THIS IS NOT A DREAM // deer

[VERMILIONSUN]

WATCH THE FLAMES BURN AUBURN ON THE MOUNTAIN SIDE​

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Tick, tock. Tick, tock. The sound of the grandfather clock from his home city reverberated through his brain, and he found himself unable to sleep once again. After the battle, Vermilion was finding it hard to sleep in general. Having a fucked up eye wasn't fun, and the stinging pain only made it worse for himself. He'd washed off the blood, and he did such regularly- but it still stung, painfully so. As he stood up, the tom made his way over to a large pine tree, glaring at the massive plant. He wanted to sleep in it so, so badly. But he'd contain his eagerness for now. For all he knew, he could fall out and die.

What an interesting way to die. And on his grave, they'd say here lies the fucking moron who tried to climb a tree while half blind. He could imagine it now, with his colonymates all giggling in the background.

He groaned to himself, paw rubbing over the good side of his face before he continued on his way through his adventure. Only when he saw another familiar cat in the group did he slow, squinting his only eye in the darkness before he finally realized who it was.

"Deer! Deer! What're you doin' up so late? You know it's not safe out here with everything going on right now. What if those ghosts snatch you up? I'll have to fight ghosts then- ghosts, Deer!" He called out to the molly, flame pointed fur shaking itself out as he straightened out his appearance. He couldn't look like a fool in front of a molly now, could he?
​

 

[VERMILIONSUN]

WATCH THE FLAMES BURN AUBURN ON THE MOUNTAIN SIDE​

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The flame point watched the molly with curious eyes, before moving to slip in beside her- on the right side, where he could properly look at her. And where, well.. He wouldn't have to show her the gory claw marks across his left eye. His face turned to her as she spoke about the ghost's being their friends, and Vermilion frowned. How could ghosts be their friends? One of those said ghosts were familiar to him, Everest- He knew Spring would be upset hearing of his demise, but Aspen's death soon after was tragic as well. They had lost so many, suffered so much. And yet, they welcomed the sight of ghosts of battle with open arms.

In his attempt to at least hide his wound, it seemed she had caught sight of it anyways- and the fact that she didn't show any fear or disgust only made him relax in response. The wounded eyelid fluttered, but didn't open as he gave a soft chuckle. She always worried about others. She had a kind heart, and that left others to manipulate easier. There was a fierce protectiveness in Vermilion's gait when it came to Deer, but he wouldn't let it show too much. He didn't want anyone getting the wrong idea, after all. She was a molly all her own, and she didn't need him looming over her constantly.

"My eye is doing okay. It's the only thing majorly injured- I've got some healing scratches, though. Those two mollies really fought like lions. Amazing." A breathy response, then a smile following it- fighting was fun to him, and a cat that could fight properly was even more fun. They fought like their lives depended on it- well, it did, so it seemed. He wouldn't kill a molly, he'd told himself that when he came into the fight. Perhaps he was too nice to them, perhaps he was an idiot. "I couldn't sleep because of the stinging pain in my eye. But now that I've found you, I guess a little walk wouldn't hurt. If you find one of your starry friends, feel free to tell me." He joked playfully, elbowing the molly with a big grin. He didn't believe that the starry pelts he saw meant anything. If they were there, what else was out there other than the starry pelts of their colonymates? More danger? Pondering the existence of things like this would rot his brain.

"I watched cats die not far from me today. I'm.. I'm glad you're okay. If I lost you, I'd be a bit sad, y'know? You're my friend, and I'm thankful you stayed behind.. But the fight is over now, and we can make up for our friends' deaths by working harder to protect what belongs to us." ​

 

[VERMILIONSUN]

WATCH THE FLAMES BURN AUBURN ON THE MOUNTAIN SIDE​

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His tail whisps behind him as he turns to follow Deer through the forest, gently pressed over her back in a protective flick. As Deer led him deeper into the forest, Vermilion kept his ears perked up just in case another Marshland cat decided to go for round two. While he wasn't happy with the idea of fighting again, he'd do it if it meant protecting Deer. His eye shifted around the darkened forest, and there was a bristle of unease on his spine- but otherwise, his smile remained. He kept Deer distracted enough, he thought.

As a firefly landed on his nose, he scrunched it up- snatched from his paranoid thoughts and back into reality with Deer. He was reminded, then, that this was what caring for someone was like. Her question seemed sorrowful, and Vermilion found himself pondering the thought. As he always did, it seemed. "We all die eventually. I think.. Some things kill us faster than others, I guess?" Ver answered calmly, a shrug of his shoulders following. "I don't think the fighting will ever stop, Deerling. I think it's just the way of the world. A world we stepped into willingly. I just didn't think it'd be this bad."​

 

[VERMILIONSUN]

WATCH THE FLAMES BURN AUBURN ON THE MOUNTAIN SIDE​

---

Deer's resolution, her belief in the stars something he couldn't understand. He wanted to believe in something bigger than himself, but the idea of stars telling them what was right and wrong- it seemed so silly to him. But he wouldn't bash her for it, nor judge her. He was better than that. Some people need something to believe in to give them hope, and Deer was one of those people. He watches her gaze as it travels the skies above, and the thought crossed his mind for a moment.

If we could stay like this forever, I'd be okay with it.

She travels over to a low-hanging tree, and Vermilion seems to stand there for a moment; lost. Then, with a big grin, he walked closer and nudged her towards the tree. "You go first. I don't mind climbing, just don't laugh if I end up tumbling down." He chuckled, before waiting for her to jump up first.​

 

[VERMILIONSUN]

WATCH THE FLAMES BURN AUBURN ON THE MOUNTAIN SIDE​

---

Vermilion watched as the femme launched herself with powerful muscles up, up, up until she scrambled onto the first branch with grace. He paced along the bottom of the tree, calculating the distance between the ground and the first branch. He squinted his eyes, tail lashing behind him as he prepared himself to jump. His ears flicked forward, perked in focus as he bunched his muscles, launching himself onto the tree truck, using his back legs to push himself up while his front legs pulled him up. His tail kept his balance, with eyebrows furrowed in intense focus. With the weight he carried with being so large, it made it a bit harder for him to climb- and yet, he made it up, leaving missing chunks of tree bark behind.

Settling beside Deer with a grin, she shook pieces of tree bark from his paws before finally sitting. He glanced to the next branch, before grinning towards the other femme.

"Higher? We'd have a better view of the sky. Maybe your ghost buddies are watching, hm?"​