The buzz of cicadas. The howl of coming and ending gales. The flap of two wings, beating noisily through a not-so-quiet nights sky. The day hadn’t been either hot or cold - lukewarm to say the least. It was a day where bugs were squashed, and down below that had happened. But up here? He was at peace with the insects. Cormorantcrash wasn’t a sight to behold, just what could be bland, maybe even normal, FalconClan cat. Like a common crane, his fur was dark grey. It didn’t blend in with anything. Even the night. And his feathers? They were just like a slight reflection of the water, with no details, or the clear blue sky. He didn’t have a glorious smooth pelt, wings made perfectly for flying, or eyes that caught every detail. He was just him, as unimpressive as ever. But he loved his Clan. His Clanmates. He loved Aukletsoar for her stories, adventures, kindness, and the slight awkwardness in moments that they shared. He loved Jasminepaw for the nicknames, hunting, love, and slight confidence that Corm didn’t always have, as well as being the perfect Medicine cat. Luminouslight for the conversations, the calm, and the ideas. Windstormswoop for the help, friendliness, and fun. All the things he felt he sometimes needed in a Clanmate. It made him feel loved. Loved despite his fear of heights. Loved despite his nerves. Loved despite everything. It made him hopeful, positive, even confident. He wasn’t the professional fighter, flier, or hunter, but they made him feel like he was. Diving high over the forests, over the Clan, over the clouds, Corm didn’t have time to look around. The stars glittered like miniature suns above him, the moon like a larger version of them. He saw the light of the sun beginning to rise. Regretfully, he turned around to head back to his clan. Several blue feathers flitted down from the sky. But he wasn’t ready yet - the sky held so many secrets, was it already time to leave? Nononononono, he’d always been so scared of being this high up. It was time to enjoy it now, ignore the constant noise of cicadas. Time to escape from the drama. And it was time to ignore the fear, the reminder of what would happen if he even hit the ground from up here. Of course, he ignored it. Why shouldn’t he? He didn’t need that overwhelming fear, And that’s when it all went wrong. Cormorantcrash continued to gain more and more height in the air, almost controlled forwards by lack of fear he had, adrenaline coursing through his body. He wasn’t boring now. This was exciting! It always would be! Right? He didn’t need to be careful the sky was every FalconClan cat’s domain. And in your own kingdom, you always seemed to be safe. One wrong move. One step too high. One last leap. Cormorantcrash, so high up, higher than he’d even been before, looked down. The forest was barely visible. The clouds seemed not too far below, but further than he'd ever seen. And it sent a fresh bolt of fear through him. His wings lost control as he panicked. He stopped being careful stopped remembering the instructions he’d once been told. Feathers coming up around his limp wings, Cormorantcrash, still attempting to turn back round, fell. The FalconClan cat fell. It was if he had no wings. No memory of being able to fly. Fell and continued to look down, down, down, down, at the approaching clouds. The lukewarm air buffeted his feathers, his tail, his seemingly useless wings, making them extend in and out. The fall was long. So long to him. But it was probably only happening in the blink of an eye. Below him would never be his clan - only the forest, their own territory. He’d caught so much prey there. Maybe he was now becoming the forest’s prey. The world seemed to pause as he tried twisting in the air, flailing to try and slow down his fall, maybe to cause less bone-breaking pain. He’d almost forgotten everything he’d learnt, all in one moment of extreme panic. He couldn’t stop himself. He’d never be able to. Aukletsoar. Jasminepaw. Luminouslight. Windstormswoop. The mix of faces, the jumble of feelings and thoughts, and his four favourite cats popped into his mind. What would happen to them? What would happen to him? He’d hoped to seem him and his friends in the Elders den, to pass with each other, peacefully. But now that was all impossible. Lost to the ever changing winds of fate. His eyes focused. The cliffs. He was falling towards the cliffs. He’d hoped to land somewhere peaceful, the forest, the camp, anywhere. His wishes weren’t answered. Cont.
Slashes of pain cut across his entire body as he hit the cliffs, as if so many bones in his body were shattering all at once. Darkness burst before his eyes, and he willed it to fade. He couldn’t go now. Not yet. But nothing could heal him now, nothing could do to him or fix anything. Cormorantcrash’s regretful blue eyes were forcefully closed. It wasn’t like it was a nice spot, with the ending and curling grass and wilting flowers, the rocks and stones that clustered around him. Closing his eyes prevented him seeing the scene slowly fading away. The starting warmth of the sun didn’t help. It just edged his frame with more thorn-like jabs of slight pain. His back legs….they were already starting to slip off the drip off the cliff. He didn’t care, and if he did, he wouldn’t be able to do anything anyway. He had no energy. He was sore. Tired. Broken. Doomed? The grey-coloured FalconClan Tom’s mind was racing, his heart bounding along with his ragged breaths. His body no longer followed his commands, and it continued to slip further towards the end of the cliff. His legs were dangling off now, touching the fog below. He felt helpless, helpless and useless. Even if Jasminepaw was there, he wouldn’t have been able to do anything. For a reason he didn’t completely understand, he felt as if all his ancestors were watching. That Jasminepaw was coming. A false fantasy, but he couldn’t stop it. Even that was drifting away now, pulled back by an invisible thread. Everything was vanishing, fading. His heart beat. His breaths. His warmth. And he felt at peace. There has always been a sense of truth within his name - Cormorantcrash. Crash. He’d never been able to fly that well. Maybe that was the truth all along. But there were still things he missed - the fun, the adventure, the kindness, and the ideas. With a pulse of quiet sadness, he realised he’d never be there to see Jasminepaw gain his warrior name. Maybe he didn’t know his next destination. Maybe he didn’t feel as if it was the end. But now? He had to accept what was happening. He looked back up at the sky where he’d fallen from, at the gales, the rising sun, at the mountains, as they finally seemed to fade away. And he slipped. Off the cliff. Cormorantcrash fell once more. He blacked out before he hit the ground again. And he was free. The seemingly almost flightless cat had met his doom…… And it was only so long until his body was found. ———- Wow. I haven’t had a character d34th in a while, yet this is very much explainable. Yes, it’s time for the nervous-ish FalconClan cat to go. I know I’ve prepared for this once, yet leaving Cormorantcrash still makes me pretty sad, even if he’ll be seen roleplayed in StarClan. And although I’m planning on maybe joining back soon, this isn’t a goodbye just yet. I hope I’ll RP again with some of Corm’s friends! And, to Nightfreckle ( @Moonpaw5 ), I hope Cormorantcrash will forgive her! She is the cause for his d34th, after all. <3
