private IF YOU WERE ME YOU'D DO THE SAME [🌙] SNAKEHISS

[SOOTSTAR]

"Thats where we'll get them." Sootstar grins, her paw smacking the ground. "We'll get into the barn before they even smell us. Many we can snuff out before they even bat an eye- for those who wake it'll be too late." Many would argue it was not honorable to kill a sleeping enemy, but honor was a weakness. Honor only got you so far, honor would not give WindClan victory over the Horseplace traitors. Cunning and brutal strategies would, Sootstar was not afraid of playing dirty if it meant an end to this nonsense. She was close to her ideal vision of WindClan- she could almost taste it!

"The queens- you know as well as I do they must die too, don't you? I will never welcome known traitors into my camp." She's been far to lenient... it's cost her much, they would meet her claws too for turning tail on her. "The elders too, damn them all! There's no innocents in this war, they've chosen a side and they must lay in the nests they've made. We'll take their kits, reteach them what it's like to be loyal member of their clan. It won't be hard."

Sootstar looks Snakehiss up and down, every fur on his pelt is observed by her. Her eyes narrow, "This all makes sense to you, doesn't it? You know that this is what must be done?" She leans in as if to watch him even closer, the tip of her tail slowly flicking up and down to count the heartbeat's that passed. "Your mother- Snakehiss. She'd be so proud of you, how far you've come. You would not spoil your mother's pride now, would you? I am right to trust you'll stick by my side?"

☾ INFO BATTLE

• @SNAKEHISS
• 
  » Soot ․ Sootstar
  » WindClan Leader
  » She/her ․ Mate to Weaselclaw
  » Tiny blue smoke she-cat with green eyes.
  » "Speech" ․ thoughts ․ attack
  
• 
  » A high-stamina foe who can be difficult to hit.
  » Excels in quick, short moves.
  » Fights to kill and maim
  » Fatal attack of choice is an underbelly dive.
  » May powerplay minor harm. Can powerplay healing

​

 

[SNAKEHISS]

Is this reality?

Snakehiss can only ponder the question over and over as he sits across from Sootstar. He tries to remain focused on the present, green stare boring intently toward where his smokey leader's paws moved, but disassociation threatens to overtake him. As he tries to recite statements in his mind to tether himself to reality, it somehow only makes things worse — I am Sootstar's deputy. I have pledged myself to her. I must do her bidding. I am exactly where I need to be. I cannot ruin this for myself.

The she-cat is passionate about this plan, hellbent on her own success even if it means culling the weak in the process. Snakehiss cannot bring himself to share her enthusiasm, and although he outwardly appears concentrated on what she illustrates to him, he does not comment much otherwise.

The next moment, Sootstar is staring into his soul, eyes thinned like an adder's. She could strike him down here and now if he slipped up. His throat feels tight; he gulps, battling the urge to furrow his brows. "Of course." He feels his chest twist into knots as Sootstar mentions his late mother, claws straining to unsheathe and curl into the ground as discomfort and heartache well in the pit of his stomach. How... How dare Sootstar speak her name? Rosepool would scoff at what WindClan had become! He thinks, bitterly, that perhaps it was better that she had not lived to see this. "I... would never disappoint her, or you." Snakehiss meows, meeting the gaze of the Moor Queen as much as it strikes anxiety into his heart. "She loved the moors. Keeping them defended, keeping the clan strong... it's what she wanted most." Would Sootstar keep them safe? Would it only be a matter of time before the other clans decided to do something, perhaps even try and steal their territory away? There were many strong loyalists among them, but their numbers had significantly decreased with the departure of Sunstride's makeshift militia. Would WindClan ever be as strong as it was?

"So... they die tonight. All of them." Snakehiss affirms Sootstar's plan aloud, the words on his tongue feeling utterly odd to speak. This was it. This would be the end of the rebels, the end of so many faces he had known since his kithood. They would die for their decision, for their decision to stand against the Moor Queen. Snakehiss would undoubtedly have to leave the battle with blood on his own claws, as it would look suspicious if he didn't. Even worse, he may die if he doesn't — one of Sunstride's warriors may kill him first.

As Snakehiss thinks about Sunstride, about how he publicly condemned her actions and leadership for the whole clan to see, he finds himself thinking about another deputy who had metaphorically sunken his claws into Sootstar's back. It is taboo to discuss him, and more so in the leader's presence, but... this moment of confiding in one another gave Snakehiss the push he needed to finally ask the question, "Sootstar, did Badgermoon-" He realizes he is stepping on thin ice here; he is ever so delicate not to shatter it completely, but this question has been eating him alive for moons. He has never stolen the opportunity to ask, never feeling that he was afforded the time or the courage to do so. Maybe, now that Sootstar trusted him to be her second-in-command, she would tell him. Maybe. "Did he betray you like Sunstride did? I mean, did he challenge you for similar reasons...?" Sootstar had claimed that day that she saw a vision of a badger with glowing eyes and a menacing snarl, painting Badgermoon as some sort of villain, but it had hurt Snakehiss to believe it. His mentor never seemed the type to be unhinged and hungry for power, so outright launching an attack on his leader to whom he was devoted... It never made sense. He never got closure, either, which only drove him to further frustration. Snakehiss had buried his feelings on the matter like old scraps, determined to hate Badgermoon and seethe at any mention of him. This whole situation with Sunstride and the others rebelling, however, had led him to think about his former mentor a lot more often...

₊ ⋆ * ⊹ ₊ ☾ —— 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙞𝙨 𝙢𝙮 𝙛𝙞𝙣𝙖𝙡 𝙛𝙞𝙩

• 

• 

  ✰ SNAKEHISS
  —— he/him; deputy of windclan
  —— bisexual; mates with berrysnap
  —— long-limbed black tom with green eyes, a small white chest patch, bite mark on right foreleg & thin scar across chest
  —— "speech", thoughts, attack
  —— link to full tags; @ on discord for plots.
  —— penned by beatles

​

 

[SOOTSTAR]

Snakehiss’ support to her plan satisfies her, but there is a vague look that dances in his eyes. A light she doesn’t like, it makes the fur on her shoulders stand on edge.

It is when Snakehiss mentions Badgermoon she is pushed over the edge. Her eyes grow round like an owl’s and she straightens her spine, allowing her bristling fur to rise freely in show of her agitation. It was natural of course for Snakehiss to remember the former deputy, to think about him, the black and white Tom had been his mentor after all. But this curiosity… she wonders if within this question he digs for something deeper.

”Does it matter? Would it make a difference?” She snips defensively, withdrawing herself backwards from Snakehiss as if to recoil from the Tom. ”Badgermoon attacked your leader. He attempted to kill me. For that you should do what you can to forget about him.” She lashes her tail and pins her ears back against her head. ”I’ve told you and the clan what is important enough to know. Whatever I leave to the to the shadows is for the clan’s best interest. Don’t go trying to dig up things best unknown.” The leader warns with a stern, narrowed gaze.

”Besides… he was too weak of a deputy. He lacked an iron-paw, you on the other paw have the nerve that he doesn’t.” She tries to deflect, at last forcing her fur to lay flat once more.

☾ INFO BATTLE

• 
  » Soot ․ Sootstar
  » WindClan Leader
  » She/her ․ Mate to Weaselclaw
  » Tiny blue smoke she-cat with green eyes.
  » "Speech" ․ thoughts ․ attack
  
• 
  » A high-stamina foe who can be difficult to hit.
  » Excels in quick, short moves.
  » Fights to kill and maim
  » Fatal attack of choice is an underbelly dive.
  » May powerplay minor harm. Can powerplay healing

​