BEAUTIFUL THINGS .. a Legendfaith SRP

comment in THIS project please: https://scratch.mit.edu/projects/978834036/


tw // minor injury

.
..
…
….

“ For a while there, it was rough
But lately, I've been doin' better, ”

A singular figure weaves across the dunes, his prolonged tail swaying to and fro. Like waves rocking a boat, back and forth in a steady motion. Swish, swish, swish, swish.

The regal chocolate-and-cream tomcat rose to the top of a dune, eclipsed momentarily against the moon behind him. Silver soaked through his pelt, until the noble feline clambered down the hill of sand.

His thoughts were a bit like a ship too, rocking back and forth in the storm. In a flurry of activity when there’s a storm, calm as daybreak when there’s still waters.

Legendfaith smiled a bit, because today seemed to be a docile day. He was thinking about the stretch of moons, between the beginning of his warriorhood to now. His deputy arc. How things had changed, how the tides had turned.

“ Than the last four cold Decembers
I recall. ”

He had been frozen. It was interesting, how a sailor could freeze in an instant. A douse of icy water will do you in good, and Legendfaith could still feel the shivers up his spine.

His life has been a hurricane, and he was just living in the eye. Chaos danced around him like a rainstorm spun out of control, yet he stood firmly in the middle, a solid foundation for those seeking the calm.

Sometimes he would dip into the storm, though.

All the losses, they struck him like the hail. They came unceasingly, and if the piebald deputy admitted it to himself, he didn’t think they ever would. Maybe that’s just how it was, and how to always would be. Let the boat rock, Legendfaith. Maybe one day you’ll go overboard.

“ And I see my family every month
I found a girl my parents love
She'll come and stay the night
And I think I might have it all. ”

Legendfaith padded along the edge of the woodlands, a trapeze walker on silent paws. Never making a sound, just the calm brush of the wind against his ears. Calm now. No sign of a storm, not even a cloud. He breathed out gently, the steadfast soldier.

He had so much to be thankful for. His father, all of his younger siblings, Mea, Vee, Dee, Itsy, and his daughters.. oh, what a blessing they all were to him. His friends, they were family too, right? Blood runs thicker than water.

And Snufflesprig! The mere thought sent him into spirals of joy. Legendfaith wished he could explain to the beige-furred medicine cat how much he meant to him, how much he /cared/.

Careful through the edge of the forest now, you don’t want to wake the kraken. Shaky breath, in and out. Don’t lose your grip.

“ And I thank God every day
For the girl He sent my way
But I know the things He gives me
He can take away. ”

Legendfaith had only heard the stories, really. Tall tales of the Pristine Jungle, the one that of course, held adventure and danger in one mighty swoop, but also the legendary crystal cave, the one that held treasures that sparkled in the sunlight and gleamed at night. The piebald tomcat was determined to discover if this was true.

To taste the little bit of adventure he could have.

The path became twisted, filled with jagged rocks and thorns as sharp as teeth. The chocolate-and-cream deputy carefully avoided them, determination driving him forward like a storm tracking land.

He was going to find this treasure, and show his daughters the wonders the world had to offer. Of course, WindClan has glorious blue crystals, yet they were all the same. Generations had witnessed it. And he was going to find something new, something for /them/.

“ And I hold you every night
And that's a feeling I wanna get used to
But there's no man as terrified
As the man who stands to lose you.. ”

Pain skyrocketed up his paw, creeping up his spine like fire on a tripwire. Legendfaith hissed, drawing his paw out of the hidden trap of thorns, yet it was too late- little red droplets were visible on his weather-worn pads, and it /stung/- like a bee.

Hopping around like a lost rabbit, he tried to ignore the agony seeping from where he had stepped on the thorns, because his paw currently felt as though it had been bitten by an adder. He knew the pain would pass, but it seemed like a difficult objective as of now.

The piebald tomcat considered turning around, calling it on the mission and seeing a medicine cat, getting his wounds tended to. An adventure could wait for sensibility, right?

If only today was a sensible day.

“ Oh, I hope I don't lose you
Mm.. ”

Legendfaith grit his teeth, tucking his paw closer into his chest and spreading his other paws out slightly further, so that he was more balanced. Veering away from any other prickly obstacles, the piebald panted, drawing in a sharp breath as another shudder of pain went through him. It'll be over soon, he half-begged. It'll all be over soon.

Carry onwards, that's the motto of the steadfast soldier. No matter what life happens to throw at you, there's always someone to serve, someone to protect. It's time to move on, hurry along the sunlit path. Straight on till morning, whatever you need to do to convince yourself.

Because great StarClan, this was hard.

Legendfaith almost had to laugh, because here he was struggling when Chorts and Dizzy had to go about like this in their daily lives. Happy as can be! He didn't know how they did it, they had something special inside alright. The trail was treacherous before, yet now it was even more so, as he ventured deeper into the heart of the woods.

“ Please stay
I want you, I need you, oh God, ”

Hobbling onwards for what seemed like ages, the WindClan deputy finally seems to have made progress. With a victorious light dancing in his sapphire and emerald eyes, our protagonist hurries into the deepest darkness of the cave, relieved to have made it this far.

What glories he could see! Colors, every color imaginable, shining like a tangible rainbow above him. Legendfaith felt a laugh bubbling inside him, though he swallowed it, wondering if any creatures lurked within these walls.

If he knew anything, deputy knew caves. How to navigate them, how to live and breathe them. The gems so far upwards seemed unattainable, so he settled for a small.. opal, it seemed to be? Nestled in the corner.

Oh the joys that filled him.

“ Don't.. take…
These beautiful things that I've got. ”

It was… curious. Legendfaith wasn't sure why he felt this way. It was just a simple gemstone, it held no signs of precious life and it had no mortal meaning to him. So why did the regal feline feel so triumphant upon its discovery?

It had taken him trial and tribulation to get it.. pain and loss, momentary loss of his front paw. Also fear and joy, fear of the unknown yet also a certain excitement that surrounded it. And the triumph, the victory he felt now that he had obtained it. And now, he would share it with his family, for now and forever.

Then it clicked.

This.. this little opal, this precious gem. It had no life itself yet the /meaning/, the meaning behind it was so much more. It was like Legendfaith was reaching a sudden spiritual understanding, of how one must suffer before reaching the treasure. Wasn't that what he'd spent his whole life doing? One curveball after the other, it seemed to never end, and all for what? He understood now. The pieces were falling into place.

“ Please.. stay..
I want you, I need you, oh God
Don't.. take..
These beautiful things that I've got! ”

Legendfaith's heart pounded in his chest as he stumbled backwards, the opal momentarily slipping from his grasp and clattering across the floor. Slipping, sliding, it was out of his paws. The deputy scrabbled to pick the gemstone up, cradling it gently.

Life slips sometimes, things fall. Without rain there cannot be flowers, without mistakes there cannot be success. When it does fall, you just have to pick the pieces back up and put them together. Bind them with hope and faith and love, string them with the sun.

He didn't know why it took him so long to realize, the piebald-furred tom. 43 moons of life, and only now did he understand. You can't control every aspect of life, only ride the waves, let them rock you back and forth until the stillwaters come.

He didn't want to lose it. Them. Whatever it was.

“ I found my mind, I'm feelin' sane
It's been a while, but I'm finding my faith. ”

Legendfaith. He had been named after the very thing he was crowned for. His faith, his belief that even in darkness the light will always be there, waiting for the perfect moment to shine. How had he.. the feline bit his lip. How had he strayed so far from those younger days?

He picked up the opal. Gently this time, he didn't want to drop it again. It was a beautiful thing, shimmering softly in the dull light that seeped through the cave. Heh. Even in near darkness, still shining onwards.

The chocolate-and-cream deputy rose to his feet, a new sense of vigor feeling him. He couldn't forget why he had journeyed here! His family, they needed him. No more hiding and waiting for something that wasn't there, longing for the “free days” where he could find all the answers at once.

It was time to head home.

“ If everything's good and it's great
Why do I sit and wait ‘til it’s gone? ”

Legendfaith burst out of the crystalline cave, bading a silent goodbye to the place that lit a spark within him, a spark of knowledge and of wonder. His precious treasure grasped firmly between his teeth, he fastened it onto his necklace, the one that sang of loss, and our protagonist raced through the Pristine Jungle.

It was almost amusing, how swiftly he made his way through the woodlands. Almost as if he were made of air, as if wings had sprouted about his paws. There was the occasional throb of pain on his injured one, yet he had been right, it had passed. Even if the hurt was there sometimes, it always passed.

His daughters, they were apprentices now. Time had flown in the blink of an eye, and a guilt stirred within Legendfaith. He had been busy with deputy duties, so much so that he hadn't fully appreciated the greatness of what he had. Where had he been, sitting and waiting? And what if before he knew it, these memories would be gone?

A desire to return home filled within him even more, like a songbird trapped in rain. Waiting until it could serenade again.

“ Oh, I'll tell ya, I know I've got enough
I've got peace and I've got love
But I'm up at night thinkin'
I just might lose it all…! ”

Birds flew from the treetops as Legendfaith soared across the moonlit dunes, his precious gemstone still grasped firmly by him. He wouldn't be letting go, not anytime soon. He couldn't, he wouldn't, not until he knew everyone he loved was safe, walking the starlit skies.

Sand flew out from under his steadily moving paws, sapphire and emerald eyes a flash of determination. He was going home to them, for them, no more adventures where he wished he could go beyond. WindClan was his forever, his rock.

Tears stung the piebald tomcat's multicolored eyes as he imagined himself alone, without any of those he loved closest to him. The warm embrace of his father, the playful smiles of Vee and Mea, late nights with his daughters filled with cuddles and tall tales that everyone knew weren't true, yet nobody cared. How could he ever live a life without that?

Life would be full of ups and downs, but Legendfaith knew that he would ride the waves, even if his deck got soaked and all hope seemed lost, he wouldn't lose sight of what mattered most. He couldn't lose them…..!!

“Please, stay!” The words seemed to explode out of Legendfaith, echoing across the vast oasis and filling the silence with his pleas, his cries to anyone that would listen for things to always be this way.

“I want you, I need you,
oh God
Don't, take,” Legendfaith burst through the rolling dunes, the hills of sand that he knew like the back of his paw. His bejeweled eyes caught sight of the stars above, and he silently willed them to listen to him. He couldn't lose anymore, not now. Life and death would always rule, he knew that, but just for now. Just let him walk in the eye of the storm. Time was ruler, life and death heeded, yet StarClan was the balance.

“These beautiful things that I've got!” He tumbled slightly, losing his footing and scrambling down the sound. It took him a moment, but he found his pace again, yet when he stumbled he had curled protectively around the opal. Instinct knew that it was precious, and he was going to bring it home. Home to all the things he had, the things he would go on to appreciate for ceaseless moons to come.

“ Oh-oh-oh-oh
Ooh.. ”

The sun was a murky daydream along the horizon, hazy and gone unnoticed by those with a less sharp eyesight as the steadfast soldier of WindClan. Slower now, he crossed the last dune, stood in front of the hollowed-out tree that marked the entrance to the place where everything belonged, everything that mattered to him.

Well, truth be told, there was a certain someone that lurked beyond the ThunderClan treeline, and how Legendfaith wished he could hold him in his arms this morn, as the sun was but a memory above them. Duty calls, yet life would always be all the more sweeter, like the honeysuckles hidden in a thorn bush.

“ Please, stay
I want you, I need you, oh God
I, need.. ”

Legendfaith could feel the side effects of his expidition now, the tiredness that tugged at his paws and swept at him like a seasick sailor. His nest called to him, yet there was one more thing he had to do.

Blue crystals greeted him, as familiar and as comforting as ever. He had passed through these walls many times, and he hoped that he would until the end of his days.

“Honeybeepaw! Hummingbirdpaw!” His girls. Legendfaith would show them the treasure they found, and though they wouldn't understand the meaning yet, not like he had come to, they would. He'd show them the wonders of this life.

Bellflowercharm, Otterbounce, Voyagesail, Meanderdash, Ditzypity, Itsy-bistyspider, Reindeersand, Magnoliaplight, Metanoiasweven, Fikafrolic, Strongstar, Bopromp, Loppop, Waltzwish, Rattlesnaketattle, Sirenoath, Harpyveil, Kelpiepaw, Bee-balmkit, Wildflowerkit, Chortletortoise, Cherishsonder, Chirrup and Charm, Soleilvirdity, Momentouschaos, Mistletoeflake, Rosemarycrown, Dizzy-lilycherish, his precious daughters, Honeybeepaw and Hummingbirdpaw. Snufflesprig, his beloved. All of these cats and more, all those he's ever cared about. They were his treasure, the reason he could never bear to exist anywhere but here.

“ These beautiful things that I've got. ”

♣ end ♣


so basically leggy now is out of his anxious everything-must-be perfect deputy phase and is going to enjoy the beautiful things that he's got :3 it's kinda cringe but i like it. if the formatting is a bit weird that's because it was originally in a project uhhh yeah !! this was written pretty late so apologies for any grammar errors. song / lyrics by benson boone !!!