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Post by Deleted on May 10, 2021 20:03:29 GMT
[googlefont="Poiret One"] It was quiet and dark around him. All he could hear was the ticking of the old grandfather clock in the living room where he lay. He could faintly hear the heartbeats and even breathing of his two legs slumbering above him on the second floor. The bowl of dry cat kibble was only barely touched beside him on the floor along with his water dish. He had no appetite and frankly so motivation for much. Ever since his young human left him to go to college he'd been feeling down in the slumps. With her gone her distraction that kept him away from the window no longer kept him distracted. He lay in his pile of blankets on the floor by the couch but his eyes stared through the darkness like two pieces of green emeralds out the window into the night sky beyond. He could barely make out the twinkling lights of the stars high above from the light the moon cast in the inky darkness.
A flash of a dark figure flashed across the white backdrop of the moon and for a brief moment Cardinal perked up but realized it was just a bat flying; out hunting for some bugs or whatnot. The tom sighed and rose to his paws. Giving a long stretch he moved quickly towards the window sill and jumped up onto the platform to be able to see outside. The outdoors called to him more and more each day his little human had left him and deprived him of his entertainment. He didn't understand the sudden pull to the outdoors; maybe it had always been there but dimmed by the presence of his two legs that kept him very well distracted. But now he couldn't help the urge to slip through the cat flap in the back door and explore. A flash of something dark caught his attention from the corner of his eye and he quickly looked towards the line of trees across the long black strip of road that divided his human's home from the forest beyond. At first he thought it was another bat but realized soon after that it was one, much too large to be a bat and two, bats didn't fly that low to the ground.
He hadn't realized his paws were moving until the cool air of night hit him in the face and he realized that he was perched upon the fence that surrounded his two-leg's property. How'd he get up here again? He hadn't remembered leaving the warmth of the home let alone jumped to perch on the top of the fence. The realization of his position startled him and he lost his balance; falling to the ground with a small gasp but luckily he had quick reflex as he landed on his feet like most cats do. He sighed and shook himself off a bit irritated at his lack of attention and looked around the forbidden 'other side'. it was night time so no one else was about. Not two legs at least. Some strays like cats and dogs could still be about so he must be careful. At the same time though, now that he was on the other side it wouldn't hurt to go and check out what was new? His curiosity was something he could no longer fight and without the worry of being missed by his slumbering humans his paws led him towards where he had saw the figure disappear. He swore if something jumped at him he'd claw their faces off before respectfully....running like a scared kitten back home to hide. "Never trust a mirror for a mirror always lies; it makes you think all your worth is what's on the outside." ~Cardinal Kaeldra and so it begins |
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Post by Kaeldra on May 11, 2021 1:11:38 GMT
Clover || Queen || 16 moons
The night was dark, and icy, but the skies were clear. A small tabby shape padded through the moonlit forest, her fur fluffed out to keep the cold at bay. Unable to sleep due to her rumbling stomach, Clover had decided to try for some night-time hunting, hoping that prey would perhaps be lulled into a sense of security under the cover of darkness. There was little in the way of moonlight so the she-cat followed her nose and ears as the sounds of night whispered around her.
She remembered long ago, her mother telling her that small animals like mice and rats tended to make homes near twoleg nests, and if she was ever hard-pressed for food to seek out such a place. Twoleg nests were full of warmth, and all sorts of strange foods that seemed to lure the little critters even in the dead of leaf-bare. So she made her way as close to the nearby Twolegplace as she dared, hoping for a morsel to soothe the ache in her belly.
Staring from her spot in the line of trees, Clover scanned the line of dark nests, their little lights having gone out for the night. A few strange miniature suns glowed high above the paths between nests, but aside from that shadows blanketed the space. The tabby settled down at the base of one of the pine trees and pricked her ears. She wasn't particularly eager to get much closer to the nests -- who knew what the twolegs would do if one of them caught her -- so she would make do with waiting and watching.
Clover wasn't sure how long she had been sitting when a glimmer of movement caught her eye. It was too high up to be prey, though, a large fluffy shape balancing on the fence for several heartbeats before slipping and landing feet-first on the ground. Clover tasted the air and confirmed her suspicions: it was a kittypet.
She wasn't sure what to do in such a situation; Clover had met several kittypets throughout her travels, and some were exceedingly friendly while others chased her off before she could get a word in. There was no telling which type this cat would be. Deciding to play it safe, she stood and began to walk back into the trees. At the sound of pawsteps behind her, she glanced back nervously. Was this stranger following her?
ulla
@gala Oooh this is gonna be entertaining :D |
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Post by Deleted on May 14, 2021 1:37:33 GMT
[googlefont="Poiret One"] His paws had a mind of their as they led him straight across the side lawn; the familiar cold grass squishing under his toes to be replaced with the hard cold ground of the black snake like path that separated him and the forest. His green eyes stared into the treeline with a hard stare; he could see anything anymore and that bothered him more than he actually wanted to acknowledge. But, he wasn't going crazy he knew that much as he's seen that shadow he's noticed the first time sneak back into the woods. His paws led him straight across the road until they met the oddly familiar ground on the other side. What was he even expecting? Earth was earth and the ground was still the ground no matter the fact of whether he'd traveled it or not. But that was just it; Cardinal hadn't ever left the comfort of home before so even as his feet felt the other side of the road he knew this land was different. He could feel it somehow; the air around him felt different, or it could just be his paranoia.
Taking a breath the rusty colored tom cat pushed past the brush; growling under his breath as the branches poked and yanked at his long fur as he did so. Eyes gleaming in the dark he couldn't stop the dilation of his pupils as he inhaled the air around him. There was a different sort of scent around him. Earthy, cool, and...feminine? He frowned and sniffed again. Was his mind playing tricks on him? He sniffed himself thinking maybe he smelled like that from his two-legs home but no...definitely wasn't him. So that meant, not too long ago there was a female that passed through here. How long ago though? Was this unknown female the figure he'd seen from inside his home that drew him from his comfort and security?
His paws were moving again, a little faster this time as a sense of alarm and what was that....desperation, in his strides? He was subconsciously seeking out that scent. It smelled wrong. Not like him. Not like the stale kitty food he ate every day, not like the odd scent that his two legs carried, not anything like him. This female smelled like the wild. And that sent a small shiver down his neck. Would he catch her? Was she friendly or hostile? Was his mindless decision to leave the safety of home worth it? His eyes closed as he pushed through the last few leaves and brush; not realizing his quickened strides had become a gallop. Not until he pushed through with eyes closed that he realized his mistake. His larger body crashed against something warm and soft. It surprised him enough to open his emerald eyes and stare down into the shadowed face of another feline. He stood there frozen half crumbled on top of this poor creature and all he could do was stare at first. Until, that was, his mouth decided it wanted to form words before his brain to comprehend what he was saying.
"You smell odd." oh shoot had he really just said that out loud? That came out far worse than it sounded in his head. He cringed and pushed away from her to sit upright. "That came out wrong, I'm stupid. Sorry." he muttered before looking at the she-cat he'd barreled over.
"You where on my side of the road....why? I never smelled you around before. Who are you?" there wasn't any rudeness in his words; maybe a bit grudgingly as if he was emberassed. "Never trust a mirror for a mirror always lies; it makes you think all your worth is what's on the outside." ~Cardinal Kaeldra oof awkward Cardi |
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Post by Kaeldra on May 15, 2021 20:07:57 GMT
Clover || Queen || 16 moons
The twolegs had cleared away all the snow around their nests, and as Clover plunged back into the forest she had to get re-accustomed to the cold slush on her paws instead of springy grass. She sighed. While it was still a good couple of moons away, she couldn’t wait for newleaf.
As she padded along, she could swear she still heard something behind her. Surely a kittypet wouldn’t follow her this far into the woods? But there was the telltale crackle of branches and leaves rustling, so there must be something behind her. The fur on the back of her neck stood on end as she imagined it must be a hostile kittypet, determined to keep their territory safe.
I didn’t even get that close!
Before she could think about breaking into a run, the rustling grew louder and then she was tumbling forward, the scent of another cat surrounding her. They had attacked! Clover flailed wildly; she had to get out of here before they began exchanging blows, otherwise she’d be crowfood. But the dark shape was too heavy, pinning her to the cold ground. And... it wasn’t moving?
Then they spoke, and Clover dared to look up, meeting the intense gaze of a fluffy ginger tom. As quickly as he’d tackled her, the weight disappeared. Clover got to her paws shakily, eyeing him with confusion.
“I’m- I’m Clover,” she said quietly, not wanting to provoke him again somehow. “I was just looking for something to eat, I didn’t mean to trespass on your territory. It won’t happen again, I promise.” She ducked her head submissively. She tried to sniff inconspicuously at her fur; she didn’t think she smelled weird. Just the normal forest scent she always had. But maybe this kittypet could smell something she couldn’t. As anxious as she was, she still had the space in her mind to worry about how she smelled.
ulla
@gala What a pair of doofs xD |
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Post by Deleted on Jun 9, 2021 15:41:28 GMT
[googlefont="Poiret One"] His green eyes stared at this little cat in front of him. She seemed so submissive and not at all like he'd expected a wild cat to be. He'd heard stories from the other neighboring cats that strays that lived in the forest were wild and had no mercy; that they were more hostile than they were friendly; they were all rumors of course as no one wanted to venture past their home gates unless visiting other neighboring cats. As the rusty colored tom sat there staring at the smaller feline in front of him he found that her demeanor....infuriated him. Perhaps, he'd make the strays out to be something they weren't or he was just gullible in believing everything everyone says about stuff that they knew nothing about. But whatever the case may have been CArdinal couldn't help the anger that boiled in his gut. He tried to keep his temper in check; maybe it was all of the moons that he'd been feeling forgotten and lonely and the anger that was building unknowingly in his chest over the moons finally overflowed but his next words came out a little meaner than he'd intended.
"I didn't think strays came close to the two-legs even in the worst days of cold." he sneered a bit but the longer he stared at her the more his anger disapated. He was tired; not just physically but in his soul. This was the first time in...well the first time period that he'd met a stray before and it wasn't fair to either of them for him to treat her as if she was lesser. Afterall, she didn't have the comfort of a home like he did in the winter and the promise of regular meals even if said meals were bland.
"Look, I don't understand why you can't just hunt for yourself in these woods. I doubt you'd find food out by the two-legs unless you gonna eat from the trash bins and that's just disgraceful for your self esteem man." he looked over his shoulder with a grimace as if his next words hurt to say. He wasn't one to go out of his way to help others but it had been hard this winter; if her appearance had anything to go by it.
"I know strays aren't outrightly fond of two-legs but I can help you get some food if you want? Got some chicken scraps from dinner that I can get for you. It's not like my who-legs will notice and if they do well that'll be my problem." he shrugged and looked back towards the pretty feline.
"I'm Cardinal by the way." he added wrapping his tail around his paws and hunching over from the cold and eyed the woods around curiously. "I never been out here before; never went past the black snake separating my home from here. Is it tough living out here? seems so if your daring to come through the two-legs area. You know some have mutts living with them right?" he added shaking his head thinking of the few dogs that the humans had around him. Partly why he didn't venture far from his home. Even if they lived in the same neighborhood dogs and cats didn't often get along. "Never trust a mirror for a mirror always lies; it makes you think all your worth is what's on the outside." ~Cardinal Kaeldra so sorry for the wait and for it being short then usual |
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Post by Kaeldra on Jun 12, 2021 19:45:04 GMT
Clover || Queen || 16 moons
Clover ducked her head at the tom’s harsh tone. It was true, she didn’t normally venture so close to the twoleg nests... but she was so hungry, and apparently it was obvious. She bristled a little at his comments. If it were that easy she would have stayed in the woods! Clover didn’t like to generalize, but kittypets could be so self-righteous sometimes, thinking they were better than any forest cat could ever be without knowing the hardships they went through just to survive.
“I’d never eat crow-food!” She retorted. “I was looking for mice. My mother once told me that sometimes they’re easier to find around twoleg nests for some reason. I’ve been trying to hunt in the woods for three days, and all I’ve caught was a stringy squirrel.” She sighed, her anger dissipating and exhaustion taking its place. Clover wasn’t the type to have a temper on a good day, let alone when her stomach ached with emptiness. She was too tired for that.
Her ears pricked at his next words, and she was surprised at his sudden change of demeanour. She wasn’t sure what exactly he was talking about, but it sounded like he was offering food, and she couldn’t turn that down. Not when her belly was grumbling like this. But...
“I don’t know if I should go near the twolegs, they probably won’t like me hanging around.” Clover shuffled her paws, remembering a few close encounters she’d had with twolegs before. They were always making loud noises at her and reaching for her with their big, hairless paws. She was much more comfortable eating out here, where she was safe in the trees. “I’ve never eaten chicken before, though. What’s that? Is it like mouse?” Her mouth began to water thinking about the different flavours she’d been missing.
The tabby dipped her head as the tom introduced himself, and she laughed wryly as he mentioned this was his first venture into the forest.
“It’s not the best time for a visit, that’s for sure. Once greenleaf rolls around and the plants have all grown back, though, you should visit again. It’ll be much nicer then, lots of prey to go around. Right now it’s pretty tough, like you say.” She shuddered at the thought of running into one of those “mutts”, which she was pretty sure meant dogs. That would be just the thing to make a harsh leaf-bare even worse. But she was hungry, so she had to risk it. “It is nice though, living out here. I can’t imagine being stuck in a twoleg nest all the time, no matter how warm it is.”
ulla
@gala Don't worry about it! Length doesn't matter, just moving the story along and having fun~ |
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Post by Deleted on Jun 23, 2021 0:35:27 GMT
[googlefont="Poiret One"] From shy and scared to feisty and defensive. Cardinal stared at this female in mild amusement. What an odd character she was. First she was scared he'd hurt her and then next he was nearly getting his ear fluffs ripped off for making a statement. What a bipolar creature she was. Blinking at her as his ears picked up the faint growling of her stomach as she spoke defiantly about never eating crow food ever. crow food what on earth was crow food. Perhaps that was what strays or forest cats called the scraps left from the trash bins. The different labels they had for things in comparison to kitty pets was astonishing and made Cardinal realize just how different the two actually were. But, the growling of Clover's stomach was something Cardinal knew was common. Everyone got hungry eventually and the cold season that rolled through did nothing to help this girl survive. Cardinal normally wasn't one to take in strays; well not like he was actually taking her in but underneath all that temper and fire he had in his personality was actually a kind heart. He wasn't going to allow her to walk away hungry. He'd at least give her something if anything just so she didn't starve to death.
Clover's spite dissipated rather quickly as she stopped hiding the fact that yes she was hungry and Cardinal relaxed a little more despite being out of his comfort zone within this territory he'd never once stood paw in before today. At her question about the scraps he barked a small laugh and shook his head as he looked over his shoulder in the direction he'd come that he knew...well hoped his two leg home was in as he replied in amusement. "I don't know how to describe chicken to you...I never had mouse before so I can't even tell you if it compares in flavor to that. But, it's food and it's meat so that should be good enough. You don't really have an choice at this point. Well, I mean you do but from the state of your stomach screaming at you I don't you'd want to take the less favorable option of declining my offer." he smirked over at her before standing to his paws and tipped his head over his shoulder.
"It's night time so my two legs are asleep. It'll be easy peasy to snag some food for you. I could offer you a warm bed too if you wanted to get out of the cold; or at least the garage or porch where it's hidden away from my people. I don't like the thought of not being able to help another cat out if I cross one who needs help." he shrugged as he looked up at the stars twinkling between the branches above their heads.
"If your not comfortable with following me back to my place you can wait on the edge of the black snake path and I'll bring you some food that way." he shrugged again. "Whatever yours comfortable with. I haven't met another cat outside of my own two leg friends's pets before so consider yourself lucky that I found you! It's an experience for the both of us." he chortled to himself at the fact that fate was apparently throwing him a bone to pick. Wasn't he just thinking that he was restless at his own place for the past few months? Maybe this is fate telling him to get off his butt and do something to see what happens? Even if it's a little adventure? Perhaps, this was meant to happen for a reason.
"I mean..it's not bad living with two legs it's just...boring after awhile but it's a safe place and you get food and warmth sooo...I don't have anyone else around to entertain or befriend me so it gets boring real quick. You're the first I've come across in many many moons." "Never trust a mirror for a mirror always lies; it makes you think all your worth is what's on the outside." ~Cardinal Kaeldra Notes Sorry for the wait! |
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Post by Kaeldra on Jul 2, 2021 0:15:46 GMT
Clover || Queen || 16 moons
As much as Clover’s pelt prickled at Cardinal’s blunt assessment of her state, almost implying that she couldn’t hunt properly in this weather... she had to admit he was kind of right. She’d be mouse-brained to turn down the offer of a free meal. And despite his less than polite wording, she could see that he really was a well-intentioned cat. Here he was, having just met her, and already he was offering her not only food but also a warm place to sleep? She really didn’t like the idea of venturing into twoleg territory but she wasn’t sure she could bring herself to say no.
“If... If you’re sure. I don’t want to impose, and only if you don’t think we’ll get in trouble with your twolegs. If they’re sleeping it should be okay though...” She wasn’t sure what a “garage” or “porch” was, but when he said they were more hidden from the twolegs she thought those sounded appealing.
When the tom mentioned she was the first forest cat he’d met, she couldn’t say she was surprised. He had softness written all over him, if not in his personality then definitely in his soft, tangle-free fur and filled-out frame despite the harsh winter. Clover was glad that he hadn’t run into someone more dangerous; she knew there were cats out there that would have shredded his pelt simply for who he was.
“I’ve met a few kittypets before,” she said. “Some have been friendly, some not so much. I’m glad you’re on the friendly side,” she smiled. “I don’t know how entertaining I am, but I’ll gladly keep you company. It gets lonely out there, too. Once the weather is better I can even show you around the forest!”
Then her belly growled again, and she remembered that she hadn’t really given him an answer about his offer. From the way he talked, a twoleg nest couldn’t be worse than this cold, wet forest, especially if there was food involved. She straightened, decision made.
“Alright, lead the way.”
ulla
@gala Sorry for the long wait! Time to venture into the den of the beast (or, twoleg ehehe) |
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Post by Deleted on Jul 15, 2021 15:06:55 GMT
[googlefont="Poiret One"] If anyone told Cardinal that he'd venture from his comfort of his human's warm home into the woods to find this she-cat he might have thought you were crazy. But, even Cardinal could not resist the temptation of the pull to something greater than a 1-2-3 routine on the daily that he lived. He was actually feeling rather excited inside at the prospect of stowing away this stray in his two-legs place because he'd never done so before. But, he also couldn't just let her starve out here now that he knew that she was hungry and not at all bad unlike some strays that pass by. He maybe a bit tempermental and a bit grumpy most times but he wasn't completely heartless. At the sound of the growl coming from her stomach snapped Cardinal from his thoughts and gave her a firm nod as he stood back to his paws looking all business like again. Time for action! Flicking his tail in a fashion to signal her to follow him he darted back the way they'd come. Absently following his own trail towards the edge of the black snake path and peered down the deserted length. It was still rather dark outside so no one was awake yet thankfully so he quickly darted across and didn't even slow when he got to the fences and merely leaped up like it was nothing to perch on the top and look down at the white and brown tabby feline. He pointed with his tail down the length of the fence where there was a bit of a dent in the flower bed that lined the bottom and it looked disturbed in that particular spot slightly hidden.
"There's a hole at the bottom of the fence there. Some mutt was trying to dig under out fence the past few days during its walks with it's two-legs. Slide through that gap there and meet me on the other side." he instructed her before dropping to the ground on the other side. He looked around his humans yard a moment glad to see no one else was about and no lights were on. Sometimes one of his neighbors would find themselves on his side of the fence to come check up on him because they'd noticed he was a bit depressed since his teen human left him. But they were alone thankfully and once the stray feline slipped through the russet tom glanced back at her a moment before giving her a nod and then began leading the way along the fence to the back of the house where there was a large wooden structure and grinned to himself.
"This is my two-legs free time space. He often some out here on good days to work on his free time hobby. It gets loud in there but thankfully since it's cold outside he doesn't come out here very often. He also keeps his tools and stuff in there." he commented as he jumped up onto the steps and slipped through the partly open door that had just enough space to hold a cat to slip through. The latch on the door had broken awhile back and his human hadn't gotten it fixed so he kept it mostly closed with a padlock and chain but because of the size it didn't close the door all the way.
"I figured this would be better than in the back yard because it's not often used in this weather. It's also some shelter from the cold...not much since the door was open it let in the cold air but the wind won't bother you." he added as she slipped inside.
The shed itself was a medium sized with tables here and there with wood works all over it and some gardening tools to the side. It wasn't warm inside but warmer then the cold out there with the wind. The russet tom pointed to a bundle of blankets on the floor. "Sit there. It's my spot I like to sit in watching him. I'll go grab you something from the nest." he told her before he was darting outside.
He'd made his way through the backdoor cat flap that led into the kitchen and looked around in the dark for something to snag for his new stray friend. He hummed thoughtfully before jumping on the counter and sniffed around a good moment before finding exactly what he knew would be on the counter. His female human had put out a packet of chicken in a bag had been the left overs from their dinner that night from some sort of sandwich. It was torn apart and had some yummy smelling sauce on it. (BBQ) and although it wasn't exactly warm still he figured it would still be better than nothing for Clover so he snagged the corner of the plastic began and dropped to the ground with it dragging behind him and out the door he went and straight for the shed in the backyard. It took him a second to get it through the crack in the door but he finally managed with only having torn a small hole in the bag in the process. He dropped it in front of her and huffed sitting down from his effort. "There we go! Took a bit more than I thought to get that thing in here. It's the dinner from last night they forgot to put in the cold box. It smelled good when they were cooking it so hopefully you'll like it." he added as he stretched himself on the ground beside her and yawned looking at the door as if guarding it and making sure they didn't get disturbed. "Never trust a mirror for a mirror always lies; it makes you think all your worth is what's on the outside." ~Cardinal Kaeldra Notes here |
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