[xvinn]

kotik (he/him) | loner

How cats didn't just spend their entire days sprawled out across the rocks, soaking in the warm sun of greenleaf was beyond Kotik's thoughts. He could feel himself practically drifting in and out of sleep, closing his eyes every now and so, his ears flickering as the wind passed through his fur. He knew it probably wouldn't be wise to do more than just take a simple cat nap here, but he couldn't help but yawn, flipping over onto his back and curling about in ways that made it seem like the tom's bones were made of liquid, or maybe didn't exist at all.

Warm days like this weren't common in his old home - if anything, Kotik was used to the coldest of cold days. Though he was fortunate enough to be born in warmer weather, he had lived there long enough to see the cold season pass through. The loner could remember a day when he was likely around seven moons old when the snow came down so hard, it was taller than him. Trying to get anywhere or see anything was nearly impossible, and it was best for most of the cats on the streets to simple find a place to hunker down for a bit and wait for the weather to pass and get warm once again. He'd heard tales from cats back home who spoke of long periods of time when it seemed like the snow would never go away, and ghost stories about the things they'd have to resort to.

Just the thought made Kotik shiver, but he adjusted the way he was laying down to allow the sun to splash onto a different part of him, stretching his front legs high over his head and once more giving a great big yawn. A purr rumbled in his throat, wishing he could stay here forever, letting the sun warm his flank, feeling the warmth of a full belly, and not having a care in the world. He wished his mother and sister could be here, feeling the warmth - but he knew his mother was back in his old home, and his sister? Well, he had no idea where she might be, and he was determined that he would one day find her and reunite once more. But for now ... well, that was future Kotik's problem to solve.

For now, he would just continue to soak in the sun and relax, letting all his cares roll off his shoulders.

Abyss / tigerstride ● 423 words

[Abyss]

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Natural instinct was something that nearly no creature could ever resist, when it came down to it. Animals of prey had the instincts of survival, of speed, or perhaps survival of the fittest. Where prey, in most cases, had the first instinct to run, predators were the opposite. They stalked, they chased, they pounced, they watched.

A majority of times, Tigerstride tended to avoid going into full predator mode. Maybe that was something she made up, but in her head that was what she called it. Those times when she completely forgot about her surroundings, about her home, about her family, about the land around her. In those moments, it was only her, and her target. She only ever allowed this “mode” to set in when she was by herself. She couldn’t exactly do that when she was with others, since you always had to know where your companions were and what moves they were making. But alone? It was an art she had practically mastered.

Her stance was low to the ground, muscular shoulders and legs pushing at her fur and rising above her nest. Her legs bent, lowering her further into the tall grasses of the fields where her orange and black-striped coat nearly blended in. Her tail hovered still behind her and her ears trained forward, listening, following. And her eyes, normally wide open and round, narrowed with thin inky pupils, focusing in like a magnifying glass on her prize.

A rabbit. A younger one with a plump stomach and dull chestnut fur. Those black beady eyes hadn’t seen her yet; it was far too focused on the clover at its feet. Thankfully the wind was blowing sideways rather than straight ahead or back, so it had not caught her scent either. Her paws were slow in their movements, only the quietest shuffle of grass squished beneath her feet, barely loud enough even for her to hear.

The Sun Stones were just ahead, and the only places for the rabbit to go were to either side, or straight forward right into her claws. The closer she got, the thinner her pupils grew, her whiskers twitching. She got within leaping distance when her paws stopped, the rabbit not much more than a fox-length away from her. Clearly this rabbit really was young. An adult rabbit surely would have noticed by now and took off. But she was lucky for this.

She slowly bent her legs further, preparing herself to launch forward. And then there was a noise. It was like a loud groan, or maybe just a deep meow? The rabbit’s head shot up and its ears rotated for a split second towards the large stones behind it. In the same second, it leaped. Not to the left. Not to the right. And not towards the stones.

Her hunting mode only faltering for a moment in confusion, she too leaped forward, meeting the rabbit half-way through its jump. It first hit her chest with a squeal, one of her legs knocking the wind out of it as it fell to the ground. She clamped her jaws down on it quickly, never one to let prey suffer or be in pain. If she was going to kill it anyway, she would never be sadistic enough to just let it lay there, alive but hurt.

She let it go, taking a deep breath as she peered down at its now lifeless body. Had her so-called “predator mode” been fully accurate, she would have began eating the rabbit then and there. But she was not that invested. Instead, her pupils began to return to their regular roundness and her head lifted, gaze finding the stones. It was only in that moment that she noticed something was off, something she definitely did not notice before. She stalked forward, less of a hunting stalk and more one of curiosity.

As she reached the stones, her body low, she popped her head up over the edge of the stone, seeing another cat less than a leap away. She blinked a few times, eyes wide in surprise. She didn’t recognize this cat, or their scent that she only began to pick up now that she was so close. They couldn’t have been from Galeclan, or she would have known them. And they couldn’t be from Gorgeclan or Mistclan, unless they were somehow masterfully good at hiding their scent. A loner?

“Uhhhh……..hi?”

737 | xvinn | Excited for these two!!

[xvinn]

kotik (he/him) | loner

At first, Kotik's body seemed to practically launch him onto his stomach after relaxing comfortably on his back in the sun for quite some time. The fur along his spine prickled and his tail began to fluff out at the sound of another voice nearby. He had to admit that he hadn't been paying attention to his surroundings at all, so when it seemed that he heard someone speak directly to him, it seemed to startle him.

The loner, still laying down but much more alert than he had been only a moment's notice before, took a quick second to study the cat in front of him. The rather pretty young tabby in front of him didn't seem hostile whatsoever - in fact, her body language seemed to show signs of curiosity. Sensing that there was no combative tone or structure to the she-cat standing in front of him, Kotik sat up and began to groom his tail, somewhat embaressed as he tried to calm the fur along it. "I am sorry, you startle me," he said, speaking candidly. The tom's voice carried a strange accent to it, making it evident that he was not from around here. His accent was bold and strong, some of the sounds sharper and heavier, but his tone was rather sing-songy and light-hearted, as though he were greeting a old friend he hadn't seen in many full moons.

His yellow gaze passed the cat in front of him a moment, spotting a dead rabbit not too far behind her. "I hope I am not inturrupting your hunting," he said, motioning with his muzzle over to where she had left her kill behind. Kotik realized that his carelessness of laying out on the stones meant that it was possible some nearby little critters might want to avoid the area. After all, why stick around in a spot where a predator was lounging in fear of being caught and killed? It seemed as though it didn't stop this she-cat though, who did perfectly well in her capture, as far as he could tell. Still, he felt a little embaressed as he turned his gaze back towards the tabby.

Abyss / tigerstride ● 376 words

[Abyss]

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Even though it seemed for a moment that she had startled this loner, the gesture was given right back, for his sudden jump of action startled her in return. She flinched back, nearly tripping backwards but catching herself. For a few moments, there was silence, as the tom seemed to be examining her and she did the same.

As far as she could tell this was a tom, covered in white fur with large brown patches. Just from the immediate impression, he didn’t seem aggressive, he hadn’t freaked out or swung a paw at her or anything. Yet, anyway. If anything he seemed pretty relaxed, which she found almost strange seeing as he was currently lounging on a part of the moors that Galeclan owned. Did he just…not know? That he was on someone’s territory? Or did he just not care? She hadn’t really encountered too many loners in her life yet, so maybe that was a normal thing?

“Oh, uh…I’m…sorry for startling you.” She apologized, but her voice took on an unsure and hesitant tone. The way that he spoke caught her attention immediately, and she blinked a few times. He had a very strange twang to his voice, if you would call it that, a sort of voice she had never heard before. There was something different about him that she couldn’t quite pinpoint, but she didn’t want to make any assumptions. He seemed very…friendly, though. At least her first encounter with a loner was one who wasn’t hostile.

He spoke again, and even the second time she couldn’t help but wonder where he was from, or where he learned to speak the way that he did. It took her a second to fully register that he had motioned behind her, her head turning to peer back at the motionless rabbit that was a hop or two away. For just a moment she wondered why the rabbit that even been here when there was clearly a cat here, unless it just never saw him. She hadn’t seen him either, or caught his scent; maybe the wind was going in the wrong direction.

“I mean…not really. That’s the…only rabbit I’ve seen so far.” Pale blue eyes turned back to the loner, watching him for a moment. A part of her was intrigued more than she could describe. A loner with a strange voice that she had never met before. Drawn to the unknown, whoever this cat was resembled a beacon of curiosity for her. But, at the same time, she did not know him. He was a stranger. Tiger always felt the most comfortable around her own family, but with those she didn’t know? She wasn’t sure how to go about this without talking the ear off of a cat she didn’t know how to interact with.

“Um…your…voice…its…odd…I’m guessing you aren’t from around here?”

475 | xvinn | Notes

[xvinn]

kotik (he/him) | loner

The tom blinked almost sympathetically at the she-cat when she mentioned only seeing one rabbit thus far. The weather was rather warm, so the idea that the prey was not hugely abundant seemed odd, and he almost felt guilty knowing that he had recently eaten when perhaps there wasn't as much prey to go around as he'd thought. Perhaps this she-cat was simply not looking in the right spots, though! Or, perhaps she had only just started her hunt moments before, so seeing just one rabbit wasn't odd. He certainly hoped that was one of the reasons, and not that this valley, that he believed to be full of prey, was perhaps running low. Though he was new to this beautiful place, one of the things he'd fallen in love with was the fact that there was so much more prey that he'd ever seen.

Kotik got to his paws and stretched himself out from his nap in the sun. As he stretched out his back and each of his legs, he gave a mighty yawn and finished it off with a shake of his fur. "Well, perhaps I can help with your hunt?" he offered with a slow blink of yellow eyes, as though offering an olive branch to show that he had no intention of harm.

He jumped down from his place up on the warm rocks, already missing how they felt on his fur. But, at the same time, Kotik had always grown up in a world where cats helped each other. Though he was not yet aware about the specific worlds of the Clans and the borders, he knew that cats were living in this valley. When he was young, cats would help and hunt for one another, regardless of who they were. If someone was hungry and you had food, why would you not share it? Of course, there were also no borders or specific groups, there were no territories beyond just general areas where certain cats were more likely to be found, but there were no strict rules surrounding those areas. A place where a cat lived may have been his home, but it was not his property that belonged solely to him and him alone. Others could always come and go as they pleased.

As white paws began to pad ahead, he raised his maw and tried to take in the scents around him. Of course, now there was the overwhelming scent of the she-cat near to him, as well as the rabbit. Then, of course, the tom remembered that a question had been asked of him. He turned to the lovely tabby, his whiskers twitching with delight, "You are correct! I was born far away, place I believe is lifetime walk away. Too far for me to return, so now, everywhere is home."

In reality, Kotik's heart often ached for his old home on the streets. He had tried his best to find a new place to call home, and enjoyed the freedom of moving across the lands with no true roots wherever he was, but there was a comfort when he was young of returning to the alleyways where he could scent his mother and sister. There was an empty void within him when he remembered being surrounded by familiar smells and comforting fur pressed against him in the coldest of seasons, when the snow climbed higher than a cat could jump. He tried to open his heart now to any who he crossed paths with, to give that same sense of familial love that he once openly gave to every cat on the streets of his old home. Even cats he just met. Even cats who startled him in the middle of a nap in the warm sun who were hunting rabbits. Especially those cats.

Abyss/ tigerstride ● 635 words