DANCING WITH THE DEVIL

[wolfie]

★ ✧ ˗ˏˋ The Sin Eater ´ˎ˗ ✧ ★

⌗ HE | HIM . . 60 MOONS . . RIVERCLAN WARRIOR ⌗

┆彡 black-furred tall & sinewy tom with vitiligo resulting in white speckles covering his fur; heavily scarred across his entire body, missing half his left ear. his eyes are a light cloudy amber due to his blindness --- has protruding fangs that overlap his bottom lip & walks with a prominent limp. smells like spicy citrus with an underlying petrichor scent. speaks in a low & raspy monotone voice. ✮

interaction warning : this character explores themes of mental illness & complex trauma
post disclaimer : this contains descriptions of flashback, passive suicidal ideation, dissociation, and emotional distress

---

[ ✦ ⊹ ࣪ ˖ ➜ @SuspiciousMindz ]

➺ instead of leaving his son and returning to his home, the place he had clawed through hell to get to — the oriental returns solemnly to the dead. he does not travel to the seagrass fields but sleepy thicket where his loved ones' rotting bodies laid. (stormstar had said they had moved them all, but he knew they did not haunt the fields as they did the thicket.) wormbite's legs burn by the time he reaches the thick forest, mind a thick and hazy cloud of panic.

he can hear his heart in his ears, but he travels to the middle of the forest, the thickest part. a shiver rolls down his spine, and he collapses in overwhelming weariness. "t-they ... are all gone, again, " he confesses softly to the wind, letting his words be carried away. "bit by bit. i couldn't - even save daypaw in the end after everything, " his claws dig into the frozen dirt, squeezing his eyes shut. he hadn't had a chance to be alone since his return. not - properly, it had never settled upon him until everything piled up and he was forced to look at it once more.

"while i was s-stuck getting cut, prodded, tested on - stuck with those wild cats, i thought, i had - hoped when i got out i was goin' see you again, " he murmured, cloudy eyes dragging upwards to the face the darkening sky. "i trusted you goddammit! i - i defended you to the clan, i thought you would take care of them! but - but you lied, you put them in danger and got yourself killed like a stars forsaken idiot!" wormbite hissed, sleek tail lashing back and forth but in a broken, cracking voice, "you were supposed to stay, " they were supposed to cancel each other's curse out.

he hung his head low, taking a sharp & shuddering gasp of air. he could feel a pressure on his chest, like a paw was pressing down on it. (someone pushing on his shoulders, he couldn't move, he couldn't get away from claws piercing his skin, the burn of floral - ) "i, i mean. the cat who might have the most connection to - me is - a grown tom who thinks i can play father. i - isn't that, something? of all things? i've lost - everything, and yet - i found when i'm startin' to grey that - i have kits! somehow! five of them, five - five kits. i didn't, even know.. all of this time.. i still ended up like him. absent. isn't that ironic? i mean, truly, one of you have to agree with me on that - " wormbite lets out a dry laugh, shaking his head back and forth because he knows if he doesn't - if he doesn't downplay it, tears will start to come forth and he was so tired of crying.

"too much has changed. too much. too much. too much. the same, but different. so different, " he mumbled over and over to himself, pulling his paws over his face; claws sinking lightly in his skin, not enough to pull blood. he shoots his head back up, expression flashing from despair to anger. "is THIS what you wanted from me? to SEE ME LIKE THIS? with no one around? with nothing to focus on but riverclan? is it a JOKE? if i PLAY MY STARSDAMN PART — WILL YOU LET ME REST FOR ONCE?" wormbite snarls out to the stars, claws lashing across the ground and disturbing the soil.

the wind is quickly taken out of him once he crumples back to the ground, tail wrapping protectively around him. he was tired. he should've died a long time ago, should've died in that damn Pit. in the darkness, alone. he didn't want to fight anymore, he didn't want to keep caring for cats for them to end up missing; dead. the stars only shone upon him, mocking him as they always did.

he doesn't mean to - he should take off and return home before anyone could question but the oriental is exhausted. and so instead, he slips into a deep slumber.

---

₊✧ ⋆ ★ ULTIMATE PREDATOR ✮ JUST A SCRATCH ✮ SHADOW FIEND ✮ SURVIVAL INSTINCTS ★ ₊✧ ⋆

[SuspiciousMindz]

[Thrush]
Dark Forest Resident
Nightmare Fuel T1 | Worldweaver T3

​

Oh, it was a burden. Existing in a place with no end, with no goals, with nothing but darkness and despair. After seasons upon seasons of walking the same forest, and seasons of nothing happening, insanity was crawling its way into his brain. It was clawing at his mind...

Forcing him to draw in the trees.
Forcing him to mark the grounds with claws.
Forcing him to seek out the living.

Forcing him to hold onto the strain of sanity he had left. There wasn't much there. The despair and desperate energy that scarcely radiated through the forest was enough to bring this creature back from the brink. Tonight, it was strong, intoxicating. Although, it reeks of RiverClan. Man, did he hate that clan. The one that put him into the ground the second time.

Still, the energy and scent were intoxicating. It drew him closer and closer, entering a region of darkness: a dream. The forest shifted to a new darkness, the calico taking up a spot halfway behind a tree. His blue eyes would simply stare and study. The dark stranger sprawled across the ground. His thoughts of despair echoing through the area.

He was mad. He was so, so, mad.

"The stars are damning you too, eh?" A quiet voice echoed from the background, seeking out Wormbite's ears. It was welcoming, warm, hiding the malice that laced his intentions. "That's so unfortunate, perhaps you let them go for a while, hang out with me for a moment," Thrush cooed, his head tilting with the words, ears peering from around the tree trunk while the rest of his body remained half-hidden.

"Are you... hungry?" The tom would inquire, ready to prep something special for the StarClan loving fool before him. To top it off, he reeked of RiverClan. He was definitely RiverClan. Thrush despised that the most. However, he'd tolerate for now. It'd be interesting to see where this goes. It'd be interesting to see what damage he could do if the warrior allowed him to get too close.

@wolfie - Wormbite

[wolfie]

★ ✧ ˗ˏˋ The Sin Eater ´ˎ˗ ✧ ★

⌗ HE | HIM . . 60 MOONS . . RIVERCLAN WARRIOR ⌗

┆彡 black-furred tall & sinewy tom with vitiligo resulting in white speckles covering his fur; heavily scarred across his entire body, missing half his left ear. his eyes are a light cloudy amber due to his blindness --- has protruding fangs that overlap his bottom lip & walks with a prominent limp. smells like spicy citrus with an underlying petrichor scent. speaks in a low & raspy monotone voice. ✮

interaction warning : this character explores themes of mental illness & complex trauma
post disclaimer : this contains descriptions of flashback, emotional distress, & dissociation

---

[ ✦ ⊹ ࣪ ˖ ➜ @SuspiciousMindz ]

➺ when he opens his eyes, darkness is all that meets him. moons upon moons had passed to where wormbite had little recall of when his vision had not decayed. that is not what truly startles him; it is the scent of petrichor, of soil, of Rot.(OFTHECOLDNESSINTHEDARKTHEPAINTHATBURNEDTHROUG HHISBODYTHEDAYSTHATPASSEDUPONDAYSUPONDAYSUPON -)

his jaws opened, gasping for air but it felt heavy and suffocating. his mind is chasing itself like a snake swallowing its own tail. he can feel the fire lapping at his hindleg, the claws that ripped through his skin. but he does not smell florals, the strong scent of herbs that made him dizzy. that thought is what startles wormbite. pulls him briefly out of the spiral. even alongside rot, the crazy she-cat had kept fresh herbs to prod at him with.

and then he starts to notice the rough, dead grass against his paws. the dry, cold soil he is digging up with sharp claws. it is not cold stone. droplets of water do not fall upon his fur. he is - somewhere.. else.. before the sin-eater has a chance to wrap his mind around the bubbling confusion, a sickly warm voice cooed out through his misshaped ears. something inviting, like a clanmate coming to chat. the too does not go unheard.

wormbite stiffens, head turning slowly to the direction of the voice. a simple request is offered, he can't help but burst out into a fit of laughter. true laughter, for once. his shoulders shook, and he couldn't recall the last time he had laughed that hard. it wasn't even particularly funny. "oh believe me, i have cursed them over and over and over. i fear nothing i can do can get them to loosen their damned claws on me, " he spoke through gritted teeth, tail tip twitching erratically. death didn't even provide an escape.

his laughter quiets, and he stands up to his full height. his senses are on high alert, attempting to gauge his surroundings. ... perhaps.. was ..he awake? his head felt stuffed full of fog. something - was off.. he needed to return home. .. he.. didn't know how long he had been gone.

the second question deepens his confusion. the voice is still quiet, whoever this was was near.. but not close. he did not think he was hungry. even then, he would rather starve then accept something from an outsider. "why do you you conceal yourself?" wormbite questions instead, unable to resist a curious inquisition. in fact, he wants to ask multiple. who this was -- non-clan cats rarely understood what laid in the stars. this one seemed to possess an idea, a shared dislike.

.. he shakes his head back and forth. no. he had no need to learn about this peculiar stranger. "..nevermind. stay within the shadows. goodbye stranger." he does not turn away, never, of course, his distrust of outsiders had been proven time and time again to be well-informed. instead, he kept taking step by step backwards. (had time worn his sense of familiarity regarding the thicket? in what direction was his home?)

---

₊✧ ⋆ ★ ULTIMATE PREDATOR ✮ JUST A SCRATCH ✮ SHADOW FIEND ✮ SURVIVAL INSTINCTS ★ ₊✧ ⋆