sensitive topics WE WILL DISGUISE WHAT WE IGNORE [GRIEVING] AND I'LL LOVE YOU

[badgerstripe]

// cw death and grief. takes place after the burial of cobwebtail and sparrowpaw as instructed in this thread.

not a one-shot; characters may take part in the burial of traitors and react as you wish <3

---

Skyclaw is dead. The fight is over. They must have won now, didn't they?

Triumph does not reign Badgerstripe's heart. Sorrow takes over as she helps dig graves for Cobwebtail and Sparrowpaw, both too young to suffer such a tragic fate. Even as the graves of the traitors are dug, far from the honorable gravesite that ThunderClanners share, she cannot focus on the victory at paw.

Wrath-howl. Smokefur. Sleekserpent. The words of Stormywing's opponent echo in her mind as Badgerstripe drags a soft, cream-furred body through the mud. Murderers. His scent, once sweet and comforting, is putrid in her nose like poisonous Thunderpath smog. When she reaches his grave, unmarked and undistinguished, she does not neatly groom her fur, or wish her well on her journey to their ancestors. As she rolls them into their grave, Badgerstripe does not hesitate or reach out for once-familiar paws to hold hers once more. A loving warrior who once cherished her, the sire to her kits; he is now wholly unfamiliar after the terrible secret she had learned.

But.. after the burial, the queen lingers.

Badgerstripe hovers over the mound of mud and dirt, hunched over with her tail wrapped tightly around her haunches, its' plumed tip brushing against her swollen stomach. She remained stoic for long enough to see the burial through its' completion - and now, she weakens and trembles, like the weight of the world bears down upon her shoulders. Her lips curl to bare gritted teeth as she silently sobs. Guilt wracks her heart - she treated him so poorly for this burial, did not give him the send off of a loved one. But yet.. isn't that what he deserves, after what he's done? Why does she feel so.. awful?

Badgerstripe thinks of what once was; her only friend through her darkest times, a devoted warrior who kept her fed and safe, an excited face upon learning of their kits. What could have been; her mate, her family, a bond lasting through thick-and-thin. And then.. the reality; an unapologetic murderer, a cat who fought for control, to belong at any cost - at the cost of her. She can't help but wonder.. what did her dear friend think in her last moments? Did she think of Badgerstripe, of their kits, the lives they would lead without her? Or did she die thinking it all was worth it?

Badgerstripe wipes her eyes with a paw. " You could have been.. a good part of my family. You could have.. " The words choke out a broken eulogy - it is all she could muster. She sniffles, then lifts her chin defiantly, blinking the moisture from her eyes. " ..but you weren't. And now you're gone. " She misses Sleekserpent dearly; his gentle touch, his soft-spoken words, his baby blue eyes. Then.. she thinks of his defiance, of his allegiance to Skyclaw, of Pebblestep. How horrible she felt to still long for a cat like that. Badgerstripe takes a deep breath, then her eyes raise to the stars. " ..Goodbye. May you plead for mercy.. wherever you are. "

BADGERSTRIPE ( she/her )​

✦
✦
✦
✦
✦
✦

( ooc ) text

​

 

[Fadingpaw]

[ ༻ ☼ ༺ ] Many noble cats died in the battle, an unnecessary battle caused by that of a traitor who sought to rid their clan of something that was apart of them. Her mentor now dead and all Fadingpaw could do was feel more numbed by this, she had no mentor now and her training was lacking more than it should have been. Yet her blue gaze trained onto Badgerstripe who was affected deeply by this situation, especially when the cat she had loved so deeply turned out to be a traitor.

Slowly she got to her paws to go and sit next to the warrior with a slight smile on her lips and a sadened look in her gaze. "Even with out him your family grows... and you have the clan for support too" she stated gently. Did she feel empathy for the traitors? Some part of her wished she didn't truthfully but her heart aches seeing their dead bodies, watching them go into unmarked graves knowing they had kin within the clan, kin who witnessed their betrayal. Yet, their deaths still felt so... unnecessary and the girl sighed slightly before falling back into silence.

Despite not interacting with Badgerstripe that much, the girl would stay next to the warrior's side for support if need be. No one should be alone during times as these, and although none should be mourning the loss od the traitors, Fadingpaw couldn't help but think how they were all still once part of the clan despite their terrible decisions and horrible atrocities. Would Starclan look down on her for such thoughts? Shaking her head she looked towards Badgerstripe with her blue gaze as she awaited for whatever else was to come, still she couldn't help but wondered if all this bloodshed had been necessary.

‎‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎┌── So many angles , so many lines ──┐‎

• 
  "speak""Thoughts"
  
• 
  Fadingpaw ☼ She/Her, Apprentice of Thunderclan, 7 moons.
  ⭃ Stocky short flame point tabby she-cat with blue eyes and stubby tail, one floppy ear
  ⭃ Crimsonsun x Shadedmoon
  ⭃ 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.
  

​

 

[THUNDERGLEAM]

Thundergleam's heart thumped, still. Snowy lashes fluttered closed, every now and then... throught he gossamer sheen, she thought she could just-about make out the dancing StarClan spirits. They came out of fear to join them, once again. Her guides flanked her once more, unafrid, beneath the emerald-eyed watch of a fiery leader who was rightfully chosen.

Not everything was solved, though. Sadness, pain... it all lingered in ThunderClan's ranks, and Thundergleam knew that a judgement might need to be made, soon. A pain unfixable was better left erased, it was what Father had always taught her, it was her destiny. To be ThunderClan's saviour, every tumour had to be cut away... everything that would fester and become the same bitterness that had created Skyclaw.

Not today, though. It did not feel right to make any decisions... after they had already lost so many. And after loss struck soo deply, shards of ice through the heart... Thundergleam could hardly bear to think of it, now. The sadness written on Badgerstripe's face... her friend, most certainly... twisted her gut in a way that was difficult to describe. She spoke to someone unseen, pain written on her face.

Missing someone so terribly, someone who was not so wonderful. It haunted Thundergleam in a unique way that she could not define. The pale molly could not find any words for the dead, herself ... but she could cast her gaze away from dirtied paws. "There is a wonderful tomorrow, waiting for us all." Her words were soft and grave. "I will stay by your side, for as long as it takes us to get there." ​

penned by pin ☾​

 

[Lightflower]

❝ it's gonna hurt for a bit of time ❞​

Tragedy seemed to follow them like a dark storm, clouding the thrill of victory. These cats were not cats she wanted to fight. These had been her clanmates, cats that she had grown up with. Her movements were stiff and calculated. She, while not injured like some, was sore and exhausted from battle.

Lightflower couldn't help but send glances Badgerstripe's way through it all. She wasn't sure she wanted to step in right away. She... she wouldn't even know what to say. Sleekserpent was certainly not one of her friends, and she didn't particularly understand what Badg saw in them, but...

Fadingpaw and Thundergleam speaking up nearly jolted her from her self-imposed trance. The grey molly said nothing, but still she came to sit near her. She would at least be a shoulder to cry on. That, she could do.
​

✿✿✿
​

​

​

​

 

[SILVERSUN]

It would be simpler, easier, to forget that the traitors had feelings and families, but such is a lost cause when the evidence to prove otherwise stares them stark in the face. Sleekserpent leaves behind a legacy far better than she deserves, and it is her own fault for not seeing that and stopping when she still could. Silversun has no empathy for her, but Badgerstripe's pain tugs at their heart. They can't imagine caring deeply for someone only to discover, as the dead cat's name so aptly suggests, a serpent underneath the softness.

They have no words of comfort for Badgerstripe, only their silent, sturdy presence.​

[ HEAR ME NOW, YOU DEMIGODS -- ☀ ]​

 

[BASILPAW!]

( 𖤓 ) the young tom cannot say truthfully that he has ever lost love. he has been too coddled within his youth to know sadness or shame, and although he has lived through thunderclan's most traumatic time, he cannot even begin to imagine the pain his clanmates must be feeling. the boy feels out of place here, at the gravesites of traitors and murderers, but at the same time, he finds himself more prepared than many of his clanmates. there is no emotion in leafy-green eyes as he helps push corrupted bodies into the pit, nor as he scrapes dirt back over the hole, patting the eventual mound a final time with his paw.

basilpaw is ready to leave, almost turns away with the majority of his clanmates, but the lingering of one halts him. blue tortoiseshell fur hangs loosely from a hollow frame, a black tail tucked beneath a slightly swollen stomach as badgerstripe remains at the side of her mate. basilpaw remembers seeing them together, heads pressed against each other, secret smiles and stolen glances in a dark time within their clan. now, the queen is baring the traitor's kits, and basilpaw can feel her despair radiating off of her. fadingpaw, thundergleam, and lightflower cluster about their friend, a comfort in this dark time.

basilpaw stands beside silversun, lost for words. he cannot help but hate sleekserpent for their partaking in the murder of so many clanmates. at the same time, he grieves for the father the other could've been. snow-dashed paws carry the young boy forward, finding an opening beside the sorrowful queen. "it's okay to grieve," he says, and in saying it, he knows it's true. "a-and i'm sorry."

IF YOU LET IT ALONE 𖤓 IT WILL SURELY GROW

• // if u saw me post this on the wrong acc no you didnt xoxo "#FAC966"
• 
  
  
• 
  BASILPAW 𖤓 HE / THEY, APPRENTICE OF THUNDERCLAN. MENTORED BY CAMPIONSONG. SIBLING TO MERLINPAW, WOLFPAW. 6 MOONS OLD, PENNED BY LAVS
  
  
  a cream ticked tabby with high white, and green eyes. a tall boy sporting a chaotically ruffled coat of pale cream tabby. darker ticked stripes flow down his fur, and band around his legs and face. his chest, stomach, muzzle, and most of his tail are white, and he has ferny-green eyes that sparkle with mischief.
  

​