TO BURY THIS BENEATH MY BED ♡ reminiscing

[HOUNDHEART]

( ♡ ) "Oh, I was a nasty piece of work." Houndheart revealed honestly, laying lazily in the sun. Her past wasn't exactly a topic for polite conversation, but it wasn't a secret. Here, she kept no secrets. Her company for the evening, a younger warrior who knew her as nothing nothing other than a Skyclanner, had insisted their interest in hearing about who she had been. Despite the new topic of conversation, she tried to keep her tone light. "Back then, I would have fit back in better among the ranks of Windclan than here." A soft snort left her. "All I cared about was my next meal, and I didn't much care what I had to do to get it. Or who I had to do it to."

With a glance up at the bright sky above, she weighed her words for a moment. Hearing herself speak made her old self sound like the dog she was named for. A cruel animal who cared for no one, only stalking the shadows in search of its next meal. Which wasn't as far from the reality as she would have liked. That said, it wasn't the full truth either. "Not to say I didn't have friends." For a moment she paused, then smiled slightly and added; "Or lovers, for that matter. You might not believe it, but I was actually quite the catch back in the day." Houndheart let out a low, rumbling laugh that she seemed to pull up from her belly. Her smile pulled so wide that it showed her teeth. Slowly, that laughter faded, and with it her smile. "I was always distant though. At the end of the day, there was only one cat I was looking out for, and everyone else was on their own. All those that knew me understood that, and if they didn't - well - then we didn't tend to get along."

After a moment of silence, she punctuated her words with a big, rolling shrug. There was nothing else to add. Houndheart could spill all the details, stop being vague and reveal all the blood that lay in her wake. But that tended to make even the curious ones like her new friend lose their appetite.

She could say she regretted it.

But after how often she had spoken them, those words had begun to feel dry in her mouth.

Slowly she raised herself to her paws, taking a moment to let herself stretch out with a low grunt. "I'm hungry." She declared suddenly. "Are you hungry? I could grab you something from the fresh kill pile." ​

( MY DARLING; THE DEVIL KNOWS MY NAME )

 

[Fireflyglow]

Fireflypaw was always the type to enjoy listening to the stories older SkyClanners had to tell. The adventures of those who were older than him were always much more interesting than his own adventures so far. So when Houndheart had offered to ramble on about her own life in the past, Fireflypaw was excited to lay down and listen to her. His paws crossed over each other politely as he lay, blind blue eyes staring off into the distance as she spoke. She sounded like she used to be such a rogue! "Do you ever miss your life, back then?" He asks curiously, nodding towards her as she offers to grab them something to eat. He waits for more cats to arrive, but until then, he'd be the best listener possible.

"When I was a kit, my mom and dad shared visitation with the rest of my litter- so we got to travel between ThunderClan and SkyClan often. Back and forth. It was a fun trek, even more fun with all of my siblings together." He remarks sadly, though he doesn't let his bright smile fall from his lips. He refuses to let himself be openly sad about his siblings when all they thought of him was traitor. He worries his lip between his teeth for a moment before he readjusts himself, laying on his side.

"What do you think of the Clans?" He asks curiously, always one for gossip.​

SKYCLAN MEDICINE CAT APPRENTICE ✦ 11 MOONS ✦ CHUNKY, BIG-FOOTED SEAL POINT ✦ TAGS​

 

[TWITCHBOLT]

Twitchbolt had barely been born when the Great Battle had happened. The ideologies clashing around him were clamour that kit-ears were largely deaf to, more concerned with pleasing his parents by doing largely-meaningless errands. When the Clans had been formed he only recalled a general mist of confusion, and a solemn air permeating the camp for many days following the battle. That was when he had been named, too. Twitchkit. A name his mother and father had loved so much that they never stopped using it.

What do you think of the Clans? It was a question that snagged Twitchbolt's attention immediately, and wide eyes shifted toward the conversation. It was an interesting question to ask someone who had lived long before the Clans, the life that Twitchbolt knew, had been formed. Fireflypaw was the same- they'd never known anything else. Despite his apprehension, he settled nearby, catching Houndheart's eye and offering her a small, dithering smile.

He hoped he didn't look odd by lingering. If he caught even the beginnings of a glare he'd turn around, pretend he was never here. Was always good to have a plan B, wasn't it?​

penned by pin ✧​

 

[CROWSIGHT]

Crowkit didn't have much of history compared to these cats, so he isn't sure what he could really say other than his name and who his family is. The thing is that Twitchbolt and Fireflypaw already know who he is, so it seems pointless to repeat that information. How odd it must be for those two to see him away from his mother, after all, it was Lupinekit who usually did the socializing. The kitten had missed what Houndheart said entirely, but he decided to waddle over when he hears Fireflypaw say miss. The kitten himself doesn't quite understand too much of what the older cats say, but the words sound interesting. He has no idea that there's a concept of missing something in the past. If you were to ask him if he missed something or someone from the past he couldn't answer properly. If anything he would say his father, but he's never met the guy or knew his name. His father existence is akin to a ghost whom he's haunted by. All he can assume is that he, along with his siblings take after their father.

Thunderclan sparks interest. He knows what Skyclan is because Cherrykit has told him that this is what his home, their home is called. She also went into extensive detail on how awesome her own mother is, but nothing that pertained to other clans. Heck, he doesn't even know they exist. All he knows is Skyclan that he simply assumed Skyclan is all there is, so when Thunderclan is brought up he is confused. So much so he speaks up, "Fryerfry, what a Dunderclahn? Cl-clahns?" He turns to face the medicine cat apprentice, whiskers twitching.​

 

[HOUNDHEART]

( ♡ ) As she grabbed two mice from the pile by the tail, one for her and one for Fireflypaw, she gave a small start at his words. Padding back to him, she dropped one between his paws and one between her own. Slowly, she lowed herself back to her seat, but she did not take a bite. Her appetite seemed to have left her as she chewed on the question, and she rolled her mouse aimlessly between her paws. The right answer was no. By her own admission, what she had done had been wrong. The truthful answer... "I do, sometimes." Houndheart breathed reluctantly, each work like an admission of guilt. "It was simpler. I did whatever I pleased and dealt with the consequences later." Even when the consequences were horrific, and could never be fixed.

"I couldn't go back to it though." Was the only defense she could provide herself. The only honest one, at least. "I don't have the stomach for it anymore." With that last word, she tore into her mouse. Eat, she reminded herself, eat. For shame. Never grow so content as to play with your food.

As she ate, Houndheart noticed Twitchbolt set himself nearby. In return to his small smile she paused in the midst of her meal to offer a nod. He was welcome to join their company if he liked. This was hardly a private conversation.

Fireflypaw spoke again, and she focused her good eye back on him. She remembered what he spoke of, when he and he siblings had to come all the way from Thunderclan every time they wanted to visit. Her ear flicked. The sadness in his tone reminded her of how poorly that had ended.

"What happened to you and yours was a tragedy." Her mood turned suddenly sour. "That's the type of mess that makes me miss the simpler times. The clans complicate things. A kit should be with their family, easy as that, its all these rules that make it so difficult for everyone. They confuse what should be common sense." Houndheart grumbled gruffly, shaking her head. She roughly tore the last of the flesh of the bones of the mouse she was eating.

Fireflypaw's next words caused her eyes to widen a little. She let out a small snort. That was a big question. It deserved, she thought, a big answer. "Don't mistake my groaning, life wasn't better before the clans. Far from it. Alone, only the strongest, meanest cats survive. Though even for those there is sometimes something to be found in working together, looking out for each other, and all that mush. Before the clans, viscous groups like the marsh group would just tear through whoever was in their way, taking whatever they wanted and then finding something new to want. Their members fearing nothing but each other. Windclan is like that, but here they've got things to be afraid of. The stars and the other clans keep them from running rampant. That's what makes sure that even they, as terrible as they are, have to follow the warrior code." For a moment she paused, weighing her words, then summarized; "For all the complicated messes the clans can cause, they are the safest place for a kit to grow up that I have ever known."

Before she could say any further, Crowkit scampered in, asking questions about the clans. The instant she laid her eye on him she immediately perked back up, chuckling at his innocent question. "Well aren't you a curious little thing! Don't worry kid. Just listen close and I promise you'll learn all about Dunderclan and all the rest."

Houndheart pulled herself to a straighter sitting position and cleared her throat self-importantly, shooting the kit a toothy grin. "So, there are five clans in total, Thunderclan, Shadowclan, Riverclan, Windclan, and Skyclan - that's us. Thunderclan has scuffled with us and stolen from Riverclan, but they aren't so bad. Howlingstar though, I can't trust. Don't get me wrong, I like her, but she seems too much like me for me to trust her." A laugh, sharp as her teeth, pulled itself from the molly. "Shadowclan has their roots in the marsh group, and you can tell it from how they act. Chilledstar is better than Pitch or Briar before them, but that's the nicest thing I can think to say. Riverclan has been a stalwart ally, even if Cicadastar seems to have lost his head. Sootstar I am not certain if ever had a good head on her shoulders to begin with, and her clan shows it. If Starclan blinked I think Windclan would drag us all back to how it was before. And finally..." Her good eye found Fireflypaw again. "Your father is the best of them. He has done good work making this clan what it is. I know he and I aren't exactly friends, but he has my respect." ​

( MY DARLING; THE DEVIL KNOWS MY NAME )

 

[TWITCHBOLT]

Twitchbolt found himself easily lost in the words of someone wiser than himself, taking in their unfathomable moons of experience eagerly despite what his shivering demeanour might suggest. Houndheart was no exception; and it was clear she was enjoying telling the tale, even if it was a lot to give them. Life before the Clans was a blur to Twitchbolt- he had been there, but he had been young and largely unaware of the politics happening around him. Rain's face was a smudge in his memory, a vision of a smile and nothing else. From Houndheart's reminiscing, a part of Twitchbolt felt glad he was not old enough to fight back then.

Her assessment of the leaders was equally as interesting- he hoped Crowkit, who had toddled over in a surge of babbling curiosity, could understand at least some of it. The bicolour tom's own head bobbed along with her words, and his smile grew a little more certain as he heard her settle on her conclusion about Blazestar. The best of them. Seemed as if his parents had made at least one good decision- keeping him here, instead of moving somewhere else.

"Good to know it's... wise that I've- I've never doubted," he said, tone light and peppered with humour, though a keen truth lay covered beneath the surface.​

penned by pin ✧​

 

[QUILLSTRIKE]

DARK BLUE, DARK BLUE, HAVE YOU EVER BEEN ALONE IN A CROWDED ROOM?​

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Somewhere in Houndhearts tale, Quillstrike had made his way over, a quiet, looming shadow that settled beside Twitchbolt without a word. The chimera hadn't been around camp much after the disappearances of Thistleback and Honeysplash, preferring the isolation of the pine forest to the pitying looks of his clanmates. It reminded him too much of how they'd looked at him when he'd first show up as some angry kid with too man scars for it to be anything but sinister, terrified of some monster he refused to ever speak about.

Today though, he'd found himself longing for something familiar; for a pelt of cream and mahogany and a kinked tail.

Pointed ears tipped toward the older feline as they spoke, quietly zoning in on their story and secretly happy to have something to listen to and follow along with, words that could occupy his mind that he didn't have to personally supply. And it was interesting. Quill had joined after the clans had formed, and as someone who steered clear of the other clans outside of patrols and fights, he'd never really learned much about them or their leaders. If anything, the stories were at least informative, and Quill found himself content to simply sit there and listen alongside his friend.
​

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skyclan - male - 16 months (Feb 17th) - bisexual - homoromantic - a very tall, dark chimera tomcat with mismatched eyes and several scars. has bluejay feathers woven like spikes along his spine and neck.