private WHOLE WORLD'S ENDING // crash landing

[HOWLINGSTAR]

TW: description of bleeding, wounds, brief death

She doesn't know how much time has passed, nor how far they've traveled, but Howlingstar has not stopped fighting the whole time. Heart pounding with fear, her paws continue to swipe up, her body bending and lurching in whichever way the eagle's grip will allow. Hisses and snarls sound as she writhes and tears, and finally, she catches a wing with a claw. The eagle screeches and dips lower to the ground, adjusting its grip, and she takes the opportunity to struggle harder. She won't let this be the end. She has a clan to get back to! Reaching upward with as much strength as she's got despite the blood that drips from new wounds, she is barely able to nip the eagle's leg, and it screeches a disgusting sound at her. One more lurch, and she's free - but not before the angry bird tries one last time to grab her. A sharp talon slices her stomach, and then she's free falling. With a gasp, the tabby stares upwards as she plummets to the ground and the eagle takes off, clearly frustrated with the difficult meal it had gotten.

Branches and leaves slap against her back as she breaks through treetops. They slow her fall, but it's not enough to stop the pain when she finally does make it to the ground with a harsh thud. Alone, she lays there, panting as blood pours from her belly. This life loss is quick, at least. She doesn't regret it. Littlekit is safe, and she can slip away without regret. But...is that a figure approaching...? It is with the faintest jolt of alarm that she passes, darkness falling over her before she can truly make out who it is.

---

This life loss is peaceful. She is greeted by a friend she has not even had time to properly grieve, but she's so glad she gets to see him. She touches her nose to Batwing's forehead, and thanks him for what he did. 'Everyone misses you,' She'd told him. 'I know,' He'd said. But she spots no regret in his shining, starry eyes. He had died a hero, ensuring his family would be safe. She expects nothing less of the brave lead warrior she'd been proud to call her friend. They'd said their goodbyes when her body is finished healing. She has to remember to tell Leopardtongue, she thinks. Bravepaw, too.

---

When she awakens, she feels the soreness coming from her belly, but she expects to find the wound completely closed. She's not new to this. Still, everything else hurts. She can hear something, she realizes. Whispered words, murmurs caught on the breeze. It almost sounds like a prayer. Bruised ribs ache with every breath and she lets out an audible groan before opening her eyes. The first thing she sees is pink. She blinks, confused, before realizing she's staring straight up into the eyes of a cat. A wide-eyed, open-mouthed stranger is standing over her, face-to-face. "AH!" She yelps, recoiling away from the awestruck ivory feline before wincing in pain. "Wha...Who...?" ​

 

[THUNDERGLEAM]

Since kithood, earliest memory, she had been anticipating her dream of a thunderstorm. It would mean her departure from Father, of course, but it had always been him who had told her that the moment a prophecy as such flashed in her mind, it would be time for her to walk toward her destiny. And it had, it had! There had been tears in her eyes when she told him, pearling on her lashes, but with his rheumy eyes he'd looked at her with pride, telling her to go.

What she had not been foretold of on her journey was the sound of breaking branches, soon followed by the sickening thud of a body. From the shadows, she watched as life left green eyes, as the dark tabby left to join the Stars. Thundergleam felt a lump in her throat, and silently picked her way over to the body. Who are you? she wondered, softly. I hope your death was quick.

"May your spirit lie in the paws of the truth. May your ideals become your reality amongst Star..." Her prayer died prematurely. Before her, the ribs of the corpse began to move- the breath, the light, returned to the body. A cat before her had just come back to life- only StarClan's forces could have done it. Thundergleam realised in an instant that no ordinary cat lay before her- this was a Clan leader!

Oh, it was destiny! Unfortunately suffering-ridden destiny for the leader- she was still injured, still pained- but destiny nonetheless. The leader's yelp of shock startled Thundergleam, too- she shrunk backward, though the absolute awe refused to seep from her eyes. No, no- the universe's stars glimmered in her gaze. Wha... who...? At last she blinked, tugged down to earth from the cloud she walked upon. StarClan had been here, only moments before... they had pulled her here for this purpose, to find this leader... her first mission!

"I am sorry for frightening you," the alabaster she-cat murmured, tentatively relaxing, praying it came across that she meant no harm. "My- my name is Thundergleam. I... are you a Clan leader?" It was polite to question, but she knew- so prematurely, she added, "Which one?"​

penned by pin ☾​

 

[HOWLINGSTAR]

Howlingstar can only look at the she-cat with bewilderment as she shoots up onto her haunches, leaning away despite the soreness of fresh wounds. She introduces herself as Thundergleam - a clan name? Confusion rolls off of her as she studies the stranger, tentatively answering with a slow, “Yes.” She considers for a moment when she is asking which one. Which, what, clan, clan leader? She weighs her options - does she tell his strange cat the name of her clan? Her own name? But at this point…what choice does she have? Maybe if she’s friendly, the stranger will help her back to her territory - after all, she’s awfully turned around, and she’s not sure she can make it far on her own in her current state.

“I’m Howlingstar, leader of ThunderClan,” She finally answers, stiffly getting to her paws. She has a lot of questions. Why does she have a clan name? How does she know about clan leaders? Is there more about clans she knows and hasn’t said? But first, there’s only one question that needs urgently answered. “Look, I’m trying to get back to my clan. Do you know which way the clans are from here?” ​

 

[THUNDERGLEAM]

Thundergleam stood smiling patiently as the leader began to get her bearings, likely recovering from the peculiar process of reviving. Peculiar, she could assume- though she could not tell at a glance how many lives she had left. Perhaps she was used to it by now. What the molly observed that she had not been aware of was that StarClan had only healed one of the leader's wounds... she was still harmed, suffering, and Thundergleam's heart ached for her.

Her eyes widened with yet more awe when the leader introduced herself. Not just any Clan leader, then- no! The leader of her destined Clan, the one she was named for! Coincidence being a possibility was dead on arrival. Thundergleam gasped. This was meant to be- the Stars had brought her here, sent her the thunderstorm dream now, so that she would be here to aid Howlingstar!

Howlingstar. The name settled in her mind for a minute, dredging up a memory of ThunderClan's ranks. Howling Wind- this was her. Which meant Emberstar was at peace and lost, and Thundergleam ached for a blink of a moment for the legendary leader she would never be able to meet. The hesitation did not last long, though- for Howlingstar's question was one that whipped her into a great excitement. "Yes! Yes, I do!" It was gleamingly eager, her words shimmering from her like summer sunshine.

Pale eyes softened in instantly-earned respect and loyalty. "We are not far, I believe. But- you are harmed..." Her gaze saddened. "I would be honoured if you would let me personally escort you. I cannot bear to send you alone." A sweetened sigh left her, enraptured by the majesty of fate. She spoke a little too quickly. "It would be no trouble- it is the way I was being called, anyway."​

penned by pin ☾​

 

[HOWLINGSTAR]

She blinks at Thundergleam in surprise at the overly excited response, not expecting the question to bring out such an eagerness. Rather solemnly, the she-cat points out the wounds on her back and offers to take her back to ThunderClan herself. Regrettably, that does seem to be their only choice. The tabby opts to ignore the last thing she says, choosing to not delve into the oddities of this she-cat. The important thing is that she’ll get her home. “Thank you,” She replies, surprisingly genuine despite how strange she finds the other.

She grits her teeth as she heaves herself to her paws and pauses, waiting for Thundergleam to take the lead. She doesn’t miss the opportunity to finally ask, as it’s plaguing her mind, “Your name. It’s like a warrior name from a clan. And…you know about the clans, and leaders. How is that?” She blinks curiously towards the ivory molly. She knows many loners in the area will know of them, but not every loner knows about StarClan’s lives. Briefly, she fears this she-cat is actually from another clan; had she been exiled for some reason? But no…surely she’d recognize her? Or her name, at the very least. It isn’t common to be named for another clan, after all. ​

 

[THUNDERGLEAM]

At Howlingstar's acceptance, Thundergleam glowed with pride. Pale eyes flooded with honour and relief, and she bowed her head in response to the tabby's gratitude. It was no trouble, no trouble at all. Any good warrior would do this for their leader. She had predicted Howlingstar might be silent for the majority of their journey, and Thundergleam would not have begrudged her that; pain was a nasty thing to push through, evil and encompassing. She walked only slightly ahead of the leader, frequently glancing back to check that she was alright. "If you need to lean on me, feel free," she offered with a cotton-soft smile, letting moons of knowledge guide her paws like water. It was clear she knew exactly where to go.

Howlingstar was not silent, however. The question she asked was one she supposed she should have expected; most every loner she knew did not carry a Clan name. But they were not meant to be Clan cats, as she was. Thundergleam tilted her head in contemplation for a few moments, trying to work out how best to put it. "It is a Clan name," she chuckled. "Simply... I was educated. My Father is very knowledgeable... he has watched the Clans from afar for moons, but is too old to travel to your borders." It was the whole truth she could give, with what Father had told her. He could not have accompanied her on their mission- there was a slight twinge of sadness in dream-glassed eyes, then.

"I imagine it sounds strange, indeed. But I truly believe I was destined to be a Clan cat. It is why I carry my name." Sincerity honeyed her every word- she was utterly convinced, though not blind to the fact Howlingstar regarded her with light confusion, despite following her. ​

penned by pin ☾​

 

[HOWLINGSTAR]

Howlingstar hesitates at the offer, but truthfully she really could use the aid. “Thank you,” She tells her again, leaning against the other and feeling a bit guilty as she bloodies the pristine white of her fur. It’s nothing that a quick bath won’t fix, but it still makes her feel quite bad nonetheless.

She stares straight ahead towards their destination, and is in the middle of wondering how the heck this she-cat knows the way so well when her ears flick to listen to her. It is a clan name, she says - a statement that brings nothing but confusion to the tabby leader. “Your father?” She repeats curiously, feeling a bit uneasy about the whole thing. “He has been watching us? For how long?” She frowns suddenly, discomfort rising in her stomach. She hates the idea of anyone watching them, but no loner scent has been found on the borders…

I truly believe I was destined to be a clan cat.

Howlingstar looks at her then, eyes round. “Do you mean you expect to join my clan? Thundergleam, you are a stranger to us. I can’t just let you be a clan cat,” She explains with a hint of worry in her voice. “Maybe you can join SkyClan. Their borders are quite open. But my clan does not need more mouths to feed than we already have.”

Then again…this she-cat is helping her back to her territory, what looks to be a whole day’s journey, if not more. She ponders for a moment, still feeling a bit uneasy, but ultimately sighs, “We’ll see, okay? I just need to get home before I can even think about that.” ​

 

[THUNDERGLEAM]

For how long, she asked? Thundergleam was then faced with the sickening reality of not knowing. He had never observed the Clans directly, as far as she knew. "I... do not know. He never travelled to the Clans while he was raising me... we lived far away. Perhaps he only heard stories, then." Her tone was quiet and pondering all of a sudden- it was clear Howlingstar had presented a question she had never once considered. Would stories truly have given him the breadth of knowledge he carried?

Disappointment flooded through her stomach, then- but she could not find fault with Howlingstar's logic. A leader's duty was to protect their Clan, as was a warrior's duty to obey their leader- that was the way of life, was it not? In which case... Thundergleam could be anyone, writhing through the gaps to bring suffering and pain upon ThunderClan. A leader was leader for a reason- placed at the helm by StarClan themselves. She knew better than to question, dipping her head in slightly-subdued understanding. SkyClan. It was not good enough... she would rather be a loner helping from afar than anything other than a Thunderclanner. And she supposed she had gotten carried away.

Father had warned her. It will be difficult for them to believe.

"I understand," she said, with the usual heavy sincerity. "I- I apologise for my hastiness." Was her destiny wriggling out of reach? Fear took sickening hold- that she had failed StarClan, failed Father, before she had even started.

It did not seem to dampen her for very long, though. With determination, pink eyes soon glowed. "Let us be swift, then. I do not wish for ThunderClan to worry for too long." ​

penned by pin ☾​