In the rafters looking down | Coyotecreek

[Snakeblink]

MAYBE I'D BE A SAINT IF I WEREN'T ————————————​

So much to do, so much to do — and so little time.

Prey to hunt, borders to patrol, clanmates’ worry to assuage, the sick to care for and the healthy to keep that way. With Ravensong falling ill, the loners they keep catching glimpses of on border patrols, Snakeblink can feel what little grasp they had on the situation slip between their teeth. He’s constantly running, trying to keep things in order, but stopping disaster from striking them is like biting thin air trying to kill the wind.

Fortunately, Snakeblink has no end of his rope to reach; or if he does, he has shuffled past it moons ago already. That persistent feeling of anxiety? That’s his base level now. It doesn’t phase him anymore, not even when he has to juggle a dozen new problems cropping up from the mouthful he’s managed to fix. But he is growing increasingly short on time to do all the things he must do, and that worries him.

What if he misses something? What if something goes wrong because he was looking elsewhere?

His regular, quiet checkup on his clanmates in particular has fallen to the wayside. He is far too busy to sit and watch others as he used to. And he can steal additional times from the night, it’s not as if he would sleep through it otherwise, but try as he might he cannot seem to catch up on all the vital gossip he is missing while on his third or fourth hunting patrol of the day. He needs to be more proactive about it; he’s started coming up to clanmates directly, asking directly for what he usually infers from their longing looks, their hushed arguments.

So when he catches a glimpse of Coyotecreek’s greyish silhouette in the dim light of the moon, he naturally doesn’t hesitate before slithering up to the mellow warrior.

”Ah, Coyotecreek!” he says, voice a shrill whisper, a little frazzled. ”Good, you are awake, I didn't manage to catch you today – tell me, is there anything you and your family need at the moment? Anything at all I can do to help?”
​

——————————————————————————————————— so god damn lonely ​

ooc. information.

• 
  
• — Snakeblink • he / him. 45 ☾, riverclan warrior
  — a sleek, skinny tabby with long ears and a scar over his right eye.
  — gay, not actually evil, penned by @Kangoo
  
  
  

​

​

 

[coyotecreek]

( ★ ) he finds himself performing guard duty without being assigned to it. guards posted by the entrance sit stoic and silent and coyotecreek paces between them, odd eyes gleaming in the light of the moon. he finds it difficult to sleep, plagued by dreams of screaming, of sickness coming in waves. his son has already been taken ill with the disastrous disease. there's no saying his other two children won't be taken as well. so he stays up, hunts in the night, does whatever he can to stop his thoughts from wandering to the still form of wolf's howl, the collapsed body of prairiesun.

tonight he paces as he often does, the sun long since retreated into the night. odd-eyes flicker with surprise as he hears the tap of pawsteps hurrying up behind him. the familiar scent of snakeblink, rainwater and rosemary, soft earthy mud, accompanies the man himself as he bounds up. coyotecreek blinks in a bit of surprise before he tips his head, eyes scanning the man's frantic form. the lead warrior hisses in a shrill, worried tone, mumbling something about helping out, something about family. it takes the ginger and white tom a moment to respond, searching for words as he finds himself lost in worried green eyes. "snakeblink!" he finally stutters out, ears flicking. "my, you're one frazzled warrior." noting the spiked fur, the frenzy in his gaze, the tom aims to draw his tail softly along the tomcat's flank for a brief moment. "me and mine are all okay, thank the stars. prairiesun was just released from the medicine den. i thank you greatly, though." he blinks slowly, head bowed in a nod.

"i think the clan is managin' alright tonight. i've seen yah dashin' around camp. stars, you've been on what, four huntin' patrols? take a breath, friend." coyotecreek pads a few tail lengths away, into the shadows of the reeds that border camp, and gestures with hisfluffy tail for the man to follow. "yer so good at checkin' up on yer clanmates, but the stars are out, n everything is quiet tonight. take a break with me?"

/ soft soft softttt this man is soft ​

 

[Snakeblink]

MAYBE I'D BE A SAINT IF I WEREN'T ————————————​

Coyotecreek seems taken aback by his question, caught wrong-pawed so to speak, but his response is one of worry rather than irritation or hostility. He is always like this — kind — thus Snakeblink didn’t hesitate to approach him before, and he only freezes at feeling the touch of a tail against his side rather than flinching away as is his unconscious habit. He is getting better at this, he thinks, reacting normally to physical contact rather than like a nervous vole staring down a predator’s maw.

”It gladdens me to hear it,” he replies, stilted but earnest, to news of Prairiesun’s recovering health. ”Well, if you truly do not—”

The tom’s following words make him stop just as he was preparing to slink off. He’s been awake for long enough on little enough sleep that his brain lags behind for a moment, and he blinks slowly as Coyotecreek’s meaning registers. He dismisses the other’s concern with a shrug, saying: ”We all have our part to play to feed the clan, and some of us must hunt more to pick up the slack.” He throws Coyotecreek a pointed glance, meaning I better not see you pulling double duty. If anyone should do more to make up for the absence of six abled hunters, it should be the leads: it’s their duty.

The casual compliment takes him by surprise, and though he keeps his pleasure off his face out of habit the sentiment is betrayed by the way his tail jitters.

”Thank you.” It sounds knocked out of him, disbelieving. He follows Coyotecreek without really thinking: it feels awkward to end the conversation here, and he doesn’t want to have to raise his voice. ”I suppose I can take a moment, if you are sure—”

Sure of what? That things are quiet, that he's doing a good job, or that he wants Snakeblink’s company? Both, maybe. He tries to find a subject of conversation before Coyotecreek can regret any of these statements, be they overt or implied.

”It’s warm for Leaf-fall,” he says inanely. He shakes his head, annoyed with himself, before continuing ruefully, ”You could almost forget how chaotic everything has been.” ​

——————————————————————————————————— so god damn lonely ​

ooc. information.

• 
  
• — Snakeblink • he / him. 45 ☾, riverclan warrior
  — a sleek, skinny tabby with long ears and a scar over his right eye.
  — gay, not actually evil, penned by @Kangoo
  
  
  

​

​

 

[coyotecreek]

( ★ ) "i am sure," his voice is quiet but honest as he watches the tom with wide eyes. snake's tail jitters as he seats himself beside coyotecreek, and the tom feels a burst of warmth upon noting this. it's kind of cute, he realizes, and then shuts the thought out. this sort of thinking will never be allowed for him again- that had been decided moons ago. a shiver runs up coyotecreek's spine and he forces himself to shift focus.

the tabby lead stumbles over a comment about the weather and the orange warrior can't help a soft chuckle. "aye yer right about that. i haven't had to bribe anyone in the warriors' den to cuddle just yet," he attempts a joke, then huffs in embarrassment. "sorry, so sorry that was.. that was a bad joke." the tomcat scrubs a paw over his face and glances at the other, odd eyes soft. "i hope this leaf-fall is good to us. leaf-bare was a thorn in our side last season." he shakes off memories of the flooding foam of the river, of hungry nights and hopeless days. "the stars are bright tonight. makes me wonder if the stars are the same wherever our traveling clanmates are." he cannot imagine any different sky, any sky where the stars don't make the same patterns or mean the same things.

"i did mean it, ya know," he'll change the subject, skin slightly warm. "you're an excellent warrior. riverclan is better for it." his lips twitch in a smile as he wraps his tail around his paws. he wants to get to know snakeblink, he realizes, wants to understand the workings of that strange brain in a way he hasn't wanted to before. "it ain't all up to you and the other leads. us warriors are pretty good at our jobs too!" he nudges the other gently before pulling away, sparks tingling under his fur. "i know i'm jus lil old me, but i if i see yuh overworkin yerself, i'll conk you out in yer nest until new-leaf."

forward.. he's being too forward- this is a man he barely knows, one who he shares patrols with, is assigned under. the drawling tomcat shuffles his paws. "all respect meant, 'o course." anxiously, he chews on his lip, unable to get a read on snakeblink, unable to decide if he's gotten too friendly.
​

 

[Snakeblink]

MAYBE I'D BE A SAINT IF I WEREN'T ————————————​

A shrug as Coyotecreek apologize, a knowing glance: ”I shall be the last to judge you for a clumsy joke.” His tail makes a sweeping gesture towards himself, meaning: you’ve heard how I am. ”Seeing how things are going, leaf-bare can only be a relief — nothing short of the sky falling on our heads would manage to make us worse off than we already are.”

He shakes his head, self-directed annoyance worn to dullness by habit and fatigue. He can feel his previous frantic second wind leaching away from him as he stays motionless. He doesn’t feel sleepy yet, he never does, but weariness weighs down on him until his paws seem liable to sink right through the dirt, pulling him deep underneath the earth like one of Windclan’s tunnelers. ”Apologies. I am not good company tonight.” If he ever is. ”Starclan sent visions of the mountains — it must mean they can see these distant places. Maybe the stars, too, travel for our sake.” After all, isn’t the night sky different in cold months? Perhaps Starclan overwinters in warmer skies.

Coyotecreek’s sincerity makes him fidget, grateful and awkward from it. It’s all he ever wants — to have his work recognized and appreciated. Yet the words, kind as they are, ring empty when all he can think about are the dozen things still left to do, the hundreds already slipping from his grasp: the sick, the injured, the hungry, all depending on them, on him. Any mistake, any weakness putting their lives in jeopardy.

”You are good,” he nods, eager to dispel any misunderstanding that he is doubting warriors’ might. ”We are just… better. I mean,” he hurries to add, ”We have more— huh—”

The other tom nudging his shoulder makes him freeze, stealing half-formed and ill-thought words from his tongue. He shakes himself quickly, clears his throat, pretends, as usual, that he isn’t as surprised by casual contact as a mouse yanked out of its burrow by sweeping claws.

”Please do not,” he says ruefully to Coyotecreek’s light-hearted threat. ”I am so close to bringing Leafheart and Whitemoth together. If they became mates at last and I was too busy… ‘hibernating’ to see it, I might die of sheer aggravation.”
​

——————————————————————————————————— so god damn lonely ​

ooc. information.

• 
  
• — Snakeblink • he / him. 45 ☾, riverclan warrior
  — a sleek, skinny tabby with long ears and a scar over his right eye.
  — gay, not actually evil, penned by @Kangoo
  
  
  

​

​

 

[coyotecreek]

( ★ ) a soft huff of laughter exhales from coyotecreek's chest as snakeblink speaks, and he nods understandingly. "yer just fine, snakeblink," he'll murmur, sincerity glowing in his gaze. "i know yer worried, stars i'm worried too. but i've always thought o' the stars as endless. i mean, the only time you can't see 'em is when its day or cloudy. i can hardly imagine a sky without 'em during the night. seems right that our ancestors will follow those travelin', keep 'em safe from harm." ears flick, head half turned up to the quiet night to observe the frosty lights forever twinkling above. with a glance back at his companion, his brow will furrow a minuscule amount.

snakeblink fidgets, stutters in his speech, and coyotecreek's skin burns, and anxiety pulsing up his chest. he is making the lead uncomfortable, he realizes- snakeblink is not one for casual contact. no matter how much he wants to, the orange tom holds back from any other touch. "mm, yes, yer better," voice jokingly dry, he raises an eyebrow. "kiddin, i know what ya mean. listen, if yer really worried and busy tonight, i understand ya wantin' to get goin'. just thought you might need a breather." the head tips, odd eyes crinkling as the warrior smiles wryly. the lead continues speaking, a huff of annoyed laughter in his tone, and coyotecreek finds his maw turned in a half grin without realizing it. the mention of the two young warriors he has been watching with curiosity brightens his gaze. "i knew it! you secret gossip, you!" his voice grows loud and he hushes himself, hunching as though making his body smaller will quell his excitement. "they're sickeningly in love, anycat can see it. thank the stars someone's doin' somethin' about it." ​

 

[Snakeblink]

MAYBE I'D BE A SAINT IF I WEREN'T ————————————​

Snakeblink sighs, both weary and wistful, and tilts his head up to look at the stars. They are the one thing he can see clearly in the dark: specks of silver glittering on the black tide of night. ”I pray that you are right.”

He closes his eyes, humming low in his throat as Coyotecreek voices a polite way out, should Snakeblink wish to take it. ”The breather is appreciated. And I would hardly sleep anyway.” He does so dislike the grating idleness of insomnia. He will have to go and try to sleep at some point, but he can stay a little while longer; he appreciates the company much more than any kind of break.

Ears twitch with the rise and fall of Coyotecreek’s drawl. Snakeblink opens his eyes slowly, turning his head — the rest of his body still statue-like — to peer at the other tom through the darkness. A slow smirk unfurls on his face as he listens to the excitement in the warrior’s voice.

”What can I say? I just love love. And between you and me, it won’t be long: I let slip the fact that Leafheart has many suitors, and saw Whitemoth fishing for stones in the river not even a sunrise later. I would bet a day’s catch that the two will make it official before the next full moon.”

Glancing around — the incident with Lichentail has taught him discretion — he asks, ”Can you keep a secret, Coyotecreek?” He doesn’t wait for a response, words dripping from his mouth in a conspiratorial whisper. ”No one else is courting Leafheart — it’s plain to see she only has eyes for Whitemoth. But a little jealousy will go a long way, and Stars only know how long these two would have kept turning around each other without that little push.” He doesn’t see the problem with lying to his clanmates, not for something so trivial, especially not if it brings them greater happiness than a less-useful truth would. And if he’s being honest, the deviousness of it is part of the appeal. It’s so rare that Snakeblink has the occasion to truly scheme for the greater good.

His eyes grow thoughtful, still trained on Coyotecreek. Briefly, he considers asking the other about his own affairs of the heart — but he isn’t so foolish as to forget the tragedy that took Coyotecreek’s mate from him, or to mention it so bluntly. Instead his question turns inward, wondering: has he seen any sign pointing to the other tom thinking about love again? Maybe he should send him on patrol with Pikesplash; the blue tabby’s kindness might soothe the grief still haunting Coyotecreek…
​

——————————————————————————————————— so god damn lonely ​

ooc. information.

• 
  
• — Snakeblink • he / him. 45 ☾, riverclan warrior
  — a sleek, skinny tabby with long ears and a scar over his right eye.
  — gay, not actually evil, penned by @Kangoo
  
  
  

​

​