let me live let me die — group three

[DUSKPOOL]

anger makes you stupid . stupid gets you killed .
︶꒦꒷♡꒷꒦︶

His obsidian fur rippled with unease, not thrilled to be stuck in pitch black with cats he barely knew, but did any of them have a choice? No. Unless they wanted to wander the rocky passageways alone. He couldn’t help the sense of déjà vu that encompassed his heart, rattling like hummingbird wings, torn ear lying flat against a scarred helm.

He hated the feeling of metal bars digging into his hide, nothing more than a malnourished kid listening to the haunting shrieks of cats and dogs alike, haunting his memory like sticky sap. He breathed shakily, letting others slip past him, barely feeling the brush of fur against his own, realization settling heavily on tired shoulders. He wouldn’t fit.

The realization was bittersweet, but he didn’t panic. He breathed, stepping back until he bumped against the chilly stone. It would be a waste of time. He hummed, rattling his chest in favor of ignoring the hunger that gnawed at his stomach.

He’d come to terms with death a long time ago before he stepped paw in SkyClan the first time. Now more than ever. His shoulder throbbed in a painful reminder, pulling the older warrior from his thoughts. Right. He shifted, letting out a grunt, pulling his weight off of his throbbing leg to pad forward, whiskers quivering. He’d barely get through, not without screwin’ up his shoulder. Sorry, kiddo. His wooly tail curled, expression conflict. To be trapped with no sense of direction was one hell of a way to die, but it’d be deserving for someone like him with a heart as blackened as his. He was an old fool with far too many ghosts and not a lick of redemption in sight.

He couldn’t help but think of his kids, left in camp with no real knowin’ what might happen left his heart in disarray. He loved them, maybe more than he loved himself, but they’d be just fine without him, maybe better if he could help it. “Better you all get goin’ don’t need to be waitin’ on me.” He rumbled. ​

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thought speech​

 

[Orangestar]

𝐵𝑈𝑇 𝑇𝑂 𝐴 𝑊𝑂𝑀𝐴𝑁, 𝐵𝑌 𝑇𝐻𝐸 𝐸𝑁𝐷 ✧ 𝐘𝐎𝐔'𝐋𝐋 𝐊𝐍𝐄𝐄𝐋 𝐀𝐍𝐃 𝐏𝐋𝐄𝐀

• 
  
  — orangeblossom | tags
  — she/her ; deputy of skyclan, mentoring eveningpaw.
  — scarred white-and-ginger she-cat with brown eyes.
  — "speech" ; thoughts
  — chibi by waluigipinball
  — penned by mercibun. @ me in any official tabbytales discord for plots.
  
  

​

Their little group is making slow progress today. Orangeblossom's stride is stunted by her limp, exacerbated by what she thinks might have been a rough night of sleep but doesn't remember too well (truthfully, she doesn't remember sleeping at all). She's stirred from her thoughts by Duskpool's low rumble, the amber-eyed tomcat bringing up the rear of their little patrol.

Orangeblossom doesn't consider Duskpool a friend. Not in the way she does Johnnyflame, or Slate, or even Apple Stem (though the latter is her littermate before anything else, and therefore falls into her own distinct category). But she respects him. He's a sturdy staple of SkyClan, a gruff but well-meaning and protective warrior. A father. Someone akin to Blazestar in some respects, though without the burden of leadership sat heave atop broad, scarred shoulders. Smart, but humble. Grounded.

"Huh?" Orangeblossom turns and ducks her head under the lower ceiling to squint in his general direction. She's suddenly acutely aware that he's a whole five seasons older than her, as she faces him with the same twisted expression she might regard Heavy Stone with. "Don't be mouse-brained. We're not leaving you behind, Duskpool."

​

 

[GREENEYES]

Their progress through rubbled tunnels feels slower than what it has been, but Greeneyes can’t be so sure if that’s truly the case, or if time merely seems to be going slower with how long they’ve been underground. How long has it been now? The young warrior lost count somewhere at the start of their never-ending night, and he fears any hope of seeing the sun again is about to follow suit.

He’s just a little ways ahead of his clanmates when Duskpool’s words reach ginger ears, a statement that causes frosted paws to slow to a stop. “What?”

Back at home, Greeneyes wasn’t too terribly close with Duskpool, but the larger, shadow-furred tom is still his clanmate all the same. Still his journey-mate, still stuck in the tunnels alongside him. The probabilities of finding their way out of here feel slimmer with each passing day - or, whatever amount of time feels like a day, down here - but, if… if they’re going to get out of here, then…

Then they’re all getting out of here.

He turns, peering into shadows past Orangeblossom’s form.

“You’re not… You’re not really thinking we’d leave you behind, are you?” he slowly asks, a bright gaze squinting in an attempt to find Duskpool in the darkness. What a cruel way to die, stuck underground - a means of death that Greeneyes tries not to think about, its proximity too close for comfort, just as everything else down here.

“There’s gotta be a way,” he tells him, though Duskpool stands taller in stature than Greeneyes does, and even the smaller warrior has found his own struggles through tightened pathways, “We’ll figure it out, okay? I’ll help you. We just… Duskpool, we can’t just leave you here.”

✦ ABOUT

• 
  

  
  
  GREENKIT ‣ GREENPAW ‣ GREENEYES, Warrior of SkyClan
  — Daisyflight x Raven Ramble
  — AMAB; He/Him
  — A red tabby and white tom with bright green eyes.
  — Mentored by Sheepcurl; Currently mentoring Falconpaw
  — "Speech"; Attack
  
  ✦･ﾟ: * — Among SkyClan's first born, Greeneyes is a bright tom with an affinity for the world around him. Despite always seeking to be kind to others, the warrior believes he's cursed - a belief brought on by rhetoric that green is a deadly color.

​

 

[Flamewhisker]

Their pace today has been on the slower side, but she was alright with that. Everyone was sporting their own scrapes and cuts, including herself. Her paws were rubbed raw, and she had caught her skin on a jagged rock that was sticking out of the wall yesterday. She had tried her best to clean the dried blood off, but with the lack of room in these tunnels, that was a lot easier said than done. Sleeping on the stone floor hadn't been treating her old shoulder injury well either. When they had waken up that morning, it had been stiff and achy, but now that they have been walking for awhile she was doing fairly alright.

She was a couple cats ahead of Duskpool, when she heard voices coming from behind her. The ceiling was much lower now, and it had been a fairly difficult squeeze for her to make it through, but there had been a little more than enough room. After hearing that Duskpool was wishing for them to leave him behind, her face twisted confusedly. "Absolutely not...No cat will be left behind." she said firmly, turning around to head back in that direction. They hadn't traveled this far to leave anybody behind, no matter the clan they came from. They would figure out some way to get him through, whatever it took.​

★ born to find that great unknown

• ​
• 
  FLAMEWHISKER of THUNDERCLAN
  LH red tabby with low white (masks black tabby, carries dilute, solid)
  — Lead Warrior of Thunderclan ; currently mentoring Acornpaw
  — she/her ; mated with Flycatcher
  — mother to Stormpaw & Falconpaw
  — 24 moons ; ages on the 20th
  — Smells like dirt, old leaves, tree sap, faint hint of flowers
  — will start a fight, will finish fights, will kill (case depending)
  — "speech" ; thoughts ; attacks
  — penned by Icey ! ; link to tags
  — link to toyhouse
  — funny guy art by waluigipinball​

 

[DUSKPOOL]

anger makes you stupid . stupid gets you killed .
︶꒦꒷♡꒷꒦︶

He remained silent, helm bowed, ignoring the bubbling bitterness as it reared its ugly head, tasting rancid on his tongue because this was it. He bit the inside of his cheek, welcoming the pain, and distracting him from the hollowness inside his chest because he wouldn’t be there to see it through.

He wondered, half-heartedly if this was what he wanted. Because this would be his deathbed. Nothing but darkness for as far as the eye could see, trapped in a maze of passageways until his dying breath. He wondered if this would be his last chance at redemption because the thought of StarClan welcoming someone like him was laughable, even if he still couldn’t wrap his head around it. He chuffed, humor dancing within a crinkled optic.

He didn’t have too much hope in survivin’ this journey, maybe he wanted that, but Duskpool didn’t dwell on it further. He wasn’t doin’ much but slowing them down. He damn well hoped they made it out of here, but that thought seemed on most of their minds, breath ragged and muscles straining, shoulder throbbing in reminder.

The obsidian warrior shifted, feeling the stone rub against calloused paw pads sending chills up his legs and down his spine. He shivered subconsciously, drawing himself out of his guilt haze to peer toward those who had spoken out. “I am, kid.” He responded to Greeneyes question, tone unwavering.

He offered a saddened quirk of his lips at their responses, shaking his helm. “Get goin’ you fools.” He rumbled. I’ve already made peace with it. He wanted to add but refrained. He breathed, flank rising with the motion at their admitted responses, refusing to leave him behind. “I’ll find a way out, no need to worry about me.” He rumbled. “Ya kids better get movin’ if ya want to find a way out of here.” He finished with a flick of his wooly tai, torn ear flickering. I’m gettin’ too old for this, ‘about time I bit the dust. He grumbled inaudibly. He wasn’t old, but he sure felt older than he was.

He wouldn’t stop them, but he sure as hell made peace with dyin’ down here. Duskpool glanced toward the small passageway, whiskers quivering. He could fit—barely. He couldn’t risk screwin’ up his shoulder more than he already was, just now becoming a dull ache within the past few days, if it has been that long. Time was nothin’ but an illusion down here. No tellin’ how long it has been. He wondered if the others survived, no less made it out of these blasted passages that made his head spin.

/ feel free to notice a slightly larger passageway ! that is the end goal, at least ^^ no need to worry about duskpool dying in this thread lol ​

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thought speech​