The One Where Moth Dies - Printable Version

Where had he been when the rumbling began? A distance from home as always, paws patting the clingy sand walls of a lumpy castle, heedless of the tragedy to viciously strike the earth he knew in mere moments.

Finalizing the last details of his creation, tufted ears pricked at a strange woosh above. Casting olive eyes to the dawn pink atmosphere above, Simon found his gaze meeting a soaring light, fiery white trail streaking the sky behind it. A shooting star! The kitten once heard of the rare sight through his bedtime stories. His feathery tail wagged as the star continued its dazzling path. He should make a wish! That's what he was supposed to do after all. Bowing his head and scrunching his eyes tight, he thought hard of what to wish. This could possibly be the last shooting star he ever saw -- nothing mattered more to him than his wish at that very moment. So Simon twitched his ears in careful consideration, humming faintly to himself as the tide steadily sounded.

He wished for the chance to see another star.

Then the star came falling down, down, down...

And it crashed upon the land across the sea.

The world trembled from the landing, maybe even shattered. Simon jolted, ticked hackles rising in a gutwrenching fear. A primal fear, a fear screaming at him that something was very, very wrong. His sandcastle vibrated with the fallen star's demise as cracks wove up the mushed-together walls and crumbled his creation. A distraught gasp left opened mouth and cream-tipped paws pressed against the shapeless sand once more, seeking to brace what was already destined to be destroyed.

A flash of his home, of his family, of his own life -- everything more precious to him than his small collection of shells or his crayon scribblings -- crumbled before his eyes, just like the sandcastle removed from existence in one sweep.

It was frightening to imagine. Yet here he loitered on an empty beach, nowhere near his family to see they were safe.

Scrambling to flee, the kitten was halted by another sight. A wave on the burning horizon, swelling to giant heights, and roaring across the dark water. Clambering, churning, charging. Right at him. With a terrified squeal, Simon forced himself to sprint, retreating to the shelter of the quaking treeline. He didn't look back as the wave slammed onto the shore, smearing the remnants of his sandcastle with ease.

He didn't stop running.

"MOM! DAD!" the boy called, panic turning his thoughts to the two who could save him, the two who could calm the earth and stop its shaking. Nearly tripping over his oversized paws, Simon rushed homeward through the ferns, tiny heart pounding in his chest. Only one thought slipped into his mind amid the frantic dread -- he needed to help his siblings, to warn them of the danger he witnessed. "IVAN! ATTI!" His home was in sight, he was so close -- "WIN! ALICE!"

Skidding to a clumsy stop, the kitten arrived just in time to see the form of his brother flung from the doorway, his mother about to follow suit. Momentary relief did little to soothe the drum within his ribcage, adrenaline rushing through his senses as he broke into a run toward Moth, desperate for her comforting embrace.

Then the house collapsed.

Halted in his tracks, Simon could only stare in pure shock for what felt like an eternity. "...Mom?" came his shaking voice, awaiting a response to no avail. Cautiously he crept forward, belly fur brushing the quaking ground, yet the tremors were all but forgotten. She would get up, right? She was going to get up any moment now, shaking rubble from her back. He waited, but as nothing happened, large ears faltered from their perked position and thin lips quivered. Mom?" he pressed again, sniffing the heap of broken drywall and concrete and wood. With still no response, a hot sensation rose to his cheeks, his eyes wet with emotions too complex for him to explain. He needed to -- he needed to get the rocks off her! Then she could get up again, just like she did before.

Determination forced onto his features, the kitten began to furiously scrabble at the wreckage in an almost crazed fashion, all of the growing muscles he had set to the task. She would get up; she had to get up. His breath quickened as his efforts did little to uncover his mother until a shuddering sob broke from his throat. Yet Simon persisted, claws catching and tearing in his frenzy and jutting edges slicing and splintering his paws.

If only he had wished for something else.

[table][tr][td]

[Image: b94dbd8a-65a5-11ea-af51-45358cb49cc4.gif]

[align=center]pixel by tricky

[/td][td]

[div style="width: 300px; max-height: 100px; height: overflow; overflow: scroll; padding-bottom: 5px; margin-top: -5px; font-family: georgia; font-size: 8pt; color: #152232; letter-spacing: 0px; text-align: justify;"]He kept fancying that Ivan was absorbed in something — something inward and important — that he was striving toward some goal, perhaps very hard to attain.

— Бра́тья Карама́зовы

☆ HUNG PICTURES OF PATRON SAINTS UP ON MY WALL TO REMIND ME THAT I AM A FOOL. TELL ME WHERE I CAME FROM, WHAT I WILL ALWAYS BE: JUST A SPOILED LITTLE KID WHO WENT TO CATHOLIC SCHOOL —

It seemed as though even the most stable of homes could come crashing down when the unexpected roughness of the tides hit them. At one point, Tanglewood had felt unstoppable. They had been on top of the world, without anything to hold them back. The Pitt had been defeated, they had a more dependable leader in the form of Leroy, and it felt as though they could go nowhere but up. Aurum had felt as though his life was progressing similarly. He was in a position within the group that he was proud of and loved, he had a family with new little cubs he was eager to take care of, and the group that he had come to love had finally found their footing after months of being terrorized by their worst enemy. The angel had even been beginning to learn how to take care of himself, not overworking or hiding away his true emotions for the sake of others. His almost weekly visits with Moth had come to help with that, since he would see his sister and her children and just... talk. The two of them would be so blissfully happy, in their own world where they could share the good and the bad, and not have to worry about anyone or anything else for a little while. It had simply been... perfect. A perfect pocket of happiness with them and their respective families and friends, where nothing could go wrong and they wouldn't be interrupted. Tanglewood had finally been at peace.

And then the sky had fallen.

Aurum had been resting. He had been happy, although still grieving from the recent death of Feza. At the very least, he was beginning to recover, something that in the past that would've taken him weeks, if not months. A good night's sleep had felt in order, and he had thought that going out to rest on his deck would be perfect. After all, it was nice outside, and it wasn't as if anything was going to happen. Of course, the angel had been wrong. There had been a crash, and then the ground was shaking, and then he was frantically up to his paws, throwing and pushing those he cared about from his home, ushering them along before he took to the skies. He had responsibilities and connections to practically the whole of Tanglewood, and so, the thought of trying to seek out everyone that he was worried about was overwhelming, to the point where it felt as though his heart was just going to give out and collapse in on itself. The thought made him wince, and so he had just continued onward, filled with grim determination. He had ended up helping his daughter, Asvini, as well as everyone else that he caught sight of that needed it, before his eyes were set on yet another source of anxiety – Moth's home. He needed to make sure that not only his sister was alright, but also all of her children as well. If he let any of them get in harm's way, then he knew he would never be able to forgive himself, and he really wasn't sure if he would be able to face Moth again after that either.

He arrived at essentially the same time as Simon, his chest heaving from effort and his head spinning as his one eyed gaze darted around, counting heads. Simon, Ivan, Atticus... Atticus came flying forth from the house, dust thrown up in his wake and his paws skidding over solid ground. Aurum was near the child almost immediately, rumbling softly and frantically as he lowered his head, "Atticus, are you alright? You aren't hurt, are y–" He was cut off, however, by the collapse of his sister's head nearby, his head jerking up as the wood creaked and crashed inwards, unable to remain standing with the violent shaking of the ground. After that, there was just... silence. The proxy stared blankly towards the now collapsed building, his mind working hard to push through the haze and process what had just happened. Atticus had come flying from the house, Moth had been inside, about to come out, and then... it had all come crashing down. Broken and shattered apart just as easily as Humpty Dumpty. After that, there was just... noise.

Static.

A low buzz of static that drowned out everything else, his ears ringing and his eye staring straight ahead at his sister's now destroyed home, frozen.

Even in the crushing silence of his mind, Aurum thought that he could perhaps see something. A memory, maybe.

The feeling of the waves against his fur was nice, and comforting. It represented a relief from the crushing heat of the swamp, something that the rather new tangler of Wormwood was still growing adjusted to. The shore was a welcome escape from the new anxieties that being part of Tanglewood represented, and he was mostly focused on the pleasant shift of the water, rather than the voices of Ubbe, Delilah, and Feza nearby. However, his attention was pulled away from the waves by the presence of someone else. Someone lingering at the edges of the little gathering, looking shy and unassuming. Smiling comfortingly at the feline, Wormwood had spoken simply, "Hey there. Wow... a lot of us are coming down to the shore today, huh? I hope that I wasn't so loud that I attracted all of you here... I don't think we've met before. I'm Wormwood." He had tried to keep his tone warm and friendly, despite his conflicted feeling about being within Tanglewood in the first place. Even if he had ended up in the group because of Poetking, that didn't mean that this nice and shy feline had to suffer from him being a right bastard.

The response he had gotten had been... less than amazing. Moth's ears had pinned to her head momentarily, as if she was frightened by the presence of other, newer members. Despite this, he could've sworn he saw a ghost of a smile on her face as she spoke quaintly, "I heard the noise, yeah. But it's okay." There was a pause as she looked down at her feet, thoughtfully, and then continued, "My name's Moth... it's good to meet you."

Her response was so soft, and her body language so timid. She was just a bit awkward and more than a little fragile, but Wormwood felt as though that wasn't all there was to her. She wasn't just some pushover, much as it would've seemed so when one first met her.

He had offered her a simple crooked smile in response, splashing the water beneath him as a way of thinking before he responded, "It's good to meet you too, miss Moth. That's a very pretty and unique name. Well... for someone that isn't a moth, that is." At the time, he had thought the comment was funny and warm, and would hopefully break the ice between them, even if he knew it had probably been said a thousand times before.

At the time, he had thought the interaction was nothing more than happenstance.

A casual greeting, and a meeting between two passing souls. Nothing of importance.

Oh, how wrong he had been.

The static cleared.

His head hurt, and his throat was dry.

Was he still alive? Did it matter anymore?

He couldn't breathe. Simon was rushing forward, pushing at rock in a desperate attempt to excavate his mother.

He took a few steps forward, yet found that his legs couldn't keep him up. The weight of his heart in his stomach was too much, and it was sinking down, down, down.

He collapsed to the ground, right in front of the now collapsed house, staring mutely upwards at the wreckage that remained. His eye was stinging with tears, although he didn't even have the will to force out a sob, aware of the movement and voices that were still going on around him. He knew that the world was still soldiering forward, but what was the point? How was he supposed to face any of what was going on without one of the people who meant the entire world to him? Was he just supposed to pretend that he was okay? Supposed to pretend like his entire world hadn't just come crumbling down, just like the weak and rotted wooden walls of his sister's former home? He had done it before, or rather, he had tried to do it before, but it was too much. He couldn't do it again. He wasn't strong enough to do this. To go on without her. She was his family.

He closed his eyes, and he thought back to that memory, so fresh yet also so fuzzy.

He thought back to the lovely face of his sister, and the way that she had shifted nervously. So timid, and yet so strong beneath all of it. She was so hopeful, and that hopefulness transferred to others, pushing them to move forward as well. It had pushed him to move forward.

To grow better.

A soft sob was wrenched from his throat, the first real noise that he had made since he had seen the house collapse. His wings fell limply at his sides, as if his very will to live was being drained as the moments passed him by. As if every second, he was desperately trying to give away his existence, as if that would bring Moth back to them all.

Opening his muzzle, the male muttered three soft words to the universe, a silent plea that would only ever be heard by his own ears, "Moth... anyone... please..."

[div style="text-align: right; text-transform: uppercase; text-shadow: 0px 0px 2px #1B1B2F; font-size: 24px;"][color=#44437F]— AURUM

#psychosocial.

The rumbling. It woke Atticus up quickly. Grey ears perked up from his pillow and yellow eyes dilated wide as he looked around feverishly for help. A shiver ran down his spine, fur spiking up on his haunches. His mind raced, searching for answers that he wouldn't find until the aftermath. Distressed, the child kicked off his bed and landed on the floor with a thump. Urgently, he scrambled to his feet. With one last look around, he let out a screech.

His desperate yowl echoed through the hollow walls of the home, attracting the attention of his mother. She rushed in. Atticus could see the panic in her gaze and the tension within her body, causing his heart to skip a beat. Something was wrong. She knew what too. "Momma?" he muttered softly, his voice wavering in concern. Unfortunately for him, the kitten was met with no answer. Teeth dug into his scruff, causing him to grow limp in her jaws, and they were off. Nevertheless, his mind kept racing.

As his siblings traveled down the stairs, the tremors grew stronger. Atticus began to quiver. His mother's grip never faltered nonetheless. They would escape together and rejoice. The kitten didn't want to leave her side. If she was not safe, neither was he. Mama's boy felt comforted in her jaws, but he couldn't help the doubt in the back of his mind. His mind told him to leave... To go far from here. He needed to run and escape the house, but he was stuck between her jaws. Despite her good-will, his soul felt trapped. Woefully, the guilt of leaving her would have killed him inside.

Then the next tremor came.

Atticus' vision wavered as she staggered forward. For a moment, he thought all was alright. They would escape. They would be just fine, but the fate rose against them. Moth continued to fall forward and her jaws opened, releasing him into the air. The kitten flew forward. Panic rushed through his system as he flew through the air and debris. Unbeknownst to him, part of the house's jagged interior sliced through his left ear during his flight.

He plummets to the floor, tumbling over to face his mother. A soft cry left him. Tears filled his eyes. Not only was the mental agony torturing him, but the physical pain of the slam on his ribs echoed throughout his body.

Calamity.

Chaos.

The torment was not over.

Through blurred vision, yellow eyes widened. The world around him came crumbling down in slow motion. Violent tremors continued shaking their home and the walls began to crack, leading up to the ceiling. Painted plaster walls crumbled. Windows began to shatter. Support beams within the home began to come undone, causing the house to collapse inwards. The wooden beam on door frame caved in, slamming down onto his mother. Unpleasant cracking of bones overwhelmed Atticus' senses as he watched her succumb under the weight. He let out a scream, but the falling of debri tuned him out.

He remained frozen. Atticus quivered in his place, shock flowing through his system. What horror had been laid upon his eyes. As the others swarmed around him, he just watched. His mind was still processing the trauma that happened in front of him. Meanwhile, Simon was digging, his Papa was wondering where Alice went, and Ivan fell to the floor. Aurum was calling out, looking for any sign of faith. Despite their hopes and his own ignorance, her pessimistic child knew deeply nothing could be done. She was gone.

As time passed, anguish weighed him down. The crimson from his ear and tears mixed together on his cheeks as he ruthlessly bawled. Wretched sobs left him. He felt helpless. Guilty, even. If she hadn't watched her kids go down the stairs... If she had just ran... If she hadn't been carrying him... she would of survived the fall.

Even with Selby by his side and Aurum supporting him, the kitten just buried his head into his paws and cried... What else could he do?

The cut on her forehead was bleeding a lot but she felt okay for the most part. A book had crashed down on her when the world began to shake. Alice wheezed but continued to pad around, looking for her family. She was scared but kept the tears at bay. She wanted to shout out to them but her lungs were too busy trying to survive her simple walk. But her eyes still worked well enough to see them gathered outside the ruined home. Alice didn't care if the stupid building was ruined, why were they crying! As long as everyone was okay, as long as everyone was alive-

The orange and white cat reached Ivan firstly, looking over them with worry. "I-Ivan you're b... bleeding-ing." and so was she. Not from her mouth, but the small cut on her head dripping blood onto her paws below her. Alice wheezes, unable to catch her breath. "Iva-an. Ivan." she repeats his name like it will make him all better. Aiming to nudge her weak body beside him to try and help him. They needed to get help, as much as she would love another nap. "It's gonna be okay! I promise!" she feels a sense of urgency, scared because they were bleeding from their mouth. "Wait here! I'll get dad or mom or both!" Alice leaves Ivan's side, continuing the path of what she once called home.

She's confused, why was everyone so upset? It was an old house- it didn't matter! The young molly reaches Atticus next. They were bleeding as well, from the ears- which made it less scary than bleeding from the mouth. Alice coughs a little, her body upset with their sobbing. "Atticus." she breaths out, aiming to gently make her presents known. Her mind screaming that something much worse was going on. But she didn't know what. What was wrong?

It wasn't till she saw Simon tearing away at the rumble that she realized that someone must be dead. She felt numb but the kid pushed her way through to see Simon being taken off the wreckage. But she had to see it for herself. Seeing would make it known. Alice finally let a soft whimper escape her. "Mama." the kitten wheezes as she stands beside the mighty Aurum. She felt so weak, that she had to lean against the winged creature to keep standing. Maybe it was also to get some kind of comfort from this hell.

Alice stared at the body that was once her mother till she couldn't any more. Gently nodding against Aurum, accidentally getting some blood on his fur. That hardly mattered though. She lift his side to go to her dad, "Ivan's bleeding from his mouth! H-He needs help!" she wheezes, they all needed help. They all needed relief from this unbearable pain. "I... I want to help! Let me help please!" she pleads with Selby. Anything to distract her from acknowledging that her mother was dead.