private UNWITTING OATHS ; orangeblossom

[DOEBLAZE]

"Orangeblossom!" Bobbie calls, suppressing a shiver as she steps out into the drifts of snow. The burning lance of the deputy's gilded brown eyes driving a spear of guilt through her chest smolders behind her eyes with each flake-dusted blink. She'd fled from camp as soon as she could, eager to escape any new rumors, to chase down that painfully knowing glance. She already knows half the Clan suspects her of incompetence, of nuzzling her way into her rank as Lead Warrior. Does Orangeblossom think so, too? Had she frowned when Blazestar pitched the idea?

"Orangeblossom?" She squints between the pines, seeking out bronzed shoulders or a tail like a brand of fire. Bobbie pushes herself forward, not yet hampered by the kits slumbering within her stomach. "Orangeblossom, I—" she pauses. It was a mistake, she wants to say, but she does not want to dishonor the deputy by trying to lie to her. She and Blazestar have been mates for nearly three turns of the moon; this is hardly a young warrior's tryst. "I'm sorry."

"I'm so sorry, I know, the rogues, and it's leaf-bare, I just—" The tabby falls silent once more. Her voice creeps low again, trembling. "I don't know how long I have left with him." She jerks her chin downwards, shame and guilt burning a hole in her heart. Orangeblossom would never be so foolish, so emotional; perhaps that's half of why she admires the ginger-and-white deputy. She always seems so calm, so logical, so uncontrolled by her heart as Bobbie is. "I'm sorry."

// @orangeblossom !!

"speech"

​

 

[Orangestar]

𝐵𝑈𝑇 𝑇𝑂 𝐴 𝑊𝑂𝑀𝐴𝑁, 𝐵𝑌 𝑇𝐻𝐸 𝐸𝑁𝐷 ✧ 𝐘𝐎𝐔'𝐋𝐋 𝐊𝐍𝐄𝐄𝐋 𝐀𝐍𝐃 𝐏𝐋𝐄𝐀

• 
  
  — orangeblossom | tags
  — she/her ; deputy of skyclan. mentoring springpaw.
  — scarred white-and-ginger she-cat with brown eyes.
  — "speech" ; thoughts
  — chibi by waluigipinball
  — penned by mercibun. @ me in any official tabbytales discord for plots.
  
  

​

Orangeblossom pauses midway up a tree, resisting the urge to press her skull to the trunk as Bobbie calls for her. She's been caught; she knows that the lead warrior can see her pollen-dipped pelt among the brittle bark, but the deputy fixes her with a wary look that asks why did you bother following me?

Her question is immediately answered, a wobbly apology meeting torn ears, and she sighs heavily through her nose. The ground is close enough that she can turn and descend to tree roots easily, kicking up a flurry of snow and a scattering of splinters behind her as she does. Abandoning the tree she'd intended to escape into Orangeblossom approaches the lilac-furred molly, attention briefly captured by the fluttering of some small bird above her head, but plumy tail sweeps the ground as her gaze returns to Bobbie. No longer her denmate, as they had been during their shared days as queens nearly ten moons ago. Her tongue touches the dried-out scars that line her maw.

"If Blazestar dies before these kits are born, what will you do?" She asks simply. Despite the usual hardness in her meow, there's a small but genuine curiosity in her eyes. She wants to know the answer. Much like she had thought initially, there's no certainty that he would be doomed prior; but, with the rogues pressing at their borders, she can't be sure.

​