- Sep 13, 2022
- 158
- 51
- 28
Rabbitnose didn't always get to patrol with Badgerstrike. For all her brutish strength and abrasive attitude, she was still his beloved sister who was a loyal thunderclanner and unwillful mushroom hunting partner.
Which is what they are doing today!!
"Why are you so obsessed with these things."
"I just think they're neat. One day they aren't there...And then the next day, they are!"
"You can't even eat them!"
"You can if youre brave enough."
"RABBIT."
They were nearing the Skyclan border, though it didn't worry him any. He had no ill will towards Skyclan, evenif their cats end up in their forest sometimes. It's better them than Windclan or Riverclan. Skyclan wasn't full of brutes like those two. But today isn't about them. today is about MUSHROOMS. He has just found an interesting little mushroom when a familiar figure makes herself known from the pine forest, stepping into view from behind a tree. Sweetybee approaches her siblings with tired, sorrowful eyes devoid of any of the joy usually held in them. It makes both Rabbitnose and Badgerstrike stop their mushroom hunt to trot to the border to meet her.
"Sweetybee what wr-" Before Rabbitnose could even finish his sentence that Badgerstrike was also repeating at the same time, Sweetybee pushed her head into his chest and broke into tears.
"HE'S GONE!!!!" She wailed, unable to say anything else. It was painful enough to even say those two words.
"Who's gone?" Badgerstrike asked, coming in closer to sit with her siblings.
Rabbitnose nuzzled his face into Sweetybee's head. "Calm down and tell us what happened." He said softly.
Sweetybee struggled to stop choking on her sobs. She didn't want to say it again, it hurt too much. She already had to break the news of Mountainheart's death to Pine and Fish, and that was daunting enough. "H-h... He-"
Swallowing hard and taking a breath, she forced out her words. "DAD IS GONE!! HE GOT SICK AND HE- HE-....J-just....hours ago....."
Her siblings were left in shocked, horrified silence. They couldn't believe it either, she couldn't blame them. She had delivered the news so suddenly, they probably needed a moment to register what she said. Rabbitnose and Badgerstrike were so quiet, so stiff, she could mistake them for statues.
Rabbitnose kept opening his mouth to speak, but he couldn't find the words. He couldn't ask how, he couldn't ask who did it. He knew the answers to those questions. This sickness had claimed his father, an invincible guardian who saved them as kittens and raised them as his own... Someone he had known his entire life.... Just gone. The news was so sudden, he almost didn't believe it. But he knows Sweetybee would never lie about something like this. He felt himself begin to tremble, his eyes began to water, and he fought the urge to race into Skyclan's territory to see if it was really true. That when he bursts into their camp, Mountainheart will be there to greet him.
But he can't, and knowing that he wont even be able to visit his father's grave breaks him.
And possibly for the first time, he sees tears in Badgerstrikes eyes. She stares at them, but it's as if she's staring through them instead. Even she doesn't know what to say. She simply joins in the embrace, pushing her face into Rabbitnose's neck to hide her tears.
Nothing mattered anymore. Not the time, not the fact that they would have each other's scent on them, though their family relation to each other was no secret. All that mattered right now was grappling with the reality that they had just lost the most important person in their lives, and two of them didn't even get to say goodbye. That's what really hurt.
Which is what they are doing today!!
"Why are you so obsessed with these things."
"I just think they're neat. One day they aren't there...And then the next day, they are!"
"You can't even eat them!"
"You can if youre brave enough."
"RABBIT."
They were nearing the Skyclan border, though it didn't worry him any. He had no ill will towards Skyclan, evenif their cats end up in their forest sometimes. It's better them than Windclan or Riverclan. Skyclan wasn't full of brutes like those two. But today isn't about them. today is about MUSHROOMS. He has just found an interesting little mushroom when a familiar figure makes herself known from the pine forest, stepping into view from behind a tree. Sweetybee approaches her siblings with tired, sorrowful eyes devoid of any of the joy usually held in them. It makes both Rabbitnose and Badgerstrike stop their mushroom hunt to trot to the border to meet her.
"Sweetybee what wr-" Before Rabbitnose could even finish his sentence that Badgerstrike was also repeating at the same time, Sweetybee pushed her head into his chest and broke into tears.
"HE'S GONE!!!!" She wailed, unable to say anything else. It was painful enough to even say those two words.
"Who's gone?" Badgerstrike asked, coming in closer to sit with her siblings.
Rabbitnose nuzzled his face into Sweetybee's head. "Calm down and tell us what happened." He said softly.
Sweetybee struggled to stop choking on her sobs. She didn't want to say it again, it hurt too much. She already had to break the news of Mountainheart's death to Pine and Fish, and that was daunting enough. "H-h... He-"
Swallowing hard and taking a breath, she forced out her words. "DAD IS GONE!! HE GOT SICK AND HE- HE-....J-just....hours ago....."
Her siblings were left in shocked, horrified silence. They couldn't believe it either, she couldn't blame them. She had delivered the news so suddenly, they probably needed a moment to register what she said. Rabbitnose and Badgerstrike were so quiet, so stiff, she could mistake them for statues.
Rabbitnose kept opening his mouth to speak, but he couldn't find the words. He couldn't ask how, he couldn't ask who did it. He knew the answers to those questions. This sickness had claimed his father, an invincible guardian who saved them as kittens and raised them as his own... Someone he had known his entire life.... Just gone. The news was so sudden, he almost didn't believe it. But he knows Sweetybee would never lie about something like this. He felt himself begin to tremble, his eyes began to water, and he fought the urge to race into Skyclan's territory to see if it was really true. That when he bursts into their camp, Mountainheart will be there to greet him.
But he can't, and knowing that he wont even be able to visit his father's grave breaks him.
And possibly for the first time, he sees tears in Badgerstrikes eyes. She stares at them, but it's as if she's staring through them instead. Even she doesn't know what to say. She simply joins in the embrace, pushing her face into Rabbitnose's neck to hide her tears.
Nothing mattered anymore. Not the time, not the fact that they would have each other's scent on them, though their family relation to each other was no secret. All that mattered right now was grappling with the reality that they had just lost the most important person in their lives, and two of them didn't even get to say goodbye. That's what really hurt.