camp the town has gone to the dogs .. patrol return

BASILWHISKER

BASILWHISKER

the exception
Apr 15, 2023
42
3
8
⋆⍋ // takes place directly after this thread!

Basilwhisker felt like the air from his lungs were playing tug-of-war in his chest as the three of them hurried back home. Wide eyes never left the ground, keeping himself in line with Mousenose's heels to dodge running into any shrubs or logs. His stomach was tight in knots that twisted his gut uncomfortably. Yet, despite the discomfort, he knew he didn't regret what he had done. He didn't intend for the monsters arrival when shoving the tom toward the pavement. He didn't really think any of that through... all instinct. Is that what battle felt like? The feeling was always lost to him in simple training.

They arrive before Basilwhisker can realize they've come close to camp, and he tore his sights across the clearing in search of his brother. He was tempted to excuse himself to the medicine den with his bothersome cough, but he's careful. He doesn't want to look suspicious.

"Howlingstar. Where is she?" Its a battle to keep his head upright as he fought against the weight of dizziness. Externally, Basilwhisker was good at hiding the symptoms of his actions, though not so much the sickness developing in his lungs. Another shaking cough had him going unsteady, paws stumbling to grip the earth with his claws.


@HOWLINGSTAR @BURNSTORM ! @MOUSENOSE ​
 


Burnstorm can't say that he is exceptionally sad at the loss of Sunnyday. The tom had always been a snake in the grass, poised and ready to bite and he can only feel relief that he had run off on his own before omitting any further atrocities. Still, it is one less set of paws for hunting (but not fighting as the golden warrior was a coward in Burnstorms eyes) He just cannot help but find himself wondering as they travel home 'Why now?' The tom had acted like a scolded kit after the incident with Sandpaw. He had sulked about and felt awfully sorry for himself but he had stubbornly refused to leave and the ebony colored tom cannot help but wonder what it was exactly that had been the tipping point.

When they make their way into camp he stays with his patrol, though his golden colored eyes already are sweeping the camp for a familiar pale colored pelt, desperate to tell his sister about the news. But he supposed she would find out soon enough on her own. The whole clan would. "Perhaps one of us should go and find her.." he says with a low hum and if she didn't appear herself in the next few moments he would leave to go and fetch her.
​
 
Howlingstar appears on swift paws, the fear scent drawing her close. The hunting patrol appears frazzled, and they're missing one member. Curiously, she draws near to prick her ears, head tilted. "What is it? What's wrong?" She scans the camp once more before her eyes find the bramble tunnel, as if expecting the fourth warrior to come through at any moment. Had something happened? "Where is Sunnyday?" She asks more slowly. Her tone lacks concern - she hasn't cared for the tom in quite some time. But he is a clanmate, and his whereabouts are her business. He had left with them, so...why didn't he return with them?​
 

A patrol return caught his attention and he batted the mossball he had been tossing back and forth among his kits back to one of them with a smile and a nod to look up properly and address them.
"....welcome back." Sunfreckle greets then pauses abruptly to the murmurs of fetching the black tabby, there is an urgency to the patrol's movements and he notices the distinct lack of cream fur among the crowd of them. As he makes the slow connection that they were missing a cat, Howlingstar herself arrived and quickly assessed the scene in a much more collected manner than himself. 'Where is Sunnyday?' she asks, bringing forward the question he had just been processing before he even had a moment to formulate the words. While the tom was one to be wary of, Howlingstar had deemed him worthy enough to remain in the clan and it was a decision the red tabby would respect no matter his own personal feelings. His leader felt the tom redeemable and who was he to question her. Seeing him not present with the rest of his patrol left a gnawing concern in his stomach, a worry begin to fret at his already harried edges.
Had something terrible happened to the tom? Had he run away? They had been near the thunderpath hadn't they? His mind conjured images of red spilled across black tarmac and his throat tightens. He didn't have much care for the other, he had been crass and otherwise uncaring in his attempts to make amends with his clan, but that was a fate he'd wish on no one.

​
 

"GOLDEN CHILD, LION BOY;"​
a patrol returning was usually not an event that would elicit such an alarm, but something wrong stirred in the air as basilwhisker, burnstorm, and mousenose broke through the entrance. the pointed warrior immediately calls for howlingstar, sandpaw began to turn and find her but it seems that she had picked up on the shift as well.

the leader arrived quickly, asks to figure out what was going on. the tabby sounded indifferent as she asked for the whereabouts of the final patrol member, even if she did not hear his name it wouldn't be difficult to assume the subject. sandpaw's gaze narrowed, burned into the remaining cats that had left on the patrol. had he died? going out near the thunderpath was never risk free, but a group full of warriors should be able to manage. she waited silently for the explanation, ears twitching so that she didn't miss a word.​
✦ 𖤓 ✦​

 
⋆⍋ Basilwhisker swallowed as Howlingstar arrived, the black tabby's voice commanding answers. A pair of blue met steady green.

Lie.

It always came so easy to him. Even if he might not always have been so convincing in the beginning, he had learned to get better. After all his own leader had believed him enough to grant his warrior name. All he had to do was shave off a few extra details, and she would see his story to match the scene on that stars-forsaken road. Sunnyday gone, for good, and his Clan none the wiser. It was for their benefit, he reasoned.

"He ran. For ShadowClan." Is all he can get out. ​
 

When the patrol returns, Flycatcher can quickly sense something is off. Something has happened. The cats on the patrol seemed on edge and it takes Flycatcher but a moment to realise Sunnyday was not with them. His eyes narrow suspiciously when he pads over to hear what happened, his mind racing with the possibility of the older tom having caused some trouble.

When Basilwhisker reveals that Sunnyday had left, Flycatcher can't help but raise his brows. "Sunnyday ran to ShadowClan?" Flycatcher echoes, not sure if he could fully believe what he was hearing. Although Flycatcher had once considered Sunnyday a friend, his actions in recent moons had soured his opinion of him greatly, even so he could not believe he would just leave. The tom could have chosen to leave when the clan nearly turned on him for what he did to his apprentices but he had endured and remained. Something had to have happened for him to suddenly leave. "Did something happen on the patrol? Did he say something before he left?"​
 
( ❄ ) The snowy tom glances up from where he had been peering down at the freshkill pile though decides to draw near noticing the patrol having returned and his warm gaze focused on Basilwhisker who seemed to be coughing, it made Hailstorm keep his distance and the warrior asked for Howlingstar. It didn't take long for the black tabby leader to arrive and question the whereabouts of Sunnyday, Hailstorm flicking an ear realizing that the tom was not with the rest of his patrol. Several questions popping into his mind wondering where Sunnyday had gone or could be, it was odd to return from a patrol and be missing a member or two.

These questions silenced immediately when Basilwhisker spoke. Sunnyday had ran for Shadowclan? The tom bit down on his tongue not wanting to speak just yet but he watched Howlingstar from the corner of his eye but his attention focused on Flycatcher as he asks what happened during the patrol.​
( O SOL PEDIU A ; LUA EM CASAMENTO )
 
————— ❁ —————
SOMETIMES I CAN'T BELIEVE IT
As soon as Lichenpaw's eyes meet Basilwhisker's, they rush over to join him.

Something is wrong, that much is clear. It takes a moment to notice the absence of Sunnyday; Lichenpaw can't say they much care for their own mentor, but they certainly do for their brother. He's coughing, is the first thing Lichenpaw notices, and his chest tightens in fear. But there's something more than that; Lichenpaw knows their brother well enough to tell when something is off. In his tone, in his eyes. He can't quite place it.

Sunnyday ran off to ShadowClan.They pause, for a moment, let that thought sink in. He probably didn't feel welcome anymore. Wonder why. They haven't spoken to him in moons, have been avoiding him. He was the one who welcomed them into ThunderClan, he was the one who dislocated Sandpaw's leg. Good riddance, is what Lichenpaw wants to say. It feels hollow, somehow. He had kept thinking he wanted to talk to the tom, once more, even if it were just to get his frustrations out. It feels strange to think that he just... left. Without a word to anyone.

Lichenpaw swallows. There's more important things to focus on. He pulls closer to Basilwhisker, blue eyes sharp. He speaks softer than Flycatcher, does not question Basilwhisker's story. Instead: "You okay, Basil?" he asks, voice pitched for his brother alone and eyes searching for — something. An answer he knows Basilwhisker won't give his other clanmates.
I'M MOVING PAST THE FEELING !
————— ❁ —————

.°❁ info ; visual
  • //
    ​
  • LICHENPAW named for the lichen on the trees of his home.
    — he/him or they/them. 13 moons.
    — thunderclan medicine cat apprentice, mentored by berryheart.
    — bears a near-permanent nervous grin.

    primary character, high activity. penned by saturnid.​
  • "SPEECH"
    ​
  • 66645992_9XglqEnKXn6q8TJ.png
​
 
⋆⍋ A savior for an excuse, Flycatcher's inquiry goes unanswered- for now. Another clear of his throat stalled his response. A grasp for more time to decide if he tells a half-truth or total lie, and partially because he can't seem to rid this cough. His attention is quickly captivated by Lichenpaw's arrival as he itched to get away from the crowd of curious cats.

"It started a few days ago, the coughing. It hasn't been this bad until today." The patrol especially made him feel winded, then rushing back to camp so quickly. He couldn't breathe in enough air until it was all tumbling out again in dry hacks and chokes. The tension and subsequent stress to what he had done was certainly no help to it all.

Though Basilwhisker's head hung low next to Lichenpaw's, his voice was loud enough for Flycatcher to hear. His answer. "We split up to hunt in pairs. Said he caught scent of mouse but I couldn't catch anything so I got suspicious and followed him. That's when I saw him run for the border. I waited, he didn't come back."

Basilwhisker leaned against his brother with a tired exhale. "I don't feel well." ​
 
As soon as the explanation leaves Basilwhisker's maw, Howlingstar is left in disbelief. Her maw hangs ajar, a hoarse "What?" leaving her lips in an instant. How could Sunnyday just...run to another clan? They didn't get along in the slightest, their relationship worsening as the moons go on, but she'd always held out hope he'd redeem himself someday, that he'd prove himself loyal and overcome his past mistakes. It is why, against everyone's wishes, she let him stay even after maiming Sandpaw. To hear this news, she is left distraught, claws sinking into the ground. "We're going there," she declares suddenly, whipping her tail. "Everyone on the patrol, lead me to where he ran." She doesn't care who wants to follow. Her eyes are narrowed into slits as she stalks towards the bramble tunnel to confront her ex-warrior.​
 

"GOLDEN CHILD, LION BOY;"​
"he ran. for shadowclan."

tufted ears shoot back at the revelation. not dead, running like the coward he is, always has been. it prompts more questioning, howlingstar and flycatcher act as if their ears deceive them. lichenpaw, seemingly unaffected, strides towards his brother with jaws parted in a quiet whisper. did he really not care? with their newfound power, why should they. called to a higher purpose, to serve starclan for his clan. his worries lied elsewhere, it made her pelt prickle.

basilwhisker speaks up again, a more thorough story of the events. by the time he had finished his retelling, sandpaw was hot. she seemed to have no care for his faint state as long steps brought her closer to the siblings. "you didn't try to stop him? just watched him leave?" there was a vicious rumble in her usually rasped voice. fueled by one injustice after another, she didn't deserve this.

sunnyday, the catalyst of all the things wrong with her. he got to run, leave thunderclan behind for a clean slate. would share his sob story of how he was ostracized in the oaks, needed refuge with those who would look at him with anything besides hate. no longer would he have to live with his mistakes, see the faces of cats he wrong every day. he would get to live free of it all, never have to stand to the consequences again. it filled her with such a rage that it made her muscles tremble. "how could you just let him go."

sharp teeth snapped through her words, for a moment her claws pushed into the dirt underfoot, retracted at howlingstar's words. sandpaw turned quickly over her shoulder, sparing a glare to basilwhisker before following quick on the leader's heels. she didn't care if she wasn't explicitly invited on the trip to the thunderpath, she had to see it for herself.​
✦ 𖤓 ✦​

 
It was no secret that Stormpaw disliked Sunnyday. He was the only ThunderClan cat she actively went out of her way to ostracize, and that was because of Sandpaw. Occasionally the young cat felt a bout of guilt whenever she looked at how miserable he was, but quickly soothed herself with the image of a broken Sandpaw and Howlingstar's stern eyes. Her leader knew what was right.

Still, despite the warrior's misery, she would have never expected him to go away from the Clan. If anything, his continuing, lingering persistent presence like a cockroach made her convinced that the golden-furred warrior was here to stay, for better or for worse, until Howlingstar had enough of him.

"And why ShadowClan?" She muttered, unable to hide her bewilderment. What good was there? It was dark, muggy, and hardly any prey lived there.

​
 
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