backwritten the doves have died .. ravensong

[hazecloud]

"Hey handsome." The wispy blue molly appeared at the maw of his den, jaws empty of the precious lungwort though she could scent its presence in the dark shadows of the olive sedge. Stray purple petals scattered across the cold dirt, bringing a small smile to her features. It had all been worth it in the end. All the terror, the danger, the heartbreak, the unlikely friends... Every moment she refused to lose sight of their goal. To return home and save her Clan.

"I only need a few minutes, come take a walk with me." Hazecloud beckoned the dark pelted tom to join beside her and began to lead them out of camp through the small gap between the sedge bush. "I'll save the grand story for when Fernpaw's with me, but I took your advice. It really helped me keep everyone together." She paused for a moment, silent as she looked around to make sure no one else was around to listen. After seeing it was just the two of them, she turned to Ravensong and sighed.

"Of course, except Dovethroat. I did my best with him, I was gentle. I was encouraging. I kept him focused and honestly... there was hardly a day we weren't right at each others side making sure we were safe." She closed her eyes as she returned to the days they stuck together through the dark caves. Honeyjaw leading them like blind sheep. "When we were almost home, just a few days away, a ThunderClan apprentice got injured and had to be carried home. Dovethroat..."

Hazecloud tilted her head, thinking of the words to describe just how hurtful Dovethroat's decision had been. "Decided coming home was worth less than helping someone else's Clan." Her tone turned down to show her frustration but her tail twitched to lay on Ravensong's side in comfort. "I told them we would all be going home, together, to save everyone. He just... didn't care. I felt hurt, betrayed that RiverClan, you were a second thought to him."

-- @RAVENSONG ​

 

[RAVENSONG]

Not much time could be spared from Ravensong in the aftermath of the journey. Although he had lost sick patients, there were still other cats who needed tending to. Including himself. The weight bowed over his shoulders and he was not sure how he was still walking.

Hazecloud was a welcome face. He had missed all of the cats but it had been clear Dovethroat received most of his pining. His friend Fernpaw, and his older rolemodel Hazecloud were among the others he held in high regard. Hazecloud's voice at the entrance of his den caused those large, droopy ears to prick up and he raised his head to where Hazecloud's wispy form appeared.

He did not smile, nor did he need more prompting, before he followed the warrior outside. His paws sank deeply into the ground. Despite it all, his mind was occupied by Dovethroat, and he jolted in surprise when he was brought up. Ravensong's sea-foam eyes widened slightly and his haunches lowered to the ground to take a seat and have a moment to let everything sink in.

ThunderClan had never been his favorite—Ravensong perceived them all as self-righteous territory stealers, but as a medicine cat, his care could be said to extend beyond borders. A warrior could not understand as easily.

"What did he say?" He finally asked. "Did he... mention me at all?"

☾₊ ⊹ темная ночь — dark is the night

•  
• 
  RAVENSONG of RIVERCLAN
  — LH BLACK POLYDACTYL MALE (CARRYING CINNAMON, DILUTE) a tall, slender creature with pitch-black feathery fur, large ears, and a sharply angled skull held up in an aloof manner. smells of dried herb, speaks with a low and rumbly accent and walks with an elegant slinking gait.
  
  — born in twolegplace and orphaned at a young age, he joined riverclan at its inception and began training as a drypaw warrior known for a bitter temperment until beesong made him his medicine cat apprentice. after his mentor's untimely death, he had been named ravensong at the moonstone, young heart revitalized with anger and guilt. he is a somber and thorough medicine cat that guards every word spoken in the confines of his den.
  
  — secretly loves "the stars but not so much what inhabits them"
  — openly suffers from chronic migraines
  — single, but "it's complicated"

​

 

[hazecloud]

The silence between them stretched for so long that Hazecloud began to wonder what was going on in his head. They would find themselves seeing much the same regarding ThunderClan. Of course on that journey she had given every moment to ensuring they were safe along the way. Defending one another against badgers, foxes, the beasts among the sky. Securing safe passage across the bridge, through the darkness, thick forests and steep cliff-sides.

She wouldn't sacrifice another day to wait seeing her family, though. Those cats, while they had all experienced something beyond the life of a Clan, could not be chosen over her own kind. Hazecloud knew staying behind would accomplish nothing that mattered in the eyes of Cicadastar, when she believed him still alive. It wouldn't have given them Sunningrocks back. It wouldn't have given them anything but 'gratitude' from the Clan that stole their land first.

Ravensong's voice broke through and his question made her heart sink. "Not a single word about you, not on that entire trip, really." The inside of her cheek stuck between her teeth for a moment as she let Ravensong digest that. "I just couldn't fathom where his head was at. On our route back all I could think about was how quickly I had to get back home, to Lichentail." The mention of the pointed molly turned her voice airy.

"Being in those mountains taught me how important you all were to me. That is was pointless to leave so much unsaid after facing death so often. In fact, the first thing I did was look for her when I got back. We found each other and now... now we're looking to start a family of our own." A small secret that only the medicine cat would know outside of the pair.

"But Fernpaw and Iciclefang knew their kin couldn't wait. Mosspaw knew this, our purpose, couldn't wait. Even Lakemoon, with most her kin being ThunderClan, did not wait... I just don't understand why he chose to stay behind despite all of that." It was hard to hide the disappointment in her tone, bare and just as heavy as it felt in that moment.​