i just wanna turn the lights off ☀︎ trap

[Sunfreckle]

—————————————————————⊰☀︎⊱————————————————————
Patrolling along the thunderpath always unerved him. He remembers the rumble of the monster that took Mossypaw away so long ago, wonders vaguely if his daughter was simply killed or is a kittypet somewhere and doesn't remember her life in the forest. Sunfreckle's ears go flat when he peers around the treeline to observe the burning scent of the tarmac, green eyes narrowing at the monstrosity perched on the edge of it unmoving. A monster, dead, and its round eyes lacking the usual illumination they often had at this time of the day. He knew sometimes these things stopped, that the two-legs inside them would come and go on occasion and leave them empty husks without life; but he'd never seen one stop in a place like this. The middle of a long pathward, trees on either side and not a twoleg den to be seen for miles.

It's then he hears the sound of kits. Mewling, pitched, he's highly attuned to them after having only just left the nursery not too long ago. His gaze darts back to the forest for the rest of the patrol but they had either spread out in another direction or had not caught up to him. His great plume of a tail lashes in irritation, worry, he can't very well ignore this. Can't very well turn away from helpless cries. The red tabby makes the decision then to move closer, shifting from the edge of the wood to the ditch rolling from the side of the road and keeping his belly so low to the ground he will spend several hours grooming it to remove the dirt he is wallowing in; but his focus is forward. Settled near the motionless monster is an odd thing, what looks like a small den covered in some soft hide and at the back the mewling echoes outward to him. Sunfreckle continues creeping along until he is right at the opening, a tentative sniff telling him that cats had been near this but not ThunderClanners from what he could determine. The mewling is deafening now and in to the dark, cloaked den he steps until he realizes there are no kits within.

A fraction of a second too late Sunfreckle jumps back, but the ground under his lone forepaw has dropped suddenly and the mouth of the den seals behind him with a snap. A yowl of surprise escapes him, he rocks to the side, shaking the cage that is far too small for him violently enough that the drapery over it falls, some strange flat cloth that resembled the colors of the woods. The kit sound continues, but he sees now it comes from some strange black thing on the ground; trickery meant to lure. He'd been a fool...

"HEY!" His voice cracks, but he searches the trees frantically for the rest of the patrol, "HELP!"

——— ☀︎ light the fire, let it burn on top of you ——— ☀︎ breath again beneath the flames

• Ooc: He is trapped in a cage trap, the kind that have the pressure plate and can not be opened without thumbs.
• 
  
  
  Sunfreckle
  —⊰⋅ Lead Warrior of ThunderClan
  —⊰⋅ He/Him
  "SPEECH", 'THOUGHTS', ATTACK
  —⊰⋅ Large red tabby tom w/green eyes and no left foreleg.
  

​

 

[freckleflame]

dawn patrol. flycatcher knew what she was made of and he had a rat in his fur about it, he had to. the molly trudges behind her group with her tail dragging, head low and maw open to catch any lingering scents so they could secure the borders and go home. sleep since the rogue invasion had not come easily, and exhaustion still lined the green - blue of her eyes in a tinge of red. the wind buffets her nose and cheeks, wisps the heavy fluff settled there, and she doesn’t see when sunfreckle steps away — she’s tired, staring dumbly at the bark she intended to plop herself against until the scent of smog gave way to the forest yet again.

her eyes are closed when it starts, leaning against an oak already barren of its leaves.

hey!

she hears it, swivels an ear and picks her head up and — sunfreckle. her heart drops to her paws, and she nearly drops to the ground when said paws do not want to move. HELP!

she doesn’t remember mossypaw well now, not really. with age her memories fade, even moreso the ones she hadn’t been present for. she did not know the rumble of abduction, the thunder at the paws of those who had witnessed her capture — it had only instilled a vague fear of the reeking patch of land. a fear that, as all thunderclan cats do, she conquers with each patrol towards shadowclans border. the flat black rock seemed to extend miles when she spots him, crouched at the bottom of.. something. something twoleg, something like the husk of a monster lying at the ditch, it’s eyes dark and growl silenced.

it’s only seconds later when she forces herself forward on quick, stumbling paws, even if it feels like an eternity to take in. “ sunfr — dad! dad! “ she doesn’t know why she calls for him, trapped as he is as she nears. the sound of mewling grows louder and louder, a cacophony of squeals that strengthens with each step she takes. what is that? ” are the kittens — “ in there? as she reaches the side, it didn’t appear so. wide, frightened eyes flick back towards the tabby’s face. there was no maw, no opening for him to leave. what could she do? ” look, i’m gonna help you, we’re gonna get you out, there has to be — there has to be something here, there has to be. don’t worry, i’ll find it. “ each word more frantic, more frantic as she steps around to pace the thing.

she circles it, taps it with her paws, her claws, all for the hollow clank of no avail. in a last ditch effort, she rears back, angling her face to try and take the cold bars in her teeth. it’s awkward, painful at her lips where it cuts against her gums and teeth. she can’t grasp it. she tugs and her teeth slip, sending her toppling back a few steps towards the tarmac, ” i’m going to — “ a running bash towards the cage, although it would do little other than rattle it. her eyes gloss, ” get you — “ a slam of her shoulder into it. it hurts, but she would heal from the physical. ” OUT of there, i promise! “ the last word a cry, the loud crack of voice warbling on the edge of tears. she couldn’t do it. her head whips ; maybe the patrol could, they were smart. they were quick and could think in times like these. they could, ” help! help, please, help me! “ open it, break it. was this what it was like, watching her sister be taken? they’re going to take him too.

𝚈𝙾𝚄 𝙼𝙰𝙺𝙴 𝙼𝙴 𝚂𝙼𝙸𝙻𝙴 -`☀︎´- 𝘗𝘓𝘌𝘈𝘚𝘌 𝘚𝘛𝘈𝘠 𝘍𝘖𝘙 𝘈 𝘞𝘏𝘐𝘓𝘌 𝘕𝘖𝘞

• i.
  
• 
  
  
• 𖦹 . LESBIAN. SINGLE, CRUSHES EASILY. SMELLS LIKE SUN - WARMED OAK. FOURTEEN MOONS. NAMED A WARRIOR 8 / 3 / 2023. MENTORED UNDER WOLFWIND, PENNED BY ANTLERS !!!
  f. she / her, daughter of sunfreckle and rabbitnose. large cream - ribboned tortoiseshell with seaglass eyes. fire - forged, smoldering ; shades of vibrant russet, dousing swathes of shadow and interwoven with ribbons pale cream come to drape like licks of flame over a well - toned form.
  
  in warriorhood she has grown to full, hulking height ; unspecified maine coon heritage born of sunfreckle's kittypet background shows itself in large, round paws and tufted, long - furred toes set upon thick, tabby - splotched limbs. freckleflame is broad shouldered and square - jawed, wild cheek fur like the blazing edges of a red sun — a hulking, thick - furred thunderclan warrior, forever blaze - kissed. a characteristic lack of personal space leads her to a slouching, touchy posture, often inclined to lean or bump against her peers, all while bearing a wide, bright - eyed grin.
  
  ——— ˙⋆ — prone to bouts of explosive emotion. all opinions are solely in - character and during these times, often untrue or said only in anger.
  
  

​

 

[Rabbitnose]

Rabbitnose trailed behind the patrol sleepily, everything that had happened lately left him exhausted in the head. Everyone should just take a nap. they all need it. But Rabbitnose had a habit of being tired and awake and restless at the same time. He didn't know what to call it, if there was even a name for it at all. But it's what he was feeling right now, and he was stuck with it until one of the feelings faded.

The forest was nice in the morning, calm and cool. Peaceful. But Rabbitnose knew better than to let his guard down in the forest, and so his ears were alert and pointed, swiveling for any unfamiliar sounds. He had not been expecting the sound of his mate crying for help to reach his ears.

His blood turns to ice and he is no longer tired as adrenaline kicks in, and he's bolting across the forest floor towards Sunfreckle. He dreaded what he might find, were the rogues back? Was Shadowclan up to something, maybe? A predator? Several possibilities raced through his mind as his heart pounded. He swore he felt it stop when he arrived to see Sunfreckle stuck in a cage, and Freckleflame trying to save him. The terror and dread he felt at this moment was unlike anything he'd ever felt before.

"S-sunfreckle!!"

What does he do? He approaches the contraption and looks it over. He has no idea how to open it. He paces restlessly around it as he tries to figure it out how to open it. He bites, he smacks it, everything he tries isn't working. "Just hold on, we'll figure something out, we have to-" He manages through his fear, the choking, suffocating doubt that grips him.

He doesn't know what to do.

He sees no way to open this damnable contraption.

What happened to Mossypaw is happening all over again.

"There needs to be some way to open this. I refuse to lose you too." His voice wavers as he begins to tremble, eyes beginning to water. He couldn't lose Sunfreckle. Sunfreckle was his LIFE. His dearest, most loved companion. His world. He couldn't lose him. He's not sure he could handle this loss. He does not see a future that doesn't have his beloved mate in it.

And yet he can't get him free. The pain in his heart almost feels like it's going to stop it completely.

He's terrified, frustrated. He doesn't know what to do and its killing him inside. He bites down on the cage and presses his paws against it, pulling with all his might with a growl. "COME ON-!"

He can't lose him. It is not an option. He will fight a twoleg if he has to. If it bleeds, it can die, right?​

 

[Flycatcher]

Dawn patrol. They were admittedly not his favourite patrols but as a perpetual early rise thanks to his status as deputy, Flycatcher often rather preferred to appoint himself to these patrols. As he padded forward, his apprentice at his side, he brushed past Freckleflame and gave her a playful smile. "Lighten up, Freckleflame," He teased. "You can rest plenty when we get home."

The deputy broke away a little bit to mark the territory, losing sight of the rest of the patrol temporarily. All is going well until he hears the desperate cries of Sunfreckle. "Did you hear that?" He asks, turning to Shinepaw to ensure he isn't going crazy. When Shinepaw confirms he heard it too, Flycatcher dashes in the direction of the sound, gesturing for Shinepaw to follow suit. They head towards the Thunderpath and even before they arrive Flycatcher feels a sense of dread forming in the pit of his stomach. The Thunderpath holds little in the way of fond memories the bodies of Ragwortpaw and the niece he hardly knew etched in his mind.

When he comes across the scene, he's startled and unsure how to react, but quickly races over to see what he can do. "Sunfreckle!" He cries out, coming to a stop at the twoleg contraption. He stands on the cage putting his weight on it to try and open it before biting but finding neither worked. "Hold on, Sunfreckle. We'll get you out...there has to be a way to get you out."

Flycatcher paused briefly to turn to his apprentice. "Shinepaw, run back to camp andet them know what's happening!"

@Shinebug ​

 

[Sunfreckle]

—————————————————————⊰☀︎⊱————————————————————

He can do nothing, he realizes, his heart pounding in panic as the realization of what was happening finally settled over him. Nothing he does short of bashing himself against the cage has any effect on it, he doesn't even think that helps as the silver bars do not seem to bend no matter the effort he puts into his attempts - all it does is shake and rattle around him like a broken ribcage and he is its bright red heart. The first cats to arrive are his daughter and mate and he stares with wide fearful green eyes at them both. Claws and teeth strike, grab, pull and push, nothing changes - nothing gives. The world feels as if it has slowed, he stares hard at the toriseshell molly; his little flame, named after him by Rabbitnose and sporting his fiery colors and forest-colored gaze. Sparkwing might take after him the most, but it is Freckleflame who has his eyes and he can't pull his own away from hers brimming with tears and desperate.
"Freckle..." He starts, stop, Rabbitnose is there too and his mate looks horrified; he was there when they lost Mossypaw, he watched the monster leave with her and they have never seen her since and probably never would. They'd mourn like she died, because in a way she had - they moved on as best they could, it stung in a way losing Dovekit hadn't because it was far too sudden. He wonders in a dettached way if he too would be mourned in the coming days. Whatever fate befell him he was going to be taken and he wasn't so foolish as to think otherwise. Sunfreckle blinks back tears, out of the nursery and immediately into another restrictive thing but this one wholey against his will.
Behind them he hears a sudden growl, sputtering noises and the deep reverberating hum of the monster by the side of the Thunderpath suddenly coming to life; the red tabby spins in his containment, horrified. It opens from the side and a twoleg foot plants down. It's coming for him and he knows it. Flycatcher is there, but he sends his apprentice away and it is too late. He knows it is too late. Shinepaw will not get back in time.

"Go-go! Run! Run now!" A white dipped paw slams against the cage to get Rabbitnose's attention as he bites down on the wire mesh, he catches his mates eye for only a second, "...I love you. I love you both, I love all of you-go! GO! QUICK!"

No matter the cats present, kicks to scatter them or a shout to ward them off, the twoleg would come and reach down to grab an arching bend of metal atop the contained to heft it upward; lift the swinging cage into the air with plush red fur spilling from the gaps between the bars and Sunfreckle struggled to remain standing. He trembles, the twoleg retraces their steps back to the monster still rumbling across the thunderpath and he is shoved inside, a fabric pulled over to cast him into darkness.

'Oh, StarClan...what's going to happen to me?' Would he see his daughter again maybe? Or was this it...

——— ☀︎ light the fire, let it burn on top of you ——— ☀︎ breath again beneath the flames

•  
• 
  
  
  Sunfreckle
  —⊰⋅ Lead Warrior of ThunderClan
  —⊰⋅ He/Him
  "SPEECH", 'THOUGHTS', ATTACK
  —⊰⋅ Large red tabby tom w/green eyes and no left foreleg.
  

​

 

[Shinebug]

Things were going to get better, right? The rouges were gone, the sickness was beaten, everything was slowly moving back towards a state of normalcy. Shinepaw’s boundless energy was back in force, and the boy was happy to be hauled away in the early hours of the morning to go on a dawn patrol, because that was a normal chore for a normal apprentice in a normal clan.

As Flycatcher forges his own path, Shinepaw is quick to stick to his mentor like a second shadow. The shaft of sunlight needed to catch up on moons of missed training, and was drinking in the deputy’s movements before Sunfreckle’s shrieks taught him that “normal” never really exists anywhere

Sky-blue eyes are quick to focus on his mentor for reassurance, but the other seemed just as bewildered as Shinepaw. To him, that was the scariest part. “Y-Yeah, I did” he stammers back after a moment, a million possibilities racing through his mind (and none of them good). Still, the shaft of sunlight wanted to help his clanmate. It was hard to keep up with Flycatcher, but stubby legs and screaming muscles were ignored as the apprentice put all his effort into the task. At first he follows the deputy to the cage, clawing and biting the strange material before barked orders reach his ears.

Shinepaw didn’t want to leave. He’d talked to Sunfreckle since kithood, always trying to cheer up the older cat, so to be told to act as a messenger…

The stubborn apprentice acquiesced to the demand after a few seconds, accepting that his paws would be better than his teeth in this situation. The shaft of sunlight shot into the forest, glancing over his shoulder just in time to see the last moments of Sunfreckle’s freedom. Tears envelop him, but Shinepaw keeps going.​

 

[freckleflame]

she’s joined shortly by rabbitnose — by her other father, who rams his own thin limbs into the box while freckleflame stumbles back, feels her chest threaten to collapse with each heaving breath. panic. panic. she backs a step, two as sunfreckle rattles and shakes about in his prison. she watches the fight leave, watches realization set, watches as her father meets her eye and she can do nothing but pant. freckle.. ” i don’t know what to do. “ small. quiet, in a way she never had been. she is an apprentice, muttering an admission of wrongdoing ; i don’t know. it was failure. condemnation.

another failure, this one — permanent. misery and guilt leadens her paws in equal measure, seconds stretching into hours as rabbitnose yells, cacophony falling away as she memorizes him : the copper lines of his face, worn with age and love. the thickness of his fur, the gleam in his eye. remember. please, just this once, commit this image to memory. remember him. her heart falls further into her paws.

the monster snarls, and if her fur hadn’t been puffed enough already, she’d have erupted into patchwork spikes. it’s flank opens and out come a long, colorful paw ; she’s never seen a twoleg, not with her own eyes. it’s ugly, large and flat - faced. her back arches instinctively, but it does nothing to deter the creature from continuing its approach. it slows, a hairless paw extending and a slow, steady clicking sound falling from its open maw. flycatcher had joined them with a holler to shinepaw and she suddenly gives him a wild, wide - eyed gleam of desperation, claws hooking on the bars of sunfreckle’s snare and feeling them pull with each rattle ; flycatcher was here.

flycatcher would know what to to, right? he was deputy, howlingstar had chosen him himself — maybe that meant he had a tinge of starclan in him already. just a smidge, a hint of blessings in his paws, some miracle that sends the voices of their ancestors down in aide. her superiors knew what they were doing, they always did.. right? the tom leaps on top of it and it does nothing to open the hard container, nor the bites or pulls just as freckleflame had, as rabbitnose had, to no better avail. hope drains to dismay. aggression noted, the twoleg begins to shout and sway its foot wildly to disperse them.

they had to go.

no, no, please, no — her skull screams, but she only pushes her forehead hard against the bars, pushes until it feels at though it were cutting through the skin beneath soft fur. her eyes squeeze.

” im so sorry, i’m so, so sorry! “ a wracking sob, louder as she takes a step back, this time on purpose. then, another one, head shaking wildly. they had to go. a single shoulder heaves against rabbitnose’s to distract him back with her and away after sunfreckle grabs his attention, ” i love you. i love you, im so sorry — ! “ and she goes. she goes, and waits only until she reaches the safety of thunderclan underbrush to erupt, creeping into the tall grass on stumbling, traumatized paws, helpless only but to turn and watch her father be shoved into the belly of the beast that had long haunted her dreams.

in the misted cold, she wails.

𝚈𝙾𝚄 𝙼𝙰𝙺𝙴 𝙼𝙴 𝚂𝙼𝙸𝙻𝙴 -`☀︎´- 𝘗𝘓𝘌𝘈𝘚𝘌 𝘚𝘛𝘈𝘠 𝘍𝘖𝘙 𝘈 𝘞𝘏𝘐𝘓𝘌 𝘕𝘖𝘞

• i.
  
• 
  
  
• 𖦹 . LESBIAN. SINGLE, CRUSHES EASILY. SMELLS LIKE SUN - WARMED OAK. FOURTEEN MOONS. NAMED A WARRIOR 8 / 3 / 2023. MENTORED UNDER WOLFWIND, PENNED BY ANTLERS !!!
  f. she / her, daughter of sunfreckle and rabbitnose. large cream - ribboned tortoiseshell with seaglass eyes. larger than life! shades of vibrant russet, dousing swathes of shadow and interwoven with ribbons pale cream come to drape like licks of flame over a thick, broad - shouldered figure.
  
  unspecified maine coon heritage born of sunfreckle's kittypet background shows itself in large, round paws and tufted, long - furred toes set upon thick, tabby - splotched limbs. a characteristic lack of personal space leads her to a slouching, touchy posture, often inclined to lean or bump against her peers, all while bearing a wide, bright - eyed grin.
  
  ——— ˙⋆ — prone to bouts of explosive emotion. all opinions are solely in - character and during these times, often untrue or said only in anger.
  
  

​