THE NIGHT WE MET ;; group therapy.

[Fireflyglow]

Fireflypaw leaves Orangestar's den with heavy shoulders, massive body lugging itself over to the center of camp. He had just spoken to their leader about this gathering of clanmates, convinced her it was good for her to show a decent example of what a healthy cat is to her subject. The ginger and white Queen of Pine was to join them in their circle of emotions, to talk about her grief with the others so they may feel understood and safe in this environment.

He looks to Orangestar's direction, nodding solemnly, before he calls out to the cats of the camp.

"Cats of SkyClan, please gather in the middle of the camp for an optional group therapy session. You are not being forced to attend, but I think it would be a good idea for all of us to talk to each other." As cats begin to peek their heads out of their dens, turning their attention to him- he continues, even if he can't see them. "You are not required to speak about your problems, you may just listen. But please know that this is a safe place, and we are all family here."

As he sits down, his head feels so heavy and full of rainy clouds. His expression is softened, gentle and welcoming yet there is a visible tinge of hurt lingering in his eyes not directed at his clanmates. Like a wounded creature still recovering, defeated and yet calm at the same time. His tail is curled in at his paws, keeping them hidden from the world. If he could, he'd bury himself into his mother's fur right now and cry it all out. He would nuzzle into his dad's mane and shake like a kit once again, but he is older now. More strengthened by the storms of life, more prepared and adapted to handle his grief.

When cats begin to arrive and gather in a circle, Fireflypaw would speak up once again. "You will introduce yourself first, like so. Then begin with what you're struggling with right now. It can be big, it can be as small as an inconvenience in your life. Keep in mind, never to compare your struggles and pain to another cats." He straightens up, relaxing his shoulders before continuing. "My name is Fireflypaw, and I'm still grieving the loss of my parents while also learning to grieve part of a family that doesn't want me in their lives. I am struggling with this, and yet I know that I have cats who love me dearly and need me, so I promised myself I would live for the cats of SkyClan and be someone they look up to."

He finally finishes speaking, his paw reaching out to the cat to his right, placing it on their shoulder in reassurance. "We'll go to the right, if you wish to skip your turn and listen instead, just say so. No hard feelings. Your turn, my friend."

// feel free to be the next person who talks!! ​

SKYCLAN MEDICINE CAT APPRENTICE ✦ 22 MOONS ✦ CHUNKY, BIG-FOOTED SEAL POINT ✦ TAGS​

 

[Honeysplash]

The voice of Fireflypaw calls out into the camp and it makes them pick up their head from where they had laid on the ground. The sun was warm there and they hadnt wanted to move much today as their stomach churned and lurched with every movement. They didnt even want to think about food right then really or ever again. Regardless, the big footed cat speaks up about an optional therapy session and this peaks their interest.

The cream and white warrior gets up from the ground and pads over to join numerous others around Fireflypaw. The medicine cat then states they are to share their names and what ails them in this moment, no matter the size. They flick back their ears slightly and wonder if it was possible to share their own struggles. Surely no one wanted to hear about the massive plagues in their life? They also didnt want to share the fact that that Chrysaliswing wanted nothing to do with his kits- they didnt want to cause more problems for the tomcat and the clan.

Still, Fireflypaw shares the fact he grieves his parents a lot and that hes struggling to cope with distant family members. The warriors’ eyes soften at this and she looks to the medicine cat quietly, listening intently with a small nod. They offered a small nose touch to their shoulder in comfort as they were beside them. Yet Honeysplash hadnt been ready for when Fireflypaw turned to them next and offered them to go next.

Honeysplashs’ fur flamed hotly and bristled slightly, but she knew sharing would be healthy. Getting it off her chest would be good for them- her clan was here to support them- right? “I hear you Fireflypaw,” They offer condolences first before lifting her head a bit and sighed to try to relax her shoulders, “My name is Honeysplash, and- i struggle with coping with trauma from twolegplace still and that-” They glance down for a moment and shakily breathe before lifting their head once more, “single parenthood is terrifying as well. But im very certain i am not alone and i am loved by many, and these kits will be loved immensely too! Thanks to all of you”

The warrior gave a small smile to try to lighten things and then turned to the next cat beside them, gesturing with their front paw to encourage them to share as well.

Speech​

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━ TOYHOUSE ━ BIOGRAPHY ━ SKYCLAN WARRIOR ━ TWENTY NINE MOONS​

 

[Florabreeze]

At first Florabreeze was unsure if she should go through with this, but she struggled to open up about how she felt as a general rule. Though, not wanting to dwell on the things that have been tormenting her has been doing more harm than good for her right now. Hearing Fireflypaw be so candid about his own struggles and grief was inspiring. She wondered how he managed to do it, to be that bigger cat for the sake of the clan. Hearing Honeysplash go before her also gave her some courage to talk, she knew that they had been struggling lately so hearing them open up to more clan-mates was good.

She offers a small nod to her friend before sighing, glancing down at her paws. “My name is Florabreeze, I’m kind of scared to leave my nest at Twolegplace right now. I’m struggling to walk the usual way to get to camp and to Twolegplace without thinking I see…” there’s a lump in her throat that she can’t quite swallow. Cherryblossom’s words haunt her, the fact that she didn’t use Applefrost and Dandelionwish’s names when announcing what happened. She loathed the idea that she may have come across as insensitive or uncaring because of it. “I can’t stop seeing Applefrost and Dandelionwish there, I don’t. I don’t know how to deal with it? I usually just try and see a positive but I can’t really see one here. I’m starting to realise that I can’t just do that all the time? And I don’t know what to be if I'm not optimistic.”

She had learnt from the patrol that sometimes trying to be positive in a bad situation can cause harm then just letting the tragedy settle, green eyes search for the deputy, maybe she should apologise.“While I’m finding it really hard to be at Twolegplace right now and I know that I have a place here. I can’t just leave my family, so I guess I’m feeling kind of lost.” It felt weird to admit this out loud but, it felt good at the same time to say something plainly without trying to play it off.

The maine coon was unsure if any of the full time warriors could understand her plight, sure the easiest answer is to just leave Twolegplace but she couldn’t do that. She loved her family and she did love it there in general, would these feelings pass in time? She was unsure but she supposed that was the whole point of group therapy. Besides, she was still a little jumpy around the forest after the foxes. While she was pretty confident she could fake it until she made it with that, it didn't help with her feeling of aimlessness between her two homes. “Thank you all for listening” she adds quietly, looking to her clan-mate to the right of her with a small smile. Hoping that sharing her issues could possibly help in assisting those after her to talk about how they’re feeling.

‎‎ ‎From far away 𖧧 Stays for a day ‎

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  SkyClan Daylight Warrior⏐ She / Her ⏐ Info
  ❥ A large black tabby maine coon with low white and bright green eyes, always wearing her mushroom print collar if she can.
  ❥ 32 moons old { Ages realistically on the 12th per month }
  ❥ Mentored by Sorrelsong
  ❥ “Speech”, thoughts, attacking
  ❥ Penned by Juice ⏐ouijeejuice on discord {open to being dmed for plots}

​

 

[Chickbloom]

for such an emotional crybaby, Eggshellbloom actually didn’t like talking about his problems that much. The doormat felt like lit was unnecessary, a burden being placed on his clanmates when he could simply endure and solve the suffering alone. In the whelp’s mind, his issues didn’t warrant the attention others had received. They weren’t important enough. He wasn’t important enough.

Of course with the way things had worked out, Eggshell’s issues had spilled over into the paws of many Skyclanners. The boy was like a broken dam, unable to hold back the water he felt was his responsibility. With so many picking up the cause of helping the warrior with his problems (Fireflypaw included), the whelp decided to give this group session a shot. Padding forwards to sit beside Florabreeze, amber eyes flicked to each member as they spoke of the troubles afflicting their own souls.

There was a moment of silence after Florabreeze was finished, and Eggshell briefly wondered who was next before remembering the rules. Instantly, scrambled-egg features gained a topping of ketchup as he felt his fur go hot. The whelp never intended on participating, wanting to simply listen to everyone’s stories, but self-imposed peer pressure reared its head. It would be rude if he passed his turn, right? Fireflypaw said it was okay, but was that just a formality? What if he didn’t speak, and everyone thought he believed his issues above theirs? He didn’t want that!

With a nervous, gulp, a shy voice spoke up. “Um, m-my Housefolk - er, s-sorry. M-My name is Eggshellbloom, and I…I don’t know what my h-housefolk think of me. They don’t give me attention, and the l-last time I was there, they trapped me in their - in their den for a week. But, they w-weren’t always like that. They used to be - y’know - they used to be r-really sweet and p-played with me all the time. I accidentally…I accidentally clawed them while escaping, and I’ve been here ever since. P-Part of me, a big part of me, wants to g-go back and try to p-put things right, but I - I don’t know If I can. I m-miss them…”

Eggshell shrank inwards as his stammering spiel progressed, voice growing quieter as he neared the end. Guilt began to creep into the coward as he began to regret what he was saying. However, the feline forced himself to speak louder for a final burst of gratitude. “I - I still c-call myself a daylight warrior, even if I h-haven’t been back in a while. I’m t-thankful to Orangestar for letting me s-stay here full-time, and I’m - I’m thankful to all of you for listening. S-Sorry.” Eggshellblook forced a smile and a respectful bow of the head before backing away, outside of his comfort zone for far too long. The coward quickly retreated to the warriors’ den, unsure if he was feeling better or not.

// out!​