✦ kingdoms fall, kingdoms rise ✦

[Vivika]

♦ an entry for stars #854 ♦ gif credit

[Vivika]

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“... shh, don’t get too close to her.”

“yeah. don’t.”

“why?”

“she… knows things. she’ll read the secrets of your soul.”

[Vivika]

He was coming for her.

Shellpaw darted through the undergrowth of the forest, slipping behind a fallen log. She fidgeted with a small pebble, drawing a quick breath in, quietly scanning the area. She couldn’t be found here. She couldn’t. Not by him. Not if---

A figure leaped over the log, lightly landing on all fours, before turning to face her.
“Shellpaw?” The form took a tentative step forward. “Is that---”

A startled squeak slipped past her jaws as she scrambled up to face him. “No.. I-uh, yes.” She released a long breath, giving a quick shake of her head. He’d found her. Not good. Not good at all. She needed to get out of here. Quick. “Hey, Smokepaw.” A nervous chuckle. “Uh, yeah. I think I’ll get going…”

She snaked a paw out to sneak past him---
He stepped in front of her.

She tried again, dodging to her left.
A no go.

“Smokepaw, please…”

The grey tom stood as if a boulder, unmoving and resolute. He would make a good warrior. A very good one. Those soft amber eyes locked with hers, freezing her in place. Earnest. Pleading. “They say you can talk to the Stars. Can you talk to them for me… and send a message? Please?”

Her heart sank. It was what she feared… the very thing she did not want him to ask. Yet looking into those amber eyes, rocked and shaken, alight with such grief… she wished she could. Stars, she did.

She averted her gaze, glancing down at her paws.

[Vivika]

There were rumors. Rumors that she could indeed talk to the Stars, and the Stars revealed their secrets to her. Secrets of the heart, secrets whispered in prayers, secrets of fanciful fantasy and desires. Secrets of why a cat acted how they did. They called the Stars her friends; whispers and spirits speaking to her. She was their connection to the realm they could never seem to access.

She was anything but.

It was all a lie. A shamble.

There were no spirits, no voices, no whispers she could hear. No friends that told her anything. There was nothing. All the things she knew about those cats… all their secrets… it was nothing more than perception. Observation.

A tom avoiding water…
Simply meant they were scared of it.

A molly who bragged unrelentlessly…
Simple translated to someone with a deep, seated insecurity.

And the list went on.

[Vivika]

“I-I can’t.”

His eyes flashed, insistence setting his jaw. “You can. They said so. I heard---”

“I said I can’t.” She swallowed hard, forcing a breath in. “It was all a lie,” she whispered, voice soft. “It was all a lie. All of it. I’m sorry.”

“Wait! Please. I don’t understand.” A soft whine left him. “They said you could… why would you lie?”

The attention. It was the attention.

The way they looked at her… revered her. It made her feel seen. She wasn’t just some… shell. Some molly in the background. She was Shellpaw. Not forgotten, a mere wisp in the skies. She was something. Someone.

She shook her head, throat dry. His helplessness, the despair, reflected in his eyes was crushing. The realization dawning in his eyes was much like the guilt snaking around her chest, and squeezing. “I just wanted… I-I wanted to be seen. I-yeah. Look, I don’t expect you to understand. It’s silly. Really, I am so so sorry…”

“I understand.” The grey tom stepped aside, quietly flanking her. Defeat drooped his shoulders. “My sister… she was like that. Always liked the attention. She wanted to be the best patroller of Eden. The Lead Patroller.” He pawed the ground. “And funny thing is… I didn’t doubt it. Not once. But now, sh-she’s--”

[Vivika]

Shellpaw pressed a nose into the scruff of his fur, closing her eyes. She knew. They all knew.

“Shhhh, it’s okay. It's okay."

His shoulders shook.

"I'm sorry." It was unfair. A freak accident. There'd been no warning. A patrol went out on the shores and the tides had kicked up without warning. The patrol had been soaked. And one short. An apprentice taken by the waters.

"I wish… I wish I could help. I can't. She… she'd be proud of you, Smoke." A breath in. "You help the other apprentices a ton with their skills. You kept your head up, and are still going. I know it's hard." Her voice cracked. "But she'd be proud. Really proud."

Silence settled, heavy as the night around them. He broke it first.

“You think so?”

“Yes,” she whispered.

Smokepaw nodded, clearing his throat abit. “You said you couldn’t talk to the Stars… I think I understand. You… observe, and see things.” He lightly kicked a pebble on the dirt ground. “... if you’d like, you can talk to me. If you want, that is.”

She met his gaze, throat tight. Tonight, she lost the reputation she’d built up and surrounded herself with. The lie.
She never had an imaginary friend. She never could talk to the Stars; and hear their voices, their whispers, their secrets.

But maybe tonight… she gained a real one.
And she’d never felt more at peace.

She leaned her head against his shoulder, “I’d like that.”

[Vivika]

♦ an entry for stars #854! thank you so much for reading, ahh. <33

[Vivika]

[Vivika]

[Vivika]