private STONE COLD // vermilionsun

[mothpaw.]

Moth floats through life in a newfound silence. Clanlife seems to have come to her brother so easily, and yet the tom now lay sick in the medicine den in spite of that. And Zap - an ever fluorescent personality, finding herself in more arguments than any of them can count. Moth loves them both, of course, but what use is she by their sides, one ill and the other volatile? Her paws are better serving the pine forest, watching the damned borders and bringing back morsels of prey in the interim.

Her mentor leaves her for a moment and she takes advantage of the sparing seconds (he is smarter than she lends him credit for, knowing full well what she does when left to her own devices.) Moth's paws carry her down a well known but rarely trodden path - the stench of sick bothers her but she doesn't slow down. Eventually she finds the mouth of a sewer - none of her own, though one surely connecting to the rest.

A street cat greets her warily, and her plumed tail twitches. "Bring me Vermilion," she demands, "I need to speak with my father; it's important." Would he take them back if he knew Falcon is sick? She's unsure of what outcome she wants, truthfully, but she feels that with her brother down, it's become her job to tell their dad.

[ @VERMILIONSUN ]​

 

[VERMILIONSUN]

❝ we're children playing at a game, screaming that the rules aren't fair. ❞

It doesn't take long for a cat to come up to him, whispers being passed around that a young cat calling herself his child requested his presence. It does, however, take a few seconds for Vermilionsun to stand up from the muddied puddle of boggy blankets that he called his nest. Achy bones croaked with effort as he rises to his paws, fumbling for a moment but standing nonetheless. His tail lashes behind him like a whip, curiosity in his single-eyed stare as he shrugs off the pain and begins his trek through the tunnels.

It isn't until he reaches the mouth of the tunnel does he finally scent SkyClan, tension in his joints at the thought of being attacked on his own turf again. He is surprised, however, when he spots the familiar form of Moth instead. Or, well- she'd be Mothpaw now, wouldn't she? "Daughter," He croaks out with a smile, all skin and bones at this point. Exhaustion weighs heavily in his form as he takes a step towards her, then another- until his looming form leans over her and head nudges gently into her cheek to nuzzle her. When he pulls back, he lets himself admire how much she's grown since he left her in SkyClan with her siblings.

But that doesn't stop the nervousness.

"What brings you here? Where is your mentor?" He asks worriedly, afraid she's traveled all this way by herself. It isn't safe, not with all of the rogues hanging around lately. She would be easy prey for a cold-hearted rogue. "Does Blazestar know that you are here?"​

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[mothpaw.]

She is impatient, to a fault most of the time however given the circumstances she allows herself some grace. Her tail disturbs the leaf litter while she waits, dark gaze looking over her shoulder on occasion to be sure that her mentor isn't intruding too heavily. In time does her father breach the darkness of the sewers, and only then does the weight on her shoulders feel lighter.

He greets her with affection, his slow lumbering form leaning down to press their cheeks together. She's not dense - he seems unwell in his own right. Moth wonders if it's gotten worse, or if it only seems that way because her mental image of him paints him... healthier, stronger. Resilient, though she neglects to take that trait from him yet.

"Father," she greets him nonetheless, a rare smile blooming on her features. He pitches her a few questions and she tilts her gaze away, "Blaze knows," she attempts to leave it at that. The pure fact that she must tell the pale point of her whereabouts is already infantilizing enough - she doesn't wish for her father to chide her for her adventurous nature either. "Falcon - he's sick, father. Something incurable, though the Clans have sent dozens of cats to the mountains to find a cure that StarClan has promised them." It's no safer. We're failing just as badly. Bring us home, please, yet she does not say these words aloud.

"And - on top of that, there are... rats that've been encroaching on the territory. They're Clanless cats - like you and I! - but they have no care. SkyClanners have been attacked by them, time and time again, and they're hunting in the forest..." she trails off. Leafbare will be here too soon and they're already struggling. Moth has no idea what else to say to convince her father that this decision - splitting them up - was a bad one.​