taste of dying eternity ;; blazestar

[leopardcloud]

@BLAZESTAR

She remembers the look on Blazestar's face when she told him what Clan she had escaped from, carrying two little kits in tow with her. She hadn't said it that day, but she held two secrets as well. Her paws tremble as she slowly makes her way over to Blazestar's den, hesitant- though, her throat is quickly cleared as she chirps out a greeting. "Blazestar, can we talk privately?" She meows softly, not wishing to interrupt his talk with the two warriors gathered in his den. She remains outside of it, tail curled around her back leg and pelt fluffed up against the cold.

Even if she didn't have long to live, someone could know the truth. Someone worthy of her trust, who wouldn't abuse it. ​

 

[BLAZESTAR]

╭── ⋅ ⋅ ── ✩ ── ⋅ ⋅ ──╮​

Through the leaves and stems of the elderberry curtain, Blazestar sees Leopardcloud's clotted cream pelt. "Blazestar, can we talk privately?" He's admittedly apprehensive at the suggestion, but he clears his throat and responds without hesitation. "Of course, Leopardcloud. You may enter."

He gives his paws a quick wash, brushing the dampened pads across the long fluff surrounding his face and neck. Leopardcloud's scent at the mouth of his den, as always, has the moors at its core. A heart that still lies elsewhere, or a stain she cannot wash away? Blazestar still doesn't know, but he smiles at the warrior as she enters his den. "You must be proud of Coyotepaw. He's going to make a great warrior." He twitches an ear, referring to the former WindClanner's younger kin. "Did you come to speak to me about him? If so, Thistleback may know more than me..." He trails off.

- ,,​

​

 

[leopardcloud]

As the two Warriors are dismissed, Leopardcloud makes her way into the den with a simple dip of her head to Blazestar in secret. A soft cough leaves her, before she groans in pain. Her head hurts today, but it seemed the shade would make her feel better. She seats herself in front of the tom, a small smile on her lips at the mention of Coyotepaw. "He will make a loyal apprentice, an even better warrior though." She agrees, the face of her son smiling up at his mentor still fresh in her mind. She indeed was proud of him. He was everything and more, and his sibling would be next. At his question on what this was about, Leopardcloud is quick to shake her head.

"What we talk about here must not leave this den. Please. I am not ready for my kits to know." Her tone is nervous, yet serene- acceptance, it would seem. She'd accepted this illness a long time ago, and the costs that came with it. "I'm dying. An illness, I've had it since I was young." A simple statement, cast upon apologetic lips. She shouldn't burden him with this knowledge, but it was necessary. He must understand. "I left WindClan because of Coyotepaw's father. I.. I am not their sister, I am their mother. I raised them as my siblings to keep them safe from their father, but the moment he sees them.. He- He's going to hurt them, Blazestar. So I-I left, because.. Because I knew I didn't have much time left to live, and I wanted to spend it with my kits happy. Safe. Surely you know how that feels, being a father yourself?" She asks desperately, suddenly bursting into a fit of nasty, harsh coughs. A paw covers her mouth as she does so, and when the coughing fit finally ends, she pulls it back- specks of blood on her cream fur. She grimaces, lowering her paw. She could wash it later, it was rude to do so in front of the Leader.

"I come to you with two of my biggest secrets because you're the only one who can protect them. You protect your Clan, and they're your Clan now.. They will be fine SkyClan warriors one day when I am long gone."​

 

[BLAZESTAR]

╭── ⋅ ⋅ ── ✩ ── ⋅ ⋅ ──╮​

Leopardcloud smiles at Blazestar's praise of Coyotepaw, but he tenses as it becomes clear she has other things on her mind. "What we talk about here must not leave this den. Please. I am not ready for my kits to know." The Ragdoll looks at her with soft surprise on his face. "Your kits?" She has kits? Living kits?

But he waits. She must tell her own story, on her own terms, and he respects that. He shifts in his nest, eyes fixed on Leopardcloud's face. "I'm dying. An illness."

"Oh." He had not expected this. She tells him the illness will kill her. That she had left WindClan for her kits -- of course. For Coyotepaw. "So their father still lives," he says slowly.

"Surely you know how that feels, being a father yourself?" Blazestar's eyes are dim with sympathy for the young warrior. To be plagued with an unseen illness, taken from her children so soon. To have to live a lie in order to protect them in a Clan foreign to her, foreign to them.

"I do," he murmurs. He dips his head to her. "Thank you for telling me. I know how dangerous WindClan is, and I... I will not let them harm your son. Not if it's within my power to stop it."

Her coughing is rough on his ears, and he flinches. "Is there truly nothing a medicine cat can do? Honeytwist in WindClan, Dawnglare here?" His heart clenches. Oh, what a terrible fate. Both for her, and for her children. He thinks of Coyotepaw and exhales raggedly.

- ,,​

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