RULERS OF ROME | rattleheart

[SOOTSPOT]

The tunnels, his home before the fall, had become desolate in the absence of his peers. WindClan's smell was beginning to fade from the cold mulch, cobwebs dangled from the ceiling like stalactites and Sootspot was certain that exits and entrances had grown thinner (or, he had simply grown plumper with less mouths to feed). He craved to explore the neglected paths alone, but, having been reminded of the risks by clanmates, the chimera found himself unwittingly in the company of Rattleheart. Many had gained his ire like the bicoloured feline had, but few had seen him act upon his frustrations quite like them. Sootspot found a million reasons to justify it - he preferred his clanmates to be like clay, but she was more like a brittle mineral, too firm to mold yet still fractured when pushed too hard. Working alongside him, Sootspot kept an air of quiet, giving suggestions on where to go with a flick of a tail rather than words. Forgiveness for even daring to believe she had the right to say he had 'one chance to prove himself' did not come easily to the chimera. Eyes settled on the spines of clanmates ahead of him, watching as they split up at a fork in the tunnel.

It was his turn to choose a path next: left or right. Sootspot turned around. A steady gaze met Rattleheart's own, smile as sweet as sulfur. "I'm sure Sunstride will be happy to know how well you have explored these tunnels," he assured in a rumble not quite passionate enough to be a purr. There was no malice in his tone, but, it hardly seemed like the chimera talking. Eyes pierced straight through the other, finding his mask would slip if he had to truly acknowledge her presence. She'd been one of the first to rebel against Sootstar, it was difficult not to hold her accountable for all that had happened to him since that day; the fall from social grace, the scar to mar his features, having to betray his mother so he didn't end up in a mass grave, having to contend with the fact that his sister died because of the ideas they'd put in her head. WindClan was his home, but he had bled for both sides and only found himself worse off for it. "I know how much his approval means to you... though, admittedly, I do not understand why. Did you have a father?"

@RATTLEHEART
​

 

[RATTLEHEART]

For moons, Rattleheart had been yearning to return to the tunnels. The winding pathways beneath the moors were like a home within home for her, and she could still remember the anger that had blazed through her every cell when her last tunneling patrol - or the closest thing to one - had been interrupted by loyalists attacking them. She sincerely hoped that Hollowcreek could still feel the burn in his injuries from that day, sheer spite having been concentrated in her claws as both she and Scorchstreak had tried to hold him off from the rest. Perhaps she might have felt more guilt over such a thought, had Hollowcreek actually attempted to stay and raise the children that he had dumped unceremoniously on the border not that long ago.

Her ire towards him probably would have been similar to what she felt towards Sootspot now - annoyance, but not true hatred. A begrudging neutrality that she borderline forced in an effort to try and mend the deep wounds Sootstar had inflicted to tear the clan apart. Divisions as deep as the gorge that separated Windclan from Riverclan, though hopefully free of potential enemies waiting on the other side. Rattleheart refused to let the horrid viper have that particular full victory - though being able to work alongside her clanmates didn't mean she strictly had to like them.

For a while, she was actually fine navigating the tunnels alongside Sootspot, silent and focused exclusively on the task in front of them. It hurt her to see their network in such a forlorn state, and her mind was split between cleaning and navigation with the help of the other's wordless motions. Unfortunately the peace didn't last forever, Rattleheart having to keep from actively wincing when the chimera turned to her in the darkness. She wanted to believe he could just make casual conversation, but had yet to see any proof of such a thing. Even just his first comment was enough to give her pause, one dark ear flicking. "I suppose so. He certainly doesn't want to have and haul himself down her. I'm not sure he even could without getting stuck." The statement was odd, sure, but didn't most enjoy praise from those that they respected? For doing their jobs well?

His questioning, though, was enough to make her freeze. She couldn't help but stare at him for a moment, pale green eyes meeting a glimmering yellow-green that felt painfully familiar. It was hard to decide whether to speak or burst into laughter once more at one of his statements, so caught off guard by it that her mind was churning. "I..." Rattleheart found that she didn't even feel anger over it, just confusion. "I knew my father, for a time. We weren't very close though, there's a reason why my siblings and I eventually struck out on our own. I wouldn't consider myself close with my parents, but I never hated them." Though she had little idea of where they were now, or whether they were even still alive. "I feel like it's natural to enjoy the approval of your friends and those you respect, though. Don't you? Do you not feel glad when your friends praise you, or stand by your work?" Her head tilted over to one side as she echoed his questioning, though her words were less full of silent vitriol. There was a wonder stirring in her mind, though - did Sootspot have any friends?
​

[ PENNED BY EO ]​

 

[SOOTSPOT]

'No... Sunstride wouldn't like it down here at all.' Sunstride's utilisation of Tunnelers had been mediocre since his induction to Deputy, sending them on border patrols when they could be digging beneath them and finding prey for leafbare. Hindsight told him it could've been to spite his mother, common sense told him it was likely the rosetted tabby just hadn't sought out advice on how to deal with the underground. "A fair point, even his head would be too big to fit past the entrance." 'Though his head is the biggest thing about him.' The topic moves on from their leader to Rattleheart themselves, a head briefly tilted at her confusion. The minimal mutual understanding that existed burned to ashes before them, Sootspot had little idea how small their brain must've been to be baffled by small talk. There was a glint of boredom in his eyes as he listened to her discuss family, a smile only adorning his muzzle to give the impression of interest. When they concluded, he ran over what little facts he was given in his head, whiskers twitching. "So your father was utterly unremarkable then? That explains a lot."

Then, Rattleheart asked him a question - 'See? You do understand small talk.' He paused a moment, not out of confusion, but of out thought on how best to answer. His friends was dead, struck down by the very creature that had mothered her. No one else compared. "When you are born of a higher stock, praise is... two-faced. You are the best, not because it is true, but because those who envy your power and your bloodline deem it so. " No one had been honest with him until he'd lost his power, now, their sharp fangs were revealed to him, and he only wished he'd been better prepared for the potential of Sootstar losing sooner. "Snakehiss is one such example. He praised my sister enough that she promised herself to him, praised Sootstar's actions enough to become her Deputy when we all knew he was utterly useless."

To this day, it should've been him, Lead Warrior had not been enough to satiate him when shared with creatures that were beneath him. "Approval can worm its way into the mind of even the Stars themselves. It worries me when I see cats just like Snakehiss warming up to WindClan's leaders... especially now that there is room for a new Deputy." The pointed look he gave towards Rattleheart was deliberate but temporary - as if it were a mistake caused by tired eyes taking in the tunnel's darkness.

​

 

[RATTLEHEART]

AS HE RAISED HIS FIST BEFORE HE SPOKE — If she were in a more volatile mood - or even just closer to her parents in general - Rattleheart might have been angered by Sootspot's comment about her father. As it was, though, she found that she couldn't really disagree. Unremarkable wasn't as much of a condemnation to her as it might have been to the younger tunneler, though. In her mind it was perfectly fine to live a relatively unremarkable life, as long as it was at least what made you happy in the end. Somehow, she doubted that Sootspot would be content with such an existence - not unless a lot of things changed about him, and quickly.

Her tail was twitching idly behind her as he grew silent in thought, long enough for her to glance questioningly in his direction. When he spoke about higher stock, she did have to bite back a bark of laughter, though she supposed it wasn't totally ridiculous. Sootstar had fancied herself a goddess, and many cats around her had only heightened that delusion. Of course he'd turn to Sootspot and his kin next, eager to gain an in of some kind - whether that in have been for power, or just simply for survival under her reign. "...That sounds like a lonely existence. I think I'm glad that I was born to a pair of unremarkable cats, if only to not have to deal with that." Her rough voice echoed a little in the cramped space of the tunnels, sounding almost foreign to her own ears. "I used to be happy with an existence in the background, but if I'm to receive praise, I'd rather it be genuine. And it always seems to be genuine coming from Sunstar, so I suppose that's why I enjoy it." She was glad to work alongside him and do her job well, her mind rarely dwelling on the advantages that would come from it. After all, she'd always been rather glad letting Scorchstreak have the spotlight.

That's why his pointed look in the darkness - short enough to almost seem like a trick of the nearly nonexistent light - was enough to earn a chuckle from her. "Snakehiss... I hope he redeems himself, in some way, but I do admit I'm not sure what Soot saw in him as a deputy. Maybe someone that she could control easily, for the exact reasons that you said. I doubt she would've wanted someone strong-willed, considering the mistakes she considered her past deputies to be." Perhaps that was exactly why Sootspot hadn't been chosen. Maybe Sootstar had seen too much of herself in her son, and ended up filing him away as just yet another threat that could end up throwing her from her throne. A difficult pill to swallow, but not a fact that would've surprised her. "I think that Sunstar's judgement will hopefully lead us in a brighter direction, though. I don't think he'd pick a deputy that would just pad after him like a kit. If anything, he's probably more likely to choose someone that he trusts that he knows won't be afraid to disagree with him." That was practically what seemed to make the relationship between him and Wolfsong work, even if it was romantic rather than a business endeavor. They loved each other, but also clearly didn't treat each other like infallible gods at the end of the day.

THE RIGHTEOUS HAND OF GOD 𓆩♡𓆪 THE DEVIL THAT YOU FORGOT

• 

• 
  ❥ longhaired black and white tom with pale green eyes
  ❥ 48 moons old; ages the 1st every month
  ❥ afab; uses he/she/they pronouns
  ❥ homosexual homoromantic; mated to venomstrike
  ❥ sibling to scorchstreak, lizardbounce, and rabbitclaw
  ❥ currently mentoring downypaw
  ❥ somewhat difficult to befriend; wary but kind
  ❥ "speech", thoughts, attacking
  ❥ peaceful powerplay allowed
  ❥ all opinions are ic

​

 

[SOOTSPOT]

Loneliness wasn't something that Sootspot had considered. The need for a confidant felt dangerous, spilled secrets could be the equivalent of a killing bite. If even sons and daughters could turn on someone, then loneliness be damned, his safety was more important. He hadn't expected Rattleheart to see it that way, those without power did not know how it would corrode oneself before experiencing it themselves. A part of him almost hoped she would ascend, only to have her dreams shattered and her heart forever twisted from despair - a more sensible part realised it was better for him if Scorchstreak's sibling never got the chance. "Perhaps to you, it would be lonely," he remarked with the flick of a tail, words hoarse, as if the passive venom took effort to maintain. "Should a bee sting the same place enough, I am sure you would stop feeling it. It is the same with emotions." The happiness one got with praise would numb, they would require more praise, and they would do more drastic actions to get such praise. He'd considered that previous Deputies had been so volatile because his mother had not been able to tend to their egos when they'd done enough to be satisfactory.

"Strong-willed is not the right word to describe previous Deputies... They are sheep to their ambitions. Only Sunstride was different." For Sunstar carried more than just his own ambitions within him, Wolfsong's resided there too as a twisted mirror of the love his mother and Weaselclaw had shared. He wondered if Rattleheart had seen it too, ears pricked forwards as they spoke, breathing lightly as they took in the words. Whether realising it or not, they spoke of their leader's partner without using his name, the perfect candidate for Deputy. In the dark, his smile turned grim - even Sootstar had not been so nepotistic as to give her family permission to rule after her. Perhaps a moon or so ago, he'd have favoured bias. Where his mother excelled in combat, he found his strengths in foresight: any bad plants with the potential to turn on him would've been plucked on the day of his ascension before they had the chance to overwhelm them under one leader. "You speak as though he would not consider you... what quality is it that you lack? Do you yearn too much for his affection, or are you a pushover?" Innocence reflected in his tone but remained absent from his thoughts.

​