horseplace TABLE FOR HOW MANY? ✧ open

[POLLENFUR]

Pollenfur has nestled down in one of the horse nests, the thick red walls insulating from any stray wind or predators. The scent is less than desirable, but she had grown up on the moor, and the Horseplace is familiar enough to her. It’d been one of the first places she’d stopped to rest on her travels, and then the inhabitants of the sprawling Twoleg area had been so different. Welcoming, rather than weary—this place was no one’s territory, no cat’s, anyway. The Twolegs are content to leave them be, so long as they fish mice from the hay bales and keep rabbits from their gardens.

Now, though, the cats here are weary. They report patrols of feral cats monitoring the border between here and the open moorland—skinny but violent cats whose eyes flash with warning. She knows WindClan but says nothing to the cats who discuss the new dangers of leaving their Horseplace. She is content to pretend, for the moment, that she and Hyacinthbreath are safe from prying eyes.

Her mate has ensured she is well-fed, well-cared for. Pollenfur awakens in a nest rough with hay to lovely blue eyes peering at her over prey poached from the moors and the Twolegs. Hyacinthbreath seems determined to make up for time she lost with her kits still in WindClan—the gray tabby has done nothing but fret, which only amuses Pollenfur. A sad amusement, to be sure, but the two of them are determined to bring their kits into a world they do not have to fear.

Now, the pregnant queen rises from her nest, her paws itching. She pushes her nose through the opening of the horse den, blinking the sunlight from gilded eyes. There are cats here she still does not know—travelers, as she and Hyacinthbreath are, who stop here for prey and shelter and a tale or two, and those who make their homes here as mousers. She wonders if any will indulge her boredom today.

✧ INFO.

• tagging @hyacinthbreath but no need to wait! this takes place in the horseplace by windclan, but any loners/rogues/mousers could be stopping here if you want to interact :3
• 
  — pollen . pollenfur
  — she/her ; loner ; windclan warrior
  — pansexual ; taken by Hyacinthbreath
  — long-haired chocolate calico with amber eyes
  — “speech”, thoughts, attack
  — penned by Marquette
  — pixel by Birdman

​

 

[Irispath]

Yewberry doesn't know why he comes here anymore. He doesn't know why he can't let go and leave the whole area altogether and find somewhere new to call home. Perhaps it was fear of the unknown, fear to step out of the metaphorical box his world was. But he kept coming back to the horseplace every so often, drawn by the safety and promise of food and the sense of familiarity. He knows the safety and peace is easily shattered, the warmongers on the moors could easily come here and kill all of them.

But they are not here now, nor do they know he is here. He has kept far from the border, staying in the barn area. He wishes he had chosen to come here instead of the moors in the first place, but he was drawn in by the beauty of the moors and equipped with childish naivety that has since been crushed into paste. Thinking back on his time in Windclan only makes him bitter.

His paws bring him to a stop at the corner of the barn, cautiously peaking around it as if worried Windclan decided to lay claim to this sanctuary and that they would be lurking. When he sees no familiar faces and smells no familiar scents, he turns the corner. To his surprise though, he sees a face he hasn't seen in a long time.

"P-pollenfur?" His voice is quiet as he speaks out in surprise. He stays where he is, afraid if he gets too close, some kind of misfortune will fall upon him.​

 

[hyacinthbreath]

"Liebling, you must rest.." Hyacinthbreath's voice is soft, filled with adoration for her mate as she pushes her way through the hay bales to peer into the light. Their nest is well-hidden, warm, and always kept clean by Hyacinth. She believed firmly that her love deserved nothing but the most comfortable place to stay, a safehaven from the chaotic world around them. She blinks as Yewberry's voice rings out, familiar yet surprised at his presence. He was usually seen around Twolegplace, what brought him out to the Horseplace, she wonders?

Tiny paws carry Hyacinthbreath around her mate's side, pressing firmly into Pollenfur's body comfortably. Her tail entwines with her mate's momentarily, a small smile gracing her muzzle for once. Yewberry was a welcome presence. "Yew," She chimes, almost sing-song in tune as she leaves her mate's side to attempt to bump her head against Yewberry's in greeting. Her friend had welcomed her back after her exile from RiverClan, after all. Him and the others, Galeforce and many others.

Momentarily, Hyacinth is distracted by horse's movement not too far away- her head turns, scarred face scrunching up as eyes squint in the light to get a good look. She wonders who else could appear..​

LONER ✦ WARTORN SOLDIER ✦ 54 MOONS ✦ TAGS​

 

[THYMEROOT]

As his days in exile continue forth, so does the pull to his birthplace.

The barns of the horseplace have been a staple in his thoughts for some time now - always finding themselves in his dreams, even if slumber-induced scenes don’t always call for it. Childhood memories of him and Dandelionwish - blurred by time, distorted by moor-borne nightmares, yet still kept together by the scent of hay-woven nests - call for him to come home, to at least spend a moment walking familiar pathways he’d once toddled through.

It’s something he’d been putting off. Something he’d feared getting too close to the moors once again through his journey, a misstep that would leave him unsuccessful in completing it. Another fear, in it being changed, marred by the WindClanners who claim their stake of territory just outside of it. But the calls are louder than Thymeroot’s worries, and one day, his paws guide him in the direction of the horseplace instead.

He needs to go home.

And when he arrives, it just feels right. A sense of comfort comes rushing to him - one that he hasn’t felt in moons, perhaps since he’d seen Dandelionwish, since he’d found out his brother was alive and well - as he walks on familiar grounds, as he takes it all in. A cornflower gaze looks up at barns, sees them in person for the first time since kithood.

What would have become of him, if he’d stayed here? If he’d stayed Thyme, rather than been bestowed with a star-chosen name? Would he have been happier, here? Would he be happier, here?

Something catches his gaze before he can ponder his questions further - a familiar shade of lilac-fur poking around the corner of one of the barns. Thymeroot blinks at the unexpected sight, fawn-pointed paws striding towards the cat.

“Yew? That you, Yewberry?” he calls, “What’re you doin’ here? I didn’t know that --” He looks where his fellow exile is looking, and meets a face he hasn’t seen in a long time. Another beside her - one that he’d greeted upon her blood-tinged departure from the clans. He blinks once more, before a smile pulls at his scarred maw.

“Well, I’ll be --” he hums, stepping closer to the duo with a brightened gaze, “Didn’t expect to see you lot round these parts! We got ourselves a reunion, don’t we? How’ve you been?” They're a pairing he didn't quite expect to see, yet one he's happy to see, all the same.
​

 

[POLLENFUR]

Pollenfur’s ears flicked in surprise to hear her name from an unfamiliar cat’s lips. She turned and saw a gray cat, small and scarred and weathered by life, and her eyes became round as moons. “Yewberry!” Her whiskers trembled with feeling. She approached on soft paws, wondering if he would welcome her—and she recognized the wariness and hesitance he exhibited well. “Do you make this place your home, too? Or… are you a traveler, like us?” Her eyes drank him in—once-soft fur is roughened and marked with scars, and the friendliness he’d always worn in WindClan… she wondered how much of that remained within him. Has life made you hard, dear one? Has it stolen your softness completely?

And what a pity that would be, if Sootstar had managed that.

A purr dripping with love like honey reached her ears. Pollenfur turned her face just enough to meet Hyacinthbreath’s cheek with her muzzle. “I’m resting, I promise… as much as I can.” She licked her mate’s striped silvery cheek. “I’m not built for the life of a mouser or a nursing queen, truth be told…” She threw Yewberry a sheepish smile. “My love knows I’ve a wanderer’s heart, but this is the safest place for the kits right now.” She made no mention of the pregnant sister she still had in WindClan’s snake pit of a camp, of the kin she cannot bear to let go.

And another voice greeted her twitching ears, once she had not heard in almost as many moons. Thymeroot’s cream-colored pelt was also littered with scars she did not remember him having before… but his accent brought a smile to her muzzle. “You have that right. A reunion of lost souls… but perhaps we can find some happiness together, here.” She pressed a snow-kissed paw to her rounded belly, purring. “I saw Dandelionwish not long ago… and Mallowlark. They both live happily in SkyClan.”

✧ INFO.

•  
• 
  — pollen . pollenfur
  — she/her ; loner ; windclan warrior
  — pansexual ; taken by Hyacinthbreath
  — long-haired chocolate calico with amber eyes
  — “speech”, thoughts, attack
  — penned by Marquette
  — pixel by Birdman

​

 

[Irispath]

To be greeted with such warmth was almost a foreign concept to him. There were very few cats in the forest who wouldn't chase him away on sight, and to be greeted with such kindness nearly throws him for a loop. He almost flinches away from Hyacinthbreath's touch, but he refrains, accepting the gentle gesture. It feels so foreign to him now, what was once commonplace.

"It's good to see you both well.." He says with a tired smile. He was glad to see that they were happy, out of reach of the scourge that plagues the moors. Even if said scourge was nearby, right outside the large pen the horses roam in. This place seemed like a sanctuary for the lost, almost.

His ears twitch at his name once more, turning his head to see Thymeroot. Dandelionwish's brother, also a fugitive from Windclan. His smile grows, and for once he feels at home.

"Thymeroot! it's good to see you again!" He chirps, a little happier. The murky cloud that hung over his heart was lifting, even if just for an instant.

"I don't live here, no...But I come around often. It's...A cozy place. But....Now that you guys are here, I think I'll stay longer." He says with a smile.

His eyes widen when Pollenfur reveals she's carrying kits. "You're having kits?? Congratulations!" He says, now noticing how round she is. These kits will be safe here, away from the danger that lurks outside. It fills him with enough relief to make him want to faint. Surrounded by all these familiar faces, he truly feels at home again. Back when they all shared the same clan, slept under the same sky. But he has to wonder if he even has the right to be part of these kits lives after leaving his own, a wound that still stings to this day.

"I'm glad to hear Dandelionwish is still well... I ran into him a few moons back in the twolegplace. And I'm glad Mallowlark is with him.... Everyone is doing so well, It's such a relief..." He says. He hopes they continue to do well, hopes that it makes Sootstar angry that they are happy and thriving.

Everyone but him, it seems. But maybe.... Maybe now he can recover. Maybe the darkness that plagues his heart can recede, and he can find happiness again. He doesn't want to leave this barn at all. "Seeing all of you again makes me so happy..." He says, eyes misting. For once, he doesn't feel the burn of his scars, reminders of his weakness and failures. He feels as though a burden has been lifted, free.​