INTO THE LIGHT OF A BRIDGE THAT BURNS \ storm-watching

[TWITCHBOLT]

A bird, again. All they ever wanted was birds, and by some terrible curse it was the only thing Twitchpaw found himself unable to catch. Was it spite? Surely not, for his mother always wore that honey-sweet expression even when she tutted, and his father bore evermore that vacant smile. No, they were just picky- high-maintenance, rather than mean spirited. Heart heavy with the ever-growing weight of disappointment, the frazzled tom had barely the strength to hurl their meal at their faces. Meek, he had simply placed it at their paws- and even as the rainfall grew stronger, his paws carried him away, away, away.

Up he went, to the safety of the branches. Thanks to Daisyflight's dedicated training, patience he owed her insurmountable gratitude for, he was beginning to take to the treetops rather well. In time they had become his respite- his relaxation. The smell of pine, the view... even in this weather, it was a beautiful one.

A spot high up, where he could overlook the territory that stretched toward Twolegplace- it was a spot well-accustomed to his paws now, to the point where he felt the knots and notches slotted well into his white-chocolate paws. Sinking to a comfortable perch, clamour in the distance caught his eye- a great crack splitting the sky for just a moment, the surrounding clouds tinting with purple shock. Soon followed a bellowing boom.

Fur tossed with tangles and bristles began to flatten against his flesh with the rainfall, but for once Twitchpaw seemed to care not for the danger, the din afar. Wind whipped the pine, rain veiled the territory, and there was another cleave of light. It was beautiful.​

penned by pin ✧​

 

[watson]

WAIT AROUND, I'LL SMILE AGAIN ✪
It's unfortunate for Watson that he happens to be out running an errand when the bottom falls out from the spread of clouds above. He can stomach many parts of the outdoors life as a former kittypet but the rain still sets him into a tizzy. Watson used to love the rain when he could listen to its relaxing drum from the dry safety of his twoleg's lap. Now he's barely making it below the very poor cover of a nearby tree before he's soaked to the bone.

Watson presses himself as flat as he can against the trunk and furiously licks at his water tagged tail only to be splashed by water that fell in a domino effect all the way down from the top. To be tinkled on by a tree, what an indignity. His cinnamon gaze squints against the whipping wind and he shivers. Just barely catching sight of someone up in the very tree he's cowering under but unable to tell who (though the size suggests its an apprentice). Frazzled fur... Twitchpaw?

Without experience climbing, he wouldn't dare try scaling the slippery bark. Just then, the streaks of lighting and resounding boom set his claws ripping into the sodden ground below. Watson shouts, "Are you crazy, child? Get down from there this instant!" Not that he could make him but maybe if he yells sternly enough, it might work! If the lad can even hear him over the blasted storm.

[⋆]​

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[QUILLSTRIKE]

I FEEL LIKE AN ASTRONAUT IN THE OCEAN​

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The feeling of water running through his fur made his skin crawl. It brought about that creeping kind of dread that left you knowing there was something bigger and more horrifying yet to come, the kind of thing you'd want to avoid at all costs. For Quill, that thing had been his father, and the rain would always be an unsettling reminder of the past he'd never quite mentally outrun.

Despite his misgivings with the rain, he didn't rush back to camp in fear to hide himself away. No, if anything his steps were slower than usual, stubbornly forcing himself to endure it as he skulked through the woods, lost in his own thoughts until he suddenly heard a voice call out. Mismatched eyes would shift to find Watson yelling up into a nearby tree, and after following the older toms gaze his brows lifted in surprise when he spotted Twitchpaw.

More specifically, a very calm Twitchpaw that wasn't at all freaking out about being up in a tree during a storm.

"What the hell?" he muttered, curiosity and confusion over-riding whatever bullshit he'd been trying to ignore a moment ago as he made his way over to stand beside Watson. "What are you doing up there? Aren't you, like, scared your gonna get blown out of the tree or something?" Quill called up, tone skeptical. He was so used to seeing the other err on the side of caution, having even snuck out with him and Figpaw to make sure Quillpaw wasn't doing anything dumb. Way to take your own advice, dude.
​

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skyclan - male - 8 months - bisexual - homoromantic - single - very tall tabby tomcat with broad shoulders

 

[TWITCHBOLT]

A voice- a voice, above the tumult! He was unused to being on the receiving end of a shout, but it sounded as if it was not one borne from anger but rather worry. Hah, that he was not the one worrying for once! It was... peculiar but not unwelcome that he was being worried over. The sentiment of the situation had not long to settle, however- there was another great crack of light in the sky. A laugh spilled uninhibited from Twitchpaw's normally-tightened maw.

"It's fine!" He called, backlit by the flash of another bolt. Snow-striped fur now stuck to him, clinging to his form- but he had never cares less for his appearance, or the rumbling of a storm. Wild-eyed, a wide gaze located two faces in the din, put names to them: Watson, Quillpaw. "It's amazing!" His head whipped to the clouds, purplish and swollen with squall.

Sarcasm skittered through Quillpaw's voice- typical, but Twitchpaw found himself unbothered, entirely in his element. "I'm stormwatching! It's ages away- nothing to be scared of." The rain had reached them, sure, but not the lightning- that still crackled in Twolegplace, and the worst winds would accompany the worst of the storm, the thunderbolts. A roar of thunder followed his words. "You should come look!"​

penned by pin ✧​

 

[QUILLSTRIKE]

I FEEL LIKE AN ASTRONAUT IN THE OCEAN​

---

What a weird guy. For someone who seemed constantly on the verge of jumping out of their own skin, Twitch sure had a habit for pursuing dangerous habits; attacking warriors, sneaking out at night, climbing trees in thunderstorms. Well, at least nobody could call them a coward. A little dumb, maybe, but when weren't kids dumb, himself included?

Quill wasn't sure how true it was that the storm wasn't close, nor was he confident that winds wouldn't shift and topple the entire tree. And perhaps if it had been a different cat asking him to climb up there with them he would have given them a resounding, fuck no. But hey, the chimera was a dumb kid too, and it wasn't often often he was invited to do things with cats that didn't piss him off.

And so despite the rain soaking him through and the anxiety gnawing in the background of his mind, the tom turned his mismatched eyes toward the lowest branch of the tree. Quill was a decent climber- or at least, he had been before he started growing so much. Now it was like he had to relearn everything all over again. A bunching of muscle and he jumped to th first branch, and then the second with reletive ease, but when he hit the third his oversized paws betrayed him, slipping on the wet bark as claws overshot their marks and clutched at empty air.

The fall was only about ten feet, and large tomcat managed to turn and land on all fours easily enough before shaking out his coat and looking up at his friend. "Too slippery." he called up, lamely informing them that he wouldn't be joining them. " I'll watch from down here." he offered instead, unable to see much outside of the wind ravaged Twitchpaw and the stormclouds darkening the sky behind them, but it didn't seem to bother him.

The view was still nice.
​

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skyclan - male - 8 months - bisexual - homoromantic - single - very tall tabby tomcat with broad shoulders