camp weep little lion man | waiting

[budkit]

At the mouth of the nursery sits little Budkit, body eerily still and shadowed in the slowly dying light. Her misty eyes remain transfixed upon the entrance to camp. She watches – statuesque. She waits. That’s what friends do, right? Even when leaffall’s chill begins to seep into her thin pelt, she waits. Even when distance stirring of nocturnal creatures graces her ears, she waits.

Never before has Budkit waited so long. Never has she sat so painfully still.

Someone nears her and for the first time the point kitten peels her gaze away from the direction Dawnglare and Mallowlark fled. She blinks, wetting the corners of her eyes but tempting fate to keep her tears collected upon eyelids rather than tumbling down youthful cheeks. “Do you fink-think he will come back?” She asks in a quiet voice, warbled but steady. “Budkit doesn’t want Dawngw-Dawnglare to be gone fowever…”

// takes place after the confrontation thread... sad buddy hours​

[ penned by kerms ]​

 

[QUILLSTRIKE]

IF THE POINT'S TO NEVER DISAPOINT YOU, SOMEBODY'S GOT TO TELL ME WHAT TO DO​

---

Quill hadn’t put much thought into it after Dawnglare stormed off. They’d either come back or they wouldn’t, and there was nothing he could personally do to change that. So no point in worrying. Maybe it wasn’t the *nicest* way to look at it, but Quill had always liked to keep things simple. And at the end of the day he and Dawnglare weren’t all that close. Hell, he’d argue he’d miss Mallowlark more, simply because the perpetually grinning tom was more his style, friend-wise.

So there were pros and cons, if he cared to look. Coming back meant an experienced medicine cat for Skyclan. Staying away, meant he didn’t have to stomach the disgusted looks the older medicine cat liked to shoot in Twitchbolts direction.

It would seem though, that their absence had affected some, more than others.

Mismatched eyes looked down at the teary-eyed kit who’d called out to him while passing, causing the towering chimera to pause. He was far from the right cat to go looking for comfort in, but he was also notoriously soft for the clans youth, unable to treat them as coldly as he might the older cats.

I’m not sure.” he answered in dull tone, not willing to be made a liar. ”But Dawnglare went to Twolegplace most likely. It’ll be easy to visit him even if he doesn’t- once your old enough, that is.”

Pleanty of Skyclanners had friends in twolegplace. It was one of the benfits of being a Skyclanner, he supposed.
​

skyclan - male - 30 months (Feb 17th) - mated to Twitchbolt - a very tall, muscular chimera with mismatched eyes and several scars. has bluejay feathers woven like spikes along his spine and neck.

 

[Howlfire]

Howlfire had not been present when the argument had occurred between Dawnglare and her brother. She knew they were a bit of an odd pair, though never had she suspected such a reaction from either of them. From what she heard she couldn't blame Fireflyglow for snapping back at Dawnglare's refusal to let Greeneyes sleep in the medicine den, sharing a nest as true mates would. To deny him such, felt hypocritical on Dawnglare's behalf, but then when did many of his decisions make sense or not be wrapped up with cryptic words and statements?

She had known Dawnglare quite literally since the day she was born, and knew in her heart he would not have taken kindly to what had been said to him, yet never did she suspect he would leave for the twolegplace. Whilst some clanmates mutter words of delight at Dawnglare and Mallowlark leaving, Howlfire is less certain where her feelings lie. She supports Fireflyglow wholeheartedly of course - she always would - and yet the lack of Dawnglare in camp feels strange. He had always been there in some capacity and now he was gone. True, it was likely only the twolegplace, but who could say if he would come back and if he would even be allowed back? After his departure, she kept thinking back to the request he had made of her some moons ago. A promise to look after her brother when he was no longer here. It felt odd to reminisce on it, especially with how he and Fireflyglow had just parted ways, but she would remain true to what she had promised him.

Budkit's gentle questioning over whether Dawnglare would come back is surprisingly moving for Howlfire. The innocence of the kit's question seems somewhat out of place after everything that happened, but Howlfire finds it sweet that at least someone was genuinely hopeful he might come back. She half expected Quillstrike's response to be more brusque than it was, but she recalled he had a softer side to him when it came to the youth of the clan. "Dawnglare's actions are always a mystery, but it's possible he could return," Howlfire mewed, adding her opinion on the matter. In what capacity though, she could not say. "Like Quillstrike said, he likely went to the twolegplace, so even if he did not return to camp, you could probably see him again one day."​

 

[LIONPAW]

It's a wonder that Lionpaw hasn't yet darted out of camp and escaped to some lonesome corner of the woods to sulk and mope about what Dawnglare had said before. The old fool, he had called Blazestar. He had insulted and attacked his older brother. Needless to say, Lionpaw was feeling extremely upset, though his initial shock and overwhelming floods of emotion had subsided for the most part.

Now, a bitterness simmers in the pit of his belly, manifesting into an unnaturally flat tone that is devoid of any empathy, "Maybe he won't come back." Maybe Dawnglare would get taken by a twoleg. Maybe he'd be snatched up by a dog, or hit by a car like Slate. Maybe he'd run to Highstones and beyond, never again to see the clans.

No. Lionpaw doesn't mean that. He knows he doesn't. As much as the chocolate torbie point was upset with the ( former? ) medicine cat, he would not wish harm onto the cat who had healed and saved so many of SkyClan's own.

𝐈𝐌 𝐒𝐓𝐈𝐋𝐋 𝐒𝐓𝐀𝐍𝐃𝐈𝐍𝐆 ✹ . + 　 　˚ 　　　　 · 　 𝐁𝐄𝐓𝐓𝐄𝐑 𝐓𝐇𝐀𝐍 𝐈 𝐄𝐕𝐄𝐑 𝐃𝐈𝐃

• 

• 

  an apprentice of skyclan, lionpaw is nine moons and is mentored by crowsight. he is the son of doeblaze and blazestar. an amalgamation of his parents, lionpaw exhibits splashes of ginger and chocolate tabby patterns against a thick, longhaired cream pelt.　✦

​

 

[Fireflyglow]

Fireflyglow didn't dare talk about Dawnglare with anyone after that fight. His pawsteps were heavy as he prepared for his journey to the Moonstone, jaw set in a hard line as he walked through camp. When he returned, Dawnglare would be back and they would fall into silence and continue their jobs just as they had before. Abandonment from the tom he looked up to most stung like the worst bee sting possible, heart aching and fury boiling in his gut.

But there are those who mourn his absence. A kit, no less.

He stops by just in time to hear Lionpaw's words. Maybe he won't come back. Fireflyglow grunts as he passes his brother, his sister- there is no words for them, no comforting words for little Budkit. He is but a ghost wandering this place. In reality, Fireflyglow was always second to Dawnglare, and he was okay with that before. He knew he would have to support his whole clan now.

You will be the downfall of SkyClan! The words ring out in his mind, and as he walks with his head low and tail dragging, Fireflyglow hopes that Dawnglare is wrong.

He had to be wrong.

// in and out! so sorry!​

SKYCLAN MEDICINE CAT ✦ 26 MOONS ✦ CHUNKY, BIG-FOOTED SEAL POINT ✦ TAGS​

 

[GREENEYES]

✧ .Family has always been of upmost importance to the tom, his siblings held close to his heart and in turn their children. He loves them all dearly, wishes nothing for the best for them, even in the worst of times. Such as now, such as in the aftermath of chaos, in argument.

It has always been the title he’s been most proud of, that of uncle. But it is irrevocably, irreparably Greeneyes’ fault that Budkit cries at the nursery’s edge.

Dawnglare might not have ever liked him, but he found relief that his family was spared from such judgment, that Budkit found a friend in the High Priest. But now she cries, now she waits for his return — one left in question. His heart breaks for her, for what he’s caused.

“ He’ll… He’ll come back, ” Greeneyes reassures where his clanmates waver. For it’s all he can do now in attempts to repair what’s been broken. “ My smallest cariño, he’ll come back. ” A shift catches the corner of his eye, and his head lifts to catch a departing form. Fireflyglow.

His heart breaks for him too, for the anger that burdens him, the weight now on his shoulders.

For a moment, he watches him leave, before his attention is pulled back to the kit before him. He’ll catch up to his mate in a moment, say his farewells before the medicine cat departs.

“ Why don’t we find Dawnglare a gift, for when he returns? ” Greeneyes asks the kit with a tilt of a head and an attempt at a smile. “ I’m sure he would like a welcome home gift — “​

✦ ABOUT

• 
  GREENEYES ✦ AMAB. He / Him. Former Lead Warrior of SkyClan.
  ✧ . A red tabby and white tom with bright green eyes.
  ✧ . Daisyflight x Raven Ramble; Mate to Fireflyglow
  ✧ . Mentored by Sheepcurl ; Mentor to Fluffypaw, formerly Falcongaze
  ✧ . Peaceful and healing powerplay permitted!
  ✧ . Penned by Abri ‣ @_abri_ on discord, feel free to dm for plots!
  ✧ . " Speech " ; Attack
  

​

 

[Oleanderkit]

Oleander is no stranger to Budkit's church-grim desperation. They wait for Dawnglare in stilled bodies and stolid faces; they wait through the sun's retirement; they wait through wet eyes and the body's calls for retreat. She shivers alongside her denmate, determined not to let the night air coax her back to the nursery too soon. Dawnglare needs them to wait. Mallowlark needs them to wait, too, though she admits she knows the black-socked tom much less than she knows the medicine cat that has promised her a star-blessing. If he doesn't come back to bestow it upon her....

But he will. She is sure of this much, at least; she has aligned her stars, read her tea leaves, spoken with the birds. When Budkit poses her question, Oleanderkit is quick to comfort: "of course he will!" Her plumed tail flicks against her friend's pelt in an effort to soothe her (or at least, that is what she tells herself; it cannot be fear, she will not let it be fear). Dawnglare knows how star-blessings come to be, so surely he would return. Surely nothing could take him down. No gnashing teeth, no acrid rubber claws, no Nightshades or Laurels to speak of. He would come back to them. He still owes her, so he has to come back.

It is a shame that other SkyClanners do not seem as certain. Oleander regards them with a skeptical eye — Quillstrike and Howlfire insist his return is possible, not certain. Lionpaw dares to muse that Dawnglare really won't come back, that his departure is more than definite. At this, Oleander bristles. She regards Lionpaw with a true snarl curling her kitten-soft lip, with a true viciousness in her chest, provoked. "Don't say that!" she hisses, and she thinks she is defending Budkit, but she says it more for herself than anyone else. More desperately, she continues, "or you'll jinx it."

And Fireflyglow comes wordless, and Greeneyes with him, though the cinnamon-furred tom chooses to stay where Fireflyglow departs. Oleander had not seen the fight for herself — had only listened to it from the threshold between milk-scent and pine, the mouth of the nursery. She had heard Fireflyglow and Dawnglare fight, had heard Greeneyes' name tossed about like the toy mouse Florabreeze had brought her, but she didn't know the extent of it. Not really. When Greeneyes offers comfort, Oleander clings to it. What else did she have, after all?

"Why don't we find Dawnglare a gift, for when he returns?" He speaks to Budkit, so Oleander directs her attention there, too, feeling generously courteous all things considered. "Can I help?" she asks her seal-faced friend, ears drooping. "I think he'd like, um... a bone." They had talked about bones and guts before Dawnglare had departed. Maybe she could summon him back that way.

𝐆𝐈𝐑𝐋, 𝐒𝐊𝐈𝐍, 𝐁𝐑𝐄𝐀𝐓𝐇, 𝐒𝐖𝐄𝐀𝐓 𓆱 . ݁˖ . ݁𓆸

• ooc. a little rushed :'- ) sorry!
  
• OLEANDERKIT —— kit of skyclan . lovage x laurel . littermate to birchkit and mercurykit ✦ penned by meghan
  
  ✦ a willowy silver blue ticked torbie with low white and seafoam eyes. lonerborn, oleander struggles to learn the ropes of clan life while coping with anxiety and past trauma. may seem strange, and has unconventional hobbies.
  ✦ girl / she her pronouns / undiscovered sexuality / 04 moons & ages every 20th
  ✦ peaceful and healing powerplay permitted / underline & tag account when attacking
  —— will not start fights / will flee / will show mercy. a mere kitten, she cannot defend herself in battle.
  
  ✦ "speech", thoughts, all opinions are in character
  ✦ full biography — msg on discord for plots — toyhouse
  

​

 

[budkit]

There are no absolutes to be given a child seeking absolution. Budkit’s worry addled mind is filled with maybes. More erring on the side of possibility - Quillstrike and Howlfire hold her attention far more gently with suggestions of seeing him at twolegplace one day compared to Lionpaw’s mumbled dismissal. The point kitten equally bristles alongside Oleanderkit at the apprentice’s gall to utter such a thing. “Dats not nice! If you ever went missing Budkit wouldn’t say you won’t come back!” She tacks onto her friend’s statement, chin trembling and eyes desperately trying not to flood with tears. Dawnglare didn’t deserve that. He helped so many of their clanmates and yet not many worried as openly about him as Budkit and Oleanderkit.

It’s Fireflyglow’s unyielding steps and soft grunt offered to Lionpaw that breaks her. He ignores the storm cloud concern that hangs over the two kits. Why? Why? Budkit recalls his gentleness and kindness towards Slate in the medicine den. His warm presence in the nursery whenever he checked up on the kits. Where was that Fireflyglow? “B-Budkit thought Firefwyglow was a good guy… Firefwyglow was supposed to be Dawnglare’s fwend!” Tears unabashedly cascade down charcoal cheeks, splattering upon large paws that grip the ground for support. It’s a choked sob that rattles the young kit, causing her to try and lean into Oleanderkit’s flank for support.

It’s the reassurance of Greeneyes that slows her tears of confusion and frustration. Sorrow drapes shoulders much too young to bear the weight of it; fear a specter looming over the child as she sinks further into the hope shining from her friend. Her uncle repeats that same hope and cements himself as an ally to their cause. “A gift?” Budkit repeats in a whisper, her nose running and eyes red rimmed from crying. Oleanderkit asks for Budkit’s permission to help as well and the seal point looks between the two. “Y-Yes… Dawngw-glare- would like a gift. A bone. Yes…” she stammers, waterlogged mind sloshing and tumbling to piece together coherent thoughts. “Thank you Gweeneyes. Can Budkit and Oleanderkit and Gwee-Greeneyes- go find a gift now? It’s getting dark and… and…” She worries that Dawnglare may return before they manage to find him a welcome home gift.​

[ penned by kerms ]​