➳ Sunpoppy 🥀

A lone figure took lengthy strides along the edge of the Thunderpath. The occasional pass of a vehicle did little more than ruffle his pelt, content to toe the adrenaline-inducing line between life and death. His stare was set straight ahead on his journey to nowhere.

Sunpoppy kicked every pebble in his path, his posture sunken with an expression capable of homicide. He'd had it with ThunderClan. Couldn't spend another minutes around those fools, in a sea of meaningless life. He was at the end of his patience. The deputy announcement sent him spiraling into a foul mood that seemed all-too-common these days, and he couldn't bring himself to stomach the rest of the announcements.

Nihilistically, he knew he was fated to return before the night ended, yet wandering alone made that time stretch on to infinity.

So he'd hopped aboard the forever road to who-cared. No amount of nipping frost or biting winds would slow his steadfast pace.


[open to anyone, clan cat or outsider]
[edit: now closed]

➳ Sunpoppy 🥀

Sunpoppy could hear someone treading behind him, but he didn't care, just flattened his ears in hopes that would be an indication to go away. Even if their identity had mattered, the wind was in the wrong direction to scent who it was, though his guess happened to be on a certain Hareflood because why wouldn't he follow him.

...Or his mom. God. Please don't let it be his mother of all the cats in this forsaken forest. He didn't think he had the inner strength to gulp down his anger for her and would probably end up exploding, ruining things again. Sunpoppy's lip curled, he winced.

He was so messed up.

He messed everything up.

That was his pitiful existence, and whoever was dumb enough to be trailing after him apparently wanted a part in it.

When they spoke and trotted up beside him, it actually gave him pause--halting his lanky strides--since Sunpoppy had expected the voice of his concerned mother at this point. It startled him that she was a she, a total stranger, and also.. kinda young. That culminated in long moments of gawking until he sunk back into his typical posture, irate. "Nothing," he said, bland, unwilling to engage with a stupid baby. A bit pricklier, he amended, "Just walking. You have eyes, don't you?"

End of story. He didn't need the company of some little twerp who he'd already determined to be too immature to understand.


@Beau

➳ Sunpoppy 🥀

The corners of his muzzle twisted down in a sneer, defensive. Sunpoppy had no doubt she was mocking him with that prissy statement--a cat with no name, just a random outsider who'd found him and was already falling into the path well-carved by clanmates. It was only natural to expect she'd make fun of him like everyone else did, and here was the proof.

Sour, he muttered, "Real cute." There was an unflattering name he would've slid into that if the wrath of his mother knowing by way of the stars didn't force him to reconsider.

"Why would you care?" he shot back, sullen, unrelenting in his tight-lipped approach when he didn't even know her. This was a nobody to him, and he was certain she'd feel similarly -- if not disdain for him as everyone else managed to. An edge of disgust threatened his tone as he said, "Just go back to your mom or something." Dumb young she-cat wandering out here in the middle of the night. Hadn't anyone warned her she'd meet cats like him?

Sunpoppy couldn't bring himself to unburden upon a stranger, much less this one. She wouldn't get it, and he wasn't about to try. So if she had to be here, he wished she'd at least have the sense to shut up.



@Beau

➳ Sunpoppy 🥀

Sunpoppy could think of a hundred reasons why she wouldn't care, and her implication that she couldn't come up with a single one merely convinced him she wasn't hiding intellect under her lame attempts of a conversation. If ThunderClan, the place he was born and raised and served for moons, couldn't manage the ability to give a damn about him, he sure as hell didn't expect a shred of decency from a stranger.

And so far, his preconceived notions about his new shadow being an annoyance were spot-on. It was actually worse than his shadow. This one was trying to force a dialogue instead of just talking down to him.

The revelation about her mother elicited a dangerously flat, "Great, amazing. Not all of us are so fortunate." She didn't have to brag.

When the rumble of a vehicle approached from behind them, Sunpoppy glanced over his shoulder to watch the monster's blinding eyes racing in their direction and briefly let the call of the void whisper to him about how easy, how satisfying it'd be to use a long leg to whack this she-kit into its path. Let it devour her.

Honestly, he was half-tempted to jump in front of it himself. Being devoured didn't sound so bad. Numbness. Milliseconds dragged as the rush of wind ruffled his pelt, and he closed his eyes to envision being overtaken by its force. The rush didn't last.

He trekked on, pads stinging from the freezing ground, but he wasn't emotionally-equipped to turn back. That was a fate worse than the company he'd somehow acquired, though he couldn't imagine he was much of a treat to her either -- her refusal to ditch was puzzling.

Sunpoppy's attention didn't wander from the never-ending road ahead. "If you're going to Anywhere with me," he started, breathing a puff of white in the cold, "you can at least be quiet doing it."


@Beau

➳ Sunpoppy 🥀

Laughing at other's misfortune didn't seem very polite but hell, Sunpoppy guessed he would've done the same to the cats he thought nothing of. So. As was expected in that regard, and besides, she was just a dumb kid. He offered little more than a grunt at what he supposed could be perceived as an invitation, doubtful that she actually knew a cat like someone capable of murder would be able to tolerate her without letting their self-control slip up.

Because it was in direct contrast to her previous resistance, he wasn't expecting her to listen. But gods above, he was sure glad she did. They could continue this walk for however long without her talking his ears off, she could just be that ghost of a shadow that was barely more than a puny irritant. It was quiet, cold, downright isolating, and he preferred it that way.

The moon's shift might've been more visible if it hadn't been covered by clouds, and it wasn't easy to discern for many pawsteps they'd walked in silence. The scenery came and went, his pelt had relented to the bitter temperatures and it numbed him to the bone, a welcome change. It stung his throat like he wished poppy seeds were able to. His legs hardly felt like an operable part of him anymore as they trekked onward, they were an extension of a meaningless exterior that kept him functioning physically.

It was only when they'd reached a glowing town ahead that he slowed in disinterest. Twolegs weren't his style, and a mindless walk wouldn't be nearly as relaxing when he had to watch his back for actual danger. "End of the line for me," he said to her, dismissive, "go on, or don't." Really, he didn't care what she chose to do provided she didn't make the return-journey worse than it already was -- having a destination made the time left in freedom measurable, limited.

"But if you're coming," Sunpoppy continued over his shoulder while he turned around, "ditch before we get to ThunderClan. I kill trespassers on sight." It was monotonous and factual, if not inching into morbid fantasy.



@Beau

➳ Sunpoppy 🥀

Sunpoppy ground his teeth together, prickly. She had been given one job. A SINGLE request. Just, shut up if she had to be there instead of pestering the hell out of him -- but no. She couldn't even do that right, and he wasn't surprised by the failure.

His problems resided next to him right now, not back in ThunderClan. Of course she'd be oblivious like they always were, everyone was. It was proof they didn't truly care about what he was going through--the small subset that bothered to do more than give him degrading stares, rather they wanted to feel helpful and wanted and like they could 'save' him or something stupid. They could choke on their fake sympathy.

He had been trying to be kind about this, giving her space and letting her trot alongside him, but it was pushing a boundary to continuously bother him about his business. And it wasn't genuine either, he could discern that much. She didn't deserve it, but he would treat her to an honest discussion.

"Nobody actually likes that," he said, not expanding on the non-sequitur immediately while he plodded onward on numb legs. Sunpoppy cast a blank glance in her direction as if weighing the benefits of wasting his breath when he doubted she'd draw the right conclusions from it. "The 'I'm-so-caring' shtick. 'Ooh what's wrong? You can trust me'," he demonstrated in a higher pitch, ending it with a disgusted sound and a shake of his head. "It's fake. Get over yourself." She was no one special, just some stranger he happened across while feeling like his Clan had cast him aside, and he couldn't imagine anybody taking up the chance to spill their guts to someone like that.


@Beau

➳ Sunpoppy 🥀

Sunpoppy raised an eyebrow at her glare, waiting, then felt an acidic laugh rise from him at her reply. The words themselves weren't humorous, but he supposed his truthful critique of that tired old "caring she-cat" method must've inspired some honesty in return. And best of all, he'd been right. This was how she viewed him, not like some fragile stranger who needed her listening ears -- she was talking down to him, berating him, proving his earlier point.

After the initial rush of being right had faded, he tossed her an empty smile. I knew it. She was no better than anyone else. No empathy beyond what made her feel better and come off as a good cat.

And by the gods, he was relieved to be over that awful "I'm so pure and sweet" stage that she'd attempted passing off as her real personality. This cruel and shallow version of her that he only now saw had been his preconceived notion, always wary of strangers who claimed they wished to hear his side, and it was coming to life before his eyes. His suspicions were sufficiently validated, and he didn't know what else they sought to gain from this.

Like hell he would've trusted her with any vulnerable fears if she was capable and willing to throw it back like that, make a mockery of the whole thing. What an absolute joy of a she-cat.

Sunpoppy wasn't fussed about it, a yawn falling from him as he kept the pace onward. He didn't know if she'd bail or not but didn't make note of either decision, gaze set ahead on where ThunderClan territory would rest.


@Beau

➳ Sunpoppy 🥀

Sunpoppy didn't trust the evaluation of her behavior, aware she likely wouldn't be able to identify how she'd pushed for answers until he'd pushed back, now was turning it into an opportunity to lecture him--remind him that he was messed up, and terrible. He hadn't remembered saying anything to her to elicit this but kind of found it intriguing how she'd automatically jumped to defending herself despite his silence. If there was nothing to cover for, he doubted she'd be so quick to react or get emotional over this.

Meanwhile, he'd been doing nothing but padding alongside the road with her as she spouted off on him. She could puff up her own sense of what'd occurred with this little tangent, pretend she was the one who'd been verbally assaulted and prodded for no reason, and Sunpoppy blankly stared back during it to watch the wreckage unfold.

Really, it was beginning to sound like projection at this point. He'd stated a boundary several times over, she'd crossed it, and consequences were natural. It fed into his disappointment with the forest's residents at large to see not a shred of self-awareness or reflection about her half of the conversation. But he understood critique beyond pointing the blame would be too much to ask for.

Sunpoppy had assumed he'd be the one to drive her away through heavy implication that he'd meant to venture on a solo journey--but in the end, it appeared she scared herself off. For how extensively she'd vilified him, generating an entire psychological profile from the twenty words he'd managed to spit out, he supposed he didn't blame her.