private SKY FULL OF SONG ⊹₊° cherryblossom

[LUPINESONG]

❀‿ They've buried Applefrost and Dandelionwish, and Lupinesong thinks the sun should be setting by now. If it were Leafbare, the sky would have long darkened by now—the air would have been hushed by layers of snow as if the forest itself mourned the clans losses. Instead, the late-Newleaf sunlight stretched itself out lazily, drenching the pine branches in warmth and dappling the warriors face in a wash of gold. Birdsong rang throughout the trees, cheery and unending in their choir, and Lupinesong found herself wishing they would quiet, if only for a moment.

Murder. They were murdered in cold blood, with no culprit to be found. Senseless, unfathomable homicide, with nothing to be done.

A shuddering sob gripped her body, an ugly twist upon her face as tears dropped unceremoniously onto a bed of pine needles. She didn't want to crumble at the vigil, not with his mate and kittens right there. They were owed that space to grieve uninhibited, and she in turn owed Dandelionwish a dignified send-off, she thought it'd be the best way to honor him as his apprentice, for the last time.

Someone approached, and Lupinesong knew her from the sound of her footfalls alone. She didn't turn to look at her yet, still sniffling and blurry-eyed. She'd met those honey-citrus eyes at the vigil, familiarity needing no words to communicate the shared pain, distinct but simultaneous. She knew she would be found here. Lupinesong didn't bother collecting herself as she would around her clanmates, what would be the point? If anyone was well-acquainted with the shuddering mess of Lupinesongs semi-frequent fallings-apart it was Cherryblossom.

"I didn't-... I wasn't ready I-..." She murmured between breaths, "There was supposed to be so much more time..." Another wrench at her diaphragm and all Lupinesong could feel was regret. She was looking forward to being warriors together, to being his peer. Perhaps foolishly, she wanted to make him proud of her, to become someone worthy of his respect, and someone worthy of his friendship. Was this so childish a desire?

The other had stopped to stand beside her, and Lupinesong gave in to her compulsions and leaned over to press a nose into thick, pale fur. She would linger there if her best friend allowed it, breathing in sweet fur and grateful for her warmth to combat the recent feeling of cold skin beneath stilled pelts.

"I'm so..." Scared? Sad? Empty? She didn't know. She breathed in a deep breath finally, "... I'm glad you're here."

LOVE ME MORE, ⊹₊°❀‿ LOVE ENOUGH TO DROWN ME OUT.

• OOC: @Cherryblossom
• 
• 
  — lupinekit . lupinepaw . lupinesong
  — trans she/her. 14mo warrior of skyclan. formerlu mentored by dandelionwish, padding after falcongaze
  — bobbie x duke. littermate to crowsight & drowsynose. older half-sister of hollykit, lionkit, and candorkit
  — a tall, pretty, long-haired black smoke with low white and green eyes
  — smells like sweet lupine flowers and young pine needles
  — "speech", thoughts, attack
  — fullbody by pikaihao and funnyguy by pin
  — penned by eezy

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[Cherryblossom]

The pale, lightless cracks of her toes are still dirty. Digging had not been hard. SkyClan soil remains mealy and damp from boundless Newleaf rain, the softest of cradles for scar-torn warriors. The rage that had possessed her earlier that day has since fizzled out, buried in the dark, sweet depths of labor. The birds still sing. It's enough to pull a spark of anger back into her gut, if only for a moment before it winks out again.

Sullied paws carry her towards respite, beneath the hunched, shuddering branches of the shadowed willow at the edges of camp. The leaf-green of her eyes scrunch and twist with grief, raw beneath the dark, wet beneath the black. Cherryblossom can feel the outline of her eyes even before she moves into her; each crinkle and lash is carved into her skin, worn deeper and deeper with each passing tragedy. "I didn't-... I wasn't ready I-..." Lupine hiccups against her, the dark lake of her pelt rippling seamlessly into a bank of pale fog.

Her throat constricts; her esophagus, a ball python. Her mentor. Her kin. Again and again, she misses Applefrost. Dandelionwish too. All the times she'd mocked his barn-twisted tongue behind his back. She had envied her friend's mentor aloud, wishing Slate was that gentle, that easy. But if it were a choice between either of them, she would've rather he mentor her again. "I.... Yeah..." Heat bursts on the surface of her eyes. "I know.." The grief, lightless and oceanic? Or the pervasive sense of guilt that grew with each death? The unfounded moons of worry Lu carried so suddenly crashing down at her paws—is it so selfish of her to want to catch her in the collapse?

Lupinesong's sudden touch is met with not a start of surprise, but with porcelain stillness. Cherry keeps her eyes trained on the listless sight of camp as her oldest friend consigns her nose to her pelt, motionless aside from the slight droop of her head. A deep, quavering breath. And then—"I'm glad you're here too," she breathes. "I..." Stars, she means it. Something. She wants Applefrost to stand in front of her and ruffle her head like she's four moons old again, but if she couldn't have that, then she could at least have... this.

Her heart groans with effort, waterlogged with grief but tearing at the seams. She is keenly aware of Lupinesong's head pressed against her chest, the yawning loneliness of the space between her ears, the flutter of long black whiskers against the pale expanse of her. Her eyes close as she moves in closer, stretching her cheek to press it against the other's, a union of tears and damp fur. "StarClan, Lu, I just—" Her voice tightens, snaps a tiny bit. "I just wish... you know..." She shakes her head slowly. "This is so stupid but... like... why?" She licks the salt off her lips. "It was so fast, and like... I dunno..." I'm glad it wasn't you. "You know I tried... right...?"

skyclan deputy | "speech." | tags​

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