Juncostar
shadowclan leader
(he/him)
There was a heavy shadow hanging over Juncostar in recent weeks. It had crept on slowly, beginning at about the time that Waspsight had told him that something had followed him home. The grey tom had written it off as the stress of worrying what those words meant. The lapses in his memory, the claims that he'd been too rough on apprentices-- it all was just because of stress... right? It had to be. There was no other logical explanation for it. And so when the ShadowClan leader laid down in his nest for a nap, he was relieved that sleep came quickly. Maybe he could sleep off the pounding headache that had been growing all day.
As he awoke not long after, however, there was a darkness in his eyes. He looked almost angry, irritable. The headache was still there, and it felt like the walls of his den were closing in on him. He stumbled out into the clearing, blinking against the harsh sunlight as though it'd help him see through it. The sun had dropped in the sky, and it was nearing bedtime for most cats in the camp. They were gathered in the clearing, sharing tongues and prey, and Juncostar was almost deafened by the soft meows coming from them. He curled in a ball just outside the entrance of his den, covering his ears with his paws and closing his eyes tightly to try and drown out the various sounds and sights that were unbearable in that moment.
A while passed, or maybe it had just been a moment, but Juncostar could feel his anger rising. His tail began to fluff, his paws pressing more firmly into his skull. Why didn't he just go to his den? A nap might help. Or maybe he should see Waspsight; he could've been coming down with something, and the little tom might have some kind of herb that would help. The camp was spinning. He didn't know if he could manage to walk all the way to the medicine cat den without collapsing. And so he accepted that he was stuck, until some-cat came along and took pity on him and fetched the medicine cat themselves.
Juncostar
shadowclan leader
(he/him)
Juncostar's lips curled into a snarl as Hareflight backed away, his ears pressing to his skull as he watched her cower from him. He was desperately fighting against whatever this thing was, trying in vain to stop himself from saying these awful things to this poor she-cat. He knew she had only wanted to help. Why was he talking to her like this? Why couldn't he stop? The pounding in his head grew, and he was painfully aware of the setting sun's dim light as it still blinded him.
"D-d-do you think you could speak normally? We all know this is just some stupid act you're putting on; you can't expect us to believe you're actually this pathetic," he sneered, "Or maybe I've just overestimated you." Rolling his eyes, he lowered his chin to his paws, tail still lashing behind him. He scoffed as she offered to get Waspsight, shaking his head. "What help could he be? After all, you're the one who trained him. He's probably just as useless a medicine cat as you always were," he jeered.
Juncostar watched himself, feeling horror settle into his belly. He couldn't understand why any of this was happening to him. He'd never think-- much less say-- any of these things. He held such great respect for both Hareflight and Waspsight; why was he suddenly tearing them down? He just wanted it to stop. This had to be some kind of awful nightmare. He could just wake up, and he'd still be in his nest... Right?
//bullying, targeting disability and insecurities
Juncostar
shadowclan leader
(he/him)
At the approach of Hareflight, Juncostar bristled. His vision was blurry as he slowly opened his eyes, turning to look in her direction. A darkness fell over them as he listened to her speak, and suddenly it was like he was watching himself from somewhere behind the two of them. He found he'd lost control of his mouth, and his paws, and everything, for that matter. Slowly, he became unaware of himself, and then he began to speak. His voice was lower than his usual sing-song, upbeat cadence. His face was set in a cold, unfeeling expression, and he seemed almost like he really didn't care how what he was about to say would affect his dear friend.
"Y-y-you think?" he mocked slowly, pronouncing each syllable so clearly it was obvious he meant the words to hit the she-cat where it hurt. His lip curled in a sneer as he laid there glaring at her. "I wonder what gave it away," he muttered, rolling his eyes. "Always a genius, aren't you? And to think we let you be a medicine cat all that time." A shudder rolled down his spine, his paws prickling. Somewhere inside himself, he was listening to the words he spoke. Even the pattern of speech, the structure of his sentences, was so unlike him. He didn't understand where these words were coming from. He fought desperately against whatever it was that had come over him, but he couldn't manage to break free. He was forced to watch himself speak so cruelly to Hareflight, silently screaming. He laid still, only his tail moving as it lashed behind him. "Couldn't you just make yourself useful for once, instead of nagging me?"
H A R E F L I G H T
Hareflight slid her way out of the nursery, pushing her paws out in front of her to stretch out her body. Crash, always ready to offer Hareflight a moment of respite when she needed it, was watching their kits while she grabbed something from the freshkill pile and a second to breathe. Or rather, this had been the plan until her bi-coloured eyes locked onto Juncostar, curled tightly into a ball outside his den.
She didn't even hesitate. No, of course she wasn't ShadowClan's resident medicine cat anymore. She had retired from that life. But she had the knowledge and the time to check in on Juncostar - as a friend, rather than a healer and if she thought he needed Waspsight then hopefully she would be able to convince him. Or she'd go to her former apprentice herself.
The quick pitter-patter of her small paws announced Hareflight's arrival and she slowed as she approached the bundle of a cat that lay before her. She stared on at him for a moment, swallowing a lump in her throat. This look was so unlike Junco and she found herself caught off guard for a moment. Hareflight had treated him for everything from a thorn in the paw to battle wounds and he always took it with a snide joke and a cocky grin. Something was seriously wrong if Juncostar looked like this.
"J-Junco..." She said softly, crouching down to the level he had put himself to. "What's wrong? Y-You're obviously hurting - d-do you want me to get Waspsight? Or I c-can see what I can do right here." She licked her lips nervously, her eyes rapidly scanning him to look for any sort of physical wound or any sign that might tell her what was wrong. Hareflight couldn't describe it exactly, but seeing Juncostar so unlike himself made her fur prickle and in an attempt to bring back some of his lightheartedness, she raised an eyebrow at him. "I-I mean seriously, you look just a-a-awful. Please tell me what I can do." Hareflight settled herself down, her head tilting as she stared at him, brows furrowing tightly in worry,