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Based on | Click to view |
Artist | nio [gallery] |
Time spent | 36 minutes |
Drawing sessions | 2 |
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[b]Username:[/b]
[b]Cat Name:[/b]
[b]Gender:[/b]
[b]Rank:[/b]
[b]Clan:[/b] (Please link)
[b]Age:[/b] (1 year or above)
[b]Prompt:[/b]
néktar wrote:Username: néktar
Cat Name: tigermoth
Gender: molly
Rank: outsider — spirit
Clan: shallowclan
Age: 42 moons
Prompt:
redpaw’s guilty heart
it was only a matter of minutes, done and over with before she had gotten a chance to think. her vision was uneasy as she stood still — her breath bellowing out of her mouth in small plumes of haze. her legs were shaking as she felt uneasy on her paws, tired from the adrenaline rushing through her veins, she noticed her wound finally as she tried to take a step forward. the cinnamon pelted cat looked down to discover what remained of her left front leg, red mixing with the soil below — now water as thunder boomed overhead and the clouds wept. it made her fur stand on end, jolting from her shock, she opened her eyes and whipped around searching frantically. she hadn’t come alone — her brother newtpaw had accompanied her.
this was all her fault, she felt her heart sink so deep into her stomach she thought she may be sick. her gaze becoming blurred she hurried out of the open dirt road, sprinting back towards her island — having split off from the patrol not for a second. it all went wrong so fast. the young molly practically crashed into the sanctuary, her pelt muddy and fur matted from the rain and blood from the injuries she had sustained. her mind was wild as she looked about the crowd of tails and ears, all of them staring back at her in shock and horror. redpaw had barely uttered a sentence before she felt her body go weak — she black out — last thing she could remember were two figures running towards her and her clan mates alerting. then followed a flurry of fur and scents washing over her in the darkness.
next she awoke it was light outside the medicine den, she shot up, realizing she was cuddled up in a nest of made of chocolate mackerel tabby fur. she turned her head to meet the sleeping bear that was her mother, mistlebranch. the young molly’s heart felt conflicted — finding comfort in her mother who had taken her in when she was a kit, though on the other paw she felt utter sickness with herself and what had transpired mere hours ago. she had been trusted to keep newtpaw safe and she had squandered that trust. the red furred molly laid her head back down, looking at all of the herbs paste to her wounds as well as those laid out in front of her. the apprentice knew she was going to be scolded and force fed the medicine if she didn’t comply of her own accord. she craned her neck to lap up the herbs with her tongue — making faces as she chewed and swallowed while her eyes teared up and her ears burned red hot. redpaw could hear newtpaw’s terrified yowls but the tom had told her to run — she felt a sharp pang in her heart. her gaze turned towards mistlebranch, sleeping as peacefully as a mother could with a missing kit. her whiskers twitched with uneasy and her paws moved underneath her heavy pelt. redpaw took solace in her mothers sweet scented fur, cuddling against her hoping to ease both of their heartache. what was she to tell her? should she break her heart more? tell her it was her fault — her fault she’d never see her son again, her only true flesh and blood. the young molly felt shame wash over her, survivors guilt gripping her heart, she choked down tears as she fell back into an uneasy slumber.
she wanted to spare her mothers weary heart, she felt the herbs kicking in and putting her aching body at ease, she had made her decision on what story to tell. when she woke next, her mother wasn’t by her side, instead she stood across the den speaking in a hushed voice with cherrysprout. the two hadn’t noticed redpaw’s awakening — she caught a bit of their conversation,“do you have any idea what happened?”
“i haven’t the foggiest, i caught a whiff of human while i was tending her wounds but i can’t be sure..”
“they wouldn’t wander that far, maybe the humans have come closer to the islands then we thought.”
redpaw had closed her eyes again, feeling her pelt burning under cherrysprout’s gaze. her mothers voice was heard once more,
“do you think newtpaw is okay?”
the silence that followed was deafening, the apprentice felt her fur stand on end, the air of pain felt in the den was palpable. redpaw made some sort of movement to break the silence, cherrysprout took notice and tended to her immediately. “don’t you move, i’m surprised you made it back fully conscious considering what you’ve lost.” the molly motioned to her leg, it was gone the lower half of it ripped off due to her run in with barbed wire in her escape — she flinched. after being tended too, cherrysprout left to let lochstar and the rest of the clan know that at least one of their apprentices was safe. mistlebranch sat in front of her, reaching down she placed a few good licks on redpaw’s head and ears. “so are you going to tell me what happened?” she spoke gently but her voice was grave and her eyes dewed with worry. redpaw could barely look at her in the eyes, the story that she told her mother next was just that.. a story. she said that newtpaw had gotten lost chasing a rabbit far from the group, she had followed after him to bring him back. she said that he got attacked by a badger near an abandoned barn. she explained that while she was running away she got stuck in barbed wire — that part was the only truth. she hung her head heavily, “i’m sorry.” her voice trembled as she felt her mother wrap her in warmth, “it’s okay, i’m just happy at least one of you made it back to me.” her meow was heavily wrapped in pain, the two molly’s spent the rest of the day in the nest, sharing tongues and prey until the sun had set and the moon shone through the sanctuary’s crevice. illuminating the fine angel dust like sand outside of the den, they watched it glitter until they fell asleep.
though her flesh wounds had since healed, she keeps the true wounds hidden deep in her heart. being tormented by the truth everyday since the incident. newtpaw hadn’t strayed off coarse on accident, redpaw wanted to have some fun as she found that patrol to be boring. newtpaw had just recently made apprentice and the molly was excited to explore with her brother and show him everything she had been taught. she had led him to that abandoned barn — much farther from the island then she had told mistlebranch. the two young cats were playing in the broken down stalls, jumping on hay bales and giggling as they chased each other about. all was quiet but then came the sounds of barking, their fur stood on end as their laughter faded, the blood in their veins running cold. a dog was alerting to their scent. next was the sound of a car turning off and the doors slamming shut. she remembers the look in newtpaw’s eyes — he knew this wouldn’t end well for either of them. the apprentices tried to make their exit and escape as quickly and quietly as possible. slipping out a hole in the side of the barn and hiding in the rose bushes along the side of the barbed fencing, she motioned for newt to go first — her second mistake. as newt was slowly making his way towards the fence line his paw got caught in some wire and he yelped in pain. what happened next was a whirlwind, the dog was over and on top of newt in a moment. redpaw flew to action, leaping on top of the large predator — biting and scratching with the ferocity of her ancestors, in hopes of saving her brother but she wasn’t big enough or strong enough to deter the animal. newt managed to get lose but not after taking a few bites to the ears and back. the commotion caught the attention of the human who accompanied the dog. they were calling out and rushing over, waving their arms about, red disengaged and grabbed newt by the scruff, he yowled in pain. he said he couldn’t move his paws very well. red stared at him in disbelief, but felt the hands of something grabbing her, she bit and scratch the assailant. though she hadn’t counted on there being a second human — the other furless creature grabbed newt from where she had dropped him. she was about to launch herself at the other human but was stomped at by the one she injured. they were attempting to grab her again but she heard newt’s voice from afar. “run red! run!” she felt her heart break as she took one last look at her brother, being carried towards the car, she let out a yowl of agony and took off. the human had let go of the dog once again, the animal was right on the molly’s heels. she leapt over the barbed fencing only to land in a few yards of left overs, she struggled and cried out as she forced her way through. determined to make it back to her clan, all the while the dog drove after her, snapping and barking and snarling though it didn’t follow her past the barbed wire. she made it out but the fencing had taken its fair share of her..
this is the nightmare she relives every day, the guilt she has to carry. a horrific secret for her alone to bare.
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