#lanternglow

Sharkstar just moping by himself god knows where LMAO

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"Some letters wait for the right heart to open them.”

I love this song so much so I associate it with every oc and a half- But Fish in a Birdcage is such a Sharkstar and Lanternglow song, with how Lanternglow has access to the "world outside" (Starclan and the realm of the living)

Plus, Shark's name and the fact he's stuck in the Dark Forest quite literally makes him a "Fish inside a birdcage"

I would seriously recommend listening to Fish in a Birdcage, and all their other songs cuz it's GOOOD. (Caleb Hyles' cover of Fish in a Birdcage is tasty too)

But! Shark actually never knew his kids. He knew they were gonna happen, yes, but he died before they were born unfortunately! And he doesn't exactly know how to enter other's dreams. So he just occasionally wonders about them, and sometimes listens to Lanternglow about them.

Lanternglow grimaced as the starry, lush fields and clear water faded from below his paws, turning to dead grass that brushed at his paws and murky rivers that filled him with a sense of unease. He was a fish out of water here, herbs and a small bundle of moss in his jaws that he was afraid to let go of. Other cats offered to escort him there, but he requested to go by himself- And now he was wishing he had others with him, to keep him from being alone as he walked. The meeting was just to ensure apprentices and kits could grow up, but his heart twisted and ached imagining the illness that must spread through the Dark Forest, and he ended up going to offer some help early. Surely nobody would mind? Starclan was basically a herb-filled and moss-filled landscape with how much of the two there were, and from the smell of the forest.. He figured there wasn’t as much here.

He looked at the stream he was following, frowning as he could barely see anything- It looked more like muck than water, and it made his fur itchy just imagining swimming through it. Surely all Oceanclan cats who go here must despise the lack of clean water, he figured. It was second nature to his clan to swim through the water, live alongside the waves; To be without that would feel like torture, and he couldn’t imagine what it’d be like to stay down here for eternity, without the very thing he grew up relying on.

‘How does Sharkstar live like this?’ He thought, and his pelt prickled with anticipation at the thought of meeting his brother again. He wouldn’t admit it to other Starclan cats, but on his own he knew it so well- He missed his brother dearly, and had never been more distraught then the day he died- And the day he himself went to the stars only to find out his brother hated living among them so much, he chose to go to the Dark Forest. He was always good at muffling emotions he deemed ‘bad’- Yet finding out that Sharkstar had grown so hateful of Starclan that he refused to enter it made him curse his brother for being so stubborn, and curse his clan for forcing the stars onto a tom who was still suffering with his beliefs.

The world around him seemed to blend together as he wandered through his own thoughts, just as lost with his feelings as he was in reality. Was he mad at Sharkstar? Sad? Did he want to see him again? Was he upset at Starclan for giving his brother a choice to stay or leave, as awful as it sounded? He couldn’t figure it out, and didn’t have time to as the dirt beneath him gave way and he fell into the river with a splash.

Lanternglow panicked as he frantically tried to figure out which way was up and which way was down; He knew that he could let out some of his much-needed air and follow the bubble to the surface, but he couldn’t risk letting go of the herbs, and struggled not to hack as the disgusting fluid flooded his mouth through gaps caused by what he was holding. Was he going to die twice here, and by drowning of all things? He was Oceanclan! Drownings were few and far between! And the fallout it could cause! He desperately tried to head towards the surface, only to feel his scruff get grabbed by someone- A flash of silver and white, and then the surface showed itself again to the tortie tom as he was ungracefully tossed onto the pebble-covered shores.

He hacked and coughed as the cat resurfaced, dropping his herbs onto the ground as he struggled to regain his breath. “Knew I heard someone fall in! Walking alongside the stream unless you’re on the shore is never a good idea, the ground is weak around there-” The tom started, but cut himself off as Lanternglow heard a soft gasp. “Lantern?” He knew that voice too well. He whipped his head to look at the tom covered in black substance who quickly shook it off- His brother stood before him, a red glow around his fur and icy blue eyes devoid of life. 

“SHARKSTAR!” Lanternglow rushed forward without a second thought, nearly barreling the former leader back into the river if not for Sharkstar quickly regaining his footing. The silver tom headbutted Lanternglow joyfully as the two stared, almost to make sure that the other was real, before Sharkstar spoke again; his normally smug voice full of concern. “What’re you doing here, Lan!? Don’t tell me they kicked you out, if they did I’m gonna-” Sharkstar looked in the direction of where he came with a snarl, and Lanternglow quickly tried to calm his sibling down. 

“Nononono,” He said quickly. “I came to visit, there was this meeting where we might be able to start helping kits and apprentices over to grow up and maybe eventually we’ll be able to bring herbs and I wanted to get a bit of a headstart and bring some herbs over! Maybe you can even start growing them here so sickness is less frequent or something?” Lanternglow rambled, picking up the moss bundle with his claws and squeezing some of the river.. He didn’t want to call it water, it wasn’t water; substance out of it. Sharkstar stared at Lanternglow with a confused look, then looked back. “If you get in trouble for it, I’m going to rip someone apart.”

Lanternglow grimaced, but forced a smile. Glad to see that his brother didn’t change… Somewhat.

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Got inspiration from the story about the Starclan-Dark Forest meeting, and wanted to give my first cat on this blog some attention! Sharkstar meets his brother again.

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HECK YEAH MAN

He probably misses his brother a whole lot, Lanternglow was the only member of his family he could stand He feels out of place in the DF too so he's just here like "damn i wish i could talk to my bro (<- Does not want to find out how to communicate with Starclan cats out of mild fear of meeting with the wrong one or finding out he can't entirely)"

Don't worry, I love infodumps!