#i meant that to be a ginger tabby cat but that looks like an orange kool aid cat instead 😅😩😭💀

[araiz-zaria]

...and I BOOP!

[robinsfilm]

FURRY NEW BEGGINGS

navigation ; masterlist.

pairing : jason todd ✗ gn!reader.

summary : In which the cat distribution system catches up to you and Jason.

warnings : no serious warnings, just alot of fluff and a short lived (or not) rivalry between the cat and jaybeans.

word count : 1k.

notes : switching up the theme a bit, can't always find those pretty headers. wE NEED A NAME FOR THE CAT!!!

The first time he saw the cat, Jason was returning home from patrol. The rain was pouring down in streets, and he hurried through the storm, eager to get back to you as quickly as possible. The weather made everything difficult—the buildings blurred together, neon signs became unreadable, and the sounds of the city were muffled through his helmet.

But despite the downpour, he didn't miss the small spot of light orange in the corner of his eye. It stood out against the dark, murky colors of the alley it was huddled in. Nestled in a small, soggy cardboard box between two trash bags, something shifted.

What's that?

Jason knew he needed to get home. He was freezing and bone-tired, but his curiosity got the better of him.

What's the worst that could happen?

Turns out, the worst that could happen is making a new, vicious enemy out of a stray cat.

Jason landed swiftly in the dark alley, the shadows swallowing up what little light there was. He approached the cardboard box cautiously and gently lifted the lid, unsure of what he might find inside.

The first thing that caught his attention was a pair of greenish-brown eyes staring back at him, followed by the sight of ginger-striped fur. The creature let out a small, plaintive mewl.

Oh, it’s a cat.

In the box sat a big, angry orange tabby. A very angry orange tabby, actually. The cat gave him a fixed, piercing stare, its fur and tail puffing up as it let out a throaty, warning meow.

Jason instinctively raised his hands, palms open, to show he meant no harm, but it was too late—the cat swiped at him with a paw, claws fully extended!

"Alright, I got the hint! No need for violence, little guy. Well—not so little. I mean, just look at you." Jason chuckled softly, trying to diffuse the tension.

The cat's ears swiveled backward and flattened against its head, its body puffing up even more as it attempted to make itself look bigger, more intimidating.

"Okay, okay. I’ll leave you to... whatever you’re doing."

*****

The second time he saw the cat was when he was with you, just returning from a grocery run.

"Who even says that to a worker? It's not like they set the prices," you huffed, recounting an incident at the 7/11 you both had just visited. An old lady had been loudly complaining about the cost of a few products, taking it out on the poor cashier behind the counter.

"I know, baby, but you put her in her place." Jason wrapped his arm around you, pulling you closer. "So, don't worry about it anymore."

"You're right, it's just—" Jason’s ear tuned out your next words as a familiar spot of light orange caught his eye. A pair of greenish-brown eyes glared at him menacingly.

No way... it can't be the same cat...

"Honey? Jay? What's wrong?" you asked, turning to him, trying to catch his attention.

"Huh? Oh, yeah? Sorry," Jason replied, snapping back to reality with a smile. "Something just caught my eye." But when he turned to look again, the cat was already gone.

Annoying little bastard...

"What did?" you inquired, glancing around to spot whatever had distracted him.

"An orange tabby cat that I’ve apparently started a rivalry with." Jason deadpanned.

"You started a what with a what..?" you stammered, clearly confused by his response. But Jason just grabbed your hand and quickly led you away.

*****

The third time he saw the cat was in his apartment. In his goddamn home.

Jason dropped the bag of snacks he’d just bought from the corner shop out of sheer shock. How did the cat find him? Had it followed him? Was this how it spotted him last time near the grocery store? What was this cat’s plan?

Just then, you rounded the corner, emerging from the kitchen with a small bowl of wet cat food in your hands.

Your face lit up when you saw him. "Welcome back!"

"Hi, baby. Who’s this?" Jason pointed to the cat, now holding its tail high with a slight curl at the top. The cat purred softly as it rubbed its head against Jason’s boot.

"Awh! Look, he likes you!" You beamed, your face lighting up with a smile. "Is this the tabby you were talking about? I can’t imagine him being evil at all, isn’t that right?" You squealed with delight, setting the bowl down near the cat.

The cat slowly blinked at you before cautiously approaching the bowl and taking a tentative bite of the food.

Jason tried to ask how the cat got in, where you found it, and why you let it in, but you shushed him.

"Did you just shush me?" he muttered in disbelief, half-laughing.

"I think it’s fate!" you exclaimed. "You found him, he found you, and now he’s here! He belongs with us. Please, Jay, can we keep him?"

Now that was something he never thought he’d hear. Usually, it was Damian asking Bruce to keep some random animal he’d found—not as a pet, of course. Oh no, not at all.

Jason stared at the tabby for a few moments, then at you, with your big smile and pleading eyes staring back at him.

Crap, this is hard. No wonder Bruce never says no to whatever Damian drags into the house. Jason still remembers the cow...

"...Fine."

"Yay!" You celebrated with a little hop.

"How did it even find us?" Jason eyed the cat suspiciously.

"I’m not sure. But you’ve got to get used to him. I think he likes you!" you said as the cat wobbled back over and rubbed its head against Jason’s boot again. "See? Isn’t he adorable?"

Jason sighed softly, then gave you both a small, reluctant smile. "Yeah, he’s a little bit cute, I guess."

"Oh, I almost forgot! We need to name him."

Jason grumbled under his breath. This was going to be a long week—but maybe, just maybe, it might be a tad bit happier than the previous ones.

© ROBINSFILM ﹕ I do not give consent for my writing to be posted or used on any other platforms without my permission and proper credit.

[peanut-with-wifi-access]

MOON🐇PAW

[base by lilliepaws on deviantart]

design notes, bonus images, hopes & headcanons, and other stuff below the cut!

-–·—Design Notes—·–-

•yes chimeras can look like this. they don't all look the exact same ofc, and split-face torties exist, but a chimera CAN be this

•ginger "spotted" (can't remember the exact term) tabby w/ green eyes + black/blue colorpoint tux w/ yellow eyes

•two tails bc this is a fantasy series I do what I want (the orange tail doesn't work btw)

•ears are two different sizes! it's slight but fucks with her hearing a bit

•her pupils are colored like that bc on her ref image only the green eye has sparkles

•the bandaids are supposed to be bits of cobweb, please refer to hc:❢

•wearing daffodils bc unrequited love and narcissus iykyk (moon^2 💞)

•wave patterns like rippling water, sun-shape patches, and moon face/tail markings! bc yeah!

•orange side meant to resemble a sunrise, black side meant to resemble a cool night sky

•this design will 100% change, I am incredibly indecisive [times changed: 2] ~🥜❦

•bonus images!

-–·—Hopes & Headcanons—·–-

•intersex transfem, she/her, objectum pan/ace

•not thrift & bay's bio kit cuz incest. they found her in the woods.

•moon^2 lowkey owns my soul. this cat is in love w/ a puddle.

•might be related to Sol somehow idk I hope

•voice in her head is the twin she absorbed in the womb, they're not actually evil just wanna help and give warnings while also being a little silly :3 Moonpaw just calls them Voice since she's bad at naming things

•I need Moonpaw to be a weird girly. I want her to play with bugs and ask weird questions and be so so strange and zone out during attempted medcat lessons and invent taxidermy and—

❢manifesting clumsy protag plz I need some rep for "can see perfectly fine just zero spacial awareness" girlies

•please have her dramatic moment be during a blood moon/lunar eclipse please that's all I need in life

•BECOMES A WARRIOR PLEASE ERINS PLEASE

•full name will be Moonrabbit (jade rabbit on the moon iykyk)

-–·—Other Stuff—·–-

•leaf and tawny are so gonna adopt this strange baby

•once again, design and stuff subject to change

•the moonpool is gonna get poisoned/polluted and moonpaw's gonna dive in to fix it, therefore becoming one with her love (the moonpool)

•once she emerges as Moonrabbit, she becomes the new connection to starclan (rock kinda deal) and leads the clans to a new territory as the twolegs close in

•beach territory post big timeskip arc 10 please—

•she eventually retires and becomes a kp bc girly needs a warm fireplace and a nap 😔

･ ｡ ☆∴｡　*　･ﾟ*｡★･　　･ *ﾟ｡　　 *　 ･ ﾟ*｡･ﾟ★｡　　　☆ﾟ･｡°*. ﾟ*　　ﾟ｡·*･｡ ﾟ*　　　ﾟ *.｡☆｡★　･　　* ☆ ｡･ﾟ*.｡　　　 *　★ ﾟ･｡ * ｡　　　　･　　ﾟ☆ ｡

[fernclans]

MOON 03. (cont.)(final) (tw; medical talk, i think that's it this time!)

Starring: Cliffpaw (BuddingClan), Bitterndrift (CypressClan), Amberpaw (BuddingClan) Mentions: Bitterrumble (CypressClan), Dashpaw (BuddingClan)

“Are you sure you want to walk the whole way on your own?” A lithe orange she-cat asks, passing a glance down towards the injured apprentice. “Bitterrumble urged that you take it easy for the next moon at least.”

Beside her, a smaller ginger tabby struggled his way down a rocky slope, skidding down on his heels towards the bottom. “I’m alright, this’ll end up being the only real exercise I’m gonna get in moons, I want to enjoy it.”

Though she could tell Cliffpaw was being earnest, Bitterndrift could also see the strain in his one remaining eye as he traversed. “Alright. Do you remember Bitterrumble’s instructions for when you get home?”

“Keep the poultice on my wound for the next day, have someone help me with cleaning it off with fresh moss, and ask someone else to try looking for garlic or marigold.” He recites, his heart racing somewhat as the meadow comes into view, closer and closer. He freezes when the stale scent of wolf catches his nose, but reassures himself that it's old -- the wolf is gone.

“Yes. And remember that some weeping is expected from the injury site, but to be aware of the kind of drainage it is and the smell.” A clan without a leader or healer… the closest to StarClan’s monument, but without connection to its world. A part of Bitterndrift considered just asking Cliffpaw to let FlintClan- or BuddingClan- go. To join CypressClan and assure he and his remaining clanmates survival, but she knew that would never happen. Pride and the instinctual desire to hold onto what has been lost would never allow that.

Cliffpaw nods, silent now, seemingly lost in his thoughts. It had been a difficult four days, in a way the warrior herself could only begin to imagine. His clanmates must be worried sick. When they come across the border between Cypress and BuddingClan, the scent marks are stale. In a way, this was comforting to him; it meant that Dashpaw wasn’t over-exerting himself, and Amberpaw heed his warning to stay near camp… at least, that’s what he hoped it meant. Any other alternative was banished from his mind.

“Thanks for everything, Bitterndrift, but I can make it from here.” He turns around, dipping his head to the ginger and white molly.

She looks the apprentice up and down, dipping her head politely in return. “If it’s all the same to you, Cliffpaw, I think I’d like to accompany you until you’re secured in the paws of one of your clanmates.” The last thing anyone needs is you collapsing from exhaustion somewhere no cat can find you. “It would be a shame if Bitterndrift’s treatment went to waste.” She says instead.

Though he seems a bit frustrated, Cliffpaw doesn’t argue and continues trekking through the familiar tall grass. The further into the meadow they went, the looser Cliffpaw’s movements became, posture relaxing as he grew more comfortable in the world around him.

The scent of cats began to grow stronger; they were approaching camp. The faintness of its scent made Bitterndrift’s heart sink. Cliffpaw really wasn’t lying when he said there were just the four of them.

“Cliffpaw, is that you?” A young mollies voice calls from atop a grassy slope. “Oh StarClan, it really is, isn’t it?” She doesn’t wait for a reply before bounding down the hill and directly into the ginger tomcat, nearly knocking him over if it weren’t for Bitterndrift on his other side to brace the both of them. “Dashpaw isn’t gonna believe it!”

Cliffpaw staggers against the excited impact of his clanmate, chuckling to suppress a hiss of pain. “Amberpaw, it’s so good to see you! I’m so relieved that you’re alright.”

“That I’M alright? You’ve been gone for days!” She shouts back, almost sounding offended. Now away from his frame, the young molly finally gets a good look at the wrappings around half of his face. “Wh..what happened to you?”

The older apprentice flinches slightly at the question, gritting his teeth.

Instead, it’s Bitterndrift who answers. “The wolf pack which terrorized your pack came back. It… seemed to target Cliffpaw deliberately, but didn’t take the opportunity to outright slay him.”

“An eye for an eye.” Cliffpaw mutters, feeling himself grow weak in his legs.

The previously vibrant Amberpaw seemed at a loss for words, her eyes unable to properly meet Cliffpaw’s remaining. Out of all of the horrible things Dashpaw had concocted, he didn’t dare suggest the wolves-- all of them knew such a joke would be too grim even for their gallows.

“Amberpaw, was it?” Bitterndrift breaks the silence again, always seeming to know how to push the moment forward. “My name is Bitterndrift, of CypressClan, can I entrust you with something important?”

She seems to blink out of her daze, bright eyes looking up at the seasoned warrior and giving a firm, confident nod.

“While Cliffpaw is a strong tom for managing this far, I think it would be good for him to have some assistance the rest of the way to his nest. The trek from CypressClan’s camp to here is not a short one, and he still has a lot of healing that he needs to do.” The warrior's blue gaze flashed to Cliffpaw a few times while speaking, but it was unlikely he noticed given his blind-side.

“Right!” She’s already at his side, offering her support by the time Cliffpaw could begin to protest. “You helped me after the wolves, now it’s time for me to help you.” Amberpaw smiles up at him, a sincere passion showing in her expression.

“Cliffpaw has a few things he needs to tell you from our healer, Bitterrumble, but I trust that he’ll do so when you get to camp.” Bitterndrift meows, hoping it’ll server as a final reminder if the tom needed it. “It was a pleasure getting to know you Cliffpaw. Thank you for finding us, Amberpaw. May StarClan light your paths.”

“Thank you for everything Bitterndrift, I… I wouldn’t be alive if it weren’t for you. I owe you more than I can express.” Cliffpaw almost feels guilty letting the warrior go empty-pawed.

“Nonsense. You can thank me by getting better, and becoming the best cat that you can be. No cat could ask for more.” Giving a final bow of her head, Bitterndrift sprinted into the dense grass and began her journey home.

“Wow… she’s so cool!” Amberpaw beamed, staring off after the ginger and white molly. “Yeah…” Cliffpaw meowed. “Yeah, she is.”

woooo we made it back! :D cypressclan will be benched for now, and we return to the main cast of buddingclan! hope y'all enjoyed our lil field trip!

[amber-tortoiseshell]

If you’re still doing requests, could I ask for your genetically accurate Dovewing and Tigerheartstar lineage? They have five kids total and the Erins changed Rowankit’s appearance out of nowhere. I’d love to see how the baby kitten would actually look like, plus his siblings!

Tigerheart's color is black blotched tabby, Dovewing's is blue tortoiseshell silver spotted tabby; tortoiseshell specifically so she can have a ginger son. (From the name i think it's clear they meant his color as a throwback from Rowanclaw through Tigerheart - unfortunately that's not how it works, orange is not recessive to black. Rowankit's color is a heritage from not Rowanclaw but Brightheart.)

Tigerheart and Dovewing (They are not actually maine coons, i just liked these pics. Also if you make them both longhaired then all of their kits have to be longhaired too. I didn't pay attention to this during choosing pictures, because i mostly focus on colors, not hair length.)

The first litter is pretty easy - Lightleap is dark brown = black blotched tabby, Shadowsight is dark gray = blue blotched tabby and Pouncestep is gray tabby which can mean literally all combinations of silver or not, on black or blue base, I haven't decided yet. (But i'll probably choose black silver, so Dovewing's silver doesn't get wasted lol)

Lightleap, Shadowsight and Pouncestep

The second litter. As I said, Rowankit can be red tabby no problem (if you don't mind Dovewing being a tortie - it can be very invisible on silver tabbies, so i don't think it's incompatible with her description (pale gray)), and Birchpaw is light brown... which will turn into a black spotted tabby for me.

Rowenkit, Birchpaw

(warrior cats genetics ask game)

[radiant-reid]

i need a blurb/fic where either spencer gets reader a cat for christmas, or where spencer comes home and finds reader curled up in bed with a stray cat she found out in the rain, immediately deciding she was gonna take it in (bonus points if it's an orange tabby whos extremely energetic) and he's just like. "why is this little guy in MY spot next to MY girlfriend 🤨"

-🦈

Spencer hates Marmalade. Not the spread: he actually enjoys the perfect mix of sweet and bitter on a piece of toast. He hates a cat by the same name, your cat.

To start with, he felt sorry for the abandoned little ball of ginger fluff, especially when you brought him home one day shivering from the rain. He admired your kindness, but it also started an obsession with you from the little ginger monster.

Now, he regrets holding the little bottle while feeding him, taking him to the vet, and gently washing him.

The mangy cat comes running to greet him with he gets home before racing around the apartment like he usually does.

"Spence, hey, how was work?" You ask, sitting patiently on the couch for him to come and kiss you.

He walks over to do so just as the cat jumps on you. "Seriously?" He whines, glaring at him.

"Spencer, don't be mean." You scold, leaning up to kiss him while patting the cat.

"I hate him." He complains.

You block the cat's ears, stroking his cheeks. "Sweet baby, don't listen to your daddy, he's just had a hard day."

Spencer scoffs. "I am not that cat's dad."

"Emotionally." You assure your little baby. "And he loves you."

He just shakes his head, walking away. "What should I make for dinner? I was thinking cat. The orange will add flavor."

"You are not eating my pet." You tell him sternly, although you know he's joking.

"Maybe we could do Italian." He suggests. "I think we still have fresh pasta."

You can't agree quick enough, getting on with your evening without any more talk of Spencer's hatred towards the most adorable cat on the planet. The rest of your night goes smoothly. He even lets the cat's tail rest on his knee while you're cuddling on the couch.

The problem starts again when he gets out of the shower, ready for more cuddles in bed with you, but a very pesky and persistent rat-looking animal is in his spot.

"Seriously?" He groans.

"Baby, don't worry." You tell him. "He can't sleep alone. He'll get scared because there's meant to be thunder."

"Can he at least not sleep in the middle?" He requests. "I don't want accidentally touch his wet nose by accident. It's gross."

You laugh at him, picking up the cat and laying him on your other side. "You're ridiculous, you know?"

He lays down next to you, leaning over to kiss you. "It's what you love about me."

"I do love you." You confirm. "I love both my boys."

Spencer groans again. "Me more?"

You contemplate for a moment. "I don't know, he's nicer."

"I'll be nice then." He promises. "Maybe even pat him."

"Aw." You coo. "He'll be the happiest cat in the world."

He only half cares about that. "As long as you're happy."

[oldmemoria]

posting these design ideas on main because why not

working with how I want to possibly redesign cat!miguel (Reclusestar in the warriors AU), here’s a few quick headshot ideas for em :)

dunno which one I should go with, but I’ve got some notes on each

Original:

Dark blue-grey tortoiseshell with reddish brown markings meant to replicate his most recent suit design. Small, slightly curved up ears with tufts around them that I want to stay in the design regardless of the fur color. A 4 pronged star on his forehead that will also stay true to every other design (supposed to be his leader mark. Usually I like the idea of leader marks either being like.. spots or stripes or something else but a physically inflicted marking not only fits his role better but is also just more visceral and reflects the implied and not so implied cruelty of StarClan in the warrior cats series. For those who don’t know StarClan is like… a holy amalgemation of all of the cats ancestors that went from this mysterious and whymsical force in the first series to unreliable and actually manipulate due to how biased they are.)

— why is he blue

— not accurate to comic design

— more accurate to his movie design, however, I believe the blue in his suit is meant to be light bouncing off of a black suit. So still isn’t exactly accurate

+ simple, easy to replicate markings and probably easy to animate (haven’t tested it but seeing as he barely has any floating stripes or markings other than his star marking it’d be easy to do frame by frame)

+ bluestar

original but the blue is changed to black.

Classic black and orange tortoiseshell. Same other features mentioned before.

— boring. Yawn.

+ the mask markings are more prominent

+ the most accurate to the comics. Miguel has a black and red suit.

same as the last 2 but with a darker blue-black tint

— still blue :/

— his eyes blend into his face and it bothers me

+ colors are actually really nice

+ average cat Miguel design honestly this is how everyone draws him

tortie-tabby dual colored cap mask. Instead of the usual ginger ear tufts he has white, and he has a lot more white in his design than usual

— I don’t like how much white I used for this design, I don’t think it works.

— replicating the fangs in the mask was kinda difficult I didn’t know if I wanted to make it a stripe or apart of the base mask so uh

+ is a tortie-tabby

+ accentuates his jawline!! The other designs did before as well, his markings are just placed a little differently here

+ the white hair is cute

Half and half tortie with minimal white markings (I’m leaning towards using this one)

+ I really like half and half tortie designs

+ cool symmetry

+ he looks like a lil guy here.. just lil.

— jawline isn’t ver visible, especially on the dark brown side :(

Half and half with medium white markings

+ same perks as above

+ accentuates jawline better than the others

(If you’d like please rb for a better sample size for the poll below :3)

Here’s an optional poll, just to see which ones people like more (doesn’t mean I’m gonna choose that one)

[our-inspire-verse]

Alter introduction

A list of common alters im familiar enough with i can sense when they front, and actually recall info on them.

Kiba: he/him. White wolf with black hair and markings, and yellow eyes. both feral and anthro forms, a bit edgy and likes to smoke weed. Host from middle school through about sophomore year of highschool. Created when i was about 8 from a stuffed wolf i named kiba, who was a character who was supposed to be the badass leadership woman i wanted when i was younger, then later he was influenced by multiple characters from wolf's rain(Kiba and Tsume). Easily a more common Fronter than most, friendly and social but relatively introverted. Married semi platonically to Mitten back in 8th grade.

Mitten: She/her. Young silver tabby cat with white underbelly and markings on her face, paws and tail as well as Blue eyes. Created in 6th grade(at about 11 years old) from thinking i could talk to ghosts, and i decided to help a friend say goodbye to her cat(Laric) and her cat's kittens(Mitten and her 5 siblings). Influenced heavily by Christianity, and is meant to protect me from my own suicidal thoughts. Trained to be a guardian angel and demon killer for years before we stopped believing in Christianity, and now she helps organize and protect the system from themselves, each other, and outside forces. A bit chaotic and crazy. Likes to use her wild energy for good.

Jesper: he/him. Young mutt with a brown coat, and darker patches similar to the children's book character Spot. One pointy ear and one floppy, and green eyes. Has a lot of traits of just an excitable young boy with intense puppy traits. Created based off of our first childhood plushie named Simba, who was a tiny white dog with brown spots and folded ears. Loves plushies and is very friendly and playful.

Charlie: he/him. 20's ginger man with freckles, wild hair, and often dresses like a pilot for the aesthetic. Social and outgoing, with more comprehension than others in the system and a lot more grounded than most. Fluctuates accents and sometimes cant speak clearly because so much changing is happening to his voice. Often speaks with a purposeful American accent (either midwestern or country) to hide his embarrassment. Influenced by Buck from the Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs in personality, voice, and energy, as well as our cousin who we looked up to.

Abby: she/her. Short and fat with big curly orange hair. Looks like a dwarf from LOTR and talks with a scottish accent. Outgoing with little anxiety about anything, including just talking out loud when fronting. We cant match her accent with our body yet but she is working on it. Based slightly on our childhood friend Isabel, but mostly on how we wanted to be around her.

David: he/him. Tall, lean man the same age as the body with short black hair. Based a lot on the cousin we looked up to, and is just as confident and understanding. Likes guns and tanks and fighting, strategy games, and being active. Can hold the body in a way that hurts less. Created so we could talk to our family without feeling so awful.

Clyde: he/him. Nondescript guy with scars and an aged look. Unsure of general age(it fluctuates). Werewolf, because we tried many spells growing up to become one. He fullfills our rage and desire to painfully become a beast who will fight back and kill violently without much remosre. Trauma holder. Doesnt talk or front much but carries a lot of anger reactions to things. Means well but accidentally lashes out at others.

Oli: he/they. Medium height chubby teen. Blonde hair, green eyes, and freckles. Is Mute but fronts a lot during work to do the cleaning and organizing. Has help from our Simon collective when words are actually needed. Warm and hearty, identifies with the body a lot.

Zeke: he/him. Taller pale boy, with freckles and brown eyes. No better way to say it, sexual alter. Trauma holder. A bit inappropriate at times and has lashed out a few times due to not being believed. Very cooperative and polite now but used to be persecutor. Identifies with body somewhat but he is thinner.

Kiara: she/her. Younger girl at about 10, matches up with what i looked like at that age. Apparently Normal Part who presents as what i thought i was before i knew i had trauma. Wears a specific outfit i wore to a town festival yearly for a while. Shy, sweet, loves to draw and MLP. Very shy and will only talk to people she recognizes and trusts a lot

Sam: he/they. Most like the body but shares Oli's face. Talkative and neutral on a lot, doesnt front often. Was created to exist in the body and feel specifically neutral about it to take care of hygiene and personal care.

Mikah: she/her. About 11 years old, with black hair and a bit of a hispanic tone to her skin(despite us being white. We think its based off a childhood friend). She is the main group artist, and is very good at her work. Will often be the one to switch in and work long hours on projects. Extremely shy, mostly mute, and unfriendly except towards her faves (Mitten, Zim, Kiba)

King Moa: she/her. A slightly older Kiara, with trauma memories instead of being an ANP. About 16 years old, and is a bit less shy but still very wary due to said trauma. Doesnt come out much. Her name is a heavily warped version of our dead name, and calls herself King due to the nature of our body's pronouns as well as being a base for a multitude of fragments who all stick close to her as if she was their caretaker. Though she doesnt do anything for them, just contains their memories and thoughts, and undertands.

Simon: he/they. Short and lean ginger with freckles and either green or brown eyes. Often called the Simon Collective, he is possibly not an alter yet, though has shown signs of existing. Is really just an occasionally fused combination of several fragments including but not necessarily limited to Raphael, Anthony, Ethan, Tyler, Alex, Conner, Nate, Nicky, Jamie and Grant. Most of which I'm a lot less familiar with, but i can recognize them quicker when they or some combination of them are together as Simon.

[in-the-dollpalace]

American girl pets in real life

here is another random thing I wanted to do, I wanted to see what each character’s pets and the truly me pet line’s breeds actaully look like. Warning, this is a very long post. I mostly make these kinds of posts first and formost for myself, and myself only so if you actually read the random crap I spit out everyday thanks so much lmfao

Kaya’s pets 

Tatalo, brown huskey (I think?)

Steps high, Appaloosa horse

Felicity’s pets

Posie, a lamb (Idk if there are specific breeds of sheep lmao)

Penny, Thorughbred horse

Caroline’s pets

Inkpot, tuxedo cat

Garnet, calf of a an auburn highland cow

Josefina’s pet

Sombrita, baby goat (not sure of it breed, even after alot of google-ing around)

Marie-Grace and Cecile’s pets

Cochon, red crowned parrot

Argos, Bouvier des Flanders dog

Kirsten’s pet

Mama cat and kitten, grey tabby cats

Addy’s Pet

sunny, yellow canary

Samantha’s pet

Cocker spaniel? (honestly idk what the hell the first version of jip is and beforever version of jip is a whole different dog lmao)

Rebecca’s pets

Kittens, orange and white, and just white (I’m not sure of the breeds)

Kit’s Pet

Grace, Basset hound dog

Molly and Emily’s pets

Bennet and Yank, jack russel terrier dogs

Nanea’s pet

Mele, Scruffy poi dog

Maryellen’s Pet

Scooter, dachshund aka weiner dog

Melody’s pet

Bo, mixed terrier dog

Julie’s Pet

Nutmeg, french lop bunny

Courtney’s pet

Parsley, guinea pig (idk if there are breeds of them)

Marisol’s pet

Rascal, himalayan cat

Nikki’s Pets

Sprocket, Bordie collie? (i wasnt sure with this one, and google didnt know either so this is just a guess)

Jackson, Buckskin horse

Chrissa’s pet

Starburst, Mini Llama (LMAO??? I Never read chrissa’s books why tf does she have a llama? where did she get it? did she just casually have one?)

Lanie’s pets

Lulu, flop eared rabbit

Raccoon and trash can (ASDFGH WHY DID THEY SELL THIS I AM DYING)

Kanani’s pets

Barksee, cocker spaniel white terrier mix 

Monk seal

Mckenna’s pets

Cooper, Golden doodle (golden retriever and poodle mix)

Polka dot, hamster

Saiges pets

Sam, Border collie 

Picasso, Spanish Barb horse

Isabelle’s pet

Tutu, persian cat

Grace’s pet

Bonbon, french bulldog

Lea’s pets

Sea turtle

Sloth

Margay cat

Gabreila’s pet

Maya, grey tuxedo cat

Luciana’s pet

Orion is an interesting pet! It is one of those robot toy dogs.

Blaire’s pets

piglet

lamb

Joss’s pet

Murph, english bulldog

Kira’s pet

Koala

Tenny’s Pet

Waylon, Golden retreiver

Z Yang’s pet

Popcorn, dalmation

And finally, the truly me pets (but only the named characters, not the modern unnamed ones)

Our trans queen, coconut, white westie dog

Licorice, Tuxedo cat

Ginger, calico cat

Sugar, Yorkshire terrier

Honey, Golden retriever

Pepper, grey huskey

Chocolate chip, brown labradoodle (EDIT: I meant labrador not labradoodle lmao oops)

Meatloaf (english bulldog)

And thats all! Like I said, this is a long post because i did every charactar pet. Like i also said, I really made this more for me. I had fun reaserching all these animals! If you’ve read all the way to the end without skipping, thank you for reading!

[tallstars-rewrite]

Chapter 46

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The Thunderpath was the last barrier between Talltail and home. It was dark, and there were no monsters in sight, but the steps across were the longest and most nerve wracking of his life. At last, with a nudge from Jake when he hesitated on the last tail-length of stone, his toes touched heather wet with dew from the late greenleaf rain. He stopped and breathed in, his jaws open to drink in the taste of the moor. The gorse, the bracken, the soil. Home. Relief and a sudden unexpected giddiness hit him all at once and Talltail found himself bounding forward, streaking across the grass as fast as he could just to remember what it felt like. He knew exactly where he was, coming down the farthest edge of Swift-Step Hills, the downward momentum letting him remember that feeling of flying. He remembered this trail, and the bramble patches and scattered stones he passed. After so long of unknown land, bewilderment, at last… He felt right. Whatever part of him had worried that maybe he would be too changed to ever feel as he once had so long ago was quickly swept up and blown away in an instant. He wanted to let out an excited yowl, and might have if he didn’t suddenly remember that he had no idea how a WindClan patrol would receive him if he accidentally barreled into one. In his mad dash, he’d also nearly forgotten that he needed to circle back so as to not leave Jake in the dirt. Jake was waiting with a fond gleam in his eyes as he trotted, a little more clumsy on the steeper slopes, down the hill after Talltail.

“I was worried you’d just take off entirely,” Jake said.

“Sorry. I just needed to...needed to...you know?” Jake headbutted his shoulder gently. “Yeah, I know.”

Talltail shook himself. He did need to get his head on straight. Tonight could go very badly, but he needed to allow himself that brief moment of joy before the intense fur prickling anxiety set back in. He wasn’t sure what he was hoping for. A patrol? That would surely be better than waltzing into camp, but...how much better would depend heavily on who was on the patrol.

What he wasn’t expecting was a lone cat scouting the moor with no other patrol in sight. Whatever he’d been hoping for...it certainly was not what he saw.

Talltail froze mid step as he was suddenly aware of a shocked pair of sharp yellow eyes meeting his from within the heath, before the cat they belonged to slowly rose up. Shrewclaw stood alone half way down the hill, staring up at Talltail and seemingly just as frozen to the spot. 

The stars clearly weren’t ready to forgive him just yet. 

Talltail wasn’t sure how he expected Shrewclaw to react. Shrewclaw, who out of every living cat in the clan, he would have been the most certain unabashedly hated him. A warning snarl perhaps, or a taunting ‘so you think you can come crawling back, huh?’

What he didn’t expect was the expression on Shrewclaw’s face to shift from stunned shock to something that might have resembled...relief. Seeing a positive emotion on Shrewclaw’s face was odd enough on the best of days, but now, Talltail didn’t know what to make of it. 

His old rival took several careful steps towards him. “Talltail? Is that...you?”

Talltail wasn’t sure how to reply, and then Shrewclaw was right in front of him.

“You’re alive,” Shrewclaw said stiffly. Talltail couldn’t make out what the tone of his voice meant. It was not quite aggressive, but not quite welcoming either. “We all thought...at least, most of us thought for sure you were dead, w-what--? Why--?”

“I, um,” Talltail stuttered. “I’m sorry. I don’t know how this must look to you, but I-I need to speak with the clan.”

To his further surprise, Shrewclaw stepped forward and touched his nose, hesitantly. Talltail realized with a start Shrewclaw had to lean up to do so. Have I really grown since I left? Or maybe he got shorter... 

Shrewclaw took an awkward step back. “I thought you might be a ghost, just...checking.”

“You thought what?”

“I don’t know. I just can’t believe you’re here again I'm--I’m sorry.”

“Y...you’re sorry?”

“Yeah, I mean-- It wasn’t fair--I didn’t mean anything I said--Well...no, maybe I meant some of it, but not the worst stuff, you know? I thought it was my fault. It’s been such a mess since you left, and I thought I’d never get to...just...I’m sorry, ok?”

Talltail just stared. What was he looking at? Who was this cat and what had they done with Shrewclaw? Where was the unstable angry tom who would sooner drop dead than apologize for anything? What else has changed while I was gone? 

Before he could ask Shrewclaw to elaborate, the tom perked up. “By StarClan! You need to get your stupid tail back to camp right now, everyone won’t believe it...Dawnstripe, and Woollycloud and--Ugh you have the worst possible timing, with everyone riled up about ShadowClan!”

“Weren’t we already riled up about ShadowClan?”

“Yes, but it got better for a bit, and then it got way way worse!” Shrewclaw growled. “And now you have the nerve to just pop back up!? We need to go, it’s not safe in this part of the territory without a full patrol right now.”

Talltail narrowed his eyes. “You’re out here without a full patrol?”

Shrewclaw glared. “Yeah, well, mind your own business.”

Well that sounded a bit more like the Shrewclaw he remembered.

Talltail looked over his shoulder at Jake, not far behind him, and gulped. This is what he got for not making a clear plan for this moment. “R-right, you’re right we should go, but I have uh. I have a... friend? He’s the reason I could come back, and I want him to stay with me.”

Shrewclaw looked behind him and his fur bristled a bit on sight at the orange kittypet, who gave him an awkward wave of the tail.

“Hello!” Jake called and promptly let out a huge sneeze when the grass he was hiding in went up his nose.

Shrewclaw blinked. “I… really don’t have time to argue with you about this. Whatever, fine, let's just go! I have to tell Briar.” 

Talltail looked back at Jake and nodded, though he couldn’t hide his uncertainty about this situation. But no matter what, there was no going back now. He was being brought right back into camp...and he would have a lot of explaining to do. Jake stayed close beside as they ran at a steady pace through the eastern fields, up towards Outlook Hill overlooking WindClan’s camp. Talltail’s heart thudded louder than ever in his ears with each step closer to home.

They hadn’t run long when he spotted Briarpaw, bounding across the heather toward them. Had they already been seen? Shrewclaw scooted by him and said “I’ll let everyone know,” and kept going. The nervous bird fluttering in Talltail’s chest was now having a full-blown panicked fit, but his eyes were brought back to Briarpaw’s too quickly to think as the medicine cat reached him and headbutted into Talltail’s chest so hard he was almost knocked backward. Talltail was stunned for a moment while Briarpaw pressed his muzzle against his chin.

“Talltail! Talltail, you came home! You’re ok!” 

Talltail, hesitantly at first, leaned into his old friend, and for a few moments just remained there remembering his familiar scent and gentle purr. 

“You're really home…” Briarpaw breathed.

 “Briarpaw I...I’m sorry I left so fast. I’ve missed you.”

There wasn’t a trace of anger on his face, he simply corrected. “Briarface.”

Talltail blinked in surprise “R-really? You already got your medicine cat name?”

Briarface ducked his head almost bashfully “I’ve had a lot of time to focus on honing my skills. It kept me busy. I only got it a quarter moon ago, actually.”

“That’s...great! Congratulations, really.” Talltail couldn’t help but feel the moment was bittersweet. Briarface had been so nervous about getting his name, afraid he wouldn’t get it at all at one point, unsure of his talent. I wanted to be there when he did… he thought sadly. He and Shrewclaw had planned a celebration for it once. It was one of the only things they agreed on. But then, that was before everything had gone so wrong. He shook the pangs of regret from his head. He couldn’t change what he’d done, he could only do better now. Briarface pressed his nose to Talltail’s.

“I’m glad you're here now,” he mewed, as if he knew Talltail’s worries. He probably did. Briarface’s golden eyes drifted past Talltail to rest on the bright ginger tabby sitting half crouched among the moor grass. Jake looked as if he couldn’t decide if he should hide, come forward, or simply wait, and was stuck in the middle of all three, awkwardly shuffling his paws as Talltail greeted his oldest friend. Talltail waved him forward with his tail and immediately Jake perked up at the invitation and trotted forward in the usually warm manner. He stopped short a tail length away and hastily dipped his head, clearly barely remembering the clan's custom greeting.

“Uh, ‘evening!” he mewed.

“You must be Jake?” Briarface purred. Talltail wondered briefly if he had told Briarface Jake’s name, but then, he had apparently seen Talltail with him moons ago when they were young. He felt a rush of relief at Briarface’s lack of suspicion. Jake surely still carried traces of twoleg scent, but Briarface didn’t recoil or comment on who this strange outsider Talltail traveled with was at all.

Talltail turned to Jake, “this is Briarface. He’s been a dear friend of mine since I was a kitten.” If only I had always treated him as such… he added silently.

Briarface dipped his head politely to the orange tom “It’s a pleasure to meet you.”

Jake lifted his head and blinked at the medicine cat. “You’re Briarface?” he mewed seeming in thought for a moment  “Huh...Well, you are pretty.”

Briarface blinked. “Uhm...Thank you?”

Talltail cleared his throat loudly. “Anyway...Jake is my close...friend. A lot more than that really--er. W-We’ve been through a lot together and...”

“Yes, I can tell. Well any friend of yours will be welcome, I’m sure.” Briarface purred with amusement. “I’m sure you’ve come a long way, but I'm afraid there isn’t much time for rest. Come on, let's not keep anyone waiting.”

Briarface seemed so confident about the idea. Even so, Talltail expected some kind of anger when he got back, after the way he left. The more he thought about it, the more deeply ashamed he was for it. If they were furious, they had a right to be. He heard loud voices from over the crest of the camp's border, and Talltail followed Briarface down achingly familiar paths, his paws falling so naturally into pawprints he’d walked for so long. Like he’d never left at all. But I did, he reminded himself And I have no idea what will happen now.

Then they were there, cresting the slope leading into camp and there was no more time left to worry. Within a heartbeat, Dawnstripe had tackled him to the ground even harder than Briarface had, with Woollycloud at her heels. He saw the familiar forms of the siblings Fallowspring, Ryewhisker and Fawnleap. Shrewclaw followed behind, and Talltail was surrounded. He could hardly think through their purrs and questions as everyone tried to touch noses with him at once, some a little too hard in their haste.

“You’re alive!” Woollycloud sobbed 

“Where have you been?” Dawnstripe cried, 

“Are you hurt?” Ryewhisker asked

“I-I’m sorry,” was all Talltail could choke out. “I’ll try to explain as...as best I can.” Where would he start? 

Fawnleap paused, his eyes narrowed slightly. “Hey...are you taller than me now?” he cried, almost sounding offended.

“What? I uh--? Don’t know?” Talltail stuttered. He couldn’t think of what else to say amidst all the chaos.

“You do look different. Your journey has changed you,” Briarface added with a glint in his eye.

“O shut up Fawnleap, you flea-brain,” Fallowspring said, “There are way more important matters here. Like who in StarClan is that?” She gestured over at Jake, who grinned sheepishly in return.

“He’s my er--companion, he helped me back home,” Talltail said quickly. He hardly knew what to do with himself or where to start. It was hard to imagine he’d gone so long alone, forgetting the feeling of having so many others around him. He didn’t realize how much he had missed the security, the feeling of surety of being surrounded with so many trusted cats. He wanted to answer everyone’s questions, they certainly had plenty, but his voice was failing him.

 Dawnstripe was pressing her forehead into his. “I’m extremely cross with you, Talltail,” she said, although she didn’t sound particularly cross. 

There really had been no way to know what he would find upon returning. He feared that he would be met with scorn, with the others turning their backs on him for his actions. And there certainly were a couple cats that looked genuinely cross, but... not necessarily hostile. Mostly, there were looks of amazement and relief--even joy. He could have toppled over in relief having that sudden fear swept away. Maybe they really did want him home as much as he wanted to be here.

“Everyone,” Talltail started, trying, and failing, to keep his voice from cracking. “I really wish could explain now, b-but I think I should speak to Heatherstar--”

“Yes, I think you should.” Heatherstar’s sharp commanding voice cutting through the crowd had everyone awkwardly shuffling back, parting for their leader as she strode towards Talltail with narrowed stormy eyes. Talltail dipped his head low at her approach.

“A convenient time for you to appear in our midst again,” Heatherstar said coldly. “You have very poor timing--or perhaps it’s lucky timing for you, considering we have no time to properly sort out what should be done about the desertion act you pulled.”

“You have every right to be angry with me Heatherstar,” Talltail began, still struggling to look her in the eye.

“I know I do. Your clan thought you were dead. I sent patrols out past the borders looking for you, only to find you’d simply left.” Then her voice softened, ever so slightly, to his surprise as she added, “but I am glad to see you are alive.”

Talltail stiffened as her eyes drifted behind him, surely resting on the strange orange kittypet sitting politely back a couple fox-lengths. Her face instantly hardened again, shifting her questioning glare back at Talltail. He cleared his throat and stumbled through the briefest, least awkward, explanation he could manage about meeting the kittypet, and how Jake helped him get home, and that he was very...important. She was still glaring when he finished, and Talltail felt flushing heat under his pelt while he went back to avoiding her gaze. 

Eventually she let out a very slow, very exasperated sigh. “Talltail, for StarClan’s sake...” Talltail winced at how transparent he was being. Someone in the crowd snickered. Heatherstar closed her eyes in frustration, seemingly talking half to herself. “You are making your case harder by the second. You had to bring an outsider home with you now of all times?”

“He’s not just--I wouldn’t have made it home at all without him. He wanted to make sure I was ok. I-I promise we were very careful to give ShadowClan territory a wide berth.” Talltail stuttered.

“I almost wonder if you’ve planned this out. I wouldn’t feel comfortable kicking you out now when there's a chance you could be seen by them, even if I wanted to. We do not need to be seen with a kittypet on our land after all the ridiculous accusations we’ve been faced with these past moons!”

“T-that wasn’t my intent--” Talltail started.

She swished her tail dismissively. “What was your intent then? You disappeared for nearly two moons. Why have you returned now?

“I came because I was worried. And I...I am ashamed of how I left. I want to make it up to you. If you will let me. I heard trouble was coming and I couldn’t stand to be away any longer.”

She gave a curt nod. “Yes, well, I certainly wouldn’t say it’s been peaceful. We've dealt with multiple border skirmishes and a lot of unpleasant arguments and gatherings. I can’t understand how all of this lying and turmoil is worth a small spot of land for ShadowClan.” 

“It's possible they aren't making up lies exactly,” Talltail said. “I think we’ve been set up. There’s a lot I learned that you might want to hear.”

After a long pause of consideration, Heatherstar waved the clan away. “You may speak to me privately. But your companion is going to remain under watch”

Talltail wanted to protest. Jake had never been in a place like this, surrounded by so many strange cats who were giving him sideways glances or wrinkling their noses at his collar. 

Luckily, Briarface quickly stepped forward and whispered to him, “I’ll look after Jake, don’t worry, he’ll be fine.”

Talltail gave one last look behind him before he followed Heatherstar, but Jake just blinked back at him with a small shrug before following Briarface away from the center of the staring crowd. Thank the stars Jake was so resilient.

Once in her den, Talltail told Heatherstar all he could of what he had found, that ShadowClan had discovered their abandoned tunneling project and saw it as a threat, and that since then a lone bunch of young ShadowClan cats had enlisted the help of a rogue through threats to purposely cause trouble between them. She seemed reluctant when he mentioned Sparrow, but something in his eyes must have convinced her he was not making wild accusations out of grief or anger this time.

“I spoke to Sparrow, and to ShadowClan’s medicine cat. Sparrow and the rest of his family are free from them now, and I doubt he intends to return to clan territory ever again. ShadowClan may intend to retaliate...soon, but only because they have been fed so much false information.”

He hesitated to say ShadowClan was possibly planning an attack on the new moon, two days from then. He desperately didn’t want Heatherstar to react by saying ‘then we must immediately launch an attack first’. There was a chance that Ratfang would succeed in talking her leader down from the idea. She wanted to prevent a battle, and she must have been desperate to put so much trust in a potential enemy. Talltail wanted to at least try making good on that trust. There could still be time.

Heatherstar furrowed her brow slightly. “I admit that would explain where the accusations came from. But even if what you say is true, that certain cats acting alone wanted to set our clans at each other...knowing that may not be enough to fix anything. I know at least one ShadowClan warrior has died from infected battle wounds as a result of these skirmishes, and the lot of them have been even more hostile since. Meanwhile, our clan has still been insulted and harassed on our border for moons, that is very real, and Brackenwing’s death is fresh in our minds. Even if these deaths were accidental casualties of battle, they happened all the same...Not to mention, if what you say is true, then ShadowClan was likely indirectly responsible for Sandstone’s death as well--and that particular invasion was under Cedarstar’s orders. Knowing that, you still want to see if we can resolve this?”

Talltail swallowed. “I do. If I thought retaliation would bring us peace, I would feel different. But I cannot in good conscience chase that drive for vengeance against them, especially when the cause will be playing into a treacherous cat's desires. You know this could spiral into an endless on and off war, and we are approaching the cold seasons. I just...I don’t want to lose anyone else. I will help defend us at all costs if we are left with no choice, but if we have a choice...”

Heatherstar regarded him quietly for a moment. “I would prefer to avoid seasons long hostilities as well. I will send a messenger and request a meeting, since there is reason to believe peace will not wait until the next gathering. But keep in mind, since this is happening on a night when the full moon doesn’t protect us, it may end in a battle if ShadowClan does not believe us, and especially if they refuse to give up their push to expand the borders. They may wish to protect the honor of their own, even if their own have broken the code, at any cost. If they agree to a meeting, I suspect Cedarstar will bring his warriors, and so will we. If it comes to violence despite our efforts, your first step in proving yourself to your clan again, if that is your goal, will be to fight beside us.”

“I will. Always.” Talltail hoped she heard the conviction in his voice. A meeting with a battle patrol worth of warriors wasn’t the most hopeful scenario. But it was the best he could do. 

***

Heatherstar announced to the clan her intentions to mixed mutterings and confusion. WindClan would send their messenger, and knowing ShadowClan, they would have patrols waiting nearby the border. They would make one last attempt at peace, but go in prepared for a fight.

“Why are we talking at all?” Shrewclaw hissed, casting a fierce glare at Talltail. Talltail stubbornly flattened his ears. There was the old angry tom he remembered. Whatever may have changed about Shrewclaw, this topic made it clear that old resentment built seasons ago when Brackenwing died was still there, burning away hot as ever. “You haven’t been here to see what they’ve been doing. This is a waste of time, violence is the only language ShadowClan understands. We have to make them regret ever setting paws under the Thunderpath tunnel to ensure they won’t dare try again!”

“I just think if one decisive battle was enough to fix things, the clans would have stopped fighting ages ago.” Talltail said evenly.

It was torment waiting around to hear back from the messenger. More than anything, Talltail wanted to sit with his old friends and hear about their lives, what had changed, if they were doing well. But there wasn’t time for that yet. Additionally, many cats were still looking at Talltail and Jake curiously, some a bit suspiciously. Perhaps they thought Heatherstar was letting him back in too easily. Honestly, Talltail wondered that as well. Heatherstar had been vague about what she planned to do with him, and about the outsider he had brought back. It seemed she wanted to deal with one big problem at a time, and any cat could see Jake wasn’t the most important threat around at the moment. 

Talltail was arguing with himself over whether it was a mistake to allow Jake to come into this mess. He didn’t think anyone would hurt Jake, but it was true that coming back with a kittypet really wasn't helping his case to be smoothly accepted back. Strong relationships with any outsider was frowned upon, and kittypets even more so than the average rogue. But Jake was worth that risk. Talltail wasn’t ashamed of him. Imagine how furious Sandstone would be if he were here to see it, some petty part of him whispered. The thought, surprisingly, was almost funny now. 

Maybe bringing Jake here was for selfish reasons, as having him nearby made Talltail feel braver, and he needed all the bravery he could get right now. To Talltail’s relief, Jake was still just sitting around amiably, clearly not frightened at all. He didn’t let himself get ruffled, even by the occasional hostile glance. He grinned and nodded a greeting to everyone he saw.

 “I know you care about these cats, so I may as well try to make a good impression,” he said to Talltail. A cat could get used to anything, Jake had said once. Even all this. 

Eventually Cloudrunner returned with the message, and ShadowClan, to everyone’s surprise, accepted the meeting immediately. Talltail thought they might at least wait a while, he’d been hoping for more time to settle his nerves and just get used to being back in WindClan’s camp again after so long. But he couldn’t relax until this matter was solved. Many cats were suspicious, and they had a right to be. Heatherstar was clearly prepared for an ambush. He just hoped she was also prepared  to sort this out without claws. If they could.

“Our medicine cats will be on standby in case.” Heatherstar announced, not even bothering to call a meeting as everyone was already anxiously gathered. “Reedfeather will put together the patrol. Only a select few will meet, while the rest of you will wait nearby and listen for the signal if things go wrong.”

 As those chosen for the patrol were preparing to leave, Briarface nudged Talltail gently. “It will be alright. And no one will harm your friend here, he’ll be safe.” Although his words were reassuring, that old cloud of worry marred his expression. Perhaps the medicine cat was trying to convince himself. “Be careful tonight, Talltail. I hope you can help us. Whatever happens...have faith in yourself.” 

Before Talltail could leave camp, Jake was running up behind him. “B-But...Are you really telling me to stay behind again?” he demanded.

“I know you don’t want to,” Talltail whispered to him, “But I have to insist this time. I can’t afford to disobey orders right now. Heatherstar is not happy as it is and you haven’t been trained to fight clan warriors in the event something happens with ShadowClan! If an outsider is seen in battle, the accusations could start all over again.”

“I’ll watch over your friend,” Fallowspring offered “I have to stay in camp. I’ll at least make sure Whitetooth doesn’t bite his nose off.”

“But--!” Jake protested.

Talltail pressed his nose to Jake’s cheek. “I’ll be back soon, I promise. Fallowspring’s a good cat, don’t worry.”

Fallowspring nodded, but she looked weary. Talltail could see she had remnants of cobweb on her hindleg covering a wound, probably from a more recent border skirmish that looked painful to walk on. Of course, there was nothing else that would keep her from joining the battle patrol. She looked after the patrol with some frustration, and worry. It wasn’t hard to guess she was probably looking after Shrewclaw, who was already about to run on ahead.

Fallowspring gave Talltail a long look, and said quietly, “as thanks...Try to make sure some cat keeps Shrewclaw from doing something mouse-brained. If you can.”

Talltail nodded slowly “I will but...I would have thought you’d be on board with him?”

“I don’t know...I might have been once. But now my siblings and mate are all on a battle patrol without me, and I can’t do anything to help. I just don’t want any more blood to be spilled on that border. I care so much about him, but I can’t make him listen.”

“I’ll do what I can.” Talltail said, before leaving to catch up to Heatherstar, feeling Jake and Fallowspring’s anxious eyes on his back as he went.

Talltail sent a silent prayer up to the stars peeking out in the pitch dark sky. He could only hope for the best and prepare for the worst.

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[twilights-800-cats]

<< Chapter 1 || Chapter 2 || Chapter 3 || From the Beginning || Patreon >>

Chapter 2

For the first time in a long time, Stoneheart walked in silence.

His ears twitched. He was used to the sound of Nightpaw and Crowpaw’s latest argument, or Mistyfoot and Stormfur chatting in hushed tones, or Shadepaw talking with Feathertail about an herb she saw and what it might do. The empty air seemed to amplify everything around him, from birdsong in the trees to the roar of a Twoleg monster as it woke somewhere in the distance.

Stoneheart couldn’t help but chide himself for leaving the others so suddenly. It’s not like I don’t love them! He thought, leaping over a stray branch that had fallen long ago. I’m just no good at good-byes.

He paused, lifting his head. There was a Twoleg nest here, he knew – an old one with a pair of elderly Twolegs. They didn’t bother cats much, but they certainly didn’t like it when ShadowClan patrols snooped for mice in their old barn. He could see the structure not far away, and the thin, spindly fence that surrounded the Twolegs’ territory.

Best avoid it, he told himself. After trekking through a winding Twolegplace for days and coming back to seeing what they’d done to the land he called home, he was quite sick of Twolegs. I miss Purdy, though, he reflected as he trod on towards the woods ahead. He seemed to know so much about why Twolegs are the way they are...

Sunhigh was gone by the time that Stoneheart reached the trees, and, as he passed a familiar rotten log, he scented ShadowClan. He paused to let the smell wash over him. It's so different now. Sharper. His journey with cats from all four Clans had muddled his senses, mixing their scents together into something new, something that was surprisingly comforting.

He tried to identify the patrol that had passed this way. Breathing in deep, he was happy that he recognized both their scents: Skipnose, that kittypet-turned-warrior, and Oakfur, he thought, lifting his chin. Smokepaw might have been with them, but he didn’t place a marker. They must have passed by before dawn.

Satisfied, Stoneheart went on, quickly identifying the trail his Clanmates had used through the vibrant marsh grass and putting himself on it, wary of his Clanmates lurking about. No cat was better than ShadowClan at blending into their surroundings, and Stoneheart would certainly be embarrassed if he were ambushed.

Traveling further into the woods, Stoneheart could feel leaf-fall's chill in the air. The trees here, more oak and birch than pine, were shedding their golden leaves onto the marsh around them. Stoneheart’s paws tugged him off the beaten path and further into the grove.

His pelt prickled in this familiar location, and he let his paws guide him to a small clearing between the trees. A fallen log and an old, gnarled boulder were surrounded by bright, five-petaled orange flowers – what ShadowClan medicine cats for ages called the blazing star.

Carefully, Stoneheart picked his way around the herb. Many ShadowClan cats believed that stepping on one meant disaster, as the herb had saved all four Clans seasons beyond counting ago. It was a point of pride that they only grew here, on ShadowClan land.

Stoneheart hopped on top of the boulder, relishing what little warmth it had managed to soak up from the sun. He breathed in the scents of the grove, his body relaxing. Though he had left ThunderClan for ShadowClan, this place reminded him of where he’d been born, with the thick cover of leaves and the smells of bracken and fern.

This is where I asked Rowanclaw to be my mate, he reflected, scanning the grove. Where he told me he wanted kits... and where Mistyfoot asked me to leave ShadowClan to go on the journey.

He sighed. And it’s going to be destroyed.

Stoneheart felt claws pierce his heart at the thought. So much that was so important to him would never be, could never be, again. Would this be the last time he laid eyes on this grove? Did the lake have anything like this?

His stomach rumbled, interrupting his thoughts. He hadn’t eaten since the leftovers the journeying cats had polished off at dawn. Stoneheart recalled the way Webfoot and Weaselpaw looked, and worried – did ShadowClan look the same?

I can barely hear Twoleg monsters, but there are some on our territory, he thought, listening. It seemed like the noises were on the far end of ShadowClan land, towards the woods by the Twolegplace they called the Black Fens. Maybe we’re better off than the others.

He heard the brambles rustle behind him. Stoneheart turned and spotted a dove picking its way along the ground, oblivious to his existence, as most doves were. Stomach growling again, Stoneheart dropped into a crouch.

The kill came easily – doves were simple-minded prey. But as he lifted his head from his fresh-kill, there was a screech of defiance and a blur of fur. Stoneheart was knocked off of his paws before he could react.

“Thief!” cried his attacker. “That’s ShadowClan prey!”

Stoneheart felt claws pricking his pelt. “I am ShadowClan!” he complained, twisting beneath his foe. His hind paws found their belly and, with a push, shoved them off of him. Stoneheart could hear them scrambling to their paws, but he was faster.

“Redpaw, it’s me!” he called to the ginger she-cat.

The apprentice paused, her posture an awkward mix of anger and shock. Slowly, though, her spine relaxed. “Stoneheart?” she murmured, whiskers twitching. “Is that... really you?”

“Yes!” Stoneheart breathed, his heart lifting. She’s not so skinny as the WindClan cats, he thought, looking her over. But she is still thin. He looked into the sparse undergrowth that surrounded them. “Where’s Pansytail?”

“Right here.” Redpaw’s mentor appeared, as if Stoneheart had called her. Pansytail’s dappled pelt blended in almost perfectly with the leaves on the ground. Her green eyes regarded Stoneheart with a caution that mirrored Webfoot’s. “Hello, Stoneheart.”

Another shape padded out from the shadows. “What’s going on?” asked a young dark brown tabby tom, his eyes darting from side to side. “Is it Twolegs? Another Clan?”

“Talonpaw?” Stoneheart tipped his head. “Is that you?”

“It’s Talonstripe now,” he said, lifting his head. He didn’t seem fussed that Stoneheart had reappeared right in front of him. “Russetstar made me a warrior a quarter-moon ago!”

“Congratulations!” Stoneheart felt light as he looked over his Clanmates. Clearly, he was receiving a better welcome than poor Crowpaw had!

“Where have you been?” Redpaw asked. She stepped forward and took a cautious sniff. “You smell funny.”

Talonstripe flicked his tail. “And you look fat,” he grunted, tipping his head towards Stoneheart’s side.

Stoneheart rolled his eyes. “I haven’t been to any Twolegs, if that’s what you’re thinking.” He turned to Pansytail, who he assumed was the leader of their patrol. “I need to speak to Russetstar.”

Pansytail was not regarding him with the same curiosity as the younger cats. There was something in her eyes, but whenever Stoneheart tried to meet her gaze, she looked away. Finally, she turned about and, with a flick of her dappled tail, she ordered, “Come.”

Redpaw and Talonstripe took a position alongside him as Pansytail led the way back along the trail. Stoneheart felt a prickle of discomfort run down his spine as he picked up his dove. Was he being escorted home as a Clanmate? Or as a possible enemy?

———————————————————

The trek through the pine woods was quiet, and Stoneheart was thankful for the dove in his mouth – it kept Redpaw or Talonstripe from asking questions he couldn’t easily answer with a nod. To his delight, most of the marshes were unchanged by the Twoleg invasion, though he couldn’t help but notice that Pansytail was taking a longer route to get back to camp.

We should be cutting through the Black Fens, he thought, glancing to his right. But we’re heading up towards Carrionplace instead. The path that they were walking on wasn’t as well-worn as most other hunting trails, meaning that it was just beginning to see constant use. Straining his ears, he could hear the rumble of Twoleg monsters coming from the direction he figured that they should be going. Have they begun destroying that part of our territory?

The dove in his mouth weighed heavy as he plodded on. Though it stopped him from answering questions, it kept him from asking them, too.  

Stoneheart pushed his worries out of his mind for just a moment, letting himself enjoy the feel of being home again – the way the ground squished beneath his paws, the rustle of the pines and the crackle of their needles... even the little stinky mushrooms that bloomed over the rotted old fallen trees. He had missed it all so much!

Pansytail pulled them off of their current path as soon as Carrionplace came into view. The stench of crow-food and Twoleg rubbish wasn’t overpowering yet, but Stoneheart still wrinkled his nose regardless. That’s one part of our territory I won’t miss! He thought. Carrionplace, and the nasty rats within, had always been nothing but trouble for ShadowClan – a source of food that all too often came with a deadly price.

The patrol was following a familiar trail again, this one picking its way between boggy ponds and thick bunches of sedge and swamp grass. The smells of chervil, sweet pye, and mint were strong here, and he scented Littlecloud beneath it all – this was his favorite spot for gathering herbs.  

Ahead, a sedge bush rustled violently. Pansytail lifted her tail and the patrol halted behind her. Stoneheart looked over the shorter warrior, wondering what could be up ahead – another patrol, possibly? His heart ached as the anticipation of seeing his Clanmates again was stronger than he realized.

It was a rabbit, however, that shot out of the bush. It lolloped across the bog, its white tail up. If it saw the cats, it gave no indication... and if the patrol was going to go after it, Pansytail gave no signal.

Why not? Stoneheart was confused. The rabbit was plump, and easy prey in the sticky, wet soil, yet none of the cats surrounding him seemed at all interested in going after it despite the faint outline of their ribs poking through their pelts.

As soon as the rabbit was gone, Pansytail picked up the pace again. Stoneheart adjusted his grip on his dove, still confused.  

“The Twolegs have poisoned the rabbits,” Talonstripe explained, glancing Stoneheart’s way. “They make cats sick to eat, and most who’ve eaten one have died.”

A weight dropped in Stoneheart’s belly, sudden and hard. No wonder the WindClan cats were so skinny! He thought, the fur along his spine prickling with horror. His mind immediately turned to Crowpaw, and how the brash apprentice might take the news. How are they surviving at all right now?

“We haven't lost anyone,” Pansytail assured, glancing back, “but the other Clans have. Thankfully they were able to warn us before we got to eating any rabbits on the fresh-kill pile.”

Stoneheart breathed a sigh of relief, but it didn’t quell the discomfort he felt at the thought of Twolegs poisoning the very prey that the Clan cats lived off of. First rabbits, what next? The dove in his mouth suddenly didn’t seem so appetizing anymore.

Soon enough, Stoneheart realized that they were closing in on the ShadowClan camp. He took in the familiar pines standing tall over an outer wall of bushes prickly enough to keep away any predator that got too curious. Stoneheart could hear the babble of the stream that ran through camp, a part of the river that tapered off into the marshes like a cat’s tail.

His heart soared. It was still there – still whole and undamaged, nestled deep in the heart of the marshland. The smell of ShadowClan surrounded him, pulling his paws onward.

I’m home.

He had to stop himself before he got too carried away. Like in the star flower grove, he had to remember that the Twoleg monsters would come chugging for this place – sooner rather than later. This place that he called home would be gone.

“Nervous?” Redpaw wondered.

Stoneheart swallowed. He couldn’t bring himself to answer, and not just because of the dove in his jaws. Redpaw looked confused that a ShadowClan cat would be so worried about returning home. She didn’t know – she didn’t understand.

He pushed past the apprentice, catching up to Pansytail as she ducked beneath the sedge-and-fern tunnel that led into the camp.

I’m home, he thought as he stepped into the clearing, but this place won’t be home for long.

[self-proclaimed-chaotic-good]

Thank U, Next | Poe Dameron x Reader (1/2)

Prompt: High School AU

Fandom: Star Wars (Sequel Trilogy)

Words: 2791

Warning: Mentions past Armitage Hux x Reader, Ben Solo x Reader, Finn x Reader, and current background Finn x Rey.

A/N: I’m super late with the last three Writer’s Month prompts, but I ended up making this one longer than intended, like many of my fics, lol. Inspiration from the song Thank U, Next by Ariana Grande.

-

How long has it been since you’ve moved away from your hometown? Too long, apparently. There were some stores that closed down with new ones taking their place, buildings renovated and even a new road was added to cut travel time. Everything felt familiar to you, but also distant. You were born and raised here, but this was no longer your home.

When that invite for your high school reunion arrived at your apartment in the city, you debated whether you should go back. You had a lot of bittersweet memories there, but you were curious of what happened to your classmates. You’ve changed a lot since you graduated from high school and you hoped that certain people had changed for the better as well.

You went a week before the reunion, staying in a spare room of your mother’s new house. It was spacious and homely, filled with everything that your mother had always wanted, including a garden and a greenhouse in the backyard. Your parents had divorced a year after you graduated, something that had been a long time coming and they still remain friends. You could sense a heavyweight leaving your mother’s shoulders when the paperwork went through and you had helped her move out.

Throughout the week, you got situated in the spare room, making it your own for the times that you plan on visiting, as well as helping out with the garden. You always wanted one growing up, but your father was against the idea, claiming that it was too much maintenance that he didn’t want to do. It was peaceful in the backyard with fairy lights hanging around the patio. Oftentimes, you and your mother would drink a warm beverage and talk on the patio, catching up with each other and reminiscing. She had heard that some of your classmates stayed, some went to the military, and some even she hadn’t heard about in a while.

-

You were lounging in the backyard, reading an old book that you had in high school when an orange tabby hopped the fence and meowed. You bookmarked your page and sat up, seeing the orange tabby sit a few feet ahead of you, licking their paw.

“Hey, there, little one,” you said, reaching a hand out.

The tabby paused their cleaning, tentatively leaning forward to sniff your hand. When they realized you were good people, they rubbed against your palm and stepped towards you. Once they got closer, you realized the cat was female, her name tag reading Millicent Hux. Huh, you knew a Hux in high school. You had a crush on him for a year, and you remembered the whole school found out and he never spoke to you again because of all the teasing.

“Excuse me!” someone called out.

You turned away from Millicent and saw a tall and pale ginger man waving from the other side of the fence. He paused his waving when it registered just who he was waving to. You stood up with Millicent in your arms and made your way towards the fence.

“Armitage?” you asked in disbelief.

He smiled. “Yeah, that’s me. Lanky Armi,” he said with a shrug, “I didn’t know you were in town. Here for the reunion?”

“Yeah. I assume this is your cat,” you said, raising Millicent up.

“Yeah, I was about to take her out to the vet when she ran out of her carrier. Thank god she ended up here instead of hanging out by the road.” He grabbed Millicent from you, carrying her like a baby. “You look good.”

“You, too.”

He scoffed, shrugging off the compliment. “Still lanky and pale.”

“Are you going, too?”

He nodded. “I’ve seen a few of our classmates that had arrived earlier this week,” he said, hesitating to continue, “I, uh, saw Ben, too.”

“Oh,” you said, surprised.

From the way that Armitage said that, it meant that he knew or at least had an idea of what happened between you and Ben. They were close friends, after all. You never painted Ben as someone that cared for such gatherings. Sentimentality wasn’t his best trait. You weren’t sure how to feel about his presence in town.

Armitage cleared his throat, regretting about saying anything. “Well, I’ll see you around, then. Would love to stay and catch up, but this one needs her shots.”

“Alright, it was nice seeing you again, Armi,” you said, smiling, “And nice to meet you, too, Millicent.”

You walked back to your reading spot and sighed. Given the size of this town, you were surprised you hadn’t ran into anyone from school before now, and it was a pleasant surprise. Armitage was always tall and lanky, but he looked more mature and had a more lean build. He had always been a good kid, he was just easily influenced by others around him and you were disappointed that he had succumbed to it. He seemed to have gotten over that and you were glad that you could talk like friends, possibly making up for lost time. There was a classmate or two that you had ran into as adults that still maintained their immature personalities from school. You wondered how everyone else turned out.

-

Your mother had gone on a cooking spree on the first two days you were there and needed to restock the fridge. You volunteered to go grocery shopping but had to use google maps to find the address that the store had relocated to. Once there, the layout was relatively the same, just in a slightly bigger space.

While looking for a specific cereal brand that your mother insisted on eating, you heard someone clear his throat nearby. You wordless moved to the side, thinking you were in the way of something. You heard a soft chuckle before he spoke.

“(Y/n),” he said.

Your head shot up and you were met with a grinning Finn. “Oh, my god! Hi, how are you?” you asked excitedly.

“I’m good. Real good,” he said, pulling you into a hug. It was then you noticed a young woman around your age standing next to him with a sweet smile that showed off her dimples. “Rey, this is my old friend (Y/n). (Y/n), this is my fiancee, Rey.”

“Nice to meet you,” you said, turning to Rey.

She pulled you into another hug. “It’s nice to meet you, too. Finn told me a lot about his time at high school. He only has good things to say about you.”

“Well, that’s nice of him,” you said, raising an eyebrow at Finn.

He shrugged, wrapping an arm around Rey. “What can I say? I’m a nice guy.”

“I expect to hear all the embarrassing stories of him,” Rey whispered to you.

You smiled and said, “Oh, I have an arsonal full of those. Maybe we can meet up later. I’ve gotta get these groceries back to my mom first.”

Finn looks down at your cart, seeing beef, tomato sauce, vegetables, and other miscellaneous items. His eyes widened in excitement. “Is your mom making her famous beef stew?”

“Hell yeah!”

He groaned, thinking back to those times he used to come over your house for dinner and that first time he tried your mother’s beef stew. Ever since then, he always requested that she make it, or at least pack a container that he could take home and share with his family who loved it as well. His father would joke that two of you should get married once you two graduate, but marriage had never been a priority for you, and Finn knew that. You had different ideas of the future and respected the other’s decision for it, which was why your breakup was amicable and the two of you remained friendly and supportive of each other. 

“I’ll see if my mom can pack some for you and Rey,” you said as you walked towards your cart.

Finn grinned, patting you on the shoulder. “I knew I could count on you. Rey, you gotta try it! It’s so good.”

“Alright, I look forward to it,” Rey said, “It was nice meeting you.”

“You, too,” you said, then asked Finn, “Are you staying over at your parent’s house?”

“Yeah, same house, too. I’ll be showing Rey around for the rest of the week, but you can stop by anytime to see my folks. I’m sure they’ll be happy to see you,” Finn said.

“Alright. I’ll see you when I see you, then,” you said before walking away.

You smiled to yourself as you left, having seen the way that they spoke and looked at each other. Their happiness was infectious and you couldn’t help but be happy for them. Your worries that you had before coming back slowly seeped away after pleasantly running into Armitage and Finn. Maybe it wasn’t so bad after all. You’re all adults now, surely it won’t be like that Romi and Michelle movie, though flying away in a helicopter looked pretty cool.

-

The park that you used to frequent seemed to have an upgrade with an added baseball field, more restroom facilities, an area with exercise equipment, and even a water fountain near the clearing away from the fields. You sat near the water fountain where there were painted picnic tables shaded by trees, a new journal and fountain pen sat in front of you as you brushed off the leaves from the table.

With your headphones on, you tried to get back into the writing zone that you’ve been hoping that your trip back to your hometown would help you with. When you left town, you went off to pursue your writing career, entering writing contests and having short stories published. Your new goal was to finish a novel. You would always start a story, but always got stuck on something and never finished it. Writing contests and published short stories could only get you so far and unless you wanted to keep churning out new short stories at a time, hoping that they’ll get through and be published, just to pay your bills, you needed to finish that novel.

You started small, writing down ideas, hoping that visually having them on the page instead of floating in your mind would help. Then, you took some of those ideas and jotted down plot points that the story could have. You continued this until you got into the flow of writing a rough draft for one of them.

Your timer went off, reminding you to head back home before it got dark. You finished your last thought before capping your pen and packing your things away. The sun hung low in the sky, a cool breeze rustling the trees, making you wish you brought a light jacket.

You got to your old car, you tried to open the backseat door that wouldn’t budge. It had always caused you problems like this, but you kept it because it at least got you where you needed to go. You sighed, yanking the door handle again before giving up. After years of forcing that door open, the handle looked like it was going to fall off.

“Still haven’t fixed that door, I see,” a voice said with amusement.

You turned to face the source of the voice and froze. Poe freaking Dameron stood in front of you, dressed in gray sweats with his military camp printed on the front and the side, dark spots stained near his armpits and his neck from sweat. He became impossibly more handsome since the last time you’ve seen him. He gave you a wide smile, one that made many of your fellow classmates swoon in infatuation at him and glare in envy at you, showing you the Poe you knew from school.

He briefly turned to open the backseat of his truck, taking out a hand towel to wipe himself down. “Back in town for the reunion?” he asked.

“Yeah. You, too?”

He nodded. “Everyone’s happy that I’m finally taking time off that’s more than two to three days. Apparently I’m a workaholic? Don’t know why,” he said with a shrug.

You raised an eyebrow. He definitely knew why. For as long as you’ve known him, once he got into something, he put his all into it. Joining a sports team? He’d practice during any free time that he had and become an mvp or team captain. Getting into music? He’d started a band that played during homecoming week and at school events. He even composed and wrote his own songs. It was his strongest and weakest trait. You loved his passion, but that passion would sometimes make him forget everything else.

“Huh, what’s your new obsession now?” you asked, leaning against your car.

Poe mirrored you with his truck as he wiped excess sweat from his hair. “Flying… it’s something that I picked up when I was in the military,” he said.

“Oh,” you said, looking down before clearing your throat to try and appear unphased, “What kind of flying?”

“After I left the military, I missed flying and travelling, so I got into doing helicopter tours in a few countries. Just a couple of years ago, I started to fly commercial airplanes. There’s a whole process with that one, but it was worth it.”

“That sounds cool. I know you’ve always wanted to fly those airplanes,” you said.

He nodded. “Yeah, funny how life works, right? You plan something, you end up doing something else, but if it was meant to be, you somehow end up where you had always wanted to go.”

“Yeah, I’m still waiting for that to happen to me,” you muttered.

“You got published, though,” he pointed out, “They’re short stories, but it’s a start. Your writing is amazing, (Y/n). I know you’ll get there.”

The corner of your lips turned up. There goes his award winning pep talks again. You didn’t know that he was even aware of the work that you’ve done. It didn’t do much for you personally, but you were glad that he hadn’t changed too much,

“Thanks, Poe,” you said, opening your driver’s seat door.

“Hey, can I say something before you go?” he asked before you could climb into your car. You paused, turning to face him. “Look, I know I should have told you that I enlisted, but I don’t regret going. I only wished that we had the chance to work it out, maybe take you with me if I could, if you wanted to. Or at the very least, parted on better terms.”

You avoided his eyes as you tried to find the right words to say. There were so many things you wished you had said on the day he told you about his enlistment. It was all too late to bring them up now. It wasn’t going to change the fact that you two broke up over it. You should at least clear the air, so there wouldn’t be any misunderstandings, though, but you were stubborn. You never wanted to admit it, but while your break up with Finn had been easy and painless, breaking up with Poe was one of the hardest things you had to go through.

“I… I understood why you did it,” you said, “And I should have stopped to think about your perspective instead of getting angry and I’m sorry. It’s my fault that we ended things like that.”

Poe sighed, knowing that there was more that you wanted to say. Another thing that you loved and hated about him was his ability to read you. When there was no reply from him, you climbed in your car, shutting the door harder than you intended. While you were turning the engine on and fiddling with the radio, Poe stepped closer, leaning a hand on the roof of your car.

“Could we meet somewhere?” he asked softly, “You know, just to catch up?”

You leaned back in your seat, drumming your fingers on the steering wheel. “I’m running some errands tomorrow. Does lunch at the usual diner work for you?”

Poe smiled. “Sure, yeah. I’ll meet you there tomorrow, then.”

That night, you sat on your bed, wondering why your heart was racing while thinking about tomorrow. It had been so long since you and Poe sat down and talked. Meeting him tomorrow meant that you would have to eventually address all the things that were left unsaid, all the questions that were left unanswered, and all the things that had happened after going your separate ways. You doubt that the two of you could start over, given your different career paths, but maybe you could at least be on speaking terms.

[fuckit-hero-of-trains]

Please Keep the Cat in the Bag

ao3 link:https://archiveofourown.org/works/23217166

Summary: It was one of the reasons Time had agreed to this. They needed time to rest their bodies, but more than that, they needed some time away from the constant threat of pain. The constant threat of death.

Twilight had thought an empty town full of cats would be the perfect location to lay low for a day. The perfect place for everyone to relax. 

Turns out, he was very, very wrong. At least concerning one of their members, anyway.

“Get that mangy ball of fur away from me!”

Twilight recoils from Four’s vitriolic words, pulling the mewling bundle of calico fur back into his chest. The kit squirms in his more restrictive hold for a second before it settles into the warmth of his body, letting out a content little purr that pulls at the farmhand’s heart.

Which just makes Four’s reaction to the kitten all the more confusing to Twilight.

They had arrived in his Hyrule only the night before, walking out of the swirling portal and into the warm dusk of his northern Hyrule Field. At the sight of the darkening sky and having gone through a long day already, they had just camped out then and there. It was thankfully a pretty peaceful evening, the Stalhounds keeping their distance in the dark.

So when Twilight had asked Time if they could make a quick detour to boost morale and his mentor had agreed, the pelt wearing hero had been ecstatic to show the other heroes his secret getaway.

Once Impaz began living in Kakariko to keep an eye on the still recovering Iliya, there was no one around to watch after the clan of cats living in the dusty husks of the old buildings of the Hidden Village. And with his quest over and not much to do with his free time other than go back to his job in Ordon and avoid the hordes of people who wanted to meet the hero, it was like a match made in heaven.

An isolated little place where he could work with his hands, fixing up beds and little hideaways for the felines all while taking care of the little critters. The perfect solution.

Besides, cleaning the place up helped to keep his mind off of… other things.

Which brings him back to now.

Everyone else seemed to be enjoying themselves.

Last time Twilight had checked, Hyrule was sitting in the middle of the dirt road, not minding the dust getting on his pants in the slightest as he pet the many cats that encircled him. Two fat brown tabbies had  claimed his lap, purring up a storm as the traveling hero reached out to pet every cat that came in contact with his hands, a bright bright smile on his face.

The only one who had more cats surrounding him was Wild, who was giving out fish like there was no tomorrow. Twilight had watched with faint amusement as many furry bodies crowded up against the scarred teen’s boots, some of the smaller ones even daring to hook their claws into his pants and climb up him in order to reach the fish that were materializing out of the slate.

A little closer to the old bar, Twilight had seen Warriors sitting in the shade with a black cat cradled in his arms as he cooed at the little thing, bright yellow eyes trained on the captain’s face like the creature understood that it was being called a very pretty girl, very very pretty little void.

Wind, meanwhile, had accrued a small flock of his own; a horde of orange and brown kittens giving chase as the boy dragged Warrior’s scarf in and out of the old buildings as he ran.

Time and Legend, Twilight had noticed, were playing it more cool, both leaned up against the old wood of the buildings instead of actively engaging with the cats.

However, an old looking tom cat, with a chunk out of his ear and looking far too tired for all the excitement, sat at the Old Man’s side licking itself slowly.

Next to him, Legend had his mirror out, reflecting a small circle of light into the dirt that a few cats chased after, butts wiggling and eyes dark.

Essentially, everyone seemed to be relaxed and enjoying themselves. Except for Sky and Four.

When they had entered, the Chosen Hero had given the felines a wide berth, eyeing them wearily. As the others were set loose to play with the cats, Sky had, for the most part, kept his distance, gingerly offering his hand to a few cats that walked his way.  However, before any of them could respond– positively or not– Sky would snatch his hand away, as though anticipating a swipe.

After a while of watching the others play and observing Sky failing to interact with the felines, Twilight had taken pity on him, scooping up a ginger kitten and depositing it gently into Sky’s arms. The other had frozen up for a moment, before a soft smile took over his face, eyes locked on the little ball of warmth.

“Sorry,” he had said, using a free hand to tickle the belly of the kitten, “I’m usually not very good with Remlits.”

"Well it's a good thing these are cats then,” Twilight had replied with a smile, before turning to leave the Chosen Hero with his new cuttlebug of choice.

Which had been when Twilight had caught sight of their smallest party member, resolutely ignoring the calico kitten mewing at his feet.

Like Sky, Four skirted the cats as soon as the group had entered the dilapidated village. However, unlike Sky, Four didn't even attempt to interact with the little mammals. He didn't offer his hand or even lean down toward the little creatures, instead, walking swiftly away whenever one would approach him.

Twilight had chalked it up to the kid’s odd compulsion to seem mature, striding up to the smithy, intent on doing what he had done for Sky.

Which led him to where he is now, a small black and orange body clutched to his chest as bright, flashing blue eyes glare at him from a baleful face.

“What?” Twilight says, stunned by the aggressive tone the smithy had used. Of all of them, Four was one of the slowest to anger. Well, except for the occasional outburst of emotion from the smaller hero, but those were few and far between.

Four takes a step back away from Twilight, putting distance between them. Then, the small teen takes a deep breath and Twilight watches as the anger seemingly melts away from his face, replaced with a complex, strained expression.

“What I meant was, please don't bring one of those,” and Twilight catches how the smithy’s face seems to cringe ever so slightly as he eyes the kitten, “any closer to me. I… I’m allergic.”

A snort from behind, has Twilight turning. Legend pulls himself to his feet, a snarky smile on his face as the veteran waltzes over to them. Based on the look on his face–and the way Legend just is as a person–he's obviously been listening to the conversation.

“Now, I don't think that’s necessarily true, Smithy,” Legend says with a teasing smile. Twilight watches as Four’s face darkens, a scowl playing at the younger’s lips. Unfortunately, while it is true that Four is slow to anger, it is also true that the one who could most easily drive Four up a wall was Legend.

Part of his charm.

“See,” Legend continues, smile still in place as he stares down Four. “If you really were allergic to cats, I think you would have been hacking up a lung the moment we set foot here.”

The weight of the kitten is suddenly pulled from Twilight’s arms as Legend scoops the little furball into one hand, petting it with the other. The pink haired hero turns back to Four, kitten in hand.

Four takes another step back.

“I think you’re a scaredy cat. Or, actually, just scared of cats,” Legend says with a derisive little laugh, holding the kitten eye level with the smithy.

The midday sun catches oddly in Four’s eyes, almost making them look like a vortex of color.  The smithy’s gaze flickers between glaring at Legend’s smug expression and staring at the kitten, as though the little hero can’t bear for the cat to be so close to him without keeping an eye on it.

“I-I…” he says, brows pulling low then back up, a glare and then a spark of fear, like his face can’t settle on an expression.

A flash of lavender and then the colors settle into a murky hazel. “I don't have to justify myself to you,” he says, ice dripping from his voice. Then, Four turns on his heel and strides toward the only whole building– Impaz old house and where they’re staying tonight– and walks through the door, slamming it closed behind him.

The loud clack of the door shutting echoes, several of the cats jerking up from their relaxed position with the heroes. Six pairs of eyes look up in question. Twilight waves them away. As the others go back to coddling their cats, Time’s eyes remain locked on him.

The younger gives his mentor a nod. He can handle this.

The pelted hero turns to look at Legend, who in turn, actually looks surprised at the development, his usual cock-sure attitude set to the side for the moment as he stares back at Twilight, eyes wide and mouth in a small “o.” The farm hand levels him with an expectant look, eyes half lidded and mouth quirked to the side, a silent “now look what you’ve done.”

“I didn’t know he was going to react like that!” Legend replies to his unspoken words, voice going high, defensive.

Twilight lets the disappointed look linger.

“Okay, yeah maybe that was a dick move, but I didn't mean to actually piss him off. Just… just…” Legend’s mouth clicks shut as he looks for his words in the dusty ground.

Twilight has mercy on him, even if the veteran doesn't really deserve it right now.

With a sigh, “I know you didn’t mean it. I know we like to joke around and get under each other's skin. It’s what brothers do. But you need to learn when it's a scar you're poking at, not just a bruise.”

Legend sighs, still resolutely looking away, a mumbled “Yeah whatever,” tumbling from his lips.

Twilight places a hand on the other’s shoulder, bringing electric blue eyes back into focus.

“I’m going to go in there and talk to him and when we come out, you should probably apologize,” Twilight says sternly.  

Bright blue eyes roll, but the veteran hero doesn't deny or fight back against the suggestion. Which is as good as Twilight is gunna get from Legend, so he takes it.

Twilight gives Legend one final nod and releases the smaller hero's arm, squaring his shoulders  toward Impaz’ old house. In front of the door, he takes a breath in, holds it, and then lets it whistle out from between his teeth.

He takes hold of the doorknob and enters.

He isn't exactly sure what he expected.

When Wild gets upset, the teen goes silent, steely faced and voice lost to the wind. Irrelevant , the scarred teen had once signed to the wolf. What I think is irrelevant. So why even voice it? His fingers said, hands shaking with too much energy. Too much emotion.

It usually takes a spark of something , finding a korok, a nice breeze in his hair, or the smell of a home cooked meal to knock Wild out of his funks and back into his usual mischievous self.

The kids back in Ordon were much different. When they were younger and Twilight would say something wrong to Iliya, the girl would go purple faced, tears slipping down chubby cheeks as she ran home to her father. Only watching Link get a stern talking to from Bo would calm her down.

Malo was similar, minus the crying home to momma shtick. Rather, the baby faced boy would stand, letting fat tears drip down his face until he guilt tripped Twilight into giving him what he wanted. Talo would get angry when he was upset, throwing a tantrum, loud and violent. Beth would tattle like Iliya.

And Colin… Colin would hide himself away when he was upset, much like Twilight himself when he was younger.

And yet, Twilight sees none of these things when he opens the door. No steely eyes, no tears, no red face, no hiding. Rather, Four sits on the floor, bag open next to him, whetstone in one hand and sword balanced in his lap, the rasping sound of metal on rock a slow rhythm in the room as the teen calmly hones his blade.

The smithy glances up from his work to catch Twilight's eye but does not stop sharpening the sword, his eyes soon returning to the metal as he goes for another swipe over the whetstone with slow practiced motions.

Twilight takes a seat in front of the smaller hero, crossing his legs under himself to mirror Four’s sitting position.

“He said he’ll apologize when we go back out,” Twilight starts, conciliatory.

Four snorts and shakes his head, the sword grinding more harshly against the stone.

“Well at least there's something out there to look forward to,” he says bitterly, not looking up.

Twilight frowns at that.

“Do you really hate them that much?”

The blade stills on its stone, the rhythm halted, silenced. With a sigh, Four stowes the whetstone back in his bag, and then, with a gloved hand, begins to thumb along the edge of the blade, checking for inconsistencies in the finish.

“I don’t hate them. I just…” Another gap of silence. Twilight watches as Four’s thumb stills on the blade, eyes distant and flicking over its shine as his head shakes once and then bobs with a slight nod.

“Do you ever feel like the whole world changes when you… transform?” He asks eventually.

The question throws Twilight off balance for a moment.

“Hmmm. Yes and no, I guess. The world doesn't change so much as my perspective on it changes. I can experience things as a wolf that I can’t when I’m Hylian. I can run faster, smell, hear, and even see things I never was able to before. It’s still the same world, just... different.”

Four nods absently as though he was expecting the answer. He flips the blade, checking the other side.

“And these new experiences, these things that you get to see when you’re a wolf, they affect you even when you’re Hylian again, right?”

Twilight nods his head. After being able to speak with animals of all sizes, hearing their thoughts and emotions, he had… cut back on his meat intake. It didn't quite feel right anymore, knowing about their sentience.

With reverent hands, Four takes his sword and sheaths it, done with his maintenance and inspection.

“The same is true of me and my… little adventures,” Four says, words soft as he gives Twilight a meaningful look.

Oh. Oh.

Four nods at his unspoken sentiment.

“When I shrink,” he starts slowly, as though meticulously picking out each word before he lets them drop from his mouth, “I shrink to the size of something called a Picori, or as they prefer to be called, a Minish.”

The words are unfamiliar, new to the pelted hero’s ears.

“What exactly is a Minish?” Twilight asks with a slight tilt of his head..

“Not a what but a who.” Four corrects. “The Minish are a race of mouse-like creatures who live in my and everyone else's Hyrule." An eye twitch. "Well, almost everyone else's Hyrule. If you’ve ever found yourself wondering why there always seem to be spare rupees in the grass, they’re the reason why.”

A smile breaks out over Four’s face, and again, Twilight finds himself entranced as colors dance in the boy’s eyes. “They’re creatures of magic,” Four continues, ignorant of Twilight’s stare, “They love to bring light into the world and can only be seen by children or those pure of heart.”

“They sound great,” Twilight puts in, a small smile pulling at his face as he watches the teen in front of him brighten

“Oh they are,” Four agrees with a grin. “They helped me so much during my first adventure. They helped me to see a whole new world. Or rather, the same world through new eyes.”

The smile dims slightly as the teen’s eyes cloud over, far away. His gaze moves to his hands which twitch in his lap with nothing to do.

“When you’re that small,” he says, voice soft, contemplative, moth’s wings fluttering, “Everything is so different. Blades of grass are trees. Streams are uncrossable channels. Getting hit with a raindrop is like taking a stone to the face.”

“But the Minish don't just live in the forest or on mountains,” Four says with a shake of his head. “Several of them live in towns, colonies of them in the rafters of Hylian homes. An entire world that no-one sees, right above their heads.”

“But even with protection from the elements, their lives aren’t suddenly easier. They just trade grass for tiles, streams for roads, rain for clumsy feet or wandering hands or dropped objects. It’s not easy being an invisible mouse in the home of blind giants.”

Four turns his wide, childlike eyes on Twilight and the pelt wearing hero is suddenly struck with how similar the smaller hero looks to Colin. Same bright blonde hair, same haircut that frames the sides of the chin, same expressive eyes.

“What do you think happens to creatures the size of mice when they live in towns?” Four asks, quietly. “What do you think happens to mouse-like people in towns where people keep cats as pets?”

Twilight’s stomach drops through the floor as a memory burns itself behind his eyes. It is a simple memory. One he wouldn't normally think about twice. It is a memory of him going to Sera’s shop to get more bee larva for fishing and seeing her cat named Link– a terrible coincidence– race around the shop, pouncing at thin air.

“You know, they say cats chase away evil spirits,” Sera had said with a proud smile as she watched the feline line up another jump.

Twilight remembers the cat wiggling its butt, eyes dark dinner plates in its face. He remembers how the cat had lunged forward in a flash of brown, swiping at nothing with it’s paws. And he remembers how, even though not but air was scored by its claws, the creature had still leaned down, first sniffing at the ground and then, with a delighted purr, biting.

Twilight suddenly feels a little sick.

“I know I can’t blame them,” Four says with a sigh, pulling Twilight back into the present. “They’re just following their instincts.”

The light from a window catches in Four’s eyes, a flash of cobalt… no, forest green.

“But I swear, they’re blood thirsty little things. Killing even when they don’t have to eat,” Four says with a grimace. “It’s cruel.”

Twilight will have to have a very serious talk with Link–Cat Link, Hylia what a nightmare– about what he has and has not killed.

Suddenly, a thought flys through Twilight’s head, a fire arrow in the night.

“Have they ever attacked you?” the farmhand asks with a slight bit of dread.

A nod. Nothing more.

“Again, rationally, I know I can’t blame them.” Four mutters. “They don't understand.” Then, with a self deprecating snort, “And, rationally, I also know that I shouldn’t be weary of them when I’m like this, but I am. I can’t help it.”

Twilight nods his head, taking hold of Four’s shoulder with a firm grip. The teen looks up, a small, glum smile still on his face.

“What you feel about them is totally understandable, Four. I’m sorry I brought you here without warning. I should have said something.”

Another sad little laugh that makes the guilt in Twilight's stomach all the more acidic, potent.

“You had no way of knowing that I was afraid of cats, Twilight.”

Twilight blows a breath of air between his teeth, releasing Four’s shoulder. He glances around the small room. Not many had taken the time to unload properly, instead quickly ditching their packs in order to get to the cats as soon as humanly possible.

“We don't have to stay here tonight,” Twilight says. “We could easily make it to Castle Town before sundown if we leave soon.”

But Four just shakes his head. “After the last few days we’ve had? No way.”

Twilight winces, remembering the fight against the aeralfos. And then the fight against the stone talus. And then the fight against the horde of Wind’s darknuts. It had been a rough last couple of days, draining them of energy and healing supplies alike. They were tired and hurt in more ways than one.

“They need this,” Four says with a decisive nod.

Twilight sighs, running a hand through his hair, pulling at the sandy strands on the back of his head. Four is right. It was one of the reason’s Time had agreed to this. They needed time to rest their bodies, but more than that, they needed some time away from the constant threat of pain. The constant threat of death.

Twilight had thought an empty town full of cats would be the perfect location to lay low for a day. The perfect place for everyone to relax.

Turns out, he was very, very wrong. At least concerning one of their members, anyway.

“Anyway,” Four says, waving a hand as if dismissing the conversation like one would dissipate smoke, “Enough about this. Go have fun with the others.”

Twilight feels his face scrunch up in disbelief.

“I’m not just going to leave you here alone.”

“Oh, I wouldn’t worry about that,” Four says with that odd, conspiratory smile that sometimes passes over his face. “Besides,” he continues, smile gone just as quickly as it had appeared. “You’re here to relax too. I know for a fact I saw you cradling one of those little menaces like it was your first born child.”

Twilight raises his hand in mock surrender, letting out a little laugh.

The pelt wearing hero pushes himself to his feet, stretching out a couple kinks in his spine. There are a few loud pops and Twilight winces slightly. At the rate he's headed, he’ll be older than Time in body, if not in spirit.

“What will you do in the meantime?” he asks, over his shoulder as he walks toward the door.

“You know me, I’m good at keeping myself busy,” Four replies with that odd smile again. “I think I’ll do some maintenance on the weapons that are here. After what we’ve gone through recently, they could probably use a check-up.”

“Good idea.”

Twilight pauses at the door.

“Is there anything I could do to make you more comfortable?” he asks, Uli's rules of hospitality running through his mind.

Four hums thoughtfully for a moment. And then, “Could you make sure no one brings their new best friend in here tonight?”

“I’ll make sure they know,” Twilight says solemnly.

“Oh and if Wolfie could, I don’t know, accidentally knock Legend into some kitty litter, that would be appreciated also.”

A chuckle escapes Twilight's lips as he throws a smile over his shoulder.

“You know, I think that can be arranged. Wolfie and I go way back afterall.”

[bird--egg]

LOOMING SUNLIGHT Chapter Three

The link to the AO3 version of this chapter here: https://archiveofourown.org/works/30351717/chapters/75897176

Waking up was always a chore when the temperature outside made it tempting to lay around aimlessly. Cedar chose to wake up before the sun had properly risen, especially since it meant the weather was slightly cool. She felt a strong burst of longing towards Shadowclan, whose warriors were generally asleep during the morning and midday and awake during dusk and night.

Stretching, Cedar poked her head out of the elders den warily. Most of the camp was sleeping soundly and she felt confident enough to move further outside, yawning silently. She licked her white forepaw and groomed herself slowly, tension unwinding as she watched the sun rise. Tigerpetal emerged from the tangled hedge that made up the medicine den, stretching dramatically before entering the leaders den. Cedar wondered what the medicine cat was doing talking to the leader so early on.

Her ears flicked towards a sound behind her and she noticed a black pelted cat approaching. Their eyes were a very vibrant green and one of their ears was crooked. What was their name? Cedar wondered a tad anxiously as it became apparent that they were coming to talk to her.

“Hey kit.” They meowed sleepily. Cedar squinted, offended at being called a kit. “You and Mothscar got a job today?”

“Not that I know. You should ask my mentor.” Seemed improper to ask an apprentice-or a ‘helper’ what they would be doing for the day without the mentors input.  The black cat blinked.

“I can’t, Mothscar needs his beauty sleep.” Beauty sleep? Cedar tilted her head slightly in confusion. Emerging from the elder’s den, Mothscar laughed.

“If I’m aiming for beauty than I’m afraid I’ll be asleep long enough to wake up and see Larkkit’s ceremony.” Mothscar walked up to the two cats, nudging the lanky cat affectionately.

“Cedarpaw, this is Newtpool. We left Riverclan together when they were just a kit.” Cedar wondered what Mothscar had been doing leaving Riverclan with a kitten, the two were clearly not related. She suddenly faintly remembered her father Ridgesnarl complaining about ‘picky’ Riverclan cat’s. At the time she’d been confused at Ridgesnarl’s disgust, but perhaps pickiness was more specific to kicking out cats who weren’t good enough?

Newtpool glanced at the older white tom with an oddly neutral face, seeming to have a silent conversation with him. Mothscar just continued to smile placidly.

“Mothscar!” Tigerpetal yelled as she was exiting the leader’s den. She completely ignored Newtpool, walking in front of the lanky cat. Newtpool rolled their eyes to Cedar, who just stared back.

“You and your helper are coming to the gathering tonight. But there’s a couple caveats to your presence being allowed.” Behind her, Newtpool puffed out their chest and was pointing their nose in the air in a way that did kind of remind Cedar of the way Tigerpetal was looking down at her. She concentrated very hard on staring neutrally at the medicine cat.

“You’re not to tell anyone where you’re from, and don’t go conversing about your helper position.”

“Well, that seems silly.” Purred Mothscar. “Why wouldn’t we want the other clans to her about our new position? Maybe they have some kits they’d want to keep from becoming apprentices too.”

Tigerpetal’s lip raised slightly, showing gleaming white teeth. There was a long drawn-out silence as the medicine cat and the elder stared each other down, and Cedar couldn’t help but notice the chatter of cats waking up had completely drawn to a halt. Her ears pressed against her head, and she wished that she was beside Newtpool or at least behind Mothscar instead of in front of Tigerpetal.

Finally, Tigerpetal let out a low growl. “Mind yourself, Mothscar. The ice you’re walking on is getting thin.” Mothscar said nothing, simply looking at the ginger tabby with a friendly expression. Tigerpetal tail lashed once, before she stalked away to the medicine den.

“Newtpool!” She yowled from inside the den. “Get your tail over here!” Newtpool looked dismayed, shooting Mothscar a grumpy glare.

“Great.” They meowed, “Now she’ll have a burr in her pelt all day. And who has to deal with her?”

“NEWTPOOL!”

“I’m coming!” They yelled back, stomping away to join their mentor. Mothscar’s posture slumped slightly.

“Poor Newtpool.” He joked, looking back to his apprentice, whose fur was puffed out and eyes wide. She had no idea why Mothscar kept pushing his luck when it came to her status. Did he just hate Rootstar so much he would oppose his rules whenever he could? Would Tigerpetal really hurt an elder? Could she even, as a medicine cat? Was that…allowed?

Seeming to accept that she wasn’t going to say anything, Mothscar flicked her lightly with his tail.

“Let’s go see if we can find some moss.”

--

 By the time the sun had started to go down, Cedar was full of nervous energy. Going to the gathering felt like an opportunity, but for what she wasn’t sure. To escape? Was the situation bad enough that leaving it would be escaping?

And even so, what clan would want her? She was wary of Riverclan because of the conclusions she’d drawn with Mothscar and Newtpool, but would Thunderclan take her? What if they were worse? She had no idea what was considered normal behavior towards a cat living in your camp who was from an enemy clan.

Besides, what if they punished Mothscar for her betrayal?

A paw poked her shoulder, interrupting her thoughts. She turned to see Willowpaw’s grass-coloured eyes shining at her. She moved back slightly.

“Hey Cedar!” He chirped happily. “Me and Stormfang are supposed to be pairing up with you at the gathering! And I’m even allowed to call you Cedarpaw!” Cedar felt like he could have said that last part a little quieter, because Stormfang immediately left her conversation to glower at her apprentice. Cedar left the Willowpaw to his scolding, briefly hearing his voice squeak out ‘you said I could though!’.

Cloverpaw was waiting by the entrance of camp, watching her mentor with tired eyes. Pigeonflight was talking loudly to Marigoldfur, who couldn’t have looked more uncomfortable. Cloverpaw glanced at Cedar but seemed too worn out to snap at the she-cat. Cedar wondered what training Pigeonflight was making Cloverpaw to cause her to look so run down.

They both sat beside the other completely silently, watching Pigeonflight fail to flirt like they were spectating. As the grey tabby accidentally implied that Marigoldfur’s brother was stupid, Cedar flicked her ear. “Yikes.” She meowed simply, and Cloverpaw snorted before looking at the dark grey she-cat with shock.

“Cedar.” Stormfang called, walking with a pouting Willowpaw. Cedar looked away from Cloverpaw’s blue and green eyes. She followed Willowpaw, feeling Mothscar follow her out of camp. Most of the clan left for the gathering in order to look like they had more cats than they actually did. Since Shadowclan was out of the picture, Windclan no longer had to worry about their camp being ambushed while away. The whole trip to four-trees Willowpaw talked her ear off, often stumbling as he tried to walk and look behind him at the same time. Meanwhile, Cedar was interested in watching Windclan’s long grass slowly become shorter as they approached Riverclan. She could even see the edge of Shadowclan’s burnt pines, which made her throat close up. He forced herself to look instead at Four-trees, which wasn’t totally undamaged either. The fire seemed to have badly burnt the tree closest to Shadowclan, but the other three were slightly singed as well.

Between the trees was more cats than Cedar had ever seen. Her eyes widened as she tried to take in the number of bodies packed into a relatively small space. Willowpaw also seemed shocked, tail shooting straight up in the air as he let out a small ‘meep’. Cedar slowed her pace so she could walk directly beside Mothscar, who seemed amused at her surprise.

Windclan seemed the last to arrive at the gathering. Most cats seemed to be sticking with their own clans, murmuring with each other. Cedar noticed that Windclan moved as a unit, barely spreading out and heading right beside Thunderclan.

“Everyone seems spooked.” Mothscar noticed, eyes flicking to Shadowclan’s burnt tree before returning to the crowd. Cedar grunted noncommittally. She’d never been to another gathering.

“So we just sit here?” She asked, and Mothscar looked a little surprised that she had spoken, before shaking his head.

“No, not normally. Young cats like yourself often talk to the other young cats of every clan.” He paused, and meowed “Stick with Thunderclan cats for now though. They’re the ones that don’t smell like fish.” Cedar nodded hesitantly, stepping away from the white elder slowly. Social interactions were not especially her strong suit. She had little time to worry about it before an orange tabby stumbled into her. The fire coloured apprentice whirled around to face Cedar, fur oddly spiky without being raised.

“Hey, a Windclan cat!” They meowed excitedly, tail lashing. “Wow you look really grumpy!” She added on belatedly. Cedar was not aware of what face she was making and attempted to shift it to a more friendly look. The Thunderclan apprentice flinched back before laughing uproariously. Willowpaw padded towards them, waving his tail at her as he sat near them.

“Hi! I’m Willowpaw, and this is Cedarpaw. What’s your name?”

“I’m Robinpaw.” Robinpaw announced, bowing with flourish. Willowpaw giggled, delighted. Cedar stood awkwardly, glad Willowpw had introduced her.

“This is my second gathering, and I haven’t seen you guys before. You must be new apprentices huh?” She asked, whiskers twitching. “Little tiny babies? Sparrows just leaving the nest??” Willowpaw mroowed with laughter.

“A sparrow? Can we be a cooler bird than that?” He asked happily, and Robinpaw opened her mouth to reply when the leaders yowled for the gathering to start. The clans fell quiet, turning to face what trees were left.

Rootstar was sitting proudly on the Great Rock, startling larger than the other leaders. Beside him was an older looking she-cat with a pale sun coloured pelt and amber eyes. She had several vicious battle scars on her but looked bored even as she was standing to begin speaking to all the cats gathered in front of her. Leaping up the Great Rock was a silver tabby with sharp looking white patches. Her eyes were yellow like the flowers in the meadow, but she looked decidedly more unpleasant. Something about their expression felt like fire against Cedar’s fur.

“Do you mind if I start?” The silver leader asked the other two. Rootstar flicked his tail in a ‘go on’ motion, looking slightly annoyed. Robinpaw leaned into Cedar’s vision, whispering: “The creepy grey cat is Troutstar. And the cat with all the cool scars is Sandstar, Thunderclan’s leader.”

“Why not.” Sandstar snorted, and Troutstar ignored the sarcasm in her voice, stepping forward.

“Riverclan has done well this moon. Despite the heat the river is running well, and food is plentiful. We had no trouble with the fire, as the river protected us.” Cats murmured uneasily as Troutstar casually mentioned the fire, and Cedar gritted her teeth.

“Rockshade has given birth to two kits, and we’ve chased some troublesome rouges off our land.” At this, Sandstar stepped forward. Troutstar shot the other leader and icy look, which Sandstar ignored.

“Speaking of troubling rouges, could Riverclan please stop chasing away their own members? It’s getting depressing to watch.” Cedar’s ears flicked, glancing backwards at her mentor, who looked vaguely troubled. Troutstar scoffed.

“Your mistaken if you think Thunderclan has any rights to command anything of Riverclan.”

“I’m commanding nothing; but I think most of us know that a stable clan shouldn’t be running off loyal clanmates.” At this, Troutstar’s whole bearing changed, fur laying flat and posture loosening.

“Thank you for the suggestion Sandstar. May I ask how your own clan is doing in these hot temperatures?” She asked, tilting her head. Sandstar looked at the other leader with lidded eyes, almost amused. Cedar swore she almost heard the older leader mutter ‘flawless transition’ to themselves before speaking to the clans at large.

“Thunderclan is doing fine. The shade helps the temperature feel more bearable.” And with that, she sat down. Rootstar took this to be his cue, coming to stand beside Sandstar.

“Windclan has new apprentice’s joining it’s ranks, Cloverpaw and Willowpaw.” The rest of the cats repeated the names to varying degrees of enthusiasm, but Robinpaw gave Cedar a confused look. Pelt prickling, Cedar pretended not to see. Why hadn’t Rootstar just lied and named her as well? Wouldn’t excluding her just be more suspicious as more cats began to recognize her and learn her name?

“Prey is doing well, and we’ve fond the heat quite unbothersome.” Rootstar lied, looking unbothered and smug.

“But enough of that. I’m sure we’re all aware of the fire that raged in Shadowclan territory this moon. Shadowclan’s lack of presence here tonight is telling, and I feel it’s reasonable to assume they were either chased off the land by the fire or…” Even Rootstar’s hate for Shadowclan seemed to falter for a moment. Sandstar shook her head softly.

“We will mourn for Shadowclan if they are gone. It is an unprecedented tragedy in Clan history, to have an entire clan taken from us.” There was a deep and painful silence as the gathered cat’s absorbed the implications of Shadowclan’s loss. Cedar, meanwhile, was digging her claws into the dirt. She felt the heat of the flames flickering around her, and worse, heard the laughter and chatter of clanmates who might be-

“While this is true,” Troutstar meowed, looking unmoved “Their land needs to be divided among us.” At this Sandstar turned to the other leader, looking angrier than she had the rest of the gathering.

“Until Starclan gives us confirmation that Shadowclan is gone, we shall. Do. No. Such. Thing.” She hissed out fiercely, pelt raising and looking ready to strip the flesh off of Troutstar. Troutstar’s ears flattened, and she almost took a step back, before standing her ground. After a moment of silence, the silver leader smiled pleasantly.

“I can agree to this, for now. If there is no news in the next three moons, Riverclan will take it’s claim of territory.” And with this announcement Troutstar leapt from the Great Rock, Riverclan hurriedly following their leader.

“Wow that was eventful!” Willowpaw meowed nervously, looking guiltily towards Cedar. Robinpaw nodded, bouncing slightly.

“No kidding! I thought Sandstar was gonna shove Troutface right off the Great Rock!” With this startlingly impolite statement, a warrior shoved Robinpaw onto their paws.

“Don’t be rude to a leader.” They grumbled, sending Robinpaw along with the rest of Thunderclan, which had begun to trickle out of Four-Trees. Willowpaw watched her leave with wide eyes as Cedar turned to her mentor, surprised to find Stormfang close behind her as well. Had she been there the whole gathering? Pelt prickling, Cedar rushed past her into Mothscar’s white pelt.

Even as Windclan begun to leave Cedar couldn’t help but feel things were going to get a lot worse. Was Shadowclan really lost?

[mortyvongola2-0]

Redemption

Chapter 2

Pairing: Armitage Hux x Reader

Genre: Multichapter, slowburn, 18+

Word Count: 1.2k

Warnings: I don’t think there are any for this chapter

Read it on AO3

Previous Chapter

Next Chapter

Hux had no idea how much time had passed since he first woke up, all he knew was that at night the cave got incredibly cold. He shivered, his teeth almost at the point of chattering. You had given him a blanket, it was thin and dirty but more then the what he had before, and yet he was still freezing. He would have crossed his arms over his chest for warmth, but he knew that would irritate his wounds. Millicent was doing what little she could for him, laying against his hip and sharing some her own warmth, but he was still freezing.

It reminded him of Starkiller, and how cold he had been on the first few nights he spent there. Eventually he had acclimatized, so he assumed the same rules would apply here. He heard his teeth begin to chatter. “You’re loud, shut up,” called the other male in the dark. The ginger heard a loud smacking noise and then a pained noise from said man. The next noise he heard was the shuffling of feet on the stone floor and he saw your silhouette move toward him and lay alongside him. You faced him, your softer eyes trailing along his face to examine him. He felt your roughened hand reach up and lay on his forehead before a frown pulled at your chapped lips.

 Armitage was tempted to say something, to ask what was wrong, but he knew you wouldn’t understand, and he could take a guess as to what made you frown. You used one of your feet to smack against the stone and your companion tsked from his spot before approaching the two of you. The dark-skinned man watched you as you began to sign to him. Honey eyes trained on blue once you were finished. “She says you have a fever,” he said in a gruff voice. “She’s making me go waste money on medicine for you, so be a good soldier and stay put.”

 The pale man nodded slowly in response, unwilling to verbally acknowledge his statement. Hux’s eyes trailed back to you as he heard you begin to stand. He watched you collect some stones and twigs and move them a bit closer to his location. You were preparing a fire for him. The other male reached into his back pocket and handed the ginger a folded sheet of paper. Armitage took it reluctantly, too much movement caused him discomfort, and unfolded the sheet. It looked worn and yellowed, probably due to time and usage. On the paper were drawings of hands and motions, alien words now crossed out and rewritten in basic, no doubt for his understanding. “So that you can make basic conversation with her. It makes her sad that she can’t understand you,” the other male grumbled, he shook his head before moving to stand. “I’ll be back in a day or two.” Hux assumed he repeated himself to you in your language, as you nodded to him before lighting the fire.

 The flames closer proximity helped to warm him a bit, but he still felt chilled. You watched him carefully with a bit of concern. He tried to sit up on his own and groaned in pain, Millicent let out a small noise of disgruntlement before getting up and stretching. Again, you helped him to a sit up, and placed the bundle of his old uniform against his lower back for comfort, which he appreciated. The ginger tabby pranced toward you and you smiled at her softly before stroking her fur, almost immediately the feline began to purr loudly. Hux muttered your name quietly and you peered up at him, still petting the cat, and he made the ‘Thank you’ motion and you fixed your smile on him. You shifted your gaze to the parchment he had in his hand and you pointed to it with a spark of excitement in your eyes. He looked at the signs and their translations again before nodding at you slowly. With her lips pressed against one another you pointed to him then moved both your hands inward and tapped two fingers from each hand against one another. His brow furrowed as he tried to single out the sign on the sheet of paper. You repeated your motions.

 ‘you’ and ‘name’ You had asked him for his name. He repeated the sign for name and then said, “Armitage.”

 It seemed either the first name of the General of the First Order meant nothing to you, or that you simply didn’t care, as you excitedly nodded your head. You then pointed to the orange tabby curled up by your knees and repeated the sign for name. “Millicent,” he responded. A large grin erupted onto your face as you scooped up the feline, she let out a startled meow, and gave her an affectionate kiss on the cheek. The now angered feline wriggled free of your grip and ran to his side, curling up into a ball and closing her eyes once more.

 You began to sign again, making sure to do it slowly and even repeat the signs, so that he could find them on the chart. You signed; me, give, name, sign, you, two. The ginger narrowed his eyes in confusion but nodded to see what you would do. First, you pointed to Millicent, then signed animal. You signed animal a second time, but with a different handshape. Then, you pointed to him and made the sign for hair, again when you signed hair a second time you used a different handshape. He was still confused. His lack of response did not dissuade you, as you continued to stare at him with an expectant smile.

 Hux had many things to ask you; where are we, who are you, how’d you find me, how many days has it been since he arrived, what’s the state of the galaxy, who’s the man with the poor attitude, and so on and so forth, but he only had the where withal to ask simple questions and understand simple answers.  He decided to try to ask for the name of your dreaded companion.

 ‘What’s his name’ he signed, clumsily, slowly.

 You patiently answered with a sign he was unfamiliar with, one that wasn’t on his chart, before bringing up a single hand and spelling the letters I A N. So, his name was Ian. Then you signed the words ‘good’ and ‘friend’ with a soft but sad smile. He nodded to you and you yawned. You stood to your full height and stretched a bit, then walked to the other side of the cave and grabbed a blanket, a lot like the one he was using, and placed it atop his lap. With a tired expression you signed a simple ‘good night’ before curling up on his side, much like a cat, and laying your head on his uninjured leg. Hux went stiff at the intimate action, unsure if he wanted to push you off, or allow you to use his lap as a payment for the care you were giving him.

 In the end, the latter won out and he eventual fell asleep as well, now much warmer thanks to the fire, Millicent, and your warm company.

[we-are-all-obsessed-here]

Heart Strings And Melodies (Modern Musician!Poe AU) Part 17

(Not my Gif)

Summary: Reader prepares for Poe’s return from tour. (A/N- AKA the continuation of part 16 that got too long- literally it was gonna end up at 5k or something. So it became its own part)

Pairing: Poe Dameron x Reader

“Okay, tell me what would make you perfect for this role?” Rey questioned, sat upright and otherwise looking rather stern and authoritative, apart from the hoodie and sweats she was wearing that broke the illusion.

“Well, I have a decade of experience in this particular field, which I believe would make me more than capable to take on this role and do it to a high standard.” You answered.

“See! You’ve got nothing to worry about!” Rey enthused, relaxing from the interviewer role she’d offered to play for the last ten minutes.

“I’m just really nervous, this job is just so perfect for me, it’s basically everything I enjoyed and I was good at from my old job with a little bit extra thrown in.”

“I’m sure you’re going to get it!” Rey encouraged.

“Thanks! One more drink?” You asked, easing Beebee off your lap then standing and beginning to head towards the kitchen. The orange tabby followed you closely, jumping up onto the kitchen counter to watch what you were doing.

“Just a coffee if that’s alright, I’m going to need the energy, got a 12 hour shift ahead of me.”

“Sure,” You smiled over your shoulder, “I don’t know how you do it Rey.”

“Do what?”

“You spend ridiculously long hours doing one hell of an exhausting job.” You explained.

“There’s good days and bad days. But you’re right it is exhausting… but there’s no other job I’d rather do, it’s rewarding as well, you meet a lot of people with some amazing life stories. Plus I have my pet projects on the side that keep me sane after the bad days.”

“How is your tinkering projects going anyway?” You wondered.

“At the minute I’ve been reading up on a few bits and pieces before I start the whole stripping and rebuilding process.”

“Sounds like you’ve got your hands full.” You replied as you began to boil water for coffee for Rey and yourself.

“Keeps me occupied,” Rey paused, “Athens really did agree with you two.” She added after a moment. You turned to spot Rey holding a hinged photo frame. After walking over and handing Rey her coffee, you smiled fondly at the trio of photographs from the day trip to the Parthenon.

“It did more than just agree with us.” You smiled into your mug of coffee before you took a sip.

“Hmm yes. Sex and a marriage proposal, Athens definitely agreed with you both.” Rey nudged you, offering a smile.

“I’m one lucky girl!” You sighed happily, dropping down onto the sofa. Beebee jumped up onto your lap, turned in a circle a couple times then simply dropped himself into his usual comfy position that he laid when on your lap. You scratched behind his ears as the cat purred happily. Rey picked several of the sweet treats you’d placed out in bowls on the coffee table then settled down on the sofa next to you. Eventually, after scrolling through Netflix, you and Rey managed to agree on a film to watch before she would inevitably have to leave for her shift. The time you had spent in Rey’s company the last few weeks, while originally an offer on her part to keep you company in Poe’s absence, had also resulted in your friendship blossoming. Coffee catch-ups, ladies nights while making dubious face masks from recipes on the internet and, sometimes even doing nothing special at all, but in all those hours you’d learned more about who Rey was as a person and vice-versa. You had grown to appreciate her company beyond that of a distraction from missing Poe.

Soon enough, although far too soon for your liking, the film had finished and Rey had to say her goodbyes. However, not before you���d made her a coffee-to-go to help give her a boost before her shift started. After clearing away the used dishes and glasses, you changed into your most comfy Pjs and dropped yourself onto your bed, a yawn escaping your lips. The laptop which you’d placed on the empty side of the bed jumped slightly. Beebee joined you a moment later, chattering loudly, impatient for your attention. He head-butted your arm as you laid back against the pillows. You couldn’t help but smile and fuss the tabby as he meowed and purred at you, letting himself flop down beside you on the bed.

“If you’re showing me this much attention, Poe will never get shut of you when he gets back.” 

While it had only been a week long trip to Athens, when you and Poe returned home just over six weeks ago, Beebee never parted from Poe’s side when the chance arose. Beebee would rub against Poe’s legs and purr to the point where it sounded like a small engine was was in your apartment. Poe had loved Beebee staying close to him, although there were certain times when the tabby would become a slight nuisance. Sometimes you’d catch Poe curse as he nearly tripped over Beebee in the kitchen, other times the cat decided that it would be a good idea to sit in the bathroom, staring directly at his owner and meowing for attention while Poe was in a rather… compromised position. Nevertheless, Poe loved that damn cat no matter what. A beach wedding or honeymoon may have to be thought out carefully to accommodate the ginger tabby.

“Let’s hope he calls tonight, huh buddy?” You commented adopting Poe’s nickname for the tabby, you continued to fuss the cat with one hand, using the other to open up the Skype application on your laptop.

It was a little while later when the tone for a call came across the laptop’s speakers. You startled from your half-asleep state, your eyes darting to where the laptop sat, an image of Poe in the centre of the screen. Giving your eyes a quick rub with the backs of your hands, you leaned over and clicked to accept the call. There was a moment before the connection came through, but in a quick moment, there was Poe, smiling at you.

“Hey there, babe.” Poe greeted. He was in a similar position to you, lounging in bed, his laptop sat next to him.

“It’s good to see you.” You replied in a sleepy voice.

“Did I wake you?” Poe fussed.

“No! I was just… resting my eyes,” You shrugged, then added excitedly. “I saw your performance from last night, Poe sweetheart, it was beautiful.”

“So it did find you.” Poe spoke softly, a gentle, loving glint in his eyes.

“Via Temmin, yeah. I didn’t know you were working on something new?”

“Started writing a couple days after I left. I… I was missing you a lot, I used it as a distraction, and an excuse to think of you.” Poe’s tone seemed almost forlorn.

“I’m missing you too. To the point where I’m pretty sure it’s having an actual effect on me. So you better get your ass back here as soon as Dameron.” You warned teasingly.

“That’s the plan. Oh, hello buddy!” Poe grinned as Beebee wandered over to the laptop, seeing his owner on the screen. You laughed as the tabby purred and rubbed against the screen, until the screen got pushed too far backwards.

“Beebee!” You chastised lightly, shaking your head gently as you righted the screen.

“How’s the tour going?” You asked.

“Well. Really well. I’ve got so much to show you when I get home. I travelled a lot when I was with the Air Force, but travelling on tour, playing my music and visiting all these places I’ve never been, it’s been amazing. I just wish you could’ve been here with me. But I’ve got plenty of photos and a few souvenirs.”

“I’ve been there in spirit, rooting for you the whole time Poe.”

“I know, I’ve felt it,” Poe replied, placing a hand over his heart. “So just over one more week, huh?” He added.

“Even that’s too long to wait.” You complained, pouting slightly to be ever so dramatic.

“Oh babe, it’s not that long. We’ve survived four weeks apart, we can last one more.” Exhaustion was slowly creeping into Poe’s voice.

“You okay there Poe? Long day?”

“I’m good, little tired, but I want to talk with you some more.”

“God I wish you were here.” You murmured.

“Me too,” He sighed softly, “I’d get to hold my cat.” Poe rolled onto his back to look at the ceiling of the hotel.

“Just the cat Poe?”

“I want to do more than hold you babe.” Poe whispered.

“Poe!” You replied in astonishment.

“I didn’t mean that! Well… I kinda did. I meant that I really want to kiss the woman I love.”

“I want to do the same.” You replied, your expression soft and eyes full of love as you gazed at his image on the screen.

“The… first thing… or kissing?” Poe questioned curiously.

“Well I did mean the kissing but the other thing sounds good too.”

“First thing I’m doing when I get back is sleeping like the dead then-”

“Are you not sleeping well?” You interrupted, concern laced in your voice.

“It’s more that playing nearly every night and not getting back to the hotel until late, rinse and repeat, It’s pretty exhausting. Especially the travelling for hours on end.”

“Finn was saying earlier about you taking a break from playing at D’Qar when you get back, before you burn out.” You commented.

“Once I’m home, I’ll be fine.” Poe gave a dismissive wave.

“Poe Dameron. You need to take care of yourself first, never-mind playing at D’Qar.” You warned. Poe looked back over to the laptop, his gaze softening.

“If both my wife-to-be and my best friend think I should take a break, maybe I should listen to them.” He smiled at you.

“There we go, you’re learning.” You teased.

“I love you.” Poe’s voice emanated sincerity and affection.

“And I love you.”

Poe whispered your name longingly as he reached out towards the screen of his laptop. You did the same, your fingers touching the screen. The conversation between you and Poe flowed on for a further ten minutes until the both of you were struggling to keep your eyes open. Poe told you everything from the towns he’d played at recently, some of the unique diner’s he’d visited while travelling and how he’d managed to add a few more stickers to his guitar case.

“I’ll be home before you know it!” Poe enthused.

“You sure there’s no way of commandeering a jet or something and just coming home now?” You said jokingly.

“Pretty sure I could. Don’t think it would end well,” Poe shook his head, a smile on his lips before he added. “I best let you get some sleep darling.”

You sighed heavily.

“I should let you get some shut eye as well.”

“Just nine more days,” Poe said encouragingly. “I love you. I’ll talk to you soon.”

“I love you more.”

“Not possible.”

“Goodnight Poe.” You pressed a kiss to your fingertips then pressed them to the camera. You watched as Poe did the same, the last thing you heard was him wish you a final goodnight along with a whisper of your name in such a loving voice before you ended the call.

It wasn’t long before you found yourself stood waiting at the airport, at first you had prepared yourself for the week to drag on forever, simply to torture you in the fact that you had to wait for your fiancé to return. However, between helping both David and Ryan finalise a few minor wedding details along with searching for suits for their wedding, your job interview and, organising the flat for Poe’s return, as it had become slightly messy in his absence, the week passed fairly quickly. Poe still stayed in touch, a little less in the final week of his tour, although he was apologetic for it when you did manage to speak with one another. You told him not to apologise, you knew far too well that what he was doing was important. Since you noticed the beginnings of exhaustion showing under his eyes when you Skyped, you had been planning a relaxing weekend for his return, nothing but takeout food, Pjs and TV while curled up together on the sofa. Looking over the arrival times, you shrugged off the slowly drying raincoat and folded it over your arm, you wandered to find a seating area. Poe’s flight was not meant to land for another hour. Your gaze fell to the tall windows across the room. The evening sky was dark, clouds had rolled in earlier that afternoon and ever since, it had been raining. Pulling a book from your bag, you flicked open to the bookmarked page and continued reading from where you last left off. People came and people went from the arrivals area. People were reunited with their loved ones who were waiting to greet them, friends who’d been apart for however long were now embracing and laughing. You couldn’t wait until Poe walked out of the arrivals terminal. Your book almost seemed to make time pass even quicker, you were almost three quarters through when you placed the bookmark inside so you could take a break. You were disappointed to see that Poe’s flight had been delayed, you were certain it was due to bad weather since the rain was still pouring outside.

“Another hour… great.” You grumbled as you gathered your things in search of something to eat. For a while you wandered around where you could, stretching your legs and trying to keep yourself awake. You glanced at your watch as you sat back down on one of the seats near arrivals, 9:30pm. It was going to be a long wait until you and Poe would get back to the apartment. 

It was some time later when you felt a soft touch brush from your temple down to your cheek. You grumbled in your sleep and shifted to try and get comfy. There was a soft whisper of your name by your ear. Then fingers slipped through your hair. A kiss placed delicately on your cheek. You grumbled again, your eyes blinking open slightly, your sleeping form disturbed. Everything was a bit blurry when your eyes first opened, but the world soon came into focus. A figure was crouched by your feet, their hands on your knees, thumbs rubbing small circles into your jeans.

“There you are,” Poe’s voice reached your ears. “Someone clearly couldn’t stay awake.”

“Poe?” You murmured. “Poe!” You squealed once realisation dawned on you. You rushed forward, Poe fell backwards landing on ass on the floor trying to avoid your knees hitting him square in the face. A gasp which turned into a laugh escaped your lips before you wrapped your arms around Poe and hugged him tightly. Poe’s arms wrapped around you, holding you close to him. He buried his head into the crook of your neck, you could feel him laughing.

“Hello to you too.” Poe chuckled, pulling back to look you in the eye, his hands reaching up to cup your cheeks, his fingers brushing softly over your skin.

“Sorry.” You whispered before leaning in to press your lips against his. The two of you stayed together like that for several long moments, expressing all the words you wanted to say, the ‘I missed you’s and ‘I love you’s. Poe was the first to break the kiss, his fingers were buried in your hair, he was smiling brightly at you.

“My flight landed late, makes sense you drifted off.” Poe pressed a kiss to your forehead. You pulled him into another tight hug, nuzzling into the crook of his neck.

“Let’s go home.” You whispered.

“Once you let me off the floor.” Poe teased, pressing another kiss to your lips before beginning to stand. You helped him to his feet. In one hand you took Poe’s guitar case and hooked your other arm in his and began the long trip home, a smile beaming on both you and Poe’s face.

The moment the two of you stepped through the threshold of the apartment, Beebee came rushing over, chattering loudly as he brushed up against Poe then immediately pawed at his leg. You took Poe’s suitcase and guitar from his grasp and made your way to the bedroom, placing them in the corner along with your own bag then rejoined Poe by the kitchen.

“Go get yourself settled down babe, I’ll sort us something out to eat.” You commented, watching Poe cradling Beebee in his arms. As Poe passed you, heading towards the living area, he pressed a kiss to your temple, his eyes holding deep affection. While Poe enjoyed some down time now he was finally home, you decided to reheat the soup you’d made earlier that day in preparation for Poe’s late night return. Stacking a few bread rolls on a plate, you balanced it along with two bowls of soup on a tray and walked gingerly to where Poe was sat on the sofa.

“Oh that smells great!” Poe enthused as you offered him a bowl.

“Thought soup would be easy to stomach after your flight. Might be easier to sleep on rather than a full meal.” You explained. The two of you relaxed on the sofa, quietly eating the soup and enjoying being close to one another again after the time apart.

“This is some good soup.” Poe commented as he leaned forward to grab a bread roll. You pressed a quick kiss to his cheek in thanks. After you’d eaten, it didn’t take long before the two of you found yourselves in bed, wrapped up in each others arms. 

“I’ve missed this.” Poe nuzzled close, pressing several small kisses to the column of your neck.

“Mhm, I’ve definitely missed this.” You agreed, your fingers carding through Poe’s dark curls. Poe reached behind him, switching off the bedside light and cuddled you closer, his fingers rubbing small comforting circles into your side.

“Ready for a super lazy weekend?” You murmured, shifting so you could lay your head on his shoulder. You felt Poe’s fingers reach up to tangle in your hair, his thumb caressing your scalp.

“So long as it means I get to do absolutely nothing with you.” Poe smiled down at you.

“Absolutely nothing. The ultimate chill weekend.” You grinned. You felt a rumble of laughter bubble up from Poe’s chest. Several slow kisses were exchanged between the two of you before you both settled into the sheets. It wasn’t long before either of you drifted off into a peaceful night’s sleep, more importantly though, after all these long weeks apart, your lover was beside you, right there with you, no longer on a computer screen somewhere far away. He was right next to you. Just as you were right next to him. Where you both belonged. Together.

Tagged:

@petah-parkah-and-potahtas @mirkwoodshewolf @sleepretreat @jessicaguerreiro07 @pdamn-eron @imagine-that-star-wars @yourwonderbelle @imaginecrushes @simplyonehellofapilot @unstoppableforcce @mirkwoodavengersherlockianwhofan @pinkdreamsandglitter @i-said-goddameron @ghost-with-spaghetti-arms @sassy-satanunicorns

@ponycake27

@playbucky