#fallendust

ALDERSTAR

1: Independence

Given by unknown elderly she-cat

Message: "Use it."

2: Wisdom

Given by unknown tom

Message: "Use it to see your actions for what they are."

3. Regret

Given by Fallendust, his first victim

Message: "Maybe someday you will use it."

4. Empathy

Given by Shimmerstone, his father's other mate (and only queen in the nursery when Alder's mother died)

Message: "Use this life to see your Clanmates beyond the blank slates you know them as.” 

5. ??

6. ??

7. ??

8. ??

9. Love

Given by his mother, Sweettree

Message: "Please, please don't let it lead you astray anymore."

More words were spoken, these were only the messages linked directly to the lives.

.

.

Omenstar

1: Justice

Given by his mother, Flickerspring

Message: "Use this life to see what is right and what is wrong. Do not let false promises of Justice lead your faith astray."

2: Truth

Given by his mentor, Skylight

Message: "Someone you care about will use your trust against you. Use this life to see things for how they are."

3. Mercy

Given by his father, Duskshell

Message: "As "your leadership progresses, you will find yourself making harsh choices. Know that the blood of the innocents is not worth anything, and use mercy wisely."

4. Clear Sight

Given by his friend, Quailheart

Message: "Your Faith towards Starclan is strong. Use this life to not let it blind your way."

5. Judgement

Given by his Clanmate, Luckyquip

Message: "Life leads to risky choices, and choosing between right or wrong. Let this life help you choose what is right for you and your Clan."

6. Patience

Given by his Clanmate, Talonflame

Message: "Patience is important when it comes to leadership. Use this life to keep yourself calm when faced with life's choices."

7. Open-Mindedness

Given by his close friend, Tidepool

Message: "As a leader, you must be willing to let others show you new views that you have not known of. Let yourself be able to hear the views of your clanmates, and listen to what they believe."

8. Empathy

Given by his crush, Wavecrash

Message: "To consider other's emotions is a powerful thing. Acknowledge the emotions of cats you care about, and it will take you far."

9. Duty

Given by the previous leader, Reedstar

Message: "With this final life, I give you the life to see things through, as it is your duty. Do not take this life as a way to force things through, but to know when something is not worth pursuing."

MORE TBA

Aldereyes blinked open his eyes, yawning. Then he felt the chill air, and gazed out of the den to see that the sun was still very low in the sky. The dawn patrol wouldn’t be sent out for a while yet. What had woken him up?

A kick to the side told him the answer. He shifted away from the pressure and looked over to see Fallendust in the nest beside him. She was twitching in her sleep, mumbling and furrowing and un-furrowing her brows. 

Aldereyes turned so that his back was to her, and tried to go back to sleep. He was drifting away, nearly back to the pine trees and water voles when he was kicked again. Grumbling, he stood up and padded the few steps over, then gently nudged Fallendust awake.

“I don’t have patrol,” she mumbled, burrowing her face into the moss. 

Neither do I, Aldereyes thought. He nudged her again, this time whispering her name. She closed her eyes tightly, then opened them, staring up at Aldereyes with a glaze. “Wha?”

“You were kicking in your sleep.”

“Oh..sorry.” She moved to place her legs beneath her. Her eyes barely looked at him, staring off into the distance. Something told Aldereyes that it wasn’t simply due to exhaustion. 

“Come on,” he said, nodding toward the den entrance. When she looked confused, he nodded again and began to walk out. Outside, he waited still for a few heartbeats, beginning to feel like she would ignore him. Then he heard soft pawsteps, and a moment later she was standing beside him. Her fur stuck out in random places. Aldereyes guessed he looked the same, only with more flat fur on one side as he hadn’t been moving.

“Too early for pa–” Fallendust began to say when a massive yawn interrupted her.

“Yeah,” Aldereyes agreed. “But I figured you needed to move your legs. They were restless.”

Fallendust looked down at her paws. “Maybe.”

“I’ll go with you,” Aldereyes offered, and began to walk away toward the camp entrance. Fallendust followed more slowly, but that slowness quickly dissipated as the chilly air woke them up. 

“Now what?” she asked when they were outside. 

Aldereyes shrugged. “We can hunt, run. Whatever you want to do. Or talk.” He didn’t care that much about Fallendust. He wasn’t indifferent toward her, and did care about her as a Clanmate and fellow warrior, but as friends they weren’t close, and that made it easier for Aldereyes to offer comfort when he didn’t worry every second that he was saying the wrong thing. Besides, his new relationship with Myrtlewing was making him feel admittedly giddy, and because of that more willing to help others.

“Talk to stretch my legs?” Fallendust huffed a singular laugh.

“Or soothe your mind.” He himself had kicked enough times in his sleep, particularly in his apprentice days, to know that it’s not always the body that is restless.

Fallendust didn’t respond for a long time, standing incredibly still, staring again at her paws. Then she sat down heavily and sighed. “I miss Fleetsong.”

Oh. Her brother. Aldereyes suddenly felt uncomfortable, but it would be rude to back out now. He sat down too. Wondering if he should, he wrapped his tail lightly around her. “We..” he wondered what to say. “We shouldn’t have lost him the way we did.”

Fallendust’s face screwed up. “It’s not fair,” she gasped. Her throat visibility tightened, it was clear how much she struggled not to wail out right there and then. “It was always so important to him that everyone was happy and having a good time. And then for him to die like that. I–I just–I feel like Starclan has abandoned me, sometimes.”

Aldereyes's heart sank. Back when Fleetsong’s body was found, mauled by a dog, he had been too preoccupied worried about Myrtlewing, who had been with him, to notice much of anyone’s grief for Fleetsong. He knew it was there, of course, and had witnessed them sit vigil, but until now it hadn’t set in for him how much pain the death had caused. Was that selfish?

“What was he like?” Aldereyes asked, though unsure why. It was the only thing he could think to say.

Thankfully, Fallendust grinned. “I always thought of him as the life of the Clan, but…maybe that was because he was my best friend. He was the only one I ever really had. Wolfburn has Maplefall, Ivytooth is dead, and my parents are, well, my parents. But Fleetsong was always there, always wanting me to be happy. He was my best friend,” she repeated through a lump. “And he was ripped apart by a dog.”

Aldereyes wasn’t sure how to respond to that, or if he should say anything at all. He decided the answer to the latter was a negative, and instead pressed closer against Fallendust. She leaned into the touch, and they stayed like that for a few long heartbeats before she straightened and shook herself. “All this sadness,” she said, attempting a smile. “Fleetsong would hate it. What do you say we hunt, huh?”

Aldereyes padded toward the underbrush, glad in the change of topic. “If we hunt now, maybe we’ll get to sleep in.”

“Exactly!” Fallendust agreed. “Early patrol!” With that, she walked past him, leading the way into the trees.

==============

--Hey

hey guys

remember her?

remember what happens to her?

:)

FALLENDUST!!

The first ever victim of Alderstar. She's a huge character in his and Myrtlewing's origin story, since it was her death that caused a whole lotta change in the two's lives, and lead to Alderstar's own murders

Also here's her older sister

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It was completely incidental that all of these siblings were killed by Myrtle and Alder, and I do like it!

Ivytooth (second right) was first, killed when Myrtle was still doing solo kills. He tore her tail in two and told her that if she managed to return to camp, well, she would get to live. Ivytooth tried desperately, but between the shock and blood loss, she didn't make it.

Next came Fleetsong (far right). He was attacked by Myrtlewing, who chased him through the trees. By complete luck, at least on Myrtle's part, a dog broke through the undergrowth and finished the job for him--and took care of all evidence.

Thirdly came Fallendust (second left) [we finally see her design whoo!!]. She was the first victim of Alderstar, who acted on autopilot and bit her throat after she threatened Myrtlewing after they both caught the medicine cat with Waspheart's body.

Lastly came Wolfburn, died surrounded by fire. It wasn't enough to burn the forest down, but with Wolfburn's PTSD to flames, he wouldn't dare leave the pond that protected him, even as he got extremely exhausted. Eventually he would pass out, and drowned in the water.

(In case you couldn't tell, this is hyperstylized [is that what you call it?] so Fleet's scars don't actually look like that)

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