Cream paws thrum rythmetically through the thawing marsh-wood, keen ears listening in for the sounds of nearby birdsong and chittering critters. Sneezeduck had long since split from his patrol, too pre-occupied within his own mind to consider teamwork a possibility; he'd join them with his catches later, he had said.
Here's to hoping I can actually catch
something, he had thought forlornly as he separated. It had been too long since he'd been in a clear enough state of mind for.. anything, really.
The Thunderpath is still many cat-lengths away, a thin line at the extent of his vision - but the stench of it tickles his nose, causing him to scrunch up with distaste. It had been quite some time since he's tried hunting over here, so he braves the thick scent of monsters in favor of scouting the area for its population. But as Sneezeduck grows closer to the territory's edge, he becomes increasingly aware of this feeling.. his pelt bristles, and his ears swivel. Something is amiss.
Just as the uncanny feeling arises, it hits him. A metallic scent, painfully familiar and just as terrifying. Sneezeduck's heart drops as his pace quickens towards the source. He imagines a body with twisted proportions, a path of blood dragging across the damp ground. Through the blood scent, he cannot identify the victim - he thinks of Marbleleaf, of his kin..
Whatever he expected, the reality is far, far worse.
" Caterpillarfuzz? " Sneezeduck's voice escapes him in no more than a whisper, raw with shock. Ahead of him, he sees his denmate - a mellow molly he could have easily considered a friend, if only they had ever talked - hovering over the body of Bumbletail, a seasoned warrior he hadn't knew personally but respected as an older figure. Someone who didn't deserve the fate that befell him.
The warrior's neck spills crimson, the breath of life long gone from his laboring lungs. It is written on the younger warrior's paws, stained with her clanmate's blood as they linger on his neck. It is not his first conclusion, that this sweet girl is a murderer - but when he opens his mouth to taste the air, he finds despairingly that there was no other presence in the area. On the still air, beneath the stink of the Thunderpath, he smells blood - and Bumbletail - and suffocatingly, Caterpillarfuzz.
" What did you do? " the tabby chokes out, unknowingly echoing her fearful sentiment.
What do I do? Deep in his heart, he wants to hear her out - he wants her to tell him it was an accident, that she was defending herself, that she merely found him like this. But shrouded with the recent fears and responsibilities of protecting his family, he can only stare at the stranger before him with distrusting eyes and a mouth agape with dismay. In his skewed perspective, he digs up a memory - tabby stripes and cold eyes teaching him from beyond the living, in a place she was put into too soon, taken from her kits by a now tainted face in her youth. He remembers,
this isn't the first time.
Sneezeduck tremors as he takes a step forward, wondering if Caterpillarfuzz can sense his terror.
What do I do? he thinks again, pitifully. She is washed in fear, with round eyes staring sightlessly in his direction.
Are you scared because he died? Or are you scared of being found? Grief and guilt roil in his stomach. He swallows hard to fight it. He thinks of Applejaw and Needledrift, slain callously by cold claws, the hatred ShadowClan harbored for their killers. He thinks of Duckshimmer and her vulnerable kits; of his kin, of his friends. He thinks of Siltcloud's cooing words,
it's scary, isn't it? to see your clanmates die.. to feel so helpless..
He thinks of the omen, and knows what must be done.
Cut out the rot.
Sneezeduck takes another step forward, letting his claws rake the ground below.
" You need to leave, " he barks out hoarsely, feeling his throat tighten with sorrow.
What are you doing? he challenges himself inside - he pushes the thought away, focuses on the murder before him.
" Right now. " Meekly, he adds,
" Please. "
The doubt must be quelled. The evidence is stacked against Caterpillarfuzz, and he cannot take the risk of allowing her near the vulnerable of the Clan. His newborn kin. Sneezeduck steps forward again, as threateningly as he can muster, though grief sticks to him like burrs.
" You - you need to - you can't come back, " the boy asserts through uneasy stammers, letting his gaze pass over Bumbletail's dead body again and linger, reminding himself that he is doing the right thing. He will carry him home. He will tell ShadowClan the truth. He vaguely remembers Granitepelt's exile, through peering kitten eyes from the nursery, and the tales of how he was publicized and chased ruthlessly through the reaches of ShadowClan.
" They will not be.. as merciful.. " - but who is he convincing with this justification? Caterpillarfuzz, or himeslf?
She cannot be trusted, he thinks. Not after this.
Protect them at all costs, he reminds himself, a statement he's thought time and time again. Even if it means never sharing prey with the kind warrior again, or being greeted by a sweet voice on occasion. How could he have been so blind? How could he not have prevented this death?
I wish I saw.. beneath it..
we love just a guy gaslighting himself for the greater good....
-
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Sneezeduck is a chocolate tabby tom with cream under-accents, a disorganized pelt, and abnormally long head-fur. He is tall and lanky with big paws - overall clumsy in appearance.
—
duckshimmer x unknown tom
— brother to
singeglare and
swallowflutter
— half-brother to
unnamed kit and
unnamed kit
— mentored by
sharpshadow
— 16 moons old as of 2/05/2025
penned by ixora
