Posts by EMBERTHROAT

It had started off as a stand off. three cats against the bear. The Shadowclanners had told him to run, that he was too weak. That because he had been starving that he wouldn't be able to help but he didn't listen. He wouldn't leave them a cat down when facing off against such a monstrosity. And not so close to where he had buried his beloved. His tail was raised high, fluffed out to an alarming degree, with hackles raised and his fur sticking up. His eyes looked demented as the anger flowed through him and gave him the strength that he needed. He would stand his ground with them or so help him he would die from it. It had began so simple, the mother bear moved and they all moved in unison. A war dance that circled and went back and forth, back and forth. The tension was so thick it could be cut with a knife and they all waited for the inevitable and then it seemed like war broke out. There was snarling and hissing, spitting. The sounds of pain and lashing out. Wild calls into the air that vibrated and echoed against the pine trees that surrounded them.

They had all fought fiercely, they had miraculously not lost a soul in the battle. The mother bear gave up in the end and the former Bloodclanner felt a strange sense of victory pulse through his body. But soon injuries flared to life in reminder and he felt his back leg buckle. Blood spilled upon the ground and he gritted his teeth. There was a long and deep gash from his hip down his leg from the mother bear's assault and he looked back at it, pulling his leg out gingerly. His head began to swim and he breathed out harshly. Worried looks surrounded him, his mind fuzzy. Would they leave him to die? Then slowly they ushered him up and helped him, leaning on one of his guards he was brought forth with the other injured Shadowclanner to their camp. He'd never stepped paw here and he was hesitant to do it now but he was ushered forth, one of them going forward to get Icefeather while he slowly sat down still leaking a good amount of blood upon the ground. ".....makes me want to sleep." He was tired and drained and it sounded so good right now so he closed his eyes.

The bear had gotten him good, it had sliced his leg open almost to the bone and he had bled a little too freely but thanks to Icefeather he was on the mend. Again he had been told that he couldn't leave on his own but he just couldn't leave her. It broke his heart to be so far away from her even though he knew that he would never get to see her again. The days spent within the camp had almost been torture and so he had sneaked out, emerald gaze tired as he held his leg up from the ground, hobbling. Though when he was about to move on his way he smelled the scent of other Shadowclanners, eyes flicking around to look in the direction of where they were. Then suddenly he saw him, his boy, his child. His paws seemed to stumble over themselves, tears pricking his eyes as he hurriedly made his way over. The former Bloodclan leader would lower his muzzle and attempt to nuzzle his son, tongue dragging against his cheek as he breathed in his scent. "Peter...Peter, how did you get here? How....? Are you alright?" Dear Starclan, what would he say about his mother.

✧ — The ache still thrummed in his heart, twisting and curling within his figure. But he was grateful for their help, grateful for them bandaging his leg up when that bear came crashing down upon him and his beloved. He couldn't express his thanks in words though, the feeling to muted and far off to make anything feel vivid anymore. But he'd muttered it even if they didn't think that he actually meant what he said. He cared that they had helped to bury her and now he had to protect and watch over her and that sacred plot of land. Even now he was walking, careful not to disturb anything. Not to make any problems for Shadowclan because he just didn't care about doing anything anymore. A guard was still with him which he supposed was nice. He had someone to talk to besides the dirt, the corpse. Yet he still found himself unable to stay near anyone else for too long. He couldn't leave her. It was just too painful to think about and he had told her that their child was here. That he was safe. He was okay, the twolegs didn't have their clutches on him. He knew she was happy to know this...he knew.

Yet he lifted his head and at the smell of Skyclan he grew...curious. A spark shifting in his gaze before it died out quickly. He'd been so docile and thoughtless this last moon that he didn't even know what was going on anymore. Why was Skyclan here? It was hard to understand for they didn't share a border so it was not a patrol. They crossed Thunderclan to get here? Carefully and hobbling because of the large scar that was slowly forming over his left hind leg the large somali moved, careful and quietly with his guard. Deadened emerald eyes landed on the apprentice first, before he then turned his vision on the two that were at the border. "Lavender...skies?" His voice was rough with disuse...he hardly talked now save for to his love. Or...perhaps it was Lavenderstar now. He didn't know. He was barely conscious of the world around him. She looked in good health...sort of tired but still she looked the part of a Skyclanner as he remembered. Though it seemed something had changed. "You should..go and get Sorrelstar." He finally spoke again to the apprentice.

✧ — okie! i'll make it now!

✧ — After the bear attack and finding one of his adopted children he had seemed to vanish once again. He was told to stay in the medicine cat den so that he would heal properly. But the idea of being away from her hurt too much. Her death was still too fresh on his mind and it felt as if he was abandoning her. He couldn't do that. His very nature couldn't allow him to pull away from the only molly that had held his heart so tightly. So he had soon left after his leg had been wrapped up and poultices had been applied. He'd limped back to her grave underneath the willow tree and laid there, curling himself up beside her. The pain was evident when he woke up from a haggard sleep. His leg aching fiercely, so much so that he couldn't go back to sleep. So much so that he had to get up now and shift his position for fear of damaging the appendage that was trying to heal. Though he soon stopped when his stomach twisted into knots, a aching grumbling for food. Right, he needed to eat again. How long had it been since his last meal? A day or so?

He never took from Shadowclan and what he did catch he tried to snag over the border so he wasn't stealing from them. His guard watched him do it and he could feel the pity and respect from the other. A sigh left his muzzle as he looked to the guard and he saw that he was going to ask about his leg. The former Bloodclannner shook his head a bit and he slowly pushed himself up. Head turning to look at the grave. He missed her so much and he closed his eyes against the emotions that were running through him before he looked to the forest once more. Hunting..he could try but with his leg as messed up as it was it was going to be rough.

BRIARSTAR.

✧ — that is so cute and sweet! ayyy, cuddle buddy. he'd probably not want to scare her ad make sure that she doesn't spend a lot of time with him so others won't get upset at her. but i'm down for having that interaction

✧ — omg i love russet so much! and yes please if you could tht would be awesome! take your time bby

✧ — It was odd that someone had approached him. Odder still that they would drop a vole near his paws and care to ask him if he had eaten today. Most of Shadowclan avoided him and perhaps it wasn't because of his legacy that he had left behind but the thousand mile stare he often had on his facial features. He tired to have some feelings, some emotions but everything just felt weak and way too forced to amount to anything. So he stopped trying and instead he sat like a husk, withered and broken. But his attention had been grabbed by a familiar figure. An apprentice he had only seen once before and that was briefly. A name fluttered in his mind and he slowly found his deadened gaze lower to the vole before he sighed a little. Had he eaten today? He couldn't remember but he doubted that the answer would be yes right now. So instead he merely shook his head to answer her question with a silent now. "Thank you... I doubt I have eaten anything.." Oh, he found his voice, dead and listless before he looked away from the food presented to him.

Her next question made him pause and he debated over it. It wasn't like he expected kindness. He didn't. He'd killed Sorrelstar once before for his clan and he knew that that would cause some harsh feelings. "Shadowclan's...been fine. As welcoming as I expect them to be anyway." Why did this little apprentice care anyway? Slowly he curled his thick tail that used to be longer though a part of it had been ripped off by a tom who was now currently Windclan's deputy, a snake in sheep's clothing and a former Bloodclanner he had little love for. "Did you need something from me...or just some conversation? I don't think I'm the best for that..."

✧ — It seemed time moved on without him. Things seemed so final and yet so fleeting at the same time. His pain and his sorrow never seemed to disappear and he felt shut off for it. Yet he still lingered and he still fought despite everything that had happened. Even if day by day he only knew this pain and this heartache he continued to move. To breathe, sometimes even to eat when he felt the need to do so. Hunting allowed him to take his mind off the his own struggle and right now he was doing just that. His thick flaming pelt moved through the undergrowth he had begun to remember and recount. Shadowclan's territory an interesting thing full of many discoveries but he never thought he would discover this while on his way. A careful hobble led him to the scene, back leg still healing from his encounter with the bear where he and a couple of his guards had stood their ground. His nose had smelled the milk scent of a kit. One that was much too young to be without their mother. As his deep emerald eyes landed upon the snow white fur of the kitten a strange sense of connection pulled through him. Though he didn't know why but he just knew that this kit was...his. He would adopt her as his own and gently he began to lick the kitten's fur in the wrong direction. Even as his guard watched him before he turned around. "Can you bring Oliveslip here please."

OLIVESLIP

✧ — The former Bloodclannner had been passing by the scene, meandering so to speak when the voices had cropped up. Hornetsting had allowed him to go and so he ventured forth to see what was going on when he smelled the scent of vomit. The bush of bright berries a little ways from the area and Oliveslip was also among them. A frown was on his maw, his skinny frame that looked withered just standing there as he held the small vole in his jaws. The command for food and water had been given and he carefully made his way over toward them. Deadened gaze lingering on them all before he dropped the vole near some cat. He wasn't sure who would need it after all of this so he merely gave it. "Here..." He murmured before he turned and took measured steps back but he just sat down where he stood. He wanted to make sure that everything was okay and if he could help with anything more then he would surely try.

✧ — From what he had been told to keep up on the events that had been happening there were sharp tensions between Shadowclan and Darkclan. Although he was not a real member of Shadowclan even if their scent littered his pelt thickly. He hadn't been accepted there and was more of a prisoner than anything else. He had guards watching hin just like right now. They would probably tell Sorrelstar about this but he hardly cared. All he wanted to do was see his sister. Eagleblossom... or from what he had heard she was now Eaglestar. She had grown up so fast and he was intrigued to know that his own family was able to produce leaders of all different minds. Sighing softly, feeling tired from the excess energy he had put forth from walking to the border as well as the injury he was still recuperating from the overly large Somali would pause there. Carefully sitting and waiting. He was still unnaturally thin, eating sparingly because his heart couldn't take being away from her too long. But at least he was still alive, just a walking corpse.

How long had it been since he had lived here in Shadowclan's swamp, lived here on the boundary of their society and never putting one paw in too deep. Mourning over the life he could have had with his mate whom would never come back to him. He couldn't have the life he had once wished for but he could start a new, he could take a chance and actually try instead of wasting away within the throws of his own thoughts that beat away at him day in and day out. Shaking his skull the former leader of Bloodclan sighed softly as he sat underneath that willow tree for perhaps the last time, though he could never forget Ruth and he also knew that she would have another chance at life. It wouldn't be with him but he wished the best for her in which ever path her new life took her. He would always be saddened that their happiness had been cut short but now it was time for him to move on. Time for him to go and do the things that he wanted to do. A smile pulled at his brazen muzzle, scars pulling for a short moment before he dipped his head to the grave and he left it there, left his sadness and his pain there. Instead he made his way through the murky territory that had once been ravaged by a bear.

A bear he had fought off to save the guards that had once watched over him. Perhaps they still did but he had not seen them in some time. A breathing swelled in his chest as he allowed his sense to stretch out before him and he wanted to understand those that had joined Shadowclan and others that had always been. So he made his way into camp, feeling the painful pulling of old wounds on his back leg and sides before he sat own and allowed his gaze to roam over the area. "Does anyone want to catch me up on what has been going on? I'm...trying to gather myself you know. Figure things out a bit more."

Snow, had it ever snowed this hard when he had lived in Bloodclan. Hell, he couldn't remember and maybe that was a good thing. His life in Bloodclan had been very much different and a sudden rise to power had not been very good for him. But he had tried and that was all that mattered in the end. The flaming creation moved with a carefulness through the snow and his overly large frame shifted back and forth, through the mounds that were slowly rising with the deluge of snow that was making it difficult to see. But he heard the voices, the sense of urgency that rang through the air. Something was wrong and that was all he needed to know to make his way toward the scene, Wind whipped in his face but the somali merely narrowed emerald orbs as he looked upon the apprentices and one warrior. And something else. A fox. His hackles rose almost instantly and his larger size trumped the fox at least in this moment. His thick tail flicked back and forth, knocking against the ground after a moment as he looked at Pantherfrost. Seemed something had to happen here and he guessed he would make that move. The former leader would suddenly launch himself forward, crossing the distance with a flurry of movement as he aimed to launch himself at the fox. Overgrown claws would attempt to press into flesh and sling the fox against the ground and himself with it a good distance away from the unconscious apprentice he had caught but a mere glance of. "Grab the cat!" His yowl sounded out before he curled his back legs and aimed to slam them into the fox's stomach and if he had to he would kill the fox if need be.

Nightmares were something he was very much understanding of. He had them a lot but he also learned that despite everything he couldn't let his own consciousness drive him into the ground. He had beat himself up over the death of his mate long enough and now, he guessed he was ready to move on. Take care of Willowpaw and actually be a functioning member of Shadowclan. That was his goal right now and he hoped that he could complete it and do well in that aspect. He was sure that there would be opposition but he would ignore it and work his best. After all those that remained here knew of his bloody past and where he had come from, not everyone did but enough and he would be living his life to prove himself day in and day out. That was fine though, he sought a different purpose to his life and he would work as hard as he needed to. Ears twitched as he picked up a soft voice in the air and he turned glittering emeralds on the apprentice. What was their name? Ah...Azaleapaw if he remembered correctly and also with Starlingpaw. He remembered the upset in her life, the fight between her and her brother and he frowned a little bit.

Taking a step forward he would make his way toward the pairing, peering and dipping his head. "Yeah, is everything alright? Sorry if I'm being nosy, it just sounded like something wsa going on and well, if figured it couldn't hurt to check."

"Ah, well, I guess that is one way to look at it I suppose. Though I was more along the lines asking about news of the clans..." Sure, it was leafbare and he knew that prey was scarce here in the pine swamps. He had been living on his own on the outskirts of their territory for a while and hadn't had much contact with them save for when the bear had attacked. But he guessed if he was going to become functional again he needed to get himself together, understand the news and the variations and then be on his way. The kit that had answered him was a little odd but it didn't bother him. She was chewing on bones it seemed, something that was highly dangerous for a kit to be doing. One wrong swallow and a bone could lodge itself in her throat and choke the young kitten. It worried her and he frowned a bit but he didn't think it was his place to take it away from her so instead he kept his distance. Kits despite his former want for a family were not his forte and he had a daughter he needed to look after now, she mattered a lot to him. And he only hoped that he could be a decent father to her.

Emerald eyes lifted up from where he had laid, the sleepiness of a mid noon doze still holding him. Slowly his jaws parted, a low breath leaving his throat as he allowed a yawn to pass from him. He dragged his thick tail up from the ground as his body moved after, a slow arch before he pulled himself back out of that. There was work to be done he supposed and he felt himself slowly shake awake as he looked around camp. Hmm, maybe he should check the borders. But a question lingered in his mind if anyone would come with him. Perhaps someone would and he allowed his summer green eyes to look around the camp for a moment, debating on which border to visit. He could see Darkclan but they were having more issues with them and he wasn't so sure if his sister would be happy to see him. Eaglestar was already having enough troubles and he was rather sadden to see that his clanmates, if he could call them that now, were stealing prey from another group during the dead of leafbare. So, perhaps staying away from that border would prove to be more successful. Maybe checking the border with Thunderclan would be better and the former Bloodclan cat would raise his voice, scarred figure moving forward. "Hey, border patrol with me if you want to come. We'll be checking the border that we share with Thunderclan since we shouldn't be bothering Darkclan right now."

Smart, the fox knew that he was outnumbered and it didn't want to try and go for prey that it wouldn't likely get back. Plus with injuries it would most likely end up suffering more through leafbare because of it. But the tom was wary all the same. There was a fox on the territory and the rest of the clan needed to know. He watched with narrowed eyes before he looked up to the branches, tail swaying back and forth before he motioned with the appendage to the apprentices. "Hey, you can both come down now, everything should be fine." Though soon he turned his head to Pantherfrost and the apprentice that he managed to grab and he blinked once in shock as she uttered his name brokenly. What? He'd never met this Thunderclanner before and confusion struck through his skull with a frown lingering on his scarred muzzle. Slowly he took a step forward, trying to dismiss the notion as just a lucky guess. But he felt as it if was something else, something deeper than he knew of. "We should get her back to camp and to Oliveslip and Gingerpaw. Maybe she's suffered some...head injuries." There was blood upon the snow and so it was obvious that she was injured to some degree but what that was was up to the medicine cats that lived here now.