camp reflections

[Nightdust]

Nightdust sat quietly in the corner of camp, ruminating as he often did about this and that. His ear twitched as a gentle breeze passed over it, ever so slightly stirring his fur. It was a reminder of the quiet of the forest, a stark contrast to the strife and suffering so many in ThunderClan had endured. He'd been lucky so far, escaping recent events with the fur on his back and no painful, interpersonal deaths to speak of.

Still, he didn't exactly feel positive- an unusual thing for him. Call it growing older and more mature, perhaps, but the warrior was finding it hard these days to find a lot to be optimistic about. The one major thing he was able to clutch on to was the hope that things would be better for ThunderClan going forward. They had to be, right? There was only so much strife a Clan could endure; at some point, they had to hit the bottom of the pit, right?

Nightdust didn't want to even allow the opposite possibility creep into his mind, yet it kept poking at him like a pesky fog that wouldn't draw the last of its tendrils out of sight. He wanted to do something, but anything he could think of felt... mundane and useless. He wasn't ignorant of the necessity of patrolling, hunting, and training, but in light of everything those things felt... rather insignificant at this point.

Making a personal difference was a lofty goal to achieve, moreso than many cats made it sound. He'd always wanted to do so, ever since becoming a warrior, but doing so had proved a fruitless endeavor so far. Nightdust would change that... somehow.

His face twisted with a mixture of concentration and frustration, creating quite the interesting expression for whoever happened upon him.

[ Not sure if I have to say this, but this is open! ]

 

[Flamestar]

〔✦〕The past few moons had been...difficult to say the least. Behind the masks of determination, she could still see the grief that hid in her clanmates eyes. She mourned the loss of their fallen clanmates, but she had reunited with Howlingstar during her nine lives ceremony. She had hoped to have seen her son, Sparrowpaw while she was in Starclan, but seeing all of her fallen friends reassured her that he would be okay. It would take a long time for the physical and emotional wounds Skyclaw and his followers had inflicted on the clan. All she could do now was keep her promise to Howlingstar. I will care for Thunderclan as fiercely as you have.

As she padded by Nightdust, she noticed he looked a little...off today. He was normally quite positive, so this was unordinary. The leader sat down near him, her gaze narrowing with concern. Her pelt twitched uncomfortably as the herbs stuck to her shoulder tugged on her healing scar. I can't wait until these are gone. "What're you thinking about?" she asked.

even on my weakest days ( I get a little bit stronger ) //

• ooc.
  
• FLAMESTAR —— leader of thunderclan , mentoring merlinpaw . storm x lily . littermate to nala, smokey, and nemo ✦ penned by icey !
  ✦ afab / she/her / 37 moons & ages every 20ᵗʰ
  ✦ widowed / heterosexual / closed to romance
  ✦ peaceful and healing powerplay permitted / underline & tag account when attacking
  —— difficult in battle
  ★★★★★★★★★
  
  ✦ “speech”, 'thoughts', all opinions are in character
  ✦ tags — msg on discord for plots — toyhouse
  
• 
  
  

  a longhaired red tabby with low white and green eyes. flamewhisker's fur is a vibrant hue of red, riddled with thick classic tabby markings. her fur is medium in length, and she has a large, feathery tail. her chest, belly, tail tip, and her paws are dipped white. flamewhisker's eyes are a dark, deep shade of green. her shoulder has a large scar on it from a fight with a dog. she also has a shredded ear from a disagreement with a loner during her time alone before joining thunderclan. on particularly cold days, or sometimes before a major weather change, she will walk with a slight limp from her shoulder injury.

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[THUNDERGLEAM]

Quietness, strangely, drew Thundergleam toward any unexpecting target. Anyone ruminating, she would find- pale eyes settled upon them, and it seemed Flamestar was no different. Nightdust, that was this tom's name... she coaxed it from the crannies of her memory, and it spread silent on her tongue like sugar. That every Thunderclanner was known to her, equally loved beneath white wings, it was deeply important. She would protect all of them... she would be ready to purge suffering from the heart of anyone who asked, anyone who displayed it.

This was not pain in Nightdust's eyes, though, no ... this was simple pondering, she knew. Smile curved around a fresh piece of prey, she settled beside Flamestar, offering the leader a respectful nod of greeting. "I shall trade a mouse for said thoughts," she murmured, setting down the aforementioned mouse. Rosy-pale eyes found the red face of their beacon, and she added, "You too are free to indulge if you wish, Flamestar." An encouraging purr pulsed softly in her throat. Yes, she would be a giver, be generous ... a listening ear, so she might help by the decree of the Truth Father had told her, one day.​

penned by pin ☾​

 

[Nightdust]

[ @Flamestar @THUNDERGLEAM ]
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The arrival of Flamestar and Thundergleam coaxed Nightdust back to the present. Being spoken to by the leader had him feeling a tad uneasy; not because he feared the other cat or disliked her, but because the Clan leader held such prominence within his mind. He'd grown up admiring the position, dreaming as any other child what it might be like to have that kind of prestige and responsibility. For many moons, the leader had been an almost mystical figure to him, as if they were carved from a different tree than the rest of the Clan.

Age had tempered his pedestaling some, particularly during recent events. Nonetheless, he still held a great deal of respect and admiration for a Clan leader (albeit only if they didn't prove themselves to be particularly black-hearted), so being here caught in a conversation of Flamestar was a moment that earned nothing short of his full focus.

Nightdust gave both cats a respectful nod of greeting, dipping his head ever so slightly more for Flamestar. "I've just been thinking... about how ordinary warriors like me have a hard time making a difference sometimes, when things get as bad as they did. I mean, I know that what we do is important, but somehow I can't help but wonder if there's something I could've done differently, more I could've done, to help stop what happened. I want to believe that ThunderClan is on a better path now, but at the same time I feel as if I need to do more to help it get there."

 

[nightbird]

⋆˖⁺‧₊☽◯☾₊‧⁺˖⋆ nightbird catches the somber notes of conversation as she passes. usually, that alone was enough to ward her off. flamewhisker and thundergleam were likely better suited to deal with such feelings. unfortunately, it is one she has shared. it was easier to shut the thoughts down and dive into work as a warrior, as a queen there wasn't much to do but let them run their course.

still, she arrived at the same conclusion. "like what?" she asks flatly, pale gaze flicking over nightdust. every time her mind takes the same road that his did now, it ends up there. if there was something different to be done, something better, wouldn't they all have done it in the first place? and now, when thunderclan recovered, what else was there to do besides return to their duties? they could not raise the dead, change the past. all in all, it was a fruitless journey of bleak ideals, one that would drive any cat mad to pursue.

BURNING SWORD // ───‎ ⋆ GUIDE MY HAND‎ ‎‎ ‎‎☽

• ooc ↛
  

• 

• 
  NIGHTBIRD ✩ she/her, lead warrior of thunderclan, 36 ☾'s
  ⭃ a small black smoke molly with a white paw and pale silver eyes. currently a queen residing in the nursery.
  ⭃ mate to raccoonstripe / / currently mentoring none.
  ⭃ peaceful and healing powerplay permitted / / underline and tag when attacking ↛ see battle info here
  ⭃ penned by vayle ↛ @vayl3 on discord, feel free to dm for plots.
  

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