THE UGLY-HEARTED | bat

[ThistleBack]

He moves like a shadow, with a skull white muzzle pinched at the bridge of his nose with his sempiternal gurn. Bowed knuckle paws carry him, this thorn furred being flickers through the pine kingdom. A wisp of purple, withered collar wagging at his scarred neck. He walks with Bat, as camp is lit by the social candle of new arrivals he does not wish to see Bat overwhelmed so he had bumped shoulder with the man and lead him to the forest for a hunt. This hunt would sooner turn into a walk, adrenaline too high to focus.

" you rushed to battle without hesitance " his words a flat statement, pallid stare searching a coat of two toned earthly brown. As if it would show his soul, under the skin and sinew, he seeks to peel away the layers but in time. Time, a tune Thistleback knew the rhythm well. " that was brave " he starts, allowing this praise to settle in the air of the forest they stand in alone. Hunting, originally, but it could wait.

" but you are a man grown, without need of my praise. " he whips his tail, " you are victorious today… but that chaotic and ravenous style will not hold up against a trained warrior. It will sooner get you killed… but… your size doesn’t stand in your way, that’s good " all wild animals fight like that, violent spasms that come natural and yield results as per the design of instincts. Everything had the potential to fight, but did they have the ability to control. Combat could be a dance, acrobatic and calculated. Even within the white rage of war, where everything goes blank and cold.

" have you ever taken a cat's life before? " he shifts the subject like a turning tide, chin hanging low and curved to meet green and yellow eyes. His own were clinquant in their colorless search for emotion, twin spades digging at the soil of Bat’s mysteries.

⛤ OOC INFORMATION REFERENCE ⛤

• — @Bat
  
  
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  forty-eight mns. EVENT TRACKER | IMPORTANT INFO
  — Former Lead warrior of Skyclan 12.22.22 - 06.2023
  — Father of Coyotecrest, Eveningsun and Scorpionpaw
  — mentoring Teeveepaw formerly Snowpath & Quillstrike
  — very muscular piebald black and white tom with spiky fur and cold silver-grey eyes.
  — voice & accent
  — biography･ﾟ✧​
  OPEN for Dice battles | stine#3004
  
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​

 

[Batscreech]

There was something different about Bat's demeanor on this particular day- vacant and hollow, but not in the way he usually was- no, this time it was rooted in fear, memories flooding throughout every crevice of his brain broken down and poorly rebuilt into something similar to what it once was, but not entirely. Pieces of a puzzle forcibly pieced together into places they should not have fit, it was so easy for them to come loose now, falling away one by one until eventually, there was nothing again, just as before. He had retreated into himself entirely ever since facing the rogues at the border- he would replay the event in his mind repeatedly, the way it slowly meshed and warped into that night making it impossible to differentiate whether or not it was real- nothing truly did anymore. They were not real, these cats he struck down with insatiable bloodlust- they were simply shadows cast against the ground in tune with the suns bright cascade. His claws tearing flesh- just sharpening ivory talons against trees. Sickeningly thick blood seeping into his fur- it was only the sap flowing freely from the canopy overhead as he walked beneath heavy laden trees. Yowls of desperation in a harrowing plea for mercy, a means to keep their life- nothing more than the sound of squabbling birds overhead, or barks echoing from annoyed foxes in the distance. Every blow cast to him fell away like rainwater upon leaves, the ache and sting coming only after all had been said and done, sensations coming much too late so that he would be forced to reconcile with what was now another mark of the past.

Now, he walked alongside Thistleback- his presence a subconscious anchorage to a mind incapable of comprehensible thought, a body moving along with little soul to drive it forward. He had been informed of their task as they slipped silently out of the stifling confines of the SkyClan camp, and yet Bat heard nothing more than a muffled string of words that he could no longer understand. He had no venomous remark to make, no look of potent disdain to throw into the way of anyone who came too close- he hardly even reacted to the physical touch of his newfound mentor in his attempt to guide him into the depths of the forest. His head hung low as they continued on, one paw in front of the other, their strides falling in with one another at a leisurely pace, all intention to hunt being cast aside for the sake of conversation- or perhaps interrogation. The sound of a rumbling voice brought Bat just a little bit closer to reality- not entirely, but just enough so that he could at least understand.

You rushed to battle without hesitance...That was brave.

Bat could not yet bring himself to speak, his thoughts coming forth much quicker than his mouth could keep up with, or that it was ready for. Bravery...Or stifled desire...? How difficult it was for him to differentiate the two. When placed in a situation where another's life is at stake, one that is not your own- your dormant ravenous hunger for violence could very well be concealed under the guise of nobility. He did not know the cat he so quickly ran forth to aid- he didn't care about her, nor did he particularly care for his own clanmates. Why would he? He hardly knew any of them- so for what reason would he so eagerly jump into the jaws of danger for, if not for self indulgence? To soothe the beast that never truly left the cavern within his chest, his heart replaced with its bitter anguish? He could not answer it for himself, for his own words he had long since learned not to trust. The two-toned tom beside him continued with a more elaborate speech, though Bat once again began to lose himself, the words flowing over his head and around his flanks like a gentle breeze, unregistered and passing on without acknowledgement. However, what came next...

Have you ever taken a cat's life before?

Bat stopped in his tracks then, entirely still for many moments as he fought to bring himself back into the present, his glassy optics visibly shaking with the effort paired with a labored breathing pattern. He seemed panicked now. He had killed countless cats in his lifetime, and the one lost on this day had been nothing more than another flash of color across his field of vision, soon to be forgotten and placed at the very back of his mind- but him- it was him who he had truly killed, he who mattered the most, he who was everything and nothing all at once, he who stole everything from Bat and left him reborn from the hell he had created for them all. He had taken many lives, but his life would forever be the only one with any genuine meaning.

"...None worth recountin.'" His words betrayed him now, for he lied through his teeth. He held more worth than the world itself, the concept of even entertaining the idea of him being anything less made Bat feel sick enough to begin retching then and there. He returned Thistlebacks gaze, his own eyes suddenly growing hazy and wet as emotion welled within them, threatening to burst from the surface. His mentor, with a ghostly gaze, hardened on the outside but retaining something so tender beneath- protected and untouched, guarded heavily by those who possessed them. Bat was sure he could tell there was no truth to be found in his statement, but his eyes- oh, those exhausted, hollowed eyes- the soul inside of them screamed silently now, desperate in their attempt to release what they were forced to keep locked away for so long- too long.​

 

[ThistleBack]

Killers they both were, in different respects but tied in the act of tooth and claw delivering a soul to an eternal sleep. He could still taste the copper of Kuiper’s blood, still feel the large cat succumb to his jaws clamping down on his throat and nails digging through vitals. A part of him regrets it, the family man who had shown his beloved friends and family just what he was capable of. Another part, did not detest the taste of revenge. To put right the wrong, to bring the culprits to a bitter justice. There was no such thing as a second chance or forgiveness if he had his paws on the mold of the world.

This is why this moment resonates between himself and the cat who had been nothing but an annoyance. A small cat with a large mouth, though Thistleback sought to do his due diligence by teaching him the ways of Skyclan he had not been interested in much further until now. A cat who has proven victorious in battle, despite the odds. Now that, made his grey eyes hungry in the way they were as he scouted prospects along the twolegplace border. He wanted for hearts both warm for their clanmates and cold for their enemies. So cold it could bring about winter. He knew he had this with Quillstrike, but now sparks fly with his sudden attention on Bat. Moving forward, he would focus on the man before his shadowing was up.

With the brown cat’s pause, Thistleback’s eyes did not move from their eyes. They shake, perhaps the stir of thoughts and emotion. Some things, clearly bottled up for too long and left for angry words to spew in the place of what should be genuine. A wicked part of Thistleback nods to this with encouragement, he too kept things buried. Emotions were mere interference with what could be a fully optimal being. He had done this by falling in love with Deersong. He would not be so easily deterred from his path of clarity. He knew all that mattered was the perseverance of his clan and the cats he wished to inspire. All of this before he was too old to do so.

none worth recountin. , a lie so feeble it could snap in half before greeting his ears " that’s good. " he affirms, eyes slitting a bit as he gauges their reaction, he could see the burden of emotion in those yellow flecked forest eyes so clear. It was like seeing cones through the nettle. " Every warrior should be a killer " he whispers, controversial words threaded sweetly in a way.

" that cat deserved to die. " he speaks firmly, drawing closer he reaches a paw and lays it on his shoulder. " Just remember to count. Otherwise you’ll grow cold… it’s important to feel " he counters the other’s choice of words, because ultimately. Once you try to detach from it, you’ll go numb. Though stifled in nature, emotions were important.

⛤ OOC INFORMATION REFERENCE ⛤

• —
  
  
• 
  
  
  
  forty-eight mns. EVENT TRACKER | IMPORTANT INFO
  — Former Lead warrior of Skyclan 12.22.22 - 06.2023
  — Father of Coyotecrest, Eveningsun and Scorpionpaw
  — mentoring Teeveepaw formerly Snowpath & Quillstrike
  — very muscular piebald black and white tom with spiky fur and cold grey eyes.
  — voice & accent
  — biography･ﾟ✧​
  OPEN for Dice battles | stine#3004
  
• 
  
  

​