when the light is sweet and heavy 🥀 turtles

[VELVETDUSK]

VELVETDUSK

HE/HIM SHADOWCLAN WARRIOR

As the patrol slinks towards the tender wound that is the ThunderClan border, Velvetdusk occupies himself with watching the world around him. It's a long walk, longer still with the prospect of the forest Clan waiting at its end; why not busy himself? The marsh really is quite beautiful when you know where to look. Cold, cloudy leaf-bare light illuminates copses of reeds that nod as he passes, sloping roots of pines, shining pools of algae-glutted water.

The latest of these last is actually occupied by something other than skittering frogs or cloudy-eyed toads. " Hm? " Velvetdusk ventures closer—the patrol's stopped for a moment anyways, presumably in the interest of a drink of water. He peers into the pool, met by beady eyes and a scraping noise as one of the creatures lurking within drags itself slowly out, trailing rivulets of murky water onto a flat rock.

" Oh, look, turtles, " he remarks to nobody in particular, his split muzzle creasing into a small smile as he watches a couple more of the stalwart animals scuttling about the shallows of the pool. Hardy little creatures, they are, and therefore very reminiscent of his Clan, he thinks. Shifting between water and land, persisting despite the odds. His dark eyes turn up at the bottoms in unexpected delight. " They're such clever little creatures. "

ooc:

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Velvetdusk is a small, sweet-faced cat with a feathery black, cinnamon, and white pelt and dark, imploring brown eyes. His left ear is gone nearly to the base, and he has claw scars over his left eye and high on his right temple.

Sickle x Isabela / younger brother to Sebastian
mentored by Doveswoop / mentoring n/a
15 moons old as of 2/1/2025

penned by dejavu

 

[Halfsun]

Halfsun paused mid-step, turning her head to follow Velvetdusk's gaze. Her whiskers twitched as she spotted the turtles clambering over the rocks, their shells gleaming faintly with wetness.

"Huh." Her tail gave a small flick of amusement. "Haven't seen many of those lately." One of the turtles stretched its neck forward, testing the air before pulling its head back into the safety of its shell. Hardy little things, slow but steady—facing the world with thick shells and stubborn persistence. She could see the appeal.

"They've got the right idea," she mused, her voice light with faint humor. "Carry your home on your back, tuck yourself away when trouble comes. Must be nice." Her gaze softened slightly as she watched another turtle slide back into the water with a faint plop.

Her shoulders shifted as she sat down briefly beside Velvetdusk, the patrol's pause offering a moment of quiet she hadn't realized she needed. The air smelled faintly of damp earth and pine, mingled with the faint chill of a lingering leaf-bare.

"Clever," she echoed, glancing at him with a faint smirk. "But not exactly quick. Good thing we're not relying on them to chase off ThunderClan, huh?"

( ˚₊· ͟͟͞͞➳❥ ) smile for me when you set me free

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  HALFSUN SHADOWCLAN WARRIOR; SHE / HER ; SISTER TO APPLEJAW, ASHENFALL, SWANSONG, GARLICHEART, AND LAURELGRIN ; MENTORING LAVENDERPAW
  

  A tall and well-toned she cat with a long half-and half pelt, one side being a dark blue tabby and the other a bright cream, split by a pool of white at her center and travelling up her face like flames she is fire and ice simultaneously swirling into one. Her eyes are a mismatched shade of blue, with one being bright like the daytime sky and the other dark like the depths of the river.

  ✦ Difficult in battle + a skilled fighter
  

 

[SCREECHSTORM]

SCREECHSTORM

HE / HIM | SHADOWCLAN WARRIOR

Among a patrol of faces he's been stuck with more often than not, a sun-spotted ear twitches at the break in silence. His gaze follows Velvetdusk and Halfsun's, contemplative of the former's discovery. It is proof of warmer days to come in the form of turtles — limbed rocks scuttling in and out of the shallow pool the patrol drinks from, seeking to bask in the sunlight.

He can't help but to settle beside the duo, kit-like wonder guiding his gaze to watch the creatures. Screechstorm hums at Halfsun's words. " Imagine how much easier our lives would be, " he adds. ThunderClan wouldn't be able to steal their home off their backs, would they? Though, he hardly believes a turtle-led life would consist of clans. Simply a forest without borders, another means of an easy life. Perhaps they are clever, as Velvetdusk says.

An idea comes to mind, one nearly as ridiculous as turtle clans. Screechstorm snorts, and his gaze darts toward Velvetdusk first, as if searching for a reaction, " Do you think we can crack their shells open? Bring them back as prey? " Part of him — most of him? — hopes not. Part of him hopes their clever means can't be broken, that their simple life isn't merely a facade.

Screechstorm is a lithe, scruffy-furred tom, who appears almost as a shadow, save for red tabby markings appearing as light filtering through branches and the scars at his sides. His eyes, each a different shade of green, carry a mischievous glint — often in tandem with his crooked grin.

- Forestshade x ???⋅ Single
- Sibling to Briarthorn, Sweetpaw †
- Mentored by Chilledstar † ⋅ Mentor to no one
- Penned by Abri

 

[shalestorm]

A gentle smile graces Shalestorm's face as she watches the others on the patrol admiring the turtles as they move, slow and deliberate. Timid and stubborn. Shalestorm rather thinks them cute, and she deliberately chooses not to think about how much easier life in the Clans might be if they could all carry their home on their back... or she tries to, but the thought just keeps nagging on her. Envy. An emotion she doesn't like, but one that still rears its ugly maw from time to time. She blinks the jealousy away, replacing her small smile with an outright grin.

"Maybe it's not really their home. Maybe it's more like their nest! Dunno 'bout you, but I don't think carrying around a big heap of moss on my back would be very helpful," she giggles, her little joke making her laugh even if no one else did. The thought of taking them as prey has her humming in thought... could they break the shells? "Maybe we could break them?" She muses, tilting her head at Screechstorm while she ponders his question. "Maybe if we get a big rock and drop it on them. Do y'think RiverClan eats these all the time? Maybe at the next gathering we can ask how in the world they break the shells?" Even if no one else would want to ask, Shalestorm had no qualms about doing so if she were invited to go to the next gathering.

if I held your hand // would that be okay?

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  #e36f90
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  (img) Shalestorm * she/her* 30 moons
  blue point/blue chimera w/ low white; blue eyes
  Peaceful & healing powerplay allowed || underline for attack
  penned by Neptune. || Neptune on disc, dm me for plots