cw // mentions of de@th, intense grief context: https://scratch.mit.edu/projects/885024866/ ... Legendfaith ran. He ran and he ran and he ran. Over the dunes, sand spraying from behind his paws, his heart thudding in his chest. But no place he could run was far enough. Oh, the irony of it all. You can't run from your worst fear, little warrior, the voice in his head would whisper. You can't run from yourself, little Legendfaith. He was tired. The sprint all the way from the ThunderClan border to the middle of the WindClan desert had winded him like nothing before. He stumbled, gasping for air. The piebald tomcat sputtered, desperate to fill his lungs with oxygen. Yet he was drowning in his own mindscape, running from himself. The steadfast soldier faltered, the cracks in his armor starting to show. He collapsed. He trembled. He gasped for the air that wouldn't come. Images flashed before his mind: arguing with Meanderdash, her grand flight from WindClan, following after her, seeing Cherishedmirth… his jealousy. Watching the ground crumble and swallow them whole. With a splash they were gone, taken by the river, swept away from Legendfaith's sight. And it was all his fault. The idea suffocated him, darkness flickered in the corner of his eyes as he lay in a trembling heap, sand sticking to his damp fur. He had tried, he had tried, he had tried. And he had /failed/. He was supposed to be the defender. The loving protecter of his family, the one that kept them together through thick and thin. What had happened? Oh. Legendfaith lifted his head and laughed, the cold, cruel sound echoing across the dunes. /He/ had happened, he realized in disgust. He had faltered, he had let them down. And now his beloved sister was gone. Because of him. What would his family think? He would have to tell them. He would tell them of his mistake and he would face them hating him. It's what he deserved. He didn't even deserve to be a StarClan trainee, he deserved to be banished to the Dark Forest. Legendfaith the strong didn't cry when Honeybeefantasy went away, never to be seen again Legendfaith the valiant didn't break down in tears when Tanny disappeared into the night. Legendfaith the noble didn't even shed a tear when Reindeersand breathed his last, his eyes staring at everything and nothing all at once. But when Meanderdash, his sister, his littermate, his closest and truest friend, was swept away by the cruel hands of the river because of /him/? Not even all of Silverpelt could hold him back. So he sobbed. Legendfaith lay there, withered away from the inside, and he poured his heart out to the empty night. He howled his sister's name through the midst of his tears, knowing she would never again answer. She would never again bounce up to him, a mischievous light on her face, a promised adventure around the next corner. She would never look up at him as both an older brother and a companion, her ocean-blue eyes reminding him of the saltiness of his tears. So instead the defender of the flower quintet, the oldest member of the memorial trio, crumpled to the sand and cried, cried for all he had lost. Honeybeefantasy, Metanoiasweven, Eveningsnooze, Reindeersand, Petalsigh, Meanderdash... He cried for them, and he cried for who was to come. Thunder rumbled in the distance, and Legendfaith sat up, his vision blurry as he choked out another sob, sniffling and looking around. Ominous purple-gray clouds blotted out the moon, seeming to frown upon him. He understood. They were reminding him, StarClan. No more than he deserved, really. /Oh, please, StarClan/, Legendfaith thought, swallowing and turning his head to the moonlit orb he couldn't find. /Please spare my sister. Welcome her into your hunting grounds, no matter what she's done./ He begged them silently. A drop landed on the chocolate-and-cream tom's nose, startling mistmatched eyes open. The sky had broken open, water from the heavens instead of tears running down his face. Sapphire and emerald eyes closed again, and Legendfaith breathed in the moment, letting the rare summer shower wash him into numbness. It was all he could bear at the moment. He stared at his worn paws, caked with mud, sand, rain, and tears. The grit around him was sagging away, as if too disgusted to be in his presence. The WindClan warrior couldn't blame it. The desert was filled with darkness, the vast emptiness filled only with the desolate piebald tom, his own lonely island in a sea of emptiness. It seemed the dunes were lamenting tears of their own. (end) notes: I must admit, that was pretty fun to write ^^" so yes, Legendfaith will be entering a stage of mourning, burying himself and work. He will become almost obsessed with StarClan, claiming he'll do anything as long as they "spare" his sister. He'll be a bit nervous and jumpy too, completely resistant to breaking any rules or codes at all. After that ? We'll see.... >:3
otiginal share date august 23 2023
