Zesha
New Warrior
176 Posts
About Me
Hi, I'm Zesha!
> Ciswoman
> She/Her
> 30
> EST
> 11 Cats IRL
> Biromantic/demisexual
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Post by Zesha on Apr 8, 2023 0:19:35 GMT
|  | Zinniapaw
17 Moons | She/Her | ThunderClan
Fire 1, 2021 - Solaris |
| Zinniapaw stood at the edge of the Pine Woods, where the thick foliage of the forest behind her gave way to pine needles and tall trees that had very few branches close to the base of the trees. Instead the trees grew for five to ten fox-lengths before a single needle-covered branch sprouted from its trunk. She stared out at it for a long moment. She had wanted to explore the forest and get used to the boundaries that made up ThunderClan, but this part of the territory felt… eerie. It still had birds chirping and flitting from tree to tree, but something about it was just different.
Shrugging to herself, she set foot onto the pine needles and felt them cushion her paws against the rough ground. She meandered along, seeing a spot far off that led to twolegplace, where she used to live. Unlike when she first came to the Clans, she didn’t think twice now about which life she’d rather lead. Things had been hard at first when Flare split off from RiverClan, but now ThunderClan had formed and there was no Clan she’d rather be in. She had always had the feeling Shellspots hadn’t particularly liked them since they came from twolegplace, anyway.
As she continued on, she saw a small fenced-in section coming into view. There were big, thick tracks through the earth near the area, and several trees were no more than stumps. There were also large yellow monsters, but for now they were quiet. Zinniapaw didn’t know this, but today was Sunday, so all the twoleg workers had off. Curious, she stalked closer to the place, ears pricked and nose twitching for any strange scents. But all she could smell was the acrid stench of the monsters. She managed to creep right up to one without it making a single move.
She stared at it, waiting for it to start moving. It did not. It was as stationary as a rock. She stepped forward and poked its big black paw, then scurried away. Still nothing. She was so fascinated by these giant creatures that she didn’t notice another cat was nearby and could see her through the thin, nearly bare undergrowth. |
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Post by Solaris on Apr 8, 2023 17:56:16 GMT
|  | Moth (bio)
24 Moons | Ve/Veir | Solitary
Fire 1, 2021 - Zesha |
| While Firefly was out hunting for food, Moth was tidying up the messy clumps moss bedding ve left behind. Last night was another bout of tossing and turning in veir nest, futilely chasing away the nightmare images of that long leafbare night. Facing upon a tough coldness, trudging through a thick layer of snow, shivering in veir pelt… Ve was glad to be here in the woods, resting among a section of pines and evergreens during greenleaf. Ve never wanted to return to leafbare again.
So far, ve made substantial efforts in that endeavor. Ve nodded in satisfaction as the nests were realigned into definitive shapes, and ve patted down a paw for good measure, hoping to smooth out the more bumpy parts of the bedding. When ve finished, ve smiled down at the nests, proud of veir accomplishment, even if the bedding would be ruined the next day. At least the sleeping situation was better now than when Moth started living with veir brother again.
At the corner of veir periphery, ve saw a black cat enter the fenced off section of the woods, the twolegs’ treecutting place. What are they doing? Do they want twolegs to collect them at the twolegplace?
Moth glanced between veir makeshift sleeping area and the fence, where the cat had already disappeared behind. Ve decided to follow the cat, warn them away from the treecutters, for ve had heard enough of the throttling, ear-splintering noises that roared from their monstrous tools to know no cat should be anywhere near there.
Ve hurried over to the treecuting place, and found the same cat playing with one of the monster’s big paws. Ve sighed in relief, glad the cat wasn’t in immediate danger. There didn’t seem to be any twolegs around either… Ve padded over to the cat and told them, “It’s not safe here. I would hunt somewhere else, stranger.” |
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Zesha
New Warrior
176 Posts
About Me
Hi, I'm Zesha!
> Ciswoman
> She/Her
> 30
> EST
> 11 Cats IRL
> Biromantic/demisexual
|
Post by Zesha on Apr 8, 2023 23:04:15 GMT
| | Zinniapaw
17 Moons | She/Her | ThunderClan
Fire 1, 2021 - Solaris |
| Zinniapaw was so intent on checking out the monster that she wasn’t even aware that anyone had come up, so when a voice sounded nearby she leaped into the air, fur fluffed up, and landed to spin around and face the newcomer. Her eyes were wide and ears flattened back, but once she registered what the other cat had said she began letting her fur lie flat and let her ears stand up again. The newcomer was a pretty speckled brown-and-white cat with blue eyes.
“What do you mean?” she asked, tilting her head to one side. “The monsters here seem dead. I even touched it’s paw and it didn’t move!” This had been the first time she had ever been this close to a monster, especially one so big. She had seen them before when she traveled in twolegplace, but she stayed as far away from them there as possible, since those were usually alive and moving ones that were caring twolegs to and fro from one place to another, or at least that’s what she had been told.
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Post by Solaris on Apr 11, 2023 1:27:27 GMT
| | Moth (bio)
24 Moons | Ve/Veir | Solitary
Fire 1, 2021 - Zesha |
| Ve shook veir head, casting skittish glances from side to side, in case a twoleg might pop out of one of the wooden dens to continue their tree-cutting. “I still wouldn’t toy with the monster’s paws like that. What if it wakes up suddenly and gets mad at you for disturbing its sleep? You won’t want to be on the receiving end of its outburst! I’ve heard the noises these creatures make, I’ve seen the red lights in its eyes when it’s awake and hungry.”
Abruptly, Moth whipped veir head to the forestry surrounding the treecutting place, and then turned back to the cat with widened eyes. In a lowered voice, ve said, “The twolegs cut up the trees with these awful, grinding metal teeth, and then feed the pieces to these yellow monsters. If you aren’t careful, you’ll be cut up and swallowed up like those logs!”
A metal banging sound rang across the area. Ve nearly jumped out of veir fur, until ve saw the culprit leaping down the monster: a squirrel. Veir ears flattened in embarrassment.
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Zesha
New Warrior
176 Posts
About Me
Hi, I'm Zesha!
> Ciswoman
> She/Her
> 30
> EST
> 11 Cats IRL
> Biromantic/demisexual
|
Post by Zesha on Apr 15, 2023 18:35:28 GMT
| | Zinniapaw
17 Moons | She/Her | ThunderClan
Fire 1, 2021 - Solaris |
| Zinniapaw considered this. They could just be sleeping really deeply, and her messing around could wake them up, she supposed. She didn’t want it to get mad at her and crush her under its paws or something. Slowly, she backed away from the creature and closer to the other cat, where it was safer. She looked to the other feline and whispered, “Do they eat cats?” Now she was more cautious, quieter than she had been before.
As the cat told her about the twolegs having the things eat trees, her ears flattened. “They eat trees?” she asked, looking bewildered. Her eyes cast back to the metal creatures. “Those are some strong teeth!” It was a terrifying thought, that these things could swallow trees. What did twolegs want with trees, anyway?
A noise startled her and she jumped, coming to stand next to the other cat as her fur fluffed out. Then she noticed the squirrel on the monster and growled. “Stupid squirrel… anyway, what’s your name? I’m Zinniapaw. Thanks for telling me about these tree-eating monsters.”
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Post by Solaris on Apr 16, 2023 6:34:16 GMT
| | Moth (bio)
24 Moons | Ve/Veir | Solitary
Fire 1, 2021 - Zesha |
| “I don’t know if they could eat cats, but they’re powerful enough to chew through trees. You see those stumps there? They were once tall trees. But now…” said Moth gravely. Ve gestured to the surrounding area with a tail, pointing to the tree stumps at the outskirts of the fence, and then pointed to the pile of logs neatly stacked against the fence. All cleanly cut. The scraps—large branches and dead leaves—were left in another pile. Ve wasn’t sure what the scraps were set aside for, but ve didn’t want to know. “If their teeth could cut through trees, who’s to say they wouldn’t test their limits on cats next?”
Moth shuddered and then glanced around to check if the coast was clear. Ve hurriedly turned to the cat. “In any case, we need to hurry out of here. If the twolegs don’t wake up their monsters, then they’ll send someone to cage us instead!”
“I’m Moth,” ve added, and then shrugged a shoulder for Zinniapaw to hurry. Ve led the younger cat out of the treecut place, and then to nearby foliage where Moth crawled underneath to hide. Ve thumped a tail for Zinniapaw to do the same. Ve stiffened with bated breath and twitched veir ears, waiting for a few heartbeats to pass before resuming conversation.
“I was waiting to hear if any twolegs would come out, but it doesn’t look like it. Maybe they are gone today… but I still wouldn’t risk going near the monsters if you care for your own fur,” said Moth. Ve ducked under a branch hanging above veir head and appeared on the other side. “What were you even doing there, by the monsters?”
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Zesha
New Warrior
176 Posts
About Me
Hi, I'm Zesha!
> Ciswoman
> She/Her
> 30
> EST
> 11 Cats IRL
> Biromantic/demisexual
|
Post by Zesha on May 9, 2023 22:24:00 GMT
| | Zinniapaw
17 Moons | She/Her | ThunderClan
Fire 1, 2021 - Solaris |
| Zinniapaw had to admit, the fact that these monsters could tear down trees was pretty terrifying. “They ate all those trees…?” she murmured and looked back at the monsters, a shudder running down her spine. These were once large, majestic trees that were now just stumps with their trunks cast aside like the bones of prey. Was that what trees were to these monsters? Prey? But what were the stacks of trunks and tree limbs for then? She had a lot of questions about these strange, huge yellow monsters, but she could sense the tension of the other cat and decided not to ask them just yet.
Her fur fluffed out in alarm. Cage them? She hadn’t been in a cage in many moons, since she had left her twoleg to come live in the woods with her father and sisters. The last thing she wanted was to be carted back off to some other twoleg nest.
She followed the other cat—who she now knew as Moth—away from the treecut place. There was some foliage nearby that Moth bundled verselves up in, and after ve thumped ver tail Zinniapaw pushed her way into the brush next to ver. She watched as Moth held ver breath, feeling like she should do the same. After a moment, Moth started speaking again.
“Maybe they’re all at home today,” she suggested, though she didn’t understand why they would be. Though, she didn’t understand most of what twolegs did. “I was originally checking out ThunderClan’s territory when I noticed the monsters. I’ve never seen ones that big before, and they were just so… still. My curiosity got the best of me.”
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Post by Solaris on Jun 2, 2023 18:34:58 GMT
| | Moth (bio)
24 Moons | Ve/Veir | Solitary
Fire 1, 2021 - Zesha |
| “Yes,” ve wore a grim and disturbed expression. There didn’t seem to be any other explanation for what the twolegs did with the harvested portions of wood from the tree, especially considering the piles of wood stacked against the fence. The twolegs had to have a purpose for that, even if those creatures acted nonsensically. After all, twolegs were the ones who commanded monsters and those ear-rattling noises. There was once when Moth neared this area and found the twolegs moving the wood away… Maybe to feed their families? Though, ve wasn’t sure whether the wood would have tasted good or not.
Sweeping the pathway with veir gaze one last time, Moth flicked a tail for Zinniapaw to follow. Veir pawsteps crunched the gravel underfoot. “I can lead you to me and my sibling’s den. They’re out catching food, if you’d like any, though I haven’t told them we had visitors so we might have to share portions.”
“Anyway, I hoped your curiosity has been satiated enough. But please don’t stride into twoleg spaces and monster dens if you can help it,” Ve offered a sympathetic look to Zinniapaw. Ve couldn’t relate, but ve had siblings who were a lot more courageous then veir. Curiosity was frequently the reason for accidents and mishaps, especially… Well, Moth prevented the continuation of the line of thought. Morning was no time to dwell on grief.
Still, there was an unresolved thread hanging in veir head, needling against veir paw pads like astray thorn. Zinniapaw mentioned an unfamiliar word there, something about “Thunder”? Ve wondered if Firefly knew them.
“Who is this ThunderClan, now? I don’t believe I’ve heard of them. Are they someone to be cautious toward?”
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