Sleepy Thicket

[vellichor]

// @marni + @SpiritedWarrior @silentstalk @Estelle @Spotty @~Fierce~ @zenosaurus

beansprout // he/him

his paws were numb and cold. there was dirt in his paw pads, and he knew somewhere in the far corner of his mind that he needed to clean the wound that he had inflicted upon himself, otherwise it may become infected. but he wasn't going to acknowledge that thought for a long, long time. right now, all he was focused on was digging. shoveling dirt out, and placing it back. digging a hole big enough to... big enough to put.... to bury, under the ground forever....

stars, he was crying again. beansprout sniffled, the dirt beneath him staining with his tears. and then, it was done. there it was, the place that his closest friend would.... no, no. he needed to stop that train of thought. he couldn't bear to think of the finality of everything right now. he felt a warm presence, and a shaky purr at his side. oh, fawnpaw. he nearly started crying again, but instead wrapped his tail around her. she was supporting him more than the other way around. would she still be doing this if she knew what he had done to those closest to him? it wasn't his fault that he seemed to be cursed, but, in a way, it kind of was. his guts twisted and squirmed with a sick feeling. that would have to be something he pondered later.

at the mention of speaking, the siamese felt as if he had to. he-- he wanted to. he touched his nose briefly to fawnpaw's head before standing on still-shaky legs, and facing the group of cats.

"skystar-- we all know he wasn't the best leader. but that's not why we're here. we're here because he was a good clanmate, a good warrior, and--" he wavered, sniffling. "and he was a good cat at heart, no matter what. not every cat is made to be a leader, but that doesn't change the fact that skystar cared about cats." his legs threatened to give out at any moment, but he willed himself to finish. "i-- i don't know how many of you know this, but... he's the reason i'm alive right now. he-- he saved me from an attack at the thunderclan border, and i-- i did lose a lot," tears began falling again. "b-but skystar was the reason i didn't lose everything. i'm going to miss him, so so much. i never--" his voice broke as he made the realization that shattered his heart. "i never even got to thank him."

the world was spinning, he had to sit down. he stumbled back to his spot, desperate to get out of the spotlight. he never had thanked the tom for saving his life. not once in all that time had he ever even tried. how selfish was he?? no wonder the star cats strike down every cat he gets close to, beansprout was absolutely selfish, and only cared about himself. he was an awful, awful cat, and he wanted nothing more than to bury himself in the ground with skystar right now. his eye squeezed shut, and he tried to stop the overflow of tears that threatened to spill.

beansprout was a horrible cat.

[SpiritedWarrior]

Reedwhisker continued to listen as each of her Clanmates paid their respects to Skystar. When it came time to bury the tom, the dark brown she-cat stepped forward again and began tossing the fresh dirt into the grave. Rest well, Skystar. RiverClan will never forget you.

After she placed a good amount of dirt back in the hole, the she-cat stepped back and sat down, waiting for Snowleap to give the order to head back to camp. Although she didn't expect him to be their leader so soon, Reedwhisker had no choice but to come to terms with being unable to see Skystar around camp. Sitting atop the Streamstone? That was now Snowleap's responsibility to hold ceremonies. Not Skystar's. I'm sure he's very proud of you, Snowleap. she wanted to tell him those words to reassure the dark-furred tom, but now was not the time. It was the time for Skystar's funeral.
@marni @maelstrom @silentstalk @Estelle @Spotty @~Fierce~ @zenosaurus

[taillow]

Fawnpaw
Sniffling a bit, Fawnpaw lifted her head from where she had buried it in Beansprouts shoulder as she heard Snowleap speak to her. Moving her eyes from him to the hole, where Skystar had been made to look peaceful, almost as if he was sleeping, the young apprentice nodded. But before she could move, he asked the cats gathered if they would like to say something. She could wait. She would perhaps go last, and then place her present. A nice send off for the golden leader.

Most everyone said really kind words, and Fawnpaw felt gratitude that so many of her Clanmates had gathered to see the leader off. Could he see them all, gathered here? Saying their goodbyes and tossing their presents into his grave? Would he be able to take them with him on his journey to StarClan? Snowleap had said that her bear paw would help his journey - and Fawnpaw desperately hoped that was true.

The last cat to speak was Beansprout, and she watched as the tom shakily stepped forward. Her eyes round with concern, she felt her heart break for the warrior, and it was then she realized how close the two of them must have been. Fawnpaw... well, she didn't have a best friend or anything of the like, but she could not imagine losing any of the cats she considered close to her; Bluebellcrackle, Wormbite, Snowleap, even Beansprout.

As he stumbled back to where he'd been sitting, Fawnpaw gave his shoulder a few comforting licks and pressed her forehead against it. "That was really sweet, Mr. Beansprout," she murmured so that he could hear her words of comfort.

She stayed there for awhile before looking to the grave. It was her turn now, wasn't it? After swooping down to pick up her stuffed bear arm, she lifted her head and smiled and... wait. Wait, wait, wait. Reedwhisker... she was covering the grave. A hollowness unfolded in her chest as she looked from the fresh dirt then to the warrior and back again. Something in her lurched, and she wanted to scream - no!. She hadn't yet given him the bear arm! She hadn't said her goodbyes! She hadn't...

Stars, everything felt fuzzy. But Fawnpaw knew better than to speak out against a warrior. She could only stare wide-eyed at the now covered grave, mouth gaping just a little which allowed the stuffed bear arm to fall back to her paws. Why... had Reedwhisker forgotten that she hadn't spoken yet? Or... or was she not allowed to speak? Suddenly all she wanted was the safety and security of being close to Beansprout, so she huddled closer to the tom, as close as she could, and tried her very best to not let the watery tears that rimmed her eyes fall down her cheeks, her jaw clamping shut.

[ @maelstrom @SpiritedWarrior @zenosaurus - Looks like Fawn doesn't get to give her present after all ): ]

[SpiritedWarrior]

Looking at all who had come to the burial, Reedwhisker noticed little Fawnpaw hadn’t had a chance to go and partake in burying they leader. Uh oh! she silently panicked and walked forward again to dig a small hole for Fawnpaw’s gift to Skystar.

“Here you go Fawnpaw, I apologize…” she looked once more at the shy she-cat and stepped off to the side to allow room for Fawnpaw to pay her respects. After all, no Clanmate should be left out, especially when it comes to an important thing such as a leader’s burial. “Please, forgive me.”

// @marni - My apologies! I should’ve worded my post a bit better!

[dino.]

// @SpiritedWarrior @marni @zenosaurus

>Bluebellcrackle<

The black and white she-cat had hung back to allow others to exit camp before she did so herself, and she stood at the edge of the gathered cats even now. She stared blankly down at Skystar's body as it was lowered into the grave, let the words of others roll over her. She had nothing nice to say to this tom, who had failed them not once, but twice. So she would say nothing at all.

She watched in solemn silence... until one warrior stepped forward and began to cover the body. Her nose crinkled in distaste. Seriously? No matter her personal feelings about the situation, this was not something to be rushed. Only then was Bluebellcrackle compelled to say something, eyes flashing with alarm as she watched young Fawnpaw falter in stepping forward. She rose to her paws, intent on moving over to uncover a spot herself, but the fool from before beat her to it. Now her gaze slid over to Snowleap, asking a silent question: was he really going to let Reedwhisker get away with making such a call?

Her claws gripped the dirt as she turned instead to select a small flower of her own from beside the roots of a gnarled old tree. When she finally approached the grave, she did her best to try to catch Fawnpaw's eye, tell her it was okay to give Skystar her gift and pay her respects.

She scooped away her own section of dirt, and as she set her own flower down, she inclined her head to Reedwhisker, eyes narrowed, and murmured quietly, "That was not yet your duty to fulfill. Please, show some respect for the grieving."

[vellichor]

// @marni

beansprout // he/him

the siamese cat felt hollow, empty. he had just made some sort of big realization, but none of it even felt real. nothing felt real. he felt as if he was floating outside his body, watching everything around him. his surroundings had stopped spinning, but that didn’t stop him from feeling more sick than he ever had.

again, it was fawnpaw who brought him back down to earth. her touch, her comfort, made all the difference in the world. on one paw, it felt so nice and freeing to rely on another cat, and to not have to hold every single emotion inside. on the other paw, he shouldn’t be doing this to fawnpaw. it wasn’t her responsibility to comfort him. he was… bad.

oh, oh no. the grave had been buried before he knew it, and fawnpaw was trembling at his side. she hasn’t spoken, she hadn’t given her gift. stars above, this was terrible. he felt fawnpaw press into him for comfort, just as he had to her. unlike fawnpaw, beansprout had the advantage of being taller, so he could wrap around the shivering apprentice almost entirely. setting aside his own thoughts and overwhelming feelings, he offered a few comforting licks to her forehead. "it's okay, it'll be okay. we can figure something out, i promise." he muttered under his breath, his voice shaky and unsteady from all of his crying, yet gentle.

before he could say a word, though, reedwhisker apologized profusely and uncovered an area large enough that fawnpaw could finally deliver her present. he leaned down once again and murmured softly, "hey, do you want me to come with you so you can give skystar your gift? you don’t have to go up alone," he added a few more licks to her forehead just to try to calm the young cat down. he knew what it was like to be overwhelmed and consumed by his own thoughts. in fact, the only reason he wasn’t stuck in that state right now was because of fawnpaw herself.

[SpiritedWarrior]

Originally Posted by Slushie

// @SpiritedWarrior@marni @zenosaurus

>Bluebellcrackle<

The black and white she-cat had hung back to allow others to exit camp before she did so herself, and she stood at the edge of the gathered cats even now. She stared blankly down at Skystar's body as it was lowered into the grave, let the words of others roll over her. She had nothing nice to say to this tom, who had failed them not once, but twice. So she would say nothing at all.

She watched in solemn silence... until one warrior stepped forward and began to cover the body. Her nose crinkled in distaste. Seriously? No matter her personal feelings about the situation, this was not something to be rushed. Only then was Bluebellcrackle compelled to say something, eyes flashing with alarm as she watched young Fawnpaw falter in stepping forward. She rose to her paws, intent on moving over to uncover a spot herself, but the fool from before beat her to it. Now her gaze slid over to Snowleap, asking a silent question: was he really going to let Reedwhisker get away with making such a call?

Her claws gripped the dirt as she turned instead to select a small flower of her own from beside the roots of a gnarled old tree. When she finally approached the grave, she did her best to try to catch Fawnpaw's eye, tell her it was okay to give Skystar her gift and pay her respects.

She scooped away her own section of dirt, and as she set her own flower down, she inclined her head to Reedwhisker, eyes narrowed, and murmured quietly, "That was not yet your duty to fulfill. Please, show some respect for the grieving."

Reedwhisker felt guilt grip her, and the tip of her ears felt hot with embarrassment. She didn’t mean to be inconsiderate of everyone! This was her first burial she took part in, so she only nodded in apology as Bluebellcrackle murmured to her. At least she knew what to do when the next burial would take place- hopefully not anytime soon.

A small bit later, Reedwhisker murmured back to Bluebellcrackle, head hung low, “I’m sorry, Bluebellcrackle… I have very little experience when it comes to burials. I didn’t intend on being inconsiderate.”

[taillow]

Fawnpaw
She was really trying hard to keep the tears in, except she wasn't very good and already two had escaped down her cheeks. She didn't dare try to wipe them away incase it brought attention to it. Other cats were grieving, and while Skystar's death had left a golden tabby sized shaped hole in her heart she didn't want her crying to make others worry over her.

In the midst of her internal struggle she heard Reedwhisker speak and briefly her blue gaze flickered up towards the she-cat. She was... digging a hole so that Fawnpaw could put her gift in. And apologizing. Swallowing nervously, Fawnpaw felt her entire face hear up and her heart thump heavily in her chest. Oh no... she hadn't wanted this. It wasn't... it wasn't Reedwhisker's fault. Maybe apprentices were just not meant to speak at funerals. Maybe they weren't even suppose to come - after all, she was the only apprentice here that she could see.

She had worked up the nerve to softly shake her head, to indicate wordlessly that it was alright and that she understood she was not to speak - when the familiar scent of Bluebellcrackle caught her attention. She watched the she-cat step forward and dig out her own little section and place her flower, saying something Fawnpaw couldn't quite hear to Reedwhisker before pulling away.

And then next to her, wrapping around her was Beansprout. A comforting presence, much like Bluebellcrackle, much like Wormbite. But she didn't dare quite place him in that position in her mind. She had already started to do that once before, with another, before realizing they had a family of their own. No, perhaps every cat had their own family, and Fawnpaw just drew the short end of the stick and was unlucky enough to have hers all swept away.

Despite the shakiness of his voice, the young she-cat listened intently to the words he spoke, and found within them the solace she so desperately needed in that moment. It reminded her of how Wormbite had accompanied her during her apprentice ceremony, and so she turned to look at Beansprout with a timid nod. Dropping her head once more to pick up her bear arm, she took a few shaky steps forward (still practically stuck to Beansprout's side) and delicately placed in her gift where there was room, tucking it into Skystar so that he had the best chance of taking it with him.

Could she... did this mean she could say a few words, too? Cautiously, she looked towards Bluebellcrackle, then to Beansprout as if asking for permission. Drawing in a steady breath, Fawnpaw finally returned her gaze to Skystar. "Mr. S-Skystar... he was a good cat. He took us to gatherings, a-and he protected the Clan. Even though he... he made some mistakes... he had a good heart. He was a good cat. I hope that he's able to take all of h-his gifts with him to StarClan. And that... that he's looking down right now, and knows how much we all m-miss him." A small hiccup ended her speech and she retracted her paw steps to draw her away from the edge.

Briefly, she lifted her gaze to look for Reedwhisker and offer an apologetic look. Hopefully the warrior wouldn't be too upset that she had decided to speak. For now, incase there would be some sort of punishment coming, she stuck close to Beansprout, turning her head to also look towards where Bluebellcrackle was and offering a thankful smile. She had always been there for Fawnpaw, and always seemed to know just when to swoop in to make sure everything was okay.

Now turning inwards towards Beansprout she gave the grieving tom a soft smile. "Thanks for your help," she whispered before ducking her head and attempting to burrow her way into his side.

[ @maelstrom @Slushie @SpiritedWarrior ]

[SpiritedWarrior]

Reedwhisker watched as Fawnpaw timidly came up to the grave and placed the bear arm inside where there was room. Words could not describe how awful Reedwhisker felt in not giving Fawnpaw a chance to place her gift in Skystar’s grave, she only hoped everyone who had come would forgive her as well. When Fawnpaw spoke, Reedwhisker nodded in respect to her words, knowing how hard it must have been for the young apprentice. To encourage the she-cat, Reedwhisker mouthed, “Well done.”

She showed no anger or upset in her gaze, figuring that’s why Fawnpaw was hesitant to speak. To be quite honest, it was truly hard to tell what Fawnpaw was feeling when she had come up. However, the dark brown warrior knew young Fawnpaw was overwhelmed, and Reedwhisker could only blame herself for that. She’d have to make it up somehow to the apprentice. But that was for after the burial. Perhaps she’d share a fish with her?

[Quasar]

Plumfade | she/her | @ anyone idk

The lynx point warrior took up the rear as the small group of grieving cats headed out towards the burial grounds, her head dipped in mourning. They weren't really sure what they could do to help out - skystars body was already being hoisted into the newly dug grave - so thats why she settled on keeping a watch on the area around them. It served as a good distraction from reality, actually. Besides, with so many cats gathered with their guards down, it would be bad if no one was keeping an eye out for trouble. Every so often she could feel a stray tear slip down her cheek and fall to the ground, and her mind still felt blank. Her body didn't feel like her own. She bit her lip, blinking rapidly as she gazed around.