I NEED A LITTLE LOVING TONIGHT ☼ SCORCHSTREAK

[DIMMINGSUN]

The face of WindClan's deputy had been troubled as she addressed the Clan instead of their leader. It seems that is all Scorchstreak knows how to do — she scowls, she frowns, she detests. Dimmingsun is in no position to judge. She has been asked the impossible, time and time again, and it is much in the Clan's favor for her to be still alive to tell the tale... even if tiredness punctuates her every expression and every move.

Dimmingsun knows she is not fond of him. They had started off on the wrong foot; courtesy of his behavior that clashes so starkly with Scorchstreak's no-nonsense attitude. He had found it pointless to try and mend that.

No more does he remain dormant. He had cowered and shielded himself from her when he had led her mate to her demise — uncharacteristically cowardly... but then again, Dimmingsun has never culled the life of someone else without intending for that sort of ending. Control had slipped right out from his paws. What he had thought would give him more — lead warrior, a shining beacon, an example for al — did not protect him from mistakes.

And now, he does not wish to sit idle and let Scorchstreak struggle alone.

Perhaps she would reward him with a slap to the face. Even that is better than the frigid-cold of a shoulder she gives him. If he has to pester her for an inkling of attention thrown his way, like a meager bone to a starved dog, then so be it.

"Scorchstreak?"

It is easy to find her after the Clan disperses. With one dip of his head and a flourish of his tail, he invites her somewhere more secluded. He is lucky that she humors him, just this once.

He starts off the only way he knows how to. Light-hearted. "Sunstar has been real absent, huh?" It is concerning, the lack of Sunstar amongst WindClan. Scorchstreak had mentioned he is glued to Wolfsong's side. Dimmingsun cannot shake the feeling that such a revelation gives him. That is what launches him into something more open; honest, dutiful. "Just wanted to let you know that I'm here to lend a paw if you need."

A fang pokes his lip, buys him the time he needs to reconsider his next question. Scorchstreak might not be privy to indulging his concerns... but what is there to lose now, anyhow? "Do you know if... if he'll be okay?"

@SCORCHSTREAK

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[SCORCHSTAR]

༄༄ Sunstar’s refusal to stand before the clan has put Scorchstreak in a tight spot. Even with the meeting adjourned, her shoulders remain tensed, and she wonders why she has been cursed to endure the mantle of leadership, even if only for the time being. Yet, try as she might, the calico cannot muster contempt for her leader. This exhaustion that she feels, this bone-deep weariness, is a shadow of what Sunstar has suffered through for these past moons. Scorchstreak may never fully understand the depths of her friend’s struggles, how it must shatter his very heart each time WindClan sees another loss. She cannot blame him for wishing to spend time with Wolfsong whilst he recovers.

She cannot lie and say that it is easy, though. When Dimmingsun approaches, her fur is already bristled, a flash of teeth showing—a warning. She is tired, her patience frazzled and torn, and if this request is foolish then she will not grit her teeth and bear it. (She certainly is on edge, she realizes.) When it seems the tom wants only to get her attention, Scorchstreak shakes herself back into a tensed yet calmed figure. "Yes?" She asks, accepting the inviting flicker of his tail. Their movement to a quieter place, surrounded by fewer clanmates, does not escape her notice; golden eyes shift to Dimmingsun’s face, seeking answers to her questions. Why has he brought her here? Is it urgent?

Sunstar has been real absent, huh? She huffs in reply, though beneath the lighthearted comment lies a thread of truth: Sunstar has left WindClan to its own devices, for the time being. Nothing has fallen apart, nothing has crumbled beneath her unyielding black-and-orange paws. She mulls over the lead warrior’s question, taking it as something meant to be answered, but before she can find a response the tom barrels onward. He’s…assuring her that he is dependable, and will support her if she needs anything. They are meant to act as a team, after all, even splintered as their relationship may be. She inclines her head to him, uncertain of what she should say. "I… appreciate that." This feels strangely like an olive branch being offered to her, and the awkwardness of accepting it hovers about her like a thick fog.

Will Sunstar be okay? That is the question of the hour, isn’t it? "I don’t know." The burdens that he bears would kill a weaker cat nine times over. He carries each loss as if it were a scar of its own. He feels guilt for all of it. She had helped push him to such a state, she knows—harsh words, flung with the intent to harm, spoken from a heart cracked in two. "Wolfsong will not be killed by yellowcough, of all things. Once he has recovered… I am certain Sunstar will return to his duties. He just needs… time."

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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[DIMMINGSUN]

It is only the half-hearted lowering of Scorchstreak's hackles that tells Dimmingsun it is worthwhile to stay around. If she had opted to keep her teeth bared, he would not have thought to pursue this interaction — even if he feels it necessary to do so. The council is in shambles... the least he can do is smooth out ruffled necks, if he cannot actually mend what's been broken. WindClan will be better for it.

Scorchstreak actually takes his offering; the offering of himself on a silver platter. If he doesn't have Sunstar to answer to, courtesy of his duties to his mate taking priority, then Dimmingsun just have to find someone else. She almost seems... taken aback? It makes him wonder just what she had expected of him, if she has painted an untrue image of himself in the confines of her mind, where there is no way for him to tear down the faux-paint.

Whatever it may be... she takes it, and his tail curls in appreciation. Not even her awkwardness can deter him.

What she says next is not nearly as comforting. Dimmingsun thinks he's ought to be glad; a don't know is way better than a there is no hope. Sunstar's light had been snuffed out — it is a painful fact, but one that Dimmingsun can do nothing to help, only watch.

"At least we will keep our three medicine cats then," he says and nods, as if that would confirm it further. WindClan can rest easy with these capable sets of paw; Celandinepaw included, for she is smart, and she has plenty of wisdom to copy. "And... don't take this as me trying to get on your good side, but I don't have doubts about the Clan's future while you're 'round. You are one of Sunstar's best decisions." Dimmingsun remembers the throbbing mix of fear and frustration with Scorchstreak, back when she had abandoned Sunstar... but by extension, the Clan had survived, even if he had lost a limb and a life. Pros and cons.
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[SCORCHSTAR]

༄༄ The lead warrior’s response is comforting. He, too, believes in Wolfsong’s ability to fend off the yellowcough that works its way through his body. Sunstar may be crumbling beneath his own weight—harshly, reminding her of the rockslide that had carved its way down the mountainside all those moons ago—but the golden-furred medicine cat will not do the same. Wolfsong will support his mate as he always has, and they will both return from the Badger set in due time. Scorchstreak and the council only need to weather this storm until they come back. And then, with three cats capable of healing the clan, WindClan will be stronger than ever. "You’re right," she concedes, allowing herself to agree with the tom.

As tangled a web as her feelings toward Dimmingsun are, the calico must still admit that he is growing more likeable the more time she spends truly speaking to him. He had allowed Bluepool to die, had been complicit in whatever harebrained plan she’d thought up, but he also earned a place on Sunstar’s council. He reminds her of that now, a clear demonstration of his reliability. He believes in WindClan, in what it can be and what it has always been. That is the best that the deputy could ask for in a lead warrior.

Dimmingsun continues on, reassuring her that he isn’t concerned for the clan’s safety with her in charge. He claims that it isn’t said just to get on her good side, but it feels a bit like empty flattery. Her mind muddled, exhaustion weighing on her, Scorchstreak does not plan to question it. But then…

You are one of Sunstar’s best decisions.

Her eyes narrow. Denial surges within her, waves breaking upon a black-stoned shore. An off-guard flash of teeth as she opens her mouth to snark at him about dishonesty, but… nothing comes. She gapes at him as her newfound fury crackles, embers settling to ash. "Oh." He means it. The deputy’s shoulders slump, some of the tension draining from her. She remembers, clear as day, the time when she had left Sunstar behind to meet whatever fate awaited him. The fire, the beast, the bloodied stump that had been made of her leader’s leg—none of it had mattered when there was an entire patrol of cats relying on her to remove them from danger. She still isn’t certain whether she had made the right decision.

"In truth… I have always thought I was among the worst. And you, as well." It would be an insult, cruel and clear, if golden eyes did not narrow immediately afterward, attempting to meet his green one. "But I see that I was… wrong about you. Perhaps I have been wrong about myself, as well."

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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