xxxxxxx⊰
elliott. ✦ clan archive ✦ last post ⊱
Today, the quiet just seemed… restless.
A troubled and unsettled creature, wound up so tight almost as if it were holding its breath, waiting for something to break. Or perhaps it was just… them. Maybe they were preoccupied.
Wolfprowl, perhaps?
Under the soft glow of the skies, their paws glided across the damp earth. Fresh greens and florals lingered, braided into the breeze. Their strides propelled them forward, soaring under shadows of redwood trees and bounding over sprawling roots. until they arrived.
The riverbank rushed, a gentle melody weaving through the silence. An indecipherable, sweet fragrance trailed and fresh holes marked the grounds, a remnant from the past patrol. A few lone pieces remained, snared between the thistles of a forgotten bush next to the banks.
(+1FP scraps, +1FP scraps, +1 goatweed, +1 water hemlock) But there was something else.
Their eyes narrowed. The musky stench of the travelling bear tainted the bush, but… that wasn’t it. There was something else about the stench. Something wild and feral, anxiety twisted between the two. Desperate. It seemed desperate. Terribly desperate. The way a━
The soft curls at the back of their neck spiked as that fainter fragrance prickled their nose once more. They stumbled out from the thistle bush, nose pressed to the earth, inhaling deeply.
Faint… but it was there. The scent of sweet milk belonging to a nursing cub. A lost cub… with a frantic, desperate mother seeking him out. A mother likely roaming the territory. And if their nose served them right,
tribe territory.
(a bear [predator] has been scented upon tribe territory!) They needed to warn the others.
✦✦✦
Faster, faster, faster. Their paws barely touched the grounds, a soundless rhythm as they streaked through the forest, bounding over roots and weaving through redwoods. But the beat of their heart resonated in their ears, a fickle, restless thing that betrayed them. It was too quiet. Far too quiet.
And they were still too far.
Through the branches, the skies burned, a crimson flame set on conquest. It blotted out the cerulean of the skies, snuffing it out. And breaking from the heights of the redwoods, a discordant note of a mockingbird jeered at them. Almost like it knew. Like it knew what was to come… and how it would end.
Faster, faster, faster. Wolfprowl. Steady, stoic Wolfprowl. All that training, the unrelenting ambition, that brutal honesty… he would have known and warned the clan without holding back the punches.
Surely━
"No!"
A choked growl cut through the woods, fading.
They were too late.
Too late.
Too late.
Faster, faster, faster. The mockingbirds jeered, their song full-blown in the treetops, but it seemed dulled as if they’d been submerged beneath rushing waters. But it didn’t matter, because only one thing did.
Their chest ached, burning, as they broke through the bushes.
✦✦✦
The beast’s head whipped around.
And those eyes bore into theirs. Deep and dark like a void. An empty abyss that shattered even the brightest of stars. In the firelit skies, the bear’s eyes flashed. For just a fleeting snatch of a second, there was a flash of hope. Of hesitant longing.
Then, it was gone. Raised on powerful hind legs, the bear’s head tipped back. A thunderous roar split the silence, mournful and hollow. A mother yearning for a lost cub.
To the side, movement flickered.
Wolfprowl. The knot in their stomach loosened a touch. Curls plastered against his head and disoriented, he stood… not too far from the bear. He leaned against the redwood, a low growl in his throat. But that look in his eyes, so foreign and anguished…
Their gaze dropped.
To the bear. To the
limp form caged between those hooked claws. A form still struggling, still fighting, even pinned to the ground.
Bearleaf. His dark curls matted and stained like a fragile doll that had fallen on a highway, drenched by oil-dredged beasts.
For a second, their eyes met. Soft jade greens meeting theirs for one fracturing second. He managed a weary grin like a soldier’s on a battlefield. That sweet, sweet grin… reassuring, but never without that intelligent spark.
Knowing.
Another roar ripped through the woods.
The bear came down on all fours, the grounds trembling as the shock rippled out. With a sharp jerk, the beast’s jaws clamped around Bearleaf, flinging him far. Sending him crashing against a redwood.
Their voice was raw, barely a whisper. “
Bearleaf.”
They were too late.
Too late.
Too late.
The bear left, lumbering. In search of her lost cub.
Wolfprowl lurched forward, shaking. They’d never seen him like that.
The mockingbirds jeered, taunting.
Faster, faster, faster, faster, faster, faster━ Panting, they reached Bearleaf’s side. Wolfprowl stood over him, head low. Their tongue failed, words lost to them, but they collapsed on the soft earth and leaned close towards the crumpled soul, nose touching his shoulder.
He wasn’t breathing.
No, no, no━ but his eyes. His eyes were open. And they soaked in it, those soft jade eyes. Eyes that always twinkled with starry light, matching that sweet, charming grin. But this time there was no grin. Dulled, glassy eyes met theirs, the crimson flame of the skies reflected in his gaze.
But the real light, the
true light… had already left his eyes.
(+1 star's greetings) ✦
Bearleaf has died! All restrictions regarding death now apply to this kitty, unless a
revive item is used (remember that you do have one from opting-in)! </3
If you'd like to revive him, make sure to fill out a "used item form" in the archives
and drop a quick note in your next explore post to let a writer know! ✦
✦ In the meantime, the bear [predator] is still present on tribe territory! While they seem to have left the
vicinity, their scent hangs heavily in the winds. Does the patrol confront the bear or let them be? ✦ 
