Thunder Storm”, Clear Sky mewed. “We don’t have to do this. Just step aside, come back to me. We can have peace. Just join me.”
Thunder Storm stared at him in disbelief, claws unhooking from Clear Sky’s fur in shock.
“Peace? We tried to make peace with you, and you fought us every step. You killed a cat and stole her kits, just to expand your borders. You threw Tall Shadow to killers, just because she disagreed with you. You want no peace! All you wish for is power”, he snarled, “control.”
“And all that was for my cats!” Clear Sky said. “My Clan! You can be part of that, Thunder Storm. I’ll be willing to forgive you for your insolence if you just come back, join me. Join your father.”
Thunder Storm recoiled, rage burning like fire in his eyes, his heart, his very being.
“Father!? My one and only father lay dead by our feet”, he snarled, “your claws are still dripping with his blood! You are no father of mine!”
Clear Sky’s eyes hardened, and his lip curled into a snarl.
“Fine”, he growled, “if you wish to stand in my way, then I’ll take care of you, just like I did Shaded Flower.”
At that, he leapt at Thunder Storm, claws scoring down his fur, piercing his flesh. Thunder Storm clawed back at Clear Sky, jaws snapping at his throat. They wrestled, rolling over and over on the bloodied ground, before jumping apart, both breathing heavily.
Thunder Storm looked into Clear Sky’s cold eyes, and knew that he would not hesitate to kill Thunder Storm, nor would he regret it. He had only one chance to stop it all, prevent any more suffering by Clear Sky’s uncaring claws.
He leapt at Clear Sky, who jumped to meet him, and as they collided there was a bright light, accompanied a great roar. A bolt of lightning had struck the oak above them, and as they grappled with each other the tree creaked, a limb falling from the great trunk. Bright Storm saw it before they did, yowling out a warning.
“Look out above!”
Thunder Storm looked up and gasped, prompting Clear Sky to look up as well. They both scrambled away from the other, unwilling to be crushed. The branch crashed between them, right where they had been hardly a moment before. The other cats gradually stopped fighting, and it was as if the very world was holding its breath for how quiet it was, almost as if it were waiting for something.
I haven’t thought about this in-depth yet beyond my realization, but it’s really interesting to me that in Shadow (ASC), every single one of the main character’s mothers is, in one way or another, an antagonist. Nightheart, Frostpaw, and Sunbeam, to different extents and in different ways, all deal with their mothers (Sparkpelt, Curlfeather, and Berryheart) trying to shape them into something they either are not or do not want to be, refusing to see them for who they really are, and, in some cases, maybe acting against them underhandedly “for their own good.”
A Sort-of Redraw of my first attempt to learn CSP back in December 2022 (this is posted March 2023). Original under the cut. You'd think I'd been practicing, but I actually haven't used CSP since early January. I just have more willpower! Go figure! Of course I had to draw Mister Fire Man. Know your roots...
For 153 days, we’ve seen Palestinians taking care of not only fellow humans by sharing food with each other, helping save people from under the rubble, carrying random bloody strangers to hospitals, and lending a helping hand at any given, but we’ve also seen them, constantly, taking care of animals during the genocide.
March 23, 2024 - “I’m feeding the ones who are not eating.”
In a video posted online, a Palestinian boy in Gaza was seen feeding stray cats. When asked if he had food for himself, the boy said “no.” [video]