I WON’T TAKE THE EASY ROAD [ decorating ]

[Cloudpaw .]

✵ ღ ☾ I'LL LET YOU DOWN - In all honesty, her sleeping place was a sad sight. Moss ran ragged and crushed, though with what used to be two nests hastily morphed into one, one wouldn’t even be able to tell it was one.
Rigid and sore from her poor nest, Cloudy now looked down on it with a flat look.
It’s time, I promised I would let go.
With a small sigh, she got to work, rolling up the ragged moss with careful paws.
By the time mid-morning would come, Cloudy would be finishing up her new nest, a satisfied look glimmering in her dual-hued gaze as she tucked a feather along the side. An unusual sight to see in the marshlands, let alone as a decoration, but this was the one thing that Cloudy wouldn’t mind sticking out from the rest with.
It was large, the base of the feather white before black dapples started, ending the feathers tip with a rich ebony. A by-chance find, lost from a perched bird, and landing at the ivory mollys paws as she had been on the hunt for more moss. She took a moment to admire it, a rare shred of optimism that it was a sign, or perhaps that was her own delusions she was using to cope. Nonetheless, it was hers, and it was perfect.
❝ Speech. ❞

IF YOU LET ME TOO CLOSE​

​

 

[TANTOMILE]

Tantomile cared not for the neatness of where she napped. Weathered claws (even in their youth) dug and tore up the moss she claimed as her nest into odd shapes, comfortable for only the specific sleeping position that the red tabby adopted. So, when out of periphery she took note of the alabaster femme's neatly constructed nest, her face was struck with an impressed smile. Eyes bright blue appraised the creation for a few long, wordless moments; it was the size of her tail, and beautiful!

"Wow, Cloudy," Tantomile exclaimed, settling her gaze upon the other molly, Her eyes danced aflame as she looked at it, tattered ears pulled to attention as if it would make some sort of whispered sound. "This is so nice! Where'd you find the feather?" By 'this' she meant the nest- though her pupils flickered from fleck to fleck, hardly settling upon the moss.​

[ PENNED BY PIN ]​

 

[RIBBITLEAP]

His own nest sits not too far from Cloudy's own. His own pile of moss shares a space with a different pile of moss, once filled with warmth and an almost identically Ribbit-like kit, now permanently empty.

He isn't sure he'll ever be able to move that part of his nest. Of their nest.

But, he watches on as Cloudy cleans up hers, as she removes remnants of yet another permanently empty nest. He isn't sure how she's able to do it - how she's able to move on and not have those she lost loom over her at all times. Though Ribbit isn't sure he ever wants Toad to not be present in his thoughts, he does wish the empty space beside him would simply be filled with happy memories of his brother, rather than filled with the pain of his loss. Of his murder.

"It looks nice," Ribbit comments when she's done with her cleaning, a black and white feather placed within to finish off her decorating, "The feather is a nice touch too." He wonders where she found it, but isn't able to get the question out before Tantomile speaks it, to which he nods at.
​

 

[CROW]

"Oh, how lovely," Crow breathes. Their eyes flicker across the nest, lingering for a heartbeat longer on the feather. It's a rare find in the marsh, and the chimera feline envies her for getting to it first. Envies her for trying to move on, too. The past clings to them like a leech, slowly draining them with each day. They do not believe that life would ever go back to normal after Everest's death. Their poor, dear Everest... His face, twisted into a bloody snarl, haunts them each night.

Still, Crow keeps living. That's what Everest had wanted them to do, and they would do anything for their lover.

"We should all go on a hunt for pretty little knick-knacks to decorate our nests with... Like a scavenger hunt," he proposes with a lazy smile.​

 

[BRIARSTAR]

It was nice to see her members finding little things to make them happy. For Cloudy, that was decorating her nest. The idea was actually a brilliant one. What better way to feel at home than the make the place you slept as comfortable as possible? Briar knew her own nest could use some sprucing up. With the loss of Amber, she hadn't felt up to restoring their nest of old moss, but Cloudy had inspired her to pick herself up and make her den feel like a home again.

"It's a good idea," she commented as she padded over and stopped by Crow's side. "And it not only looks good but comfortable, too. What gave you the idea?" she inquired, curious as to where Cloudy had learned such a technique.​