development Poison & Wine ♥ sleepwalking

[Petalnose]

I FIND COMFORT IN THE SOUND AND THE SHAPE OF THE HEART ⋆⁺₊⋆

The sun fell and silverpelt took it's place. The stars glimmered in the sky like scales of fish, it was a beautiful night. Newleaf brought a warmth sent with a cold breeze. Petalnose was enjoying it, holding back sleep as she normally had. She was staring at the stars as if she was searching for something, eyes narrowed. Pain struck the she-cat every night, searching for answers of her mostly unknown life and then grieving for what she had known. She questioned why Starclan brought her these memories, not sparing her. Instead they could have brought good memories, something she could smile at. Instead they brought her memories she grieved over. The tall she-cat was irritable lately, tired from sleep she refused to catch. Tired from the memories slashing at her heart. She was easy to stir.

The she-cat had soon decided to go to rest. She slowly weaved around her fellow warriors to her nest, gently circling and quietly getting comfortable. She blinked her sore eyes and slowly closed them.

The world around her was slightly larger than expected. Petalnose felt her quiet paws sleeking through the brush. Her long legs carrying her in large noiseless strides. She was sneaking out on her own.

A strange scent caught her nose, causing her fur to bristle instantly. She stalked to the scent, peering through the brush with narrowed eyes. There was another she-cat about her age, a short-furred black cat. Her nose screwed up in hostility but her eyes gleamed with excitement and mischief. A worthy fight.

The tall young apprentice crouched even lower to the ground, making her way as close as possible to the loner. She jumped out and smashed the shorter she-cat to the ground, dodging her flailing paws and biting onto her shoulder. Then she was struck against her face, stunning her to the point she jumped off. A loud hiss erupted from her throat, jumping at the other and striking her claws against her flank. The loner immediately jumped onto the other as she moved close to slash her. She pushed Petal down with all her might, her paws sheathed. Petal flailed as the loner once did, but confusion struck her as she didn't feel claws or teeth in her pelt.

Petal frose and stared up into the she-cats soft orange eyes. "You're pretty stealthy but not strong on those long clumsy legs of yours." The loner purred, cocking her head to the side. Embarrassment made her body freeze even more, her pelt burning with heat as she had noticed she had been staring for too long. She snarled at the other, "I will snap your tiny neck between my jaws if you step any closer to my living space!" The other she-cat erupted a laugh, raising one of her brows and stepping off the larger she-cat, "Oh? And what if I let you kill me?" Then, she darted and Petal went after her, catching up to her with ease and lunging at the she-cat as she got close enough. Her body rolled face first and landed on her side into shallow water, the intruder had dodged and then she felt a tail flick her nose. "The names Echo." The black young she-cat proudly mewed and then looked at her expectantly as Petal got up and shook her pelt. "What are you doing here." She demanded, claws digging into wet sand. "Same as you, sneaking around. Seeing what trouble I can find." Echo responded, shrugging her shoulders. "Petal. Sometimes Petalpaw." She introduced in a low growl but there was a flicker of interest and admiration in her tone.

"Okay.. Petal. I'm going to high stones to see what's all the hustle about. A mischievous friend of mine could keep me company...?" Petal rose her head in interest, although her brows stayed furrowed. "Why do you trust me? I wouldn't save that crow face of yours if my life depended on it! You're leading me into a trap, I know it!" She hissed, threateningly looming over the smaller cat. "Well let's see if those theories are true." Echo cooed, cuffing her lightly on the ear and starting to pad off.

Petal froze, not following the other out of suspicion. However, confusion, curiousity and her impulsiveness drove her to suddenly sprint past Echo with ease, "Beat you there slow slug!" Petal mischievously cackled, her tail and head held high boldly after looking over her shoulder at her new found friend. They both gave each other a teasing smile.

She blinked, suddenly the lands were the height she was used to. She heard something new, the rush of water nearby and the hustle of camp life nearby. The group of loners she and her once living family settled with must've banded for good. Riverclan. And her name was now Petalnose. Not Petal or Petalpaw. Pride stirred in her chest for her new clan, but she had found herself creeping out of clan borders as if she was a youngster again. Her heart ached for someone familiar. Echo.

She swam strongly with ease across the stream after checking over her shoulders for any clanmates nearby, slipping across the bridge and onto loner lands. She heard a crash from the trees and a sudden weight crushed her flat against the ground, swearing that she almost felt a bone crack. She panicked, flailing and hissing. A paw met her mouth, making her freeze and look up. "That yowling and hissing of yours is going to cause both you and I trouble." Echo laughed, jumping off Petalnose. "Still as strong as ever." Petal purred with a roll of her eyes, getting up and letting the other brush their body up against hers. She looked fondly at the black she-cat, admiring her orange eyes, they were pools of honey, as soft and as mesmerizing as she had first looked upon them. Her coat was shiny, reflecting the early moonlight of silverpelt. She had then noticed something different, the loner was bigger than she had last saw her. It had seemed to only drift to her belly, the same lean muscles laying under her black coat but her belly swelling. "Eating well I see. That's good. I was starting to get worried last time I saw you.." She noted with an affectionate and caring tone, touching noses with her.

Echo looked at her excitedly, her enrapturing eyes widening and shining like stars. "No- no.. it's not food, Petal!" She giggled, flicking her tail to signal towards someone. "I want you to meet someone." She cooed. A large ginger tom bounded out of the brush boldly, quickly brushing past Petalnose, almost knocking her over to make their way to brush cheeks with Echo.

Her heart lurched, eyes widening and her once yearning feelings crashing to the earth like a boulder. Her jaws almost curled up in a snarl but she refrained for the first time, doing everything she can to keep her claws sheathed. "This is Blaze. I'm kitting soon!" The words echoed in her ears and dug into her heart, she dipped her head staring at the ground with wide eyes and tried to quietly control her breathing. "Petal...?-" "T- Thats great Echo. Congratulations. Um.. you too." She nervously meowed, meeting the twos gazes. She saw the smug smirk and challenging eyes of the Tom. As if he knew how she felt. Petalnose quickly turned her head in direction of her territory, hiding tears that started to well up in her eyes and her scrunched up nose. "I uh- I got to go, they're probably waiting on me to help set up the new camp." The tabby patched warrior meowed quickly, a crack in her tone as she darted off, not waiting for the two tell her goodbye. Echo opened her mouth to mewl out for her, but she stopped, guilt striking her gaze as she watched Petalnose race off.

She quickly crossed the river, and shook her pelt as she made it cross. An angered and saddened look staring across the water. Her heart felt crushed, dead from the weight of the news. She felt betrayed. She felt replaced. What had she ever done to her? What had she done to deserve this? Her mind circled with questions as she erupted into sobs and collapsing on tensed muscles. The look on the Tom's face burned into her memory, she was unable to refrain thinking about it. Her fur rose and claws grabbed the ground as if she was imagining sinking her claws into the tabby toms body. This wasn't fair. Why couldn't she ever get what she wanted? Why was Starclan so cruel to her?

Petalnose suddenly shot up from her dreams, eyes wide and her breathing eratic. She blinked away tears. She tried to catch her breath, looking around frantically to see where exactly she was. She looked down to catch a glimpse of her reflection, almost startled. She was by the river bank of their temporary home but it was as if she was back at their original home. It confused her, making her question for a moment if she was dreaming or not. How did she get here? She stared up at the sun that was about half risen and she looked around for any other warriors again. Someone must have saw her leave camp right?

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[iciclefang]

One of her first nights in the makeshift camp's "warrior's den," and she can't sleep. Already a relatively light sleeper, Iciclefang finds herself adapting slowly to her new sleeping quarters. She uses the same nest, but it's now in a den filled with cats she is not as close to. Ashpaw and her littermates sleep elsewhere; she is on the fringes, as a new warrior.

It's a light treading of paws that causes her to stir. Petalnose's mostly-white form is lit by the moonlight filtering in through the bracken. Her tabby patches are like shadows through trees. Iciclefang yawns, preparing to ignore the other warrior's departure and go back to sleep, but there's something off about the other she-cat's expression. Her eyes are half-lidded, glazed as if she's still asleep. Her movements are languid, off-putting, as though she's moving through dreams.

Iciclefang's fur prickles. She whisper-hisses, "Petalnose?" There's no response; she's headed for the river. The tortoiseshell sighs crossly. She supposes she can't let the still-sleeping she-cat wander into dangerous waters. She rises, following at her heels. It's not until she meets the river's edge that her discomfort turns to dread.

To Iciclefang's relief, Petalnose simply settles on the riverbank, twitching with dreams. The sun is beginning to rise now after their territory trek, and the tortoiseshell frowns when the other she-cat finally awakens. "You walked here while you were sleeping." She pads closer, staring at Petalnose with sharp, curious eyes. "I've never seen anyone do that before. I followed you because I was concerned you'd sleepwalk right into the river and drown." She studies Petalnose, who seems normal, if not groggy, now that she's awake. "You should... probably see Beesong... that can't be normal."​

[ PENNED BY MARQUETTE ]​

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[Petalnose]

I FIND COMFORT IN THE SOUND AND THE SHAPE OF THE HEART ⋆⁺₊⋆

It had not hit Petalnose that her problem was more dangerous than she had thought until she saw the rapids. She had never done such a thing in her life that she had known of. She was known to sleep upright when she was battling the tiredness away but walking was a new story. Something that had concerned her as much as Iciclefang. The she-cat didn’t let her concern show within her expression, she kept her confused frown on her face as her gaze fell upon the new warrior. She was sure adjusting in the new den with different den mates would be quite difficult to get used to. It didn’t surprise her that one of the new warriors were to follow her on her unconscious journey to the river bank. She furrowed her brows at her statements, confirming her suspicions. “I.. don’t think I’ve ever done that before. Must be my body getting too excited in result of me actually trying to sleep.” She joked with the same plain frown and serious tone. “My memories seem to be coming back to me in waves through dreams. How odd this all is to me.” She murmured in thought. Petalnose left to them wondering, not ever speaking of the memories she did remember in fears of her clanmates to have something to single her out for. However, she wanted to make it known that she wasn’t as clueless anymore. The memories that flooded in caused her way too much pain to even speak about. “I don’t know if this can be cured unless she doses me with a bunch of sleeping herbs, right? Perhaps that’d make it worse.” She meowed in a more tense manner, not fond of bothering the medicine cat with issues that seemed so small and seemingly not curable.

Flashes of memories stiked through the warrior’s mind as she slowly blinked towards her distorted reflection within the rapids. It made her realize that the only memory that had not slipped away from her was correlated to the one she had just experienced. The black cat with the bundle of fur in her jaws was Echo. She had crossed the Thunderpath with her and she had saved her. Echo was no longer alive, neither was her kin. Echo was dead. She was the one she grieved for. The one that she had almost ended her own story over.

It tugged at her heart strings, strings that were already loose from her shattered feelings. She held back her grief, reminding herself that this cat had done her wrong. She should’ve known her feelings, maybe if she did.. she would still be alive and living among Riverclan with them. The Molly wouldn’t have experienced the issues of memory loss and heart break and instead be living a life full of color. A life she could look fondly at.

The two memories made her connect that at some point she had forgiven Echo. She still helped her, she still loved her. She had never let go of those feelings. Now she was letting go out of anger, betrayal. She could have had a better life without knowing her. She couldn’t help but sink her claws into the ground below her, her heartbreak hard to contain that it caused her chest to physically burn from sadness and tension. It was in the past but it was as if she just had lived through them again. It wasn’t fair.

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[iciclefang]

Iciclefang keeps her gaze steady as she meets Petalnose's mismatched one. "If you've never done that before, it could mean it's getting worse," she says. She sighs. She doesn't know anything about memory, their loss, their resurrection, and she won't pretend to now. Iciclefang has known who she is, known her place in the Clan, since kithood. Her feelings have never been a mystery to her. She struggles to empathize.

Still... "Still. Neither of us are medicine cats. We should make sure Beesong at least knows about this." She pauses, muttering, "And Ravenpaw, I suppose."

She pads forward, pressing her nose to Petalnose's shoulder. "Can you walk?" She doesn't know if the older warrior is weakened by this condition or not. "I'll walk with you back to camp." She hasn't missed the sad, far away glaze Petalnose's eyes have taken on. It makes her vaguely uncomfortable.​

[ PENNED BY MARQUETTE ]​

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[FERNGILL]

Jostled from the beginnings of sleep, Fernpaw's bright gaze snapped open at the sound of paw-steps outside. For a few moments he stayed put, wondering if it was really worth it to go and investigate- but even in grogginess, his resolve rejuvenated. No, he couldn't just let whatever this was pass him by- if it was some threat to RiverClan or some Clanmate in danger, he'd stick his neck out for them all- would throw himself at the threat and protect RiverClan with his might. In the heat of true battle he'd find his prowess, and-

Was that his sister?

He could no longer look to her nest and check if it was empty or not, but- he was sure that had been her patchy tail disappearing into the distance.

Bounding forth, he was surprised to be greeted with Petalnose's face, too. But- there was something about the way that Petalnose held herself that didn't quite seem typical of someone who was up in the night. He was used to seeing eyes illuminated by the stars, but- she just looked off somewhere beyond seeing, and when Fernpaw looked in the same direction he saw nothing of particular interest.

"How come you guys are up...?" His voice came out croakier than he had expected, clogged with drowsinedd- but he'd at least managed to keep his voice low and his gaze kind. It wasn't his place to scold them, anyway- but if there was some danger he'd at least try to be of help.​

✦ penned by pin ✦​

 

[Petalnose]

I FIND COMFORT IN THE SOUND AND THE SHAPE OF THE HEART ⋆⁺₊⋆

The patched she-cat watched Iciclefang with tension wrecking her body, "I feel fine. I don't feel sick at all or injured. What would it do for me?" She challenged, leaning her body a bit away from the other, motioning that she did not want any help. Petalnose didn't know Iciclefang well, though neither did she with the entire clan. She did know that she was caring and persistent, she just wondered if she was as stubborn as her and if she would fight her to listen or give up.

Petal didn't mean to come off as tense towards the other but she was merely only stirred by the memories. As if she was experiencing heartbreak again. If the others looked into her eyes, it was clear as day she was in emotional pain. The physical issue on top of that was hard enough. The warrior flinched at the physical touch of the other, almost caught off guard. She let out a sad laugh at her question, lifting to her paws, "I think if I can walk with my eyes closed, I can do it even better with them open." She meowed, trying her best to sound like herself, though there was still pain and tension that lingered.

Her attention switched upon Fernpaw, looking upon Iciclefang once again and then back at the ginger tom. She took liking to the young tom for their bright personality and caring nature. However, she failed to show it in the moment. No matter how well she would know another, no one could bring her out of the misery of her mind. "Good question. I'm not particularly sure." She scoffed to herself, heavily heaving back to sit down. "I just woke up here. You?" She added more softly, dipping her paw into the water in the place of her reflection, watching it closely as it rippled. What was wrong with her? What made the other she-cat chose some stranger instead of her? Her best friend. She would've given her life for her. Though, she supposed it was one-sided. She had no one in her life that was close to her anymore. Maybe she never had anyone close to her after all. If she did, they would've already reminded her who they were and would have been present for when she had lost her memory. "Stars, I don't understand my life." She muttered, scrunching her nose with anger as she murmured unintelligible curses, not even listening for the response she questioned Fernpaw for.

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