Tangled in Cinders

Retirement? I prefer ‘extended vacation with benefits.’
✧ ⭒ ♦ ⭒ ❦ ⭒ ♦ ⭒ ✧

Tangleloon stirred at the nuzzle, but instead of lifting his head like a normal cat, he went still. Both eyes peeked open to catch sight of her paws. He gurgled a faux sleepy response.

"A...fish...sent to wake me!" He inhaled sharply, ears flicking with alertness in the deputy's direction. Then in a flurry of curls and dramatic limb flailing, he sprang...or more accurately rolled onto his belly from his nest. Paws flew out in an exaggerated pounce, back end high while his plumed tail twitched.

"Mighty flipper fish!" His paw missed by several whisker lengths before his front half slapped onto the ground. Then...sheepishly, one green eye opened to peer up at her, allowing his antics to melt away.

"Hello Cinderwisp. You caught me at my most glamourous dream fishing!"

"Run. That is an order."

⋆﹥━━━━━━━━━━━━━━﹤⋆

When Tangleloon acted as if Cinderwisp were some giant cat the molly couldn't help but watch in amusement as her brother fell to the ground in an attempt to defend himself from 'a giant fish' or whatever it was. "Did I now?" the molly purred in amusement. "How was your dream? Did you catch a lot of fish?" Sitting herself down beside him, the she-cat looked over at him, as if offering for him to tell her more about his dream.

Retirement? I prefer ‘extended vacation with benefits.’
✧ ⭒ ♦ ⭒ ❦ ⭒ ♦ ⭒ ✧

Tangleloon blinked blearily, as though truly dredging himself back up from his dream river. His whiskers twitched and a grin crept over his muzzle, soft and crooked.

"Oh, I caught plenty..." He mewed, sweeping one paw through the air in an exaggerated arc. "All sorts of fish. Long silver ones, fat golden ones. Even a pink one with flower spots. I was piling them right into my nest, like I’d built myself a treasure hoard fit for StarClan's finest."

He paused, giving a snort of laughter as he pawed absently at his moss. "Woke up tryin’ to grab one, I think. Called me a sleepyhead."

Then he blinked slow, the humor settling into something more fond as he stared at his littermate. "Maybe my belly’s got more imagination than I do. Hungry dreams are vivid ones, eh?"His stomach gave a faint, perfectly timed grumble, and he glanced sidelong at her with a mischievous glint. "You wouldn’t happen to have a fish or two hidden in that curly deputy fur of yours, would you?"

"Run. That is an order."

⋆﹥━━━━━━━━━━━━━━﹤⋆

Cinderwisp felt calmest with her brother. It was as calming as a rainy day in her comfortable nest among all her warriors. But being with Tangleloon was different. Being with Tangleloon was love. Not that she would ever dare to say a word about her feelings. She couldn't be soft for goodness sake. She was RiverClan's deputy. She had to be strong.

"That's nice." The molly began softly, following each of Tangleloon's movement. "Seems like you had a successful hunt... I'm sure that you could make a fine warrior if you really, really wanted to. But I get that, that might not be the path for you and that's okay too. I suppose sometimes StarClan has other plans."

"How rude of the fish for calling you a sleepyhead though." The deputy joked.

"Ha! And why would I do that? If I want prey I can just grab it. No need to hid it under all this luxurious fur of ours."

Retirement? I prefer ‘extended vacation with benefits.’
✧ ⭒ ♦ ⭒ ❦ ⭒ ♦ ⭒ ✧

Tangleloon’s smile stayed for a few heartbeats longer then dimmed as if a cloud passed over the sun. "Ah… a fine warrior. If only it were as simple as wantin' it."

He let out a breath, slow and uneven, and his tail curled tighter around his side. "If I toppled over at predictable times...say, every half moon, or only when I eat trout - maybe I could train around it." He tried to laugh, but it came out more like a wheeze.

"Tried bargainin' with it but it doesn’t listen. It just takes when it wants to." He stretched out slowly letting his head rest against his nest again. "If I could choose the moments I fall… or if I could ask my own body to hold itself steady, even just a little… I'd follow you onto the battlefield without question!"

His luxurious plumed tail brushed against her as he acknowledged her. "But - I've made my peace with being RiverClan's most glamorous fainting stone."

"Run. That is an order."

⋆﹥━━━━━━━━━━━━━━﹤⋆

Cinderwisp frowned. Her heart ached a little.

...

Why couldn't it be that simple?

...

The molly nodded in understanding as she listened to her brother explain his illness again. She knew all this stuff already but it never stopped her hoping. Hoping that one day her brother would gain his ideal life. "I'm glad you've made your peace, Tangle."

Retirement? I prefer ‘extended vacation with benefits.’
✧ ⭒ ♦ ⭒ ❦ ⭒ ♦ ⭒ ✧

Did he actually make his peace with it? If there was no cure, there was no use wasting energy complaining about it. Oh, StarClan! Why did you have to make life so difficult. His back leg stretched out, curling to give his chin a scratch as he pondered out loud.

"Maybe Nettleplume will make a mixture that will keep the fainting at bay - He discovered the cause of the Greendeath, so maybe one day the right amount of herb with another will make all the difference."

The young medicine cat had already shown promise, even if he wasn't the most approachable, in Tangleloon's opinion. He glanced a bit sheepishly at his sister, peering at her with odd, uneven pupils. "If you want...you can send me on some solo hunting trips. Just a taste of being a warrior again!"

"Run. That is an order."

⋆﹥━━━━━━━━━━━━━━﹤⋆

Cinderwisp stared into her brother’s eyes as he seemed to consider his predicament. Though when he gave his chin a scratch, the molly couldn’t help letting out a brief giggle of amusement, no matter how hard she tried to hide it. But perhaps with Tangleloon she…

She didn’t need to be the deputy with Tangleloon. She could just be his sister. “I hope so. Or maybe the next medicine cat will. Or one from another clan!”

Was she being too idealistic? Maybe. But it didn’t seem like a crazy or outlandish idea, right?.. “Solo hunting trips? Do you think I’m crazy?” The molly questioned playfully, shaking her head with a sigh. “Let’s go together one day. We can adjust some moves, yeah?”

Retirement? I prefer ‘extended vacation with benefits.’
✧ ⭒ ♦ ⭒ ❦ ⭒ ♦ ⭒ ✧

Tangleloon blinked fondly at his sister, her urls catching what light there was. He half gawked at her remark about not letting him go out on solo hunts. He enjoyed the audience that was himself from time to time, although he wasn't going to complain outwardly. He enjoyed his sister's company far too much to compromise what they had.

"Oh, Sister-Deputy, if you insist!" Came his reply with a winding bat of his paw towards the downwards curl of her pelt fluff. "I'd never even dream about daying no to a lovely hunting expedition where we could brush up on techniques." He wholeheartedly agreed with her assessment. Maybe a medicine cat would one day patch up his head, but until then he would enjoy these moments with his kin and Clan.

[Thread End]