THE SUN’S CURSE ; self role-play _______________ The clouds wavered gently, like a mirage. The sky was perfectly blue, the colour of wildflower fields at midday, where paw steps would pass through and yet flowers would still bloom, undisturbed. A fantasy of silence and serenity. They were all alone to watch it unravel. Only one figure stood atop a hill, far away from any other cats. They were by themselves, detached. Wandering, longing. Regretting. Forgetting. Remembering. Two kits stood under a facade of the night sky, crystalline stars staining their perception of the world blue. One struggled to climb up the largest crystal, the Gleamstone, while the other watched from nearby. They stood so far apart now. Perhaps the distance had grown with their age. Five apprentices laid in a flower field, laughing, as dawn painted the sky above them. The stars had chosen different paths for them. Maybe in another world, the flowers would still bloom despite being marred by pawprints and scratches. The moon and sun, in eclipse, in perfect harmony. The cycle of celestial bodies had returned to what the universe deemed normal, though to them it felt so very wrong. A sun without a moon is endless fire, unceasing day. Rest cannot occur in the light of a thousand sharp gazes. Nothing can exist in a wide radius of the sun, for it would be burned and turned to gently drifting ashes. These ashes would resemble stars, constellations. So the sun would try to keep the stars close, savouring a fond memory, and keep everything not turned to stardust even closer. The sun did not yet understand the curse that had befallen it. They tried so hard to protect them, and yet nothing around could exist for long. A halo of light surrounded them. Not made from their own heat. But from the stars that used to be who they loved most. They realized then. That those who were close to them would never survive. And yet fate would be so cruel as to leave a smattering of them left. The sun didn’t need the light of the starlit crown, digging into their brain, plaguing their thoughts, to tell them where to go. They knew. It wasn’t a place, so much as a concept. Away. Away from anyone they cared about, to let them live in peace, to let them thrive, to let them remember fondly without causing any others harm. The sun’s light grew colder, and dimmer. They were out of reach. Nothing could touch them now. So the sun stayed as far away as they could muster. It was hard, at first. Rough strings tied them to the graveyard that they had created. They pulled, and pulled, and the rope became loose. And they went further. Gentle breezes would tilt their head back to where they came from, pick up their paws and turn them around. And they went further. And eventually, They forgot. The halo of light around them was no longer there for a reason. It simply existed. And once it had no reason, it gradually died. Sometimes, the stars in the sky made familiar shapes. It hurt, and they didn’t know why, so they ignored it. They were distant, a sun in an empty solar system. They felt grass beneath their paws. They felt rain on their fur. They felt unexplainable emptiness. They had forgotten when it had started, or why. There was likely good reason for it. One day, they sat atop a hill to watch the heavens above. The clouds wavered gently, like a mirage. The sky was perfectly blue, the colour of wildflower fields at midday, where paw steps would pass through and yet flowers would still bloom, undisturbed. Below that, a verdant forest covered the smooth terrain. It slowly faded into a sprawling expanse of golden sand. They watched the clouds. They didn’t register the distant noise that foretold the end of their world. Both their new world, and the old one. However, they did notice the clouds. The gentle nature of them, pure like lilies, seemed to be graying. The sky darkened, though it was only midday. They looked up, and saw gently drifting ashes. They heard the sound of the end. And they remembered. It was a sharp, stabbing pain, remembrance was. One would think that it would be gentle to recall something once forgotten. The sun keeled over. It was a thousand things at once. A thousands feelings they’d repressed, forgotten. A thousand places they’d blocked out. A thousand faces. And they screamed, the sound of a celestial entity releasing its woes from a body not fit for such feelings. Saltwater dripped from waterfalls as if a years old dam had been lifted. Sobs wracked their body. Strength, both emotional and physical, seemed an impossible concept. It all came back. And then they stopped. The agony ceased, for a moment. And they knew. They had to get back to that desert. Now. _______________ guess who’s gonna be active in tfc again… until voyage dies (i’m so sad guys im in denial it’s happening like week before my birthday why) ANYWAYS sorry for breaking your hearts with sad voyage… but they needed to get to the boats somehow…..
