half the time the world is ending [private]

[dawn]

you are my shooting star

    Jetfang grinned, remembering when his mate had done just that, twisted her paw and had to be helped back to camp. "True," he admitted reluctantly, "You're a klutz. But you're my klutz." He gave her ear a quick lick. "Besides! It's adorable." His good mood faded a little at her next words. Just the mention of her "tumbling recklessly" to her death was cause for major concern on his part. The black and white tom's eyes widened with anxiety. Great, now I'm going to be worried about her tumbling to her death on patrol... "I-I will..." Jetfang murmured, unable to say anything else without sounding incredibly over-protective. He knew his tone had given him away and he deserved a claw over the ears for being such a kit about it, but he couldn't help himself. What would he even do if Lily died? He didn't want to think of it.

    "...Mom...?" Jet blinked at her. "Well, I'll be their mom if it'll make you happy, Lilythorn..." He smiled at her, looking perplexed. He continued gallantly, "Anything for you, darling!" He couldn't help but beam at her as she giggled at her mistake. Starclan... how did I get this lucky? "I bet. If you want, I can take a go at it. I mean, after all. I am their mom too." He knew that looking after their squirming, rowdy sons all day wasn't easy work, so he reaffirmed, "I really can take a turn watching them, if you need some time to yourself. It's not like Vertigoclan is exactly starving right now... They don't need me on every patrol."


"I could never be just friends with you. Never." He shook his head at her remark. "Every Jetfang in every universe would have been paws over tail for you as soon as he laid eyes on you, whether it was in the nursery or across the border." He didn't refuse her desire to talk of Chasmfang, although it was a bit of an off topic between them. It had always been sort of touchy. Jetfang felt no jealousy now, but he did feel sadness for what Lilythorn had gone through. And he had to keep himself from being grateful that Chasmfang wasn't around... He wondered how true her words were, not because he thought she would ever lie to him but because he didn't think she would ever give up her deputyship for him either. Jetfang had done a lot of suffering through that time in their lives. Lily had done just as much, likely more. It was hard.

Jetfang tried his best not to look uncomfortable as she mentioned that Chasmfang would have known. He wasn't perfect, not even close... He wondered if he would have sized up to Chasmfang, had the tom lived. Would he have been the better choice? Bitter, jaded, damaged, unfriendly, stubborn? The black and white tom closed his eyes for a moment, feeling dread as he thought of losing Lilythorn, before he reassured himself that there was no need to worry about that now.

"don't get any ideas, sweet. we're in for the long haul, whether you like it or not." Jetfang looked at her again with mismatched eyes. "I like it," he said warmly. "And I never want to be with anyone else. I'm too old to go messing around, and we have a family now. It's... amazing really. I still can't quite wrap my head around it. Family. Us... Me." He trailed off, no longer completing coherent thoughts.

At the mention of more kits his heart swelled a little. Jet couldn't help but grin at her, returning the slyness in her eyes. "Thinking, hmmm...?" Jetfang stumbled a bit when she knocked into him, as he was a bit off balance himself... Thinking. There would be so many moons more for all of them. He could hardly account for how grateful he was. "Thanks, I try," he said in an over-dramatic tone, in his usual way of dodging his own intense emotions with light humor. "So, wanna go for a swim or something, my perfect mate? Or do you need to get back to our little terrors?"

words: 692• tagged: lily only• notes: jet = huge baby

♥

[lily]

the pale ginger she-cat purred, headbutting him lightly. "oh, jet, you're such a romantic. if you call me a klutz again, i just might die of happiness." she teased, licking his ear just as he had done to her before pulling away, her paws dancing dangerously (for her) across the forest floor. she tilted her head at him. "no, i suppose i can be the mom. at least for now. if i ever want to switch, i'll let you know. they're still a little too dependent on my milk." she laughed as she looked at him, her blue eyes softening.

she gasped. "but i thought you led every patrol! my dear, i'll have a word with this deputy flamingstar has. you need to be the most important tom in everyone's life!" lilythorn teased, skittering back over to him and bumping into him lightly again. "actually, i think i'd be too jealous, sharing you with those elders." she giggled, hiding her face in his fluffy shoulder again.

"too old?" she rolled her eyes. "please, jet. i'm only four moons your junior - funny how i suddenly remember my age! - and we are plenty young to mess around! just...not with anyone else." as soon as the words she'd spoken registered in her mind, lilythorn blushed fiercely. "my, i sound like an apprentice in heat! forgive my bluntness. all this time spent with kits really has made me age in reverse!" the former deputy rattled, shaking her head at herself.

she nodded in response to his question, "a swim sounds nice! i haven't been swimming in ages!" was her reply, and she raced forward, careful not to trip over any tree roots, and spun about. "i suppose i haven't really done anything too exciting in ages." she mused aloud, grinning at her mate, embracing how free she was in that moment. "i'm your own, personal terror. and watch who you're calling perfect, love. i'll have an ego so big we'll have to start our own clan!"

[dawn]

you are my shooting star

Jetfang pressed his shoulder against Lilythorn's to steady her, twining his black and white tail with hers. He smirked at her remark. "You're too cute." He sighed, pretending to be disappointed that he couldn't be their kit's mom. "Darn, I really do envy you, having to be clawed at all the time by those little beasts- I mean, our beloved sons..." It was somewhat reassuring for him, though, seeing how rowdy the toms often were. That meant that they were healthy and strong. Greenleaf was a good season for them to grow up in. "They're going to be fierce warriors someday. But we'll still be able to tease them about their days in the nursery," Jetfang mewed, with a chuckle. 

Jetfang's eyes widened at her remark of Flamingstar and her deputy. "I know! It's absolutely preposterous. I'm clearly the most capable, daring tom in the clan. I really should be leading every patrol. Thanks for your support, dear," the black and white tom meowed pompously, before rolling his eyes at his own words. "I'm glad to have more time to relax. It's... a lot less lonely than it used to be." He smiled a little sadly, thinking back to how much time he had spent brooding alone before Lilythorn had stepped down to be with him. 

"Oh, so we aren't too young to fool around, hmm, love...?" He headbutted her. "Sounds like you've got some explaining to do! I know you've been seeing Flamingstar on the side!" He accused dramatically, gasping at this sudden betrayal. After a few moments he laughed, unable to keep the serious look on his face. "Well, I'm glad you're so eager to mess around with me..." Jetfang admired how youthful his mate had become as of late... It was so good to see her happy and full of life again. 

"Swimming is a thing we did before all of this wolf and flooding and kit nonsense, wasn't it?" He chased after her, surprised by her speed, but brimming with happiness. "Well... we had kits. That's pretty exciting, even if I do say so myself. We're bringing new life to the clan." He hated to be so serious, but it was true- their kits showed that there was still hope for Vertigoclan, even after all that had happened. New life was still being brought forth. The cycle continued.

"Oh! What'll we call it? I like the sound of Lilyclan. You be the leader, and I'll be your deputy. We'll rule the forest!" Jet exclaimed as he raced off towards the small pool where Vertigoclan cats liked to swim. He hadn't felt so young in moons. It was weird, to be so old, and yet, so young. Weird indeed.

words: 452• tagged: lily only• notes: is pallidkit still gonna show up? :3 is there anything else you wanna do with them?

♥

[lily]

Everytime he complimented her, even after all the moons they'd been together, Lilythorn blushed. As their tails entwined with each other's, her neck and face grew warm. "It's no surprise our kits are so cute. With our looks, they were bound to be pretty handsome." She giggled, thinking of their sons. When he mtnioned her getting clawed all the time by their 'little beasts' she stuck her tongue out at him. "You're just as beastly as they are. You've probably taught them to be rough so I'll come running to you!" She feigned shock as though she'd discovered his secret plan and pulled away from him, throwing him a sideways look of disdain over her shoulder.

She laughed aloud. "I can just see it now. 'Thunderstar, quit being such a tough guy! You once cried about having a thorn in your paw, even if you were only two moons old at the time!' StarClan, we're going to be awful nags, aren't we?" The she-cat mrrowed, tossing her head back and gazing up at the tall trees surrounding them. She felt safe, and not only because of Jetfang, but because of the cover the forest lent them. If she'd been alone, she'd have prayed, but it seemed silly to do with Jet in her company.

"Anytime, sweet." Lilythorn replied with a fierce nod as her mate thanked her for supporting him. Of course, he was the best tom around, but something told her she was biased. A warm smile spread across her pale ginger features, her bright eyes as blue as the summer sky above them. She nodded as he mentioned how it was less lonely now. "Being all cooped up in camp might be what some warriors consider relaxing, but I've been starting to lose my mind. I'm an explorer by nature, though I'm not nearly as curious as our kits are! If they had any idea that I was heading out of camp, why, they'd be here themselves!"

Hysterical. That's what she was when he mentioned her affair with Flamingstar. "Yes, I have. It's been going on for moons! Last time, Ghostfoot nearly caught us. I'm surprised he never mentioned it!" Lilythorn teased back, batting her eyes at her darling black and white mate. "I'm glad you're willing, too, though they say toms are always more willing that she-cats..." She mused aloud, shrugging. "Depends on the cat, I suppose. But enough of that! Imagine if one of our kits could hear us!" She chuckled deeply, like a short, choked guffaw, and purred at her silly show of amusement.

Surprisingly, the she-cat's feet managed to not get terribly twisted up in the tree roots lining the forest floor. It was a shock, even to her, but she kept moving until the stream was in view. "Ah, yes, come along Jet, dear. I'll show you how we swim in LilyClan." She announced, giggling, before testing the water with a paw. It was chilly thanks to the altitude, and Lilythorn was quite certain there was some sort of ice somewhere up in the mountains. The water where they were wasn't very deep, and the she-cat splashed into the cool liquid, her pelt sticking to her skin and growing heavy as she waded out toward the middle of the stream. It was at least two fox-lengths wide here, and it was wider father upstream, while downstream it split off into smaller little creeks as it merged into TempestClan, where the bog was damp and wet at all times. She blinked up at her mate and grinned wolfishly. "Are you going to join me?Or is the water too cold?" She purred teasingly, splashing water at him.

[dawn]

"oh, i can't wait," he meowed in response to her remark about showing him how it was done in lilyclan. rather amused, the black and white tom watched her test the water with her thick furred paw, feeling endless patience as he admired her beauty and waited for her to get into the water. when she splashed into the water, a few stray droplets touched him, but they dried almost immediately, and he hardly felt the icy chill. taken in by his mate, jetfang stood still for a few moments more, simply staring after the she-cat with a bit of a dumb look on his face.

"are you going to join me?" he roused himself with a start. "join...? oh! right. swimming. yeah." jetfang chuckled. he didn't wait to daintily stick his paws in, just braced himself for the ache of the cold and waded in. it felt surprisingly nice on his sun-baked black fur, cooling him as he pressed for the shady patches of the stream. "right, swimming. that thing that i suggested." as lilythorn splashed him, he grinned at her, still feeling a bit preoccupied. "you know, miss 'apprentice in heat' i think you're rubbing off on me. i feel like i've got bees in my brain!" 


he thought back to what she had said before they'd raced off for the water, slowly sinking down on the stones underfoot and relaxing. luckily, jetfang was hefty enough that he didn't need much of a paw-hold to stay anchored on the slickness beneath him. the water was slow-running, much too slow to sweep him away. "it will be interesting to see what becomes of our three. they're a handful, aren't they? especially with those two of splashmist's added into the mix. so many little toms." he pondered for a minute more, watching some moss clinging to a stone being pulled at as the stream wore on. "really think thunderkit will become a leader someday? they're all just so tiny right now. it's hard to believe that they'll ever get so big."

[lilythorn **]

"so many little toms, so little time for my big tom," lilythorn joked, shaking her head at jetfang as she splashed through the shallow water some more, the current trying to coax her paws out from under her. 'nice try, she thought, looking down at the water, bemused. she beamed as jet asked about their son. "i'm sure one of them will be something. it runs in the family; didn't you know that?" the creamy ginger teased, her mind on her mother, who had been a medicine cat, on herself, having been deputy once. her whiskers were twitching and a purr was catching in her throat as a familiar scent reached her. she whipped about, nearly toppling over in the process, as her son came into view. "pallidkit! what are you doing out here?" she mewed sternly, growing as cross as she could manage without bursting into laughter.

pallidkit's small frame stood out against the bright greenery of summertime vertigoclan, and lilythorn's eyes flashed with amusement as well as concern. how had he managed to get this far out here? she shot a glance at jetfang before emerging from the water and going to her smallest kit. "did your brothers tell you to leave camp?" lilythorn asked, giving him a rough lick on his head. the tom pulled away slightly, blinking up at her with his hazel green eyes. "mooooom, you're embarrassing me." the quiet tom whined, looking to his father. she chuckled, looking at the patched tom as well. "well, since he's out here and i'm not ready to go back to camp already, why don't we teach him a lesson?" she winked to jet, smirking.


ooc: npc!pallid because i'm too lazy to make his bio rn

[jetfang ★]

"hmmm... perhaps," jetfang meowed thoughtfully. "only on your side, though. i'm content to be a warrior, no special titles! and when i get old enough, and i get tired of your friend flamingstar nagging at me to retire, i'll be an elder." though he smiled warmly at the mention of the fire-pelted leader 'nagging' at him, he remembered a time when her nagging had taken a rather nasty turn... best not to bring that up, jetfang decided. the past is the past. that was something that had been hard for him to learn. the future was what mattered.

it was almost difficult for him to suppress a laugh as his mate slipped about on the wet stones, reeling around. "what in starclan-?" they weren't safe, even out here. but it wasn't a wolf, or an eagle, or enemy warriors that had found them, it was their own son. jetfang wasn't sure whether to laugh or be upset; he stifled a groan. leave it to our sons to be wandering around the forest three moons before they're allowed... he stood up from the stream bed, water dripping heavily down from his black and white coat as he did so. "what kind of lesson did you have in mind, lily...?" jetfang mewed, looking at his mate as if she'd lost her mind. over-serious as always, his single minded thought was that he had to get pallidkit back to camp before he was eaten by a badger. if badgers even ate cats. which jet was pretty sure they did. maybe. 

[lilythorn **]

"flamingstar won't nag you, you silly old tomcat. she'll merely...suggest, and you will stubbornly refuse. or i'll make you refuse." she said with a wink, a smirk spreading across her soft colored features.

((ooc: just got a weird headcanon; jet dies in battle and it's all because lily didn't let him retire.. moons and moons from now, duh. but it's only a headcanon.))

lilythorn's whiskers twitched in amusement as jetfang bristled with fear and uncertainty. "look how frightened you made your father, pallidkit." the queen purred to her pale little son, who looked confused and rather upset about the fact. "i'm so, so sorry..." the small tom said quietly, his eyes wide with concern as he peered up at his dad.

jetfang's face brought her nearly to tears; he was always so serious. it was endearing, really. she headbutted him and approached the edge of the stream, pressing her nose into pallidkit's small frame, inhaling his milk-laced scent that smelled of her, flamingstar, and ah, ghostoot. the leader's sort-of mate must have puleld her away frm the nursery, if only temporarily, and given pallidkit the chance to escape. lilythorn's face grew mischevious as she glanced at jet. "]well, we are swimming, and pallidkit doesn't know how. perhaps... we could teach him." she mewed, amused. she didn't give jet a chance to reply before she lifted pallidkit up by the scruff - much to his dismay, he was mewling in disagreement - and held him just above the water. "ready?" she asked froma round their son's tiny frame.

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[jetfang ★]

riiight... flamingstar would never nag me, jetfang bit back the retort, keeping it to himself. "me, stubbornly refuse? like i would ever do anything stubbornly." the black marked tom answered, rolling his eyes at his mate. "honestly, lily." he glanced at his son, mismatched eyes wide. "and i'm not... frightened. i'm just concerned! kits belong in the nursery, not out wandering the territory looking for cliffs to fall off of." jetfang licked his puffed up chest fur, trying to look indignant and not frightened in the least.

"teach him.......?!" jetfang felt his muscles tremor as anxiety and adrenaline made him prepare to lunge and save his son from an unfortunate death in the stream. sure, it was slow moving and had seemed a peaceful, relaxing place before but now in jet's eyes it was a RAGING RIVER OF TERROR that was just waiting to swallow up the pale kit, never to be seen again by the eyes of his grieving parents. "are you crazy lily??" jetfang took a deep breath and tried to calm himself. it's just a little stream.... we'll be here the whole time... it'll be okay... it'll be okay... "well i guess a little bit... couldn't hurt" jetfang mewed hastily, wanting to cover up his panic. "errr... are you okay pallidkit?"

[lilythorn **]

"oh, you mother hen, you." lilythorn tutted around their kit, shaking her head slightly as pallidkit swayed, looking a little bit confused and like he wished he weren't being held in such an embarrassing way. while jetfang had his little episode, lilythorn gently lowered pallidkit to the water, ignoring his complaints as the cool liquid touched his paws. then, she let go.

surprisingly, well, not really, pallidkit kicked wildly and managed to stay afloat, spluttering just a tiny bit as lilythorn lifted a paw to steady him. he looked up at his parents as though they were insane, and kept kicking. "control your kicks, pallidkit. if you thrash about wildly, you'll only draw more water to your face, and then you'll struggle more." the she-cat said calmly, not mentioning that he'd likely drown if he kept going at such a crazy rate. not that she - or jet, for that matter - would let the kit drown.

the pale little kit looked like a tiny cloud afloat on the water, and lilythorn smiled proudly as the tiny tom began to paddle ever so slightly. she nudged him forward with her nose, and he floated off to one side, his kicks uneven. "well, teach him something, jet." lilythorn said with a laugh, her head thrown back slightly as hlaughter trickled out her soft-colored ginger maw.

pallidkit blinked at his dad. "i'm -" when his concentration on staying afloat broke, the small kit went just barely beneath the surface of the water. he bobbed back up pretty quickly, and he shook his head; his pelt was now thoroughly soaked. "i'm fine, dad." he said softly. "i touched the bottom..." he noted, looking back at his mom and she giggled. "it's not very deep here." she commented, before sweeping her blue gaze onto jetfang. "and you thought i'd let him drown." she teased, whiskers twitching in an amused fashion.