Posts by CASCADINGSTARLIGHT

^{and when I fall to rise —}

^{"Mystle would be setting his own bones if he even thought about breaking one of yours, Syl." Cade piped up in a joking manner as he padded over and plopped down next to Calina. The galaxy hued lupine quite liked the little snow leopard lady and he would protect her at all costs.}

^{— with stardust in my eyes}

^{and when I fall to rise —}

^{"I think I will just watch as well. I don't really have any specific talents." Cade stated as he arrived shortly after Mystletainn and took a seat. Cade's former wife had been the talented one between the duo, her singing voice something he missed dearly everyday. The galaxy hued canine never tried singing himself, but he figured he probably wouldn't be any good at it.}

^{— with stardust in my eyes}

^{and when I fall to rise —}

^{Perhaps a friendship with Cade here since Ver is dual joining the Veil? They can talk about losing their wives and bond maybe?? Or she can ask about his current love life (he had a slight crush on arya and is currently crushing on candyhearts) and see where that goes?}

^{— with stardust in my eyes}

^{and when I fall to rise —}

^{There is something admittedly wonderful about dropping one's guard and just living in the moment even for a brief amount of time. Cade watches with intrigue glimmering in his eyes as Candyhearts approaches his booth and extends a paw. Ah, how Victorian. The galaxy hued male thinks to himself as he gingerly reaches a paw over the edge and allows his tough, calloused paw to meet her much daintier paw. The darkseeker gives pause, letting the heat from their touch mingle and meld together. Candy's eyes linger everywhere but his face but that doesn't stop Cade from offering her the softest of smiles as he carefully guides her paw a bit closer and places a kiss upon it. It is brief, no longer than the peck upon Haiiro's cheek or the kiss atop Fletch's head, though he wanted to linger there longer. To kiss more than just her paw. But he couldn't do that to the feline he had come to think of as a friend... perhaps more than a friend. This was her comfort zone - an offered paw to receive a cordial kiss. Something Cade delivered on, no more and no less.}

^{His cedar hued eyes linger on her as he carefully withdraws his own paw. Already he misses the soft touch of her fur against his, though he won't let his features betray such a feeling. "A pleasure, Candyhearts." Cade murmurs as he reclines back into the sitting position he had taken up in his booth. "Who's next?" The lupine asks in his normal volume, sparing one last moment to look at Candyhearts and offer her a smile, then glancing around for the next customer.}

^{— with stardust in my eyes}

^{and when I fall to rise —}

^{sorry for the delay,keda. But i'm totally cool with him stumbling across Ver visiting Nadine's grave and then they spark up a conversation from there.}

^{— with stardust in my eyes}

^{and when I fall to rise —}

^{Cade eyes Ambrose, Ulla, Mystletainn, and Fletch as they all convert around him and offer up their assistance in one way or another. He supposes having multiple sets of eyes and many paws/hooves will make for lighter work and ensure every sinkhole or cave-in is properly blocked off. "Ambrose and Mystletainn, take a couple lengths of rope and scout up north a bit. Work together to mark cave-ins of you see any. If you also feel any shifting under your feet as you walk around, block those areas off too." Cade instructs as he tosses some rope their way. Then his attention turns to Ulla and he flicks his head towards Fletch. "Ulla, why don't you and Fletch partner up and scout down south a bit. Same as Ambrose and Mystletainn, mark off cave-ins and areas where the ground feels weak. Let Fletch focus on tying off at his height so smaller Veilers don't walk under the ropes and potentially fall in while you mark up higher on the trees for us taller Veilers." He gives a few lengths of rope to Fletch, aiming to also proudly ruffle the kid's head, before setting off west of everyone else. Cade could focus his attention on the western part of the territory while the others split up.}

^{— with stardust in my eyes}

^{and when I fall to rise —}

^{Mmm, yes. This reunion and the bypassing of his questions made Cade feel rather uncomfortable. It seemed these two were relatively well known and they had a lot of catching up to do with the other Veilers. The celestial coated lupine would shrink back slightly, finding Sylvanna close to him while Candyhearts stood somewhat close as well. Cedar hued eyes take in Mercy with interest, her being the mother of the tabby point feline he found himself feeling more and more drawn to every passing day. Then Ver speaks and her surnames are the exact same as Arya's, another female Cade is familiar with and once harbored similar feelings for. Interesting. "Uh, well, welcome back Mercy and Ver. My name is Cascadingstarlight Darling Harbringer, but feel free to call me Cade. It seems like you two have a lot of catching up to do, so I will get out of your fur." He says in a somewhat lighthearted tone, though it is laced with uncertainty surrounding his feelings of the situation as a whole. Feeling pushed around even though he had just been trying to do his job was not fun. With a soft smile directed at the canine and feline seated by the border, the darkseeker would turn away and pad off to continue his patrol.}

^{— with stardust in my eyes}

^{and when I fall to rise —}

^{Sylvanna's weary eyes are met with ones full of understanding as Cade nods along to what she says. "Memories are very important. Sometimes they can be painful, and sometimes they can be wonderful. Hold on tight to your memories, Syl. Hold on tight in remembrance of your mother. I know I do." Cade murmurs, hoping that he will be able to connect with her in that aspect. The brawny lupine's mother had been gone for so long now, but he would always remember her gentle face and the love she gave to him.}

^{— with stardust in my eyes}

^{and when I fall to rise —}

^{"I'm down for playing a game. It'll be a fun way to ride out this shade hour mess." Cade says calmly as he pads over and plops down near the hellsune.}

^{//here lies kerms' muse - rip}

^{— with stardust in my eyes}

^{and when I fall to rise —}

^{Cade had no idea what a shade hour was, but as the territory darkened and Calina's howl split the eerie silence, the darkseeker was quick to heed her call and join everyone at the church. He didn't like this one bit. It felt spooky, weird... reminiscent of a time on earth when he found himself sucked into some portal conjured by one of his children and came back without any memories of the life he once led. A situation the celestial coated lupine was not willing to re-live.}

^{Triangular ears angle towards Junebug as he explains the gist of shade hours. The thought of spirits, passive and aggressive, wandering around made Cade feel somewhat uncomfortable. More so when he caught the shape of Fletchingkit lingering among the others and knew the fox kit was terrified of the dark. That was a fact learned during the tunnel exploration earlier with Haiiro, Cade, and Fletch. "Fletch, come here. Stick close to me, okay?" The darkseeker murmurs as he moves closer to them and act as a protective shield should anything even try to infiltrate the church, which seemed highly unlikely but still...}

^{— with stardust in my eyes}

^{and when I fall to rise —}

^Years.

^{It had been years since Cade became lost to Sylmae and their children. Everyday for years he searched for his wife and their little ones, hope waning as time cruelly dragged on and he was left empty handed. A couple months ago he completely gave up. Figured it was time to move on. Settled himself within the Shadow Veil and started allowing himself to open up his heart to those around him - to perhaps feel the affection for another like he had felt for Sylmae.}

^{Candyhearts was undoubtedly on his mind as he crept through the underbrush, eyes peeled for potential spirits that were said to wander freely during shade hours. The celestial hued lupine couldn't get over her gentle eyes, the daintiness of her paws, how warm she felt as he simply held her paw in his own before placing a gentle kiss upon it, their discussion of literature and sharing of stories, the way she was just... someone he longed to be around. Cade had not felt this way since Sylmae.}

^{The slow building of the relationship between Cade and Sylmae was something he would never forget. How he pined after her, the way their friendship began to blossom into something more, how he had asked to kiss her the very first time they revealed that they felt something more for each other, every late night conversation and romantic date... it was all so perfect in his eyes. It was so perfect and he threw it all away. Disappeared. Tried to reappear and find them only to come up short. He had failed her. He failed them. His wife, his children, his family.}

^{Cascadingstarlight Darling Harbringer emerged from the treeline by the border and stopped dead in his tracks. His cedar hued eyes widened at the sight of an all too familiar clouded leopard. She was there. Right there. "Sylmae?" His voice is nothing more than a croak as he hesitently takes a step forward, not knowing if she is real or if she is a spirit wandering the territory, brought back by the shade hour that had befallen the Veil. She looks so real though. She looks so thin, so weak, so lost... and he feels his heart begin to start to break. "I-Is that really you?" He takes another tentative step forward and looks at her with so much confusion and fear and joy swirling around in his chest, holding his breath until she answers and reveals if she is real or simply a spirit.}

^{— with stardust in my eyes}

^{and when I fall to rise —}

^{thank you!}

^{— with stardust in my eyes}

^{and when I fall to rise —}

^{"Shit, Mae... you don't look good." Cade murmurs as he drifts forward and aims to lightly press his shoulder to her to help keep her upright. "Where have you been? I searched everywhere for you." He adds as wide eyes search her own, desperate to see some sort of answer hidden in their golden depths. How had he managed to not find her after all these years? Did they just always cross paths, like two ships in the night? Or was there something else at work keeping them apart? The darkseeker was curious to know, but catching Haiiro's suggestion made him shake away those thoughts and focus back on the task at hand. "We can talk more in camp. Do you need me to carry you or do you want to walk alongside me?" Cade asks as he looks to his wife (former wife? What were they after all this time separated?) while rising to his paws, awaiting her response.}

^{— with stardust in my eyes}

^{and when I fall to rise —}

^{Cade grunts softly as she nudges his shoulder and affectionately licks at his neck, his mind beginning to get slightly fuzzy as her touch beckons feelings of lust within the celestial hued lupine. But her question breaks through the static and he is able to focus on that rather than his growing desires. What was there to do in the Veil? "We have a castle if you want to visit that. An underground cavern with a natural pool if you like swimming. There are lots of bio-luminescent plants I can show you throughout the forest. A wishing tree. And of course, the main camp. Anywhere you want to go first?"}

^{— with stardust in my eyes}

^{and when I fall to rise —}

^{"Mmm, and whose fault is that, miss Calina?" Cade teases as he understands that this confrontation is quickly becoming a 'get to know you' session initiated by the large canine. His paws are quick to shift away from the direction he had originally been heading to follow after the shadowkeeper, making sure to keep an even pace alongside her. Calina had longer legs than Cade, so his steps were more frequent as they set out on a patrol. Her question is well received by the darkseeker, one he had been anticipating once she asked if he wanted to talk. What leader wouldn't want to know the origins of their high ranking officials? "If you want to call it a clan name. I wasn't Cascadingcub, Cascadingpaw, then Cascadingstarlight. Just Cascadingstarlight. My dad picked an interesting name for his son, huh?" Cade explains with a low chuckle, his head shaking slightly at the memory of learning about the origin of his name. All of his siblings seemed to get normal enough names, 'loner' style names, and then there was Cade. "Anyway, queue the juicy details. I was born in BloodClan. That's why you wouldn't remember me from old ShadowClan." He explains as he steps over a raised tree root and sidesteps around a smaller pine tree. Cedar hued eyes try to stay focused on the path ahead, but Cade can't help but glance over at Calina every once and a while to gauge her reaction. "I've also lived in ScarClan and RiverClan. Sylmae, my former wife, and I had moved from ScarClan to settle down in RiverClan so we could raise a family in a safe environment." Calina probably didn't need to know that exact detail, but he would offer it anyway. It wasn't everyday someone went from living in two anticlans to suddenly joining a proclan. "What else do you want to know about me?"}

^{— with stardust in my eyes}

^{and when I fall to rise —}

^{He wastes no time rising to his paws and coming alongside Sylmae to support her as they began to make their way back to camp. Haiiro's words are not lost on the celestial coated lupine as his coworker suggests Mae finds a home of her own. Cade winces softly at the thought that the winged beauty by his side might choose to live in a place separate from his own. Then again she might want to stay with the darkseeker considering she had been through literal hell to find him. "You should probably see one of the spiritcallers, er, medics, when we get to camp so they can look you over. They might want you to stay with them for the night so you can rest and get healed up." Cade murmurs thoughtfully, glancing over at Mae with soft eyes and offering her a slight smile.}

^{— with stardust in my eyes}

^{and when I fall to rise —}

^{"Adopting children and falling into holes." Cade, feeling like being a little bit of a shit, answers Sekhmet's question directed at Haiiro before plopping down next to the pale lupine and offering him a slight nudge. His cedar hued eyes scan over the Veilers already present and the celestial coated wolf offers them a friendly smile. "Name's Cascadingstarlight Darling Harbringer, but feel free to call me Cade." He introduces himself, mostly to Sekhmet since he is somewhat familiar with Ver and Vanitas. Or, at least, he had seen them around. Sekhmet was an unfamiliar face.}

^{— with stardust in my eyes}

^{and when I fall to rise —}

^{i'd rather not have cade get possessed this time around. c:}

^{— with stardust in my eyes}

^{and when I fall to rise —}

^{Cade had seen hybrid creatures before, but nothing quite like Kinzoku. Cedar hued eyes travel over the larger frame of the stranger at the border and the celestial coated wolf quirks a singular brow out of curiosity. Elysiandemon had already asked for the male's name, but neglected to inquire of their business. Cade could ask that question though while he was here. "You are at the border of the Shadow Veil. What is your business here, bud?" The darkseeker asks in a friendly tone.}

^{— with stardust in my eyes}

^{and when I fall to rise —}

^{"I'll prepare a place for you in my home while you rest up in the spiritcaller's hut. You are always welcome to stay with me." Cade mentions as soon as Sylmae asks Haiiro about the celestial coated lupine's abode not being an option. Sylmae would always have a place in Cade's home - even when he was uncertain of what the future held now that she was suddenly back in his life after all these years. With all that said, he did offer the clouded leopard a slight nod in agreement towards her explanation of not taking good care of herself. That was apparent to the darkseeker given the lithe weight pressed to his side as they walked and her overall fatigued appearance. "They'll get you back on your feet in no time, Mae."}

^{— with stardust in my eyes}