NEVER BREAK AWAY [ orangeblossom ]

[SILVERSMOKE]

Loud thunder cracks like a whip through the quiet of the dusk, starling nearby birds into their nests. Silversmoke's fur ruffled as if pierced by static, his attention shooting upwards to the crimson sky visible past the tree's winding fingers. The air had smelled damp all day, a threat that SkyClan couldn't listen to when the colony needed to be fed and medicine needed to be gathered. A cold droplet splashes onto the maine coon's nose, causing his head to shake vigorously at the indignation. He rubbed the sensitive skin with an alabaster paw, his expression darkening once he realised that the patch was wet. A wary glance was offered to the rest of the patrol, but before words could escape the spotted feline, the heavens themselves seemed to open. Raindrop after raindrop splashed onto his long fur until it became less like dripping and more like a downpour. His bristling fur quickly grew flat by the onslaught of water, and feeling an icy bite begin to touch his skin, the former rogue broke out into a sprint towards the nearest shelter he could find. Silversmoke was not afraid of rain or thunderstorms, he would just prefer not to feel like a drowning rat - luckily, the rest of the patrol seemed to agree.

The feline sprinted into a hollowed trunk that lay flat against the earth, the inside dotted with old moss and a musty smell. Something must have lived inside it some time ago, whatever it was, it wouldn't be needing it until the weather cleared up. Another roll of thunder causes the cat to spin around in the log, the rain beating the top of his temporary shelter like a drum. It didn't take much time before Silversmoke was joined by another, his mismatched eyes blinking curiously as Orangeblossom crawled into the tree trunk too. He offered the Deputy a stoic nod, his attention eventually moving past her and back towards the outside world again. "Why does this always happen when we're patrolling together?" He mewed incredulously, his tail lashing through no fault of Orangeblossom's. "If it's not ThunderClanners, it's WindClanners, now we've got whatever this shit is." A sharp noise escaped Silversmoke, halfway between a huff and a sigh. "If StarClan's making me try to believe that luck exists, they're doing an excellent job of it." He would need to invest in a rabbit's foot if this continued.

[ @orangeblossom ]
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[Orangestar]

Overall, Orangeblossom likes leafbare - but its rain is the worst, little claws of icy sleet that don't quite pierce her thick coat but certainly irritate her muzzle where her fur is thinnest. Worse still when it appears out of nowhere, sending her patrol scattering to the winds in search of shelter. Orangeblossom follows Silversmoke into the hollowed out tree, nearly colliding with the larger warrior - accompanying the last minute recoil is a grunt of apology, as the ginger-and-white molly turns her eyes outward and attempts to spot any of the other familiar pelts. StarClan, she can't see anything through the rain.

"I'll put us on the same patrol next time around, let's see what else goes wrong." She snips back with a huff of dry amusement, sarcasm dripping from her tone as much as the downpour does from the log's edges. "Damn it. I thought we'd get back before this thunderstorm hit."

— info

• // prompt 14
• 
  orangeblossom. tags.
  — she/her, skyclan deputy.
  — mentor to eveningpaw.
  — attack in #e08550. uses trees as an integral part of her fighting style.
  — mean enough to note that her thoughts don't reflect my opinions as a writer haha.
  — penned by mercibun; @ me in any official tabbytales discord for plots. :]
  — art by merc!<3
  

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[SILVERSMOKE]

The corner of his mouth twitched upwards in a fleeting smirk, quickly settling once the rain began to hurl itself onto their shelter with even more aggression. StarClan had always been the extent of his spirituality. Fate and prophecy were fancy words to stop others from needing to contextualise the world around them, yet at that moment, Silversmoke had to wonder if they had something to do with the string of bad luck he'd had in the Deputy's presence. "And here I thought it'd be lax laws that killed SkyClan, not us two." He returned her sarcasm with a modicum of truth to his first statement, though it was something he would not elaborate on further unless prompted to. There was a certain level of trust that his clan held in those that shouldn't be trusted that the longhaired tabby did not like. Lacking the connections to do anything about it was not a problem to the spotted tabby, so long as he tried his hardest to circumvent the pains of such tragedies when they inevitably occurred. Stuck in a hollowed log with nothing to do, it was clear that the next few hours would test his ability, and not just in assisting his clan.

His pupils momentarily hovered on Orangeblossom's scarred muzzle as she grumbled, letting out a small hum of agreement. SkyClan's territory was filled with noise, awful boomings from beyond the clouds, and the vigorous splashing of droplets onto the already drenched earth, but it was the silence of their hideout that Silversmoke focused on. It was awkward, almost painfully so, and it was in that moment that he realised that his appreciation for the Deputy started and ended at her ability to do her job. He had no clue who she was when she was before the role or away from it, there was a professional line he hadn't dared cross despite countless other clanmates befriending the Lead Warriors and Leaders. He caught himself about to shuffle his paws and tucked them beneath the draping fur on his chest, clearing his throat as he did so. "With any luck, it'll clear up quickly. I know I said before my opinion on the weather doesn't matter, but I never did like the rain. It was difficult to find shelter from it before the clans." Silently, he'd assess the other's reactions before she answered, hoping that she'd find relatability in his topic or at the very least, give him some insight into where she was from.

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