sensitive topics SCARED OF THE LIVING [☾] death

[STUMPYSPOTS]

Stumpyspots had thought she wasn’t sick. As healthy as a horse she had appeared to be even during the peak of yellow-cough.

After the rogues had vanished and ShadowClan’s journeying cats returned home she deterriorated quickly. From beaming and full of purrs she had grown hot with fever, a scary sight no doubt for the clan after only just taming the pandemic. Her illness was different though, one that little did they know was untouchable, not even StarClan could’ve rid the blight from her body if they had wanted to.

Instinctively, Stumpyspots would slither out of camp on the proclamation she was heading to the dirtplace. Instead she heads to her favorite pine, large roots spiraling from its base. The calico hides herself among it’s roots, her breathing heavy, she lays and awaits for her star speckled chariot. She can’t help but be afraid, would StarClan accept her though she’s never truly found her footing among the new world of the clans? Among ShadowClan, the group that blossomed after the fall of Rain? Would they look at her with shame before averting their gaze from her?

The process of dying did not fear her, not even as her own death rattle sets in. What did fear her was if she’d be able to find her place among the holy, even if she could not find it among the living.

Sometimes, your time in this world just comes to pass, and for Stumpyspots? Her time has long passed.

Her chariot arrives and Stumpyspots let’s it whisk her away into the starlit sky.

*.☽ INFO BATTLE

• >> please wait for @POPPYPAW
• 
  » Half Maw . Stumpyspots
  » ShadowClan Warrior
  » She/her ․ Twice Widowed
  » Calico she-cat with rounded features.
  » ”speech”․ thoughts ․ attack
  
• 
  » A heavy hitting foe capable of standing her ground
  » Excels in slow, but powerful blows and kicks.
  » Fights to defend and protect
  » May powerplay minor harm. Can powerplay healing

​

 

[POPPYGLOW]

ᶻ 𝗓 𐰁 Death ravaged the swamp around them, Poppypaw could feel Him whisk over her head back and forth as he circled to pull souls from their physical seals. They supposed it would be a troubling feeling to those unacquainted with Him, but Poppypaw had grown quite comfortable with Death and would greet Him warmly when He rattled through their chest and stabbed humorously between their ribs.

Stumpyspots gifted Poppypaw with many kindnesses within the moon they had been tied together. She showed them how to climb deftly into the low branches of the marsh trees—a skill they used whenever they could to draw closer to their beloved stars. Aside from that, the round-faced cat was sturdy and affectionate with her young apprentice, and Poppypaw was pleased to know that their love for her spirit—the love they shared with all of those who resided beneath the same starlight—was reciprocated.

On that day, Poppypaw parted from the confines of camp to follow a whim that had briefly caught her interest, as she often did—they were curious how many mushrooms dotted the path between camp and the Carrionplace. It was 37, quite a few less than they had counted half a moon ago and not divisible by neither three nor two... a troubling revelation indeed if she were to recognize one... They would contemplate what this forewarned as they padded back toward home when fate would lead their eyes to the roots of a great pine.

They approached Stumpyspots with wide-eyed reverence as their pawsteps drew to a halt beside her. Her acquaintance gripped talons into her lungs and throat as she studied the still-slept form of the older molly for the telltale signs of earthly inhabitance, and she would be wracked with a coughing fit for a long minute as Death lingered beside her. When they finally quieted, the fact of the matter became apparent to them.

"I see...Death's beckoned you to join Him," Poppypaw spoke, assuming that Stumpspots remained lingering nearby for a bit, at least until her earthly body returned to the coolness of the swamp beneath her. What is it they were feeling? Admiration for the she-cat who had the privilege of passing so gracefully into the great shining fog of the sky? Or perhaps it was envy, for a lovely time together cut short by the deft paws of destiny... She shook her head, it was no matter, they would be clanmates among the stars soon enough to not have to trouble themself with the wiliness of stray emotion.

First, a token of memory. They scooted closer and pulled at a whisker of Stumpyspots', intending to keep one from her earthly body to ensure her time within Shadowclan was not so easily forgotten. They would find a pile of nearby leaf-litter to deposit it under until they were ready to head back to camp and then sit beside the stilled calico form of the departed once more. "We will sit with you, friend," they mewed, "Until you are retrieved." Starclan should be arriving to scoop her up shortly, they assumed. For now, thought it was, of course, their divine responsibility to help grant her good-hearted companions safe passage into the stars by blessing her with their continued presence.

They would remain seated comfortably in their shared tranquility until someone would stumble upon them.

PRESENT DAY... ⭑☾༺♰༻☽⭒ ...PRESENT TIME! ᶻ 𝗓 𐰁

• OOC:
• 
• 
  — poppykit - poppypaw
  — agender they/she. 6mo apprentice of shadowclan
  — aroace
  — a tiny, fluffy white and dark red tabby cat with pale, wraithlike blue eyes
  — smells like mushrooms, dust, and foggy night air
  — deaf in left ear
  — sounds like lain iwakura, with a flat yet childlike high-pitched tone
  — “speech”, thoughts, attack, 'poppypaw'
  — icon by mercurial, fullbody and pixel headshot by dejavu
  — penned by eezy
• disclaimer: poppypaw is not always operating completely within reality! they are affected by some delusions and may see, hear, react to, and interact with things that are not actually there. most notably, she will believe herself to have interactions with starclan as a whole and specifically, the deceased shadowclan apprentice Poppypaw. these are not reflective of ic reality and are not real interactions with starclan or deceased characters! this is not an attempt at powerplaying, godmodding, or metagaming.

​

 

[Starlingheart]

Not a day goes by that Starlingheart does not wake up and tend to her duties. She goes to gather herbs, she fetches moss for the nests in her den, she works and works and works and she is convinced that she will not stop until she has dropped dead. The life of a medicine cat can be challenging, sometimes, but it can also be rewarding and it is something she feels as if she had been born to do. StarClan had placed her paws along this path, she knows it. Just like they had placed her along the path to be here now. She had been out looking for herbs when she had come to a fork in the path she normally travelled. If only she had gone left she would have missed this place, this grotto where her clanmate had drawn her final breath, but she was beckoned forward by the pull of a breeze, as if the heavens were pulling her in the direction of this sacred moment.

When she comes upon the scene her eyes immediately soften in sadness. Stumpyspots was laying still, Poppypaw next to her, and thar calico flank did not rise nor fall. It was clear to her what had happened. The older feline had found this spot to die peacefully, as cats sometimes did when they knew it was their time. "She was a good cat, she-she lived a good life" she says softly, but she is uncertain if she is talking to Poppypaw or to some force unseen. Either way she pads forward on unsteady paws until she is standing close enough that she can lower her head and touch the she-cats forehead. "Farewell. May you-may you find peace among the stars and-and may we meet again." her words are hushed, only for the spirits to hear, and when she looks up at Poppypaw it is with tears in her eyes.

She uses the back of her paw to wipe them away, to gather her composure before speaking again. "We should- we should fetch a uh a patrol to bring her back-back to camp" she says, but she makes no move to leave, hesitant to leave the departed's side.

​

 

[CHILLEDSTAR.]

DON'T YOU GIVE ME UP, PLEASE DON'T GIVE UP​

---

this... was not what they expected to see. or hear. stumpyspots truly was a good cat, and for her to be taken back to the stars already... regret fills in their belly. they wished they'd taken more time to talk to her. learn from her, and her wisdom that came with age. she was older than they were, but still gone entirely too soon. they wondered if she would like it in starclan? would she enjoy seeing old friends and family? would she miss them? all of shadowclan? would she help them in the future, warn them of problems that only the stars could see coming? did she even believe in starclan? they don't know. they didn't feel like they knew much of anything, these days.

"... i will help take her back."

their voice is hardly above a whisper. they don't know how much loss their heart can take.
​