private silent night. sunstride

[REDHEART]

At last the barn had fallen still with sleep as cold winds wailed ceaselessly outside the raggedy wooden doors. It was strange being in such an unfamiliar place with cats he'd never heard hide nor hair of til their arrival. From what he could gather it was best to stick close with his remaining clanmates and heal. With Sootstar occupying camp and so many wounded he believed the road ahead a difficult one.

The barn would have to act as their sanctuary but his heart yearned for his nest. To snuggle beside his denmates and relish in the cool breeze as it rustled their fur. Now he was here in a place made up of weird animals and the occasional two-legs. Any time their senseless babbling started he would scramble under the nearest hiding space and wait.

Thankfully, the nasty weather that crept in during night fall had kept the two-legs at bay. Making the task of checking in on Rivepaw much easier. Last the ruddy apprentice had seen she was still out cold. With Wolfsong's careful gaze and blonde pelt standing guard over their sleeping daughter Redpaw felt unwelcome. Unwilling to break their moment of peace he instead wandered to the front of the barn. Small frame standing out against the backdrop of hay and wooden beams.

Yet, even with the chance at peaceful sleep he could not rest. Not when Rivepaw had yet to awaken nor had his friend found them. Redpaw prayed fornl them both. That a white and black face would peer through the crack of those doors and a familiar energetic voice would fill the spaces. A small part of him held onto that hope as his green gaze stared tiredly ahead. Young mind tortured with flashes of blood and heartbreak as his prayers went unanswered.

OOC
A moment for Red and @SUNSTRIDE ! He's just watching the barn doors sadly after most cats have gone to sleep.​

 

[SUNNVAR]

It is warmer here than beneath the stars. He does not find any sort of comfort in that. Be it the memory of how they had gotten here, or the creaking of this den above and around them, sleep does not come to the burnished warrior. Wolfsong had urged him off once more as his short rest came to an end. They were to take shifts, as they once had many moons ago in their journey to this place. A familiar cycle made uncomfortable with time and change. They did not lounge lazily across one another, but stood above the too-still body of their child. He does not think he will find comfort again for some time to come.

The dusty, prickling ground beneath his paws reminds him of the moor grass as he circles about the barn. Many cats rest. Many others stir with the pain of their wounds. A few others stand watchful guard. Redpaw should not have been listed among the latter of the groups. That he rests near the doors of all places draws Sunstride's curiosity, and a small piece of protectiveness. From behind him, the warrior comes to nudge at copper fur. "You should be resting while we've time for it," he chastises softly. A beat, then. "Who are you waiting for out in that storm? I do not know that you will find them."

𝐄𝐀𝐂𝐇 𝐌𝐎𝐑𝐍𝐈𝐍𝐆 𝐌𝐘 𝐇𝐄𝐀𝐑𝐓  ╱╱ 𝐈𝐒 𝐀 𝐕𝐔𝐋𝐓𝐔𝐑𝐄 〚 11.22.2023 〛 —————«

• OOC. —
• 

  SUNSTRIDE. WINDCLAN DEPUTY & MOOR RUNNER.
  ——– HE – HIM – HIS ╱╱ 48+ MOONS OLD, ADULT.

  NPC x NPC, LONERS. MATE TO WOLFSONG; FATHER TO BEARPAW, SINGEDPAW, RIVEPAW, SUNLITPAW AND FEATHERPAW. MENTORING SCORCHPAW.
  
  TH ╱╱ LARGE CHOCOLATE ROSETTE TABBY, ICY EYES.

• "speech"

​

 

[REDHEART]

The weight of grief pressed heavily upon Redpaw's shoulders, eyes staring blankly into the abyss beyond the barn doors. The familiar voice of Sunstride reached him, a gentle nudge breaking through the numbness. He turned watery greens to the concerned warrior, his copper fur dulled by the shadows of sorrow.

If any cat had been hurt the most it was the golden deputy and for a moment he felt ashamed. To be wallowing over a cat that had made their choice clear. Swallowing his pain the tabby responded in kind. "How can I sleep while Rumblera-paw is out there." Redpaw mumbled, his voice strained and weary. The mention of the storm outside mirrored the tempest within him. "I never should have left them behind." Tears welled within the corners of the paws' eyes as his true bane unfolded.

Sunstride's words resonated, but he resisted, his sorrow turning into defiance. Tone scaling a touch higher as the apprentice fought the chafe in their throat. "I can't give up, right? There has to be a way to bring them back, to make them see reason. I can't accept that they've chosen Sootstar over us." Absently their right paw dragged across the floor repetitively and restlessly.

His gaze flickered, as a heavy sigh escaped him, and he looked at Sunstride with a hint of desperation. "D-Do you think... is it possible to get them back? To make them understand what they're doing?" Hope infiltrated each syllable that fell from the youth's maw. One he was preparing himself mentally to have dashed.​