Dimlit Caverns

[beau]

[closed - this is a character development post!]

Belladonna. A tall plant with dull purple flowers. Occasionally has shiny black berries which taste sweet. Symptoms of poisoning are excessive salivation, drowsiness, and lack of appetite. Usually lethal.

These were the words Cobwebpaw repeated in his head as he approached the caverns. He held the plant in question clamped in his jaws, carefully so as to not puncture any of the glossy berries. He didn't quite share the same adoration for 'twisted botany' as his mother did, but he found comfort in reciting information about toxic plants, an action which soothed him to a similar effect as listening to a bedtime story.

He wasn't quite sure if his mother was dead or not, only that she was missing, not that it made much of a difference. Death was not something he had been taught to fear or mourn, only embrace as the next step in life. But still, his heart ached with longing every time the thought of her crossed his mind. As the length of her absence increased, so did the frequency of his thoughts about her, but whenever he was least expecting it, the grief slammed into him, knocking the air from his lungs. He needed to release her, either the memory of her or her spirit, and there was only one way he knew how to.

Perhaps he should have invited his father to join him, but Cobwebpaw had withdrawn from him, further solidifying his isolation. Maybe the apprentice was angry for his father's brief exile - though he himself got temporarily banished not long after for a similar reason - maybe he was worried he would be left again. He had stuck himself out on a limb for that molly, Flutterpaw, allowed himself to try and be friendly and she had left him for unknown reasons, which left the young tom spending hours at night tying himself into knots in the vain attempt to understand. Either way, Cobwebpaw had decided to perform the ceremony alone. He had never seen it done, only heard it described. Hopefully he would execute it correctly.

The Dimlit Caverns seemed like an ideal place to perform the cermony. It was mysterious and twisty, he had heard plenty of rumors of cats dying in nasty ways from inhaling the dust, and - to his knowledge - it was seldom visited or disturbed. Velvet pawpads carried him into the cave, and he paused a moment to allow his eyes to adjust. The space was vast, far bigger than any of the tunnels he had ventured down, with the infamous black dust lacing the walls and floor. He proceeded deeper into the cavern following a tunnel to the left. It was a winding path, with several small tunnels branching off, but he stayed on the main path. He reached another expanse, not quite as large as the cavern's entrance, but suitable for the ceremony. Plus, the dirt was soft enough to dig, which would be ideal for his plan.

The tom gently set the belladonna to the side, and began scraping up the soil. He had spent quite a bit of time just selecting the specimen he would use for the burial. Belladonna was the obvious choice - it was macabre, not too difficult to find, and one the the first poisons he learned about - however picking the specific plant was tricky. He had settled on a slightly wilted one. Though he figured the poison would be more potent in younger specimens, the wilted plant's deathly demeanor suited the occasion it would be used for better. He thought his mother would have been proud for his decisiveness.

A dip had been dug into the ground, the dirt now piled up on the sides around it. Cobwebpaw carefully set the plant in the middle of the hollowed ground. He took a pawful of dirt and scattered it over the plant, whispering as he did so.

"I apologize for the delay in your release," he began, his voice low and quiet. Another pawful of dirt was sprinkled on the plant. "I hope this gift may aid you on your journey to the afterlife." More dirt. "I thank you for the experiences your life provided me, and the lessons you taught." The plant was nearly covered. "May your body nourish the land, and the land nourish the prey. May the prey nourish the clans, continuing the energy cycle. I release you; may you travel between this world and the next freely."

He stepped back, observing the freshly churned dirt which now covered the belladonna. Traditionally, the gift would have been buried with the body, but this would have to do. He hoped his mother wasn't dead, but if she was then maybe this would help her. He took a single, shallow breath, then turned and began retracing his steps back to camp.

[poppy]

Brackenfire padded around, eyes narrowed. This place was hecking creepy.

[Toodle]

Leafecho limped down into the mouth of a tunnel. There was a chilled breeze creeping up from the darkness that chilled her, nothing like the den she’d spent the night in a few nights ago with Elmshadow. She took a deep breath. She’d maneuvered her way slowly away from Shadowclan’s border, her leg still wrapped in Elmshadow’s splint though the pain was never ending. She needed somewhere to sleep and this dark cavern seemed as good a place as any. The scents coming from it were confusing but stale and not predatory so she figured it was safe enough. She decided to slip down, her flank against one wall, close to the entrance. Some tht I got told her that if she wandered too far she could easily get herself lost in the deep darkness of the mysterious cave. She looked back into the darkness, getting a chill, then turned back to the entrance. The sun was slipping down and the light filtering in the tunnel entrance was weakening. She turned her attention to her leg. Elmshadow had freshened the bandages on her leg before he left but that was days ago. She hadn’t touched them since, not wanting to mess anything up in case that was the only thing keeping her leg together. But there was a new concern. Her toes were growing numb and the itch on her legs was becoming unbearable and she now knew she had other factors to think about. She couldn’t yet feel them but she knew they were there. She’d been pregnant enough times in her life to recognize the feeling of life growing inside her belly. A warmth filled her as she thought about the kits in her belly, Elmshadow’s kits. She’d never before felt an excitement to have any specific toms kits before. They’d all been a blur, a brief fling she simply accepted to get by, and then she had their kits after they were long gone and as soon as the kits were of age she was as gone as their father before her. Her time in Thunderclan had taught her another way of life, of parenting, and now she’d have that chance to do better. To be a better mother.

Leafecho slowly unwrapped the cobwebs layer by layer as she’d seen Elmshadow do. The stick fell away and the pain in her leg intensified for a moment as the freedom let it lie on its own weight but it quickly dissipated. Maybe it was healed enough. She stripped away the rest of the bandages to expose the wound. The bleeding had stopped and the healing looked like it had started well. She sighed in relief then curled herself around her belly. The pain deep in her leg was still throbbing but she had hope. She was carrying the kits of the most caring Tom she’d ever met with a new outlook on life and a healing wound that she was sure would’ve been fatal if she hadn’t run into Elmshadow on that fateful day.

[MaryTheCrow]

- Lucena -
She/Her

Lucena wandered into the cavern, carefully listening to the slight echo whenever her paws kicked a pebble somewhere. The place was large and empty, she felt that her light pelt made her stand out against the dark cavern's background. That meant that pretty much everyone could see her. Isn't that fun? To be watched when you can't see who's watching you? She squinted her eyes, a small sarcastic smile on her face at her own thoughts.

The calico could distantly hear some noise. Is that another cat? She looked around, but couldn't find anyone after a quick look. She took a deep breath and called out: "Is anyone there?" If there was someone in here, she wouldn't know if they were friendly or not unless they attacked her. And she couldn't be sure it was a cat. It could've been a fox or a badger. Calling attention to herself was dangerous, but she was sure she could handle anything that came at her.

[OPEN]

[lucidense]

"Hello!" A high pitched voice squeaked, echoing through the cavern, belonging to GB. The tomkit emerged from the shadows, his crooked tail waving as he walked. GB threw caution to the wind, as he padded right up to the molly, kicking up pebbles and dust as he moved. He was either brave, or stupid. Maybe both. His black and white fur was matted, and the outline of his ribs shown under his pelt. His large, green eyes stared ominously at the new arrival. @MaryTheCrow

[MaryTheCrow]

- Lucena -
She/Her

There! Someone is definitely down here! And if she can understand them it means she's speaking with a cat. Something moved towards her, indicated by the noise and dust. The voice revealed itself as a scrawny kitten. "What are you doing in here? Are you here by yourself?" Lucena immediately asks, worry in her voice. The calico stepped closer to inspect him, keeping her distance just enough to not be in the kitten's personal space. The kitten looked thin, too thin. She cautiously questioned more: "How long have you been in here? ...Are you hungry?" For all she knew the kitten could be living in here, still, if he was, there was no reason for him to be this thin. She could see his ribs!

[ @lucidense ]

[lucidense]

GB blinked at her. "Thats a lotta questions." He squeaked softly, looking at the ground. "Um, I just sort of wander around. With my mom. But she's been gone awhile. She does this sometimes, when she goes to get food. She's just taking extra long this time." He pawed at the ground absentmindedly. "I don't know how long I've been here- since my momma left to hunt.. do you have any food?" His mother always told him never to talk to strangers.. but this cat didn't seem too bad. @MaryTheCrow

[MaryTheCrow]

- Lucena -
She/Her

Lucena could understand the need to leave a kitten behind when needing to hunt. From what she knew, kittens were too loud and impatient. "I don't have any food on me, but I can try catching something for you. And I think we should get out of here for a little bit, the air here smells a bit funny. Come with me, you can wait outside so your mom can find you when she comes back," She beckoned the kit to follow her outside. Whatever was making that smell was making her feel a little dizzy. Oh, I completely forgot! The calico remembered with a start and turned to the kitten. She introduced herself, a small, friendly smile on her face: "I'm Lucena by the way, what's your name?" The kit's visible hunger and the statement about his mother being gone for a long time... It made her connect dots in her head. Hopefully, she was wrong and the kit's mother was just hunting a lot of prey to feed them both. But for now, her mission was to keep the kit happy and safe.

[ @lucidense By the way, is GB's mother dead or just gone for a while?]

[lucidense]

GB hesitated for a moment, before following Lucena outside. "I'm GB!" He said, like he was declaring something. He smiled broadly at them, his crooked tail sticking high in the air. He didn't want to be left alone again, but the rumbling of his stomach told him it would be worth it. A shiver went through his black and white fur as the cool air hit him. "Its stinky in there." He commented.
(His mother got in a fight with a fox, and died- if you wanted, you can find her, since she died recently and would probably be in the area) @MaryTheCrow

[MaryTheCrow]

- Lucena -
She/Her

The calico giggled: "Nice to meet you, GB!" Once they made it outside she pointed at a nearby bush with her tail. "Hide in there, don't come out until I or your mom says so. We don't want you to be found by something that eats kits," she instructed the kit. With that, she turned and started looking for something to hunt.

She was upwind, which meant nothing could smell her and she could smell everything. Lucena moved quietly, listening for noises, taking in scents, and keeping her eyes open for movement. A scent did catch her attention, and not a good one. She didn't often smell foxes, but when she did, she did her best to avoid the fox's attention. The she-cat crouched down, crawling towards the scent. It seemed faint enough to approach somewhat safely. As she approached, another scent joined the fox's scent. She wasn't sure what it was yet.

To be safe Lucena crawled into a bush before looking through the leaves. Oh, it's blood. This was the first time she had ever seen a dead cat. From the color of her coat, and the feathers of stolen prey by her mouth, Lucena finally connected the dots she'd tried to disconnect. She couldn't look at the empty eyes and drying blood any longer, so she turned around and, as fast as she could, crawled away.

Once far enough she took to running. That was horrifying! She took some deep breaths of fresh air before trying to look for something to hunt again. Lucena still had a to feed GB. But what would she do with him? She couldn't take care of him, could she? As she pondered on the dilemma, she finally scented a mouse. The calico crouched down and approached with quiet steps, pouncing just at the right moment. At least the hunt went well. She decided to forgo hunting something for herself as, even if she had been hungry, she didn't think she could stomach anything right now.

As the she-cat returned to the opening of the cavern, she dropped the mouse and called out: "GB, you can come out now!" She smiled softly as she waited for the kitten. She had to keep calm for the sake of the younger.

[ @lucidense How do you want things to go? If you want, Lucena could take in GB as sort of a younger sibling. If not, I don't think she would just abandon him to be on his own so you'd need an adoptive parent to show up.]