful powerplay allowed
    all opinions are ic
 

˖⁺‧₊ ☽◯☾ ₊‧⁺˖  Bilberrykit is the first to come greet them, and something in their heart lightens. He is unchanged, bright and bounding, voice like tittering birdsong. It is easier (though he hates the thought) of facing his father so soon. He smiles, but it is crooked. "I'm sorry," he says, a quiet apology for his absence. Bilberrykit comes close - but not close enough. He moves forwards to press his head against his brother's. A reminder that he is real, that he is here. There is comfort in the contact.

He wants to go with them, should it happen again. Even as terrifying as DuskClan was, the one thing he had longed for most was a familiar pelt alongside his own. "P-p-please." He bites out, harsh between his teeth. His words are all sharp edges, just as his fur. He is a jagged creature; softness and lightness do not come so as easy to him as they do to his brother. He breathes in, shakily. "D-duh-don't wanna... g-go anywhere without you again," he adds, quieter now.

More cats come, and the ease of his brother's companionship wanes.

"Had you escaped on your own?" Sunstar asks, and for a moment he is certain that the leader can see through him. Blue bores inot the dark of his pelt like endless sky, and he cannot help but tremble. He has done nothing wrong, he knows - and yet. Dishonesty is not something he is accustomed to, not so boldly and not to the leader. He glances briefly to Bluefrost, swallows down as much as he can of the fear.

Vulturekit had not prepared a story; it all happened too fast. Thriftfeather's name sits somewhere behind their teeth. They blink down at the ruddy feather, placing a paw upon it to steady themself. He has no need to pull the shake from his voice; its place there is well cemented. "I... r-ran away," he says, with a softness shaped almost like admission. It tastes bitter on his tongue. He swallows hard, blinks the wetness from his eyes. "I - I was scared. I ran away, 'c-cause I was scared." It is not a lie, but it is not quite the truth either. His words tremble just as his tiny legs do, thin and brittle.

Rattleheart speaks of his father, of her own kittens. It is strange to think that they have aged in his absence; he has never known a time that they did not occupy the same nursery. To them, he offers only a nod. His words feel spent, his throat constricted. He has a long day ahead of him.


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    "SPEECH"
  • VULTUREKIT he / they, kit of windclan, five moons.
    a spiky-furred dark tabby with amber eyes.
    skittish and dour, with little time for typical kit games.
    micheal x npc, adopted by periwinklebreeze. sibling to dustkit and bilberrykit.
    peaceful and healing powerplay permitted / / underline and tag when attacking
    penned by SATURNIDsaturnids on discord, feel free to dm for plots.

 
  • Sad
Reactions: Floppie

Sootspot was silent as he watched Bluefrost wander into camp, his jaws parted as he watched a familiar little kitten walk in with her. There was no relief upon seeing the tabby form, instead, he felt anger, and though he smiled towards Vulturekit and wished them well, it did not stop the agitated beating of a heart that felt as if it'd been wronged. Chartreuse eyes looked for Brackenpaw or Foxglare within the crowd, but when he couldn't find them fast enough, he straightened his shoulders and head. "It is good you are safe," he mewed to Vulture as he wandered past them and towards the blue-furred Lead Warrior. He stood by Bluefrost's side, grinning as if he had kind ways to say to her - but he imagined she knew him better by now. "I hope endangering this kitten for longer was worth the glory of rescuing him all on your lonesome," he whispered to Bluefrost, nudging her shoulder with his cheek before padding away. He would not entertain the hero syndrome of his sister, even if the rest of the clan would. The patrol would've found him if the Lead Warrior hadn't called them off, that much he was certain of.



 
"Wandering?" Sunstar questions, turning his blue gaze toward Vulturekit. Bluefrost stiffens, though she says nothing. She has to trust the kit's self-preservation instincts—and she knows now that he has them, for certain. To her relief, the little tabby confesses to running away from DuskClan out of fear. She relaxes, just as Scorchstorm approaches, her muscles rippling beneath a wildfire pelt. "You found him," she breathes, and Bluefrost feels the warmth of her muzzle against her notched ear. A blush spreads beneath her silver-dusted pelt, though she does her best to contain her embarrassment. "I was lucky," she murmurs in response. Rattleheart, too, approaches, pressing her head lightly against Bluefrost's shoulder. To her friend, she offers a small smile and a dip of her head.

She spots a shifting gray pelt in the cluster of cats. Sootspot approaches Vulturekit, his teeth bared into some semblance of a smile. His cheek slaps against her shoulder as he passes her by. "I hope endangering this kitten for longer was worth the glory of rescuing him all on your lonesome." She bristles, her tail threatening to lash behind her. She bares her teeth and offers the beginning rumblings of a warning growl to her elder sibling. "This is not about glory, you foxheart," she whisper-hisses in his direction. Stars, she's glad she'd sent the patrol away—Thriftfeather's name would have been a trophy-kill in Sootspot's jaws had he been spotted.

  • ooc:
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  • Bluekit . Bluepaw . Bluefrost, she/her w/ feminine terms.
    — “speech”, thoughts, attack
    — 16 moons old, ages realistically on the 14th.
    — mentored by Sootstar ; mentoring Brackenpaw ; previously mentored n/a.
    — windclan warrior. sootstar x weaselclaw, gen 2.
    — penned by Marquette.

    lh blue smoke she-cat with white and emerald eyes. aloof, dignified, poised, haughty, composed, distant.


 
LIKE A PICTURE IN A FRAME
WISH WE COULD'VE STAYED THE SAME
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periwinklebreeze 23 moons demi-boy windclan queen
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Periwinklebreeze is not the first to arrive, to greet vulturekit, to welcome back his child - and in truth, it makes something in his heart break. He's just so busy, so tired - a whole family grieving, eight mouths to feed and watch over. He seeks distraction in all things, runs himself near into the ground. And because of this, he is late.

" V-vulturekit, " comes ragged voice - sounding just as breathless and broken as he feels, eyes watering for the first time since his sisters death. As blackened paws carry frail figure over, in truth he pays no mind to those around him nor their conversations - hissed words falling upon deafened ears as he goes to touch his nose to his kits forehead, tail wrapping protectively around tabby pelted frame as the queen searches him over for any sign of wounds. " You're... you're alright - you're home, " words sound disbelieving even to his own ears - as though this is a dream that he might wake up from at any moment.

If it is, he certainly hopes never to wake.

" Thank you - thank you, " voice calls out, this time directed at bluefrost - head bobbing into a makeshift bow as he speaks. They have not always gotten along, and by no fault but his own at that, but still it seems she has done as he'd asked. He is relived that she is a lead warrior now - quite clearly sunstar had been right in his choice.

actions & " speech, " & 'thoughts/quotes'
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I ' V E - A L W A Y S - B E E N - R E A L - B A D - W I T H - C H A N G E
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