╔══《 ❝ -ish ❞ a mothy srp ✧》══╗ ╰┈➤ TW - mentions of death (of family member) + blood here ya go ❝ and if winter comes and takes my life ❞ Peppered-mothsnap emerged from the caves very rarely. The surface proved bright and dangerous, and she much preferred to seek her thrills through brawls in the dark and exploring elusive, mysterious caverns. It was already on edge from the moment it emerged from the safe serenity of the Phantom's Gorge. Every flower seemed just a shade too bright, its petals bearing tips too sharp; The trees seemed as if a towering beast, peering down at her with bared, sharp fangs in place of gnarled bark. It didn't feel safe here. Her heart started beating quicker with every single step away from the gaping mouth of the cave. Mothy's eyes darted back and forth, and it began to run quicker than before. It wasn't safe here. Why did she even come up here in the first place? Well, it knew why. To pay respects, as she did every moon. However, this time was different. It always felt odd, coming up here with the flowers that she had grown to hate in her maw. Things were... odd, though. This time. It couldn't tell if the memories had just come flooding back to it, or if it was something to do with the war, but things felt even more volatile than usual. It wasn't safe here. Not at all. She quickly rushed to her destination, taking in deep breaths and finally collapsing in a small glade of pine trees with honeysuckle blossoms dancing along bushes, and stopping at the base of a large stone. Upon this stone, many blossoms of a vibrant range of shades have been stacked, a spire of petals so high she could barely read the enscription: "Lark-Sparrowlullaby: A soul as gentle as a dove. May Starclan light your path." It sighed, sitting at the base of the memorial and gentle rubbing its pawpads against the granite. The inscriptions were roughly carved by small claws, those of a young spirit full of that apprentice-like energy that almost all cats of that size exuded Her small stonecutters had carved these words, as an apprentice. Its very own words. She let out a slight mournful sound, before kneading the moss and laying down, her nose touching the stone. "Lulu... I hope Starclan has lit your path. You deserve to have a good afterlife, significantly better than the life you had here..." It whispered in a low tone, glancing up at the tower of petals. The panic she felt faded into a quiet stillness as she shut her eyes, allowing a moment of serenity that she didn't typically associate with the surface. An unexpected pocket of silence, but an appreciated one nonetheless. Its face split into a smile as it let itself curl up and enjoy the silence, only occasionally broken by the sound of sparrow calls. ❝ will it be the death I had in mind? ❞ Mothy awoke to the sound of something very, very off. It was an eerily familiar scene. It played in her nightmares all too often, after all. It suddenly felt smaller than it was (a mighty feat, considering her already small stature). Vivid sunset bled into the midnight blue sky, the cawing of crows echoing their melancholy chorus as they flew across the expanse, silhouettes of shadows soaring. “No. No, no, no.” Moth rushed into the thickness of the trees, pushing her way through the brambles. Sprinting at its highest speed through the trees, hoping that this time it would be enough. “No. NO. NO, NO, NO!” Her concerned mumbling became a shout, and accelerated faster, now practically flying through the woods. This could be the time. This could be enough. This time could be the time she finally did it. The day she could actually save her, in this nightmare. Maybe it could be enough to save Lulu. She risked having to relive it every single time she shut her eyes. Never had she ever been able to do it... but she had gotten eerily close last time. Maybe this time it would finally be able to change her fate. The howls and screeches grew louder as Moth pressed deeper and deeper into the wilderness. As the cries grew, its heart only beat faster and faster, struggling to beat at the same haste as her steps. Soon, the forest thinned, and, already knowing what was laying ahead, leapt and sank her teeth into the beast. The creature let out a howl, and it reached its head around, snapping at Peppered-mothsnap. She kept her clawhold, shredding its pelt as much as she could despite the stinging of pain from the beast's retaliation and... were those tears, mingling into a sickly solution and running through her fur as they mingled with her crimson blo.d? It seemed to be successful! Pepper was diverting the brute's attention from Lulu, who laid in a heap on the forest floor. She was blinded by her fury, her rage, her desparation as she ripped and tore. [n+c]
It didn't even notice the beast beginning to buck backward, trying to fling her like a pest. Moth was winded as the brute tossed her off and caused her to collide with a tree, winding her as it stomped off into the forest, the only remnants of it being scraps of fur, and... Blo.d So much fresh, crimson bl.od... Pushing through its pain, it dragged itself over to Lark-Sparrowlullaby and rested its head on her heaving chest, feeling the beat of her fluttering heart as it struggled to keep her alive. ❝ or will I be captured in the ice ❞ "Ma. Please, just keep going... Me and Monday need you," Moth frantically begged, clutching her mother with her stonecutters. "I can go get a medicine cat. It'll all be ok! Just hold on a tad bit longer..." Lulu's amber eyes fluttered open, and she used her energy to muster a smile despite her suffering. "Oh, Mothy, don't bother. It's my time, my dear," She meowed in that sweet, warm tone that had nurtured her since kithood— through everything from scraped paw pads to explaining the horrors of warfare. Lulu curled her tail around Mothy, and never before had she felt so small. "Don't talk like that! I'll drag you back if I need to!" It cried out, but couldn't even fathom where to start pulling her. No matter how much she tried, no matter how much she wanted to ignore it, it was foolish not to accept it. She had failed again. As the tears slowly dripped down her face, they mingled with its fur, forming canyons as the rivers flowed down, pooling in Lulu's fluff. "I miss you so much," Pepper attempted to whisper out, despite the distinct cracking of her voice. "I'm never able to save you, no matter how hard I try, and it's just..." It was too painful to keep speaking. It simply curled deeper into Lullaby's fur. Rather than what she usually did, which was to keep fighting and screaming until the lights of this forsaken nightmare fell dim, she decided it was better to just revel in this moment. Lulu rested her head on top of its own, and started to sing a familiar melody. "Sweet little birdie No need to worry Now, even though the skies are gray Tomorrow will yield a beautiful day Little birdie, do not weep For now, it's night, it's time to sleep..." She repeated this tune in the same soft, familiar tone, letting Mothy hold her tight until her heart slowed to a stop. Just as the light in her eyes faded, so did the air and the atmosphere around her, and the dream ended, finally dying as she began to re-enter conciousness. The dream wouldn't last. However, Lulu's memory would persist through time and space, for an eternity. As long as there were cats on the Shores, they would be aware of the storytelling queen that once comforted the kits of Cavernclan. ❝ to preserve the way I die? ❞ [fin] NOTE - originally posted unfinished Feb. 7th 2026 and was slowly worked on for an month and a half, I briefly unshared it today to finish it. it's now finished yippee!! aww that was kinda sweet! sweeter than I was expecting it to be when I started this art's kinda old and therefore pretty crappy so ignore that ;-; this is technically my first ever art of mothy so her design is probably slightly inaccurate sob mothy lore guys this is her epic lore peppered-mothsnap + mothy design + art + writing - cicada / @-cicadadays- (that's me) roleplay + species - @tss-roleplay / @sleep1ng- quotes + named after - "-ish" by will wood and the tapeworms ( it is supposed to be written -ish including the hyphen )
