sensitive topics OUROBOROS ⁀➷ RETURN

[FALLOWBITE]

ˏˋ*⁀➷ 　The adrenaline is fading, and the dread is beginning to set in. Fallowpaw is no stranger to fights, but taking a life is not something she ever wanted. It was deserved, she knows as much, and yet... She cannot help but feel hollow, in the aftermath.

She meets her patrol with blood on her teeth.

"Baying Hound is dead," the apprentice announces, toneless and drained. It feels just as Baying Hound described herself - a dead woman walking. It was only a matter of time before one of them tore the other's throat open. It supposes that it should feel victorious. The thought is a distant thing. It does not look at the three young cats that it has herded over. "These kits need..." More than it could ever give them. Safety, comfort. They need to have never seen what they just did. She sighs. "They need somewhere t'stay."

‎‎┌── GOD KNOWS I❜M ONLY HUMAN ⁀➷ I GET SO INHUMANE ──┐‎

• backwritten to before the meeting, takes place after this thread
  
  tagging @STORMYWING @HOWLINGSTAR @YIP @THRASH & @HOWL but no need to wait
  
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  "SPEECH"

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  FALLOWBITE ⁀➷ she / it, warrior of thunderclan, twelve moons.
  ➳ a scarred, pointed brown and white molly with shaggy fur and golden eyes.
  ➳ standoffish and solitary, always seems to have a dark cloud hanging over its head.
  ➳ baying hound xx npc, littermate to antlerbreeze & doepath.
  ➳ peaceful and healing powerplay permitted / / underline and tag when attacking
  ➳ penned by SATURNID ↛ saturnids on discord, feel free to dm for plots.
  

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[doepath ࿔]

It was undeniable the way her pelt prickled with anticipation anytime her siblings wandered out of sight... Fallowpaw had a habit of getting itself into trouble, even though Doepaw had made her displeasure with its wild temper quite clear. Antlerpaw was more reliable in her emotional stability but... the stench of blood clung to the inside of her nose like it lived there. Inescapable. Just like death, which held hands with them like a ribbon wrapped within a braid.

It's never far, as it carries today on the breeze. At this point, she should just assume it a staple of Fallowpaw's scent. Her ears sit forward with alarm alike the cervidae she is named for, eyes round and alert for the shifting of the undergrowth that might reveal its location- it had only been a few moments, right? When had it slipped away?

The fawn girl suspects that her litter-mates might take joy in their muddy sister's announcement. That their mother is no longer a threat, a phantom in name and body finally. But... she can't help the way her lip quivers miserably, to know that there is no chance at redemption. There isn't a future where they can coax their mother to understanding and build the tattered relationship towards something beautiful. 'These kits-"

Confusion swirls into the bereaved mask of her face, lips thinning into a frown. Kittens? Fallowpaw had found a bunch of babies out there too? That seemed so bizarre- had their mother taken to kidnapping to fill the hollows of her heart? It made such little sense, even as she considered the option that the more likely reality was practically invisible. "How...? Where...?" The questions are graceless and vague but hold all the answers she could need.

How had she died... (She suspects she knows this one)? Where had these children come from... (This one too, feels as if it lingers on the tip of her tongue)?​

 

[HOWLINGSTAR]

The metallic tang of blood in the air causes her fur to bristle, her tail lifting to alert the patrol. Her maw parts to say something but before she can, Fallowpaw emerges from the undergrowth, blood-soaked and hollow-looking. Her eyes round with alarm, her heart sinking. It couldn't have gone far on its hunt - how and where in StarClan had this happened? "What-" She begins, but then she falls silent. Baying Hound is dead. That is...that's their mother, isn't it? That horrible, awful rogue they'd chased out the day Fallowpaw returned home from running away. The day she'd brought Antlerpaw and Doepaw back with her. She is dead. "Tell me what happened," She commands sharply, apprehension beginning to take hold a she takes a step closer to the apprentice. Her fur ripples uneasily, her heart heavy then as her gaze drops to the three small forms.

Understanding sets in. "Are these...her kits?" The leader asks softly, staring at them wide-eyed. I see now. "You...you've done what needed to be done. She was a dangerous cat, Fallowpaw. You aren't to blame." It has to be true. It has to be. She probably attacked her again, right? With more kits to hurt this time? It's her only guess to try and explain all of this, to justify it. Please tell me you did not orphan these children for nothing.

She takes another step closer, her full attention on the kits now. Her heart aches at the sight of them. The look so frightened. "These kits, they need safety immediately. We will get them back to camp, get them into the nursery with Tansyshine and Nightbird and Roeflame. You did well to bring them here." She looks back at Fallowpaw, her gaze growing more serious. "We will care for them." Of course, she would never leave the sisters' kin to fend for themselves. They would be raised here, comforted here, fed here. To Doepaw and Antlerpaw, she gives a sympathetic look. This is a lot to take in for Fallowpaw's sisters, surely. ​

 

[antlerbreeze]

Blood tanged the air. She was familiar with it by now, familiar with dead bodies- what a thing to say. (Though, it's easy to say she wasn't familiar. Three did not make much, where as a dozen would.) Her ears pushed forward, finding Fallowpaw's scent beneath and inhaling with a sharp breath. It felt like a claw to her rib, digging in, seeing her sibling step out of the undergrowth and... three kits. Three kits followed, even if they were making noise, even if they reared their ugly head.

Baying Hound is dead. Her orange eyes snapped up to her sibling's, studying it's vision. Studying the bloodied visage, for any wounds. These kits need somewhere to stay. Howlingstar is speaking, and perhaps Antlerpaw had frozen. The thing that walked her nightmares, bloodied her face and destroyed her inside and out- dead. Gone, but she had spawned more of those like her, like Doe, like Fallow, into the world. They were walking, reared ugly heads and spit-fire and complaints.

She can feel Howlingstar's eyes on her now, briefly, and her head turns. Was there pricks of tears in her eyes, when she looked at her mentor? Ears turned and flattened backwards, staring at her for a long moment. Siblings. Younger siblings. Baying Hound was dead. How cruel was it that Fallow had to give the final blow? That Antlerpaw, who had slowly decided she was a guardian of sorts, a guardian to Doepaw's softer edges and Fallowpaw's rougher, could not finish what she had started?

It had been her that shouted at Baying Hound, that caused their mother to turn and rend scars onto her and her sister. Antlerpaw's breathing finally kickstarted- In for eight, hold, out. Antlerpaw's head turned back towards the kits near Fallowpaw, studying for a moment. Her paws moved then, feeling larger then ever, and she pressed her side against Doepaw lightly. ".. My name is Antlerpaw." She spoke then, directly to the kits.

"I was.. like you, once. Baying Hound was my mother." She said to open air, her shoulders tensing. "We can take care of you. Feed you. You won't go hungry, not like you were." Antlerpaw offered, eyes still brimming with tears that fell freely now. She wasn't sobbing. She wasn't going to.

‎‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ┌── SHE SAW IT IN MY EYES ⋅❁⋅ SHE DIDNT EVEN CRY ──┐‎

• "speech"
  

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• ANTLERBREEZE she/her, warrior of thunderclan, twelve moons.
  ⭃ LH cinnamon lynx sepia with low white. smaller body, agile and slippery, fits really well in small gaps in the underbrush. soft spoken but strong and determined.
  ⭃ previously mentored by howlingstar / / mentoring no one
  ⭃ padding after no one / / sibling to fallowbite and doepath
  ⭃ peaceful and healing powerplay permitted / / underline and tag when attacking
  ⭃ penned by dallas ↛ dallasofnines on discord, feel free to dm for plots.
  

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[YIPPINGKIT]

Yip's pelt has not stopped bristling the whole way to ThunderClan. Fallowpaw leaves his mother's blood in its wake. Yip tries not to step in it. He is careful to measure the distance between Fallowpaw and himself, maintaining no less than two tail-lengths between them. Still, he does not think of running. He can't. He needs food, some sort of provider; he cannot hunt for himself. Baying Hound had never taught him. Had he been too young, or had she wanted to keep him reliant? He does not know, he has no reference. He doesn't want one — he just wants her back, vindictive and distant and cruel though she was, she was his only mother.

Several strangers crowd Fallowpaw as the small group gets deeper into ThunderClan territory. Yip finds his ability to withstand suddenly lacking. There are too many cats, too large, too many eyes on him; he hates it, and he is already so afraid and this is certainly not helping. A hiss rings sharp from the child's throat. Their claws extend into the earth below, each paw boasting several blades too many; their tail becomes a bottlebrush of smoke. They don't like strangers. They don't feel safe.

Howlingstar declares that they will be safe in ThunderClan's nursery. Yip thinks he will believe it when he sees it. Split-tone eyes dart between the strangers and his exits, but still he knows he cannot escape — he cannot escape the need to eat, the need for shelter, the need for water and care. His heart trembles rapidly in its cage. Even Howlingstar's confirmation of care does not still its beating. Antlerpaw introduces herself as a sibling — or, at least, as another child of Baying Hound's. She promises much of the same care and food that her leader did, tears spilling from her eyes. Yip does not know what to think. He hisses louder, unsure of how to respond without aggression.

Would he stop being scared if he just said okay? Would he stop being scared if he let the strangers take him further from Baying Hound's cooling body? Would he stop being scared if they fed him and coddled him for the rest of his days? He does not know, not truthfully.

Despite his bristling and hissing, Yip allows himself to be corralled in whichever direction is most convenient. He does not want to die like Baying Hound had died. He does not want to be separate from his mother. But they are powerless to choose their own fate now.

𝐈 𝐊𝐍𝐎𝐖 𝐈𝐓 𝐌𝐔𝐒𝐓 𝐁𝐄 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐊𝐈𝐋𝐋𝐈𝐍𝐆 𝐓𝐈𝐌𝐄, 𝐔𝐍𝐖𝐈𝐋𝐋𝐈𝐍𝐆𝐋𝐘 𝐌𝐈𝐍𝐄 !

• ooc.
  
• YIPPINGKIT —— kit of thunderclan . baying hound x duke . littermate to howlkit and thrashkit, sibling to many ✦ penned by meghan
  
  ✦ a hulking black smoke with low white. striking dual-toned eyes. fluctuates between total apathy and a need to fit in; difficult to befriend, and does not trust easily. unsure of thunderclan as a whole.
  ✦ intersex, nb masculine / he they pronouns / 03 moons & ages every 5th
  ✦ peaceful and healing powerplay permitted / underline & tag account when attacking
  —— will start fights / will not flee / may show mercy. a kitten, he can hardly defend himself, but that will not stop him from trying. apt against opponents his age thanks to his sheer size.
  
  ✦ "speech", thoughts, all opinions are in character
  ✦ full biography — msg on discord for plots — toyhouse
  

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[THRASHPAW]

-ˋˏ ༻☾༺ ˎˊ-​

There's hope that Baying Hound isn't actually dead, that she will be bounding after Fallowpaw to take him and his littermates back. At least, Thrash thinks this is hope, that sinking feeling at the thought of it. There is a rigid manner to how she walks, trailing to be behind her littermates in hopes that the monster that leads them knows that it has eyes on her. Her siblings are quiet, so she is in turn, it was what they were raised to be after all.

There's the thought to run and a pull to it, anytime she looks for an exit they find themself looking back at Yip and Howl. She couldn't possibly leave them, not along with Fallowpaw. Not alone in general. So she remains rigid, fur still spiralling in large tufts raised on the adrenaline of fear and anger. That desire to flee comes again when more cats appear, towering beasts who probably had mouths of razor sharp teeth to chew and talon like claws. That's what they believed cats from outside their haven of a den looked like, though as she takes note of their paws they don't see any talons.

Howlingstar speaks and their gaze focuses on her maw, no sharp jagged teeth show. How weird. There's the talk of safety, they don't understand how that could be true since they're not in that crowded little spot they call home right now. The staring shifts to Doepaw as she seemed to struggle with these concepts as much as Thrash was right now. Then to Antlerpaw, who seemed to have more to say. The use of past tense causes them to scrunch their face, is not was. It's a bitter thought, clearly she would be coming back any moment now so there shouldn't be words like that.

“Hungry” is all he says, stomach gurgling in displeasure to punctuate that fact. If this clan wanted to… Look after them? Or whatever it is that they claim then Thrash could bide their time waiting here as long as his siblings were fine with it too. She looks between Yip and Howl, trying to decipher if there was to be a protest to this at all.

‎‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎I was born hungry ☆ What do I need‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎‎ ‎ ‎ ‎

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• THRASH
  any pronouns, 3 moons
  ☆ A black smoke with abnormally bright amber eyes and a habit of crouching while they walk.
  ☆ Bayinghound x Duke | Littermates with Howl & Yip
  ☆ Due to her circumstances surrounding it's life she will be confrontational in the majority of their interactions { will start fights | will not end fights | will not run away and might be merciful }
  ☆ "speech" | thoughts | attacking
  ☆ All opinions are IC only!

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