i won't tell your gf about the cheating and the reminiscing -- scorchstreak

[curlewnose]

"the wolf comes in the night when your mind is trying to sleep"​

It was quiet that day on the moors, and Curlewnose planned on taking advantage of it. Fresh off a patrol, the tunneler scraped a small pile of soil from his fur and the ground into a leaf, carefully folding it and picking it up with his mouth. He padded into camp with his head held high and headed for the nursery. Placing the bundle just outside the entrance, he then scurried to his nest to find the right pebble, selecting a mottled gray and white one before hurrying back. Both items were gently picked up before the tom slipped into the gorse bush.

Inside was Scorchstreak, the recipient of Curlew’s curated gifts. He sat beside the rounded she-cat, brushing his tail against her pelt. ”Since you can’t get underground, I brought the ground to you,” the blue-and-white tom murmured with a smile. ”And here! A stone for the little ones so they know the cool touch of the moors.” The gifts get pushed forward slightly so the queen can inspect them, Curlew waiting with wide golden eyes for his friend’s approval.

As Scorch arranged the additions to her nest, Curlewnose settled down to lay with her, tail twining with hers if she allows it. A heavy sigh left his maw and he glanced at his fellow tunneler. ”Can I talk with you about something?” he mewed, question hanging in the air.


@SCORCHSTREAK
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[SCORCHSTREAK]

Being unable to retreat into the tunnels has rendered her constantly nervous, and with Tigerfrost recently dead at the claws of a crew of faceless rogues, Scorchstreak cannot help but to worry for the safety of each of her other friends. She misses the tunnels, though, and not only for the safety that they offer. She misses the feeling of dirt crusting her coarse fur, the darkness that encompasses everything around her so deep underground. And most of all, she misses her fellow tunnelers; spending time with them had been her favorite pastime, both in the tunnels and out. So when Curlewnose pokes his way into the nursery, bearing gifts, the calico is eager to greet him with a gentle brush of her tail.

She appreciates that Curlewnose has brought her anything at all to serve as a reminder of the tunnels. And he’s even thought of her kits, and how they’ll be cooped up in the nursery until they’re of apprentice age. She hopes, perhaps a bit selfishly, that none of her litter will inherit their father’s stature. That they will all take after her (and maybe one will even be apprenticed to Curlewnose, she thinks). "That’s… that’s so thoughtful of you. Thank you, Curlewnose," she says, and if her golden eyes are a bit damp, then that’s likely just the pregnancy making her emotions volatile. She turns and tucks the rock into one side of her nest, the bundle of soil resting just beneath where her head normally lies.

She settles into her nest with a grunt of effort, and smiles gently when her friend cuddles in beside her. He asks if he can talk to her, and she nods easily. "Of course. You can talk about anything with me, any time." And she means it. Her friend could talk to her about nothing important until the sun sets and rises again, and Scorchstreak would listen.
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[ LIKE A RATTLESNAKE ]​

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[curlewnose]

"the wolf comes in the night when your mind is trying to sleep"​

Pressed against Scorch’s fur, Curlew felt less nervous than he had before. He needed to talk about Badgermoon, but where to start? He was unsure how much the she-cat knew about his feelings for the deputy. Curlew pressed closer to his friend, taking a deep breath. Might as well start at the beginning.

”So… something happened between Badgermoon and I,” the blue-and-white tom said slowly, looking at his paws. ”We had been courting–at least I thought we had been courting?--and then he just… we had something, you know? But then he… he just put up a wall.” It all came spilling out after that: the tender moment after the raid, the glances across camp, the way Badgermoon made his heart feel more full than even the tunnels… and then that day at the sun-warmed pool, the fear in the deputy’s eyes, the way he scrambled backwards to desperately escape.

Once it was all said and done, a breath Curlewnose didn’t know he was holding left his chest. ”I just don’t know what to do,” he finally mewed after a long moment of silence. Curlew turned his head to Scorchstreak, looking up to her with confusion and hope that she might know what to do.

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[SCORCHSTREAK]

Something happened between Badgermoon and I, her friend says, and Scorchstreak freezes, just for a moment. The realization of what may have happened—what her part may be in what happened—makes her mouth go dry. She hadn’t known of their courting, of Curlewnose’s feelings toward Badgermoon. She attempts to reason with herself, because if she had been the reason… then why would Badgermoon go to such lengths to avoid her, yet continue to leave gifts for her (because what other clanmate of hers would leave gifts in secret, under the cover of night)?

She purrs lightly, an attempt to soothe the tom’s nerves. He looks just as lost as he sounds; confused, uncertain. "That sounds terrible. I’m… so sorry." And if there is a note of apology in her tone that seems just a bit too genuine, then Curlewnose doesn’t need to know that quite yet. Still, she tilts her head in consideration before speaking. "I think… he isn’t worth your time, if he treats you like that with no explanation." And he isn’t worth her time, if he doesn’t acknowledge the night that they’d shared, and the results of that night.

But Badgermoon is a kind tom, despite what he’s done to Curlewnose. And her friend seems to like him a lot. So s "Or, if you want to give him another chance, you could corner him. Get him somewhere so he can’t run away like a coward. Make him tell you what happened." Her advice is perhaps a bit too harsh, perhaps a bad idea, but the calico is concerned that her friend may get his feelings hurt again.

She needs to tell Curlewnose the truth, right now. If she waits, he might think that she’s hiding the truth. And… perhaps she also has some things to complain about pertaining to a certain black and white deputy. "I have something to tell you, as well."
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[ LIKE A RATTLESNAKE ]​

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[curlewnose]

"the wolf comes in the night when your mind is trying to sleep"​

Here, tucked inside the nursery with his friend, Curlew could feel some of his ragged edges mending. Scorchstreak’s purrs enveloped him in a sense of calm, allowing him to think clearly for the first time since that day. ”He may not be worth my time, but I still care for him… perhaps I will corner him.” The tom looked around, realizing a space like this might be perfect for that purpose. A sudden grin rose to his face. ”Maybe I’ll get him stuck in a tunnel! Then he really couldn’t run away!” Curlew leaned further into the curve of Scorch’s side, rumbling with laughter for a moment.

At her words, he leaned back far enough to look up at her, curiosity and concern in his eyes. ”You can always tell me anything, Scorchstreak. You’re one of my best friends, and I’ll always be here for you.”

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[SCORCHSTREAK]

She must admit that the idea of making Badgermoon squirm is appealing. The tom has hardly spoken to her since she moved into the nursery, and from what it sounds like he’s been avoiding Curlewnose as well. She understands the feeling of still caring for someone who has hurt you, and she nods along as he speaks. It seems as though he needed to have this conversation with someone, to tell someone how he’s feeling. She does laugh along with the tom when he suggests that he might get Badgermoon stuck in a tunnel in order to have a conversation with him. "Now, that would be a sight to see. Let me know if you decide to do that, it sounds hilarious."

Her friend assures her the same as she’d assured him—they can tell one another anything. And she believes him. So with a deep breath, the calico quickly says, "My kits… they’re his." Her admission feels like ice falling from her mouth, and she subconsciously tucks herself closer to Curlewnose. "If I had known you and he were… I wouldn’t have done it. As it is, he hasn’t spoken to me about being a part of their lives. And, I… I don’t have any feelings for him, it was just a… you know." It’s miserable, telling him the truth. She only hopes that he won’t hate her for it.
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[ LIKE A RATTLESNAKE ]​

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[curlewnose]

"the wolf comes in the night when your mind is trying to sleep"​

”My kits… they’re his.”

Curlewnose was not a cat prone to anger, and yet he felt it rise in his chest like a forest fire. This is what that coward did after he ran off? He took out his fear and confusion on Curlew’s best friend? The tom’s muscles tightened, ready to pounce if the black-and-white deputy showed his face a fox-length near the nursery. ”That weasel-hearted, bees-for-brains coward! That’s what he did when faced with his fear? Oh, if he decides to get anywhere near here I swear I’ll turn him into crowfood!” Curlew pressed into Scorchstreak, holding his body close to hers as though to protect her and her kits from the cowardly deputy. ”He’s gonna have to work hard to be any kind of father to these kits,” he spat.

The blue-and-white tom then deflated, his words taking all the fire from his chest. He looked at Scorch, pressing closer to the queen and twining his tail with hers more tightly. ”I’ll support you however you need, and if you want that hare-brain in their life," he gestured to her rounded stomach with a paw, ”I’ll make sure he stays in line. The same goes for if you want nothing to do with him.” Curlew gave his friend a gentle lick on her forehead. ”No matter what, you’re still my best friend. The blame lies on Badgermoon, not you, and if he’s too hare-brained to see that it’s his own fault.”

Settling back down beside her, Curlewnose felt only love for Scorchstreak. I’m so lucky to have a friend like her, he thought, purring as he leaned into her. ”As soon as you can leave the nursery, we’re trapping him in a tunnel.”

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[SCORCHSTREAK]

Thankfully, Curlewnose doesn’t seem too upset by her admission; in fact, the tom seems to be angry with Badgermoon, rather than with her. And perhaps angry is an understatement—her fellow tunneler looks livid, as though he’s ready to March right up to the deputy and tell him off.

She grins as the pale tunneler rants about what he might do to Badgermoon, and says that he’ll support her no matter what. "I think… I’ll allow him to act as their father, if he claims them. He will need to earn it, though. He has to be good to them." He has to be good to us, she thinks. Her fleeting interest in Badgermoon is long gone—already dissolved, but now fully washed away upon hearing about how he’d treated Curlewnose. He’s still the father of these kits, and he should still be a part of their lives if he wants to be. But if he can’t be kind to both Scorchstreak and Curlewnose, then he should have no place in their lives or the lives of her kits.

"Thank you," she says with a smile. The calico presses her shoulder harder against her friend’s, her expression soft and grateful. He doesn’t hate her. He doesn’t blame her. She adores him, this tom who remains by her side even after she tells him that she’s having lots gathered by the coward who rejected him. "That sounds like a great plan. We can even point and laugh at him as he struggles." She lifts a dark paw to his muzzle, stifling a laugh at the thought of the large, broad tom caught in a tunnel.
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[ LIKE A RATTLESNAKE ]​

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