sensitive topics MAKE ME EVIL [★] adder

[SOOTSTAR]

WindClan had always been a nest of vipers. Backstabbing traitors, meek poisoners and false loyalists who had thought they could play Sootstar’s game better than she. The blue she-cat is aware she had not rid the clan entirely from them, but one by one she plucks the weeds from the ground and purifies her garden. Weeds are insistant, no matter how much you tend they come back, so Sootstar resigns to keeping them controlled rather than eradicated.

But some snakes must be ridded of.

Sunlight glints against brown scales. One could’ve mistaken it for the root of the protective shrub, but not Sootstar’s keen eye. It slithers between the branches, hiding itself from leaf-fall’s bitting winds. It’s only been enticed out of hiding by the easy meals that present themselves in front of it, the viper finds appetite in brown and calico fur playing in the grass.

It rears it’s head upwards. In a motion swifter than a bolt of lightning it strikes, jaw unlatched and fangs pummel through the air. Pushing past fur and deep into skin they make their mark, but not on striped or calico kitten fur.

Her blood boils and burns, all at once she feels it across her entire body. The adder releases itself and flees into the shade of the nursery to hide between the tendrils of gorse while Sootstar leaps back, confused and her heart thudding against her chest. She looks back at Larkkit and Ouzelkit and considers it a victory to find them untouched, but its no question that she was bitten as drool rapidly forms in her mouth, quickly dripping from her chin.

”An adder is in the gorse!”

☾ INFO BATTLE

• >> @TANGLEKIT and @Halfkit , but anyone may post!
• 
  » 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

​

 

[Halfpaw]

It happens faster than Halfkit can think. In one moment, Halfkit is happily tumbling about with Tanglekit, playfully reaching out with one paw to swat at her blue furred sister and declaring herself queen of both moors and swamp-lands (because why settle for just one when you could have both?) and in the next moment chaos is errupting. She had not seen the snake, not until it was too late and a flash of golden sunlight reflecting off its scales were flashing in her eyes. When she turns to look, she is met with a flash of teeth, the image of a creature that could end her life in one quick instant lunging in her and her sisters direction. She lets out a shriek and closes her eyes, not able to move fast enough she cowers against Tanglekit if her blue-furred kin would allow it, preparing herself for a bite that never comes.

When she opens her eyes again it is not the image of an adder she sees, but rather it is Sootstar's unmistakable smoke-toned pelt. Sootstar was here! She had scared that mean adder away and everything was going to be alright because she had saved them! A smile errupts on her face and her mouth is opening to let out a cheer, to declare the molly a hero, the snake had retreated but it was okay because someone would take care of it right? Only it was not okay. Her cheer dies in her throat when Sootstar staggers backwards, when drool falls from her mouth and her legs don't look like they will hold her anymore. Her eyes flash to the spot of red on a blue leg, the bite mark that leaks blood and a bit of something else and Halfkit's eyes suddenly widen in terror.

"Wha-whatishappening" she asks, and the words come out all at once in one panicked breath. "Sootstar!" she cries out as she rushes forward. She had saved them.. but she didn't look like the triumphant hero that Halfkit was picturing in her mind right this second. She looked frail, weak. "Sootstar you saved us, everything is going to be okay right?" Because the heros in all of the stories she had heard were always okay in the end and Sootstar is a hero so nothing bad could happen to her right?

​

 

[Morningsong~]

He hears Sootstar call out and his blood runs cold. An adder, and judging from Sootstar's drooling and staggering, its a bad one. Oh no, this isnt good. This is terrible. Panic and anxiety grip him for a moment before he snaps himself out of it. Now wasn't the time, he needed to act.

"It- It went into the nursery!" Morningsong said, rushing to the kits. "Stay away, don't get close." He tells them "It's going to be okay." His voice is calm and determined. He may not approve of their presence, but he's not about to let them get hurt. ESPECIALLY by a snake.

He sets his gaze on the nursery and steels himself. He didn't like fighting adders, one wrong move, move too slowly, and you were dead. He never had the confidence to fight one head on, but now isnt the time for doubt and hesitation. That snake needed to die, and he was going to make sure it did.

He unsheathes his claws and approaches the nursery, peering in where the snake had fled. He needs to be careful....He won't come back like Sootstar...

"Larkkit, can you run and get Wolfsong?" He asks her. "Sootstar will need him, and I bet he could help hunt the snake as well."

He will do what he has to to take this beast down, he just hopes others arrive to help him.​

 

[WOLFSONG]

──ᨒ↟↟ᨒ↟ᨒ↟↟ᨒ── "No need," he interrupts, drawing to a halt beside Sootstar. A venomous beast— and in the nursery, no less. She has ensured Larkkit and Ouzelkit's temporary safety, but as long as the serpent is alive, none of them are out of danger. Wolfsong can do nothing for such a lethal bite; there is no knowledge Vulturemask passed on for such a wound, and he has heard nothing of its treatment from the other medicine cats. Setting his jaw, he gently but firmly guides Larkkit aside, a short distance from Sootstar.

"Stay behind until more warriors arrive; it isn't safe, and Sootstar needs space." He turns back to their leader, her body clearly weakened. The saliva dampening her chin is a poor sign. Wolfsong moves slightly closer, and when he speaks again, his rasp is little more than a murmur. "Sootstar, I cannot halt the venom's path. It will run its course." They need to clear the nursery, but unlike Sootstar, no one else can return from the dead. ​

WOLFSONG of WINDCLAN FORMER ROGUE TURNED MEDICINE CAT. 38 MOONS, HE/HIM, NPC X NPC. MATES WITH SUNSTRIDE (07/05/2023). BIOGRAPHY, PINTEREST, & PLAYLIST.

medicinal expertise med. part ii med. part iii med. part iv

• — ★★★☆☆ WOUNDS: You're (mostly) in safe paws. You'll know if he's less experienced if he asks for your permission to try a treatment. No wound can scare him away from knowledge.
  — ★★★☆☆ INFECTION: He can prevent most infections. If you feel feverish, let him know; he'll hum thoughtfully over herbs and sniff your wound before saying, "With your blessing..."
• — ★☆☆☆☆ ACHES & PAINS: If you complain to him of pain, he'll ask where. If it's a headache, you'll likely feel a bit better. For anything else, "Try this, if you'd like, and tell me how you feel."
  — ★☆☆☆☆ BROKEN BONES: At best. he can ask you to remain lying down in the den. He may try to distract you with conversation while he considers what herb to feed you.
• — ★★★★★ TRAVELING HERBS: Going somewhere? No worries; Wolfsong knows just what you need to stay hale and healthy during your journey. The rest is up to you.
  — ★★☆☆☆ KITTING: Thanks to Starlingheart, he's better prepared for the arrival of kits, but any complications will need a little faith and a lot of luck.
• — ★☆☆☆☆ POISONS: It's best if you avoid eating anything unfamiliar to you— it's probably just as unfamiliar to Wolfsong. The best he can do is offer you yarrow and sit with you.
  — ★★☆☆☆ ILLNESS: If it's white or greencough, you'll likely recover. Otherwise, prepare for odd concoctions and the usual request that you consent to a little trial-and-error.

​

 

[SOOTSTAR]

Halfkit wails her name, Sootstar looks to the kit with blurry vision and saliva pooling from her mouth uncontrollably. She is directed away by both the figures of Morningsong and Wolfsong, for the best, in her panicked state she’d find no qualms in kicking out at the kit to get her out of the way.

As the warriors begin to try and get the adder from the nursery Wolfsong speaks to her. She strains her ears to be able to concentrate on his words, her dialated pupils grown angry when he reveals he cannot help her. ”You what?!” Her veins boil and burn, she practically spits out her words. Muscles spasm underneath her fur, she struggles to keep her balance as she feels betrayed by the medicine cat. Deluisoned thoughts swirl through her mind, what if he knew the cure but wasn’t willing to extend it to her? What if Vulturemask had intentionally kept this information away- what if.

Her heart burns through the contaminated blood and the poison infects her entire body. With the instrincts of a dying animal she is attracted to the darkness of her den, the privacy that it would give her to die and reamerge again. When her paws hit the cold stone floor of her den she collapses, after only a few pants her body stiffens, and she dies an agonizing death. If anyone were to walk in they’d find her pupils wide as the moon, the pain she felt still lingering in her eyes as a puddle of drool formed around her mouth.

☾ 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

​

 

[juncoclaw]

An adder is in the gorse? Juncopaw's ears perk at the strained voice of Sootstar from inside the camp. The apprentice had been lingering just outside the perimeters, chowing down on a morsel of prey she had recently caught for herself. Sheltered just out of sight, she took her sweet time in finishing her meal as she pondered her choices. Surely there were enough cats in camp to deal with a measly adder, right? It went into the nursery! came another voice, one she didn't wholly recognize and didn't really care to. Oh, no. Anything but that. Spare these bothersome babies so I can waste my day hunting them tomorrow. A hushed snicker came from the striped she-cat at her own negligent sarcasm.

Truthfully, she didn't really care either way. It's be a real bummer, sure, but being out of sight, she felt she wouldn't be expected to step in and help - so why would she? They wouldn't know any better. She was away hunting - or patrolling a border, perhaps. By the sounds of it, there were already cats nearby to help. She'd only get in the way, right? But - as these careless and cruel thoughts plague her mind - a lightbulb! Sootstar is watching. If Juncopaw could do this one thing, and impress Sootstar enough with her super skills of super cool snake extermination (ego, ego), maybe she would get rewarded! To get praised and thanked by Sootstar in front of everybody would inflate this arrogant apprentice's ego to an unreasonable extent: stars forbid anyone deals with her now. Maybe she'd even get her warrior name early!

Upon coming to this conclusion, Juncopaw quickly ditched her prey and rushed into camp, though she couldn't feign her own worry as she pushed through the cluster of cats. Approaching next to Morningsong, she rudely bumps into his shoulder in an attempt to shove him aside, albeit their size difference. "Move!" she snapped, seemingly annoyed as if he had bumped into her. "I got this."

But right as she approached the nursery, the struggles of her leader came into earshot. She craned her head to stare towards Sootstar and Wolfsong, fur prickling as she noted the pained stature of the blue smoke. She couldn't hear what Wolfsong was saying; but by the stars, she wished she could. She stood frozen in front of the nursery, potentially vulnerable, as she angled her ears desperately to eavesdrop on this conversation - to get an update on Sootstar's status. But to no avail.​

​

"Speech"​

---

praise be the heavens. praise me, i'm the lord.​

 

[Periwinklebreeze.]

I'M NO BURDEN - NOT SO WORTHLESS
BENT SO MUCH THAT I JUST MIGHT BREAK ​

---

periwinklebreeze ❀ 16 moons ❀ demi-boy ❀ he/they ❀ windclan moor runner​

---

Peri has always been far from anyone's first choice to come to mind when it comes to things like bravery - he is a coward through and through, knows this as well as he knows the back of his paws or the feel of the moorand breeze. But things change - he has been through too much too fast, the cat who'd left on the journey returning somewhat hollow - as though his vision is not all he'd lost. One thing that hasn't changed though is his fondness for the children of the clan - ashen figure rarely straying far while within camp. So sootstars call reache blackened ears quickly - the boy on his paws in only a heartbeat.

He has not fought an adder before - he'd heard a few facts from snailstride once upon a time, but nothing more. But in that moment he's ready to do so - for the kits more so than any sense of bravery. He strides forwards on ink-dipped paws, vision blurring in his haste, but he does not see which way it went - only bears witness to sootstars weakness, sees the begins of poison mingling with spittle. Gaze averted even as she leaves, to go off somewhere to die in peace h supposes. He doesn't ask, doesn't comment - he is unwilling to try her patience today. Instead, he focuses on wolfsong and morningsong - " d-did anyone see which w-way it went? "

They need to kill it, quickly - before anyone else gets hurt.

━ actions & " speech, " & 'thoughts/quotes' ━

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T H E ━ Q U E S T I O N S ━ T H A T ━ K E E P ━ M E ━ A W A K E

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[hollowcreek]

( ✧ ) The small mollys shout has Hollowcreek at his paws faster than he can blink. He watched in thinly veiled shock as fangs detach from blue fur and the adder slithered back from its victim into the hidden ferns of the nursery. His Queen is already being ushered toward Wolfsong and he's well aware he's no help for anything medicinal, so he turned his focus toward the assailant trying to remain unseen.

Sharp eyes assess the direction it shifted toward and he found a vague pattern of disturbed dirt and sand. It had made its path underneath the gorse and even further into the hollow toward the heather-scented moss of the elders den. He grumbled at Ploverkit and Sheepkit to get out of his way, his stare menacing enough to have them move without question.

His gaze caught a glimmer of dusty-hued scales from the light filtering in from the gorse and he made his mark there. A trained paw slammed flat against the adders head and a swift bite culled it efficiently. He grimaced at the texture of ripped scales against his teeth and tongue. Snakes were not his preferred prey at all.

"It's dealt with." He emerged from the elders den and spat the adder out at his paws. "Juncopaw! Take this and bury it far away, hawks won't hesitate to swoop down while it's fresh." His sharp stare turned to the she-cat, stubbed tail mimicking a lash as he gave the order.
​

( I SEE YOUR COLLARBONE ; AND WANNA LOSE CONTROL )

 

[juncoclaw]

Of course, while Juncopaw was stuck gawking at the writhing leader, someone else had swiftly finished the job of displacing the threat. Hollowcreek slipped into the nursery out of her field of focus, consequently startling her with his abrupt emergence. Fox-heart, that was mine! thought the bitter apprentice, though she would never utter such an insult towards a tom so imposing. Intimidation didn't come easy to the arrogant she-cat, but this isn't a cat she would win in a scuffle against.

She winced back and raised a paw as the adder was dropped at Hollowcreek's paws. Take this and bury it, he said. Juncopaw bristled at the order, and almost immediately following his instructions, opened her mouth in dismay. "I've already been helping!" she complained dejectedly, lashing her own silver-striped tail. It was typical of Juncopaw to refuse orders from just about anyone, until inevitably pouting as she carried out the order anyway. Refusing eye contact with the older tom, she instead turned to glare pointedly at someone else. "Make.. Periwinklebreeze do it. He's just been standing around." A swift lie, and a hypocritical one at that, based entirely on the cowardice that the they displayed before their grand journey. She didn't want a menial task, especially not from a haughty loyalist show-off like Hollowcreek. She wanted to remain near Sootstar, and hear more about the venom that ailed her. Juncopaw stamped her forepaws into the ground indignantly, pouting, knowing that one way or another she'd have to begrudgingly follow these orders anyway. But it was the least she could do to try and pass it off to someone else.
​

​

"Speech"​

---

praise be the heavens. praise me, i'm the lord.​