tragic melody ;; trespasser?

[VERMILIONSUN]

WATCH THE FLAMES BURN AUBURN ON THE MOUNTAIN SIDE​

---

// tldr: vermilion had disappeared from skyclan after the first gathering, with no word to anyone. he's back, looking more gnarlier than ever. he's trespassing, hunting on skyclan territory while teaching two rogues from the twolegplace how to hunt. these cats may VERY FAINTLY smell of windclan and shadowclan, though the scent is nearly faded due to them having been gone from said clans for the longest of times. the younger cat, tiny, is from windclan. cats with sensitive noses will pick up the musk. though, all three of them smell primarily like trash, metal, and rain. all are very heavily scarred, with both fresh and old wounds scarred over.


He'd disappeared two moons ago, after the first gathering- he vaguely remembered the walk back to camp, the silent tension in the air. He'd heard rumors of the drama that happened at the second gathering, though one could only assume how he'd found out about the gossip when he wasn't anywhere near camp. He couldn't remember what finally had made him leave Deersong's side, his apprentice's side. His brother had been by his side since, though- that was something he could remember. His brother, separated from him by his own choice- a twin, except his eye didn't look as fucked up as Vermilionsun's did. He'd stared at the stars night after night, wondering if the chestnut and cream molly thought about him. They were friends, best friends- perhaps the world had forsaken him in that manner.

Family always meant more to him than Friends. His decision had proved it.

He'd packed up that night, and left while the molly was asleep. He'd remembered the very look on his twin brother's face as he arrived to their makeshift camp in the twolegplace, old abandoned trash cans piling up and sheltering the scared cats beneath them. He was meant to be there, alongside his brother. But he'd never thought that he'd be gone for so long.

Amber paws carried the tom through the forest, familiar and yet rustic in memory- it's been a while, after all. Perhaps she would be happy to see him again- or perhaps she would turn away from him, grow angry for his abandonment. Blazestar, a cat he could never quite understand; he'd not be welcome here, he was paranoid of it. But if he could see her one last time.. Just once more, he would be okay. He could carry on, then.

Though, this was only meant to be a hunting experience for the two raggedy looking cats behind him. Their faces scarred, fucked up from life's battles on the streets. Being a street cat wasn't the most fun life to live, after all. He'd seen his tragedies in two months, seen kits wither away from a sickness that swallowed them too fast for them to treat. They didn't have medicine cats in the city, it was nothing like the clans- and carrying the sick kit to SkyClan might have done more damage than good. He'd held mothers as they weeped for their dead child, sobbing and throwing themselves at him to soothe their pain. He grimaced at the thought, but he remained poised. He wasn't of SkyClan anymore, but he hadn't heard anything about them attacking cats trying to hunt.

Why would they do it now?

"Nice catch, Talon." He praised the gnarly, older tom that had caught a squirrel not to far ahead of him, the soft-spoken tom nodding his head gruffly in his own show of thanks. The other, a more scrawny and nervous-looking tom, stood tucked close to his side; not that Vermilionsun minded. His whip-like tail draped over the tom's back, reassuring him. "You will catch one. Just keep trying, Tiny."​

Last edited: Jul 8, 2022

 

[~Deersong~]

𝐵𝓊𝓉 𝓎𝑜𝓊 𝓀𝓃𝑜𝓌, 𝐼 𝒿𝓊𝓈𝓉 𝓌𝒶𝓃𝓉 𝓎𝑜𝓊 𝒶𝓈 𝓎𝑜𝓊 𝒶𝓇𝑒​

---

Pawsteps of feathered grace would carry a molly of fawn, mocha, and cream through the pine forest that Skyclan called home. At her side was her ever-present apprentice, and the pair were at the head of a small patrol that had been called to remark their borders. Deersong was in the middle of telling @Snowpaw about what stones could be good for keeping nightmares away when an unfamiliar scent touched her nose.

Her half-tail would touch Snowpaw's shoulder as a silent signal to stop and after scenting the air she would turn her head to meow to him softly, "Do you smell that, Snowpaw? It would seem we have some intruders in the territory. You stick close to me, do you copy?" She would walk forward then, her expression still friendly but there was a firmness to it now, one she had adopted since becoming a lead warrior.

She would spot the older tom first and as she stepped forward into view she would begin to speak, "What it is, brotha'? This is Skyclan territory, Is there something we can-"

She cuts off suddenly, her entire frame going rigid, and her usually half-lidded eyes would blow fully open, widening as they settled on an all too familiar scarred face. It couldn't be..."V-...Vermillionsun?" Her voice cracked as she spoke the name and she took a hesitant step forward as if she thought the tom was simply an illusion that would fizzle away if she got too close. But with each paw step, she drew closer before she could practically reach out and touch the flame point.

"Is it really you, Ver?" Her voice would waver, like a pool of ice about to crack her aqua pools would meet his singular sapphire, "W-Where have you been? Why did you just...leave?" She looked pained as the questions left her before she could really form a thought. Her eyes flickered over his face as she if the answers could be found written in the features there. Her half-tail would flick anxiously.

She was overjoyed to see her best friend returned and, most importantly, alive; but she also wanted answers. Her mind flickered back to that morning, awaking to find Vermillionsun gone without so much as a goodbye and though she wanted to be angry, Deersong could not bring her gentle soul to the emotion. Instead, she would take a deep breath and sigh heavily before smiling at the tom and his companions, "I suppose those questions can be answered later. Who are your friends here?" Her ethereal gaze would turn to the older tom and then the younger at Vermillionsuns' side.

​

 

[ThistleBack]

The thorny piebald had diverted from the warrior-apprentice duo’s path claws clambering at first with the sudden and violent slash of his paws- he was so used to climbing metal fences he often forgot to use a softer grapple with pine bark. Silver eyes laid on the wiry spool of a bird’s nest. His spine slithers with the swing of his limbs that bring him up the pine until he’s planted on the branch and quickly crooks his neck to spot Deer and Snow. She was telling the kid something but he couldn’t hear- but Deersong’s voice raises as she greets someone.

Thistleback glances back at the nest with three featherless chicks, giving it the grace of his pardon- he pivots with balance before kicking off the branch to the next tree. The nettles thrash with his weight and the limb groans- he peers down from the tree to see the three battle-worn rogues. His hackles twitch, a rogue had attacked Deersong just recently- so instinctually his lips lift with snarl and he scrabbles down the pine bark- showering the grass and landing with a thud a tail-length or two from the lot of them.

’why did you just….leave?’, Deersong’s voice is lilted in a sort of tragic and fragile betrayal. Thistleback’s snarl is gone before he hit the ground but his scowl is fixed. Vermillonsun, he didn’t know the tom well at all, but he was once a Skyclanner. Now- it seemed his tail wagged for different cats. He left for these ragtags? To each their own- but don’t hurt her. Obviously, they were close. Something dark twisted in his gut, his jaw rotates and he slides his fangs together- considering how he felt about this.

" starting to look like a gang " he voices with an accented tongue, eyes slitted and flicking from feline to feline with a scowl that melts into a smile but its without warmth or welcome, just a sideways sly accusatory stare decorated with teeth. " come to join back with us, with cuts and bones here? " he nicknames the pair cruelly. One being the eldest and one being the scrawniest, both worse for wear.

​

OOC INFO REF

• —
  
  
• — Thistleback | thirty moons | cis-male
  — daylight warrior of Skyclan
  — bisexual | crushing on Deersong
  — very muscular piebald black and white tom with spiky fur and cold silver-grey eyes. Wears a purple collar with brass clasp.
  
• 
  
  

​

 

[BLAZESTAR]

╭── ⋅ ⋅ ── ✩ ── ⋅ ⋅ ──╮​

Blazestar had not been far behind Deersong and Snowpaw, @butterflypaw at his heels, when he scented the harsh and powerful stench of the Twolegplace. Trash, Thunderpath fumes, metal -- it's all there, overpowering anything else for the flame point. He tenses, his smile disappearing as he pads beside his lead warrior and Thistleback.

Vermilionsun. He'd been one of SkyClan's warriors once. Blazestar had known him since Rain had been leader, since before the Clans had become unified. He looks worse for wear, scarred and thin and grimy, and the cats with him are even worse. The older rogue with him, a heavily scarred tomcat, holds a squirrel in his jaws. SkyClan's squirrel.

Blazestar is conflicted, looking from Deersong to Thistleback for a moment. Vermilionsun used to be a SkyClan warrior, and he knows the borders well. He'd led these cats into their forest for the sole purpose of poaching prey.

"I would like an explanation," he says, voice soft. "The prey in this forest belongs to SkyClan. And you used to know that well, Vermilionsun."

No, he'd never driven any cats from their territory before, not once. He does not believe he will do it now, unless the rogues with Vermilionsun become hostile. Or, StarClan forbid, the flame point rogue himself does. But Blazestar has felt the chill in the air, had seen the leaves fall from the trees in ThunderClan. That squirrel, the squirrel that could have fed SkyClan kits, is now hanging from the jaws of a cat who does not fight or hunt for SkyClan at all.

- ,,​

​

 

[butterflytuft]

Butterflypaw doesn't know this cat. She hides behind Blazestar and the other SkyClanners, peering out from the safety they provided with wide yellow eyes. She's never encountered rogues before. Would they shred her to pieces, like the stories? Use her bones to pick their teeth after they'd finished gobbling her up? There was a point in time she had thought the cats of SkyClan would do that to her, back when Blazestar and Bugpaw had first found her. Now, the perceived danger is elsewhere - it's these cats, scarred and mangled and scary. Even worse, it seems her clanmates know one of the cats. Have they been enemies for long? Is he back with his friends to finish the job? The terrifying thought causes a whimper to escape the cowardly apprentice and she doesn't dare speak, only able to watch in silence from behind the older cats.​

 

[COSMOSBLOOM]

He trudges along with the patrol, snowy paws falling in place beside his mentor's. His new mentor, an embarrassing clarification to have to utter.

Other apprentices didn't have their mentors disappear. Other apprentices didn't need replacement mentors.

And yet, here Cosmospaw stood.

He'd woken up early that morning, all excited for his day of training. He'd waited patiently for Vermilionsun - his mentor, who never arrived. Cosmospaw had asked everyone he could whether or not they'd seen him anywhere. A question, evidently, that he'd find himself repeating just over a moon later, Finchcatcher's name in Vermilionsun's place.

The apprentice doesn't know why those he cares about keeps disappearing, keeps leaving him behind. Was it all his fault? Had he done something to scare Vermilionsun off? Should he have paid a bit more attention to his mentor's words? Should he have forgiven Finchcatcher? Talked to him more often?

Cosmospaw isn't sure.

He pauses as he smells something. Something he cannot place, though has a tinge of familiarity. Cosmospaw isn't sure why it feels so familiar, that is, not until a voice reaches ginger ears. Those he patrols with come across a familiar face, though more mangled than what it was the last time he'd seen it.

Vermilionsun, two others in tow. One that looked like they might a replacement for Cosmospaw.

"You're back...?" he asks, slowly, uncertainty hanging in his voice. He knows not to hope, knows the likelihood of the former SkyClanner turning around and leaving. Besides, the Vermilionsun before him didn't seem to be the same Vermilionsun he once knew.
​

 

[VERMILIONSUN]

WATCH THE FLAMES BURN AUBURN ON THE MOUNTAIN SIDE​

---

The first to arrive is the oaken-colored female he had called his best friend once, Deersong. He'd thought about her first, when he left- the hesitance in his eyes only betrayed the momentary shock of seeing the femme so soon, the surprise that it was her, and not some other SkyClanner who'd chase him out. No, Deersong of all people would question him- his intentions. She'd want answers, and answers weren't something Vermilionsun could give. His paw is quick to shove Tiny behind him, scarred ears pushing back against his head. Measuring her body language, testing her reaction. "What's got 'yer fur all in a tizzle, Red?" The voice interrupts his thoughts, all-consuming as they were. He hadn't realized he had tensed up so visibly at the sight of Deersong, but he spares a singular glance towards the older tom. He's suspicious. Rightfully so. "You know this broad?" Talon speaks, those gods forsaken nicknames these cats have given him. Red suits you better! You're much more red than your brother. Y'know? They'd sworn to him, over and over again. He finds no comfort in the nicknames, not any longer. Deersong's voice disrupts him again, spinning his brain in a whirl.

"W-Where have you been? Why did you just...leave?"

Her voice is so sweet, so heart-wrenching. And yet, he finds nothing other than softness in himself in return- he wasn't going back to this place. Not for as long as he could control himself. She looks so heart-broken over him, and there's a sick feeling in his gut because of it. Satisfaction. He'd been able to make her like that, missing him so much. He meant the world to her, back then- but just as quickly as he's prepared himself for a response, that heartbroken face is replaced with an avoidant one- distant. She was a Warrior, after all. Through and through. She's moved on by now, and the arrival of another proves that.

Vermilionsun is no fool. He knows competition when he sees it. He saw it in Lionsnarl, and he will continue to see it. His eyes narrow on the silver and raven-colored tom, comparable in size to himself, but much more well fed. Hardened, by something he couldn't quite explain. He's a Warrior, though the collar marks him as a kittypet. A Daytime Warrior, then. Vermilion snorts at the sight of him. How could one have time for twolegs and a warrior's life? Sapphire hues glare back at those of stony grey, and he feels as if he can hear the clanging of steel in their matching glares. His teeth grind against each other, but he speaks up nonetheless. "None of your business, Pebble." He grinds out in a grunt, taking a step forward; whip-like tail lashing behind him. He was never one to pick fights first, but days living in the gutters has numbed him to said morals. Only the strong survived. It wasn't until more arrived, specifically Blazestar, did Vermilionsun start to shift in place, turning his body to stand between Tiny and Talon. Vermilionsun is quick to lower his head, something that makes Tiny turn to Talon in confusion. In their lands, they didn't bow to anyone unless they were cowering before a victor. This was something they knew Vermilionsun was not; a loser. "Blazestar," Vermilion curtly grunts out, the glare dissipating into something more familiar. He should have expected the tom to be out and about. "I was only teaching them how to hunt. You can have the squirrel. I didn't realize you took on the same stances on borders as the rest. Didn't think SkyClan would go that direction." He mutters softly, Talon gripping the squirrel tightly under his unsheathed paw. "Ain't givin' nothin' up to no one, Red. You know damn well as I do that we ain't got no food where we live, either." Talon guffaws, shaking out his fur- an attempt to fluff himself out to seem bigger. Vermilion watches as Tiny shifts uncomfortably behind him, ears shooting upwards at the sound of a voice. A soft, broken voice- calling him back to where he'd put roots down.

"You're back...?"

Vermilionsun feels his lip tremble when he hears it, and the guilt comes crashing back once more. What more could he give, to be put in this situation today? Had the gods forsaken him, these cat ancestors forsaken him? They probably enjoyed the show, watching Vermilion struggle with everything he had to stay calm for once. Vermilion was never one to hide his emotions well. He sniffs away oncoming tears, quick to straighten himself out. It wasn't until his tail swiftly whacked Talon across his nose did the elder finally kick the squirrel away with a hiss. As Vermilion reaches for the creature, still warm beneath his paw after having been caught seconds before, he makes a point to dust any dirt off of it before pushing it towards Blazestar, not daring to look at his once-apprentice. "I'm not coming back, little star." He speaks loud enough for the apprentice to hear, "I was never fit to be a SkyClanner. I have family not far from here. My priorities lie with them." He explains to nobody in particular, though his heart hopes Deersong expects its for her. Only for her, and Cosmospaw. The two cats he actually gave a rats ass about. The only.. People he fully felt at home with. He'd left them, and hadn't said a single word to them. But, they couldn't know. It was better to have Deersong hate him than go looking for him if he tried to tell her. Stars knew she would have, especially given how Vermilionsun wouldn't have given her much of an explanation. He levels his gaze with Thistleback before he turns to Blazestar. Hesitant.

"I'm sorry for our intrusion, Blazestar. Food is hard to find in the sewers, twolegs aren't so gracious to cats in our parts. Not the outcast ones, anyways." He meows, squinting his eyes at Talon. "But we'll be on our way. If.. That's all." ​

 

[~Deersong~]

𝐵𝓊𝓉 𝓎𝑜𝓊 𝓀𝓃𝑜𝓌, 𝐼 𝒿𝓊𝓈𝓉 𝓌𝒶𝓃𝓉 𝓎𝑜𝓊 𝒶𝓈 𝓎𝑜𝓊 𝒶𝓇𝑒​

---

Hurt.

It was the first emotion to stab through her chest as Vermillionsun swung his tail to push the younger cat at his side behind him as if he believed she would make any move to hurt them. The emotion would flash clearly on her face as Thistleback appeared, along with Blazestar and a few others, and the molly would silently step back so her leader could speak.

She would wordlessly lean against Thistleback, her frame trembling lightly as she stared at the flame point and his companions. Her ears would catch the snort that left his nostrils as he caught sight of her Chompers, and they would flatten against her skull. She didn't like it. The way her friend glared at the tom that now held her heart as if he already didn't trust him. She wanted to speak, to say something, but words couldn't form, especially not once Blazestar spoke.

Vermillionsun stepped forward, tail lashing as if in a challenge, and Deersong would match his step on pure instinct, her eyes seeming to plead with him as his grunt left clenched teeth. Deersong would stare at the tom, aqua optics searing into his head as she silently demanded answers.

But no answers would come, no reason for why he left them all behind. Her claws would dig into the earth below her to ground herself and her tail seemed to swish behind her as if searching for support of any kind before the turmoil of it all knocked her off her paws.

He wasn't coming back? Deersong felt like she was going to be sick because this was her best friend. It was hard enough to have him disappear, but now to see him and hear that he wasn't staying, that he wasn't coming home? It knocked the air right out of her lungs and she almost swayed on her paws, and she was forced to sit slowly.

She would finally look up, tears pooling in her eyes for a moment before she quickly wiped them away. No, she had to remain calm and strong. No matter how upset the news made her. What about their friendship? Would they still be able to remain friends even with him not living in Skyclan? Her gaze would flicker towards Blazestar for a moment as if trying to read his response to this news before looking over to Vermillionsun with hidden emotion.

They had to talk..,

She needed answers... ​

 

[BLAZESTAR]

╭── ⋅ ⋅ ── ✩ ── ⋅ ⋅ ──╮​

Blazestar visibly winces at the accusation Vermilionsun tosses his way -- that he's like the other leaders now, enforcing borders. Is he? When did that change? Once, it's true, he hadn't minded the odd kittypet or loner traipsing through the pine forest and leaving the bones of their fresh-kill behind.

Things have changed inside of him, though. Their Clan has lost cats to other claws, and though they were not loner claws, Blazestar now fears each set of paws that tread his territory. What intent do they carry? If they get close to camp, to his Clanmates who cannot defend themselves -- what then?

He sets his jaw, but the fire in his eyes is extinguished. The rogues with Vermilionsun are malnourished, their ribs stark against sand-textured pelts. He can feel Cosmospaw and Deersong's dismay. Dark blue eyes lower to the squirrel in question, and he sighs.

"Take the squirrel. But please know that our patrols will be looking for all of you. Leaf-fall is here, and SkyClan welcomes joiners, but if you choose to remain a rogue, we cannot guarantee you shelter or prey within our borders." He forces his tone to become firm. "You are welcome back as a warrior, just as your friends are welcome on a trial period, but those who do not provide for SkyClan are not welcome here."

Almost as if he's convincing himself, he says, "It's not a matter of possession. It's a matter of feeding those I've sworn to protect."

His large, thick tail sweeps the ground. "Deersong, if you'd like, you and Snowpaw can escort these cats to the border. Ensure no more SkyClan prey is taken."

Blazestar hates the words he's speaking, how sharp they feel in his mouth. How unnatural. Vermilionsun was a friend once, a cat he trusted and relied on. He could be again, but as he tells Cosmospaw, he is not returning. He's with his kin now, and that's the choice he's made.

- ,,​

​

 

[COSMOSBLOOM]

"I'm not coming back, little star."

Of course. Of course, he's not coming back.

Cosmospaw knows this - Cosmospaw knew this - and yet... And yet the words still hurt. The words still hurt, as the cloud-furred tom looks from his former mentor to the young feline that stands beside him - a spot Cosmospaw himself once stood in.

He's been replaced.

He's been replaced, he's been replaced, he's been replaced.

It's nowhere near the same as Cosmospaw having a new mentor. No, Cosmospaw needs a new mentor, because his old one left, and he's an apprentice, and he needs to learn how to be a warrior for when he's older. The rogue didn't need a new apprentice. He didn't need to teach someone new, didn't need to fill the hole he created, just because he decided SkyClan wasn't good enough for him. That Cosmospaw wasn't good enough for him.

Did Finchcatcher replace him too?

"My name is Cosmospaw," he finally responds, trying to steady the tremble in his voice as sky blue gaze frosts over with a cold stare.

The former SkyClanner didn't deserve to call him anything other than that. He didn't deserve to have his name permanently ingrained in Cosmospaw's mind, either.
​

 

[ThistleBack]

“ none of your business, Pebble ” white hot rage seeps from his very bone marrow, his nose twitching at the bridge with the insult. Not normally effected by such tedious insult- was salt to an ever growing wound that was this man’s hold on Deer’s affections. His hackles twinge at the shoulder blades, his jaws clench around his sudden scowl.

The half-moon sliver of grime stained teeth swells back into a smile as paws dare further, challenge in Vermillonsun’s stance with a lash of a tail with the hue of forest fire. ’ oh, do it. do it. ’ Thistleback’s metal gaze slides down the red flame tom’s front, down his legs watching the flex of muscle for a hint at spring. Praying to mother fate, let him leap. He could feel under his barbed tongue salivating. frolic this field, Vermillonsun. Thistleback’s chin lifts, his smile frozen on his maw and his eyes slitted. Only when Deersong stepped toward the rogue in his place did Thistleback’s lids widen marginally.

" pebble " he snorts and cackles, but his mocking smile turns to a scowl, his eyes glitter with affection as they glance to the back of Deersong’s head. " how fitting " he hums out with a lilt of mockery, " a proper word for me indeed…seeing as Deersong fancies me, and I’m quite liable to break your teeth… but- that’s only if you want a bite " it’s a challenge, as pure as Vermillonsun’s stance- yet spoken so lightly into the air without the malice it held in verbal form. Poisoned vocals, brewing with sudden hatred.

Thistleback would force his gaze back to Deersong as she looked at the former warrior, he drowns himself here. Smothers out his anger, his thirst for needless violence. If Deer asked, she’d have. Even if it was this wayward rogue and his ragtags for a family. He would try to see the colors outside of his grey world. Maybe Vermillonsun was doing the right thing for the wrong reasons. He’d force it down like the taste of fish skin. No matter the acidic gurgling in the depths of his throat.

Eyes flick to the paler shade of red that made up the pine forest king, his words of authority are infused with the kindness he had in his heart. The roar of a lion with a lamb’s heart. Thistleback made a decision, silent and true with one glance. No matter the bite, cut, or gouge he’d take it on the pelt if it meant protecting this man’s lives. This, was to rule with strength and kindness alike. Thistleback could never, so he would be a knight for this man. With this sudden and silent vow, Thistleback’s hackles dance freely.

To Cosmospaw, this was once a mentor. Now- a dishonor and heartbreak, one in the same. So much is clear with his retort. Now, it’s time to say goodbye, Thistleback levels a clenched jaw and unreadable glance Deersong’s way as she and Snowpaw are given the task of escorting the rogues off the land.

He’d wait for her, but he wouldn’t follow. No, Thistleback knew what pressure the twig of his anger could take before snap. He turns on heel and looks down at the press of fear placed on Butterflypaw’s muzzle. " don’t you worry little lass, your mentor nor I would ever let a rogue claw land on you " Thistleback offers her, forcing his harsh voice into something more gentle.

​

OOC INFO REF

• — I ramble sm. feel free to skip to dialogue :"0
  
  
• — Thistleback | thirty moons | cis-male
  — daylight warrior of Skyclan
  — bisexual | fallen for Deersong 9.29.22
  — very muscular piebald black and white tom with spiky fur and cold silver-grey eyes. Wears a purple collar with brass clasp.
  
• 
  
  

​