Post by Amber on Sept 24, 2020 18:11:02 GMT -5
NIKO
you're always gonna fly away
just because you know you can
Leaf-fall Day 4: Dark gray clouds slowly settle in during the morning, a light rain falling later in the day.
The coal-striped tabby groaned as he rolled over. His nest was thin and it felt like there were at least a dozen stones stabbing into his flank. Slowly, the thin tom crawled from his nest. Weary muscles pulled him into a sit a pace away from his nest, where he began to groom himself. His stormy coat was dull and thinning in some places, but there was nothing he could do to help it. Life as a loner was far tougher than he’d ever imagined it would be. He felt more connected to his mother now than ever before. Keeping himself alive in the unforgiving wilderness was tough; he couldn’t imagine trying to do it with four kits as well. Maybe that’s why she had passed that night so many moons ago. She was tired. He didn’t fault her for leaving them, especially given the two wonderful souls who had found them and taken them in the next morning. Life with Daddy and Father was wonderful, and Niko missed the moons spent with them. Clan life was nice, and he would have stayed if Firestar had been more open to accepting him. But she wasn’t, and the only cats who had consistently fought for him had passed, so he had to make the decision to leave. It wasn’t exactly what he wanted, but it was the only choice he had. It was either lose himself, or leave.
Once his coat was sufficiently clean, Niko rose and crawled out of the small cavern he had called his den for the night. It was a thin gap between two boulders, surprisingly sheltered from the elements. If he were the type to stick around in one area, he might have made it into a home. However, his paws were restless, and he had to constantly move if he wanted to stave off the shadows that haunted him. So he moved, never staying in the same place more than a night, making small nests out of whatever materials he could find nearby, or sleeping in a small hollow he quickly dug out if there was nothing suitable. It wasn’t the best way to live, but as long as he moved enough in the day, exhaustion would take him quickly in the night. He stretched lightly as he exited his shelter, eyes glancing upward. Dark clouds were looming overhead, threatening a storm later. Pale blue eyes narrowed in irritation. Rain meant he would have to find camp early, before the storm, and he’d have to find something with cover. It was only the beginning of leaf-fall, but getting caught in the rain would be very detrimental to his health. He had learned a lot living in the mountains, and one of those lessons was to make sure to keep himself as healthy as possible. This life was hard, and being ill made it that much harder. With a quick shake, he bounded off, never once looking back at his little hollow.
He traveled somewhat aimlessly, not really having a set destination. In his travels, he periodically glanced up at the skies, trying to gauge how much time he had. The clouds were growing darker but were holding back. There was still time. A small breeze brought with it the scent of prey, and Niko immediately dropped into a crouch. He paused, almost completely frozen, as his pupils dilated and his ears and nose twitched into hyper-focus. Very faintly, he caught the sound of tiny paws scrabbling along the rocky ground. Movements light, Niko drifted toward the sounds. The scent of mouse reached his nose, and he crouched lower, muscles bunching in anticipation. A heartbeat later, the grey-furred prey animal peeked around a rock. He held his breath, stilling his paws, waiting. The mouse continued its search for food, completely oblivious to the predator watching intently. Niko waited until the mouse paused, digging through the pebbles and dirt, before launching his attack. He exploded forward, hindlegs pushing heavily against the ground to propel him to the mouse. Foreclaws outstretched, he landed squarely on the mouse, a surge of triumph rushing through him as he closed his jaws around the creature’s neck to deliver the killing blow. Knowing the value of food as a loner, Niko wasted no time and immediately dug in. It was a decent mouse, enough to satisfy him for the day. Meals themselves were rare, and large ones even more so. He’d gotten used to having a little bit here and there, and he learned to make do. So one moderately-sized mouse would definitely be enough to hold him over until the next time he would be able to eat.
Once the meal was done, he took a moment to bury the bones before moving on. The sky had stopped darkening, but that only meant that it was harder to gauge when the rain would fall. He would have to start looking for a suitable place to hole up for the night, or at least until the storm passed. As he continued wandering, he kept an eye out for a decent place to camp, resolved to not stop until he found somewhere safe.
He eventually came upon a small crevice underneath a small overhang and decided he would check it out. He circled the area a few times, scent-checking the area for danger. Sensing none, he moved toward the crevice. Upon investigation, he discovered that it opened up into a small cave just large enough for one or two cats. Being a small creature himself, it was plenty of room for him, so he made the decision to make camp there. Marking the location of the small cave in his mind, he headed out to search the surrounding area for materials to make a nest. He had seen a boulder not far away that had some moss clinging to the side, so he made his way there. Carefully, he clawed the moss away from the rock, rolling it into a ball. He carried it back into his cave and set it down. It wasn’t much, but he’d worked with less before. Niko decided to scrape out a small hollow in the ground, pulling away the surface dirt and stones to leave a smooth, shallow dip. He dragged the moss into the dip and began working to spread it out enough to fill the hollow.
As he worked, a bolt of thunder cracked across the sky, followed immediately by the heavens opening up and drenching the mountainside. Niko finished spreading his moss and looked out at the rain pouring down outside. He’d found his den just in time, and since he wasn’t planning on heading out in the downpour any time soon, he might as well get some rest. Two circles in his nest before lying down made sure everything was evenly distributed, and digging out a hollow ensured that there were no sharp rocks to stab him in the night. With a weary sigh, he curled in on himself and closed his eyes, letting the sounds of the rain outside lull him to sleep.
Pale blue eyes shot open in fear as a horrible scent pervaded his nostrils, followed swiftly by a fierce growl. Niko was on his paws immediately, fur bristling as he hissed out a snarl in reply. He reacted on instinct, swiping out quickly with unsheathed claws even before his eyes adjusted to the dark cavern. The rain was still pouring, but it was much in the evening than it had been when he’d fallen asleep. But the pressing matter wasn’t his interrupted rest, but the source of that. Blocking the entrance to his little cave was a fox. It was bristled and puffed up, and as Niko’s eyes adjusted, he realized that it was a small fox, probably still a juvenile. He guessed it was trying to escape the rain, as its fur was still struggling to slick to its body, despite the animal’s efforts to spike it high. Niko’s eyes flashed as the fox stepped closer. He hissed and lashed out, but the fox pressed forward. The loner side-stepped, pressing against the side of his little cave. He needed to make it to the entrance and get away, and there were only two ways to do that. Either chase the fox out completely, or let it get in and try to squeeze around it. Knowing that he was neither large nor strong, the first option wasn’t really an option at all, especially considering the fox’s lack of reaction to his striking paws. The fox continued to advance, and every step the fox took in, Niko took one closer to the entrance, trying to circle around him.
Once the fox had cleared the entrance completely, Niko had only a moment to make a move. He darted toward the entrance, but the fox decided to lunge at him as well. He yowled in pain as he felt teeth dig into his hind leg, and twisted his body to claw furiously at the russet predator’s face. After a few well-placed strikes to the eyes, the fox released him and Niko hurriedly limped to the cave entrance. Within seconds of exiting the den, his fur was drenched, and he heard the fox directly behind him. He spun around, wincing at the pain in his hind leg, and growled at the beast. He backed away as the fox advanced again. Gritting his teeth, he lunged forward, claws slashing again at the fox’s face. Blood splattered the muddy ground as they clashed, and Niko felt teeth and claws rake his shoulders. He managed to get several blows to sensitive areas of the fox’s face, focusing on the eyes mostly. Blood dripped into the fox’s eyes, momentarily blinding it, and it paused in its attack. Niko took this opportunity to turn tail and run, ignoring the pain of his injuries and just trying to escape. He needed to get away, and he needed to get away now, or he wouldn’t live to see another sunrise.
With his ears pinned back against his skull, the ran desperately down the mountainside. He didn’t dare take the chance to look back to see if the fox was following him. Niko only stopped when his legs gave out on him, sending him crashing down a small scree slope. He landed on his flank at the bottom, panting heavily and completely worn out. Rain battered his pelt but his ears were focused, and he listened for a long time before finally accepting that the fox wasn’t chasing him. He sighed heavily, allowing his body a few minutes of rest. As the adrenaline wore off, the pain intensified, and he knew he would have to check out his injuries. Slowly, he crawled to his paws and limped over to a boulder that had a bush growing next to it. He crawled under the branches of the bush, attempting to stave off at least a little of the rain, before looking down at himself.
There were shallow scratches on both of his shoulders. Thankfully, they weren’t deep and were bleeding slowly, but they needed a good cleaning. Warily, he looked down to where the fox had grabbed hold of his hind leg. The gashes there were deeper and blood was seeping out of those a bit faster. With a sigh, he began to lick the wounds on his shoulders, cleaning out the dirt and bits of gravel he had picked up on his slide down. He then moved to his thigh, carefully making sure the wounds there were clean as well. His pawpads were scraped and bloody, too, so he took a moment to clean them while he tried to plan his next course of action. There was a chance the wounds on his shoulders would heal on their own, but he knew the ones on his thigh were serious. They would need to be packed to stop the bleeding, but he didn’t have any cobwebs to do so. And then there was the risk of infection, but he didn’t have the knowledge of plants that medicine cats do.
Medicine cats.
Niko groaned. If he wanted to survive this, he would need help. He knew the Clans had the knowledge, but who would willingly offer up their services to a loner? A small voice prodded in the back of his brain, urging him to go home. It was the same force that seemed to guide his paws towards LightningClan’s borders every time he let himself wander without thought. He mentally warred with himself for a while over whether to seek help from LightningClan, but when he glanced down and saw the puddle of red-tinted mud beneath him, he knew he had no choice.
Return to LightningClan, or die.
The coal-striped tabby groaned as he rolled over. His nest was thin and it felt like there were at least a dozen stones stabbing into his flank. Slowly, the thin tom crawled from his nest. Weary muscles pulled him into a sit a pace away from his nest, where he began to groom himself. His stormy coat was dull and thinning in some places, but there was nothing he could do to help it. Life as a loner was far tougher than he’d ever imagined it would be. He felt more connected to his mother now than ever before. Keeping himself alive in the unforgiving wilderness was tough; he couldn’t imagine trying to do it with four kits as well. Maybe that’s why she had passed that night so many moons ago. She was tired. He didn’t fault her for leaving them, especially given the two wonderful souls who had found them and taken them in the next morning. Life with Daddy and Father was wonderful, and Niko missed the moons spent with them. Clan life was nice, and he would have stayed if Firestar had been more open to accepting him. But she wasn’t, and the only cats who had consistently fought for him had passed, so he had to make the decision to leave. It wasn’t exactly what he wanted, but it was the only choice he had. It was either lose himself, or leave.
Once his coat was sufficiently clean, Niko rose and crawled out of the small cavern he had called his den for the night. It was a thin gap between two boulders, surprisingly sheltered from the elements. If he were the type to stick around in one area, he might have made it into a home. However, his paws were restless, and he had to constantly move if he wanted to stave off the shadows that haunted him. So he moved, never staying in the same place more than a night, making small nests out of whatever materials he could find nearby, or sleeping in a small hollow he quickly dug out if there was nothing suitable. It wasn’t the best way to live, but as long as he moved enough in the day, exhaustion would take him quickly in the night. He stretched lightly as he exited his shelter, eyes glancing upward. Dark clouds were looming overhead, threatening a storm later. Pale blue eyes narrowed in irritation. Rain meant he would have to find camp early, before the storm, and he’d have to find something with cover. It was only the beginning of leaf-fall, but getting caught in the rain would be very detrimental to his health. He had learned a lot living in the mountains, and one of those lessons was to make sure to keep himself as healthy as possible. This life was hard, and being ill made it that much harder. With a quick shake, he bounded off, never once looking back at his little hollow.
He traveled somewhat aimlessly, not really having a set destination. In his travels, he periodically glanced up at the skies, trying to gauge how much time he had. The clouds were growing darker but were holding back. There was still time. A small breeze brought with it the scent of prey, and Niko immediately dropped into a crouch. He paused, almost completely frozen, as his pupils dilated and his ears and nose twitched into hyper-focus. Very faintly, he caught the sound of tiny paws scrabbling along the rocky ground. Movements light, Niko drifted toward the sounds. The scent of mouse reached his nose, and he crouched lower, muscles bunching in anticipation. A heartbeat later, the grey-furred prey animal peeked around a rock. He held his breath, stilling his paws, waiting. The mouse continued its search for food, completely oblivious to the predator watching intently. Niko waited until the mouse paused, digging through the pebbles and dirt, before launching his attack. He exploded forward, hindlegs pushing heavily against the ground to propel him to the mouse. Foreclaws outstretched, he landed squarely on the mouse, a surge of triumph rushing through him as he closed his jaws around the creature’s neck to deliver the killing blow. Knowing the value of food as a loner, Niko wasted no time and immediately dug in. It was a decent mouse, enough to satisfy him for the day. Meals themselves were rare, and large ones even more so. He’d gotten used to having a little bit here and there, and he learned to make do. So one moderately-sized mouse would definitely be enough to hold him over until the next time he would be able to eat.
Once the meal was done, he took a moment to bury the bones before moving on. The sky had stopped darkening, but that only meant that it was harder to gauge when the rain would fall. He would have to start looking for a suitable place to hole up for the night, or at least until the storm passed. As he continued wandering, he kept an eye out for a decent place to camp, resolved to not stop until he found somewhere safe.
He eventually came upon a small crevice underneath a small overhang and decided he would check it out. He circled the area a few times, scent-checking the area for danger. Sensing none, he moved toward the crevice. Upon investigation, he discovered that it opened up into a small cave just large enough for one or two cats. Being a small creature himself, it was plenty of room for him, so he made the decision to make camp there. Marking the location of the small cave in his mind, he headed out to search the surrounding area for materials to make a nest. He had seen a boulder not far away that had some moss clinging to the side, so he made his way there. Carefully, he clawed the moss away from the rock, rolling it into a ball. He carried it back into his cave and set it down. It wasn’t much, but he’d worked with less before. Niko decided to scrape out a small hollow in the ground, pulling away the surface dirt and stones to leave a smooth, shallow dip. He dragged the moss into the dip and began working to spread it out enough to fill the hollow.
As he worked, a bolt of thunder cracked across the sky, followed immediately by the heavens opening up and drenching the mountainside. Niko finished spreading his moss and looked out at the rain pouring down outside. He’d found his den just in time, and since he wasn’t planning on heading out in the downpour any time soon, he might as well get some rest. Two circles in his nest before lying down made sure everything was evenly distributed, and digging out a hollow ensured that there were no sharp rocks to stab him in the night. With a weary sigh, he curled in on himself and closed his eyes, letting the sounds of the rain outside lull him to sleep.
Pale blue eyes shot open in fear as a horrible scent pervaded his nostrils, followed swiftly by a fierce growl. Niko was on his paws immediately, fur bristling as he hissed out a snarl in reply. He reacted on instinct, swiping out quickly with unsheathed claws even before his eyes adjusted to the dark cavern. The rain was still pouring, but it was much in the evening than it had been when he’d fallen asleep. But the pressing matter wasn’t his interrupted rest, but the source of that. Blocking the entrance to his little cave was a fox. It was bristled and puffed up, and as Niko’s eyes adjusted, he realized that it was a small fox, probably still a juvenile. He guessed it was trying to escape the rain, as its fur was still struggling to slick to its body, despite the animal’s efforts to spike it high. Niko’s eyes flashed as the fox stepped closer. He hissed and lashed out, but the fox pressed forward. The loner side-stepped, pressing against the side of his little cave. He needed to make it to the entrance and get away, and there were only two ways to do that. Either chase the fox out completely, or let it get in and try to squeeze around it. Knowing that he was neither large nor strong, the first option wasn’t really an option at all, especially considering the fox’s lack of reaction to his striking paws. The fox continued to advance, and every step the fox took in, Niko took one closer to the entrance, trying to circle around him.
Once the fox had cleared the entrance completely, Niko had only a moment to make a move. He darted toward the entrance, but the fox decided to lunge at him as well. He yowled in pain as he felt teeth dig into his hind leg, and twisted his body to claw furiously at the russet predator’s face. After a few well-placed strikes to the eyes, the fox released him and Niko hurriedly limped to the cave entrance. Within seconds of exiting the den, his fur was drenched, and he heard the fox directly behind him. He spun around, wincing at the pain in his hind leg, and growled at the beast. He backed away as the fox advanced again. Gritting his teeth, he lunged forward, claws slashing again at the fox’s face. Blood splattered the muddy ground as they clashed, and Niko felt teeth and claws rake his shoulders. He managed to get several blows to sensitive areas of the fox’s face, focusing on the eyes mostly. Blood dripped into the fox’s eyes, momentarily blinding it, and it paused in its attack. Niko took this opportunity to turn tail and run, ignoring the pain of his injuries and just trying to escape. He needed to get away, and he needed to get away now, or he wouldn’t live to see another sunrise.
With his ears pinned back against his skull, the ran desperately down the mountainside. He didn’t dare take the chance to look back to see if the fox was following him. Niko only stopped when his legs gave out on him, sending him crashing down a small scree slope. He landed on his flank at the bottom, panting heavily and completely worn out. Rain battered his pelt but his ears were focused, and he listened for a long time before finally accepting that the fox wasn’t chasing him. He sighed heavily, allowing his body a few minutes of rest. As the adrenaline wore off, the pain intensified, and he knew he would have to check out his injuries. Slowly, he crawled to his paws and limped over to a boulder that had a bush growing next to it. He crawled under the branches of the bush, attempting to stave off at least a little of the rain, before looking down at himself.
There were shallow scratches on both of his shoulders. Thankfully, they weren’t deep and were bleeding slowly, but they needed a good cleaning. Warily, he looked down to where the fox had grabbed hold of his hind leg. The gashes there were deeper and blood was seeping out of those a bit faster. With a sigh, he began to lick the wounds on his shoulders, cleaning out the dirt and bits of gravel he had picked up on his slide down. He then moved to his thigh, carefully making sure the wounds there were clean as well. His pawpads were scraped and bloody, too, so he took a moment to clean them while he tried to plan his next course of action. There was a chance the wounds on his shoulders would heal on their own, but he knew the ones on his thigh were serious. They would need to be packed to stop the bleeding, but he didn’t have any cobwebs to do so. And then there was the risk of infection, but he didn’t have the knowledge of plants that medicine cats do.
Medicine cats.
Niko groaned. If he wanted to survive this, he would need help. He knew the Clans had the knowledge, but who would willingly offer up their services to a loner? A small voice prodded in the back of his brain, urging him to go home. It was the same force that seemed to guide his paws towards LightningClan’s borders every time he let himself wander without thought. He mentally warred with himself for a while over whether to seek help from LightningClan, but when he glanced down and saw the puddle of red-tinted mud beneath him, he knew he had no choice.
Return to LightningClan, or die.
no tags | 2,126 words
never gonna learn there's no such
place as neverland, you don't understand
