Look Through Heaven's Eyes. P, CraneRose

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    "Sweet but a psycho.


    — Cranemask

    bio — plotting — main

    Naturally, claiming to be the mother of her closest friend Copperbeak's kits resulted in her moving into the nursery and mothering the kits them but fortunately they were old enough to feed off solid food - rather than milk the she-cat could not provide. She knew it must of felt really weird to the kittens to be embraced by a stranger but when they were alone with their father she would explain what was going on. She had no intention to keep the confusion from them... They were born into the world, it may have been out of love but it seemed could easily turn dark for the family.


    "Rosey dear," she purred to the shy kitten cuddled up with her siblings. The faux mother was willing to give them their space, she definitely didn't want to replace their mother or mess with the bonds the family had formed but at the same time she wanted to offer them another stable hold. Someone they could go to if they ever needed to talk. "Are you awake? We can go and get a mouse if you're hungry?" she offered the awaking kit.


    // roseblossom - be patient with Craney, she's no mother but she has a big heart for Coop and the babiiis <33

    Rosekit hadn't been feeling all that great. Then again, when did she? She wasn't fully aware of what anxiety was yet, but she knew that the sort of tight, twisty way her chest sometimes felt wasn't something that she liked. It was hard to get it to go away, too, which only exasperated her clingy-ness with her father and her siblings in an effort to make herself feel better, but it was hard. It was even harder known her mother, her actual mother, was back in WindClan, missing her. That her brothers were away. What was it going to be like, growing up without them? She was born as a half-clanner, but she didn't understand the reputation of what that could mean. Furthermore, they had really grown up away from the Clans. For the first five moons of her life, they had been outside of borders, living together as a small family in undefined territory, undefined allegiances, and now, moving to DarkClan, not only was she thrust into a new society, but she was thrust into a new environment that she had no familiarity with. She was getting used to the camp, but it was a struggle. Most days, all she wanted to do was hide away in this den with her father and never come out- but she couldn't. Her father had his duties, her sisters were forever trying to coax her out of her shell, she had no choice. She couldn't really be afraid or be alone, which only made it worse. It only made her loneliness worse.


    Rosey dear. It was a nickname she wasn't used to. It was words that sounded foreign on a tongue she had no recollection of. She had understood now that she was part of a lie, that this woman that was claiming to be their mother was not even closely related to them. It was another game of pretend that made her stomach twist uneasily to be seen with her in public, if she couldn't chalk up to the act. She had her sisters to protect too, and her father; her mother and brothers too, in some strange way. But her sleepy eyes slowly opened, her ears flickering in recognition of her name being called. For a moment, she shut her eyes again, as though she could have pretended just to be asleep, but there was a moment where her shoulders slumped and she slowly sat herself up. There was no pretending. Whereas her own sight was dwindling, Crane would have seen her wakefulness anyway. Still, she was sleepy, and groggy, and she took in a sharp breath to try and ease herself. Truth was, she didn't really want to go, but she didn't quite want to wake up her sisters either with their extra chatter. "I'm not hungry," she whispered softly, the voice barely making it into the air as she stretched her back slightly and slowly padded over, each step careful and awkward to pick through the dim nursery with no sight, at least until they got into the sunshine. "...But I'll sit with you," she added once she was finally in front of Crane, tilting her head up towards her slightly as she squinted her way, trying to make her figure out, and ultimately waiting for her to lead the way.


    "Sweet but a psycho.


    — Cranemask

    bio — plotting — main

    Cranemask blinked rapidly in an attempt to adjust to the darkness of the cave nursery's Darkclan had to offer. She was trying to gauge the expression on Rosekit's face to see - Cranemask had no idea what she was doing as a mother and could only hope she had made the correct decision. As she spent her energy focusing on he soft bundles of fur she nearly missed the response from the visually impaired kitten. Her tall ears fell flat as she failed to understand what the kit wanted upon waking up and she began to curl up before Rosekit continued. "S-sit with me," she repeated, her voice ringing with uncertainty. Turning her head towards the direction of the sweet sounding kit, Cranemask nearly jumped when she realised how close she was to her. Seconds then passed:


    Cranemask starred hopelessly at the little one that sat patiently on front of her. She thought she was doing the kits a favor by offering to be their mother but she hadn't spared a thought about the lies she was making the kits agree to and consequently the stress it imposed on them, well she hadn't thought about it in enough detail. Anytime she did, an image of her past would flash in her mind - her and her younger siblings huddled up together watching from the nursery their mother getting roared down by their leader. It was heart breaking and it was the first step that lead her into depression. She couldn't let that happen to Copperbeak. She couldn't let the kittens feel like their parents had done something wrong.


    It felt like forever but Cranemask finally snapped out of the image and stuttered a response. "oh that, that would be lovely," she purred in surprised and began to lead the two out. Her kithood best friend, Hawkmoth was blind and from that she had learnt techniques to help visually impaired cats with her intended movements. She gently placed her long painted tail on the kitten's shoulder and lead the two into the light and into a sitting area outside. When the two were seated, Cranemask took the time to look around to see if anyone was around before uttering her question "how are you finding Darkclan?"



    ♡ ♡ ♡ ♡The uncertainty in Cranemask's voice did little to quell poor Rosekit's anxious feelings, her ears pinning back slightly. Had she disappointed the older woman- her 'mother'- by saying no to sharing breakfast with her? Tiny teeth nibbled at her bottom lip slightly, briefly chattering before she took in a small breath. You're okay, she tried to tell herself. This was just a friend, her dad's friend, even. She was someone she could be around without worrying. Or, so she was trying to make herself believe. Cranemask was safe to be around in that familiarity sense, but Rosekit had no further connection with her yet, nothing to bind the two together. They did not share blood. They hardly even shared a knowledge of one another.


    Her own mother back in WindClan was such a sweet woman. Though she was anxious too sometimes, like Rosekit was, she had always loved the sound of her voice telling them stories, calling them fondly when she had returned from a hunting trip, or even the way that she would tuck them in safe to their nests each night. Though Rosekit had always clung to her father more than her mother, her mother was still someone special. Cranemask couldn't replace that, even if she wasn't trying to, but the lie was sour on her lips and bitter on her tongue. It didn't sound right to call her mother, and yet her father hadn't refuted it. They were being encouraged to.


    She could only blink mildly when Cranemask finally snapped out of her thoughts enough to realize that Rosekit had given her an answer. The younger kitten briefly shuffled her paws before slowly following her lead out of the den, a tail resting on her shoulder that she fought the urge to shrug off, because it was necessary for more reasons than one. But at least the answer to her offer had been an approving one. Yet Rosekit was silent until they had sat and a question was posed towards her, the young girl sat with her gaze upwards, trying to find Cranemask's eye contact out of a growing habit. It was something she realized that people did: look each other in the eye. It was something that wasn't automatic for her, because of her sight, but it was something she was trying to create herself to do. Even if she didn't really like doing it, even if in this moment she would have much rather preferred to sit with her head quietly down.


    "It's okay, mother," she answered softly, giving Cranemask the title since they were sitting outside, and she had not the care to see who was around them. It was better not to know how many eyes were on her anyway. "I'm sort of getting the hang of the camp, I guess..." her voice was small and often trailing off at the end of her words, uncertain and maybe less enthused about the camp than her sisters were. "...I like sitting by the medicine den though," she added in an after thought, something more cheery, something she actually did like about the camp, a brief light shining in her eyes. "It always has these really cool smells and things going on, and the medicine cats are usually quieter-er than the warriors." She trailed off again, her mouth briefly opening as she tried to think of something else to say, but it closed again when she realized she had no extra thoughts to add. Finally, her gaze dropped as she wanted it too, and she found herself shuffling her paws softly again, the little itch of anxiety still nibbling at her. "...But it's home. Father likes it, and my sisters do too. So... I guess I'll love it one day, too."

    The post was edited 2 times, last by roseblossom - ().


    "Sweet but a psycho.


    — Cranemask

    bio — plotting — main

    Moving her nervous gaze onto the little dilute tortie, Cranemask's tightened her tail round her paws at Rosekit calling her mother. Oh it didn't feel right. There was so much that was unsettling about it and yet it was the life she had put on herself. She wasn't suppose to ever be a mother and now she had a kitten she never met before referring to her as her own. She had one and if Copperbeak loved her, she must of been a great he-cat who loved them! They already had a mother who loved them... Maybe their lives were not going to be a replica of her and her siblings and Copperbeak could of stood up to Eaglestar and taken the blow. A little sigh escaped her maw as she cast her eyes aside. In the past, Cranemask seemed to get closer to cats who had impaired eyesight, Newtleaf, Hawkmoth, Copperbeak, it was probably a result of her relaxing more around them instead of constantly feeling like she had to put up a front. They couldn't see her so it felt like she didn't have to try and put up a front.


    With Rosekit explaining her likes and dislikes of the clan, Cranemask had time to sit and listen. Having taken care of her family, she was quick to notice the uncertainty in the kit's sentences and concerned eyes would flash in her direction. Cranemask herself hated the smell of herbs. It was a strong reminder of the friend she had lost and the father that meant nothing to her however this was not the time to share that information. "It does have a unique smell that some find soothing. If you like it, you should ask Spiderpaw if he can give you a tour sometime - I could come with you if you're scared" she mewed calmly before letting the kitten continue. Her answer stung Cranemask for it seemed that Rosekit was not settling in okay but maybe that was her anxiety? At the same time, Cranemask knew what it felt like to be in a clan she didn't love but Rosekit was still young. "You don't have to love anything you don't want to. The best you can do is give it your best shot and if its scary you have your father and your siblings who will be right there for you." The she-cat let a couple of seconds pass and then tacked on, "I will also be around if you ever want to talk or get away from things."