CAPSTONES - Part 2

Instructions

Previous Part: https://scratch.mit.edu/projects/1314739871/ [CONTENT WARNINGS: This SRP features a variety of topics, such as depictions of depression, grief, mentions of child loss, injury and death/near death experience.] ... The day passed Wildfirelament by in hardly a blink of their eye. One moment it was dawn, and Wildfirelament flew down the face of the vanishing peaks as the sky was alight in brilliant hues to start patrols. And now, dusk was upon the shores, the sky ever darkening as Wildfirelament stalked through the undergrowth of Falconclan’s forests. The darkness tended to bring out more creatures, the deputy had found. More to be hunted, more to be brought back and fill the hungry bellies of talon’s clanmates. The way that the silence fell over the forest as the night slowly fell was soothing as well, a time that allowed Wlam more time to think. She.. Tended to do a lot of that, they found. Didn’t chirp? No wonder why talon got so many headaches.. Though maybe, they should just scowl and squint a little less. It wasn’t even a conscious thing, just a small habit that the raptor picked up from losing sight in an eye. And plus, small quirks that the hybrid couldn’t *quite* shake from having been raised by-… …Snowcelestine.. Now there was a name that chirp hadn’t thought about in awhile. ..It was an odd feeling. For a cat who she once called their mother to now be nothing more than a stranger to talon. A cat who was now dead. Well, a cat who Wlam *assumed* was dead. The deputy had heard in passing that the icecat hybrid had run off during that ridiculous war between Iceclan and Cavernclan. How unsurprisingly and painfully in character for Snow. But for moons, Wildfirelament had worried. Not for Snowcelestine’s safety, but of her whereabouts. And that she would try to return to the clan she had left. Try and rejoin Falconclan. Not that talon believed for a second that Angelitestar would *let* her back in, of course.. But Snowcelestine was.. Quite persistent. Set in her ways, no matter how deluded. Wildfirelament worried that Snowcelestine would become a problem for Falconclan, maybe resorting to petty revenges. Maybe even try to get her filthy hoof-paws on Water-Lilyredemption. Or Milkweedwhistle. …But, Wildfirelament had seen none of the snowflake-speckled pelt or the red eyes that had once caused them so much fear and pain. No one had. And Wildfirelament didn’t think anyone would. …And Wildfirelament wasn’t upset. They were *relieved*. Relieved that she was gone. Relieved that chirp wouldn’t have to ever worry about her or what she may do ever again. …The deputy shook themself out of those thoughts, and continued on with their hunting. … Oh. It’s been a minute since chirp had been here. Wildfirelament recognized this lake. It was the one that she and Sunsetcourage used to fish and swim at when talon was just an apprentice. Ha.. Oh those memories brought a small smile to the deputy’s maw under her mask. What a right *menace* Wildfire used to be. Quite definitely gave Sunsetcourage a whole load of shell and bullshark. Wildfirelament remembered how much she had *hated* Sunsetcourage at first. Oh, the little fowl was proper *livid* when Darkstar called their names together. Determined, little Fire-Lilypaw had been. To drive Sunsetcourage away. And how *maddening* it was, when despite her best efforts in being the shores most edgy little pike, Sunny had stayed steadfast. …Sunsetcourage never gave up on them. Sunsetcourage had promised to stay, to love them. It was the first time that chirp had felt what true, unconditional love felt like. The kind of love where it didn’t matter how much you yelled or screamed or kicked someone away, they would still be there, with open wings, ready to call you their fledgling. It had terrified them. Absolutely terrified talon. But Wildfirelament now owed everything, all that she had grown, all that chirp was now, to the cat that the deputy grew to call her mother. The cat that talon’s kits called their grandmother. …Wildfirelament’s small smile fell, the most recent memory of her last interaction with Sunsetcourage coming to mind, and striking a pang of guilt with the hybrid. Wildfire.. Hadn’t been too kind to her mother the last time they spoke, hadn’t chirp? It didn’t matter how much the fowl had been hurting… Sunsetcourage had just been trying to comfort them. She hadn’t deserved to have been snapped on like that… …Wlam would find Sunny later, she reasoned. After their patrol, if it wasn’t too late when talon returned to camp. She would find her mother and apologize proper. With a nod to talonself, the small hybrid padded off again, the disturbed tall grass and pond reeds whispering in her wake. … (Cont)