development I WON'T LET THIS [ thoughts. ] BUILD UP INSIDE OF ME

[batwing]

// slight TW for mention of death/the great battle!

Moonlight seeped through the trees. The windstorm had stopped, yet a gentle breeze still kissed the leaves, making them rustle in the quiet of the night. The calls of owls, far off. The rustle of rodent in the undergrowth. It was peaceful, near untouched and just existing as an environment. Whole, and complete.

The rush of Batwing's paws disturbed it all, like mud in water. Here, during the deep of the night, where only the stars and his thoughts accompanied him, he lived. Sleeping was rough, and this just seemed to satisfy his mind. Racing through the undergrowth, leaping over burr bushes and diving under felled logs. His heart racing, pounding in time with the churn of his thoughts. Flashbacks to the battle, the howls and snarls of fighting cats, blood drawn upon each other's claws. A sharp inhale from Batwing as he moved, his body aching. More. Just a bit more.

He leapt from the ground, claws digging into bark as he climbed the tree. Up, further. He was set and determined, following his namesake. He reached a tolerable level, and turned his attention down the length of the branch. Thoughts circled and crowed inside of his brain. His father teaching him how to leap from branch to branch, or his father's death, at the end of a murderer's claw? Throat swiped open? He shook his head empty, turning to peer back at the branch.

'Now, now, Bat. You can't just jump. You have to time it- feel the wind in your fur, yes?' His father stood behind him on a branch, nose lowered beside the child's ear. A soft murmur, instruction given and taken to heart. 'You have to trust your body, not just think about it. You'll land on the other side. Judge the distance, and leap.

Batwing blinked as he turned his head, staring over his shoulder. The ghost of a memory slipped from his vision just as he really started to peer at it. His head shook. "I know. Get out of my head." He murmured to himself. He inhaled quietly, before taking off again. Flying, breath heavy and heart racing. Hard to keep in shape if he never exercized, right? Never felt his paw pads beat on the rough ground, or the bark of a branch? Batwing's claws dug into the bark, and at the end, pushed off. A tilt of his head, optics scanning the ground below. A huff left him, a grunt following as he landed, continuing on his path. Scuttling around trees, leaping from branch to branch.

He hung off to his side- matching him leap for leap. A grin on his face, the fact he was proud written on his face. His father, achingly close yet so far, trusting him to care for himself. To just keep moving and to trust his body.

Batwing's head tipped again in the middle of a jump- and instead of catching the sight of the ground, he caught the sight of his father, leaping across a similar jump. Another wispy memory, wiped from the slate when he landed. Batwing's paws scrabbled as he landed. "Shit, shit, shit-" Were the nouns out of his mouth just before he lost his grasp on the bark, and he was falling. Batwing glanced up at the branch- the one his father would have landed on, had he been on this run. A tilt of his father's head, a tiny smile given to Bat, and Batwing was slamming into the ground. "-FUCK."

The forest went quiet around the warrior, a groan leaving him. His front paws were definitely tweaked and would ache in the coming morning. Bat slowly laid himself upon the ground, then rolled onto his back, staring up at the dimming stars. No immediate danger was around, so he lay for a moment, optics settled on the sky. He had been out all night, simply caught up in the racing thoughts, it seemed. The sun was just beginning to rise, birds slowly emerging from their homes in the trees and bushes. His mother and sister had died in a similar manner- fighting for what they believed was right, and dying for it. Batwing rolled onto his side, then pushed to his paws. He regretted that, and the fall, but he didn't have a choice now.

The sun was just barely visible and the sky light by the time Batwing was padding back into camp, looking to lay in some dim corner and lick his wounds- both physical and emotional.

ooc note: anyone is welcome to reply! notice he wasn't in his nest that night, notice the pattern of him being awake at night often, etc! dm me in discord if you have any questions!​

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"speech"​

 

[nightbird]

she had risen early, the sun just making it's debut. a day of training was in order, set to head out after patrols had been announced. nightbird made her way to the fresh kill pile, but as she was glancing over it something else caught her eye. batwing, entering camp on an uneven gait. he hadn't been hunting, for no prey dangled from his jaws. her gaze narrowed suspiciously. had he even come back to the warrior's den last night? matter of fact, she couldn't remember the last time she had seen his nest occupied overnight.

"batwing," she greeted curtly, ears twitching slightly as she stood before the tom. "is the warrior's den no longer to your liking?" she sat down, licking the back of a paw and drawing it over her ear. perhaps there was an easy explanation, one that would clear the warriors name. however, there were few reasons to leave camp alone in the first place. especially with the threat of the boars looming over them all. any reason to leave would have to be important enough to risk ones life, she couldn't think of one off the top of her head.​

 

[BERRYHEART]

Berryheart often awoke with the first light, finding it satisfactory to have some of the first picking from the freshkill pile. He was never greedy, but did often arise with a rumbling stomach. Most days he would wake to the sensation of hunger, satisfy it, and retire again until someone called for him, their voice drenched in either panic or curiosity. Today was not going to be an odd one out until he heard the low buzz of conversation near him, and askew eyes lifted from appraising the prey-pile toward the point of interest. Inky stood before Smoky, her question direct.

Immediately, Berryheart's interest was piqued. The tell-tale sign of his eavesdropping was a subtle tilt of one ear in the direction of their conversation, a slight movement that only the eagle-eyed would spot. Dull olive eyes sailed back over the pile, pupils scanning the meals- but his attention was entirely elsewhere. Why would Smoky be dodging speeding in his nest? Was it not to his standard, or- was there some pain or ailment he was hiding? Often, some hid away to avoid help... for whatever irrational reason...​

PENNED BY PIN ☾​

 

[batwing]

Two were awake and active in camp that he actively noticed when he returned. A soft curse left his mouth, tail twitching as he tried to hobble his way to the warrior's den- but Nightbird said something before it made it too much further. He pressed a smile to his mouth, as if he could solve his issues. Wipe it all away with a smile and start with a clean slate. Ah, if only. Batwing spoke in response, forcing himself to sit down and calm his jittering nerves. The fall hadn't served to make it easy on him. "Ah- no, it's.. not that. Just um..." He trailed off, his eyes sizing up Berryheart now in turn.

It wasn't extremely obvious to Batwing that the other was eavesdropping, but it wasn't like it was a private conversation to begin with. He started speaking again, his gaze slow to shift back to Nightbird. "It... it just feels cramped in there! Yep, that's all." That definitely was a lie. Batwing favored small spaces just as much as he favored navigating the treetops at night. It wasn't like it was a sin to do what he did, but he relished in the fact that he was free then, just free to do as he pleased and chart his own course.

A sigh left him, and he hid a wince as he leaned his head down, licking at his chest fur. His ears tilted back a little bit. He did feel a bit guilty about lying, but he couldn't just explain that oh yeah hey, I like performing dangerous maneuvers at night alone because it reminds me of my family, haha- Yeah. That wouldn't go over very well, and it wasn't like Batwing needed the clan to form anymore negative opinions of him. After all, the boar versus elder rescue was already on his record. That was bad enough. ​

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"speech"​

 

[nightbird]

she did not meet his forced grin with one of her own, tilting her chin to meet his verdant gaze. he trailed off, stumbling over words like a scolded kit. it did little to suggest that what he spewed was the truth. her tail flicked sharply as she sat, silver hues locked onto the warrior even as he glanced over to berryheart.

"cramped," nightbird echoed, her tone would point to the conclusion that she believed not a single syllable. her jaw ticked, she did not appreciate being lied to. there were not many reasons for it, unless batwing was enjoying moonlit rendezvous with some cat of another clan or trapsing through another's territory he would likely be free of trouble. so why raise so much suspicion? "may i ask where you've been resting then? it soothes my mind to make sure everyone's accounted for, especially with the boars around." it was a simple request that would help prove innocence, posed as the inquiry of a concerned clanmate. ​

 

[batwing]

Batwing winced, the grin dropping from his face quickly. He turned his vision away from Nightbird's face- she had looks that could kill. And he could respect that. Sometimes he wondered if it would be better if he was blind, but it only really applied to this situation. A huff left him as she echoed him, ears pressing to his skull. His tail twitched, before he spoke, shaking his head slowly. "Yeah. Cramped. Small spaces." He clarified, waving a paw.

His eyes shifted back towards Night again, head tilting as she posed a question. A cough left him as he looked back away. He realized how bad this looked, of course, but it wasn't like he could just clear suspicion. He didn't smell like other cats, anyways. "I haven't been resting." He muttered, shoulders hunched and head lowered. He even looked exhausted. "I take.. night patrols. On my own." That wasn't truly a lie. What he was doing could be accounted to that, of course. It wasn't really a night patrol if it was just him, but he was doing his damndest, okay? ​

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"speech"​

 

[Redwind]

The cinnamon tortie had just awoken, stretching her limbs with a quiet groan of tensed muscles. A yawn escaped her jowls as she scanned the territory Infront of her. However, it quickly stopped and froze upon a growing group and a familiar grey face.

Redwind read Batwings body language like a fresh scent, bounding over to stand near him, her brows furrowing in concern. Batwing looked as if he was physically hurting alongside with something stirring mental distress at the note of his tone and embarrassed lick of his chest. "I believe maybe Berryheart has some herbs for sleepless night, right?" She shot the medicine cat a friendly look, her fluffy tail raised in a matter that was benevolent. She moved to circle Batwing to his opposite side, although she whispered low enough into the grey toms ear as she passed. Smooth and quick enough where her other clanmates couldn't quite catch on to the gesture, "Somethings bothering you? Chat with me later?" It was nothing to keep secret but she didn't want to embarrass him and force him to blurt out a false answer in save of his reputation and mental strength.

"Maybe I could accompany you next time. It's dangerous out here as Nightbird said. We don't need to lose another strong warrior." Nightbird was correct, countless dangers lurked in the shadows of the night. Redwind did find herself occasionally walking amongst the night but patrolling and covering territory alone was something that was pushing it. It did peak some suspicion for the she-cat. Maybe it was a love interest he was seeing? Helping other clans behind their back? Crossing other territories? Or was Batwing not lying, was he merely having night troubles?

She made mental note to keep an eye on him, maybe she could learn something about him that the others didn't know. Whether he willingfully let it up to her in private or she followed him in some way to figure out the troubles. ​

 

[nightbird]

a confession is muttered, her expression remains unwavering save for the slight soften of her gaze. no longer does it shoot daggers into the other warrior. many warriors were haunted when the sun dipped low, it was not uncommon for nights to be left sleepless. nightbird was understanding, it was only unnatural to sleep peacefully when threats shadowed every corner.

redwind sweeps in with a solution, dragging berryheart in for his aid before circling to batwing's other side. she offered herself to accompany him, she gave the russet molly a small nod. she glanced over him again, hunched and dark eyed. although he had made it back in time for a dawn patrol, she doubted he would be of any use on one in this state. "go rest, see berryheart if you need. i'll let flycatcher know not to send you on patrol this morning," she said flatly with a dismissive flick of her tail. she stood to leave, find the blue deputy to tell him just that. a few paces had her by batwing's flank, tilting her chin to be closer to his ear. "next time, just come back awake enough to serve your clan." her warning, although quiet, was by no means meant to be a secret. it wasn't a jab or taunt thickly laced with malice, only a small reminder. every thunderclanner had a duty to perform in order to keep their home running smoothly, those duties could not be performed when half asleep.

//out!​