WE'RE WITNESSING MENTAL ILLNESS — dewfam therapy

[FROGGY]

Nothing feels right anymore. His world had shifted once his mom died, but now that Foxy is gone, too... It seems like everything is upside down. Froggy has cried and cried, and now he just feels... hollow.

He shuffles into the den with a sigh, dropping the measly frog next to their nest. The tortie point looks down at his siblings, all nestled together, all hurting. "Wanna share with me?" The offer is weak, and he cannot find it in him to force a smile. The frog is barely big enough to quell his appetite, let alone five of them... Still, he steps into the nest and settles down, his side pressing into that of one of his littermates.

There's a moment of deafening silence, and then...

He couldn't keep it in any longer. "Do you... think Foxy is okay?" Froggy wants to believe that his older sister is still alive and out there somewhere. But he knows now how cruel the world is, how uncaring it is for it's inhabitants. And even if she is alive... Why would she leave them? Did she not love them anymore?

His eyes want to mist over, but he's run out of tears to cry days ago.

@DIZZY. @Rocky @TOMATO @ivy ​

 

[moonpaw ☾]

Ivy smiled weakly at Froggy, nibbling on one of the frog's legs.

The past moon had been rough on her littermates. Honestly, Ivy didn't know how they were still functioning. She had barely moved at all since the sun came up.

At the mention of their sister, she let out a hiss. "Why should we care? She abandoned us! Who cares if she's okay?"

No matter how hard she tried, Ivy couldn't understand why Foxy would just leave them like that. She was supposed to love them, wasn't she? So why hadn't she stayed?

Ivy refused to care. If Foxy didn't care about Ivy, then Ivy wouldn't care about Foxy. It was as simple as that. ​

[ I NEVER LEARNED RESTRAINT ]​

 

[Patterpine]

i've been patient and steadfast and steady ☁☁​

A numb tongue skimmed across tangled knots, Rocky's patience waning with every laboured pass. He was set trying to clean himself, a task the tom hadn't faced on his own before. When Froggy's marbled pelt pressed into the den he rolled up, easily abandoning the half-groomed leg. Heavy steps pulled him along to his brother, a strained pur trembling low in his throat. Gently bumping a ragged chin against his sibling's cheek, he lay his lustreless silver form alongside him.

Forgoing the freshkill he let his overcast attention slide across his family's faces. The sadness was slick on all of them, and Rocky felt helpless to rid them of it. How could he, when he couldn't push the sickness off himself? At the mention of his missing sister the pain twisted, blunt barbs of worry reintroducing themselves. Almost instinctually he nodded- he had to believe she was okay.

Ivy's response stumped him for a dull moment, ears half flattened along his broad skull. Then the answer to her questions came easily. "We care because she is our sister. I care." His words were matter of fact, a genuine response to what he saw as simple confusion. Mind tired and so battered already his comprehension skipped over his sister's bitter tone, over the talk of being 'abandoned.'
​

 

[FROGGY]

Froggy is taken aback by Ivy's outburst, his ears flattening against his head. Rocky is quicker than him to respond, the small tortie point fumbling for words... Foxy... wouldn't abandon them, right? There has to be some other explanation. Foxy loved them.

Didn't she?

Ivy has planted the seed of doubt within his mind, his tail lashing nervously. He doesn't want to believe it, but...

Froggy brings a paw up to his muzzle, his teeth gnawing at half-unsheathed claws. "I... care, too." The response is hushed, uncertain, muffled by his paw. Even if Foxy doesn't care, he does. She's family, not by blood but he loves her all the same. But... Pale blue eyes search each of his siblings' faces, looking for the same bitterness that had colored Ivy's voice. Did they feel the same as Ivy? Was he and Rocky foolish for still caring for Foxy?

He sighs, what little of his appetite he had evaporating. He nudges the frog closer to his siblings. "I shouldn't have said anything."​