walk the valley of death ✘ abandoning exiles

[SMOKESTAR]

Two-leg place brought bitter memories to the surface of his mind and he wished more than anything he didn't have the empathy RiverClan had instilled in him because now when he saw the towering buildings and painted thunderpaths he only thinks about regrets. When he was younger the world made sense because it had been broken up into simple statements, facts and rules to live by. You protected only yourself, you didn't trust anyone and most importantly you didn't allow the idea of attachment to settle in your heart because all things were temporary as a street cat. It was that rule, funnily enough, that lead him to following Moss to the forest because he had no loyalty to the concrete jungle to keep him there. When he'd left it had felt so overwhelming, now he got that same sensation coming back and it wasn't pleasant. It twisted his stomach into a knot and he grimaced as he glanced around the derelict and abandoned two-leg structures crumbling before them; this area was safe at least. His lone orange eye glances at Redpath, aiding the two in managing this far but he could not pinpoint their fate from here; it was murky, obscured.

Smokethroat stops, pauses to glance back to the two beaten loners and wonders if they'll even make it from here; bloodied and battered by their own ex-clanmates. He can't imagine what that kind of sting of betrayal would feel like. He never wants to know. His paws are heavy as he turns to trot back to them and then past, not pausing to bid farewell and only uttering in passing, "Best of luck to you." May StarClan not forget the cats who stood against Sootstar's wrath, hopefully they would find sanctuary of some kind but he can not aid them any further because part of him will always remember the moorland stench and foolishness in every cat who ever placed paw in the hills. "Let's go Redpath, before any loners show up to pester us."

tags - @Redpath & @Coldsnap & @coalfoot
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[Redpath]

She was familiar with the feeling of blood soaking her coat, wether it bechers or otherwise. But this time it felt different, it felt wrong. She wanted to dip into the river until it all washed away.

To be set upon by your own clanmates and torn to shreds..... If such a thing happened to her, she would never put any trust or faith in anyone again. Windclan must be truly starforsaken.

The twolegplace was somewhat familiar to her, having lived there for a time. It's where she painted an alley red with the blood of her enemies, leaving behind red paw prints in her wake.

She didn't like being back here, but it was the only chance these two had at survival. She wished she could do more to help, she wanted them to survive. Together. If anything to spite Sootstar.

She looks to them now, heart burning with guilt and regret. She felt she could do more than just.... Leave them here.

"I hope you find help and safety." She said to them.

She offered a silent prayer to Starclan that they would. They were free of the moors now, she hoped they could find a living outside of it.
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[VERMILIONSUN]

❝ we're children playing at a game, screaming that the rules aren't fair. ❞

"Yeah, get the hell outta here." A gruff voice calls after the patrol as they drop two injured cats off, bleeding and dying. Vermilionsun pokes his head out of a drain tunnel, stinking of trash and yet fit with muscles that showed a well-fed loner. It's been a while since he's seen exiles from WindClan around here, finds satisfaction in seeing the clan cats suffer. But no more was Vermilion a clan cat himself, but a leisurely loner with a group of cats to take care of.

Pacing over to the two warriors, Vermilion drops a wad of wet moss onto the paws of one of them. "I'm no medicine cat, and none of us know how to heal anyone. But I ain't gonna let'cha die. Let's get you to the twolegplace so they can help you." He mutters, waving his tail towards the darkness. Inside, were cats familiar to him, cats he trusted. "Ferret. Anastasia. Come on."

@FERRET @Anastasia ​

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[Anastasia]

A pair of green eyes glint from the darkness behind Vermilionsun. They stepped forward to reveal a short-haired ginger tabby whose nose immediately crinkled up at the smell of the Clan cats and blood. She crept up close beside Vermilionsun's side, their pelt nearly brushing as she stared down at the wounded cats, beaten to a pulp.

"Generous, aren't we?" She grumbled in his ear, looking down at the moss the other rogue had spat out. She looked back at the Clan cats, lifting her chin a little. Didn't they have a code—? An idyllic society? A medicine cat? They were no better than twolegs—they threw out their trash when it no longer pleased them.

She bared her teeth at the two river-stinking cats. "You heard him. Beat it. We'll take out your garbage."

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[Coldsnap]

IM SCARED TO GET CLOSE AND I HATE BEING ALONE
I LONG FOR THE FEELING TO NOT FEEL AT ALL
THE HIGHER I GET, THE LOWER I SINK
I CAN'T DROWN MY DEMONS, THEY KNOW HOW TO SWIM

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Coldsnap was running on empty.

Fur matted with blood, yellow eyes dull, body nothing but one endless ache, he was entirely on autpilot as he limped and shuffled along. He wanted nothing more than to stop, than to lay down and catch his fucking breath for a minute, but he knew they couldn't afford to lose their riverclan escorts out of impatience. Two injured cats wandering alone were easy pickings for a predator- not that Coldsnap expected Smokethroat or Redpath to actual defend them if it came down to it. Their pressence was just an early warning system, a vigilence he couldn't possess in his current condition.

To make matters worse, his heart was almost as heavy as his legs at that point. Hyacinth had not helped them, and while he understood why, it still carved a path through his heart, left him wishing she was at least there with them. Would they die now? Would Coalfoot die? He'd been so certain she would at least fight for him to stay. Coldsnap had been prepared to go it alone, to like his own wounds in solitude and let whatever happened happen. But he hadn't been prepared to make Coalfoot suffer that with him.

He managed to nod a thanks to the Riverclanners as they departed. He won't forget this mercy, will find a way to pay it forward if he makes it out of this alive.

"Yeah, get the hell outta here."

An unfamiliar voice, gruff and tinged with aggression quickly forced the tabby back to awareness, drifting closer to Coalfoot as he forced himself to try and stand a little taller, to try and look as if he wasn't on his last fucking leg and could still protect them both.

He knew he couldn't.

He couldn't help the involuntary step taken between the loner and Coalfoot, eyes flashing between the unknown tom and shecat baring her fangs at the departing Riverclanners. The black and white tomcat was all he had left. But their next words gave him hope, one that was strangled in the vines of doubt and suspicion. Their clan had tried to kill them. Hyacinth had let them go. Riverclan had abandoned them. He couldn't fathom why two strangers would offer to help them like this, but he also couldn't come up with a reason why they would lie just to get close to them. Unless they'd had the luck of being dropped into the paws of two complete psychopaths, neither of these cats had anything to gain by hurting him or Coalfoot.

He knew this, but he couldn't help the tension that sunk into his muscles even as he made the decision to try and accept their help.

"Thanks." he rasped, voice rough as he settled back at Coalfoots side, glancing over to his fellow exile. "Just a little longer, okay?" he tried to assure them. He honestly didn't know if the twolegs would help them, didn't know if they could be saved or if they'd make it, but he wasn't going to let them give up yet.

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windclan warrior - male - 14 months - a large, dark grey tabby with yellow eyes​

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[coalfoot]

———————————————【 coalfoot | windclan | male 】——————————————

【◈】One paw in front of the other. That was all he had to do.

He couldn't do it. He couldn't keep moving. He had to stop, he-- He couldn't. He had to. Even as he and Coldsnap did their best to support each other as they walked, it hardly did any good for either of them. There was no energy left, his hope threatening to vanish for good. A dying spark in a raging storm of exhaustion, pain, and betrayal.

The adrenaline had long since faded from Coalfoot's veins, leaving him hollow and shaky and at the mercy of the stabbing pain in his paws with each step, each breath, each twitch. Even after the murderous gaze of Buckgait faded into the withered foliage behind them, he could still feel it burning into his back.

The blood-soaked tom couldn't find it in him to lift his head even once during the escort, dulled eyes fixed on the ground, his own reddened and torn paws/ He just had to keep walking, right? There was nothing else for him. Maybe he was growing numb to it. He wanted to cry, but the tears wouldn't come.

Beside him, Coldsnap stopped, and he did too, even if he didn't raise his eyes to peer at their new surroundings. A gruff voice spoke out, something about luck. He wasn't sure if he heard. Paws faded behind them, and he finally gathered the strength to lift his head. Coldsnap was looking at him, he belatedly realized. With a heavy swallow, he touched his forehead to his shoulder despite the sting of scratches.

Oh, these weren't RiverClanners. Green eyes flickered over to the newcomers now, unfocused and tired. They were offering help. They told them to follow. Walk. Just keep walking. They'd made it this far, right? "...Yeah," he managed in a broken rasp. Start the cycle.

One paw in front of the other. That was all he had to do.

[penned by its_oliverr].

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[VERMILIONSUN]

❝ we're children playing at a game, screaming that the rules aren't fair. ❞

"Ever the most exemplary Knight, am I." Sarcastic in tone, Vermilion grins towards Anya when she grumbles in his ear. The tom lets his tail rest on her flank for a moment before he turns back to the two toms. At first, the bigger tom is protective- standing close to his.. Mate? Friend? He didn't know at this point- but this scent was definitely riverwater. They had to travel a good ways to get here, with most of it being water.

Ever the tom with few words to say, Vermilion sets his sights on a building in the near distance. "It's not far from here. Anya, help the big one stand. I'll carry the smaller one." With that, he moves close to Coalfoot hesitantly, silently asking permission to carry the injured tom to their place of destination. He's lucky he's got some heft to him, and with how skinny Coalfoot was, it shouldn't be that hard for him to carry the poor guy.

Whether or not he let him, Vermilion would attempt to help the guy walk to the nearest twoleg house that smelled.. weird. Always. "When you're nice and healed, feel free to stop by the sewers to visit. My bunch could use the company." He muses, scratching at the metal door with unsheathed claws. The sound of clamoring sounds, loud barking from dogs echoing from the inside. "Make sure to get outta there when you're healed. Wouldn't want 'ye becoming a kittypet, yeah?"​

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[Anastasia]

Anastasia tsked in response, holding her head a little higher at Vermilion's remark, but he knew her well enough to know there were no hard feelings. The ginger she-cat looked down at the two sorry tomcats—it was a lot worse than usual. The placement, severity, and irregularity of the marks indicated that they had been attacked by multiple assailants at the same time. She could hardly distinguish the moor-scent from their bloodied, mauled pelts. Even then, she could not be sure.

She nodded at Vermilion's instructions, moving forward to attempt to press her should into Coldsnap's side, giving him some support if he needed. Anastasia was of average size for a she-cat, and she was not particularly skinny. She fancied that they might actually seem more lean and muscular than Clan cats—food was not so scarce here.

They made the trek to the twoleg house and she remained despite the barking of dogs from within, the only indication of her unease a brief twitch of her ears. "If you have any reservations about living in a twoleg home, get rid of them." She grinned, dipping her head. "Those Clan cats like to spread lies about twoleg-cats being soft. But they wouldn't last a day here. You two might, but you have no choice." She looked over at Vermilionsun, a knowing glance being shared. If they wanted to join their group, she would not have minded.

"I do hope you'll visit."

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