sensitive topics We all still die ☠ Dying fox!

[Bonechill.]

*+:｡.｡ //TW, dying fox!

The end.

That's what death was, to put it in its simplest terms. It was the end of everything, the end of your story, the end of your ability to share experiences and the end of hope for everyone you loved and who has loved you. The end; good-bye.
Sure, there was Starclan - if you believed in that - but being a ghost or a star didn't stop you from facing The End. Even if your consciousness continues, you still wouldn't grow, or experience new things, or form new memories. Your family wouldn't be able to visit you, laugh with you, or hold the excitement of one day getting to do all of that with you again. Death and distance weren't the same. Distance could be broken. Death...well, one doesn't need to repeat themselves.

All that is to say, the end was a fact, and the fact was - it didn't scare him. Every story ends, and the way they ended mattered about as much as knowing how they lived. So to Bonepaw, he couldn't care less how the fox before him drew its last breath.
Though this looked pretty painful.

Standing a safe distance away, Bonepaw watched with unchangingly placid eyes as the fox writhed in the grass. It's mouth parted in a silent keen of despair as it's black-tipped paws clawed at nothing. Judging by the proximity to the thunderpath, it was pretty obvious what had happened to the wretched thing. Monsters were always more blood-thirsty than gluttonous, so it didn't seem to have the mercy in it to ensure the fox it had struck died. Instead, the stupid thing had crawled from the thunderpath, some instinctive need to resume escaping from danger possessing it to do so even though death's claws had already marked it.

Bonepaw had grown up with stories of cats dying, he'd seen dead bodies, too, but never had he watched a life come to its inevitable conclusion in person before. He searched within himself for compassion, but found none - not for a fox, anyway. Instead, he trained all his focus on its eyes. Dull and glassy, but still sparking with the embers of life. What would it look like when whatever fueled that fire...what, left it? Snuffed out? Was there even a fire? What was the difference between life and death besides whether a creature moved or not?

Was it wrong of him to want to know?

"Should we kill it?" Bonepaw finally asks, shifting his gaze - reluctantly - away to look over at @Haretooth . He wondered if the older tom would reprimand him for not having enough empathy. What did he think about the dying fox before them?

*+:｡.｡ Updated 4/2/24

• //This takes place before,,,family shinanigains :'3
  
  Also please wait for Haretooth <3
  
  
• 
  
  
  
  GENERAL:
  ☠ Shadowclan — apprentice
  ☠ DMAB— He/Him — Unsure
  ☠ 6 moons — Ages 1 moon every month real-time
  ☠ Son to Ferndance x Needledrift
  ☠ Littermates with Bloodpaw, Shadepaw, Snowypaw
  ☠ Half-brother to Gigglekit, Morelkit, Branchkit
  ☠ Apprenticed to Nightwhisper
  
  
  
  
  
  COMBAT:
  ☠Physically easy | mentally hard
  ☠ Attack in bold #738171
  injuries: None currently

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[Haretooth]

"INDELIBLE IS WHAT I NEED TO SPREAD THE WORD."​

The concept of mortality didn’t bother Haretooth, for it was a concept that all warriors were expected to be acquainted with from a young age. It may have been Haretooth’s limited life experiences influencing his objective opinions, but he was of the belief that ShadowClan’s warriors learn that concept earlier and often in tougher circumstances than other clans. The endless void of all encompassing dread and hardship known as the Marshland was not suited for those who didn't understand the concept of mortality. They were fools, imbeciles, the tom refuses to associate with the likes of them.

There was a morbid fascination with the concept for him, he planned on studying it for as long as he could before he himself was laid for a final rest amongst the cold, wet, soil of the marsh. He deemed himself a scholar, curious about what can cause death and how the process can look for others. Important lessons can be learned from death, as well as maiming, that was a secondary pursuit. Though it was secondary it was common to experience that in life, that was something an individual could experience and live to study further. He supposed that he wouldn’t mind being maimed, it would be his own fault for being slow and stupid enough to be struck in the first place.

The fox in front of them had experienced the art of maiming first hand, he would wager that it was too slow and foolish. While they were decently intelligent predators they clearly weren’t intellectual enough to avoid a monster's path. Though, he supposed he could afford to give credit. Monsters were devastating creatures of destruction, unyielding abominations incapable of mercy or to give a swift death. There was no saving it, death was like a hound. Following the trail of blood that leads from the thunderpath to the shallow grave of a ditch in the poor levelling of the land surrounding them. That is where the fox laid, Haretooth for one couldn’t wait to see how long it would take for the creature to be hunted down and given that final rest.

Pale blue eyes watch in curious glee as white ears twitch at every wheezed breath that the fox forces out. The gurgling of blood sounded almost like a babbling stream, if one was to close their eyes anyways. The voice of young Bonepaw reminds him that he is not alone in witnessing this glorious opportunity. He glances at the apprentice, he doesn't seem to be distressed. If anything,

Truthfully, Haretooth didn’t care for a reason. He just prepared himself to give one in case the child objected to being here, yet to his surprise he didn't hear immediate demands for mercy. “No, this is a valuable lesson. Best to know for certain how long something can survive being struck by a monster.” Is what he decides on saying. It would be fortunate to be acquainted with the process. To learn how to wield apathy in a situation where emotions would be heightened can be a powerful tool. If he was with a gravely injured body of a clan-mate maybe then he could be level headed and know how to assess the situation properly. As opposed to someone who hadn’t seen this process, wasting precious moments and precious life by delaying to gather a medicine cat just to cry.

Such musings on the importance of knowing the process can halt. The pale tom holds his stare at the apprentice, the look is expectant, if he had an eyebrow it would be arched. “You may leave if you wish, I will not hold you hostage to watch nature reclaim another.”
​

✯☽✯​

 

[CHILLEDSTAR.]

from a young age, just as a young kit with no true direction, they've always been taught one thing. nature is not forgiving. she holds grudges, and does not hold back. she's mean. and scary. she may be merciful, but rarely does she forgive. you hurt her, and she will hurt you back. or maybe sometimes, she'll just do it for fun. their mentor was a gruff fella. he was mean and merciless. he did not hold back and he always told chilled one thing. nature is the one enemy no one could beat. she'd always win. always.

"he's just returning home. the pain will stop and there will be this brief moment of clarity. serenity. peace. and he will go back to the stars where he belongs."

a fox may be a predator to them, a vicious one at most times, but even then it is still an animal. a piece of nature.

"killing it would be merciful. maybe we should. if you'd like, we can. but if you don't want to, we can let it be. nature wins either way."

she always would.

———————---***ALL OF MY FEELINGS ARE GONE***———————---​

I LEFT 'EM ALL ON THE FLOOR✧ MAN WHO'S TO BLAME IF YOU DON'T LOVE ME NO MORE

•  
• — black feline with a white marking across their face, a white chin, a white right front paw, and blue eyes. chilledstar is covered in scars, the most prominent ones being the one across their face, and the one across their neck.
  — 46 moons old; ages the 3rd every month
  — they / them pronouns
  — aromantic / homosexual ; currently not looking / looking
  — child of JAGGED and RAVEN
  — shadowclan ; loyal to shadowclan ; other info if applicable
  — mildly difficult to befriend ; trusts barely anyone; trusts no one outside of shadowclan
  — "speech", thoughts, attacking
  — peaceful powerplay allowed

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[Snowlark.]

[ ༻❄༺ ] He shouldn't feel remorse for a creature such as a fox laying at death's door but, Snowpaw wrinkled their nose in silent disgust. Watching it writhe in pain as it slowly dies, Haretooth having a morbid fascination over a predator's suffering, Bonepaw asking if they should kill it while he simply response with 'its for educatuon.' Stubby tail swishing coolly as they continued to stare at the suffering fox, imagining anyone else to be in that situation and he shook his head. No, it was a fox. This creature could have taken one of their own from them so why did it matter what happened to it?

Snowpaw's yellow gaze flick to Chilledstar and then back to the creature with a soft sigh coming from his lips. "I would want... someone to end me if I was still alive and suffering from being hit by a monster..." he said softly, trying to keep his tone light, because it wasn't him, it was a fox, a damned fox who will die either way, quickly or slowly. This just went back to that would you rather situation that Haretooth had presented to Swansong. Quick or Slow. Would that how it will always be? Perhaps the fox isn't suffering, and is accepting its fate, then whose to say they intervened with that?

Yellow eyes looked away from the situation, there was no need to bother himself over this, it'll end up another victim to the marsh due to its own recklessness and choice to not be wary of its surroundings, perhaps in the haze of all the frogs that now declined in numbers had made the fox grown lazy and so for that, it was just nature scouting out the weak over the strong.

‎‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎┌── You ve wasted your life , but thanks for applying ──┐‎

• 
  "speak""Thoughts"
  
• 
  Snowpaw ❄ He/Him, apprentice of Shadowclan, 9 moons.
  ⭃ Lithe long hair blue lynx sepia with high white, and yellow eyes. Stubby tail, permanent resting bitch face
  ⭃ Hailfreckle x Mudsplash
  ⭃ peaceful and healing powerplay permitted (ask first) / / underline and tag when attacking
  ↛ see battle info here
  ⭃ penned by Ryn ↛ @/Rynnaro on discord, feel free to dm for plots.
  

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