you listen to me | confronting

[BRAMBLEHEART]

જ➶ Since the return he hasn't done much of anything but watch other cats from a distance. Truthfully he doesn't want to be more of a burden than he already knows he has been. But with no place return back to given his mother's situation and the sheer cost of it all he is stuck here. Well, at least one thing may be true at the moment. He may have found the tom he has been looking for. Described perfectly by his ailing mother and also known by that former clan cat. He honestly hopes that guy is okay. Pushing to his paws he starts to make his way towards the black and white warrior then, one hesitant step after the other. The memory rises again, the guy and that other molly and he feels that same heated lump in his chest. Are they..mates? Did he leave his mother behind to stay here and with her? His honey eyes narrow and he shakes himself before gaining some resolve. Right, he has to do it or he might never be able to face him. With stronger steps, eyes whispering of pain he approaches and finally he speaks. "I need to speak to you. Urgently." His mouth feels dry and he swallows before shaking his head and sitting down.

"Are you Thistleback? My mother...no, no, who was that other molly you were with? Where have you been all this time? Here? Playing with wild cats?" His voice is strained then as he shakes his head. "I...I don't know what to believe but my mother is dying and you are supposed to be my father." A father to a frail wretch like him, a father to a cat who is hurting because of what he has seen here as if life didn't go on.

@ThistleBack

-- feel free to post before him ​

 

[ThistleBack]

Knuckles bowed where he stands like a statue, looking over the bustle of strangers and clanmates. Tired eyes above furrowed brows, he’s still swallowing around the lump of losing Daisyflight. Still processing the victory they took, still adjusting to the turmoil of emotions. Thistleback was never good with emotion, he was a gargoyle in nature and in emotional practice. Only letting on that he had a heart to those who took to time to find out.

I need to speak to you. Urgently, whipping the crook of his neck like a shepherd’s cane. Steel eyes meet olive again, another niggle at some part of his brain. " what?- … me. Why … " he’s stupefied. The boy’s head shakes. Thistleback’s scowl pinches in a pensive attentive fashion.

Are you Thistleback?… , from there it spirals. It all spirals, it’s as if the tabby is collapsing internally. Where have you been all this time? Here? Playing with wild cats? ‘ " the -…. what are you on about?!… " his scratched tone raises. Had the shelter tortured this guy mental?

Then it happens again. Soot and bark, like some sort of ghost. Thistleback licks over his teeth, blinking, perplexed by the sudden rush of words. Alot of information to retain for a man already mentally at war. The final set of words, set his shoulders tense. Another memory, dances like a flame. A woman with a sweet voice, talking to him.

The rain was pouring so hard you could barely see, and the garden he stumbled into smelled of flowers. A lady calls out, bell tinkling on a collar. The hungry flea-bitten Tommie is guided by a soft coat, ashen brown and striped…They greys of her pelt nearly blending her into the haze. She speaks so sweetly, “Why are you out here in the cold rain, are you trying to catch your death?”, so long ago , he had made a friend. Friends were brief. Especially as a criminal stray. Anyone he left in that time of his life, was perhaps a favor to them.

Thistleback is stunned into a silence. " your mum… " He blinks with sudden realization, his lungs feel heavy and his mind is reeling. " Jenessa" the breath is punched out of him. No, no how is it possible? Gods it’d been so bloody long.

" That-… she…. I haven’t seen her in …. stars….twenty moons? I was- …. " it had been eighteen moons, disbelief casts over his maw. No. " she was .... pregnant " his heart pangs in realization. She had reared a boy alone. The son of a thieving cutthroat rogue who had long forgotten her, who didn’t even love her.

This boy, was his son. Pain radiates through his heart. He had done, exactly what his own parents had done to him. Without even knowing it. He’s speechless.

​

OOC INFO REF

• —
  
  
• 
  
  
  
  forty moons EVENT TRACKER | IMPORTANT INFO
  — Lead warrior of Skyclan since 12.22.22
  — Devoted to Deersong 9.29.22
  — Father of Coyotepaw, Eveningpaw, Briarpaw, Sunflowerpaw, and Rosepaw.
  — mentoring Snowpaw graduate(s) Quillstrike
  — very muscular piebald black and white tom with spiky fur and cold silver-grey eyes.
  — voice & accent
  — biography･ﾟ✧​
  OPEN for Dice battles | stine#3004
  
• 
  
  

​

 

[BRAMBLEHEART]

જ➶ "You don't have the right!" He suddenly snaps, jaws widening and lips drawn up to reveal sharp teeth. Anger pulses in his body and he feels almost lightheated. He didn't, doesn't have the right to say his mother's name as if he is even remotely familiar with her. He knows nothing of his mother because if he had he would have stayed, he would have stayed and cherished her those moons ago. The tom is tense as the other recalls the molly who gave him kindness only to be given heartbreak in return. A litter to raise alone and her kits all dying save for one. She always calles him her sweet special boy. But he knows better, there is nothing special about him. His ears are drawn back against his skull as he stares at the man before him. "Why did you leave? Why!?" He wants to know the truth. Even if they hadn't been good enough at least he will have a reason and he can stop wondering why. Jenessa speaks so fondly of him but here he is living a different life.

Cozying up with someone else. Leaving them forgotten in the movement of time. It hurts and he feels like his heart will explode. He tries to push past his own emotions, listen to him. It sounds like he didn't know his mother had been pregnant but he would have, he would have if he had just stayed. "I bet you already have a better family, right? With Skyclan and, and whoever she was." Probably kits deemed much more worthy of his presence. He takes a step back and collapses on his haunches. "Why did I come here? I should have expected this, all of this....." Quickly he turns his head away, drawing up and debating on just leaving. He might not make it far but he would still limp as fast as he could.​

 

[ThistleBack]

You don’t have the right!, he snaps and Thistleback is still throughout the next rush of words. The anger the boy is feeling, Thistleback knows so fucking well. Had felt it his whole life, every second of the day. Why am I alone, what did I do to make them not want me, why am I not enough. , the emptiness is filled with rage after a while, and a stony man is brought up from the ashes. He had changed, as much as he denied himself of worth. After doing so many bad things, you tend to wonder if you’ll ever clean your paws of it. Thistleback had been blessed with a family, and a clan to ferociously protect. Where in the dust, had he left a kid?

" I would have never. ever. abandoned you. " he speaks slowly, conviction and absolute truth in every word. He doesn’t see the watchful eyes and ears of his clanmates. He’s tunnel visioned on this boy. " I didn’t know. " Thistleback’s tone is husky, he brows set pinched about unmoving eyes. " how could I? …. before Skyclan…. I was- a stray. I never stayed anywhere. Never cared about anything " the gaps between his words, were the tunes of his own misery he wasn’t about to spill.

" I was a bad man. A very bad man- but I would’ve never left you. Never " he swallows, a new feeling washing over him. My son. A father’s love, he feels so fiercely, so intensely. That sort of thing could only come from someone who never had it for themself, it seems. " she showed me kindness…. a great kindness…. we knew eachother… briefly " he wonders how much she had told the boy. Why hadn’t she sought him out, he couldn’t feel angry at a dying woman. " But I would never do what my parents did to me " he promises.

Damsel had fallen back on his haunches with a defeated look. Lost, angry, heartbroken- better family, Thistleback shakes his skull with the wording " Deersong, she’s my mate. We have five children… Eveningpaw, Sunflowerpaw, Briarpaw, Rosepaw… and my adoptive son, Coyotepaw " he speaks with almost invitation, as soft as his gravel tone could. " There is nothing else in this bloody world that I love as much as I do my children. " he finishes, taking one step towards the younger.

" I’m glad you came here… to find me. I wouldn’t have. Perhaps, that makes you a better man. " he doesn’t want him to leave, doesn’t want to create another Tommie in this world.

​

OOC INFO REF

• —
  
  
• 
  
  
  
  forty moons EVENT TRACKER | IMPORTANT INFO
  — Lead warrior of Skyclan since 12.22.22
  — Devoted to Deersong 9.29.22
  — Father of Coyotepaw, Eveningpaw, Briarpaw, Damsel, Sunflowerpaw, and Rosepaw.
  — mentoring Snowpaw graduate(s) Quillstrike
  — very muscular piebald black and white tom with spiky fur and cold silver-grey eyes.
  — voice & accent
  — biography･ﾟ✧​
  OPEN for Dice battles | stine#3004
  
• 
  
  

​

 

[~Deersong~]

( ♬ ) Deersong watches the entire display from several tail-lengths behind Damsel, the molly having halted in her steps as she aimed to speak to her mate. As the words spill out of the pair, the cream and mocha molly's expression remains unreadable, aqua gaze shimmering with emotion as she restrains herself from stepping forward and interrupting.

At least not until she hears the hint of invitation in Thistlebacks' voice, and she feels it is now time for her to speak. Walking over on near-silent steps, she stops behind the cat who was the son of her beloved, and meowed in her gentle coo, "I hope you stay." She looks at Damsel with her usual half-lidded stare, head tilting to the left, "I mean that. You belong with your father. And you deserve the chance to make up for the lost time, Youngblood."

She doesn't look at Thistleback, not once as she dips her head to the tormented youth between them and moves to walk away again, "If you do decide to stay, our family is your family, no arguing about that. Can ya dig it?" She would offer one more smile before moving on feathered paws to leave the camp, a million thoughts pounding through her head. ​

( LET YOU BREAK; MY HEART AGAIN )

 

[Briarpaw]

₊°⟡ IM IN A FIELD OF DANDELIONS

---

There was a commotion in the middle of camp, and it drew the lilac tortie out of their place in their nest. Briarpaw had been intending on taking a nap before training started for the day as they had been on the moonhigh patrol. They blinked tiredness from their dual colored gaze and furrowed their brow as this shelter cat started to yell at their father. What where they on about? The young apprentice padded closer until they came to a stance beside their mother and tilted their head to the side.

Then it hit them like a ton of bricks.

Her father had another child.

Briarpaw felt rage boil up through their chest and they watched as their mother seemingly state that Damsel was allowed in their family. Wasn't she upset? Thistleback had another mate! He didn't say anything about Damsels existance and he claimed to know nothing of the sort. That he would've loved the shelter cat if he had known and it made them unsheathe their claws. The young lilac tortie bared faers teeth and snapped at their father with, "What about the rest of us then huh? Do we not matter now?" They watched their mother turn around and leave the conversation, and there was a harsh glare at her. She was just going to lay back and accept it?

"You're no better either, mother, running away from your issues like you always do!" Briawpaw yowled loudly and lashed their tail back and forth angrily. "SPEECH"

---

HOPING ONE DAY YOU'LL BE MINE! ₊°⟡

⟪ OOC ⟫ ⟪ INFO ⟫ ⟪ REF ⟫

• //​
• BRIARPAW devoted and loved
  — they/fae/she; 5 months; single; lesbian mongamist
  — Skyclan Apprentice; mentored by BEARHEART
  — Snarky, hesitant and a little bit of a over achiever
  
  casual character. penned by wolf.​
• 

​

 

[BRAMBLEHEART]

જ➶ What is he supposed to do now? Truthfully he didn't even stop to think about how all this would go down. Where he would go after the fact. Or even how to deal with all of this. The pain, the anger, the potential hatred, the sadness. Everything seems to be coming on too quickly and he finds himself trying to catch his breath. Trying to listen to him despite his whole being saying not to trust in his words. Not to trust in the man that he has never had in his life. But he wants to so badly. He wants to believe that he cares about him. That he actually loves him despite not having been there. He can't find it in himself to look at him. But he hears him. He hears him and against his own warnings he clings to those words. He would have never abandoned him if he had known about his mother being pregnant. Tales of this tom being a bad man and not caring about anything due to his stray life paints a picture and his jaws tightened. "Did you....did you not care about my mother?" It is a question filled with bitterness, a tang on his tongue.

Still he claims to have known her briefly and perhaps that was how he wanted it. Something short. A fling. Nothing more. Careless. Finally his eyes jerk up to him and he says he would have never been like his parents and yet the words strike a cord in him. "Too late for that. Didn't really do a good job." Is he trying to hurt him? Maybe. He doesn't know anymore and he tries his best to quell himself, short tail sliding against the ground. Claws flexing against dirt as he finally learns her name. Deersong. The molly that has his father's heart now. And them he speaks of his family, all with those same names. Raised up by him unlike himself. Knowing this place, laughing together, crying together. Having that sense of peace together
"Right, right, and you just want me to believe you on your word when I haven't seen otherwise. It's harder than that, Thistleback." Not father, just Thistleback.

Though he jolts and whips himself around as a voice speaks up. Speaking oddly but he knows her name now and he knows what she looks like. Thistleback's mate. She actually wants him to stay. Says he belongs here with him and his muzzle curls but again that feeling of wanting to believe hits him hard and he struggles internally. She believes that their family is also his own and suddenly tears spring forth in his eyes. He lifts a paw to brush against them before another cat speaks up, one he had not noticed previously. Her words are barbed and he flattens his ears against his skull. "What do you mean what about us? Y-you already have everything! You haven't lost anything to even make that claim!" Then the child is yelling after the molly, calling her mother and he sudden snaps his jaws shut. This, this cat is his sibling. The world is a rush of sound and he wobbles. "I..don't have anywhere to go. I left home because mom said...I'd be better. I feel like she lied to me. I guess I don't have a choice but to stay but I'm not here to be apart of all this. Not yet, I can't trust any of you." Even though he really wants to, he can't. ​

 

[Fireflyglow]

"If you do not trust him as your father, trust him as your clanmate." Fireflypaw meows softly as he saunters over, tail dragging against the ground. He does not want to get between family matters, but this was getting.. A bit too much for Thistleback to handle, wasn't it? He was no Warrior, was no Leader- but he spoke with a sense of maturity that would only come from all he's experienced in his few moons of life. "Your parents love you, that is no mistake Briarpaw." To deny that would to deny her parent's love, their bond. Contemplating such things, he finds himself thinking of his own parents. His mother loved him, he knew that- but she had moved on from him and his father, found somebody new. New kits, new family. A saddened look passes over his face, blind blue eyes barely open. He stares through them all, ghostly words on his lips.

"You are home now. Make SkyClan your home. And live with no regrets, Damsel. Regrets.. They only make your life miserable."​

SKYCLAN MEDICINE CAT APPRENTICE ✦ 9 MOONS ✦ CHUNKY, BIG-FOOTED SEAL POINT ✦ TAGS​

 

[BLAZESTAR]

Blazestar is silent. The shelter cat does not bear any striking resemblance to Thistleback, but of course, the Ragdoll had not known his mother. "Jenessa," Thistleback says. A kittypet name. He watches the young tom's explosive anger, and though his heart hurts for his friend, he knows it is not his place to interfere.

His son certainly has no qualms about talking to this Damsel, which causes Blazestar's ears to twitch. Fireflypaw has a big heart, but often blunders into situations without caution. He does not chastise the seal point, though. There's no need.

He pads closer to Thistleback, only murmuring, "Are you alright?" The black and white warrior looks as though he's seen a ghost. Perhaps he has, Blazestar reflects. There's something, too, that begins to harden in the Ragdoll's belly -- a gray, sick sympathy. Empathy.

Does he not have two daughters in a Clan who will not know him? Who will never know him as father?

It is not the same situation, but Blazestar, though he cannot express this, has more of an understanding of Thistleback's pain than he can express.​

[ PENNED BY MARQUETTE ]​

​

 

[ThistleBack]

His mate’s voices peeks through the storm, offering a soft kindness to the angered boy. She offers him a place in the family, but as her paws turn on the dirt to leave. She doesn’t look his way, but surely she could see by the boy’s age this was way before them. Thistleback was a whole different cat back then.

Finally he’s stirred from his stupor, Briarpaw’s teeth are peeled out and gnashing around agree words at him. ’ What about the rest of us then huh? Thistleback’s face twitches into an angry smile, white nicked ears flicking backwards as he meets his daughter’s glare. As she yowls at her mother, he steps forward. Words rallying on his tongue to reprimand but Damsel’s intercepts.

the lost boy doesn’t believe him, claims it’s not as simple as that. Thistleback knows it too well himself, but he’s still reeling, and though a man of patient calculation he was not one to blather too soon. Not one to justify himself, that just wasn’t the case. Thistleback taught lessons on being a stronger man when dealt the wrong cards in life. This situation would best be taught by his own parents. Only, he did not do this. No.

Damsel is speaking with finality after snapping toward Brairpaw, but those raised with everything know not how to handle nothing while those born with nothing crave what they should have. Where had Thistleback gone wrong? that’s not a question he’d ask himself. Where to go from here? That’s it. fireflypaw’s voices cuts in softly, cutting into a warring family can’t be easy but the medic seemed unphased and without hesitance.

" Briarpaw, you will not speak to your mother like that. You and your littermates had a very loved kithood, and I’m not going to hear this from you. Quit yowling like a spoiled brat " Thistleback barks to her harshly, it’s that tone he used that Deersong would interject when they were kits to keep them from crying. He was never a perfect father but the girl was too grown for that mess.

His hackles were dancing in his anger as he turns back to answer Damsel’s question harshly but snaps his jaws shut as the shadow of the large flame point leader is cast over the ground and his voice is asking if everything is alright. It does well to settle him, to bring a veil of silence over him to keep him from biting. Sorrow for a boy raised alone by a sick woman, replaced by flat anger. Thistleback is scowling, " eventually " he responds hoarsely to Blazestar. " right now I don’t know how to feel " he admits. Tossing between angry and sad like the worst game of mossball.

" you always have a choice, and you are always welcome with your family. I have nothing but time to prove what you want proven, kid. I would love to know my son. " he offers, but whips around on his heel to lie down. He’s tired, and his mind is a roaring giant. It was Damsel’s move, not his. Thistleback at his age was a monster, crafted by the rarest brand of rage- the unwanted. This boy, he’s wanted. Thistleback hoped he’d know that fully one day, that’s all he could offer.

​

⛤ OOC INFORMATION REFERENCE ⛤

• —
  
  
• 
  
  
  
  forty EVENT TRACKER | IMPORTANT INFO
  — Lead warrior of Skyclan since 12.22.22
  — Devoted to Deersong 9.29.22
  — Father of Coyotepaw, Eveningpaw, Briarpaw, Damsel, Sunflowerpaw, and Rosepaw.
  — mentoring Snowpaw graduate(s) Quillstrike
  — very muscular piebald black and white tom with spiky fur and cold silver-grey eyes.
  — voice & accent
  — biography･ﾟ✧​
  OPEN for Dice battles | stine#3004
  
• 
  
  

​