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Post by Fawn on Nov 14, 2017 22:55:00 GMT -5
Cherrypool 86 Moons Tribe Kit-Mother Welcome to my dark side,
The adjustment period had been long. In a way, it was still going. The albino queen had been forced to adapt to customs that made very little sense to her; what was the purpose of 'sharing prey' that way? And the fact that there were no individual dens (except for Skyteller's den), but one large den which housed the entire Tribe, had been an irksome pill to swallow.
When the world had a habit of staring at you, whispering and ridiculing, privacy and seclusion were incredibly important to her. So Cherrypool chose the darkest corner of the cave, and kept her nest comprised of moss and feathers, right against a wall to mimic some semblance of privacy. The other queens--kit-mothers, as they were called-- did not approach her.
Partly because she was a new, unfamiliar face, and partly because her red eyes would always be unsettling to most. Cherrypool did not know what to expect when she first arrived, her paws aching from the long journey, Leopardkit held firmly in her jaws. Their leader had been understanding, and for once Cherrypool's age had worked in her favor. At over 80 moons, she was slowly approaching the rank of elder.
Part of her rebelled against this new change, but the larger part of Cherrypool - the one that knew all about her propensity for violence, and the close encounters with death throughout her life - was grudgingly grateful to have lived this long. Leopardkit dreamed in the nest beside her, and the alabaster queen laid a tail protectively over his flank, his dark spots and markings beginning to come in now that he was on his 3rd moon of life.
Leaving LightningClan had been the right choice.
After the loss of Goldenflower, and then Sunblaze, Cherrypool had nothing to her name. Nothing except for Leopardkit; she had cut ties, as coldly and efficiently as a warrior like her could, with Whiteshade. There would come a day when her brother tracked her to the mountains, gently chiding her for taking his nephew away from him. But that day was not yet here, and Cherrypool was able to find a small measure of peace as she groomed herself. The faint echo of birdsong near the mouth of the cave told her it was morning.
Perhaps, if Leopardkit promised to stay by Frostfire's side, she would hunt.
It's gonna be a long night |
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Post by Taxx on Nov 15, 2017 22:47:42 GMT -5
The steady trickle of Clan cats had begun as soon as word had got out that the Tribe had settled in the mountains. They were all shapes, sizes, colors, personalities- and they all had a like background of skills that involved hunting and fighting, if in different settings. Each one had been welcomed, named either a prey-hunter or a cave-guard, and taught the ways of the Tribe. Of their way of hunting, of their different faith in their ancestors, of the difference in their daily habits. At least they had all been willing to learn. All had come of their own accord, and any shortness would have done nothing but irritate Rumble. He watched over the sturdy ones who had joined the guards' ranks, taught them as he would a to-be, encouraged and guided, accepting the newness of the life they'd chosen but making it clear there would be no coddling. They would learn and make themselves useful; any shirking of duties could result in injury or death of a Tribemate, and they could not afford that. As of yet, none of them had been taking advantage of the Tribe's hospitality, for which Rumble was grateful. They were getting by just fine, though the true test lay ahead. Maybe they ought to start lying in prey- freezing meat made it last longer, they had learned, and it might just save lives when hunting prey got much harder. He'd mention that to Skyteller today, better to start before prey got scarce. A bird chirped; Rumble's ear flicked at the noise and he blinked, suddenly aware he was awake and not sure if he had been- or if those thoughts had been part of his exhausted sleep. He could have slept more- but there were things to do. Pushing himself to his paws, the big tom shook out his fur and yawned hugely. A quick stop for a drink to clear his head and then he padded over to the small pile of caught-prey. A rabbit lay at the top, its fur tipped in drops of water from the night's frost that had melted by now. Picking it up, the big cave-guard glanced around, his gaze pausing at the glimmer of white fur in the back of the cave. Cherry. She'd come with two others, and her kit. But, where the others had taken on more active roles, the kit-mother had spent most of her time in the cave, taking care of her kit. She had not mingled willingly, and there was some talk about her; Rumble could not have denied the shudder that had passed through him at the first sight of her dark red eyes. But, though she kept to herself, she had not done anything questionable... she was a cat, taking care of her kit, and there was nothing odd about that. Carrying the rabbit over to where the snowy-white kit-mother lay with her dozing son, Rumble flicked his tail in greeting. Settling the caught-prey at her side, Rumble sat as he spoke. "Good morning, Cherry. How are you and Leopard doing this morning? If you're hungry, perhaps you and I- and Leopard- could share prey?" Fawn |
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Co-Captain
INVENTORY
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Post by Phoenix on Nov 16, 2017 22:07:38 GMT -5
Leopard Who Walks in Shadow Transitioning to hard life was not nearly as hard for the young kit as it was for his mother; after all, where she had to adjust to an entirely new lifestyle, he still had everything to learn about the big, wide world around him. To him, every experience was brand new and fascinating, and really, in the end, what importance did his location hold when he could always play, eat, and sleep wherever he went? He barely remembered the darkness of the nursery down in the valley, and memories of their trek into the mountains consisted more of sensations, suggestions of a long journey, rather than clear memories of the expedition itself. According to his mother, they had only spent half a moon here, but already, the Tribe was starting to feel like home.
It was easy to move when home was a cat and not a place.
More than anything, the ghostly queen with crimson eyes feared that her only kit would take after his uncle, but for once, she need not worry about her brother’s influence. Even before he first opened bright blue eyes to look blearily up at her, he had only had room in his heart for one cat: his mother. From the moment of his birth in the lonely tunnel under the moorland, he had never spent more than a few seconds away from her side, and the first few moons of his life passed by, memories cloaked in her comforting scent and surrounded by her warmth. Whether she responded to Cherrypool or Cherry and whether she called him Leopardkit or Leopard – none of it mattered so long as she was there, and if he had any say, she would always be there. She was his mother, and he was her son; in a world where they had no one else, they had each other.
His was a gradual awakening. Slowly, sounds – loud compared to the silence of moments before – broke through the haze of growing awareness, and whining quietly in protest, he shifted under the familiar weight of her tail until a word caught his attention and jolted him fully awake: Cherry. Immediately a piercing gaze found the large ginger tom sitting beside them, assessing him quietly. His presence prompted the kit to silently climb to his paws and inch closer to his mother, settling down again only when his back was pressed firmly to her side. A quiet purr rumbled through his chest as broke eye contact with the newcomer for the first time, by rotating his head around to touch his nose to his mother’s chest in greeting. Despite his lack of socialization early on, the young feline never had trouble remembering new faces and names, and Leopardkit recognized the other tom even if he was not quite sure what to make of him yet.
Don't you tell me what you think that I could be.
I'm the one at the sail. I'm the master of my sea. |
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Post by Fawn on Nov 18, 2017 20:59:51 GMT -5
Cherrypool 86 Moons Tribe Kit-Mother Welcome to my dark side, Restlessness morphed into wariness, as an enormous ginger tom made it clear in his unwavering step that he was padding towards her. A rabbit, freshly caught (she could scent the blood) dangled from the mountainous tom's jaws, and Cherrypool's eyes narrowed with caution, her body utterly still. That the ginger tom was cordial, if not friendly did not dissuade her suspicions right away; her attention snapped to her son as Leopardkit stirred, and her heart grew softer—thawing—when their eyes met.
Her entire world revolved around this kit, since the moment of his birth. Cherrypool had learned much about his personality in the past few moons; though he still had room to grow, both physically and mentally, Cherrypool felt certain in her assessment that he would remain thoughtful and quiet throughout his life. Leopardkit pressed against her, and Cherrypool's tail retucked against his tiny fuzzy body, keeping him close.
"That would be fine," the words were curt, but not hostile. This cat, she quickly realized, was attempting to get to know her and her son. Cherrypool had long ago abandoned hope of acceptance from anyone - but it was important, profoundly important, that her son avoid the struggles and ostracizing she had gone through in every step of life. "You are a cave-guard," said Cherrypool, acknowledging his tremendous size. "What is your name?" Politesse was an aspect of society Cherrypool had never paid much attention to. Times had changed. She had changed, and if she accomplished nothing else in this life, then let it be establishing a safe, secure home for Leopardkit where Whiteshade could not reach. It's gonna be a long night |
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Post by Taxx on Dec 6, 2017 9:40:27 GMT -5
RUMBLE OF DISTANT THUNDER Rumble's gaze on Cherry wavered only when the kit at her side stirred; almost as pale as his mother, his pelt showed a pattern of spots of varied sizes, dark against the white base. He was young, and while Rumble wondered what had driven the kit-mother to make the journey with her son so fragile, he had not asked. If it had been a matter she'd deemed necessary to share, then she would have done so already, and it was not his place to pry into a past he had had no part in.
Holding the kit's eyes, Rumble dipped his head in silent greeting, watching as Leopard edged closer to Cherry, tucked securely against the she-cat's belly with her tail draped over him as he settled down once more. “Good morning to you, Leopard,” he added in greeting to the kit, settling himself to his belly so that he didn’t tower over both kit and mother. The young tom said nothing, and Rumble’s eyes returned to Cherry as she spoke again.
A nod to give silent agreement to her statement- he had no idea if cats of the Clans lumped cats of different sizes into a certain duty, as the Tribe did, but perhaps on a more subtle scale: lighter framed cats for hunting, while stronger, heavier cats served as fighters, but here, there was a clear line and there was no crossing. Prey-hunters did not fight; their skills were used to subdue prey, not cats; the Clans trained their members to do both.
“My name is Rumble of Distant Thunder,” he replied, “But you may know me as Rumble.” Bending his head to the rabbit, the tom began to pluck fur from it, clearing a spot to begin, and then pushed the creature toward the she-cat, allowing her the first bite. “May I ask how you’re settling in?” For her companions, learning how to hunt the Tribe’s way, there was a far bigger difference; for Cherry, tending to her kit, the only change would be her surroundings and the cats she shared the cave with. Still, he had noticed she seemed to be keeping herself and her kit apart from the other kit-mothers and kits, and he wasn’t sure if it was because of the new faces, or if this was just how she was. Possibly the latter, with her appearance- had those of her Clan been just as unnerved by that blood-red gaze?
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made by redox of gs |
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