pafp STARTLED ╱ BEATING ITS WINGS ´ˎ˗

Their nest is cooler by the time Sunstride awakes fully. He had heard Wolfsong stir some time ago, likely waking to his work. Though the warrior was not the heaviest of sleepers, and well-accustomed to being roused at any moment, he can still be grateful for the few extra moments of rest. Being here, with him– how strange it is to go from a night beneath the stars to surrounded by herbs. Any discomfort is soothed by the scent of his mate (his mate, how lucky he must be to be blessed with such a word) upon their shared nest. Even as he stretches he can feel it, the nest crinkling around him, the scent of his fur filling his senses. It is restful, peaceful, yet when his eyes open it is not to the dawning sun outside of the tunnel's entrance, nor a scarred eye that still scrunches pleasantly at its corners when the wheaten tom smiles. Instead, it is– a shape, looming and unfamiliar, with wide bright eyes and–

He jolts, a loud noise startling from his maw that he will later deny entirely. Not a mouse's squeak, yet quite far from a lion's roar. He tries to find his paws, his mind awake but his paws unstretched and ancient as creaking wood. They do not cooperate with him. It is flailing, kitten-like. Only once Sunstride manages to right himself does he fully recognize the face before him. "Cygnetstare," he gasps, and begins to laugh even as his heart still races in terror. It is a loud and desperate noise, somewhere between true amusement and fear. "Stars above, why did you stand so close?"
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  • ooc: please wait for @cygnetstare
  • SUNSTRIDE. named for his coloration and his bold chasing of fate.
    —— cis male, he - him. approx. 40 moons old. lead warrior of windclan + former rogue.
    —— gay, monogamous. mate to wolfsong from 07.05.2023.  npc x npc, no larger family.
    —— has recently regained some of his earlier lightness, but maintains his steady facade.

    sunstride is broad and bold– a creature standing above most of windclan, though not a beast beyond its borders, with fur that flames red and deepens to a burnt amber with every whorl and stripe. his eyes, in comparison, are a pale summer's blue, still as bold as the rest of him.
  • "speech"
 
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Reactions: WOLFSONG

♱—— the medicine den is incredibly uninteresting, she's found. once you clear away the mysterious veil of herb-scents and star blessings, it's actually quite boring—at least if you've been staying there longer than a couple of sunrises, which she definitely has. thankfully, she's no longer confined to her nest, and as such she's been exploring the den a bit when wolfsong leaves at odd hours for his work, considering she often keeps such strange hours as well. the remnants of a life where there is no real difference between night and day, she supposes, a life she will return to so soon she can hardly wait for it.

of course, all this is mostly unrelated to the fact that she's currently leaned over the shared nest of the medicine cat and his mate, staring at sunstride's slumbering face. they're extremely bored, and so they're studying the strange markings that trace themselves across the tom's face, neat lines and rosettes a world apart from the mess of black that clusters at the joints of her own body, far from her pure-white face. unfortunately for them, he does awaken, interrupting their study with a loud startled noise that reminds her a bit of a new apprentice tripping over a tunnel-root, flailing and laughing too-loudly. her wide pale eyes are blank as she straightens up slightly, distancing herself from his loud laughter, offering a simple explanation, "just havin' a look-see at the shapes on ya face. i ain't seen much like 'em before."

they appear .... utterly unaware of the fact that they just gave the lead warrior quite a fright.


  • ooc: AAH I'M SORRY THIS IS SO LATE :'-)
    retro to wound healing obviously <3
  • ♱ cygnetstare — for their downy kitten-fur and perceptiveness (or uncanny gaze)
    she/they ; afab gender apathetic — windclan — tunneler — 34 ☾s
    —— cygnetstare is a corpselike chimera, split between long albino fur and a short black smoke pelt; their eyes are an unsettling pink. her creepy demeanour distracts from a strange fascination with death and an obsessive loyalty to windclan.
    —— smells like grave-dirt and blood ; sounds like vc tbd ; speech in #BF959C, thoughts in #000000
    —— peaceful / healing powerplay permitted ; attacks/contact in underline ; will start fights ; won't flee unless ordered ; won't show mercy ; will kill or maim
    —— pansexual panromantic monogamist, single, not looking ; open to friendships, enemies, casual interactions, long-term romance, plotting ; not open to unplanned battles, flings
    penned by dejavudesklamp9 on discord for plots
  • battle stuff goes here for fights

 
It's pure coincidence that Sedgepaw's wandering close to the medicine den at the time. Complete and total coincidence and definitely not because he's nervous about being released again. He merely keeps one close, paranoid eye on the medicine den in the early hours of the morning because he is a dedicated and concerned warrior-apprentice and because he cares about his clanmates' wellbeing. Not because he's been caught overthinking and wants to ask Wolfsong if he's really, super sure that his scar tissue won't split open.

The shriek that barrels from the den makes Sedgepaw jump when he hears it. He shoots forward to catch all the hubbub, expecting a kit being chased by a bat or a creature in the night of some kind. What he sees instead is Cygnetstare—which is...yeah, understandable—and Sunstride.

"Was that you, Sunstride?" Sedgepaw asks incredulously, quicker and louder than he meant it. No way that big, mighty Sunstride would have shrieked like that.
 
── .∘°°∘. ── He is not far behind Sedgepaw, though the apprentice seems rather...preoccupied. Wolfsong entertains several theories for the apprentice's frequent orbiting of the medicine cat den, where he often questions Wolfsong at random. If there were signs that Sedgepaw is falling behind in his training, he would pursue an answer more rigorously, but for now he is content simply to wonder and speculate. At this hour, perhaps the apprentice assumes he is still within the den, but Wolfsong had departed some time ago to regard the stars with unspoken questions.

It is opportune that he should return now, if only because —like Sedgepaw— he hears the yelp from within. Unlike Sedgepaw, he does not express surprise. He laughs openly as his paws meet the sandy floor, his remaining eye crinkling, echoing his mate's mirth. "Yes," he manages to say, slightly breathless. "Yes, it was, and I have not heard it in many moons." Cygnetstare is doubtlessly responsible; they must have startled him in his sleep. They are rather...startling. "She must have given you a fright."
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WOLFSONG of WINDCLAN FORMER ROGUE TURNED MEDICINE CAT. 36 MOONS, HE/HIM, NPC X NPC. MATES WITH SUNSTRIDE (07/05/2023). BIOGRAPHY, PINTEREST, & PLAYLIST.
  • ★★★☆☆ WOUNDS: You're (mostly) in safe paws. You'll know if he's less experienced if he asks for your permission to try a treatment. No wound can scare him away from knowledge. — ★★★☆☆ INFECTION: He can prevent most infections. If you feel feverish, let him know— he'll hum thoughtfully over herbs and sniff your wound before saying, "With your blessing..."
  • ★☆☆☆☆ ACHES & PAINS: If you complain to him of pain, he'll ask where. If it's a headache, you'll likely feel a bit better. For anything else, "Try this, if you'd like, and tell me how you feel." — ★☆☆☆☆ BROKEN BONES: At best. he can ask you to remain lying down in the den. He may try to distract you with conversation while he considers what herb to feed you.
  • ★★★★★ TRAVELING HERBS: Going somewhere? No worries; Wolfsong knows just what you need to stay hale and healthy during your journey. The rest is up to you. — ☆☆☆☆☆ KITTING: He doesn't remember what it was like to be born. Coincidentally, that is the extent of his familiarity with kitting. At least he won't leave you without moral support.
  • ★☆☆☆☆ POISONS: It's best if you avoid eating anything unfamiliar to you— it's probably just as unfamiliar to Wolfsong. The best he can do is offer you yarrow and sit with you. — ★★☆☆☆ ILLNESS: If it's white or greencough, you'll likely recover. Otherwise, prepare for odd concoctions and the usual request that you consent to a little trial-and-error.
 


Though they had worked many times alongside Cygnetstare down in the tunnels in the past, it was impossible for Rattleheart to deny that she was a strange feline. That wasn't wholly unusual - they had quite a few odd cats among them - but it certainly did lead to some interesting incidents. Even Rattle had been in Sunstride's place before, turning around in the tunnels just a bit too quickly and being treated to a view of Cygnetstare that they hadn't been expecting. They at least hadn't produced such an embarrassing sound in that moment, but they had definitely ended up jumping and taking a few startled steps back. Although Badgermoon was the one who bore the name, it seemed fitting that Cygnet's colors were a vague reflection of a badger for the same kind of fear they could wind up in others.

The sound of all-too-loud laughter was what drew them over to the medicine den, carefully burying what remained of the prey they had been finishing off before they slipped in after Wolfsong. It only took them a moment to put together the situation, between Sedgepaw's question and the medicine cat's comment, and they couldn't help the faint giggling that bubbled out of their muzzle in response. Sunstride was a feline they highly respected, and they didn't want him to think they were making fun of him or anything along those lines - but the situation was undeniably funny, wasn't it? "They have a habit of doing that in the tunnels as well. I'm sure you'll get used to it - or not." They shake their head, still laughing. Cygnetstare had been a full tunneler for moons now, and Rattle still wasn't used to the occasional surprise.
[ PENNED BY EO ]
 
❀​ I AM SORRY THIS IS ALWAYS HOW IT GOES ❀​

periwinklebreeze & 12 moons & demi-boy & he/they & windclan moor runner

Peri cannot quite help the laugh that slips past his lips, though eyes widen in apologetic surprise. Its a rare sight to see any of his clanmates startled by things, and even more so for it to be sunstride. "A-are you alri-ght?" he asks, a bit worried about the lead warriors fall - the last thing the clan needs is yet more injuries. Cygnetstare had once scared peri too, but after their conversation at the graveyard he's begun to think that she is not something he needs fear, even if her death-scent is still very offputting. "Your m-marking-s are pretty int-eresting th-though,"

  • Actions && "Speech," && ' Thoughts/Quotes '

    ooc: —
    tw/cw: —
  • a lithe figured black and white tom with a false-pointed pattern and clear blue eyes that gleam periwinkle in the right lighting. he seems perpetually worn and exhausted, with heavy bags beneath his eyes and a slouched figure. he has a speech impediment which leaves him with a stutter and sometimes even completely non-verbal, and his fluffy tail is adorned with daisies.

    physically medium && mentally easy && pacifist
    non-violent powerplay allowed && healing powerplay allowed && minor injury powerplay allowed
    please attack using [b][color=#ccccff]action here[/color][/b] and tag account