you want the moon? just say the word [open]

[QUILLSTRIKE]

IF THE POINT'S TO NEVER DISAPOINT YOU, SOMEBODY'S GOT TO TELL ME WHAT TO DO​

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OOC- This takes place the night of the meeting! Just a nice, casual thread for our cats to chill (and for Quill to swoon over his super-cool-mega-hot-deputy-husband. <3

There were very few things in life that Quill cared enough to make an effort for. Skyclan was one, but even they were only given his physical endeavors; his claws and his teeth and the deftness of his paws. One could argue that to a degree, they also had his loyalty as well- he knew that in a fight he would both kill and die to protect the cats he called his clanmates- but that was usually where things ended. He could be friendly in his own way with the ones he liked, but any cat in a two-mile radius could tell you he wasn’t the sort to go pouring his feelings into things.

Most of the time, that was because he just didn’t have any. And maybe that was a boring excuse, but it was true; he didn’t care enough to laugh at your joke or to ask how your day was going, and even if he did chances were it would come out wrong and lose its intended effect anyways. So more often than not he just didn’t bother expending the effort- not out of malice, but because his aloof ass just couldn’t be bothered. The effort wasn’t worth the reward.

Unless your name was Twitchbolt.

The sun was mostly set on the pine forest, the sky dark and only the last dim dredges of light clinging to the horizon. It was cloudy out that night, but the gentle wind kept them moving enough to catch glimpses of the moon and stars whenever there were gaps. It wasn’t an ideal night for stargazing very few would be with leaf-fall here which is why he’d instead chosen to spend his time hunting instead. By the time he returned to camp, much of the group was already relaxing in the clearing, sharing tongues and prey and they prepared to call it quits for the day. Quill made a quick stop at the kill pile with the two items he was carrying, not even pausing to think before he tossed the bird aside to join the other bodies, keeping the squirrel for himself. The slippery fuck had taken nearly an hour to catch, but Twitchbolt deserved the best.

Mismatched eyes of blue and copper found the other tom easily enough, tucked away with a small group that was smiling and talking amongst themselves. He took a moment to simply watch, to admire, and it amazed him still how his heart could twist in such violent fondness for someone. Shouldn’t it have settled by now into something less intense? Something a little less consuming? Then again, he was no expert. And it wasn’t like he wanted it to stop. For the first time in his entire fucking life the chimera fell alive and happy, like he wasn’t just on this earth to exist until he finally kicked the bucket.

While he could have stood there and watched them for most of the night without interrupting creep, he had other plans tonight as he crossed the space to join his mate, carefully placing his still-warm catch at their paws like an offering before slipping in to sit beside them.

”Hey, babe. Brought you some dinner.” he purred, leaning down to rub his cheek along their own with a small, content smile before letting his attention slip to the rest of the group. ”Hey.” he offered in way of greeting.

In the beginning, physical touch had been a strange but welcome thing, an affection he wasn’t used to even on the most basic of levels. Even now, most cats didn’t dare to just walk up and offer to share tongues with him, and to be fair he thought he might tell most of them to fuck off. But Figfeather? Butterflytuft? Fireflyglow? He wouldn’t have probably said yes even if he grumbled about it. Hell, the list probably extended well beyond them if he was honest.

But no contact from them would be the same. Close was never close enough with Twitchbolt. Just like words were never enough to properly describe just how much Quill felt when they were with him.

How much he cared.

And tonight, pride thrummed heavily in his veins as he settled beside his mate, a deep, raspy purr in his throat as he lay his tail across their own. Deputy. Twitch had worked so fucking hard for it, had grown so much. While there was a certain twinge of sympathy that sat in his belly for Fig, it had no chance of ever existing outside of just that; a vague understanding for their disappointment. It was nothing next to the pleased feeling he had at knowing his mate was happy and had gotten their way. Quill would have ripped the very stars from the sky if Twitch asked for them, would tear the moon from it’s orbit if it would make the other smile.

All Twitchbolt had to do was ask it of him.

Luckily though, his mate had a far better moral compass than he did, which meant the world could sleep safely without having to worry about what earth-shattering consequences might come about from such a request. As Quill would surely damn them all himself included so long as that perfect smile was the last thing he saw before darkness took him.

@TWITCHBOLT but no need to wait!!

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"Speech"/Thoughts
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skyclan - male - 30 months (Feb 17th) - mated to Twitchbolt - a very tall, muscular chimera with mismatched eyes and several scars. has bluejay feathers woven like spikes along his spine and neck.

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[Ekat]

Ekat finds herself among the small group settled in the clearing beneath the growing darkness — but, of course, lying off to the side and not engaging in their spirited chatter. She simply observes in her usual melancholic silence, the midnight-furred she-cat's presence merely that of one of the approaching evening's shadows. She watches as Quillstrike approaches with fresh-kill in his jaws, padding to his mate's side and brushing his cheek affectionately. At that, Ekat turns away, suppressing an awkward grimace at the tom's pet name. It feels strange to her ears, but even stranger to bear witness to their endearment, like intruding on something she shouldn't. Ekat isn't sure she'll ever have another cat with whom she'd share such fondness like Quillstrike and Twitchbolt do, and even imagining such a thing has the she-cat internally shrinking further beneath the high walls she has built around herself. She hardly has the courage to speak to anybody, let alone find something like love.

When the tomcat settles at the returning deputy's side and greets the rest of the group, Ekat merely forces a tight smile in response, one she's sure Quillstrike might not even notice. It's too fleeting and insignificant. The warrior turns her focus instead to the stars illuminating the night above them, thankful for the dim light that provides her enough of a sense of hiding from her Clanmates. But amidst her unease, Ekat feels proud of Twitchbolt, too, and of the other SkyClanners whose names were chanted at the meeting tonight. Florabreeze in particular, and Twitchbolt as well — with whom Ekat feels a flicker of kinship despite not being all that close with the returning deputy. But he carries a similar thrum of anxious energy that feels like a mirror of herself, a reflection she sees in the tomcat's nervous gestures and stuttering words. And if Orangestar trusted him to be their deputy, then perhaps Ekat could be considered capable someday, too. Just for being a warrior though, that was all Ekat desired.​

 

[TWITCHBOLT]

Maybe one day he'd stop feeling lucky and delusional. This wasn't that day, though... he caught Quillstrike's dumb, wonderful face in the corner of his vision. A flash of red confirmed the squirrel clasped in his jaw, and Twitchbolt felt his heart stutter a little- and he pretended not to see, not to ruin the surprise early. His tail sort of gave it away, though ... it twitched a little, eager namesake, and the fondness in his heart kept his eyes looking away, and back, and away, and back ...

He leant into the tall tom's touch, a purr rumbling in his throat, frayed whiskers knitting very briefly with his mate's. "Hey, dude," he murmured softly, flames of adoration in the stupid pet name that he didn't offer to anyone else. Usually he'd shush him, or get flustered and bury his face in his paws, but tonight Twitchbolt would smile. He was intent on doing so; remembering the secret whispered between them many nights ago, Quillstrike should know why. For once in his stupid, stuttering life he'd let himself be proud- he'd let himself think he did something good, despite the unavoidable echoes of doubt that swirled around him.

There was love, in his life. And there always would be. His tail knitted easily with Quillstrike's, settled where it had always belonged- he let his weight rest against his mate's as he bowed his head to take a bite from his meal, nosing it toward Quillstrike. "I'm n-not having it all to myself, after you went through all that effort..." he purred, tone honeyed.

His eyes lingered briefly upon Ekat, to whom he offered a small, encouraging smile. She'd flickered on the side of the conversation for a little while, an observing ember. His voice rose louder in the group, pupils flitting between them all. "Right, is there any borders people absolutely don't want to go to? I've- g-got to get back into practice..." He was mostly joking, tone light-hearted ... but if anyone had very strong aversions, he hoped he might be told.​

penned by pin ✧​

 

[DOEBLAZE]

" Can I expect to see you on the Great Rock calling Sunstar bro someday? " Doeblaze swoops into the conversation with the crook of a grin and a nod to Quillstrike, her hoarse voice light and teasing. Terms of endearment only slip from her own lips for her dearest ones; darling, lovebug, sweetheart. Never has she made use of dude to express her affection, and yet Twitchbolt manages to suffuse the decidely boyish nickname with an impossible amount of adoration. But he and Quillstrike have always made an odd couple, she thinks, settling back onto her haunches as she joins the small knot of warriors gathered around their newly-crowned deputy.

He does wear laurels well. Perhaps it's a touch of personal pettiness, but she approves of Orangestar's choosing him over, say, Figfeather. He'd faltered once before, but who wouldn't, staring down the prospect of nine deaths? She knows Twitchbolt—knows him to be steadfast and kind under all those jitters. Figfeather is nice enough, but she seems to lack the roundness, the warmth of Twitchbolt's demeanour. Most of their brushes have involved Figfeather scolding or correcting someone (sometimes her) in one way or another, and the small slights burn her pelt. Seeing her friend sprawled against his mate, enjoying his prey and his success, kindles a much nicer flame in her chest.

" I don't have an aversion, but I suspect some of ThunderClan would be that much happier not to see me at their border. " Her response is in kind, light and mostly-joking, although an ember of truth smolders beneath it. Call it bad luck, but she always seems to land one of Little Wolf's small army of relatives with each foray to the forest Clan's border, eager to degrade her. She still cringes when she remembers standing her ground as she broke the news of her rechristening to possibly the worst collection of cats to hear it. Shaking off the memory, she glances towards Ekat; the dark warrior is quiet, withdrawn, but undoubtedly dutiful. " How about you, Ekat? "

OOC : —

✦

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[Ekat]

Hearing her name come from Doeblaze's lips has Ekat flinching with all the severity of being burned. The quiet she-cat was accustomed to watching and listening and usually never speaking up, certainly not because her opinion was directly asked. It's sudden and strange, and she blinks owlishly at the older warrior and the other surrounding Clanmates, willing her heart to slow down from being startled. "I..." Their borders. Ekat feels her heart climb into her throat as memories surge up from the dark corners of her mind — ice cracking, water rushing, her siblings and mother swallowed by the freezing river — all while the shapes of a patrol on the other side of the current's edge watched helplessly. No, uselessly. The thought of RiverClan makes Ekat's blood run cold, as if the claws of the past sunk into her flesh and dragged her back to that day, many moons ago.

Ekat blinks hard, forcing herself to stay present, to not let her fear be so obviously visible in her wide, startled eyes. "Um," she stammers out again, trying to find words that wouldn't betray the storm raging within her. Ekat glances at the moonlit ground, her paws suddenly feeling too small to carry the weight of her memories. Part of her wants to lie, to tell Twitchbolt and Doeblaze and the other cats listening that she doesn't mind visiting any border at all. She shouldn't be filled with terror or uncontrollable anger or horrifying grief being near the territory of another Clan — that couldn't be what was needed of her as a warrior, right? But still, Twitchbolt had asked, which must mean it's okay. So long as the returning deputy didn't ask for a reason, then everything would be alright. "RiverClan," Ekat finally responds, voice tense as though the name hurt to crawl out of her throat.​

 

[QUILLSTRIKE]

IF THE POINT'S TO NEVER DISAPOINT YOU, SOMEBODY'S GOT TO TELL ME WHAT TO DO​

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It was easy to see how happy Twitchbolt was. And to see, by extension, how easily his dark-furred mate was influenced by it. Then again, his sickeningly sweet adoration for the clan's deputy had never been difficult to express, the one thing that seemed to pour from him just as easily as the anger or violence toward their enemies. It might be almost as funny to hear his sweetly flat mutterings of ‘dear’ and ‘babe’ as it was to hear Twitchbolts fond call of ‘dude’ or ‘man’.

An odd pair, but they fit each other just fine in Quills opinion.

”Yeah, okay.” he agreed easily enough, though he’d make sure to eat slower, to let Twitchbolt picks at the parts he liked most first before eating what was left- he wasn’t picky about the gristle or the parts his mate didn’t like as much.

He couldn’t help the small smirk that rose at Doeblazes words, the mental image painting itself not for the first time. Twitchstar was a name whispered in the quiet between them, a reverence no other cat would ever see from the chimera.

”Definitely not missing that gathering.” he mused, nudging the prey toward the two-toned cat at his side to take the first bite.

"Right, is there any borders people absolutely don't want to go to? I've- g-got to get back into practice..."

”Nah. It’s all the same to me. replied Quillstrike with a dismissive shrug, though he suspected Twitchbolt knew his stance on that sort of thing- even if he *hated* one of the other clans, there was no way he’d want to be kept off their border. He’d go wherever he was sent, and he’d make sure the job was done.

Though, he couldn’t begrudge either shecat their choice. Once upon a time, he might have said the same thing about Riverclan. The feeling of dew clinging to his legs in the morning, or the rain flattening his pelts against his body still left him occasionally nauseous and uneasy, and even as an adult he still found himself swerving around the larger puddles after storms.

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"Speech"/Thoughts
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skyclan - male - 30 months (Feb 17th) - mated to Twitchbolt - a very tall, muscular chimera with mismatched eyes and several scars. has bluejay feathers woven like spikes along his spine and neck.

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[shrewflight.]

it was weird to say it kind of made him envious, seeing the couples share tongues, or share their food- or even care for each other. he had thought, with a high interest, that he would be able to convince a loner he inevitably saved, to meet up with him more. but alas, the words could not escape his lips, and why would they? any interest in anyone he had would stay behind tight sealed lips, and the small warrior shuffled as they spoke. though he offered a shy smile to quillstrike in greeting.

"i d-dont like gatherings, so j-just let me know how th-that g-goes," he said, curling his tail tightly around his paws as he ducks his head a bit. "t-too many b-b-bodies," he explained. though a shudder escaped him at the thought of going to another. at first, he thought it would be fun, but it unfortunately was not after more cats came piling in.

twitchbolt mentioned borders, and a part of him wanted to say hed be happy not encountering any of the other clans, but he chose a better answer that made him hopefully seem less like a pathetic excuse for a warrior. "any," he finally responded. maybe that would make him be seen as a better warrior, and not give twitchbolt more to remember and burden himself with to try to avoid putting him somewhere he didnt want to be.

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