uh hello sir welcome to starbucks | getting 9 lives

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    [center][fancypost=text-align:justify; width:400px] @addercry


    They had walked in silence for the most part. Audenine had scarcely brought up any conversation topics, preferring to let Addercry have a period of time to cool down after his outburst in the camp. He was worried and he was hurting from something. Something that made enough of an impact on him to still affect his emotions to that day. Aud couldn't tell what, but in the end he guessed it really didn't matter. It happened and it was over and all they could do now was deal with the aftermath.


    Audenine was worried. He was afraid that StarClan wouldn't accept him. The worst case scenario was that he wouldn't get his lives or his leader name, causing him to have to lie to save his hide for the next however many moons. It would be especially hard in battle. What if he died and didn't come back to life? His clanmates would surely scorn him then, even as he rotted away in the ground. Nothing more than a memory. A stain on the history of the clans.


    He sighed, shaking out the thick fur around his neck. The weather was getting warmer, a sure sign that New-leaf was there to stay for the time being. Green-leaf would come soon enough, replacing it's predecessor with blistering heat and smothering, dry air. Just thinking about it was making him remember time spent burning his pads on the sizzling pavement, his skin feeling like it was about to melt off. Ugh. At least the ground would be cooler in the clans.


    "Shouldn't be much longer." He decided to break the silence, as the awkward tension was growing too thick for his liking. Mothermouth was approaching on the horizon, the tips of the mountains having pierced the sky a short while beforehand. Before long he would be asleep at the base of the stone, repeating the process he had been doing for moons. This time, however, it was for a much different purpose.

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    [size=9]speaking of his little outburst, addercry was fixated on that very event. starclan, he was still steaming from the whole thing. could he pull the cliche cartoon trick, the tom might have had steam bursting out both his ears from the moment they'd left up until the point they were at now. his outrage had died down from the turbulent thunderstorm it'd been to the quiet aftermath of a storm, although the cooling fury still rolled off his persona in waves. part of him felt audenine could feel the tempered hatred the red and white tom felt for him and that's why he refrained from striking up unwanted conversation. then again, it could very well be the drawn expression that was settled like etches in stone that warded off any chance of talk.


    he, too, was filled with worries - his own being of a different nature and barely realized. adder never was one to acknowledge his fear, and now shouldn't have been any different. but after such an emotional break and in the long walk that was cast over with a taunting silence that near had him spitting flames once more, there wasn't much else to do other than dwell on what his subconscious was pushing forth. as much as he wanted to ignore them as he always did, it seemed he couldn't change his train of thought.


    stoneface had been so- so . . . broken. it was something that terrified him on a level he'd forgotten about ever since the day dapplestar had been caught under a boulder and lost her ability to do much more than hobble lamely. and, well, everyone knew what happened after that. she'd deteriorated, lost who she was, and he had disowned her in some aspect. he'd refused to accept her in that state. before anything else could have come from it, the bengal had died. she hadn't even passed in camp or with anyone around to help. adderstar (who was cherrytail at the time) had been the only one. dapple had died and addercry had to hear it from the lips of someone he'd hardly known.


    and now he couldn't help but feel he might be nearing that very point again. his cousin and he were close in age, and they'd grown up together along with icegaze who he'd never been close with. despite his demeanor, the warrior was still reeling over the loss of ice. he'd just stopped being around one day. at first there hadn't been much care put towards it. but with time, wounds fester. there was an absence now. no one could deny that. so the thought that he may be losing the last blood relative he had made him feel as if someone had reached in him and twisted all his guts up in messy knots. the anxiety over losing someone who he got along with - cared for even! - manifested itself in a heaviness in his gut that felt as if it were dragging him down with each irate step he took.


    the first words of their trip had the masc raking his attention from the ground below and up to the neutral-toned face of the maine coon he accompanied. the moment he set his sights upon the other, addercry felt the tense shaking of his muscles that told of his growing anger once more. he hated audenine. he hated that this was his replacement of a leader. this alien figure with his sunny eyes and his scarred nose with the size of some monster that roared down the thunderpath was taking a position he didn't belong in. and adder had no say in it. because this was stoneface's will; because this was audenine's right; because this was starclan's claim.


    looking away had been more difficult than anticipated. he wanted to keep staring, he wanted audy to know how much animosity his underling felt towards this whole situation. yet, he could not look any longer lest he get the urge to do something impulsive that'd likely get him in a bad spot. olive eyes settled on their goal up ahead, though his nearest auditory remained turned in the other's direction. a few beats passed before addercry spoke up.


    "you don't actually think they're going to accept you, right?"
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    [center][fancypost=text-align:justify; width:400px]Everything was so quiet. The rustling of wind floating through the trees had hushed, allowing the tom some time to think. The birds, once filled with joy and the urge to sing were now deafened and nestled away in their homes in the trees. He could no longer hear the occasional rumbling of a monster approaching alongside them up on the thunderpath. It was as if the entire world had gone silent that night.


    Had StarClan planned that? Were they the reason behind the sudden silence? Perhaps they wanted the two toms to fill it, after all. Was this meant to happen? How much of his life was destiny, charted in the stars since the day he and his littermates were born? Was there any way to have prevented Athustinia's death? What about the disappearance of his siblings? Could he have done something different? Should he have?


    Maybe, in a better timeline, they would be standing alongside him. He would still be walking towards the Moonstone with Addercry, but he'd have more than just a handful of acquaintances left back home. Yeah, maybe in this little fantasy life he just created in his head, his siblings were all with him. They were warriors, then, each with their own clan names. Athu and Delph would like something that sounded strong, he was sure of that. Lionheart, then, for his ginger sister. For his more similarly-pelted sister, he chose Thistlefang. Yessieman was more soft-hearted, eager to please and still as violent as the rest of the litter, but he had more empathy to spare. Nettlestorm, maybe?


    Oh, StarClan, what was he doing? They weren't ever going to be members of ThunderClan. They were all gone. For StarClan's sake, Athustinia was dead! She had starved herself to death! He had seen her corpse, for crying out loud. She was dead and she was never coming back. Neither were the others. Daydreaming about them was only going to make him miss his youth, something that wasn't good for anybody. The tom could feel his blood begin to boil, anger building up inside of him.


    Then, Addercry spoke. You don't actually think they're going to accept you, right? His eyes closed for a moment as he exhaled, rolling the bicolour tom's words around in his mind like a piece of prey under his tongue. They sent Stoneface a sign, didn't they? They sent her a sign telling her to go to SkyClan, there were herbs mentioned in the dream and everyone knew that he used to be SkyClan's medicine cat... It had to have meant him. It had to! Whether the whole world was against him or not, it didn't matter. StarClan had chosen him to be ThunderClan's next leader. Stoneface had chosen him. He had to lead them.


    "No harm in tryin'." His retort rung out, now thoroughly snapped out of his daydreaming state. Once again the rhythmic pace of his footsteps patting down the earth became noticeable. He was there, walking alongside Addercry. He wasn't back in the camp with his littermates as he had wished. But that was reality, he noted sourly to himself. Nothing could change that. "What, ya wanna try out yerself?"

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